Aspartame

[Johan]

Hello, i am not a pilot or anything like that. But i have a question for you and i hope that someone can answere it for me.

Are pilots allowed to drink diet-soda that contains aspartame before flights? If they are NOT allowed too, can someone explain why please.

Thank you in advance

 

[JoseCuervo]

Hello, i am not a pilot or anything like that. But i have a question for you and i hope that someone can answere it for me.

Are pilots allowed to drink diet-soda that contains aspartame before flights? If they are NOT allowed too, can someone explain why please.

Thank you in advance

They can drink diet soda with Aspartame.

 

[RyanB]

They can drink diet soda with Aspartame.

Unless it's that really strong aspartame that's in Coors and Bud Light then no.

Pop and gum with aspartame yes.

 

[Johan]

Unless it's that really strong aspartame that's in Coors and Bud Light then no.

Pop and gum with aspartame yes.

Thanks Jose, can you expain why they cant drink that? (or is it because its beer? )

 

[RyanB]

Thanks Jose, can you expain why they cant drink that? (or is it because its beer? )

It's a joke buddy. Yes it's because it's beer.

 

[Johan]

haha damet i knew it!
My buddy is CERTAIN that pilots are not allowed to drink diet-soda containing aspartame and i really want to shut him up

 

[RyanB]

haha damet i knew it!
My buddy is CERTAIN that pilots are not allowed to drink diet-soda containing aspartame and i really want to shut him up

Other than the obvious health effects that have been noted in news articles about consuming aspartame, nothing prevents a pilot from drinking diet-soda. Rest easy.

 

[Johan]

Ok thank you Ryan, how long have you been a pilot?

 

[Anymouse]

A bunch of years ago, like in the 90s, there was an urban legend going around about pilots having convulsions in the cockpit after consuming drinks containing Aspartame. That's probably where you're friend is getting his information. Try looking it up on Snopes.

 

[azure]

Other than the obvious health effects that have been noted in news articles about consuming aspartame, nothing prevents a pilot from drinking diet-soda. Rest easy.

Ummm... okay I'll bite. What health effects? Other than phenylketonurics and people with unusual chemical sensitivities, who has had documented ill effects (i.e. a real, recognized medical condition or aggravation thereof) from consuming aspartame?

 

[Fearless Tower]

Ummm... okay I'll bite. What health effects? Other than phenylketonurics and people with unusual chemical sensitivities, who has had documented ill effects (i.e. a real, recognized medical condition or aggravation thereof) from consuming aspartame?

There's been lots of supposition about the effects of Aspartame, but so far it seems nothing concrete:

http://m.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

 

[Jimmy cooper]

There's been lots of supposition about the effects of Aspartame, but so far it seems nothing concrete:

http://m.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

Interesting history about aspartame, the FDAs refusing to ok it due to ongoing negative study's, and who eventually got it approved and how much he was paid. The experts who studied aspartame believe their research is quite Germaine and concrete.

 

[RyanB]

Ummm... okay I'll bite. What health effects? Other than phenylketonurics and people with unusual chemical sensitivities, who has had documented ill effects (i.e. a real, recognized medical condition or aggravation thereof) from consuming aspartame?

There's been lots of supposition about the effects of Aspartame, but so far it seems nothing concrete:

http://m.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

It's been in the media for quite some time now along with other artificial sweeteners like Splenda and their potential side effects. I suppose it's why you see "Aspartame-free" on certain gum wrappers now.

 

[Palmpilot]

It's been in the media for quite some time now along with other artificial sweeteners like Splenda. I suppose it's why you see "Aspartame-free" on certain gum wrappers now.

Also on Diet Pepsi labels.

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

You are not allowed to consume aspartame etc in generous quantities if flying soon after in my cockpit/small cabin! Either that or I am going on O2!

 

[azure]

It's been in the media for quite some time now along with other artificial sweeteners like Splenda and their potential side effects. I suppose it's why you see "Aspartame-free" on certain gum wrappers now.

Well sure. There are a lot of people out there who believe that anything synthetic, chemical, or "non-natural" is necessarily bad for your health, based on anecdotal evidence from individuals who claim to have gotten sick from various additives. Companies that take aspartame out of their products are just responding to market forces. It doesn't mean that there is any solid science behind these claims. As far as I'm aware, claims that aspartame (and sucralose) are harmful are based entirely on such anecdotal evidence. Personally, I put them in the same category as claims that vaccines cause autism, or that GMO foods are responsible for increases in certain cancers.

That's not to say that there aren't people with biological sensitivities to certain additives, who simply can't use them without ill effects. Some of those sensitivities may well be not well understood by science. But the science to date seems to say that most people don't have problems with them at normal, reasonable intake levels.

 

[James331]

They can, but I don't trust folks who drink diet... or midgets

 

[kyleb]

Well sure. There are a lot of people out there who believe that anything synthetic, chemical, or "non-natural" is necessarily bad for your health, based on anecdotal evidence from individuals who claim to have gotten sick from various additives.

The aspartame thing is similar to the "Vaccines cause autism." crowd, which largely bases its arguments on the fact that a high profile celebrity and ex Playboy centerfold made the claim that vaccines caused her child's autism and subsequently embarked on a campaign against vaccines...

 

[Fearless Tower]

The aspartame thing is similar to the "Vaccines cause autism." crowd, which largely bases its arguments on the fact that a high profile celebrity and ex Playboy centerfold made the claim that vaccines caused her child's autism and subsequently embarked on a campaign against vaccines...

One of my favorite Faceboook feeds is a page called 'Things Anti-Vaxers Say'

Always good for a few laughs!

 

[RJM62]

One of my favorite Faceboook feeds is a page called 'Things Anti-Vaxers Say'

Always good for a few laughs!

There's a bit more science behind questioning the safety of aspartame than there is about the alleged dangers of vaccinations. Aspartame's metabolites are pretty nasty. The question is whether they're present in sufficient quantities to be harmful.

I'm actually more concerned about sucralose, however. It's one of the few organochlorine chemicals that wasn't designed to be an insecticide. Its close relatives include such lovely chemicals as DDT, chlordane, lindane, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin... All pretty nasty substances, many of them now illegal.

I personally don't use either aspartame or sucralose. If I want to sweeten something (which is pretty rare in any case), I use stevia. I'm not sure whether it's "safe," but at least it wasn't invented to kill cockroaches.

Rich

 

[azure]

The aspartame thing is similar to the "Vaccines cause autism." crowd,

As I said in that very post, below the part that you quoted...

which largely bases its arguments on the fact that a high profile celebrity and ex Playboy centerfold made the claim that vaccines caused her child's autism and subsequently embarked on a campaign against vaccines...

Interesting, I had not heard that before. At least some of the people in that movement are not the type to pay close attention to celebrity gossip, so I wonder. Anyway I vaguely remember that there was a paper a few years back that implicated some chemical used as a preservative in many vaccines (thimerosal? not sure) as a possible cause of autism, but that research was later discredited. I suspect that selective attention to research that supports one's prejudices (and the tendency of mass media to report sensational claims but ignore or at least downplay later research that discredits them) probably has more to do with the growth of the anti-vaxxers movement than a campaign launched by one person, however famous.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

There's a bit more science behind questioning the safety of aspartame than there is about the alleged dangers of vaccinations. Aspartame's metabolites are pretty nasty. The question is whether they're present in sufficient quantities to be harmful.

I'm actually more concerned about sucralose, however. It's one of the few organochlorine chemicals that wasn't designed to be an insecticide. Its close relatives include such lovely chemicals as DDT, chlordane, lindane, heptachlor, aldrin, dieldrin... All pretty nasty substances, many of them now illegal.

I personally don't use either aspartame or sucralose. If I want to sweeten something (which is pretty rare in any case), I use stevia. I'm not sure whether it's "safe," but at least it wasn't invented to kill cockroaches.

Rich

Really? As a chemist, I disagree with the bolded comment. All of those pesticides mentioned are basically chlorinated hydrocarbons; DDT is a chlorinated phenyl compound. Sucralose is more closely related to sugars.

The bolded comment quoted above is about the same as stating that Plavix, Polaramine, or Norvasc is a close relative to those pesticides- all of these are useful medicines.

Most chlorinated (or brominated compounds) I have worked with weren't designed to be insecticides but were made as intermediates to produce other compounds.

 

[RJM62]

Really? As a chemist, I disagree with the bolded comment. All of those pesticides mentioned are basically chlorinated hydrocarbons; DDT is a chlorinated phenyl compound. Sucralose is more closely related to sugars.

The bolded comment quoted above is about the same as stating that Plavix, Polaramine, or Norvasc is a close relative to those pesticides- all of these are useful medicines.

Most chlorinated (or brominated compounds) I have worked with weren't designed to be insecticides but were made as intermediates to produce other compounds.

How many sugars are there that have chlorine atoms? Because I gotta tell ya, I don't remember any from my own (admittedly inferior to your own) organic chemistry classes. All I remember are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms -- not chlorine atoms where three of the hydroxyl groups should be.

But hey, I missed a few days here and there, so maybe those were the days when they covered all the chlorinated sugars.

Rich

 

[Cap'n Jack]

How many sugars are there that have chlorine atoms? Because I gotta tell ya, I don't remember any from my own (admittedly inferior to your own) organic chemistry classes. All I remember are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms -- not chlorine atoms where three of the hydroxyl groups should be.

But hey, I missed a few days here and there, so maybe those were the days when they covered all the chlorinated sugars.

Rich

Please read my post again. I didn't say it was a sugar, but more closely related to sugars that to the pesticides you listed. Those chlorines are what makes it indigestable since it isn't recognized as a sugar.

I'm not disagreeing with your premise that sucralose may not be safe for everyone, but rather your reasoning that it is dangerous because it is closely related to those halogenated hydrocarbons that you listed. The shape of the molecule, lipophilicity (ability to dissolve in fats and oils) and a number of other factors affect toxicity. Sucralose is a very different compound than the pesticides you cited.

 

[RJM62]

Please read my post again. I didn't say it was a sugar, but more closely related to sugars that to the pesticides you listed. Those chlorines are what makes it indigestable since it isn't recognized as a sugar.

I'm not disagreeing with your premise that sucralose may not be safe for everyone, but rather your reasoning that it is dangerous because it is closely related to those halogenated hydrocarbons that you listed. The shape of the molecule, lipophilicity (ability to dissolve in fats and oils) and a number of other factors affect toxicity. Sucralose is a very different compound than the pesticides you cited.

Thanks for the clarification.

I don't know that sucralose is dangerous, but we're at a disadvantage in terms of finding out. It's not a situation such as we had with pesticide applicators who applied chlordane, dry cleaners who worked with perchloroethylene, or industrial workers who worked with carbon tetrachloride, all chlorocarbon chemicals not commonly used by the general public. Those people became guinea pigs in something akin to natural experiments, with the rest of society serving as the control group.

Sweeteners are different because they are ubiquitous. They're like salt and sugar in that they're in many, many products where one wouldn't expect to find them. Also, I doubt that most people even know, much less care, which one is used to sweeten their beverages of choice, so it would be almost impossible to gather even empirical data of any real value regarding long-term health effects. Most people who buy "diet," "low-cal," or "sugar-free" products don't delve into the labels to see exactly which sweeteners are used in the products.

And yet in order to know for sure that sucralose is safe, we'd need studies of a lifespan's length. The elevated instances of diseases like prostate cancer, NHL, testicular cancer, liver damage, dementia, DM2, and so forth that were observed in pesticide applicators who had extensive exposure to chlordane and other organochlorines occurred after decades of exposure, not a few years.

So here we have this sweetener that is a member of this huge bunch of compounds, the vast majority of which (including the pharmaceuticals) are known to be toxic to some extent, and some of which were actually designed as poisons. And they want me to sprinkle it in my coffee to make it sweet, despite the lack of any long-term research (nor even empirical data) to prove that it's an exception to the rule that chlorinated hydrocarbons in general aren't things that are good for human health.

I say no thanks.

This could be a case of a little knowledge being dangerous. But it could also be a case of assuming that someone wearing gang colors is probably a member of a gang. Until I know otherwise, I prefer to keep my distance.

Rich

 

[Dav8or]

I have been drinking Diet Coke since it was introduced. (33 years) I have been known to drink it before, during and after a flight. I am still here to type this. All you guys should save this post so that someday in the future when I either go into convulsions and crash my plane, or I develop some crazy cancer. Then you can all post- "I told you so!!"

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

@azure, look up Jenny McCarthy and Dr. Andrew Wakefield for a first class example of
quackery in action. Both of them have blood on their hands (ref. children whose parents chose not to vaccinate them based upon this nonsense, and who subsequently suffered or died from an easily prevented condition).

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

Very similar compounds (ie similar number of H, C, O etc etc) may appear to be somewhat the same, but have vastly different effects on biological systems.
For example, look at isomers, especially stereoisomers.
The best example of which might be thalidomide S vs R.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Thanks for the clarification.

I don't know that sucralose is dangerous, but we're at a disadvantage in terms of finding out. It's not a situation such as we had with pesticide applicators who applied chlordane, dry cleaners who worked with perchloroethylene, or industrial workers who worked with carbon tetrachloride, all chlorocarbon chemicals not commonly used by the general public. Those people became guinea pigs in something akin to natural experiments, with the rest of society serving as the control group.

Sweeteners are different because they are ubiquitous. They're like salt and sugar in that they're in many, many products where one wouldn't expect to find them. Also, I doubt that most people even know, much less care, which one is used to sweeten their beverages of choice, so it would be almost impossible to gather even empirical data of any real value regarding long-term health effects. Most people who buy "diet," "low-cal," or "sugar-free" products don't delve into the labels to see exactly which sweeteners are used in the products.

And yet in order to know for sure that sucralose is safe, we'd need studies of a lifespan's length. The elevated instances of diseases like prostate cancer, NHL, testicular cancer, liver damage, dementia, DM2, and so forth that were observed in pesticide applicators who had extensive exposure to chlordane and other organochlorines occurred after decades of exposure, not a few years.

So here we have this sweetener that is a member of this huge bunch of compounds, the vast majority of which (including the pharmaceuticals) are known to be toxic to some extent, and some of which were actually designed as poisons. And they want me to sprinkle it in my coffee to make it sweet, despite the lack of any long-term research (nor even empirical data) to prove that it's an exception to the rule that chlorinated hydrocarbons in general aren't things that are good for human health.

I say no thanks.

This could be a case of a little knowledge being dangerous. But it could also be a case of assuming that someone wearing gang colors is probably a member of a gang. Until I know otherwise, I prefer to keep my distance.

Rich

The analogies above are a bit suspect. Lumping all organo-chlorine compounds together is like lumping all alcohols together (including water, the start of the homologous series that goes water, ethanol, ethanol, propanol, etc). Water isn't terribly toxic (ignoring drowning, where it was ingested into the wrong organ), methanol causes blindness, ethanol (in moderation) is a pleasant addition to parties and may even have some health benefits. Although it is possible to drink limited quantities of the various propanols, they smell rather nasty and I wouldn't care to try it. Sugars themselves are alcohols and have differing properties, and are very different from the alcohols mentioned earlier. Many of us can enjoy milk into adulthood, but some of us stop producing lactase as adults and are unable to metabolize lactose. So lumping all organo chlorides together makes as much sense as saying all compounds containing hydroxy groups are toxic based on the simple alcohols.

As you noted, workers in the pesticide field are exposed to high, chronic, concentrations of compounds and that does make a difference as compared to the general public. Diacetyl (butter flavor) has been linked a type of bronchitis in factories that make microwave popcorn. Yet this bronchitis hasn't been reported in the general public, hence the name "popcorn maker's lung". Diacetyl occurs naturally in butter (gives the flavor) and in fermentation where it is a naturally occurring flavoring and, as such, is a compound most people are exposed to nearly daily as they are to sweeteners.

While ethanol is a pleasing drink to most of us, some people can't metabolize it very well. In Asia, it is common to find 1% beer (or other drinks) to account for this population. Likewise, most of us seem to to pass sucralose without problems but there may be a subset of the population that metabolize. As sucralose has been commercially available since the early 1990s, I haven't heard of a great deal of problems during this time but I agree about all the data isn't in as yet. As we are exposed to so many different compounds, natural and man-made, isolating the effects of a particular compound is often difficult.

 

[bcolohan]

The biggest concern I have heard is the impact aspartame has on night vision. My father was a military pilot and at one time (don't know if it is still applicable) military pilots were not allowed to drink aspartame because they believed it negatively affected the pilot's night vision. If you do a Google search you will find this is not an urban myth. Apparently, vision is one of the things that consistently pops up when researching aspartame consumption.

 

[Tom-D]

It took me a while to find out it gives me a headache.
I don't drink it anymore

 

[JOhnH]

Ummm... okay I'll bite. What health effects? Other than phenylketonurics and people with unusual chemical sensitivities, who has had documented ill effects (i.e. a real, recognized medical condition or aggravation thereof) from consuming aspartame?

Look around. All the fat people are guzzling drinks with aspartame. Therefore, aspartame must cause fatness and we all know fat is bad for you.

edit: I just realized that this thread is from 2016.
And people are still drinking aspartame and getting fatter and fatter.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

A bunch of years ago, like in the 90s, there was an urban legend going around about pilots having convulsions in the cockpit after consuming drinks containing Aspartame. That's probably where you're friend is getting his information. Try looking it up on Snopes.

Probably spread by The Sugar Association.

 

[azure]

Look around. All the fat people are guzzling drinks with aspartame. Therefore, aspartame must cause fatness and we all know fat is bad for you.

edit: I just realized that this thread is from 2016.
And people are still drinking aspartame and getting fatter and fatter.

Yep, an unreg revived a long-dead thread last night. Kittens must die!

I assume you're being facetious? Correlation vs. causation etc...

 

[JOhnH]

Yep, an unreg revived a long-dead thread last night. Kittens must die!

I assume you're being facetious? Correlation vs. causation etc...

Yes; being facetious.
But there is evidence that using artificial sweeteners does not satisfy the hunger feeling, causing people to actually eat more after drinking diet sodas, thus causing weight gain. I don't know if that is true because I don't drink soft drinks (well, maybe two or three a year) and I still struggle with my weight.

 

[benyflyguy]

Ask long as the Captain is not adding a little Captain to the Diet Coke for the flight I think your ok.

 

[cowman]

Purely anecdotal of course but my wife found she was getting nauseous after drinking diet soft drinks. I just don't like the taste.

I've just developed a simple philosophy on this stuff- I don't buy anything labeled as diet or low-fat. Not only does it often have other stuff added you may not want, it's not as satisfying and you're just going to end up wanting to eat more of something else anyway. If I'm getting too fat I just try to eat less overall food and exercise a little bit more. Not perfect, like most people I could stand to lose a few lbs but it's under control and stable and I don't have to play all these dieting games this way.