Aspartame is a type of artificial sweetener that is especially harmful to people with a genetic disease called phenylketonuria, as it contains the amino acid phenylalanine, a compound prohibited in cases of phenylketonuria.
In addition, excessive consumption of aspartame is also linked to problems such as headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, diabetes, attention deficit, Alzheimer's disease, lupus, seizures and fetal malformations, also being linked to the appearance of cancer in some studies done with rats.
Sweeteners are often used by diabetics, as they help to avoid sugar consumption, and also by people who want to lose weight, as they give a sweet taste to foods without adding too many calories to the diet.
Recommended quantity
Aspartame can sweeten up to 200 times more than sugar, and the maximum amount that can be ingested per day is 40 mg / kg in weight. For an adult, this amount is equivalent to about 40 bags or about 70 drops of sweetener per day, it is important to remember that in many cases the excessive consumption of sweeteners occurs through the use of industrialized products rich in these substances, such as soft drinks and diet and light cookies.
Another important observation is that aspartame is unstable when subjected to high temperatures, and should not be used during cooking or in preparations that go into the oven. See the calories and sweetening power of natural and artificial sweeteners.
Products with aspartame
Aspartame is present in sweeteners such as Zero-lime, Finn and Gold, in addition to being used to sweeten products such as chewing gum, diet and light soft drinks, boxed and powdered juices, yogurts, diet and light cookies, jellies, ready-made teas and some types of ground coffee.
In general, most diet and light products use some type of sweetener to replace sugar and improve the taste of the product, which can cause the individual to consume large amounts of sweeteners without realizing it.
To identify whether an industrialized product has a sweetener or not, one should read the product's ingredients list, which is contained on the label. Learn How to read the Food Label in this video:
The safest option for health is to use natural sweeteners like Stevia, so know how to use and ask other questions about Stevia.
