"Hidden" chemical sweeteners - It was the gum!

[Parrothead]

So, I'm in the car yesterday on the way to pick up dd from her friend's house. I see dh's pack of gum in the console and snag a piece. After I get past the initial "oh, that's tart" I start to taste the diet soda taste I can't stand. Blech, out the widow it goes.

 

I get to a traffic light and grab the pack. Right there is says *contains phenylalanine. Then it dawns on me that Trident has always been sugar-free. Duh!

 

If you remember back a few months ago I posted about dh's aspartame sensitivity. He had been getting better. I couldn't understand the occasional "slip." Well, the poor guy has quit chewing tobacco and has taken to chewing gum as a substitute.

 

It was the gum! It explains the argument we had Saturday about whether I was angry or not. Of course that deteriorated into me actually being angry. Oy vey!

 

We look at every canned, bottled or packaged food we bring into the house already. It never occurred to either of us that the gum was bad for him. All that to get to the question, where else should I look for aspartame?

[secular_mom]

liquid and chewable medicines (mostly for kids, but probably some of the cough syrups and stuff adults take sometimes too)

[OLG]

He can chew Spry gum - stevia sweetened, all natural!

 

Agree aspartame is in a bunch of medicines(kid's) and you already know to check anything that says sugar-free or low sugar. It seems like it is everywhere, doesn't it?

 

Good discovery on your part, though! Congrats!

[Parrothead]

Thanks. I would not have thought of medicine. Off to look at the bottles.

[Slartibartfast]

Vitamins

[Mejane]

My fil truly got his mind back when he stopped drinking diet Coke. We thought he had Alzheimer's, but it was the aspartame in the soda.

[2cents]

My fil truly got his mind back when he stopped drinking diet Coke. We thought he had Alzheimer's, but it was the aspartame in the soda.

 

That is really scary! I wonder how many people are misdiagnosed because of an artificial sweetener sensitivity?! :(

[tex-mex]

Due to chemical sensitivities... many companies now produce that label, "contains phenylalanine" as national groups like the PKU lobbied congress and FDA for that to be done. You will note many food labels from vitamins to food products have that label. It is very dangerous for a PKU child or adult to digest phenylalanine. If not diagnosed, many PKU patients will lose mental cognition and be diagnosed with mental retardation or worse.

 

PKU children and PKU adults should also avoid foods, including many diet sodas, and medications made with aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal). Aspartame, found in many artificial sweeteners, releases phenylalanine when digested.

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/phenylketonuria/ds00514/dsection=treatments-and-drugs

Edited June 18, 2010 by tex-mex

[Tap]

Look at every single thing that goes into his mouth. Check out anything that spends time in his mouth but gets spit out too. Toothpaste/mouthwash are also possibilities (more likely in kids sweet varieties but still check it out). Also when he goes to the dentist and has a cleaning done, watch the polishing agents, etc.

[Jann in TX]

as a 'flavor enhancer'.... BLECK!

 

I'm sensitive to aspartame... and I miss my gum... About 2 years ago Wrigley's started putting aspartame in 'Juicy Fruit' and 'Big Red' their whole line of sugared gums!

 

Disgusting!

 

Our family reads labels...

[shannatheshedevil]

He can chew Spry gum - stevia sweetened, all natural!

 

Agree aspartame is in a bunch of medicines(kid's) and you already know to check anything that says sugar-free or low sugar. It seems like it is everywhere, doesn't it?

 

Good discovery on your part, though! Congrats!

 

Stevia's not so hot for you, either.

 

http://safety.lovetoknow.com/Dangers_of_Stevia

[asta]

Phenylalanine is not aspartame. Phenylalanine is in the majority of foods that people eat, which is why children are tested for PKU at birth (more at the link above).

 

Aspartame contains phenylalanine:

aspartame is actually made by linking the amino acid aspartic acid to the methyl ester of a second amino acid called phenylalanine

 

Personally, I detest aspartame. I don't care what the "studies" say: it is an excitotoxin, and it does nasty things to the neural nets of lab rats. It does nasty things to my neural net. Even when I'm not aware I've ingested it (like the gum example above) - so it isn't a placebo effect. I have no more faith in any other artificial sweetener, either (Splenda, saccharine, etc.). And Stevia makes me sick, too. I'll stick to sugar and honey.

 

 

a

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Phenylalanine is not aspartame. Phenylalanine is in the majority of foods that people eat, which is why children are tested for PKU at birth (more at the link above).

 

Aspartame contains phenylalanine:

 

 

Personally, I detest aspartame. I don't care what the "studies" say: it is an excitotoxin, and it does nasty things to the neural nets of lab rats. It does nasty things to my neural net. Even when I'm not aware I've ingested it (like the gum example above) - so it isn't a placebo effect. I have no more faith in any other artificial sweetener, either (Splenda, saccharine, etc.). And Stevia makes me sick, too. I'll stick to sugar and honey.

 

 

a

:iagree:

 

Aspartame is in so many things. Many products containing Aspartame will also indicate "Contains Phenylalanine" on the label so it is misleading to those who haven't done the research.

 

Aspartame is in so many foods. I am amazed at what I cannot eat at the moment. Pretty much any beverage labeled "diet"; anything labeled "sugarless", "sugar free" or "light".

 

But my detox includes all artificial sweeteners, not just Aspartame.