[Gigachad]

No. Aspartame is one of the most studied and tested substances on the planet and they still haven't linked a single problem to it. At least not one that doesn't relate to sweeteners in general. Nothing else has gone under so much scrutiny (Maybe MSG). Seems like a too good to be true situation where people can't accept its actually this good.

[blurker]

Can you provide a source or explain how you came to the conclusion that it is one of the most studied substances on the planet?

Personally I'm not worried about aspartame. I consume it in small amounts and am not overly concerned, but this statement goes beyond the facts I'm aware of.

Update: I found a source, the FDA says that: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/additional...

I had heard that about. Msg, but not aspartame. Til!

[iamricks]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy

[colordrops]

It would be too good to be true if it didn't taste horrible.

[Gigachad]

It tastes different for sure, but it’s something you adapt to. I now can’t stand the taste of sucrose drinks.

[asiachick]

Speaking of people being afraid of MSG, As far as I'm concerned that's racist. The only reason people are afraid of seaweed extract (MSG) is because some racists person made up "Chinese Food Syndrome". People repeating the lie are affectively passing on something based on racist propaganda. It's also the reason much of the asian food in the bay area doesn't taste nearly as delicious as the real deal in asia. Because the racist person who made up Chinese Food Syndrome lie is still spreading their hatred.

[technothrasher]

> The only reason people are afraid of seaweed extract (MSG) is because some racists person made up "Chinese Food Syndrome".

Not exactly. I agree the term is racist, and that racist sentiment may way spur disinformation on MSG. But the fear actually began in 1968, during the beginnings of the modern 'health food' movement, with a letter written in the New England Journal of Medicine by a man named Robert Ho Man Kwok describing his supposed symptoms from eating MSG. The body of follow up research showing no such effects is much less interesting to people than the scary story that started it all.

[chihuahua]

According to this article [0], "Robert Ho Man Kwok" was a fake name. The letter was supposedly a hoax but the journal wanted to publish it even though the author contacted them later and told them it was a hoax.

[0] https://news.colgate.edu/magazine/2019/02/06/the-strange-cas...

[iszomer]

Well, most Chinese restaurants usually dump MSG into their cooking. Back before Panda Express stopped claiming they used it, they would dump more than one teaspoons of it for a single entree on the fly.

MSG should be used as sparingly as possible (a pinch or less) and there are many kinds for specific ingredients, such as the original one made by Ajinomoto and more specialized ones for meats or vegetables only.

[Gigachad]

The safe dose of MSG is significantly higher than the safe dose of table salt so I wouldn't worry about eating too much.

[iszomer]

This isn't really about the safe dosage of MSG for human consumption but the prolonged effects from folks whom are sensitive (or have developed a tolerance) to such exposure without even realizing it. I have had non-Asian friends whom have developed an allergy from it when it doesn't overly affect me at all but raises an interesting correlation not causation argument when applied in a broader food and cooking consumption context.

[Ilverin]

It causes higher blood pressure and is statistically associated with heart problems. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/do-you-really...

[zinekeller]

Please link directly to the study (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-011-1968-2) instead of just posting the PR announcement. I'll also note that this is part of the Northern Manhattan Study (http://columbianomas.org/). I'll also note that it's not directly about aspartame but diet sodas in general (so if diet sodas has a consistently higher caffeine, then that could be the reason). I've also noticed this phrase, although the study claims that increased cardiovascular risk on frequent diet soda consumption is still significant despite adjusting to these factors:

Frequent diet soft drink consumption was uniquely associated with white race, former smoking, hypertension, elevated blood sugar, lower HDL, elevated triglycerides, increased waist circumference, BMI, peripheral vascular disease, previous cardiac disease, and the metabolic syndrome. Frequent regular soft drink consumption was uniquely associated with male sex, black race, current smoking, carbohydrate consumption, greater diastolic BP, and lower prevalences of diabetes and hypercholesterolemia.

On the other hand, it was published in 2012 and the study was conducted in America, so almost all non-diet sodas were sweetened with either 100% HFCS or cane sugar/HFCS mix. It's harder to replicate today considering that most non-diet sodas has also added aspartame (or other high-intensity sweeteners) to the sweetener mix.

[Moru]

Headlines: "Diet soda lightens skin color!"

[fshr]

I'm curious if that accounts for the effects of the caffeine in most diet sodas.

[GekkePrutser]

Or perhaps that overweight people like me are more likely to drink diet soda?