ASPARTAME
My favorite organic molecule is aspartame (C14H18N2O5). Being a loyal diet soda drinker, I consume aspartame on a regular basis. It is used as a sugar substitute.
Aspartame (aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester) was recently discovered by James Schlatter in 1965. Schlatter produced this substance while trying to create an anti-ulcer drug. The sweetener was discovered when he licked his aspartame-contaminated finger and discovered the sweet taste. It is said to be 200 times sweeter that sucrose (sugar) and fairly easy to produce. However, it has a slower onset and longer duration than sugar. It can also go by other names such as Equal, NutraSweet and Canderel. Aspartame is metabolized in the human body to aspartic acid, amino acids, phenylalanine, and methanol.
Aspartame is a methyl ester. As a peptide, aspartame breaks down into amino acids under high temperatures and high pH. It is stable in sodas, given that the average pH is between 3 and 5. Aspartame (and its constituent phenylalanine) are topic to those with PKU (phenylketonuria), as they are not able to metabolize these compounds.
Aspartame is found in lots of foods and beverages including but not limited to the following: sugar-free chewing gum, diet soda, some vitamins, candy, yogurt, low-sugar/sugar-free desserts, condiments (syrup, jelly, ketchup, fruit spread, etc.), ice cream, breath mints, flavored water, vegetable drinks, meal replacement shakes, etc.
In recent years, there has been a lot of debate as to whether or not the consumption of aspartame is safe. Some claim that there is a link between aspartame and cancer, brain tumors/lesions and lymphoma. However, both the Federal Drug Administration and the European Food Safety Authority both agree that this substance is safe as a food sweetener.
I like you consume aspartame often, my favorite Sugar Free Maple Syrup and I didn't know that in an unstable state this molecule has a high pH. Also, as an aside I remember one day watching Dr. Oz and he kept going on and on about the negative effects of sugar substitutes and how if you drink a diet soda then you'll crave sweets; which I later realized that I do have that happen. However, I'm still using aspartame because if we were to take every health warning with food into consideration I probably would never drink water or breathe air.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Aspartame is a good alternative to pure sugar but the thing that scares me about Aspartame is that it is an excitotoxin which means you know it damages and kills nerve cells by excessively stimulating them.
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