Sweet Science

A not-so-health-conscious colleague of mine asked me, the health nut, if the artificial sweetener aspartame was ‘good for her’.  By ‘good for her’ I can only assume she meant not lethal as she was inhaling a quart of ice cream while posing the question.  Anyhow, the question got me thinking that perhaps people really are unaware about the dangers of consuming various foods, and I use the term ‘food’ loosely.  Lest we forget the days when we were painting baby’s crib with lead paint or insulating our homes with sheets and sheets of asbestos.  Remember way back in the day they used to market cigarettes as very cool and then, oooops, they turned out to be the leading cause of preventable death in North America?  So before the next generation is born with a third arm made entirely of sucrose let me dispel the myths that surround our favourite ‘sugar’ substitute.   

 

Long believed to be God’s gift to the thin vain woman, aspartame should be seen for what it is – a wicked example of chemistry; NOT food.  Before I attempt to burry the sweet stuff, I should admit to loving a cold Diet Coke as much as the next girl.* (In my defence, each time I crack open a DC I feel a pang of guilt because I know I am abusing my body by consuming this devilish substance.)  You no doubt are asking ‘How bad can it be if the food, drug and health regulators of countless countries allow it?’  Trust , its bad.  Even Ajinomoto, a leading producer of the sugar substitute, warn you of aspartame’s harmful side effects.

 

Then there is the longstanding urban myth that Canadian pilots cannot have aspartame which, as it turns out, has some truth to it.  If your pilot is advised to avoid aspartame, shouldn’t you also? Just askin’.  Aspartame is everywhere sugar was and sugar is a no-no given its high caloric content and total lack of nutrients.  So what is a health-seeking, figure-maintaining person to do?  Dieticians offer honey and molasses as quality sweetener alternatives, but quickly point out both are still ‘sugars’ and should be limited for overall health.

 

*The presumption being made here is that men should not, and rightly so, be drinking Diet Coke (or any diet soda for that matter).

 

JLM