BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb aspartame is nasty !

Thank you for just linking, WonderWoman13! Yes you are exactly right. I do personally stay away from aspartame, but it is more because I stay away from soda and "candy" in general. If you eat natural food - tuna, salmon, chicken, broccoli, asparagus etc. - you really never face issues of "eating fake bad substances".

I suppose the exception to that of course is mercury in seafood - but even there, there's mercury in our entire environment in small amounts. So to try to avoid all mercury would be impossible. It's a balance to keep.

I apologize for my post. I thought if I fully disclosed the source it would be okay. From now on I'll make sure I post only the links. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Aspartame is indeed quite controversial. But, when someone is concerned, isn't it okay to help them look at the other side of the issue more thoroughly. There are a lot of credible reports that have been issued. Too bad Dr. Mercola isn't considered credible.
Here are a couple links that might give a bit more insight.
http://www.ethicalinvesting.com/monsanto/aspartame.shtml
http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html#symptoms

I really felt like I wasn't wrong, although I did apologize. I went to Dr. Mercola's website and got the permission statement that I knew about. Here's the statement at the bottom of each of his articles.

"This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required." [color:"blue"] [/color]

Just read the ethical investing article. I find this topic so interesting, since it is just SO controversial and people feel so strongly one way or the other. I guess I just find it hard to believe that the FDA would approve a product for consumption (and aspartame is in a TON of foods that are sold) that has been "proven" to be so dangerous. It seems to me that that is exactly what the FDA was put there to do. Protect people from dangers in food and drug consumption. If aspartame was really that bad for us, I would think that the FDA would not allow it to be in so many foods and drinks. I definitely think it should be consumed in moderation, but I believe strongly that if it were indeed this deadly chemical as others are making it out to be, it would have been pulled from the shelves years ago. I think it's fine to eat/drink, and unless someone with authority tells me otherwise, that's what I'm going to continue to think. JMO...

VeganSkinCareandMore - we aren't a non-profit site. There are ads at the top of this page. Definitely, we cannot have other peoples' content posted here. Thank you for agreeing not to do that going forward.

I don't trust the FDA 100% - every organization makes mistakes and has agendas - but I think that the fact that it is used in SO much food gives us a gigantic real life population to see the effects on. Now, when Chernobyl melted down, the results were clear. People were harmed by it. I really don't see *anything* similar since aspartame was introduced, that can be tied to it. Yes, some people have reactions. But again, tons of people have reactions to peanuts. It doesn't mean we should prevent all humans from eating peanuts.

You're right, Lisa. Aspartame is in SO many foods (a lot that we probably don't think about, too). I'd be reluctant to say that any food that was so "dangerous" would be allowed in so many different types of products. I feel terrible for those who do have allergic reactions, but I do think that those are in fact allergy-related (as mentioned, like peanuts). Considering my *slight* addiction to diet soda (it's my one vice!), I'll go with the "it's ok for me" mindset! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm sure all of us are allergic to all sorts of things and we just deal with it. Most people are allergic slightly to pollen and get itchy eyes when it's pollen season. We just go on with life, we don't kill off all the flowers <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I know I'm slightly allergic to cats - my eyes water if I lay on a pillow that the cats have covered with fur. I figure it's normal for eyes to do that, to protect themselves from the fur bits <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I still have cats, I just know to change the pillowcases if they're covered with fur <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />