Aspartame is one of sweetening agents that also called aspartamum or aspartyl phenylamine methyl ester. We can find also aspartame as Equal, Nutrasweet, and Canderel. Those are the trade name of aspartame. Aspartame is used as sweetening agent in beverage products (such as in energy drinks), food products (such as in sugar-free candy), and in pharmaceutical preparations including tablets, powders mixes, and vitamin preparations. Aspartame can enhance sweet flavor and can be used to mask some unpleasant taste characteristics. The approximate sweetening power of aspartame is 180-200 times that of sucrose, a sugar that we usually use when we make a cup of tea. Because of it, the cadgers usually use aspartame or another sweetening agents in beverages they sold, but they don't know its right proportion. Beside that, the price of aspartame is cheap.
In 1 g of aspartame provides approximately 17 kJ (4kcal), because the calories that resulted are very low, it can be ignored. And because of it, aspartame become popular as sweetening agent for avoids calories that resulted in sugar (sucrose). Another advantages of aspartame are have a sweet taste like sugar, not damage teeth, enhance taste of fruits in foods and beverages, and it can be used as sweetening agent in foods and beverages for diabetic.
Aspartame in human body is metabolized become aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Of these materials, only phenylalanine is produced in sufficient quantities. In the normal healthy individual any phenylalanine produced is harmless; however, it is recommended that aspartame be avoided or its intake restricted by those people with phenylketonuria. Why ? Because in healthy human body, phenylalanine changed become tyrosine then excreted. But a person who suffers phenylketonuria can't change phenylalanine become tyrosine, so the concentration of phenylalanine is high in blood, so it can danger her or his body. The accumulation of phenylalanine in blood can poison the brain and cause mental retardation. Because of that, aspartame is contraindicated for phenylketonuria patients.
Aspartame is safe when we use it in right dose. The acceptable daily intake for aspartame is 40 mg/kg of body weight/day. It's mean, if a person has body weight 50 kg, the maximum aspartame can consume in a day by that person is 40 x 50 = 2000 mg or 2 grams. As long as we don't consume aspartame exceed the dose, it's safe. And don't forget to check the label in your foods or beverages product that you bought.
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