Aspartame, or NutraSweet, is an artificial sweetener that is 160 to 220 times sweeter than common table sugar, according to the American Dietetic Association. It is one of the most commonly used artificial sweeteners in the U.S., and also one of the most frequently tested for safety. Rumors about aspartame's safety were rampant in the 1980s and 1990s, but little scientific research backs the suggestion that you can become poisoned from consuming aspartame.
Origin
Critics of aspartame have made claims of the compound's dangers since the FDA approved it for limited use in 1981. Criticisms continued to grow after aspartame was approved as a general purpose sweetener in 1996. In 1999, an Internet hoax began circulating describing the many toxic effects associated with aspartame consumption. Within the letter, purported author Nancy Markle says aspartame is poisonous and can lead to systemic lupus, multiple sclerosis symptoms, fibromyalgia symptoms and birth defects.
Methanol
Many of Markle's claims about aspartame poisoning originate from the notion that methanol produced in the breakdown of aspartame in the body leads to the creation of formaldehyde, a toxic substance. Bernadene Magnuson and Mark Kantor with the University of Maryland Nutrition and Food Science department say it is true aspartame breaks down into two amino acids and a small amount of methanol in your body. However, methanol is present in many other foods, and rather than forming harmful formaldehyde, your body naturally breaks methanol down into water and carbon dioxide that you safely excrete.
Phenylalanine
One of the amino acids that makes up aspartame is phenylalanine. While this amino acid is safe for a large majority of people to consume, a small number of people with the metabolic disorder phenylketonuria, or PKU, might be at risk from consuming too much aspartame. People with PKU lack an enzyme that breaks down phenylalanine, leading to a buildup of the amino acid in the bloodstream when you consume too much aspartame. Excessive phenylalanine can lead to irreversible mental retardation. This is one of the few serious side effects associated with aspartame consumption. If you have PKU, you should speak to your physician before consuming any products containing aspartame.
Acceptable Daily Intake
The FDA and Joint Expert Committee of Food Additions of the United Nations set the acceptable daily intake, or ADI, amounts for sweeteners such as aspartame. For aspartame, this amount is 23 mg per pound of body weight, which is equivalent to around 20 cans of diet soda, or 97 packets of aspartame sweetener, for an average adult. The average adult aspartame eater only consumes around six percent of the ADI and children, the largest group of aspartame consumers, only eat around 10.4 percent of the ADI, making adverse effects from aspartame consumption highly unlikely.
References
- University of Hawaii; "Falsifications and Facts about Aspartame"; Aurora Saulo Hodgson; August 2001
- University of Maryland; "The Truth about Aspartame"; Bernadene Magnuson and Mark Kantor; 2008
- University of Maryland Medical Center; "Phenylalanine"; Steven Ehrlich
- American Dietetic Association; "Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners"; Valerie Duffy et al
- Wayne State University: What Everyone Needs to Know About Aspartame
