Is Aspartame Safe To Use on Keto?

In July, the World Health Organization (WHO) put out a press release questioning if aspartame was safe for human consumption. The media picked up on this and it made headlines around the world! What exactly is aspartame? How is it made? Is it safe to use? How does it compare to taking in sugar? Is aspartame safe to use if you’re on keto?

Are the Ingredients of Aspartame Safe?

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that companies have used in products since the 1980’s. It’s a white powder that is about 200 times sweeter than sugar. Aspartame is from two naturally occurring amino acids. However, the process of combining them together is not natural. It’s a process that involves fermenting, chemical synthesis, and purifying. Although it is a process that takes days to complete, aspartame was actually discovered accidentally in 1965 by a chemist named James Schlatter.

So, the bottom line is, the ingredients are safe because they occur naturally in plants and animals. It’s the process of combining those ingredients that researchers aren’t so sure about. It’s also the effects of the two amino acids together and ingesting them that leaves a lot of room for research. We’ve been ingesting aspartame for over 40 years now, so if it is killing us, it’s doing it very slowly.

What Products Use Aspartame?

Just like we don’t really need sugar, we don’t really need any sweetener such as aspartame. That doesn’t mean that we don’t want it. It’s often used as table-top sweeteners. You may recognize the company names of Equal, Sugar Twin, and Nutrasweet. These are often used in coffee and tea, as aspartame has the benefit of dissolving nicely in water. Most restaurants now offer one of these options along with sugar for your cup of coffee or tea.

Aspartame is most commonly used in diet sodas. You’ll notice the picture we’ve used for this blog is of Cherry No Sugar Coke. That’s because Bill and I both enjoy that drink as an occasional treat. We also enjoy diet Dr. Pepper Zero Sugar and diet root beer. It’s probably the one time we ingest aspartame. Aspartame is also typically the sweetener used in sugar-free gum, sugar-free condiments (like table syrup), and gelatin based products (like sugar-free Jello).

Is Aspartame Safe for Children?

You may think that you don’t feed your children aspartame. Bet that makes you feel pretty good, huh? But one product you may not know has aspartame includes over-the-counter medications. Anything you get at the drugstore that is chewable or dissolves in your mouth is likely sweetened with aspartame. So, children’s chewable tablets, vitamins, antacids, and cough drops are usually sweetened with aspartame.

You wouldn’t know this unless you checked the non-medical ingredients, which are often listed under the main label. Sometimes you can only find this information if you lift up the main label, and drugstore staff tend to discourage that action. So, look up online what’s in those sugar-free vitamins you’re giving your children and make a choice based on your research.

What are the Benefits and Risks of Aspartame?

There has to be a reason why we’ve been sweetening things with aspartame for 40 years. Well, it has some advantages over sugar. Firstly, there is no evidence that it causes tooth decay. I can say that I have not had a cavity since I stopped drinking regular sodas.

While it has as many calories as sugar measure for measure, it’s much sweeter than sugar. That means you don’t use much of it. A tablespoon of aspartame would be equal to 200 tablespoons (12.5 cups) of sugar. So, you don’t take in many calories when you use it. And, it has a glycemic index of zero, meaning it won’t raise your blood sugar. This is why people with diabetes use it.

So, now the risks. There is some evidence that using aspartame increases your cravings for sweets. Because it doesn’t provide us with calories, it keeps us hungry and wanting more. The one benefit sugar has is that it offers a boost of energy. Aspartame doesn’t do that. Some people report having stomach issues and migraines if they ingest too much aspartame. The research is still investigating that, but I tend to believe it is true from my experiences.

And, finally, WHO has listed aspartame as a potential carcinogenic. There is some evidence that shows that aspartame can lead to cancers, particularly liver cancer. That can’t be good. But, they aren’t saying to stop using it altogether. They kept the recommended intake the same.

Why Is Aspartame Safe According to Health Canada and the FDA?

Well, the research shows that aspartame would be harmful in large amounts. WHO left the acceptable daily intake at 0-40 mg per kilogram of body weight. What does that mean if I want a Zero Sugar Cherry Coke? Well, if I weigh 75 kilograms (165 pounds), my limit of aspartame for the day is 3,000 mg. My can of Coke has 85 mg of aspartame. So, I’m good. I’d have to take in about 35 cans of the stuff before I exceeded my limit and went into the danger zone.

So Is Aspartame Safe to Use on Keto?

Bill wrote a blog comparing Zevia to Diet Coke. One of the deciding factors for us was the aspartame that’s in Diet Coke. We much prefer more natural sweeteners, such as stevia and monk fruit. Here’s our final thought: anything made through a chemical process probably isn’t great for you. But, many of our food products are. Truly, how much Kraft Dinner have we eaten over the years?

However, an occasional treat you enjoy that has aspartame in it probably won’t kill you. Now, if you drink two liters of Diet Coke a day along with some sugar-free Jello and sugar-free vitamins while chewing sugar-free gum? You may be pushing your limits. It’s like everything else – have in moderation and if it stops making you feel good, then stop.

Wendy