Nutra-Sweet usage

[emilycat]

What's your take on Nutra Sweet(aspartame)? I use it quite a bit; I eat light Yoplait, I use it in my tea and in my oatmeal. Do you know of any recent research about its health effects? I used to hear rumors about short term memory loss, but I'm just not sure. Any ideas?

[Star]

I heard that new results show it doesn't cause cancer!! Yeah hoo! Keep it sweet baby!

[Christine]

I've read that some people have intolerances to it, and in very large amounts, it can be harmful.

[SusanD]

I've heard mixed things about aspartame. I used to drink Crystal Light like it was going out of style, but cut it out completely when I found out I was pregnant. You can never be too careful, and personally I don't think it's been out long enough for anyone to know what kind of long-term effects it can have.

[lindrusso]

This topic came up on the Great Food board a while back and I had a rather long-winded reply - so I'll send you back to that thread to look it over - as well as the opinions of others who joined in the discussion...
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20000807-1-000650.html

[karen w]

Nutrasweet is a protein made from 2 different amino acids that are found naturally in our bodies. Some people (phenylketonurics or PKU) lack the enzyme necessary to digest one of the amino acids in nutrasweet-phenylalanine. These people must avoid any foods with phenylalanine or build up of this protein in the bloodstream can lead to mental retardation. In this country all infants are tested for phenylketonuria which is an inherited disorder. That is the heel ***** test your baby gets in the hospital right after he/she is born. So as long as you don't have this disease you should be safe to have your cake(or nutrasweet!) and eat it too. As a matter of fact it is also safe during pregnancy and nursing. But of course, the bottom line with any foods etc... should be..."in moderation"

[karen w]

Nutrasweet is a protein made from 2 different amino acids that are found naturally in our bodies. Some people (phenylketonurics or PKU) lack the enzyme necessary to digest one of the amino acids in nutrasweet-phenylalanine. These people must avoid any foods with phenylalanine or build up of this protein in the bloodstream can lead to mental retardation. In this country all infants are tested for phenylketonuria which is an inherited disorder. That is the heel stick test your baby gets in the hospital right after he/she is born. So as long as you don't have this disease you should be safe to have your cake(or nutrasweet!) and eat it too. As a matter of fact it is also safe during pregnancy and nursing. But of course, the bottom line with any foods etc... should be..."in moderation"

Sorry for posting this twice but the bulletin board put ***** in place of the word I originally chose(P_R_I_C_K) above for the heel test. This board must have a dirty word editor!
Karen

[emilycat]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses...one more question, though. What, exactly, should one consider moderation, in terms of consumption? I probably have 1 light yogurt and 1-2 packets of Equal each day. Is that okay?

[BevP]

I like nutrasweet and use it in coffee and such. But remember, you can't bake with it. The heat breaks down the chemistry or someting.

I would consider moderate to be 2-3 packets a day at most. Preferably 1-2.

[NotchJohnson]

Now I dont know about all the research but I use it like its going out of style. I also drink my weight in Diet Coke. I do drink tons of water. I am healthy, and I think I look good. Dont worry about it.