Aspartame issues

[sammd]

Following recent posts mentioning consumers not being told about what's really in their food i thought i would mention this one. Everyone's told how sugar is bad for them so they go and buy 'reduced sugar' or diet foods, but many of these contain aspartame (an artificial sweetener), especially fizzy drinks. I purposely buy full sugar versions to avoid this but even most full sugar drinks contain aspartame aswell. A simple internet search brings up all the health issues associated with this artificial chemical:

<A target='_blank' href=&quot;http://www.naturalmatters.net/article.asp?article=11& ;amp;cat=7&quot;>http://www.naturalmatters.net/ar ticle.asp?article=11&amp;cat=7</A>

Why are these (among other artificial ingredients) still being put in food and drink when there's known health risks? And why aren't people told about this?

[woofgang]

well you have posted a link and its not the only one about aspartame, the ingredients are on the can or bottle, so my response to your question is that people are told!!

There are known health risks about sugar, butter, carbonated water....you name it, there are known health risks.

[sammd]

I guess the only thing to do is to eat only foods grown naturally and avoid anything manufactured - tricky one!

[lady_p_gold]

Couldn't agree more .... I honestly think I would rather just have a teaspoon of sugar which is actually not that many calories ... but it is becoming almost impossible to avoid this aspartame stuff.

[noxlumos]

We haven't had any foods or drinks with aspartame in them for years so ancient is the knowledge that this is a harmful ingredient, but for those who don't make it their business to know you will sometimes notice that aspartame or phenylalanine is listed as though it is good for you.

ie "contains a source of vitamin C"

"contains phenylalanine"

which if you don't actually know what it is, might sound as though it would be a good thing if you had it!

Interestingly all of my kids have always had sugar as an alternative and none of them are overweight and all of them have good teeth (we don't use flouride toothpaste either for other health reasons) so perhaps there is a great conspiracy against sugar doubtless funded by the nutasweet organisation.Some good reading on that subject and the multi million dollar scaries that are Nutrasweet is

"You are being lied to, the disinformation guide".

[Susan123]

This is some info sent to me - quite interesting reading:

Aspartame victims many times react to genetically engineered foods. Here's a little code which may help you avoid them. On fresh fruit and vegetables you will find a PLU code. If it starts with 4 its normally grown with pesticides. If it starts with 9 its organic. If it starts with 8 don't buy it, its genetically engineered.

Information on aspartame: www.wnho.net and www.dorway.com Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame

Information on MSG: www.truthinlabeling.org

Let's help alert the public. We always tell consumers never, never buy anything that says artificial or natural flavors. That's where they hide MSG and aspartame or the components of aspartame.

[Gef]

Read the labels.