I have received a lot of enquires lately from concerned bodybuilders asking about the safety of aspartame in their sports supplements. So I gathered all the information from the government and food agencies to bring you the low-down on aspartame and whether the speculated dangerous side effects to health is worth paying attention to.
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame or E951, is an intensive sweetener which is used in a number of sugar free, ‘diet’ products and sports supplements. Aspartame is often used as it is around 200 times sweeter than sugar and doesn’t contain the calories. Aspartame is broken down in the gut into the 2 amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine and methanol.
The Aspartame Controversy
The safety of aspartame has been a hot topic the media in recent years due to claims that aspartame increases the risk of developing brain tumours, seizures, headaches, allergies, changes in behaviour and cognitive function. In response, the European Commission reviewed over 500 published studies from 1988-2001 on aspartame intake and the potential negative health effects. It was concluded that aspartame was a safe sweetener. It also concluded that the methods used in many of studies finding adverse side effects with aspartame were questionable.
The Acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame is 40mg/kg bw/day, to reach this you would need to drink 14 cans of sugar free ‘diet’ drink a day containing the maximum aspartame levels.
Should We Be Concerned?
The food standard Agency (FSA) UK’s Committee of Toxicity (COT) and European Commission’s Scientific Committee of Food (SCF) continue to approve aspartame as a safe additive. The decision though, is ultimately down to you and only you. Under the food labelling legislation act, all products that contain aspartame are obligated to include this on the labelled. At Muscle-shop we include all nutritional and ingredient listings, so if you wish to avoid aspartame you have the information to do so. If you do want aspartame free products here are a few you may want to consider:
Whey Proteins: Whey proteins often contain aspartame to keep carbohydrate levels minimal and help make the shake more palatable. However, EAS 100% Myopro Whey, MET-Rx Supreme Whey do not contain aspartame. In addition, if you want a protein shake completely completely free from artificial sweetners and flavours try Relfex Natural Whey.
Meal Replacement Shakes: Although meal replacement shakes contain more carbohydrates than protein powders (usually around 20g) aspartame is added to keep sugar levels down. To avoid aspartame try EAS Myoplex Original and Labrada Lean Body.
Weight Gainers: For the same reason some meal replacements, some weight gainers include aspartame to replace sugar. CNP Pro Mass, BSN True Mass and MET-Rx Xtreme Size Up do not contain aspartame.
.jpg)
If you want to research aspartame further, visit the Food Standard Agency website that includes the European Commission review.
Back to top ^