Is Aspartame Safe?

This week Reactions is using science to let you know if aspartame is safe. This FDA approved consumer safe chemical has people in a tizzy about its safety. It’s been around for decades and it’s probably in your diet soda – for a little while longer anyway. PepsiCo announced recently it was removing the artificial sweetener aspartame from its Diet Pepsi products in the U.S. starting in August. The company cited consumer concerns about the chemical’s safety. So this week, Reactions answers the question, “Is aspartame safe?”

Sources:
1. Cancer & Health Risks - http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame
2. Metabolites of Aspartame - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23553132
3. C&EN What’s that Stuff - http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8225sweeteners.html
4. Toxicology Studies of Aspartame - https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/gmm_rpts/gmm1.pdf
5. Obesity -http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
6. Methanol - http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/question5361.htm
7. Aspartame Sensitivity Myth http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0116212
8. US Gov 2015 Evaluation of Research - http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/14-appendix-E2/e2-41.asp
9. Methanol/Formaldehyde Relationship - http://www.andeal.org/topic.cfm?cat=4089
10. Long Term Study, No Changes - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2802896
11. Metabolism: http://www.cell.com/trends/endocrinology-metabolism/abstract/S1043-2760%2813%2900087-8
12. Microbes and Diabetes - http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13793.html

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Creative Commons music from Jamendo by
Alandra Jones - Strike it up
Pure & Natural - Touch Me

Producer:
Kirk Zamieroski

Writer:
Kirk Zamieroski

Executive Producer:
Adam Dylewski

Scientific consultants:
Scott Thormund
Darcy Gentleman, Ph.D.

Next episode

S02E31 - This Is Your Brain on Music