Along with BPA, DDT, and PCBs, Aspartame has been the
focus of fear-mongers for decades. Anything that can go wrong with the human
body — from cancer to lupus to brain tumors and multiple sclerosis — has been
blamed on this innocuous artificial sweetener. And the internet, of course, has
been the medium for many of these false claims. But now, the internet is also
providing some redress in the form of a well-written essay explaining what Aspartame is, its
component parts, and why it is no danger to anyone except the few with a
genetic disorder.
In brief, Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than
sugar, so much less of it need be used for a given sweetening effect. This
alone should make us doubt that it could be harmful since so little is
necessary,
The constituents of the sweetener are phenylalanine and
aspartic acid, two amino acids found in many different proteins, and methanol,
an alcohol found in many fruits and vegetables, as well as in wine, whiskey and
beer. At the levels supplied by Aspartame, only the phenylalanine is
potentially dangerous, and then only to the relatively small proportion of
people who are born with a condition known as phenylketonuria — an inability to
metabolize this particular amino acid. In light of this, the FDA has mandated a
label on Aspartame-containing products warning those people of its
phenylalanine content……To Read More….…..
No comments:
Post a Comment