Question for Pharmesist.

[Jeff H]

How bad is Aspartame ?

 

[illflem]

Many people accuse Aspartame (Nutrasweet) of causing brain damage. Aspartame may also contribute to sweet tooth development causing you to crave sweets and to drink six Diet Cokes a day instead of one regular. I've noticed that folks who drink diet soda tend to drink a lot of it. It's more like a drug than a food, your body doesn't digest it, it goes straight from your mouth to your brain and makes you think what you're consuming is sweet. This is where the brain damage part comes in, some feel it overwhelms and fries the sweet taste receptors in your brain, it hasn't been proven though. I personally think it tastes like crap and avoid it. This site will give you links to info on both sides of the issue, both have convincing arguments, it's up to you to choose a side. http://www.aspartame.org . As with anything moderation is the key.

 

[Pit Bull]

Illflem, you are the encyclopedia of the TDR

 

[Doc Tinker]

I think ilflem gets his vast knowledge from farming more than just apples Maybe it's carrots. . Oh. . carrots are for the eyes. . Oh well



Doc

 

[Riflesmith]

Aspartame is composed of three molecules linked toghether. It is composed of Aspartic acid(an amino acid), Phenylalanine(an amino acid) and Methanol(wood alcohol). Amino acids are the building blocks of protiens.



It has been suggested that it causes brain damage for the following reasons:



1. High levels of aspartic acid in the blood kills brain cells.



2. High levels of phenylalanine in the blood kills brain cells. People who have PKU cannot digest phenylalanine and it damages their brains. People without this syndrome can digest it and have no problem.



The methanol concerns many people because there is no way around the fact that it is toxic.

 

[Jeff H]

Another thing I read about it is when it hits 89 degrees. It will produce Formaldahide. Any body who drank juice with this stuff while fighting in the gulf war. They may wanna check this stuff out.

 

[illflem]

Another thing many folks don't realize is that Aspartame is in many products nowadays besides soft drinks. Prepared foods, fast food buns, Pizza Hut crust and most anything that says diet on it. If you want to totally avoid the stuff it will take quite a bit of effort. The product it replaces, sugar, has been linked to many health problems also. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

 

['956Wheel]

We store our TT at a friends house whose Mom lives there, she is 88 and works her garden even on the hottest days. I asked her one day "whats the secret of staying healthy"? Her reply was to stay away from "fake" food. She uses butter, sugar, cream and all that other forbidden stuff.



I decided to make a few changes and we are quitting the "fake" foods. While this is only part of the equation, I think I will go for it and if the cholesterol checks out o. k. so long margarine!



Mike

 

[illflem]

My feeling is that worrying about what you eat is worse for you than what it is you're eating.

 

['956Wheel]

Bill,

You are right stress is the #1 killer... could be cause when many folks get stressed out they eat!



It just seems like everytime they come up with some new "food" its only a matter of time till you get warned about it. Is that fake fat still being used. We went to a get together at a friends and chips were on the table... yum! turns out thet had that stuff in them... most people got the $hits! Oh what fun!



Mike

 

[Steve M]

Monosodiumglutimate MSG is also a drug that fools your brain into thinking what you're eating tastes good. It's in ALOT of food from the chinese restaurant to canned beef stew at the grocery store. It causes side effects that range from confusion to diarea. I try to avoid it whenever possible. It causes the latter in me.

But don't worry about it! Just don't eat it. The only reason it hasn't been outlawed is that the food industry stands to lose megabucks from thier food tasting like it really does. People might actually start wanting real food again. If the box or can doesn't say "No MSG" then it probably does contain it under a different name.

Real hot-dogs cost alittle more but they taste better than the el-cheapo's that you only "think" taste good.

 

[The patriot]

Steve... ..... confused and diahrea, sounds like a regular ol day to me. :-laf

Mike, I know a lot of old people like that. They use real butter and cream for everything, eat ham and eggs for breakfast etc. etc. Pies, cakes you name it.

Theyre healthier than I am at half their age.

I try to stay away from the butter, cream etc. etc. and my cholesterol was still over 250 last time.

That's not too bad, my tryglycerides was 1800 ++ at one time.

Typical day for me is bowl of cereal for breakfast. No lunch, and usually something like a veggie burger, with a vegetable for dinner. Usually nothing for dessert.

Oh well, sometimes it's hereditary.

Eric

 

[Doc Tinker]

The patriot - did all that "good" eating bring down your cholesterol level? I switched back to butter after my cholesterol dropped from 372 to 220 and wouldn't drop any more, I weighed 160 when my cholesterol was way up there. The doctor is POed at me, but what can I say? Everything's better with real butter on it!



By the way - I skip lunch most days too and I'm still getting fat and the cholesterol stays the same.



It kills me that some guys and gals get rather chunky without cholesterol risk and some thin people have high cholesterol.



Doc

 

[fest3er]

Dad and I are on a sort-of low fat diet. It's not a no-fat diet, nor deliberately selected to be real low fat; neither do we buy "Low Fat" foods. I just use care in cooking to avoid having or putting excess fat, oil and grease in the food.

I use olive oil for most all baking and cooking needs. I don't use shortening, since I can replace it with a lesser amount of oil.

In the 8 months I've been doing the cooking, I've lost maybe 5 lbs. , while Dad's dropped nearly 15. Zocor has gotten his cholesterol and triglycerides down to 'acceptable' levels for the first time ever.

I believe the trick to maintaining an acceptable weight is to avoid eating too much and to eat a diet that is balanced over time. If you eat more than you need, you will gain weight. And if your diet is not balanced over time, you will gain weight, too.

By 'balanced over time', I mean that, over one, two, three, four weeks, your diet should be balanced among all the food groups (grain, dairy, meat, vegetables, chocolate and ice cream). Well, maybe not so much chocolate and ice cream, but you get the idea.
There is no need to have *every* meal or *every* day be perfectly balanced. But over a period of a few weeks, your food intake *should* be fairly balanced.

Fest3er

 

[merryman]

My wife is a food/nutrition/health nut-expert.

Last week she showed me a report on a study done in a lock down institution where the food consumed by the locked up group was subject to complete control.

The inmates were divided in to two groups; one group was fed a standard diet, the other was fed a diet where the sugar content was extremely limited in all its forms--i. e. glucose, fructose etc as well as the usual sugars.

At the start of the study, the average blood cholesterol of both groups was a little over 200.

In only 2 weeks the cholesterol of the sugar free group was going down and in 6 weeks the average was 160. The other half the groups level remained at the pre study level.

After several more weeks the test group were all in the 160 area, so they were returned to the standard diet. In two months their average was back around 200.

During the study the fat content of their diet was not reduced!

This study suggest that sugar(s) (there are many names that all mean sugar and in addition, white flour products act nutritionally as sugar once digested) may be as much or more of a culprit than fats------especially the "phoney" foods.

Did you realize that margarine is largely a liquid plastic?? :>)



Vaughn

 

['956Wheel]

Triglycerides... mine have been 1600 + for about 18 years! The doctors have put me on many different TG controling drugs to no avail. Then they start yapping about liver disfunction. I enjoy a few beers now and then but nothing out of line. My feeling is that the many years of dealing with transdermal chemicals, many are, have done some damage. To the younger set... use gloves around solvents!



Merryman, You have shed light on a decent reason and use for prisoners! Interesting stuff.



Mike

 

[fest3er]

Originally posted by merryman
... This study suggest that sugar(s) (there are many names that all mean sugar and in addition, white flour products act nutritionally as sugar once digested) may be as much or more of a culprit than fats...

Not surprising, since the body immediately converts excess sugars to fat. And don't forget that starch is nearly the same as sugar.

Fest3er

 

[Doc Tinker]

Oh Maaan! Doen't tell Mrs Doc any of this!! How am I going to live without sugar??!! I'LL GIVE UP THE FAT ! ! JUST DON"T TAKE AWAY MY SUGAR ! !



Doc :{

 

[The patriot]

Mike, I was on Gemfibrozil for 8 years, then the liver function test came back N/G. Hell, I was only taking one a day, bottle said to take two, but one was enough. Alcohol? Almost never.

Been off all lipid drugs for about 1 year now.

Just started a new one, Tricor. We wll see.

Eric

 

[RBrunson]

Guys, is there something wrong with me? I weigh 157, my cholesterol is 133 and I eat anything and everything I want. Can't seem to gain weight if I wanted to.