Why is aspartame bad for kids

However, the Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom states that even in children who are high consumers of aspartame, the maximum intake level of methanol is not reached. They also state that since eating fruits and vegetables is known to enhance health, methanol intake from these sources is not a high priority for research. Alan Gaby, MD, reported in Alternative Medicine Review in that aspartame found in commercial products or heated beverages may be a seizure trigger and should be evaluated in cases of difficult seizure management.

A number of regulatory agencies and health-related organizations have weighed in favorably on aspartame. It found no reason to remove aspartame from the market. The review reported no safety concerns associated with normal or increased intake. At the same time, artificial sweeteners have a long history of controversy.

Lab tests showed that massive doses of these two compounds caused cancer and other disorders in laboratory animals. While aspartame is indeed approved by the FDA, the consumer advocate organization Center for Science in the Public Interest has cited numerous studies that suggest problems with the sweetener, including a study by the Harvard School of Public Health. In , the National Institutes of Health decided saccharin could be removed from the list of cancer-causing substances. Using other sweeteners can help you limit your aspartame intake.

Aspartame is most often labeled as containing phenylalanine. According to the American Cancer Society , aspartame is approximately times sweeter than sugar. So only a very small amount is needed to give food and beverages a sweet flavor. A can of diet soda contains about milligrams of aspartame. A pound kilogram person would have to drink more than 18 cans of soda a day to exceed the FDA daily intake.

People who are taking medications for schizophrenia should also avoid aspartame. People with PKU have too much phenylalanine in their blood. Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found in protein sources such as meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products. If you have this condition, aspartame is highly toxic. Tardive dyskinesia TD is thought to be a side effect of some schizophrenia medications. The phenylalanine in aspartame may precipitate the uncontrolled muscle movements of TD.

Critics suggested there were issues with added intake of phenylalanine based on an early report by Wurtman. Let's put the question of methanol being "toxic to the brain of infants" to rest using facts and numbers: there is 71 mg of methanol in a 8 fl.

Thus aspartame is safer than a banana and nearly 4X safer than tomato juice. Some of the references you provide are seriously flawed. Some of your other references are irrelevant [6] to this issue or are highly debatable [8]. In essence every relevant governmental health authority in the world disagrees with this assessment. Reality is that this matter is dead and over. They made it for a reason! John E. Garst, Ph. Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Nutrition.

While the author tried to write a good article to protect babies and children unfortunately there is more serious information, and some errors. First of all, aspartame in original studies showed neural tube defects - autism, cleft palate and spina bifida. It is a teratogen. You can read the last chapter on aspartame and autism by going to www.

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Family Life. Health Issues. Tips and Tools. Our Mission. Find a Pediatrician. Text Size. Page Content. The FDA sets an acceptable daily intake for approved products people eat or drink, based on body weight. The limit is set above what researchers think would usually be consumed. Choose food products made from these whole foods, with as few artificially produced ingredients as possible.

Let children learn to like the flavors of real foods. Research shows that exposing children to healthful foods, like vegetables, helps them to include them in the diet. Read those labels and avoid artificial sweeteners, as well as added sugars. Nonnutritive or artificial sweeteners are a growing part of U. Nonnutritive sweeteners were introduced into the food supply more than 60 years ago to mimic the taste of sucrose table sugar without adding calories.

Eight nonnutritive sweeteners are approved by the U. These products are to 20, times sweeter than sugar. When nonnutritive sweeteners were first introduced, health concerns focused on a potential risk of cancer, which was not borne out in subsequent research. Health concerns around these products now has shifted. As the obesity epidemic has driven increased use of these products, attention is directed at conflicting evidence over whether nonnutritive sweeteners actually help control weight.

The majority of short-term studies suggest that substituting a nonnutritive sweetener for sugar may reduce weight gain and promote small amounts of weight loss in children, according to the AAP. However, data is limited. There is also research suggesting possible links between nonnutritive sweetener use and weight gain.