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Healthy Diet Plans >>
Sweeteners >>
Artificial Sugar Substitutes >>
Aspartame |
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What is aspartame? Aspartame is a non saccharine artificial sweetener available on the shelf of the supermarkets with the trade name as Equal, NutraSweet or Canderel.
It is used as an ingredient in more than 6,000 reduced calorie foods and beverages sold in the world. It is commonly used as a sugar substitute or table condiment, in diet soft drinks, sugar free chewing gums and even available as chewable vitamin supplements. Aspartame is not heat stable as it often loses its sweetness and breaks down when heat is applied, thus not suitable for cooking or baking.
This effect can be masked by combining aspartame with other high intensity sweeteners. The additive code or E number for aspartame is E951. Aspartame is basically composed of two amino acids namely aspartic acid and phenylalanine, as the methyl ester.
These amino acids are naturally found in various protein containing foods. Aspartame does not accumulate in the body and on digestion it breaks down in to aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol.
Aspartame is a low calorie sweetener and 180-200 times sweeter than sugar. Although it provides 4 calories per gram, the amount required to produce the sweetness is very low making its caloric distribution negligible in a food product. This unique property of aspartame makes it a very popular sweetener and a sugar substitute especially for ones who are trying to avoid calories from sugar. Some people find the taste of aspartame unpleasant as unlike sugar the sweetness of aspartame has a slower onset and stays for a longer duration. Aspartame is used to intensify and extend fruit flavors in foods and beverages for example oranges and cherries. Aspartame does not affect the blood sugar and insulin levels, thus can be safely consumed by diabetics. Aspartame is also tooth friendly as it is resistant to fermentation by the oral micro flora and does not cause dental plaques or tooth cavities.
People suffering from phenylketonuria (PKU - a rare inherited disease) should avoid aspartame as the phenylalanine (an essential amino acid) in aspartame cannot be metabolized by them causing a health hazard.
Thus it is mandatory in United States to write ‘Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine’ on the product labels containing aspartame. Although studies have proved that aspartame is safe when consumed in the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and does not have any adverse health effect, this is been a subject of controversy. Some studies have also recommended studying the aspartame side effects and its association with conditions like headaches, brain lesions, brain tumors and lymphoma.
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