Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I found this website looking for aspartame and PCOS. Kinda weird. I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was about 14 and I had my 24 birthday on the 8th of this month. My problems with PCOS are obesity though i've lost weight twice and gained it back twice. I also have an almost full beard though I shave it every day and i have a 5 o'clock shadow. Needless to say this is a detriment to my self-esteem. I can't stand for people to look me in the face because I feel like they are seeing my dark spots on my chin. I've never attempted to get pregnant though, so I'm not sure if that will be one of my symptoms. I 've considered getting laser treatment but I'm gonna have to get some money saved up to do it. Anyway, the real question I was interested in asking anyone was if they had ever connected their intake of aspartame with PCOS? I was sitting in class today and one of my classmates wanted to prep for her speech class so she read her report on the dangers of ingesting this sweetner. I did not realize the horrible things that it can do to us and she definetly convinced me from consuming products that contain it or phenylalanine, which is the same thing. Diet sodas are the number one culprit and people don't realize that aspartame metabalizes into formaldehyde in your body and is stored in your fat cells which then produces more fat cells. It has been shown to cause brain cancer and seizures and makes other diseases or symptoms worse, including hair thinning. So I was wondering if anyone had actually considered if this might be what is causing so many women to have problems with PCOS? I am definetly going to cut out products with this sweetner. Thanks for listening to my ranting but I thought it might be something to let our minds marinate on.
i've only had sips of diet sodas and nibbles of things with aspartame in them, as i can't stand the way it tastes. plus it makes me feel sick. even in small amounts- that could just be a reaction to the taste though... i'm really good at telling if something has aspartame in it- i might have a hypersensitivity to the taste? i don't know. all i know is i can't stand the stuff, and avoid it no matter what. so i don't think i can link my pcos to aspartame. it's an interesting idea, though.
i've heard some of the same things that you've posted about before. the stuff is scary. i don't think i'd consume it even if i didn't mind the taste.
__________________ me 29 dh 29 married 04/28/01
we are parents!
levoxyl (t4) 75 mcg thybon (t3) 20 mcg
dd born on 11th of january, 2005
levoxyl 37.5 mcg (born without a thyroid)
ds born on 25th of april, 2008
Last edited by moonshadow; 04-17-2003 at 11:52 PM.
I try my hardest to stay away from Aspartame as I am allergic to formaldyhde.
I do have it on very rare occasion, like when I have something with it in there andnot knowing it, even then it's a small amount, which is still to much for me!
Thanks for the wonderful possible connection tip! I would have never really know about that. I found it very interesting to read!
You may be on to something with the aspartame. This article claims that aspartame (actually its components broken down in the body) can lower insulin sensitivity and may cause neuroendocrine disorders:
"According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes."
"A few of the many chronic illnesses that have been shown to be contributed to by long-term exposure excitatory amino acid damage include: Multiple sclerosis (MS), ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hypoglycemia, AIDS dementia, brain lessions, and neuroendocrine disorders."
"The Existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders." Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid."
whether or not aspartame is bad or neutral, it still upsets my personal stomach and tastebuds.
thanks for the 'warning' though. i think that it is always beneficial for people to do their own research, and figure out what they think is right for themselves. your post with its link should help people remember that there's almost always more than one side to an issue.
as for formaldahyde (whether or not aspartame can become formaldahyde)- i know i have a sensitivity to that from being exposed to it in anatomy lab! oh, i itched after labs! especially after taking a shower. icky.
__________________ me 29 dh 29 married 04/28/01
we are parents!
levoxyl (t4) 75 mcg thybon (t3) 20 mcg
dd born on 11th of january, 2005
levoxyl 37.5 mcg (born without a thyroid)
ds born on 25th of april, 2008
Last edited by moonshadow; 04-18-2003 at 04:14 AM.
I know that if I want soda, I drink plain soda w/sugar instead of the diet soda because I think the sugar does less damage to me than the aspartame! There is diet soda supposedly without aspartame, there are some natural kinds and then there is Diet Rite, although I can't say for sure they do not use aspartame, but they supposedly use splenda instead.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
PCOS+IR, Hypothyroidism
Sleep Apnea (cured by tonsillectomy)
30-Something Mommy of 2
Logan Scott born April 9, 2004!
Conor James born Nov 1, 2006.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
I forgot to add that like anything in life....you can have a negitive reaction to it.
My Mom for example has diabieties, asthma, fybermyalga.
She has allergies(intolerances) to many foods.
Most of them can make her asthma much worst.
While others can make her swell up and such.
When I first read the warning article about the aspertame it made since to me. But then someone here pointed out it was proven wrong on that other site.
It was never claified if the person who wrote it was false or if she wasn't fully truthfull about where she got her stories.
Then on the other hand..There are so many new artificial sweetners coming out, the ones that have been around awhile get nervous and would be willing to "cut" the compition quickly.
We know what our bodies can handle.
So if we have a reaction to something...avoid it.(Unless it's chocolate )
have a good day,
Patty
__________________ Endometriosis (Infertility Cause)
Andnomyosis (Infertility/Miscarry Cause)
Fibroid tummores(One reason for Non stop AF)
Tubal ligation syndrome(Sister of PCOS)
Check this link out for more information!!
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Thanks for welcoming me to the site. I was telling my mom last night about it. I think i got her to stop drinking them diet sodas finally. She had switched from Diet Coke to Pepsi because the cokes gave her a headache. The pepsi just has a lower level of it in them. But my mom suffers from fibromyalgia and CFS so its probably making it worse and when I told her about the ringing in the ears she almost flipped because for the last couple of months she's been complaining of ear ringing. A lot of people would say that it's a conspiracy theory but the majority of this report was written by a professor of food science back in '84 named Woodrow C Monte. He published it in the journal of applied nutrtion. This is not a joke. Also many doctors have gone on the record as having said the same thing. My mom works for 3 renal doctors and they say it's nothing but poision. They don't drink anything but water. That might be why their slim and trim. This product is in over 9000 products on the market today. Oh and also know that if it says "This product contains phenylalanine" it is the same thing as aspartame.
I believe the "conspiracy theories" about aspartame...yeah, I might be gullible, but I've never known anybody in my life that "lost weight" by drinking diet instead of regular coke. The taste of it alone makes me heave, so I stay away from it period. So I don't think it caused my PCOS. About 5 weeks ago I quit drinking ALL forms of coke, sprite, etc. I haven't lost weight, but my borderline IBS has gone away and I have more energy. That is enough to make me suspect they are dumping a whole lot of nasty stuff into soft drinks. I'd had near-IBS (got the runs every time I ate out, ate meat, ate anything really) for years, almost 5 years (since depo &PCOS began), and the only thing that ever made it go away was met (briefly) but quitting the canned stuff did it. Just my story...and yeah, I hear the black helicopters above my house! LOL
__________________ Whoa! bfp 11/22/08. A YAZ "reset" baby!
allergy shots 2 yr
Soma sleep apnea pillow--yeah it works, but it wears out after a year
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty, and the pig likes it.
soda itself isn't very good for people, especially for bones, whether or not you get enough calcium. it is especially detrimental if you drink mostly soda, and don't get enough calcium (from any source, not just milk). i don't remember why it is so bad for bones (something to do with the carbonation, maybe?), but there have been numerous studies on children and adults regarding soda drinking and bone density that put sodas in a bad light. i'm getting this info from an osteology course taught by a forensic osteologist (ph.d.) at my university. sorry i can't remember anything more specific.
i don't drink sodas on a regular basis, but they are a nice treat. i never drink diet sodas, even the ones that hansen's makes, which have no aspartame in them. i don't know what they use, but one of the people i used to work for drinks lots of diet sodas, and he thought they were quite good, even though they aren't pepsi. i also can't stand the mainstream type sodas (made by coke and pepsi, etc.)- i find them to syrupy and sweet. also, i don't drink caffeine.
has nayone ever noticed the signs (well, little stickers on the doors) near the entrance to grocery stores warning customers that the 'store sells items that contain aspartame, etc. which has been shown to be a carcinogen?' or something along those lines? i haven't looked for them in a while, but i remember seeing them a while back.
what a weirdo i am!
__________________ me 29 dh 29 married 04/28/01
we are parents!
levoxyl (t4) 75 mcg thybon (t3) 20 mcg
dd born on 11th of january, 2005
levoxyl 37.5 mcg (born without a thyroid)
Actually Diet Rite does not contain aspartame which is probably why there even more nastier than regular diet sodas. But does anybody remember that on the back of sweet'n' low was the warning that it had been shown to cause cancer in lab animals? A lot of people I've asked remember it. And it's not just in soda's. Check all of your chewing gums. It's enough to flip your top at the thought. Its more than likely in a lot of processed foods that you just wouldn't think it would be in. But anyway, i'm gonna stick to drinking just water for the next couple of weeks and see how that goes.
I just wanted to clarify that it's the dark sodas that have most of these issues. Of course the diet clear sodas also contain aspartame but often they are not caffeinated, mountain dew excluded of course (it is heavily caffeinated).. Of course they all contain too much sugar, but if I stick to sprite, 7-up or Sierra Mist for my soda binges I don't suffer the ill effects of say, a coke!
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
PCOS+IR, Hypothyroidism
Sleep Apnea (cured by tonsillectomy)
30-Something Mommy of 2
Logan Scott born April 9, 2004!
Conor James born Nov 1, 2006.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Hey. I checked out the article that says certain claims about aspartame's negative effects are false. Here's what it says:
"What we will assert is that there is simply nothing remotely approaching a consensus in the medical/scientific community that aspartame is (or even could be) responsible for an "epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus" http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartam.htm
This statement does not say that the claims about aspartame aren't true, it says that there is no consensus in the scientific community. Where have we heard that before? Oh yeah, global warming.....
Aspartame and PCOS 
I also have an almost full beard though I shave it every day and i have a 5 o'clock shadow. Needless to say this is a detriment to my self-esteem. I can't stand for people to look me in the face because I feel like they are seeing my dark spots on my chin. I've never attempted to get pregnant though, so I'm not sure if that will be one of my symptoms. I 've considered getting laser treatment but I'm gonna have to get some money saved up to do it. Anyway, the real question I was interested in asking anyone was if they had ever connected their intake of aspartame with PCOS? I was sitting in class today and one of my classmates wanted to prep for her speech class so she read her report on the dangers of ingesting this sweetner. I did not realize the horrible things that it can do to us and she definetly convinced me from consuming products that contain it or phenylalanine, which is the same thing. Diet sodas are the number one culprit and people don't realize that aspartame metabalizes into formaldehyde in your body and is stored in your fat cells which then produces more fat cells. It has been shown to cause brain cancer and seizures and makes other diseases or symptoms worse, including hair thinning. So I was wondering if anyone had actually considered if this might be what is causing so many women to have problems with PCOS? I am definetly going to cut out products with this sweetner. Thanks for listening to my ranting but I thought it might be something to let our minds marinate on.
)
