What exactly is it that's wrong with aspartamine etc?

[FromGirders]

Now obviously I know that aspartamine (what's the difference between that and aspartame?) is The Work Of The Devil, and I've always avoided letting the dcs have it - I'd rather they had a bit of sugar, which is at least natural.
However, I'm rather embarrassed to realise I don't actually know why it's so dreadful. Other than urban myth e-mails and "well it's banned in the US" type of stuff. I looked it up in E for Additives and it wasn't even there - doesn't have an E-number does it!
So I'm looking for some evidence, pref of a peer-reviewed scientific nature, or at least a decent review, not tabloid scare-mongering, as to why I treat these ingredients like poison.
Any takers?

Formaldehyde is mutagenic I think (which is indeed the start of cancer), but it is more the neurotox effects that are a problem...at least as far as behavioural changes are concerned.

" ThisBoyDraculaDrew Tue 05-Jan-10 21:25:40
IIRC it is fact that the aspartame breaks down into the compounds I listed above. You can find lots and lots and lots of peer reviewed articles about the toxicity of those metabolites which implies aspartame isn't great. I think there are some slightly less abundant papers directly looking at aspartame administration to rodents etc. but the key is - as always relevant dose/relevant routes of administration????

As I said earlier IMO, and based on my research there is no doubt that aspartame is toxic. The question for me is "are the levels found in cola etc. at a level where it is toxic/toxic enough to worry me?". The answer - I honestly don't know. Nobody does (IMO) - but the chances are that as everyone is diffferent what is toxic for one is fine for another.

It is artificial. Sugar is natural. I can see the damage of sugar. The (potential) harmful effects of aspartame are internal, and likely to be prgressive and undectable in the early stages - so I avoid where I can but I am by no means religeoius about it."
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Rebuttal to above:

1. Aspartamine is FDA approved = Safe for human consumption as directed on package. (Thus your above aspartamine is toxic is in disagreement with our government FDA which has a lot of experience/ research backing up the safety claims.)

1. Understanding the relative value of toxicity of substances is an important concept. I will illustrate the essential substance water. Water has an LD50 (lethal dose to kill average of 50%) of about 6 to 8 liters distilled water at one short period of time. (P.S. please continue to drink some water daily.)

1. A chemical or organic molecule is that molecule regardless of created by man engineering as in the making of purified insulin or if our pancreas created it. People, don't be misled by how the substance was created as it is still the substance. Please ignore wording such as artificial as it is not fake.

1. I personally have taken at least 6 packets of equal or it's generic equivalent, containing aspartamine as an ingredient, daily for the past 30 years. I am a big coffee drinker also and add one to each cup.

1. I do not have the genetic disorder PKU in about 1 of 10,000 to 15,000.

1. This is a good paper from cancer.org on aspartamine being FDA approved and also its safety. Hopefully this site will allow the .org listing to stand but if not, remove it and simply google the topic. www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

Are they drinking orange or yellow coloured drinks, these are often coloured with tartrazine which sends kids loopy and impairs mental development. As far as I know the famed aspartame experiment was done in such a way as to get that effect, I imagine 5kg of something dissolved in water everyday would do an adult human a lot of damage, imagine what it would do to a poor rodent. A rodent that is prone to developing tumors do to its breeding. Fischer rats. Look them up.