IS ASPARTAME SAFE?

WHAT IS ASPARTAME?
Aspartame is low calory sweetener which is safe to eat. Aspartame is used as a substitute of sugar cane. This sweetener is commonly used in food or drinks products such as sugar-free candy, energizer drinks, etc.

WHAT DOES ASPARTAME CONTAIN?
Aspartame consists of two amino acid, i.e aspartic acid and feninalanine. Amino acid is important for protein building. Both aspartic acid and feninalanine are important essential amino acid for the body as the body can not produce both by itself. Those two amino acid can be found at our daily food such as cow meat, chicken meat, fish, egg, wheat, soybeans, tahu, fermented soybean patty, milk, cheese, etc.

IS FENIN ALANINE DANGEROUS?
Fenin alanine in aspartame is not dangerous at all. It is even one of eight of essential amino acid which are important for growing, regeneration and faal functions. Feninalanine is not acumulate in the body when it is consumed, because the body will metabolise and absorb it, as any other fenin alanine-contained food such as meat, wheat and soybeans.

IT IS SAFE TO CONSUME FOOD CONTAIN FENIN ALANINE?
If you does not have phenyl ketonuria illness, you area safe to eat fenin alanine-contained food.

WHAT IS PHENYL KETONURIA (PKU)?
Phenyl ketonuria is metabolism anomaly in human body. The body is lack of a kind of enzyme needed for digestion of fenin alanine amino acid. It is why PKU patients are not allowed to consume aspartame because its fenin alanine can pile in the body.

Fortunately, PKU is a very rare disease, it is probably 1 to 15000 happened in human. PKU sufferer is not allowed to consume foods as normally human can consume. They must follow dietary of low calory food and take special liquid formula.

HOW CAN WE KNOW THAT WE DO NOT SUFFER PHENYL KETONURIA?
If you do not have any problems when consume protein-contained food such as meat, egg, bread, soybeans, milk, cheese etc, you do not suffer the disease. If you suffer this illness, you will feel symptom of brain decrease, loss of skin, eyes and hair pigmentation.

ARE THERE ANY WORLD HEALTH INSTITUTIONS SAY THAT ASPARTAME IS SAFE?
Aspartame has been used since 1965 and conducted a series of intensive researchs more than 40 years by many world health supervisors. World health organisation of UN stated that aspartame is safe and is not a cause of brain cancer.

Rewritten, translated and edited from the book of Gaya Hidup Sehat Alami by Tiens Group.