Study Underway On Whether Aspartame Affects Sensitive People
Featured ArticleMain Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Endocrinology
Article Date: 26 Sep 2009 - 11:00 PDT
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Aspartame is 150 times sweeter than sugar and is found in thousands of products, including sodas (fizzy drinks), yogurts, chewing gum, cereal bars and diet foods. The University of Hull, England, has been commissioned by The Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK, to assess whether aspartame causes symptoms in individuals who feel they are sensitive to it.
Competent British and European agencies say that aspartame is safe to consume. However, some individuals say they are sensitive to it and experience headaches, diarrhea, fatigue, vomiting and nausea. The FSA has therefore decided to commission researchers at the University of Hull to assess the alleged symptoms.
The study, which will take place at various locations in the UK, will be led by Professor Stephen Atkin* at the University of Hull, along with colleagues from Hull York Medical School and Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.
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* Prof. Stephen Atkin - BSc (Newcastle, UK); MB (Newcastle, UK); PhD (Liverpool); MRCP Professor of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism. (MRCP = Member of the Royal College of Physicians)
The aim is for this study to help in the design of a wider international study, which will provide the data required to inform governments and the EU (European Union) on whether there is a link between symptoms and the consumption of aspartame.
"The study will address consumer concerns, including anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame. The Agency's view remains that aspartame can be consumed safely and we are not recommending any changes to its current use. However, we know that some people consider that they react badly to consuming this sweetener so we think it is important to increase our knowledge about what is happening," said Andrew Wadge, Chief Scientist at the Food Standards Agency.
The study is expected to last 18 months. Its results will be published as a report and given to the Food Standards Agency.
Source: The University of Hull
Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (3)
Aspartame And Type 1 Diabetes
posted by Gina on 7 Nov 2009 at 11:23 pmMy daughter with type 1 diabetes had a diet soft drink last week and ended up in intensive care with severe metabolic acidosis and extremely high blood sugars. She almost died. She stops aspartame and makes a full recovery, reintroduces it and goes into metabolic acidosis. She has had 60+ admissions to hospital, quite a few of them being aspartame related. She has not been able to go to school or work. In the past she has had seizures, missed periods, enlarged liver, hair loss, blacking out, vomiting, acidosis, not remembering anything, loss of diabetic control, mood changes, heart palpitations, heavy breathing, calcifications in the brain, abscesses, 3 operations to remove them, all related to aspartame. This has gone on for over 3 years. She now reacts to most medications. We all switched to diet products 17 years ago when my son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I had unexplained vision loss over a period of 2 weeks. If it had not been for a nurse who told us the diet drinks caused all those problems, my daughter would have died a long time ago. I suspected something was not quite right with diet drinks before those problems manifested. Every time she would have a diet drink her blood sugars would go high. This does not happen with normal sugar. Neurosurgeon advised my daughter not to take the contraceptive pill because it contains artificial sweetners. I have also had 2 parents email me telling me that their daughters have seizures when they have diet drinks and these girls are not diabetic. It has been a struggle trying to convince some doctors that aspartame is the culprit.
Aspartame and Graves Disease
posted by Marilyn Anthony on 27 Oct 2010 at 2:58 pmAfter being on 10 mg of methimazole three times a day for four weeks, I decided to go to the book store to find a book on Graves and see if their was anything in my diet I could change. I was shocked to learn that it mentioned aspartame as a possible link. I stopped all aspartame right away. One week after being off aspartame, I started having a bad reaction to the methimazole; blurred vision and heart started racing. I started backing off the medicine and two weeks ago completely stopped the methimazole. I've been off aspartame now for 31 days now, my Graves Disease symptoms have disappeared and my FT4 level is down to 1.41. I'm convinced that aspartame was what triggered the hyperthyroidism.
Problems with Aspartame
posted by D Nelson on 22 Aug 2011 at 9:16 amI used to drink a 6 pack of diet coke a day. I started developing strange health problems. Coughing episodes, chest pains, severe body rashes, gout like symptoms, swelling of my lips, etc. Tried many things including steroid shots and no relief. A friend suggested it might be the diet soda. I stopped drinking it and within a month all symptoms went away. A few years later tried drinking just one a day and they came back. I sopped again and the symptoms went away and have not come back. My siblings have had similar issues. I am learning the more "man made" the food or additive the more likely or bodies have problems with it.
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