Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful And Equal Measure

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Aspartame, or more commonly known as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal Measure; was discovered purely by chance in 1965 by a chemist named James M. Schlatter, who was testing an antacid drug (Prantini; 2014). The commercial industry believed that “a wonder product” had been discovered, which stood to revolutionise the food industry as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which is found in many of our foods and beverages universally. Aspartame is two-hundred times sweeter than sugar and is commonly used as a tabletop sweetener, a sweetener in prepared foods, diet foods or drinks, flavored waters, chewing gum, condiments and is even found in flavoring of medicines. It is found in majority of our food products marketed for weight control (Prantini; 2014). Aspartame has a sweeter taste in comparison to sugar, and therefore less of the sweetener can be used in food products in order to achieve the same level of sweetness as if sugar was used; which results in an individual consuming fewer calories and less sugar (American Cancer Society; 2014). …show more content…

Aspartame will increase the levels of phenylalanine on the foetal side of the placenta. Increased levels of phenylalanine can interfere with the growth of the foetal brain. As the foetus absorbs the nutrients from the food and drinks which the mother consumes, diet drinks are not recommended during pregnancy. When aspartame is metabolized, it breaks down into methanol, which is dangerous for pregnant women (Elsas; 1987). Although it could be said that this information is not relevant due to the information being published in 1987, the source is credible as the information was posted under the Doctors name and at the Emroy University. The source has also been published and therefore can be considered to have been peer

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