E951 - Aspartame
Written by Chris Andrews on November 28th, 2005 in Sweeteners.
Aspartame (E951) used as a sweetener in many products, even non-diet ones such as Lemonade. Of all the additives there are it also comes across as one of the scariest due to the list of things it is supposed to be responsible for. It is an intense sweetener, 200 times sweeter than sugar, that is synthesised from aspartic acid and phenylalanine.
You’ll probably recognise it for sale in as Canderel and Nutrasweet. But pretty much any food product out there labled as low-sugar, low-carb, low-fat, diet or lite will contain it.
It was originally banned as it was thought to be carcinogenic, but it somehow managed to find it’s way back onto our shelves. Indeed the UK Food Guide website says that “despite US FDA approval as a ‘safe’ additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public.” They go on to state that “reactions have included: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, muscle spasm, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, vision problems, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, vertigo, tinitus, memory loss and joint pain.”
The more you read into aspartame, the worse it gets. Personally I’d say steer clear of it as much as you can.
Further reading:
December 7th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
[…] Along with Aspartame (E951), Mono-sodium glutamate (or MSG for short) is one of the more famous E numbers on the list. It’s got a bad reputation and people know it. Although they may not actually know why. You can often tell when something shouldn’t be in food when it is illegal for manufacturers to put it in foods meant for babies or young children. […]