Your Questions Answered
What Is Apartame?
Aspartame (L-alpha-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester) is a low-calorie sweetener used to sweeten a wide variety of low calorie foods and reduced calorie foods and beverages, including low-calorie tabletop sweeteners. Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, as the methyl ester. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are also found naturally in protein containing foods, including meats, grains and dairy products. Methyl esters are also found naturally in many foods such as fruits and vegetable and their juices.
What types of products contain aspartame?
Aspartame is found in about 6000 products around the world, including carbonated soft drinks, powdered soft drinks, chewing gum, confections, gelatins, dessert mixes, puddings and fillings, frozen desserts, yogurt, tabletop sweeteners, and some pharmaceuticals such as vitamins and sugar-free cough drops. In the United States, all food ingredients, including aspartame, must be indicated in the statement of ingredients in the food label.
Can aspartame be used in cooking or baking?
Yes. Several tabletop sweeteners containing aspartame as the sweetening ingredient can be used in a wide variety of recipes. However, in some recipes requiring lengthy heating or baking, a loss of sweetness may occur; this is not a safety issue — simply the product may not be as sweet as desired. Therefore, it is best to use tabletop sweeteners with aspartame in specially designed recipes available from the manufacturers of these tabletop sweeteners. Aspartame tabletop sweeteners may also be added to some recipes at the end of heating to maintain sweetness.
What is the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of aspartame?
The ADI, expressed on a mg/kg body weight/day basis, is a very conservative estimate of the amount of a sweetener that can safely be consumed on a daily basis over a person’s lifetime. The FDA has set the ADI for aspartame at 50 mg/kg of body weight/day. The ADI for aspartame is the equivalent of a 70 kg (154 lb.) person consuming about 20 cans of aspartame-sweetened beverage or about 100 sachets of tabletop sweetener with aspartame per day.
| Product Containing Aspartame | Aspartame (mg) | Approximate daily servings to reach the ADI (Adults 160 lb) |
Approximate daily servings to reach the ADI (Children 50 lb) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diet Soft Drink (237 ml) | 192 | 17 | 6 |
| Gelatin (113 g) |
81 | 42 | 14 |
| Tabletop Sweetener (Packet) | 35 | 97 | 32 |
How is aspartame handled in the body?
Upon digestion, aspartame breaks down into three components (aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol), which are then absorbed into the blood and used in normal body processes. Neither aspartame nor its components accumulate in the body. These components are used in the body in the same ways as when they are derived from common foods. Further, the amounts of these components from aspartame are small compared to the amounts from other food sources. For example, a serving of nonfat milk provides about 6 times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame. Likewise, a serving of tomato juice provides about 6 times more methanol compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage with aspartame
What is methanol and is it a problem in consuming aspartame?
Methanol is a natural and harmless breakdown product of many commonly consumed foods. The methanol produced during the digestion of aspartame is identical to that which is provided in much larger amounts from many fruits, vegetables and their juices and is part of the normal diet. In fact, a glass of tomato juice provides about 6 times as much methanol as an equivalent amount of diet beverage sweetened with aspartame. Regardless of the source, after methanol is formed it is further broken down through normal body processes. Numerous scientific studies have shown that the amount of methanol one could consume from aspartame-containing foods and beverages could not reach harmful levels.
How much aspartame are children consuming?
Because of their smaller size, children consume proportionately larger amounts of all food ingredients than do adults in relation to their body weight. The 90th percentile aspartame consumption by children between the ages of two and five is only about 10% of the ADI. Children need calories to achieve proper growth and development, and parents should supervise their children’s diet to avoid dietary excesses or nutritional deficiencies.
How is aspartame handled in the body?
Upon digestion, aspartame breaks down into three components (aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol), which are then absorbed into the blood and used in normal body processes. Neither aspartame nor its components accumulate in the body. These components are used in the body in the same ways as when they are derived from common foods. Further, the amounts of these components from aspartame are small compared to the amounts from other food sources. For example, a serving of nonfat milk provides about 6 times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage sweetened 100% with aspartame. Likewise, a serving of tomato juice provides about 6 times more methanol compared to an equivalent amount of diet beverage with aspartame
Is there any relationship between aspartame and cancer or brain tumors?
No. Aspartame does not cause cancer according to the American Cancer Society, the FDA and the National Cancer Institute. Before the 1981 FDA approval of aspartame, it was extensively evaluated in four long-term and lifetime studies in rodents which received enormous doses of aspartame, equal to the amount of aspartame in more than 1,000 cans of diet soft drink daily over a lifetime. There was no increase in brain tumors or any other type of cancer. When aspartame is digested, the body breaks it down into its components, aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol, which are consumed in much greater amounts in common foods, such as milk, meat, dried beans, fruits and vegetables. The body handles the components from aspartame in the same way it handles them when derived from other foods. Aspartame does not enter the bloodstream and therefore cannot travel to essential organs including the brain. Thus, there is no physiological reason why aspartame could cause cancer.
Does aspartame affect blood sugar control in people with diabetes?
No. Research shows that aspartame does not affect short-term or long-term blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association states “Aspartame has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, a governmental agency that conducts thorough scientific review to determine foods that are safe for public consumption. (We) follow FDA recommendations and recognize there is no credible scientific evidence linking aspartame to any health-related problems for people with diabetes.”
What is phenylketonuria (PKU) and why is there a statement regarding PKU on products sweetened with aspartame?
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is a rare inherited disease that prevents the essential amino acid phenylalanine from being properly metabolized. (An essential amino acid is required for normal growth, development, and body functioning and must be obtained from the diet, as the body cannot make it.) Because those with PKU cannot metabolize phenylalanine, it can accumulate in the body and cause health problems including mental retardation. In the U.S. and many other countries, routine screening for PKU is required for all newborns. In the U.S., about 1 in 15,000 babies is born with PKU. People with PKU are placed on a special diet with a severe restriction of phenylalanine from birth to adolescence or after. Women with PKU must remain on the special diet throughout pregnancy. Since individuals with PKU must consider aspartame as an additional source of phenylalanine, aspartame-containing foods must state “Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine” in the U.S.
Can aspartame help people lose weight?
Yes. Studies have shown that foods and beverages sweetened with aspartame can be an effective “tool” as part of a weight management program. Aspartame, however, is not a drug and does not stimulate weight loss. It does help make possible good tasting low- or reduced-calorie foods and beverages for those who wish to control or decrease their caloric intake. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have concluded that aspartame “is a valuable adjunct to a comprehensive program of balanced diet, exercise and behavior modifications for losing weight."