aspartame, nutra sweet, anyone have side effects?

[faster100]

Just a general question not a debate... This additive is in diet soda and sugar free products... Ive been having some health issues unexplained.. head pain, ear pain, now i see what's called floaters in my eyes.. and i consume large amounts of diet coke,pepsi daily for the last year.. so we are checking into it as a last resort.. Just wondered if you have heard/read of anything... internet is full of bad stuff about it.. but you know how that is.. stories, or info is great appreciated...

[Mike682]

aspartame is an altered version of the amino acid called aspartic acid (spelling??) The only thing I am aware of is the warning label about PKU (i'm not going to try and spell this one) in that some people can't digest this amino acid. I think this reaction is immediate though..

I'm nor sure about the other sweeteners

[CrBoy]

I have heard a bunch of bad things about aspartame... I even heard you can get brain cancer if you use it for a long period of time... I have no back up for this, just things I heard/read...

[bobman1235]

For the most part they've all been tested to be harmless. Aspartame has been around for decades now, and there is no conclusive proof that it does anything bad. For a while people thought it caused cancer, but that's been... well, not disproven, but ther is no real evidence of it.

Maybe it's just the caffeine? Try drinking water (or at least switch to caffeine free beverages) for a few weeks instead, see what happens.

Just call me Jstas, but here's a snopes link about it : Link (http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp)

[Spawndn72]

My mother was having problems with her ears(constant ringing). The doctor told her to cut out all caffiene. That was 3 years ago. She has had zero ringing in her ears and on top of that has not had a single headache either. She used to get headaches at least 3-4 times a week.

[pmlewis]

My wife had similair problems in when she was in law school. Doctors pretty much attributed it to stress. The eye doctor said floaters are normal and she was just noticing them more because she was looking for and explination of the headaches. She did cut back on caffine (diet coke). It went away after finals.

I'd try cutting out soda and any heavily processed foods for while, eat as many fresh foods as you can and try to relax. I'm not sure if it will help, but it can't hurt.

[faster100]

Thanks guys,

I also have ringing in my ears but it was from gun exposure 6 years ago.. however lately its been worse. I was tested (ekg) to have irregular heart beat but that can be normal, or not.. CT scan showed nothing apparent,.
The snopes thing busted the myth that it causes cancer/tumors i think.. not that it can cause headaches, and MS type symptoms, vison issues and such.. But its 50/50 of the pro/cons from diferent sources...

keep em coming..

[madmax]

I've always stayed away from artificial sweetners when possible. Also stopped drinking multiple sodas and coffee all the time. It's good to stay away from too much of anything.
madmax

[mhardy6647]

Aspartame is a dipeptide containing the amino acids aspartic acid (as methyl ester) and phenylalanine. The latter is why there's a PKU warning: phenylketonuria is a genetic disease, and people with PKU have to avoid phenylalanine in their diets (at least, prior to adulthood). Aspartame was originally developed by G.D. Searle & Co., who spun off The Nutrasweet Corporation (Company?), but now I believe it's off-patent and produced generically.

Early scare-stories involved the minutes amounts of methanol that are liberated by decompositon of the methyl ester (e.g., by the phosphoric acid in diet soda) but there are plenty of other things we eat that contain methyl esters. Searle/Nutrasweet published a number of white papers on the safety of Nutrasweet (aspartame). Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are both naturally occuring amino acids and not dangerous per se. Extremely high doses of phenylalanine, a precursor to several neurotransmitter molecules, is probably best avoided (but extremely high doses of ANYTHING are best avoided!). Personally, I'd worry more about the phosphoric acid and caffeine in diet sodas than the aspartame. BTW, I drink a mess of this stuff, myself :-(

Caffeine can have weird effects on heartbeat and blood pressure. IME, though, it CURES more headaches (caffeine deprivation) than it causes, though.

Floaters are common and generally without consequence EXCEPT a sudden, dramatic increase in floaters may indicate retinal damage (a torn or detached retina). Us nearsighted folks have higher-than-average numbers of floaters all the time.

Easy enough to give up aspartame-sweetened products and see if it helps!

[faster100]

YUP, that's what i did starting today... dumped out the 2 liters and bought a few cases of water.. gonna stay away from it

[Sami]

I was tested (ekg) to have irregular heart beat but that can be normal, or not..
Probably more about caffeine related than aspartame. Try splenda products if your soda/caffeine addiction is too strong.

[Sami]

Caffeine can have weird effects on heartbeat and blood pressure. IME, though, it CURES more headaches (caffeine deprivation) than it causes, though.
But isn't that a cause of the caffeine addiction in the first place? :)

[mhardy6647]

but isn't that a cause of the caffeine addiction in the first place?
Not sure it's a cause, but it's definitely a symptom! :-(

[Sami]

Not sure it's a cause, but it's definitely a symptom! :-(
Yep, it's caused by the addiction. Caused and a cause? :D

[Spawndn72]

If you cut out caffiene completely, you WILL have headaches until your body adjust to not having it. I tried it years ago and only lasted about 2 weeks. It was horrible.

[PolkThug]

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp

[jdhdiggs]

My guess is you're getting dehydrated... Saw some studies a while ago showing how dehydrated Americans are in general do to the amount of caffeine they drink. I'll start getting headaches when I drink too much caffeine, but I feel great all day if I just pound water. Try drinking a half gallon + of water a day and cut out the caffeine for a week- See if you feel any better.

[faster100]

I plan to cut out the caffeine, and got lots o water to drink.. see what happens

[Mike682]

I plan to cut out the caffeine, and got lots o water to drink.. see what happens

Keep aspirin (watch out for pain meds with caffeine, excedrin has some aspirins with/without caffeine, check the box) handy for the first week as you will most likely get a headache. The headache usually starts around 18-24hr after you stop taking caffeine. Caffeine withdrawal headaches can be intense

[madmax]

I plan to cut out the caffeine, and got lots o water to drink.. see what happens

Don't "plan" to. Do it. :D

madmax