Link between Aspartame and Obesity?

[catbirdseat]

Anyone can go do an internet search of the two words "aspartame obesity" and come up with a large number of articles that purport that aspartame and related compounds, like monosodium glutamate, cause obesity because they are "excitotoxins", that is, they either kill brain cells or interfere with the appetite supression activity of serotonin in the brain.

 

Now my impression is that that the doses people are getting are low enough that toxic levels are not being achieved. On the other hand, I decided long ago, not to take any risk and avoid these sorts of products to the extent that I can.

 

I am curious as to what some of the voracious internet readers like Dru think about the whole issue.

[Dru]

Aspartame makes me feel ill when I consume products with it. I don't mind MSG though.

 

I have no idea about obesity but I heard that it can cause epilepsy or something like that.

[Dru]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

[archenemy]

I heard somewhere that b/c your body responds to fake sugars the same way it responds to real sugars (releasing insulin, etc) that it messes with your metabolism and screws stuff up. I am sure someone in the medical field can say something more scientific-like about/against this...

[catbirdseat]

Interesting reading but it doesn't put any of my concerns to rest. It all depends on scientific disagreement with regard to how susceptible humans are to excitotoxins relative to rodents, something that my never be resolved.

[tomtom]

Aspartame gives me a headache.

[archenemy]

Interesting reading but it doesn't put any of my concerns to rest.

Oh, sorry. Didn't realize that was my goal. In that case, kindly pretend I did't make that lame post.

[klenke]

All I know is I like Sweet 'n Low better than Equal better than Splenda.

[knotzen]

Oh, sorry. Didn't realize that was my goal.

 

Lunch isn't for another 13 minutes. Stay focused!!

[jon]

http://www.aspartame.com/lydon.htm

 

Dieting Without Aspartame?

 

In a cruel and ironic twist, aspartame may actually cause weight gain. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, found in aspartame, stimulate the release of insulin. Rapid, strong spikes in insulin remove all glucose from the blood-stream and store it as fat. This can result in hypoglycemia and sugar cravings. Additionally, it has been demonstrated to inhibit carbohydrate induced synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which signals that the body is satiated. Inhibition of serotonin leads to food cravings, increased carbohydrate consumption and, ultimately, weight gain. In a recent study, a control group switching to an aspartame-free diet resulted in an average weight loss of 19 pounds.

[minx]

i find it a little disturbing that the FDA will allow the use of splenda (sucrolose) in food products but won't allow it to be used as one of the inactive ingredients for pharmaceuticals

[EWolfe]

http://www.aspartame.com/lydon.htm

 

Dieting Without Aspartame?

 

In a cruel and ironic twist, aspartame may actually cause weight gain. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, found in aspartame, stimulate the release of insulin. Rapid, strong spikes in insulin remove all glucose from the blood-stream and store it as fat. This can result in hypoglycemia and sugar cravings. Additionally, it has been demonstrated to inhibit carbohydrate induced synthesis of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which signals that the body is satiated. Inhibition of serotonin leads to food cravings, increased carbohydrate consumption and, ultimately, weight gain. In a recent study, a control group switching to an aspartame-free diet resulted in an average weight loss of 19 pounds.

 

AsparLame.

[jordop]

I'm still pissed that Canada didn't allow Olestra on the market. I wanted to see that anal leakage stuff happen to people on the street like some bad party trick

[Dru]

You just wanted an Olestra-laced Hot Carl.

[Stefan]

I cannot run away from High Fructose Corn Syrup. That stuff is in everything. At least it is a vegetable.

[E-rock]

Interesting reading but it doesn't put any of my concerns to rest.

Oh, sorry. Didn't realize that was my goal. In that case, kindly pretend I did't make that lame post.

 

No need to get all sensitive and stuff. Catbox was responding to Drul.

[E-rock]

I cannot run away from High Fructose Corn Syrup. That stuff is in everything. At least it is a vegetable.

 

I feel your pain brutha, I hates that shit too. I read the ingredients on everything packaged that i buy, and it's so hard to avoid either HFCS or MSG that I wind up making things like vegetable stock from scratch.

[E-rock]

From wikepedia:

 

Some believe that the approval of aspartame was influenced by conflict of interest. Donald Rumsfeld, a friend and political ally of Ronald Reagan, was chairman of Searle at the time when Reagan appointed defense department contractor Arthur Hull Hayes, the FDA commissioner who eventually approved aspartame. Hayes left the FDA in 1983 under fire for accepting corporate gifts and joined Searle's public relations firm as senior medical advisor.

 

Chronyism is so pervasive it affects what we eat.

[Dechristo]

...makes sense if the part in your ass is tame.

[knotzen]

...makes sense if the part in your ass is tame.

[Stonehead]

Not bad. Took about 17 replies to go from aspartame to politics. I'm surprised no one said anything about sex. Or did they?

[archenemy]

I think we should discuss aspertame's impact on bolting. Obviously, people who eat aspertamie get fat and thus need to bolt more climbs. Or they start bouldering and insist that its climbing. And they are republicans.

[Dechristo]

or they just rove around

[catbirdseat]

I cannot run away from High Fructose Corn Syrup. That stuff is in everything. At least it is a vegetable.

 

I feel your pain brutha, I hates that shit too. I read the ingredients on everything packaged that i buy, and it's so hard to avoid either HFCS or MSG that I wind up making things like vegetable stock from scratch.

Try avoiding hydrogenated vegetable oil in any prepackaged food. Trans-fatty acids are all pervasive.

[Alpinfox]

Yeah, there is a link between obesity and aspartame. Here it is.

 

Aspartame is in diet foods. Only obese people eat diet foods.

 

"Yeah, I'll have two big macs, a large fry, and a diet coke please".

 

Viola.

 

 

Pretty much all of these nutrition-to-phenotype studies are bunk.