So there I was, minding my own business, letting my mind wander as I sat serenely in class, a cool can of Coke Zero chillin’ in my hand when all of a sudden, the instructor points at me and loudly says, “Do you know you’re poisoning yourself, young man?”. I freeze, the can in my hand already halfway to my mouth. I stare at him agape, not knowing how to react (find a job, perhaps?). He then turns to the class and says, “Do you know what they substitute for sugar in diet cola? Aspartame. And it’s POISON.” He says, emphasizing the word poison. He then goes on to say that aspartame is converted into formalin in the liver and stays in the body for good.

That’s right, you heard me. FORMALIN. Also known as embalming fluid.

Am I slowly embalming myself? Que horror!

Of course I was alarmed. I’ve been a big fan of diet cola ever since, well, ever since I decided to lose weight, drinking sugar-free products almost daily. Given that my professor was a biochemistry major and a renown local pathologist, I was prompted to frantically search the internets for more information about aspartame.

So, is diet cola slowly killing you? From the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Food and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives: Aspartame has been found to be safe for human consumption by more than ninety countries worldwide. Another source says that “In 1999, FDA officials described the safety of aspartame as “clear cut” and stated that the product is “one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved.” Furthermore, a 2007 safety evaluation found that the weight of existing scientific evidence indicates that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a non-nutritive sweetener.

Notice that the phrase says ” at current levels of consumption”. This could only mean that consuming waaay too much of it could have a bad effect. And considering that “it is an ingredient of approximately 6,000 consumer foods and beverages sold worldwide, including (but not limited to) diet sodas and other soft drinks, instant breakfasts, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, frozen desserts, gelatin desserts, juices, laxatives, chewable vitamins supplements, milk drinks, pharmaceutical drugs and supplements, shake mixes, tabletop sweeteners, teas, instant coffees, topping mixes, wine coolers and yogurt” would mean that we already are consuming a whole lot of it.

So the question again boils down to the rhetorical “how much is too much?” Well, I really do believe that everything in excess is bad. So far, the case against aspartame is weak. And the benefits? Well, let’s just say that it’s a natural source of ACE-inhibitors (good for people with hypertension) and also reduces the formation of leptin by 34%. What’s leptin? Oh, it’s just the chemical that makes you wanna stuff food down your tummy non-stop. So, I guess there’s no harm in abiding with the mantra, everything in moderation.

PS for those who are interested, you can read more here and here (WARNING: EXPLICIT SCIENTIFIC CONTENT).

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