Aspartame A Diet Delusion Essay Research Paper — страница 2
animals” (specifically bladder cancers). Those believed to be at greatest risk in general are young children, pregnant women, white men who are heavy smokers and nonwhite women. As for the current legal status of saccharin, it is classified by the FDA as a weak co carcinogen, meaning that it may promote (though not necessarily cause) tumors. The saccharin product most widely available in the United States is Sweet’n Low. It is also sold under brand names Equal and the cheaper Natra-Taste now that the original manufacturer?s patent has expired. Calories: 4 per 0.04-ounce (1-gram) packet. Is it possible to gain weight when the label says ?diet? on it? According to recent studies it is. Studies have shown that when their diet is not closely monitored, many people use artificial sweeteners in addition to sugar products and not instead of sugar products. Therefore, an increased use of aspartame will not necessarily alter the sugar-craving feeding behavior of the majority of persons. If they consume a non-sugar, aspartame- containing beverage at one point in the day, they will simply make up for the lack of sugar at some other point in the day. Some studies have shown an increased consumption of sugar due to aspartame (Roberts). In fact, Roberts showed that outside the confines of the highly structured, supervised environment, the subjects he surveyed who choose to use artificial sweeteners actually gained weight. Roberts (1988) showed in his survey of people outside of the laboratory that 5% of the people reported adverse reactions had extreme weight loss when using aspartame and tended towards anorexia. He also noted that 6% of the respondents had an unexplained weight gain which averaged 19 pounds! Common sense dictates that anything in excess usually produces a negative result. The statistics of the quantity of aspartame consumed by the average person is alarming. The replacement of all sweeteners with aspartame has been estimated to yield an intake of 867 mg of aspartame/day, which translates to only 87 mg of methanol. Since diet products with aspartame have few calories and since many people have been conned into believing that they are safe, a significant percentage of people would likely “throw caution to the wind,” by drinking large quantities of diet soft drinks and eating large quantities of other products with aspartame. This is something that they would not be as likely to do with high-calorie, sugar-containing products. The NutraSweet Company has been trying to convince people that persons who ingesting aspartame regularly ingest only 1-3 mg/kg (of body weight)/day of aspartame (Roberts, 1988). This is based on surveys and diaries of consumers. What these surveys do not mention is that aspartame-containing products are often ingested as part of snacks and that people often forget what snacks they’ve eaten. There are many different aspartame toxicity reactions. These reactions run anywhere from mild to very serious illnesses, and are usually misdiagnosed as some other type of illness or disease. Other countries are now being inundated with aspartame, but it will be some time until they begin to feel the full effects of aspartame toxicity on the general population. Since the U.S. has some history of significant use, we will limit the discussion to the frequency of effects in the U.S. There have been well over 7,000 aspartame toxicity reactions officially received by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 1982 (after aspartame was first approved) until 1995. In an epidemiological survey, which appeared in the Journal of Applied Nutrition (Roberts 1988), 551 persons who have reported toxicity effects from aspartame ingestion were surveyed. The adverse effects found cover a subset of reported acute and chronic toxicity effects from aspartame. What follows is a listing of the adverse health effects which were found. # Of people (%) Eye – Decreased vision and/or other eye problems 140 (25%) Pain (or both eyes) 51 (9%) Decreased tears, trouble with contact lens 46 (8%) Blindness (one or both eyes) 14 (3%) Ear – Tinnitus (”ringing,” “buzzing”) 73 (13%) Severe intolerance for noise 47 (9%) Marked impairment of hearing 25 (5%) Neurological – Headaches 249 (45%) Dizziness, unsteadiness, or both 217 (39%) Confusion, memory loss, or both 157 (29%) Severe drowsiness and sleepiness 93 (17%) Paresthesias (”pins and needles,” “tingling”) 82 (15%) numbness of the limbs – Convulsions 80 (15%) Petit mal attacks and “absences” 18 (3%) Severe slurring of speech 64 (12%) Severe tremors 51 (9%) Severe “hyperactivity” and “restless legs” 43 (8%) Atypical facial pain 38 (7%) Psychological-Psychiatric –
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