Effect of Nutrasweet on health.

[banschbach at vms.ocom.okstate.edu]

In article <23k39p$nq6 at eddie.mit.edu>, steve at eddie.mit.edu (Steve Gisselbrecht) writes:
> In article <1993Jul30.154752.1 at vms.ocom.okstate.edu> banschbach at vms.ocom.okstate.edu writes:
>> [excellent discussion of amino acid metabolism deleted]
>>
>>Just like PKU, only a very small population will not be able to handle 
>>aspartic acid or glutamic acid [...]
>>
>>Marty B.
> 
> 	Do you know if these populations overlap?  Are they the same?
> My boyfriend is prone to "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome", and I wonder
> if I should warn him about lots of Nutra-Sweet on an empty stomach.
> Aspartate and glutamate are so similar, I wouldn't be surprised if an
> inability to deal with one usually meant an inability to deal with the
> other, but glutamate's role in nitrogen metabolism is so unique, I
> wouldn't be particularly surprised if it didn't, either.
> 
> 					steve 

There is some overlap in the metabolic pathways for amino acids but someone 
who has a problem keeping blood levels of glutamic acid within normal 
limits should not have a problem with either aspartic acid or 
phenylalanine.  A separate genetic defect would probably be needed but the 
odds of someone with PKU also having a genetic defect involving glutamic 
acid or aspartic acid are very low (probably about the odds of winning a 
state lottery).  The same goes for your friend who can't handle glutamic 
acid (MSG-Chinese Resturant Syndrome), it's highly unlikey that he would 
also have a defect in aspartic acid or phenylalanine metabolism.  Unless he 
has an adverse reaction to drinking a diet soda with nuratsweet in it, he 
should not have to avoid nutrasweet.

Marty B.                   "You are what you eat"