So have food safety authorities, like the U. However, if you have the rare hereditary disorder phenylketonuria PKU , you should strictly limit your intake of phenylalanine. This is a common amino acid found in aspartame. If we use aspartame, we say on our bottles and cans that there is phenylalanine so please check closely. We use aspartame in some of our products, including [Diet Coke and Coke Zero], because we know that many people want the choice of great tasting beverages with less sugar and fewer calories.
Depending on where you are in the world, we use either high fructose corn syrup or cane sugar to give you that refreshing taste you love. Together, they create a great taste with zero sugar and zero calories. The U. Agencies in Europe, Canada, and many other countries also approve its use.
Furthermore, the following authorities endorse it:. The EFSA ruled aspartame safe for human consumption and set an acceptable daily intake or ADI of aspartame at 40 milligrams mg per kilogram kg of body weight.
A can of diet soda, for example, contains only about mg of aspartame. A person would have to consume more than 19 cans of soda to reach the ADI limits. Aspartame contains 4 calories per gram g , similar to sugar. It is, however, around times sweeter than sugar. This means that only a tiny amount of aspartame is necessary to sweeten foods and drinks. For this reason, people often use it in weight-loss diets. By contrast, a review of the latest research found no evidence that the low-calorie sweeteners aspartame, sucralose, and stevioside, were effective for weight management.
Some studies monitored participants over several years. They found a link between an increased body weight and waist circumference and a regular intake of these sweeteners. Participants in some studies showed an increased body mass index BMI as well. BMI can help to assess if a person has a healthy weight or not. People with a high BMI may be more likely to develop metabolic disease.
Furthermore, the review found studies that suggested those who consumed sweeteners regularly might be at greater risk of developing heart disease , diabetes , and stroke. A review published in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism cites several animal studies that report a link between regular intake of nonnutritive sweeteners and increased food intake.
The review suggests that sweeteners may increase appetite by disrupting the signaling process that usually occurs when a person eats foods with more calories. Sweet tastes typically signal to the body that food is entering the gut. The body then expects to receive calories and signals when eating should stop by making a person feel full or satiated.
A person experiences the same sweet taste when they consume sweeteners, but the body receives fewer calories than it might otherwise expect to. If this happens regularly, according to the theory, the body unlearns the association between sweet tastes and calories. This reversal means that high-calorie foods will no longer trigger feelings of fullness. This may lead to overeating. Further research on human participants might lead to a better understanding of the link between aspartame consumption and appetite control.
The same process that may disrupt appetite control could also predispose a person to certain metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes , according to the review. Because the body no longer expects calorie intake in response to sweet tastes, it may be ill-equipped to deal with dietary sugars when they do arrive in the gut, according to this view. A later review from further discusses the link between low-calorie sweeteners and metabolic disease.
It suggests that regular, long-term intake of sweeteners may disrupt the balance and diversity of bacteria living within the gut. Animal studies show that this type of disruption can result in glucose intolerance, which is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
Research is ongoing to confirm or invalidate connections between these ailments and aspartame, but currently there is still inconsistent outcomes in studies. Some research reports increased risk, symptoms or disease acceleration, while others report no negative outcomes with aspartame intake.
When it comes to diabetes and weight loss, one of the first steps many people take is to cut empty calories from their diets. This often includes sugar. Aspartame has both pros and cons when considering diabetes and obesity. First, the Mayo Clinic states that, in general, artificial sweeteners may be beneficial for those with diabetes.
Sweeteners may also help weight loss efforts, but this is usually only the case if you consume a lot of sugar-containing products before trying to lose weight. Switching from sugary products to those containing artificial sweeteners may also reduce the risk of cavities and tooth decay. According to a PLoS One study , rats that were fed aspartame had lower body masses overall.
One caveat to the results was that these same rats also had more gut bacteria as well as increased blood sugar. This increase in blood glucose was also linked to insulin resistance. The research is far from conclusive about how aspartame and other nonnutritive sweeteners affect these diseases and others. The controversy over aspartame continues.
Before you switch back to sugar which is high in calories and has no nutritional value , you can consider natural alternatives to aspartame. You may try sweetening foods and beverages with:. Like sugar, natural alternatives to aspartame can contain a lot of calories with little to no nutritional value. Public concern over aspartame remains alive and well today. Due to heavy criticism, many people have taken steps to avoid artificial sweeteners altogether.
Still, the consumption of aspartame by people conscious about their sugar intake continues to soar. When it comes to aspartame, your best bet — as with sugar and other sweeteners — is to consume it in limited amounts.
Could aspartame, an artificial sweetener the Food and Drug Administration approved, be dangerous? Find out what the experts say. Did you know artificial sweeteners may actually increase the risk of diabetes or worsen your condition? Find out here what makes good sugar…. Many people believe that artificial sweeteners can drive weight gain, despite being low in calories.
This article takes a look at the evidence. Adopting a no-sugar diet plan may not be as difficult as you think — and the potential health benefits are limitless.
Here's what you need to know. Most Americans are getting too much sugar. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame have received a lot of negative publicity.
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