Is Aspartame Bad for You?
Many people believe Aspartame is bad for you. The truth is that Aspartame is not bad for you. Despite what the media outlets may claim, this substance is extremely safe to consume. This artificial sweetener does not cause weight gain, obesity, brain damage, neurological disorders, birth defects, vision loss or cancer. Unless you have the disease PKU, you can safely consume it.
Let’s discuss this substance, its reputation and the truth behind this sweet food additive.
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener.
- It is composed of the Amino Acids Aspartic Acid and Phenylalanine
- It is commonly used as a sugar substitute to reduce the calorie content
- It is 200 times sweeter than sugar
- It is in NutraSweet and Equal (Blue Packets)
What is Aspartame Found In?
This sugar substitute is found in many processed foods, diet soda, and in Equal or Nutra Sweet.
Here are some foods that contain Aspartame:
- Diet Soda
- Gum
- Gelatin
- Sugar Free Jello
- Sugar Free Hot Chocolate
- Cereals
- Chewable Gummies
- Vitamins
However, this sweet product is not found in low calorie baked goods as it does not hold its sweetness during baking.
Common Foods
Aspartame is in many foods in the diet market. These foods are manufactured with fake sugar to substantially lower the calorie content.
A 12 ounce regular soda has about 150 to 200 calories. A large regular Big Gulp soda that you may find at a gas station may have between 600-800 calories. A diet soda may have just 0-10 calories per serving.
These products are highly profitable and popular as people around the globe want to enjoy the sweet taste of diet coke and other products without the high calorie content.
Media Coverage
Aspartame has been scrutinized in the media with bold claims and headlines.
With headlines like these, it is no wonder that most people have developed a phobia of products with this fake sugar. Fortunately, these media headlines do not really reflect the truth of the matter.
Despite these alarmist headlines, many of these articles don’t even include any factual or damning information about this artificial sweetener. They include weak claims and even weaker evidence.
But the truth looks a lot different. Let’s take a look at some of the research studies about Aspartame below.
Research
Meta analyses from over 100 research studies failed to find any evidence that Aspartame was harmful.
A study from the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, which included data from more than 300,000 study participants, found no link between Aspartame, many types of cancer, heart disease and preterm labor.
According to the American Cancer Society, the FDA has concluded that Aspartame is safe to consume. The European Food Safety Authority has stated that studies do not suggest a link between Aspartame and several types of cancer.
The American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association both say that this artificial sweetened is safe to consume, and can be part of a strategy to help diabetics control their calorie intake and weight. The key is to remember that saving 150 calories by swapping a diet soda for a regular one does not allow you to eat another 500 calorie slice of cake.
How Much Aspartame is Safe
While Aspartame is not conclusively linked with negative health outcomes, the FDA has still advised a maximum safe upper intake level. Even if you weigh just 130 pounds, you would need to consume over 36 diet sodas per day for the rest of your life to exceed to FDA’s guidelines for safe consumption. That is a lot of diet soda, and I would be willing to guess your consumption is way under that level!
Is Aspartame Bad for Weight Loss?
I know what you are thinking! ‘Aspartame may be safe, but I heard it tricks your brain into eating more and actually gaining weight!’
Fortunately, this has been debunked! There is no research that consuming diet soda or other products sweetened with Aspartame cause a compensatory effect where you consume more calories. Aspartame does not “trick” your body into eating more.
Still, you want to remember that drinking a diet soda does not compensate for an extra hamburger. If you consume an extra 800 calories per day in food because you felt you saved 150 calories with a diet soda, you will still gain weight. So it is important to still be cognizant of your energy intake and not fall into this mistake.
However, most people realize that choosing aspartame sweetened beverages/foods does not give them license to eat more. As long as you remain conscious of that, aspartame can actually be helpful for weight reduction.
Some research backs up this sentiment as well.
A study in the International Journal of Obesity supports the idea that aspartame can help people lose weight.
And this 2015 randomized meta analysis also concluded that substituting low calorie sweeteners like Aspartame for sugar leads to decreased calorie intake and weight loss.
This makes perfect sense because Aspartame contains virtually no calories! And despite the fact that Aspartame does not naturally occur in nature, consuming it won’t trick your body into rummaging the cabinets for more sugary sweets.
Delusions about Aspartame
Sadly, I’ve worked with many people who were more than 100 pounds overweight that thought it was better to drink 500 calories of regular soda a day than diet soda. They believed the myth that diet soda would make them eat more overall.
Once they switched to diet soda, they often lost 2 pounds per week easily. And because even modest weight loss has such huge health benefits for overweight people, this simple swap just makes sense!
Unfortunately. I think this kind of dietary delusion is really common. It’s one of the main reason people struggle with their weight. A lot of people think maintaining a healthy weight comes down to some obscure formula. They think that sending their body “the right signals” or some other kind of magic voodoo is more important than sticking to a calorie budget. What these people fail to realize is that calorie intake is the only factor that matters when it comes to maintaining or losing weight.
Is Aspartame Worse than Sugar?
Aspartame is not worse than sugar! Compared to sugar, it is sweeter, and has a fraction of the calories of sugar. If you want to continue using sugar, that is up to you, but do not delude yourself into believing it is better for you than Aspartame.
Should Aspartame be Avoided?
Fortunately, if you like to enjoy Diet Soda and other Aspartame sweetened treats, you can continue to do so without worry. You do not need to avoid Aspartame!
So go ahead and enjoy that diet soda sweetened with Aspartame if you want to! I definitely will be still ordering an ice cold diet coke the next time I go out to eat! 🙂
