Aspartame has received more attention in the media about its safety than any other non-nutritive sweetener. In line with our aim to bring the Good Life readers scientifically accurate nutritional information, we fill you in on all you need to know about aspartame.
What is aspartame?
Aspartame is a sweetener approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose. Aspartame enhances and intensifies flavours and has no after taste. The main purpose of artificial sweeteners like aspartame is to provide sweetness to foods and beverages without adding to their energy content.
Aspartame is broken down and absorbed by the body into three components: aspartate, phenylalanine, and methanol. When aspartame is digested, the body handles these components in the same way as when they are found in foods. It is important to remember that the components of aspartame are also derived from common in much larger amounts from common foods.
Aspartate Aspartate is an amino acid. Amino acids are protein building blocks, and utilized by the body to build proteins, promote growth and maintain bodily functions. Aspartic acid is considered to be a non-essential amino acid because it can be synthesized in the body from other amino acids.
Phenylalanine Phenylalanine is one of the 9 essential amino acids meaning that the body cannot make this amino acid and it must be consumed in the diet. A person weighing 60kg and eating a well-balanced, moderate to high protein diet is consuming 50-84mg of phenylalanine per kg of body weight daily.
Methanol Aspartame itself does not contain methanol. A very small amount of methanol (10% by weight) is formed when aspartame is digested. The amount of methanol therefore produced from aspartame is very small and is less than the amounts found naturally in many fruits and vegetables. For example, tomato juice contains six times as much methanol as the same amount of soft drink sweetened with aspartame.
How much energy is in aspartame?
Aspartame provides 4 calories of energy per gram. Because of aspartame’s intense sweetness the amount of energy derived from it is negligible as small amounts are needed to sweeten.
Which food products contain aspartame?
Aspartame is consumed in more than 6 000 products by hundreds of millions of people around the world. Aspartame is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners and can be found in products like Canderel, Equal, Sweetex Natriblend, NutraSweet, Natreen and the Pick and Pay Sweetener, as well as in diet products, diabetic products, and in the slimming market. Products that may contain aspartame include:- breakfast cereals
- soft drinks (carbonated and powdered)
- chewing gum
- confectionery
- dairy products
- desserts and toppings
- frozen desserts
- fruit preserves
- hot chocolate drinks
- jams and spreads
- juices
- micro breath mints
- multivitamins
- pharmaceuticals
- puddings, fillings, jellies
- sweeteners (tablets and powder)
Interestingly, the components of aspartame (aspartate, phenylalanine and methanol) are found in far greater amounts in foods such as meat, milk, fruits, and vegetables, and are used by the body in the same ways as when they are derived from aspartame itself. Aspartate is one of the most common protein building blocks in the diet. For example, compared to the same volume of a beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame:
- A glass of non-fat milk provides about 6 times more phenylalanine
- A glass of non-fat milk provides 13 times more aspartate
- a glass of tomato juice provides about 6 times more methanol
Also,
- A100g piece of chicken provides about 2 600mg of aspartate
- A 355 ml of beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame provides only about 70 mg of aspartate.
What is the acceptable intake of aspartame?
The Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for aspartame has been set by several authority bodies at 0-40mg/kg body weight. This is the amount of aspartame that can be consumed daily over a lifetime at no risk to healthy adults. It is considered that a 60kg adult consuming 2 400 mg aspartame every day for his entire life (the same as 12 cans of diet soft drink) will have no adverse effects.
The results of the research have shown that it is not possible for a human to ingest enough aspartame to be associated with adverse health effects. The components of aspartame (aspartate, phenylalanine, and methanol) are broken down and used by the body for energy and for incorporation into proteins. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid required for normal growth and development and maintenance of life. In addition, the typical diet provides much greater amounts of phenylalanine than provided by aspartame. For example, a serving of fat-free milk provides about six times more phenylalanine than the same volume of beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame.
Who can benefit from using aspartame?
The introduction of aspartame forever changed the quality of the diabetic diet, allowing diabetic to enjoy good-tasting foods and beverages yet still comply to a diabetic diet. In addition, aspartame-containing products have been shown to be useful as part of a weight loss program and in control of body weight in obese individuals.
Who should not use aspartame?
People with the rare genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU) require special diets that are severely restricted in phenylalanine to prevent mental retardation and various degrees of cognitive impairment. For healthy individuals there is no need for dietary restriction of phenylalanine.
Is aspartame safe?
The safety issue of aspartame has been the subject of much debate, and has in fact long ago been resolved by scientific regulatory bodies around the world. It is unfortunate though that unsubstantiated claims with little or no scientific support continue to surface in the media, creating great confusion and fear among consumers and continuing to be fueled by the efforts of anti-aspartame warriors.
The Good Life supports that the concerns about aspartame are unwarranted and backed by no scientific fact. In 2002, a 93 page review on the safety of aspartame concluded that aspartame is perfectly safe for human consumption. “The extensive body of research… clearly and overwhelmingly demonstrates (aspartame’s) safety.”
Source
Aspartame: sweet or bitter? NICUS (Nutrition Information Centre of the University of Stellenbosch)
Butchko HH et al. Aspartame: Review of Safety. 2002. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology; 35, S1–S93.
International Sweeteners Association. www.sweeteners.org.
