From: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu (Paula Burch)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: NutraSweet (Was: Re: Caffeine during Pregnancy)
Date: 10 Sep 1992 16:02:17 GMT
Reply-To: pburch@bcm.tmc.edu (Paula Burch)
Originator: pburch@roc.mbcr.bcm.tmc.edu


In article <18mlc8INNd81@network.ucsd.edu>, dlin@weber.ucsd.edu (Diane Lin) writes:
|> In article <51tp02EA21co01@JUTS.ccc.amdahl.com> lmn00@thundercd.amdahl.com (Linda Newell) writes:
|> >Also, my doctor said that nutra-
|> >sweet would not be a problem.
|> 
|> I thought that the jury was still out on Nutrasweet, because it
|> hasn't been on the market long enough to see if there are any bad
|> effects with it.  (Look how long saccharine was around before any
|> carcinogenic connection was found...)  

Nutrasweet (aspartame) is made from two amino acids. Sure, they are found 
in everything we eat, but balanced by other amino acids. I am afraid, 
myself, that taking one or two amino acids alone could affect the developing 
child's brain, as some amino acids are precursors to neurotransmitters. 

Taking an excess of tryptophan without the other amino acids increases 
the brain's level of the neurotransmitter seratonin, which aids in going 
to sleep. A lot of people say of this particular practice that "it's 
natural, so it must be okay." To this there are two different responses: 
1, poison ivy is natural, too, and so are all sorts of other poisons, and 
2, nature does not supply refined amino acids--they're not naturally found. 
(I'm giving this as my reason for being wary of any individual amino acid 
without a lot more study than has been done.)

One of the amino acids in Nutrasweet is phenylalanine. A very small minority 
of people cannot break this amino acid down, and if they eat it as infants 
or children, they grow up to be mentally retarded. They can be put on a 
special diet to prevent this from happening. Every infant is required by 
law to be tested for this disorder soon after birth, since simply changing 
the diet can prevent this tragedy if you only know.

Unfortunately, the diet is disgusting--no "real" food--so the children 
usually grow up slightly impaired due to sneaking food when their parents 
aren't around. When they grow up, they don't always realize that they had 
this problem. They just remember that "I had a liver disease when I was a 
kid, but I'm better now." If these people get pregnant, they need to go on 
the diet again, to avoid damaging the fetus. Drinking aspartame would be 
a horrible mistake for these individuals! The question is, how many of them 
pay attention to the fine print on the labels--"phenylketonurics: contains 
phenylalanine"?

I wonder what happend to an infant with this deficit, who is born to a 
normal mother, if she consumes Nutrasweet on a regular basis. You don't 
know that your baby has this until it is tested for it at birth!

My personal opinion is that no Nutrasweet should be consumed by anyone 
who is pregnant or trying to conceive. I do believe that there is not 
sufficient evidence showing Nutrasweet to be completely safe during 
pregnancy or childhood. What's the big deal about sugar, anyway, if 
consumed in moderation? Controlled studies show it does NOT make children 
hyper (it's probably other things found in sugary foods full of 
questionable additives that do, or maybe just coincidence). I am not
going to allow my child(ren) to drink artificially sweetened drinks on 
any regular basis.

Disclaimer: I'm a molecular biologist, not a neuroscientist, and my 
worries about the effects of an imbalance of amino acids are not a 
consensus from researchers in the field.

Paula Burch
pburch@bcm.tmc.edu