Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Not too sweet...

For those of you who adore Fisherman's Friend, or drink Diet Coke because apparently seems to be calorie-free and sugar-free.

Yesterday advised my friend against drinking Coke Light during dinnertime because of the possible side effects.

Not many people know this but you see, Coke Light contains 'phenylalanine'... Maybe some would ask, what in the world is that? It's a form of artificial sweetener known as ASPARTAME (Check the ingredients on Fisherman's friend or any sugar free gum or candy.)

Actually I got interested in it because I suspected a slight allergy to Xylitol - found in one Eclipse mint a friend passed to me. In a group of about 10 people eating the sweet, only I felt an itchy throat and started to cough because of the itch. In fact, the itch persisted and only after drinking some water, it got better...

I've read before that artificial sweeteners are WORSE ... not better, than sugar... as it can cause bloatedness, indigestion, etc.

A website says about Phenylalanine (which is found in Coke Light and I'm sure some other drinks)

Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most consumers don't know that too much Phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death.
ADD/ADHD, emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. If you are one in ten thousand people who are PKU or carry the PKU gene, Phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, Phenylalanine levels are reaching a dangerous peak.
It is important to learn about the ingredients within your foods, especially isolated amino acids like Phenylalanine. They are in combination within nature for a reason - they don't belong in isolated form for the healthy human diet.
Nutrition fact about Phenylalanine in aspartame:
The 1976 Groliers encyclopedia states cancer cannot live without phenylalanine. Phenylalanine makes up 50% of aspartame.
Phenylalanine is one of the essential amino acids found in proteins, but I am one of the believers that amino acids should be eaten in combination, not in isolated form. Nature provides amino acids in combination; only man isolates them for processing purposes.
Phenylalanine is found naturally in foods such as eggs, milk, bananas, and meat. If you are PKU (Phenylketonuric) or sensitive to phenylalanine, you will react to the phenylalanine in aspartame. You may want to get a blood test to check for this condition. Over the past 20 years, humans have become more aware of PKU reactions because human beings began using isolated phenylalanine to the degree it is harmful to some individuals, many as aspartame side effects. My suggestion would be to research PKU and phenylalanine extensively. Phenylalanine can be very harmful to diabetics.
Read all food labels and avoid anything with isolated amino acids. You want to buy products with at least eight amino acids in combination.
Which artificial sweeteners are safe?
Information on aspartame