ASPARTAME AS AN ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER SACCHARIN CYCLAMATE SORBITOLBY DR. SUPARTONO, M.SBIOORGANIC CHEMIST

SYNTHETIC SWEETENER

THERE ARE FIVE PARTS OF THE TALK:BACKGROUNDPROBLEMTHE FACTS OF THE ASPARTAMEASPARTAME IN THE BAD NEWSCONCLUSSION

BACKGROUNDASPARTAME IS AN ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER THAT IS MADE OF TWO AMINO ACIDS AND METHANOL.ASPARTAME IS ALMOST 200 TIMES SWEETER THAN SUGAR, SO IT CAN REPLACE SUGAR AS A NATURAL SWEETENER.SINCE 1 G OF ASPARTAME THAT HAS ALMOST NO CALORIES ABLE TO REPLACE 2 TEASPOONS SUGAR AT 16 CALORIES PER TEASPOON.HOWEVER, UNLIKE OTHER FOOD ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER, ASPARTAME CAN BE DIGESTED BY THE BODY.

CHEMICAL FORMULA:

THREE STARTING COMPONENTS OF ASPARTAME:

WHY IS THE ASPARTAME TO BE SO CONTROVERSIAL?AMINO ACIDS ARE BUILDING BLOCKS OF PROTEIN, WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR GROWTH, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE OF BODY TISSUE.THE TWO AMINO ACIDS ARE ASPARTIC ACID AND PHENYLALANINE.ASPARTIC ACID IS A NONESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS THAT HELPS OUR BODIES CONVERT THE FOODS TO ENERGY.INFANTS AND CHILDREN ESPECIALLY NEED THE PHENYLALANINE, FOUND IN SUCH FOODS AS MILK, FISH, AND MEAT FOR BUILDING MUSCLES.WHILE METHANOL IS ALSO FOUND NATURALLY IN FRUITS, TOMATO JUICE, VEGETABLE, AND OTHER FOODS.

THE FACTS OF ASPARTAME:ASPARTAME IS DIGESTED BY THE BODY AND BREAKS DOWN INTO ITS THREE STARTING COMPONENTS.ASPARTIC ACID IS AN AMINO ACID THAT HELPS OUR BODIES TO CONVERT FOODS INTO ENERGY.PHENYLALANINE IS ONE OF THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS THAT NEED TO BE CONSUMED DAILY TO MAINTAIN GOOD HEALTH.METHANOL IN ITSELF IS NOT HARMFUL, BUT THE ENZYMES IN OUR LIVER BREAKS IT DOWN INTO TWO VERY TOXIC COMPOUNDS THAT ARE FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMIC ACID.

BREAKING DOWN OF METHANOL:THE SAME SET OF ENZYMES DIGESTS BOTH METHANOL AND ETHANOL.DIFFERENCE IN THE STRUCTURE OF ETHANOL AND METHANOL MOLECULES MEAN THAT THE INTERMEDIATE STEPS OF THE SAME PROCESS, TURN METHANOL INTO COMPOUNDS THAT ARE FAR MORE DANGEROUS THAN METHANOL ITSELF.

METHANOL IS BREAK DOWN INTO FORMALDEHYDE, WHICH REACTS WITH THE AMINO ACIDS IN PROTEINS, SO THIS PROTEIN BECOME STUCK RIGIDLY IN WHATEVER CONFORMATION.THIS PROPERTY MAKES FORMALDEHYDE USEFUL FOR:EMBALMINGLEATHER TANNINGCORROSION PREVENTIONWOOD FINISHINGFORMALDEHYDE MAY ALSO CAUSE CANCER IN HUMANS, BUT THIS REQUIRES LONG-TERM EXPOSURE.FORMIC ACID IS ALSO EXTREMELY TOXIC TO HUMANS. IT DISRUPTS FUNCTION OF A CELLS MITOCHONDRIA.

THE BIG DEBATE IS WETHER THERE ARE ENOUGH OF THESE TOXINS PRODUCED FROM METHANOL IN ASPARTAME TO DAMAGE OUR BODIES.THE ABSORPTION METHANOL INTO OUR BODIES IS SPEEDED UP CONSIDERABLY WHEN FREE METHANOL IS INGESTED.FREE METHANOL IS CREATED FROM ASPARTAME WHEN IT IS HEATED TO ABOVE 30OC.THE RECOMMENDED LIMIT OF ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION IS 7.8 mg per day. HEAVY USERS OF ASPARTAME-COTAINING PRODUCTS CONSUME AS MUCH AS 250 mg OF METHANOL DAILY OR 32 TIMES MORE THAN THE LIMIT.

ASPARTAME IN THE BAD NEWSTHE MOST WELL KNOWN PROBLEMS FROM METHANOL POISONING ARE VISION PROBLEMS.FORMALDEHYDE IS A KNOWN CARCINOGEN THAT CAUSES RETINAL DAMAGE, INTERFERES WITH DNA REPLICATION, AND CAUSES BIRTH DEFECTS.DUE TO THE LACK OF A COUPLE OF KEY ENZYMES, HUMANS ARE MANY TIMES MORE SENSITIVE TO THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF METHANOL THAN ANIMALS.IN EVERY CASE, METHANOL NEVER APPEAR ALONE, BUT ETHANOL WILL BE PRESENT, USUALLY IN MUCH HIGHER AMOUNTS.ETHANOL IS AN ANTIDOTE FOR METHANOL TOXICITY IN HUMANS.

THE TROOPS OF DESERT STORM WERE TREATED TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF ASPARTAME-SWEETENED BEVERAGES THAT HAD BEEN HEATED TO OVER 30OC IN SAUDI ARABIAN SUN. MANY OF THEM RETURNED HOME WITH NUMEROUS DISORDERS SIMILAR TO THOSE SEEN IN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN CHEMICALLY POISONED BY FORMADEHYDE.IN A 1993, THE FDA APPROVED ASPARTAME AS AN INGREDIENT IN NUMEROUS FOOD ITEMS THAT WOULD ALWAYS BE HEATED TO ABOVE 30OC.MUCH WORSE, ON 27 JUNE 1996, WITHOUT PUBLIC NOTICE, THE FDA REMOVED ALL RESTRICTIONS FROM ASPARTAME ALLOWING IT TO BE USED IN EVERYTHING, INCLUDING ALL HEATED AND BAKED GOODS.

ASPARTAME ACCOUNTED FOR MORE THAN 75% OF ALL ADVERSE REACTIONS REPORTED TO THE FDA.MANY REACTIONS TO ASPARTAME WERE VERY SERIOUS,INCLUDING SEIZURES AND DEATH.THESE REACTIONS INCLUDED: ABDOMINAL PAIN, ASTHMA, BRAIN CANCER, CHRONIC COUGH, FATIQUE, HIVES, HEARING LOSS, HEADACHES, DEPRESSION, PARKINSON, MENSTRUAL PROBLEM, PHOBIAS, INSOMNIA, INFECTION SUSCEPTIBILITY, VERTIGO, AND VISSION LOSS.

CONCLUSION:THE DARK SIDE OF ASPARTAME LIES IN THE METHANOL COMPONENT THAT IS METABOLIZED THE BODY INTO VERY TOXIC COMPOUNDS.FORMALDEHYDE AND FORMIC ACID IN OUR BODIES TRIGGER SO MANY ADVERSE REACTIONS.

QUESTIONS (EVALUATION):WHAT ARE THE OTHER ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER?WHAT ARE THE STARTING MATERIALS OF ASPARTAME?WHY DO THE PEOPLE USE ASPARTAME?WHAT IS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ASPARTAME AND OTHER SWEETENER?WHY IS THE ASPARTAME TO BE SO CONTROVERSIAL?WHAT ARE THE DANGEROUS COMPOUNDS PRODUCED METHANOL?WHAT DOES FORMALDEHYDE MAKE USEFEL?WHY IS FORMIC ACID TO BE EXTREMELY TOXIC TO HUMANS?HOW MUCH THE RECOMMENDED LIMIT OF ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION?WHERE ARE THE MOST PROBLEMS FROM METHANOL TO HUMANS?WHY ARE HUMANS MORE SENSITIVE TO THE EFFECT OF METHANOL?DO YOU AGREE WITH ASPARTAME-SWEETENED PRODUCTS?