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The Sweet Truth About Aspartame

Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDN

When it comes to solving a mystery, most viewers of TV crime shows know that good forensics will unravel the case. They’ve seen how detectives use scientific methods to gather all the evidence they need to nab the right suspect and win a guilty verdict. Yet when it comes to deciding what foods and ingredients are safe to consume, many people are not as willing to follow the same procedure.

If you’ve ever read or heard a report that questions the safety of aspartame, it may be time to take out your magnifying lens for a closer examination of the facts and who’s dishing them out.

One of the first signs of a slanted story is when it starts out by saying there is a controversy over the safe use of artificial sweeteners. My immediate reaction is to question with whom is the controversy? It’s not among the international food regulatory agencies that have approved aspartame as a food additive for use in over 100 countries. There’s no controversy in the scientific statements supporting the use of artificial sweeteners from numerous health organizations, including the American Heart Association, Canadian Diabetes Association and National Cancer Institute. And no controversy was found in the Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of aspartame from the European Food Safety Authority published in 2013.

What may appear as a controversy could be someone “cherry-picking” the studies he or she uses to tell the story and disregarding any of the research that doesn’t agree with that position.  This “selection bias” can be very convincing if you, the reader, don’t have any way to check all of the available research, and that’s just not right.

You can avoid getting caught in the middle of these trumped up controversies by relying on credible sources for your food and nutrition information, such as the Food and Nutrition Center of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Credible sources don’t use fear tactics, make grandiose promises or blame serious illnesses on any one food or ingredient.  And if a claim sounds really outrageous, you can try to verify it on Snopes.com, a clearing house for myths, folklore and other misinformation.

 

Robyn Flipse, RDN

An advisor for the Calorie Control Council, Robyn Flipse, MS, MA, RDN is a registered dietitian and cultural anthropologist whose 30+ year career includes maintaining a busy nutrition counseling practice, teaching food and nutrition courses at the university level, and authoring 2 popular diet books and numerous articles and blogs on health and fitness.  Her ability to make sense out of confusing and sometimes controversial nutrition news has made her a frequent guest on major media outlets, including CNBC, FOX News and USA Today. Her passion is communicating practical nutrition information that empowers people to make the best food decisions they can in their everyday diets. Reach her on Twitter @EverydayRD and check out her blog The Everyday RD.

faq2Do you have questions about low-calorie sweeteners? Want to learn more about maintaining a healthy lifestyle? You asked and we listened. Our resident Registered Dietitians answered the most popular questions about low-calorie sweeteners.

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