Aspartame is a ubiquitous sweetener with many scary stories and speculation..

Recently, the European Food Safety Authority EFSA published the results of a study confirming that aspartame, which has been used for three decades, is absolutely harmless to the vast majority of people..

The EFSA states that the tolerable daily intake of aspartame for humans is 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight..

Considering that a can of Diet Coke contains about 180 mg of aspartame, and the average adult weight is 70 kg (154 lb), the conclusion is simple: we can drink 16 cans of the drink in a day without harm..

Moreover, the EFSA states that aspartame only becomes toxic when a person exceeds a dose of 4000 mg/kg/day.. If you translate this into a diet cola, then it turns out to be an unrealistic amount - 1600 cans per day..

However, the exception is people suffering from the rare disease phenictonuria, who must strictly adhere to a diet without the amino acid phenylalanine.. They, in particular, have to carefully avoid this artificial sweetener..

We do not suggest filling your refrigerators with diet drinks.. But a European agency report confirms that diet drinks are still better than their sugary counterparts, even though both options aren't the healthiest things on your table.. Pure water is perhaps the best thirst quencher..

In the winter season, when many people think about how not to gain extra pounds before the beach season, you should at least give up sugary drinks.. By replacing 4 cans of classic Pepsi with the same amount of Diet Pepsi, you can immediately “dump” 600 kcal.

In addition to weight problems, excess sugar consumption can cause many more severe health problems than aspartame..

Where Aspartame's Bad Reputation Comes From?

It appeared as a result of a misunderstanding of chemistry and free interpretations.

First and foremost, this is a simplistic idea that everything “natural” is inherently good, and everything “artificial” is inherently bad.. In practice, this leads to the fact that many of us believe that "

We forget that absolutely everything we drink and eat is chemical substances of different structure and properties, whether it's fruits from a grandmother's garden or synthetic sweeteners..

Aspartame, or E951, has three chemical constituents - phenylalanine, methanol and aspartate.. In addition to sounding unappetizing, each of them individually can be toxic in high doses..

This has led some practitioners, such as Dr. Joseph Mercola, an advocate for alternative medicine, to conclude that "

According to Dr. Mercola and his associates, this substance leads to a whole range of serious diseases, including brain tumors, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, congenital malformations.. None of these claims have been verified by numerous studies..

America's anti-aspartame crusade targeted methanol, which is essentially wood alcohol. This component in high doses is a poison and a carcinogen.. But, as you know, the dose in medicine plays a fundamental role..

Aspartame contains a tiny amount of " It will surprise many that there is more methyl alcohol in a banana than in a can of Diet Coke, but this amount will not cause any short-term or long-term effects..

Hysteria around aspartame has no scientific basis. This rhetoric can be seen as promoting other alternative products. Either way, it distracts from the real problems..

Studies have shown that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increases the likelihood of weight gain and the risk of developing diabetes.. And this is a real threat..

How a Sweet Drink Can Have No Calories?

The fundamental problem with people who choose diet drinks (and other aspartame-laden foods such as yogurt) is that they often get their calories elsewhere.. Scientists call the Big Mac and Diet Coke phenomenon a classic example..

Aspartame, which is about 200 times sweeter than natural sugar, fools our taste buds..

When we eat sweets, the body expects a lot of calories from them.. But sweeteners don't live up to expectations.

This may cause people to seek more food, including sweets.. Many diet drink drinkers, studies show, are also voracious consumers of sweets..

What can we conclude from all this

Aspartame as a chemical substance in normal doses is harmless to a healthy person.. At the same time, it cannot be a panacea for the diseases of an overeating society..

medbe. en.