Aspartame??

[charlady]

What is it, please, and (why) should it be avoided?

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Although I think it might be called something else entirely now: 'nutri-healthy' or something.

When I was at uni many moons ago i read a paper demonstrating that it caused dementia in rats.

I hope the rats are cutting down on the fruitshoots now then

it hit a nerve at the time because i had 2 pet rats who i used to feed leftovers from me and 3 other students eating all kinds of unholy Kwik-Save crap.

had visions of them wandering round the cage not knowing what they had set off for .

It is grim stuff: it tastes revolting, is carcinogenic, and (paradoxically for a product that is associated with dieting) actually slows weight-loss.

Thanks. So, for drinks and especially for children, is it better to have 'full fat' squash or fruit juice or the no added suger sort? I ask because DS gets a sore bum with juice no matter how diluted. He's 2.3 and drinks water a lot of the time, but does like juice/squash with meals or as a treat.

That said, couldn't swear to what DH, GPs etc do behind my back... :)

I'd thought that no added suger might be better for his teeth, but then realised that all these drinks contained aspartame. I knew this was a big no-no for some people, but didn't know why.

Does anyone know whether the studies/reports mentioned in the articles referred to relate to the (presumably) relatively small amounts found in dilute squash, or the larger amounts you'd get with a 10 diet drinks/sweetener tablets a day sort of habit?

I personally would not give it to my child. You will have to read the reports to decide for yourself.

Aspartame isn't just in alot of squash either. It's also in alot of yoghurts so be very careful when selecting stuff like that!

I personally buy the 50% fruit juice types of squash as they typically do not contain aspartame and I have noticed that alot of supermarket own brand yoghurts also do not contain aspartame. Having said that, always read the label!

Aspartame is one of the most researched food additives ever and has been found safe for human consumption by the European Food Standards Agency and the FDA in the US among many others.

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Much like Parabens - the other boogey man additive of our time - it seems that manufacturers have been removing it from their products for marketing rather than any evidence it has harmful effects.

agree with Tondelay - people get a bit hysterical over something that has been tested so very rigorously and always comes through as being safe for humans. The only problems you're likely to get is the er... laxative effect of having too much artificial sweetener, but that's not likely with just a bit of diluted squash. Those studies refer to feeding rats or other lab testing animals HUGE amounts of aspartame - I mean, the equivalent of drinking hundreds of litres of squash or diet coke EVERY DAY - until something goes wrong. And the result is always the same, that you have to seriously OD on the stuff before there is any effect. Not saying it's good, but I don't believe it is harmful.

I was getting horrible red boil type things and the only thing that i put it down to was those "healthy herbal sweets' that had aspartame in them. I stopped eating them and no more boils!

i think it causes my dd's asthma to be worse. if she has anything with aspartame in it, she gets wheezy. Her doc says it can't be so but i have seen this evidenced in asthma society info. so we steer clear of it now.