Aspartame, a dipeptide composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid linked by a methyl ester bond, is not absorbed, and is completely hydrolysed in the intestine to yield the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents of aspartame suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol so released are dangerous. In particular, they assert that methanol can be converted to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, and thus cause metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity.

Although a 330 ml can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink will yield about 20 mg methanol, an equivalent volume of fruit juice produces 40 mg methanol, and an alcoholic beverage about 60-100 mg. The yield of phenylalanine is about 100 mg for a can of diet soft drink, compared with 300 mg for an egg, 500 mg for a glass of milk, and 900 mg for a large hamburger (1). Thus, the amount of phenylalanine or methanol ingested from consumption of aspartame is trivial, compared with other dietary sources. Clinical studies have shown no evidence of toxic effects and no increase in plasma concentrations of methanol, formic acid, or phenylalanine with daily consumption of 50 mg/kg aspartame (equivalent to 17 cans of diet soft drink daily for a 70 kg adult) (1, 2).

Then I'm sure you'll be delighted to hear that he was funded by Nutrasweet. However, before you go dragging a clinician's credentials through the mud, perhaps you should think about the relative value of medical advice available from 321recipes.com

Read the website I provided, Aaron. Methanol is never found in fruit or fruit juice or tomatoes without Ethanol and Pectin, it's antidotes. Phenylalanine and Aspartic Acid are only found in extremely long chains of amino acids and when taken by themselves, as they are in Aspartame, they are highly deadly neurotoxins that basically yield straight braincell death. You might as well do whippets.

I just read your story about Diet Coke. I had several symptoms of MS
and
Lou Gerigs disease. My doctor asked me to stop drinking diet pop and in
thwo weeks my symptoms were gone! Unreal

Keep up the good work.

You criticize these studies as short-term, but from what I can see, there are no long-term clinical tests cited in any of your materials. So how do we know the effects are cumulative? Because a bunch of people had eye problems and brain tumors and attribute it to aspartame.

Very well, let's stick to the facts. How can drinking formaldehyde, formic acid, phenalylanine and aspartic acid be anything but horrible for you based on just the chemical facts of what I've provided? All of them are poisons. To use an analogy that's been used before, concluding that Methanol is harmless because it's found in tomatoes and Phenalylanine is harmless because 18x the dosage is found in hamburgers is equivalent to saying Carbon Monoxide is harmless to humans because it contains Carbon and Oxygen, just like Carbon Dioxide does. These industry-sponsored tests are extremely specious in what they've chosen to reveal. Clearly, anyone can see that...

No one is saying they are good for you. At levels most people are likely to take they won't do you any damage though.

And that's a really stupid analogy to use.

An aside: the reason methanol metabolism is slowed when ethanol is present is that your body processes them in order - ehtanol first, methanol after. It only delays methanol metabolism. I don't know why that site goes on about this, it really is drawing at straws.

This is also the reason why the old 'Hair of the Dog' hangover remedy makes you feel better. You stop processing the methanol that is usually present in shitty drinks.

I don't even like Diet Coke, and I think we drink to much shit like that anyway.

But I really hate pseudoscientific 'facts' taken as gospel by people who read them on the internet.

A testimonial:



WOW! It takes decades to build up but only 2 weeks to flush!

Well, I'm sold.

Read my questions....why are they omitting so much basic info?

Well, I think MIT holds a little more weight in the scientific community then 321recipes.com

If i was to reference something off a dodgy website like that I'd be kicked out of University.

A testimonial:



WOW! It takes decades to build up but only 2 weeks to flush!

Well, I'm sold.

If you have any idea what MS is then this makes no sense