Aspartame: Possibly More Sour Than Sweet.
We are a nation addicted to sugar, but because America is becoming more and more calorie obsessed, aspartame is slowly taking the place of sugar in many products. Sugar is something that is a regular part of many people's diets in almost every meal. From cereal, or a pastry in the morning, to sweetener in coffee, to candy bars, to dessert, processed sugar is everywhere. It can be disguised as sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, or any other ingredient ending in -OSE. .
Since a high percentage of Americans are overweight, or constantly dieting, Americans search out food and drinks that satisfy their sugar cravings- without the calories. Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter that sugar, so as a result very little is needed to adequately sweeten foods. Consequently, the calories in foods can be substantially reduced by replacing sugar with aspartame.
Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a researcher by the name of Mr. James Schlatter, at G.D. Searle and company. Schlatter was a scientist doing research about amino acids. He was working to develop a treatment for ulcers. When he licked his fingers to pick up a piece of paper from his desk, he tasted something sweet on them. He first thought it was from the doughnut he had eaten for breakfast, but his curiosity took over the practical side of him. As it turned out, he had inadvertently had his first taste of aspartame and he helped create a product that would revolutionize the category of sweeteners all over the world. .
Aspartame is a very controversial product. Although there is no proven evidence that aspartame (in normal dosages) can be a problem to your health many people refuse to consume aspartame. When given a choice between Coke or Pepsi, Alyse Muller, a somewhat typical 14 year old girl exclaimed, "Either, as long as its not diet because I don't like aspartame." When her friends order a diet drink Muller will never resort to drinking it.
As more and more manufacturers entered the chewing gum market, the popular substance began to be marketing different ways. ... In the 1870s, Adams & Sons sold "Sour Orange" flavored gum as an after dinner candy. ... In Extra sugarfree gum, aspartame, mannitaol and sorbitol replace sugar and corn syrup. ...