Aspartame

Last Updated: April 2, 2024

Aspartame is a nonnutritive artificial sweetener. It is used as a sugar substitute in soft drinks, candy, chewing gum, and low-calorie foods and is also available as a tabletop sweetener (e.g., Canderel, Hermesetas Gold, NutraSweet, and Pal Sweet).

Aspartame is most often used for

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is a nonnutritive artificial sweetener made from the amino acids L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine and is commonly used as a sugar substitute in various foods and beverages, including soft drinks and low-calorie products. It is available under several brand names, such as Canderel and NutraSweet.

What are aspartame’s main benefits?

Aspartame is claimed to help suppress appetite, aid in weight loss maintenance, and improve cardiometabolic health, which makes it popular among people who are on energy restriction diets. However, current evidence does not support long-term health benefits from aspartame in terms of energy intake, weight loss, or cardiometabolic health.

What are aspartame’s main drawbacks?

Aspartame's main drawbacks include its potential risk for individuals with phenylketonuria because it releases phenylalanine upon digestion, which can cause severe brain problems in these individuals. Additionally, although some studies suggest a possible association between aspartame and cancer, the evidence is inconsistent, which has led regulatory bodies to conclude that it is safe for consumption at current exposure levels, though further research is needed.

How does aspartame work?

Aspartame is metabolized into the amino acids L-aspartic acid and L-phenylalanine, which can be further broken down into small quantities of methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid and potentially lead to adverse effects at high doses. Although aspartame activates sweet taste receptors and may influence appetite regulation, its precise effects and mechanisms in the body, including any potential associations with cancer, remain unclear and require further investigation.

What are other names for Aspartame?
Note that Aspartame is also known as:
  • Methyl aspartylphenylalanine
  • Canderel
  • Hermestas Gold
  • Milisucre
  • Tri-Sweet
  • Nozucar
  • NutraSweet
  • Pal Sweet
Dosage information

Dosage Information

In the US, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are regulated by the FDA, and products containing aspartame must be approved before they can be used. Because of the potential health risks of aspartame consumption, the FDA has set an acceptable daily intake, which is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day over a person's lifetime.

In the US, the FDA has set the acceptable daily intake for aspartame at 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day (mg/kg/day). Meanwhile, the EFSA and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) have set the acceptable daily intake for aspartame at 40 mg/kg/day.[2][3]

To put these acceptable daily intake values into context, a person weighing 70 kg would have to consume approximately 9–14 cans of diet soda per day to exceed an intake level of 40 mg/kg/day.

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Update History
2024-04-02 00:30:03

Full FAQ and database update

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We fully updated this page, and have added a number of new FAQs, including ones about how aspartame is made, whether it causes headaches and cancer, and how industry involvement may influence the findings of the studies we cite.

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References
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Examine Database References
  1. Blood glucose - Santos NC, de Araujo LM, De Luca Canto G, Guerra ENS, Coelho MS, Borin MFMetabolic effects of aspartame in adulthood: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trialsCrit Rev Food Sci Nutr.(2018)
  2. Blood glucose - Ingrid Toews, Szimonetta Lohner, Daniela Küllenberg de Gaudry, Harriet Sommer, Joerg J MeerpohlAssociation Between Intake of Non-Sugar Sweeteners and Health Outcomes: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses of Randomised and Non-Randomised Controlled Trials and Observational StudiesBMJ.(2019 Jan 2)
  3. Blood glucose - Zhang R, Noronha JC, Khan TA, McGlynn N, Back S, Grant SM, Kendall CWC, Sievenpiper JLThe Effect of Non-Nutritive Sweetened Beverages on Postprandial Glycemic and Endocrine Responses: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Nutrients.(2023-Feb-20)