Aspartame (Nutri-Sweet and other artifical sweetners)

[Phanerothyme 12]

Originally posted by wayne72

Well to me the symptoms i've been suffering and from the posts on this thread and the PM's i've recieved, give me good reason to believe "Aspartame" is dangerous. As for a press cover up, I am suprised I have never read of the dangers. Instead I stumble across evidence, whilist searching for somthing else.

 

Now that you've quit diet coke, and if you experience relief, then you won't know whether it was caffeine or aspartame.

 

My belief is that we all have different sensitivities - and the future belongs to those who are fortunate enough not to experience disease symptoms from additives, pollution, animal dander, peanuts, gluten, lactose, industrialised world effluent etc.

[Pipine 10]

If you don't have the time to shop for fresh veg either get an organic veg box delivery or just stock up on decent veg on your fortnightly shop... there are plenty of veg that will last ages if stored corrently..

 

I get plenty of veg from M&S and its fine, lasts as well as any other veg.

 

Alot of organic produce is now similarly priced to non-organics.. especially if you stick to seasonal veg which makes sense anyway.

[Twiglet 10]

Originally posted by Anne23

If you don't have the time to shop for fresh veg either get an organic veg box delivery or just stock up on decent veg on your fortnightly shop... there are plenty of veg that will last ages if stored corrently..

 

I get plenty of veg from M&S and its fine, lasts as well as any other veg.

 

Alot of organic produce is now similarly priced to non-organics.. especially if you stick to seasonal veg which makes sense anyway.

 

I do stock up on what veg I can when I shop and it does last up to a week but not much more than that, which is a pain if I have to wait three weeks between shops. As for organic veg box deliveries, there is one around where I live and it does only does a 'seasonal box' which is £23 Perhaps justifiable for a family of four but certainly not just for me! I do have to refute the M&S thing though. I do remember the one on Fargate being pretty good. But the one where I am now is terrible. Even ready meals tend to be on their BBD when I go round, I always have to check these carefully.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Anne23

I get plenty of veg from M&S and its fine, lasts as well as any other veg.

M&S food is lovely, but has a less than lovely price tag. I haven't shopped for food there in a while, as my nearest M&S is some miles away, but I also remember M&S fruit and veg as being vastly over-packaged: apples packed in plastic trays and sealed in polythene. I prefer to buy fruit and veg loose.

 

Originally posted by Anne23

Alot of organic produce is now similarly priced to non-organics.. especially if you stick to seasonal veg which makes sense anyway.

I certainly don't find this to be the case. Even at Tesco or Sainsbury's, organic veg is much more expensive than the non-organic equivalent.

[Cliff Clavin 10]

Originally posted by Phanerothyme

Now that you've quit diet coke, and if you experience relief, then you won't know whether it was caffeine or aspartame.

 

My belief is that we all have different sensitivities - and the future belongs to those who are fortunate enough not to experience disease symptoms from additives, pollution, animal dander, peanuts, gluten, lactose, industrialised world effluent etc.

 

No its not Caffein, I thought it was. I used to use Pro-Plus (very high concentrate), no probs, except high energy and hyper activity. Decided to give them up , but only problems I suffered with them were dry mouth. It was only when mixed with Diet-Coke I got the ol' "Ectopics". Of course this is looking back, so memory may be distorted (another side effect of "Aspartame")

 

I continued to use Diet-Coke (and other products I never realised containing "Aspartame") and whenever my usage stopped or decreased I felt fine. When I upped my consumption then Bang!!! I was ill again. Coincidence, i'm not sure.

 

What I will do though is give up the ol' "Aspartame" for a good while and see how I feel. Then i'l try some Caffein, then some Aspartame and let you know the results. This way I will then be sure which is the worst. At this moment in time i'm believing "Aspartame" is the bad sh*t.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Twiglet

Unfortunately organic food tends to be more expensive. Fresh ingredients are also more expensive than buying prepared meals when you live alone and have no freezer. They also require shopping every couple of days and preparation time which is often unrealistic for those of us who work long hours.

I agree with that. In these days of 3 for £5 ready-meals being available at Asda or Tesco I defy anyone to make the equivalent meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients, for the same price. I know I couldn't. Then again, I'm sure there are better, more intrepid cooks out there than me.

 

Personally, I hate to cook and, as I'm congenitally lazy, I wouldn't want to spend my Saturday slaving in the kitchen making up the following weeks' meals to store in the freezer.

 

If there was someone at home who actually enjoyed cooking, and wouldn't mind cooking up a tasty dinner from scratch every night, then that would be fantastic. As it is, a quick blast in the microwave and I can settle down in front of the TV with my dinner and a glass of wine.

 

I suppose if you're an avid label watcher, choosing to avoid E numbers and associated additives, then you have a problem. You're forced to cook from scratch in order to control exactly what goes into your meal.

[Guest]

Originally posted by wayne72

Makes you wonder how we lived before the Oil age!

I suppose people lived at a more leisurely pace; less commuting, fewer instances of both partners in a couple going out to work, more time for shopping and cooking with ingredients bought at the local grocers, bakers and butchers shops.

[Twiglet 10]

Originally posted by ppn_2204

I agree with that. In these days of 3 for £5 ready-meals being available at Asda or Tesco I defy anyone to make the equivalent meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients, for the same price. I know I couldn't. Then again, I'm sure there are better, more intrepid cooks out there than me.

 

Personally, I hate to cook and, as I'm congenitally lazy, I wouldn't want to spend my Saturday slaving in the kitchen making up the following weeks' meals to store in the freezer.

 

If there was someone at home who actually enjoyed cooking, and wouldn't mind cooking up a tasty dinner from scratch every night, then that would be fantastic. As it is, a quick blast in the microwave and I can settle down in front of the TV with my dinner and a glass of wine.

 

I suppose if you're an avid label watcher, choosing to avoid E numbers and associated additives, then you have a problem. You're forced to cook from scratch in order to control exactly what goes into your meal.

 

I don't mind cooking and a do it every so often when the mood takes me, but as I said I live alone, and you can't really make a meal for one (notice how chicken breasts come in packs of two or more, and I don't like leaving one open) so it always seems a sinful waste of food. Sometimes I do refrigerate stuff for the next day but I rarely feel like eating the same meal two nights in a row.

 

After a long day at work if I've not got in until 7.30 or 8 I am feeling pretty lazy and it's not just about the cooking, but the inordinate amount of washing up cooking a meal from scratch entails!

 

I'm not a label watcher at all, although I do occasionally check ingredients (I despise mushrooms, its surprising how many meals have them hidden in!) and I do try and avoid anything with enormous amounts of artificial colours, e-numbers etc but I'm not terribly picky about them.

 

As for the pre-packaged fruit and veg thing, don't you always open them up and find a huge bruise or maggot hole on the other side? I also always pick my own loose.

[Guest]

Twiglet, my comments about cooking (and my lack of it) and ready meals (and my fondness for them), were not aimed at you. I was agreeing with your comments, particularly about the expense of fresh veg and the impracticalities (and, as far as I'm concerned, the downright tiresomeness) of cooking from scratch on a regular basis, especially during the week.

Originally posted by Twiglet

I'm not a label watcher at all, although I do occasionally check ingredients (I despise mushrooms, its surprising how many meals have them hidden in!) and I do try and avoid anything with enormous amounts of artificial colours, e-numbers etc but I'm not terribly picky about them.

Sorry if I've read your comments incorrectly (all this forum participation is apparently making me slightly paranoid ), but again, my comments about label watching were general, and certainly not aimed at you or anyone else inparticular.

Originally posted by Twiglet

As for the pre-packaged fruit and veg thing, don't you always open them up and find a huge bruise or maggot hole on the other side? I also always pick my own loose.

Fortunately, I've been lucky with maggots, but I agree with the comments about bruising. I always seem to get the bag of satsumas with the green ones hidden in the middle.

[Pipine 10]

Alot of organic produce has come down in price massively recently. Maybe it depends where you shop. Sainsburies seems fine to me and alot of the stuff in M&S seems a similar price to the non-organic. I also shop at my local organic green grocers and his prices are very reasonable.

 

Plus if you go late at night you often get some great reductions on the organic section

 

There are plenty of things you can cook from scratch quickly.. I have a Nigel Slater "fast food" book and everything in there is lovely and takes less than 1/2 hour to cook.

 

It just depends where your priorities are I guess.. for me its eating well and eating healthily. If I spend a few quid more a week and take an extra 1/4 hour in the kitchen at night then thats not a problem. I think I will be glad I made the effort in the long term.

 

I agree on the packaging tho - far too much of it from most supermarkets. Thats why the local green gocer is best!

[Guest]

Originally posted by Anne23

Alot of organic produce has come down in price massively recently.

Yes it has; but it's still vastly over-priced. In many cases more than twice the price of the equivalent non-organic product.

Originally posted by Anne23

Plus if you go late at night you often get some great reductions on the organic section

I usually find there's nothing left apart from a couple of shriveled carrots and some wilted broccoli . Any reductions in the organic section have usually taken the price down to that of the fresh non-organic veg, unless the product is really past its best. I try to buy fruit and veg when they're really fresh. I find they last longer, which is useful as I can't get to the supermarket as often as I'd like.

Originally posted by Anne23

There are plenty of things you can cook from scratch quickly.. I have a Nigel Slater "fast food" book and everything in there is lovely and takes less than 1/2 hour to cook.

Assuming of course that you can cook and like to cook . I freely admit to lacking the cooking gene, and I usually find that the end result of my infrequent efforts don't live up to the expectations promised by the recipe.

Originally posted by Anne23

It just depends where your priorities are I guess.. for me its eating well and eating healthily. If I spend a few quid more a week and take an extra 1/4 hour in the kitchen at night then thats not a problem. I think I will be glad I made the effort in the long term.

It's rather a leap - and, if you'll forgive me, just a little sanctimonious of you - to suggest that because I don't buy organic veg and prefer not to cook, my priorities are not eating well and healthily. I stated that I eat ready meals. I didn't say that I take myself off to McDonalds every night, or eat high fat, high salt, low fibre concoctions.

Originally posted by Anne23

I agree on the packaging tho - far too much of it from most supermarkets. Thats why the local green gocer is best!

Yes, M&S particularly is notorious for their abysmal use of excess packaging. The local greengrocer may be best, but unfortunatley I don't have one (it closed last year). The reason it closed was probably because the products available were relatively expensive compared to the supermarket, the selection was restricted and it wasn't open at the times when I do my shopping. The harsh realities of competition from neighbouring supermarkets.

 

Additionally, I'm fortunate enough to be able to choose exactly what I eat and where I buy it from. Many people have to buy the food which fits into a more restricted budget. Organic products are beyond the reach of many people, whether they would want to buy them or not.

[margarete 10]

Readers of this thread may be interested in these websites:

 

http://www.tfx.org.uk/ and http://www.bantransfats.com/