I need help with writing to ASDA to tell them that I don't think that their 'good for you'

[UCM]

chocolate mousses are particularly good for you. I tasted one recently after buying them (stupidly didn't read the label) and immediately knew there was sweetener in it. Straight away, looked at the label and there it was 'aspartame'.

I don't know if this does anything bad to you. I did grow up with a diabetic Mother who could only have diabetic chocolate with 'sorbitol' in it and when aspartame was introduced, her specialist told her to avoid it as 'it will end in tears', this was nearly 30 years ago.

So before I go all hot tempered and write an essay, can anyone tell me why it's bad. I WAS REALLY surprised to find it in a 'good for you' food.

Well they haven't replied yet. Surprisingly

I agree the majority of Elizabeths post 23:03 post, and the bits I don?t ?agree? with is a result of not having enough info to judge rather than the fact that I disagree IYSWIM (and I have some biology/biochemistry background).

FACT: Aspartame is known to be metabolised to Phenylalanine, aspartate (aka asp artic acid) and methanol
FACT: Phenylalanine is toxic (particularly but not exclusively to people with PKU)
FACT: Aspartate is toxic
FACT: Methanol is toxic via its production of formaldehyde and formate (which is why drinking methylated spirits is fatal)
The above can all be verified by the scientific literature.

What is argued is whether aspartame can release the above in levels which are sufficiently toxic to be of concern.

They are probably fine if you have the odd pudding with a little bit in and you are perfectly healthy. They are probably fine if you have 1 fruitshoot occasionally. But with the promotion of fruitshoots and diet drinks so heavily it is conceivable that some members of the population are taking on board very high levels of the stuff. It is also very conceivable that some people may be more susceptible to its effects. Given the choice sugar loaded products would be more personal choice over artificial (doesn?t the word artificial say it all?) sweeteners any day - both for taste and health reasons.

Oh and if you google ?Donald Rumsfeld? and aspartame you will find out what some people believe about how it got FDA approval for use in food.

Sophable and JellyJelly you can still get 'non sugar free calpol'. But BTH it doesn't have aspartate in - it has sorbitol (I think) and when giving 10ml the maount of artificial sweetener really is very minimal (when compared to a fruit shoot or the like).

PrettyCandles - without doing any research (and I don't know the validity of the US murder story)

I am guuessing that much more methanol, formaldehyde and formate is produced from teh bottles stored in a warm garage etc as they are sitting around in the heat for days or weeks.

The aspartame is only in the body for a few hours and some of it will probably be excreted without modification. Some of it will be excreted as methanol before it gets converted to the more toxic formaldehyde and formate.

Some one lower down the thread asked whether chocolate mousse can ever be good for you. My dh says it is good for your smile muscles.

Aspartame plus another unknown additive that I haven't tracked down yet triggers asthma attacks in me.

Plus it tastes vile...

So if you drink enough sugar-free drinks you can light your own farts!

Sorry

My daughter is only 9mo so not onto any of this kind of food yet but am I right to think that, when she's older and is allowed anything other than organic whatnots made by me, she would be better off having normal squash than sugar-free squash?

I never buy aspartame stuff as it tastes foul but I notice it in things like Robinson's Barley Water and I wonder if, if you are going to give squash, kids wouldn't be better with normal squash (assuming proper teeth cleaning etc)? Am I wrong?

UCM - I felt exactly the way about sweeteners as you do up until very recently - I avoided them like the plague.

Unfortunately my DS3(16 yrs) was diagnosed with insulin dependant diabetes 5 months ago and he can no longer have foods that contain certain amounts of sugar.

The advice for diabetics had xhanged over the years and one of the amjor ones is to avoid large quantities of foods with sorbitol in it as they cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea (DS discovered this after eating too many sugar free sweets in his first week of diagnosis).

'Diabetic foods' are to be avoided at all costs - they are a marketing con and unnecessary.

Diabetics should follow a healthy eating paln just like everyone else. If DS wants some chocolate then he can have a small amount after a meal and adjust his insulin accordingly.

I expressed my concerns about asparteme to the dietician in DS's care team. She reassured me that the health issues associated with asparteme are associated with very large quantities consumed - no where near the amounts that DS would be taking.

I just wanted to let you know that advice to diabetics has changed drastically over the years and asparteme is an accepted part of a sugar free diet.

My DS3 cannot copmpletely avoid sugar, but for him, he likes juice to drink- does not have any fillings - and we have to use sugar free drinks as he adjusts his diet. Unfortunately sugar could shorten his life so we have little choice.

blimey

I berate our local pharmacy for stocking sugar free calpol
It is outrageous that this is even offered. As it the quantity of sugar in normal calpol is going to be a problem given that it is administered so rarely

I suppose they wouldn't make any money from labelling fruit, veg, cheese and fish as 'good for you' would they. More of a mark up on making crap ingredients into crap food

mears - I think that sugar isn't really such a harmless substance as so many people think it is. And not just for diabetics. Our western modern diet is so high in sugar and processed carbs - and we wonder why people are getting fatter.

Just found this thread - was searching for info/opinions on sugar v artificial sweeterners.

I have read and accept that artificial sweeteners are a chemical to be avoided in large quantities. To be honest, no one in our family likes the taste so we avoid any foods labelled as 'suger free', 'low sugar' etc.

However, I accept that sugar is bad for us. It is fattening. But I remember reading / hearing somewhere that there is another problem with sugar. Something to do with the processing? Can anyone shed any light on this? I will google this myself, but am not of sound enough mind (too much sugar ) to make sense of the scientific jargon.

Thanks in advance.

To Rubeusduck - I remember reading years ago now that asthmatics should avoid anything that says 'contains phenylalanine' as it might trigger an attack. I stopped using it there and then.

I think the reason they make sugar-free Calpol is because it's so thick and gloopy it sticks to their teeth, and when you are feverish your mouth is drier than normal so it's not going to be washed away with saliva.

I was always fanatical about not buying artifically sweetened foods & drinks when my kids were small but I was still happy to give them sugar-free Calpol.

(The sweetener used is sorbitol, not aspartame; it does have potential side-effects but is not toxic.)