Ep. 309: Aspartame Is Evil

In this episode, Stacy and Sarah talk about the sweetener found in most diet sodas, aspartame, and how dangerously detrimental it is to health on so many fronts.

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If you enjoy the show, please review it in iTunes! The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 309: Aspartame Is Evil

• Intro (0:00)
• News and Views (0:40)
  • Stacy is doing a happy dance that we are finally doing this topic!
  • Meanwhile this episode is recorded in advance because Sarah is in Canada
• Why Is Aspartame a big problem?
  • Stacy is very concerned about the link between dementia and aspartame in particular
  • Both Stacy and Sarah have a history with diet soda with aspartame, especially Sarah and her THREE CASE a DAY habit!
  • There's a lot of politics involved here, which we won't go too far into, but suffice it to say that industry studies show aspartame to be harmless, but independent studies find a lot of issues with it
  • It's upsetting that so many studies show non-nutritive sweeteners to be problematic, but still they are marketed as safe!
  • Stacy recommends getting your loved ones to phase out aspartame no matter what.
  • One of the main ways that aspartame affects you is making it difficult to prevent oxidative damage. This means it can cause systemic inflammation, leading to damage in every cell in your body potentially.
  • "It's not a food, it's a poison."
  • This show is not to shame you but to encourage you to make better choices.
  • Aspartame is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. It breaks down into phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol.
  • While there is some concern about the phenylalanine, it's the methanol that is the most concerning; methanol is what will make you go blind from poorly made moonshine.
  • It's not the same as the claim "it's the same amount as from grape juice" because the methanol in fruit juice is bound with pectin and not absorbed
  • Methanol breaks down into two carcinogens: formaldehyde and diketopiperazine
  • An animal study showed that aspartame leads to a 300% increase in cancer rates. Only things like smoking and lung cancer have that kind of cancer affect. It's linked to: Liver cancer, Lung cancer, Brain cancer, Breast cancer, Prostate cancer, and Central nervous system cancers
  • And it's linked to lifelong increased risk from exposure in utero.
  • Aspartame, contrary to what you would think, increases diabetes risk too
  • This may be due to changes in the gut microbiome.
  • Aspartame may inhibit enzymes that prevent endotoxins from reaching the bloodstream as well
  • The Paleo Diet in its original form allowed for diet sodas. This is crazy!
  • Using diet soda for diabetes risk is like going from the frying pan to the fire!
  • Huge meta-analyses reveal a strong link between aspartame and other nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiovascular disease. This also seems to occur when exposure is in utero
  • Aspartame is also linked to weight gain and obesity as well
  • The idea is that aspartame increases sugar cravings. The cycle never allows a craving to be satisfies so calorie intake becomes higher.
  • Aspartame increases mood issues as well. It's linked to anxiety and depression as well as cognition.
  • And it is linked to seizure rates, dementia, and strokes.
  • It increases brain cell death and brain damage in mice.
  • Twenty-five years ago a study into mood disorders was discontinued because it affected people with existing mood disorders so severely. And yet we still have it as a "safe" food additive!
  • The warning label on aspartame only addresses people with the disease phenylketonuria (PKU) and they have to avoid phenylalanine. That's it!
  • 92% of aspartame studies not funded by industry found some health affect from aspartame.
  • How can you interpret that as anything other than a conspiracy?
• If you've enjoyed the show, please recommend it to someone who might enjoy it.
• We love when you share and when you leave reviews for us! Thanks for listening!
  • Real Everything
  • The Paleo Mom

References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28886707 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15695284 “Revisiting the safety of aspartame.” 2017 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28938797 "Reshaping the gut microbiota: Impact of low calorie sweeteners and the link to insulin resistance" 2016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27090230 “Nonnutritive sweeteners and cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies” 2017 http://www.cmaj.ca/content/189/28/E929  

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