Please enlighten me on Phenylalanine-aspartame.

[alrescate]

I stumbled on a bottled drink Wednesday called 'Diet Lipton Green Tea.' I noticed it had 72mg of flavonoid antioxidants per serving and no calories. As I was looking over the label I noticed in bold letters that the drink contained Phenylalanine. I had no idea what that was so I looked it up. I found this:

Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most consumers don't know that too much Phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death.

ADD/ADHD, emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. If you are one in ten thousand people who are PKU or carry the PKU gene, Phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, Phenylalanine levels are reaching a dangerous peak.

The 1976 Groliers encyclopedia states cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. Phenylalanine makes up 50% of aspartame

I checked a couple of diet sodas and they all contained aspartame/phenylalanine. Now I'm quite aware that every fifteen minutes there is new that has been announced (or pronounced) to be bad for you. But the scary part is that bit that cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. My question is, since phenylalanine is found naturally in some foods, how worried about this should I be? Soda is probably the only source of caffeine in my diet and I switched to diet sodas for waistline reasons. If I'm having a couple of diet sodas a day should I be worried about this? Or is this just the newest big bad wolf?

Comments

[yokospungeon.livejournal.com]

Yes, there has been quite a hoo-hah here about avoiding aspartame. I now use sweeteners that are based on sucralose and have always avoided diet drinks, anyway.

[yokospungeon.livejournal.com]

Gerat, now I just googled and found this:
http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/

Guess I am going back to sugar, LOL!

'shrunken Thymus glands in monkeys'?? I should cocoa!

[alrescate.livejournal.com]

I'm sure we could find someone who would say sugar is bad for you too. *grin*

I suppose I'll just try to limit my intake, but I'm not giving up my Diet Cherry Coke!

[shadiehawke.livejournal.com]

I avoid aspertame, but honestly, it's because it tastes like shit.
I was at the grocery store and was looking over the yogurt selection when a man came up to me. He lectured me about aspertame and how it's really a deadly poison that causes cancer in lab animals and causes mutations and what-not. I assumed he was a freak, smiled and nodded...and didn't grab the aspertame-containing yogurt, to his obvious delight.

So, I don't know. It could be the latest big bad wolf or it could be a genuine issue. I stick to real sugar and hang the calories.

[alrescate.livejournal.com]

Mojosmom found a FDA site that said this:
After reviewing scientific studies, FDA determined in 1981 that aspartame was safe for use in foods. In 1987, the General Accounting Office investigated the process surrounding FDA's approval of aspartame and confirmed the agency had acted properly. However, FDA has continued to review complaints alleging adverse reactions to products containing aspartame. To date, FDA has not determined any consistent pattern of symptoms that can be attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems.

Carefully controlled clinical studies show that aspartame is not an allergen. However, certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine.

[texaswren.livejournal.com]

Years ago, in Good Housekeeping magazine, there was an article about a teenager who got really, really sick, and when she was at death's door, they discovered it was phenylalanine. That's about when they started putting it on the soda cans.

I'm about to blame something on you, and from now on, when I whine, it's your fault! Johnnie won't touch a sugar drink, and I've gotten out of the habit. Even when I was thin I drank diet soda because it was what we bought. Anyway, I was telling him about this (before MJM's link) and one thing led to another. Anyway, long story short, I'm going to start cooking at home lots more. And it's all your fault!! ;-)

[alrescate.livejournal.com]

It's my fault? Now how did that happen! Oh well, go ahead and blame me...my shoulders are broad. *grin*

[texaswren.livejournal.com]

Well, one thing sort of led to another, starting with your post. It reached the point that he said he was getting really tired of eating out so much, and I am too. Since we have commissary in the dining room, we haven't been doing the sit down meal thing, and we miss it. He eats in front of the tv, and I eat in front of the computer. We have a huge kitchen, with a table, but I don't like eating in the kitchen. But, before I knew it, instead of sewing all afternoon, I ended up rearranging the kitchen to make it more comfortable to eat in there. I suppose I'm going to have to make some adjustments. And it all started because you pointed out the dangers of phenylalamine! It has to be your fault. I'm almost positive that I wouldn't have volunteered to start cooking regularly again! ;-)

[alrescate.livejournal.com]

Oh. I see now...it *is* all my fault! I'm a terrible person but I promise to repent and reform. Never again shall I point out the danger of anything! ;-)

[monkeyscorpion.livejournal.com]

Ok, this is just something I *have* to comment on, because I was/am a Diet Pepsi drinker and I have a friend who makes it a point to 'yell' at me for the aspartame.

So this is what I know:
Aspartame: In LARGE doses, it causes M.S. I did some research and that's what I could figure out. If you had an insulin syringe full of the stuff, and injected it into a toddler, there is going to be severe damage. But I've drank Diet Pepsi since 1995 or so, and I'm still fine. I was actually in better shape when I was drinking it all the time, than I am now that I'm drinking Sierra Mist. I switched because of the caffine and phenylalanine.

Phenylalanine: Causes headaches. But so does caffine. I don't believe regular Pepsi has Phenylalanine. But here's my story. I was getting headaches almost daily, a good portion of them migraines. And I'm only 25 this was going on two years ago. I read a brochure in a chiropractor's office about headaches, and it mentioned that Phenylalanine *can* be a contributor. I decided to switch from Diet Pepsi to Sierra Mist, thus cutting out the caffine (and at the same time phenylalanine). I noticed a drastic difference within a week. I told my mother, who is a Pepsi drinker. She also got bad headaches. So she switched to caffine free Pepsi, and she too noticed a difference. So I don't know how much of it is Phenylalanine, or if it's really just the caffine.

I do still have the occasional Diet Pepsi, and I do still drink other diet sodas and such that contain these products. I figure, if it hasn't killed me yet, it won't.

So this is me, stepping off my soap-box.