Jadxia Laird

11-13-16
Adam Padgett
Eng 102

Introduction:
In a world where health and beauty our of utmost important to many people, a product
which delivers a sweet taste while maintaining an almost calorie free composure seems pretty
amazing, right? Aspartame is a sweetener used in many food products around the world. It is
200 times sweeter than sugar, and often used as a sugar free, non-nutritive substitute in many
products. Some of the products containing aspartame might surprise you, including; chewing
gum, sparkling water, toothpaste, cough syrups and salad dressing. One of the most common
sources you will find the artificial sweetener is in diet soda. Aspartame has been used in the
United States since the early 1980s, and from early on has been questioned for its safety because
of an observed correlation with tumor formations in rats. Many people are led to believe that
artificial sugars are worse for human consumption than regular sugar. After hearing of the
possible adverse effects that aspartame can have on our bodies I felt concerned. I also felt
compelled to find out more about this artificial sweetener. If aspartame is bad for our body then
why is it still in so many products and why arent more people concerned? Mainly, I wanted to
find out if scientific evidence proved adverse effects of aspartame on the human body. Here is
what I found.
It would appear that aspartame is in fact safe for human consumption in moderation. One
of the most reassuring facts of consuming aspartame is the fact that many officials still deem
aspartame as safe regardless of opposing studies. According to the article FDA Rejects

Aspartame-Ban Petitions" found in the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter the US Food
and Drug Administration has yet to see any credible scientific evidence to change the agency's
position that the zero-calorie sweetener is safe for the general population(FDA Rejects
Aspartame Ban). The FDA is an organization that determines whether products are safe for
human consumption and also set the ADI, which is the amount determined to be safe to consume
each day over the course of a lifetime (FDA Website). Aspartame is categorized by the FDA as a
high intensity sweetener and a high intensity sweetener is regulated as a food additive. . . The
use of a food additive must undergo premarket review and approval by FDA before it can be
used in food. A panel of scientists conduct research in order to determine the parameters and
determine whether or not a product meets the safety standard of reasonable certainty of no harm
under the intended conditions of its use. According to Tufts University Health & Nutrition
Letter, the agency noted it had analyzed 195 reports of supposed aspartame-related side effects
over a 10-year span and did not identify any causal link between aspartame consumption and
the reported adverse events or an established mechanism that would explain how aspartame is
associated with the reported adverse events. So it seems that the experts, at least the experts of
the FDA deem aspartame as safe to consume as long as consumed in moderation. Another article
that demonstrates experts approvals is the Scientific Panel Declares Aspartame Safe; Some
Doubts Linger which demonstrates a panel of scientists conclude that aspartame is safe for
human consumption after reviewing over 500 reports and studies on artificial sweeteners. Also,
if one is wary of the US government and our regulation of food, ones skepticism may be eased
by the fact that The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)s Panel concluded, on the basis of
all the evidence currently available that there is no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic
potential of aspartame and that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for

aspartame of 40 mg/kg [body weight] (American Cancer Society). Both of these government
agencies still classify aspartame as a safe product, even after reviewing the studies that point to
adverse effects of aspartame. The FDA and EFSA both use scientists who are qualified to
observe food safety and seem to be reliable authorities on the safety of food. The FDA website
also listed the artificial sweeteners that are banned in the US, so there are products that do not
make the cut. This demonstrates that guidelines are not so loose that all products are just
accepted without scrutiny.
Most of the research that I found agreed that aspartame is safe to consume in moderation.
One of the main concerns about the consumption of aspartame is because it breaks down into
methanol in the body. Methanol is known to have adverse affects on the body but as the article
in Environmental Nutrition, "Scientific Panel Declares Aspartame Safe; Some Doubts Linger,"
scientist points out that a glass of fruit juice contains 10 times as much fruit juice as the same
amount of diet soda and most people do not consume more than the experts recommend. The
Center for Science in the Public Interest still considers that aspartame may be a product to avoid
and a few other studies supported this claim. The article Real or Fake Sugar: Does It Matter?
from CNN point out that the studies previously conducted on rats used aspartame in rates
equivalent to a human consuming 2,000 diet sodas a day and do not believe that the correlation
would exist in smaller doses. The FDA bases its safety guidelines based on setting a number for
how much is safe to consume, so if aspartame is consumed within these products it should be
safe. Many other products should also be consumed within moderation like sugar, alcohol, etc.
It does appear though, that it would take a large amount of aspartame in order to cause adverse
effects, as pointed out in the graph of relative sweeteners on the last page of my report.

I did come across some surprising research concerning scientists belief that aspartame
can harm the human body such as a study that states that aspartame may cause changes in
regional brain concentrations of catecholamines (Humphries P., E. Pretorius, and H. Naude 1)
due to the consumption of aspartame. Catecholamines are chemicals in our brain that regulate
normal body functions such as breathing and blood flow, so if aspartame does in fact change our
brain in this way it does appear alarming. The Direct and indirect cellular effect of aspartame
on the brain study also states that bodily processes such as amino acid metabolism, protein
structure, metabolism, neural function, endocrine balance and...concentrations of
catecholamines can be altered (Humphries, 9). This study aimed to look at aspartame in a
different way than other previously conducted research but did not contain enough evidence to
ban aspartame use in commercial products. Another study conducted was the Consumption of
Artificial Sweetener-and-Sugar containing Soda and Risk of Lymphoma and Leukemia in Men
and Women. This was an observational study in which data from the Nurses Health Study
(NHS) was analyzed in observe the long time effects of aspartame. A total of 47,810 men
contributed 784,461 person years to this analysis, 77,218 women contributed 1,493,935 personyears to this analysis, 55% of men were consumers of diet sodas, averaging six 12 oz. servings
per week, 62% of women were consumers of diet soda in this study (Murphy, 2). Diet soda is
one of the most prevalent sources of aspartame. In the documentary Hungry for Change they
point out how many people, especially women, drink diet soda as a substitute for meals in order
to curb their appetite with the carbonation and in turn are not receiving proper nutrition by
skipping meals. The study by the NHS says that men who consumed one or more diet sodas per
day were 31% more likely to develop non hodgkin lymphoma, men and woman both were 41%
more likely to develop leukemia with the consumption of 1 or more diet sodas a day and men,

in the highest quintile of aspartame intake, relative increased risks were 64% for NHL, 236% for
multiple myeloma, and 56% for leukemia (Murphy, 3). These seem like alarmingly high
number but the study only can conclude a correlation and not causation. Even after these studies
aspartame is still qualified safe by professionals.
One common thread throughout my sources is that there are certain people who should
avoid aspartame. Phenylketonuria is a rare disorder in which only 1 in 10,000 people suffer from
this condition (Aspartame Research Center). People with phenylketonuria can not metabolize
phenylalanine, one of the components that aspartame breaks down into in the human body.
People with this disorder should avoid aspartame in order to abstain from the side effects.
Since aspartame is ultimately used as a replacement of sugar I think it is important to
look at sugar and its impact on the human body. If aspartame is no better than sugar or if sugar
did not do anything bad to our body than there would be no reason to substitute it. Real or fake
sugar: Does is matter? is an article by CNN which evaluates this issue. The article shows that
aspartame may confuse the body and may make weight loss tougher (Wilson, 1). Another
article Is sugar making us sick on the Berkeley Wellness University of California outlines
some of the growing health concerned caused by sugar, In the past, worries were confined to its
increasing the risk of diabetes and obesity and its causing cavities, but now research has also
linked sugar to heart disease, hypertension, strokes, gout, periodontal disease, fatty liver disease,
and a host of other health problems (Berkeley Wellness). Sugar can cause these problems by
increasing inflammation, oxidative stress, and triglycerides (fats in the blood), impairing insulin
regulation, and raising blood pressure (Berkeley Wellness). Sugar is pretty well known as being
bad for us and can definitely cause adverse effects on the body well consumed in excess. Sugar

is also added to many processed foods making it easy to consume in excess and possibly hard to
avoid without being mindful of what one chooses to eat.
The truth may still be unclear. So what do we do? Do we err on the side of caution and
limit or cut it out completely? Sometimes it is difficult to find the truth about commercial
products because we have to be critical and determine who funds the studies and research
conducted of the products in order to decide if they are valid and unskewed. Sometimes we are
apt to believe what someone tells us and not use discernment on whether what they are telling us
are facts. This research project reminded me that we can not automatically believe everything
we hear without evidence or science that backs it up. Moderation seems to be the key to keeping
us safe and healthy. Aspartame and sugar can both be bad if we are filling up on them instead of
more nutritious foods. From now on I will probably treat aspartame products as I would any
other treat. I probably will not drink a ton of it just because it is calorie free but I do not think
I will cut it out of my life completely.
It may be difficult to stay away from aspartame since it is in many products. We can
limit the amount of aspartame by knowing more of what we are eating and what is in our foods.
I think it is important that we are mindful of what we put in our body since it can have such a
huge effect on our and also our overall quality of life. If nothing else, this research has reminded
me how important nourishing our bodies with proper nutrition is to our health and happiness.
We have power over what we decide to put in our bodies and eating healthy is more than just
being skinny or fit. It is possible that eating the proper foods or limiting certain types of
food can eliminate many ailments and lead to a more pain free life which in turn causes people to
be happier. As Hippocrates said, let food be thy medicine. Overall it seems we can improve our
quality of life by keeping our bodies healthy and nutrition is a huge component of a healthy life.

This chart shows how many packets of sweetener one would have to consume in order to
meet the ADI. It shows how high aspartame is and that it would take over 70 packets of sugar.
The chart below demonstrates how many milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day it
would take to meet the ADI. Aspartame has the highest amount, meaning that one would have to
consume more aspartame than anything else in order to meet the ADI.

Works Cited

Humphries, P., E. Pretorius, and H. Naud. "Direct And Indirect Cellular Effects Of Aspartame
On The Brain." European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition 62.4 (2008): 451-462. Consumer Health
Complete. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
Jacque Wilson, Elizabeth Landau and Jen Christensen. Real or Fake Sugar: Does It Matter?
CNN, Cable News Network,http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/15/health/artificial-sweeteners-soda/.
Murphy, Dan. American Chiropractor.Jul2015, Vol. 37 Issue 7, p36-38. 2p.
"Aspartame." Aspartame. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
"Aspartame Resource Center: Aspartame Resource Center: Phenylalanine & Phenylketonuria
(PKU) and the Sweetener Aspartame." Aspartame Resource Center: Aspartame Resource
Center: Phenylalanine & Phenylketonuria (PKU) and the Sweetener Aspartame. N.p., n.d. Web.
23 Nov. 2016.
BerkeleyWell. "Health Risks of Sugar, How to Avoid Added Sugar." @berkeleywellness. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.
"FDA Rejects Aspartame-Ban Petitions." Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter 33.1 (2015):
2. Consumer Health Complete. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
High-Intensity Sweeteners. High-Intensity Sweeteners,
http://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm397716.htm
"Scientific Panel Declares Aspartame Safe; Some Doubts Linger." Environmental Nutrition 31.1
(2008): 3. Consumer Health Complete. Web. 29 Sept. 2016.