Aspartame

Aspartame Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to reduce their use of aspartame. Central Idea: Currently the FDA proclaims that aspartame is safe, but it is the most controversial food additive ever, and many doctors strongly recommend avoiding all aspartame products. Introduction I. I’m thirsty. I think I’ll have a Diet Coke. It tastes good, and it has no calories. Wait, what is in Diet Coke' II. Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame, which is the artificial sweeteners NutraSweet and Equal, used in soft drinks, table sweeteners, and other food products. III. In my own experience drinking diet soda, it seems to make me anxious and hungry, but I believe it affects everyone differently. IV. As I have learned doing this research, the FDA proclaims that aspartame is safe, but it is the most controversial food additive, and many doctors strongly recommend avoiding all aspartame products. Body I. Food standard’s bodies and the FDA are happy to tell consumers that foods containing the chemical aspartame are safe. However, the FDA continues to receive more complaints about aspartame than any other food additive. (Nikolas) II. The soft drinks industry and the diet industry lead the way in using aspartame, so have the most to lose if it is found to be dangerous. It is used instead of sugar in diet sodas and in diet products which proclaim that they are sugar-free. There may be no sugar in a sugar-free ice cream, but it has been replaced by a chemical additive. (Nikolas) III. In the article “Aspartame Warning” on the website 321Recipes, it explained how aspartame is toxic when processed in the body, “The aspartame industry’s main claim is that the three components of aspartame are found in many natural foods and are therefore safe. Methanol, which makes up 10% of aspartame and is highly toxic, is also found in some fruits and vegetables like tomatoes. However, methanol is never found in natural foods without ethanol and pectin, its “antidotes” if you will. Ethanol and pectin prevent methanol from being metabolized into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and formic acid (same chemical as fire ant venom), both deadly toxins. An ethanol drip is even the standard emergency room treatment for methanol poisoning. Aspartame contains no ethanol or pectin, therefore the methanol is converted to formaldehyde and formic acid. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, the other two components of aspartame, are amino acids found in natural foods but always as part of long chains of many different amino acids to form complex protein molecules that take humans 12 hours to gradually break down and assimilate. According to doctors, when consumed by themselves these 2 amino acids require no digestion and quickly enter the brain and central nervous system at abnormally high levels, over stimulating brain cells to death and causing many health problems.” (Aspartame Warning) Some examples of possible health problems from the use of aspartame I have come across are headaches, nausea, hypertension, mood swings, depression, insomnia, and memory loss; and more serious diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, lupus, and cancer. IV. Another point I would like to make is that if you are trying to lose weight, using a sugar substitute such as aspartame, is not the way to go. Dr. Katz, the director of Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, advises against the use of artificial sweeteners saying they are 300 to 1300 times as sweet as sugar. “It is sweet we crave. The more we get, the more we need—with pretty convincing evidence that sweet food is addictive, or nearly so. The result is that while artificial sweeteners take sugar and calories out of a food or drink, they don’t reliably take them out of your diet! Your sweet tooth, grown into a sweet fang, will cause you to prefer sweeter foods and drinks in general, and those calories will sneak back in through side doors.” (Vernoff, Ferguson 88) Conclusion I. I would like to conclude this speech by saying that the current situation is that the FDA proclaims after numerous challenges and safety tests that aspartame is safe. However, it remains the most controversial food additive, and it would be wise to simply not purchase products which contain it as long as there is still controversy. It may well prove to be dangerous after long term studies. Therefore, play it safe and use natural sweeteners such as honey, or accept that there is no need to consume artificially sweetened food in the first place as part of a healthy diet. Putting chemicals into your body in place of food does not optimize your health. (Nikolas) II. Become aware of all unnecessary chemicals hidden in your foods. Be a food detective. Purify your diet as much as possible, and try to enjoy natural eating. Drink more purified water than any other beverage. Cut back on artificial food substitutes. Get back to the basics of eating, and exercise regularly. (Starr Hull) References “Aspartame Warning.” 321Recipes. 19 Nov. 2010 http://www.321recipes.com/aspartame.html Nikolas, Katerina. “How dangerous is food containing aspartame'” Helium. 19 Nov.2010 Starr Hull, Janet. “Dangers of Aspartame Poisoning.” SweetPoison. 19 Nov. 2010 http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-information.html Vernoff, Krista and Az Ferguson. The Game On Diet. New York: HarperCollins, 2009