Aspartame in Baby Formula?!

Hello,

Something has got me really p*ssed!

A few years back, when I first started caring about what's in our food and drink, I remember picking up and reading the ingredients in a box of baby formula, Aptamil 1Yrs+ Growing Up Milk to be precise.



One of the ingredients in this particular brand of baby milk really stood out to me, Vanillin

I wondered why on earth they'd need to add an artificial sweet flavour to the milk, after all - research tells me that the "Aptamil first milk", the "Aptamil Comfort milk" and the "Aptamil Follow On Milk" don't have this particular ingredient in the list, so what's the difference?

I thought nothing more of it and had a small grumble to myself about those evil Illuminati b*stards manipulating cute little baby's taste buds in order to get them hooked on sweet, sugary tastes as early on in life as possible.

Fast forward a few years to yesterday. I was reading through some replies in response to a post about aspartame in a natural health group I'm a member of. One of them read something along the lines of:

"Also, avoid ANYTHING with vanillin in the ingredients because it's just another name for aspartame!".

My mind immediately thought back to that box of Aptamil baby formula and straight away, I googled, "vanillin aspartame".

Amongst other things, here is one thing I got:

Often when reading ingredients, where you expect to see Vanilla, you will see Vanillin. You can Google Vanillin with aspartame and note how often it is combined. One woman had serious neurological problems and thought she wasn't using aspartame until she realized the Vanilla coffee was in reality, vanillin with aspartame, but only the Vanillin was labeled.

rense.com...

There is nothing out there that officially states that Vanillin is aspartame, or has aspartame in it, (well, there wouldn't be would there? ) but, if you google it you can see that where there's vanillin in a list of ingredients, 99% of the time aspartame is right there next to it - but they don't always tell you that.

So...my point - are they putting aspartame in baby milk!? That's really, really sick (in fact, it's child abuse) when you consider this:

What are the risks to children who consume excess aspartame?

The protective enzymes in a baby's brain are still immature, and therefore are unable to effectively detoxify the excitotoxins that enter its brain. This would mean that in the case of a pregnant woman eating meals high in excitotoxin taste enhancers, the baby could be exposed to these high glutamate levels for many hours. It is not unreasonable to assume that mothers will eat several meals and snacks containing various forms of excitotoxins such as MSG, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and aspartame. This could produce a high concentration of glutamate exposure in the baby's brain several times a day. Also significant is the fact that the immature brain is four times more sensitive to the damaging effects of excitotoxins than the adult brain. Thus, following a dose of MSG, the baby's blood level of glutamate may remain high for many hours. Since no experimental work can be done on pregnant women or children, we must look to animal research studies for some clues. "In a study with mice and rats Toth and Lajtha found that, when giving aspartame and glutamate either as single amino acids or as liquid diets over a prolonged time (several hours to days), they could significantly elevate brain levels of these supposedly excluded excitotoxins. Brain tissue levels of aspartic acid rose as high as 61% and glutamate levels rose 35% in brain tissue over prolonged feeding... Humans are exposed to high concentrations of excitatory food additives throughout the day by consuming a variety of processed foods and diet drinks."2 Plasticity of the brain is important in the learning process. Even when the baby is in the womb, the brain of the infant is being stimulated by sounds, touch, and even light, causing changes in the brain's structure in important ways. Babies move and play with their toes, suck their thumbs, and react to noises and music after only six weeks in the womb. All of this stimulation causes the pathways in the brain to change and develop. At birth the baby's brain chemistry functions homogeneously -- the biochemical reactions occur evenly throughout the brain. But soon after birth, the brain undergoes a rapid acceleration in growth and function. During this period the level of glutamine, the precursor of glutamate, rises very rapidly in some of the areas of the brain. Glutamate helps to regulate the development of the wiring of nerves in the new brain. As the child grows, even beyond teen years, these developing connections grow as well. This process of molding the brain continues throughout life, but the majority of growth takes place within 0-7 years of life. During these critical years, if unborn and young children are fed drinks or food containing aspartame, over-stimulation can occur. It is important to appreciate that many of the toxic effects of excitatory amino acids occur at a time when no outward symptoms develop. The child does not become sick or throw up, or have any behavior that would alert the parents that something is wrong.

www.naturodoc.com...

At least Hitler was more honest and upfront about what he did...

That's disgusting. I used to drink lots of diet soda, every day, and I noticed my short-term memory getting pretty bad among other things, so I stopped drinking the stuff. About a year or 2 later I noticed my memory (which has always been good normally) start to return, as well as my brain just being all around "faster" again. Now I can't imagine how dangerous this poison would be on a baby...

I don't have a kid yet, but I'll be sure to give her clean food only (I don't think I can trust baby foods either) and make sure she only gets milk from her mother. I had no idea they were already disguising aspartame though, so thanks a lot for this heads up. I'll keep my eyes peeled for this... "Vanillin."

I will look for vanillin now! I did not know that...I think people read fast and see vanilla , when it says vanillin. ...someone told me aspartame was actually a glue for the space shuttle ? Is that true? I've been hearing all the stuff about how bad it is for you. But I see people putting it in their coffee through sweeteners all the time? ...someone's making some money..and it's not me.

Originally posted by AdamsMurmur
That's disgusting. I used to drink lots of diet soda, every day, and I noticed my short-term memory getting pretty bad among other things, so I stopped drinking the stuff. About a year or 2 later I noticed my memory (which has always been good normally) start to return, as well as my brain just being all around "faster" again. Now I can't imagine how dangerous this poison would be on a baby...

I don't have a kid yet, but I'll be sure to give her clean food only (I don't think I can trust baby foods either) and make sure she only gets milk from her mother. I had no idea they were already disguising aspartame though, so thanks a lot for this heads up. I'll keep my eyes peeled for this... "Vanillin."

edit on 13/9/12 by AdamsMurmur because: (no reason given)

You're right, it really is disgusting. Sadly though, it's unsurprising.

Baby food is just as bad! Most of it has "yeast extract" in the list of ingredients, which as I'm sure you know is one of MSG's many disguises.

reply to post by KatieVA


My mother (a granola-cruncher on the wholefoods top brass) has been screaming stuff like this at me since I was a child.

I guess parents are right, sometimes.

Hmm, so if something lists Vanillin on it and happens to have Aspartame included with it, that makes it Vanillins fault..

Good logic. I wonder if they also mix Water with Aspartame? Yikes. Better not drink anything with water in it. Dear god I SHOWER IN THAT STUFF!!!!!!!

I have no idea about you lot, but where I live they have to lists all ingredients on a label, including any artificial sweetener. This sounds to me like people who don't know what they're doing, spreading disinformation/misinformation and as the flow of whispers inevitably ends up on ATS, now it's available for others to think Vanillin is some evil synthetic cancer causing kitten killing deity sent to rot your brains instead of your teeth.

PS, you mention "Why would they mention Aspartame" with Vanillin. Why wouldn't "they"? "They" are not the ones saying how extremely deadly it is.

Originally posted by winofiend
Hmm, so if something lists Vanillin on it and happens to have Aspartame included with it, that makes it Vanillins fault..

Good logic. I wonder if they also mix Water with Aspartame? Yikes. Better not drink anything with water in it. Dear god I SHOWER IN THAT STUFF!!!!!!!

I have no idea about you lot, but where I live they have to lists all ingredients on a label, including any artificial sweetener. This sounds to me like people who don't know what they're doing, spreading disinformation/misinformation and as the flow of whispers inevitably ends up on ATS, now it's available for others to think Vanillin is some evil synthetic cancer causing kitten killing deity sent to rot your brains instead of your teeth.

PS, you mention "Why would they mention Aspartame" with Vanillin. Why wouldn't "they"? "They" are not the ones saying how extremely deadly it is.

You need to slow down and read things properly.

If vanillin (which is an artificial flavour that tastes like vanilla) is in a list of ingredients, it is almost certain that you'll find aspartame right there next to it.

However, people such as the woman I quoted in my OP find that if vanillin is listed alone without aspartame, they still seem to suffer from the same adverse reactions they get when they consume aspartame, which MIGHT indicate that the aspartame is still there but isn't being listed.

Yes, this is VERY possible, food companys can and do include ingredients in their products without listing them. This would be a perfect example of such, considering the sales of said baby milk would go through the floor if people knew aspartame was in it.

So the conspiracy here is...are they putting aspartame in baby formula, seeing as vanillin is listed in it's ingredients and 99% of the time aspartame is right there with it, hidden or not? That's the question I'm trying to ask here - no fearmongering involved I'm afraid.

Star and Flag.. Thanks for spreading the information!...

We are being decieved everyday and this goes to show just how little we know....

Originally posted by KatieVA
You need to slow down and read things properly.

If vanillin (which is an artificial flavour that tastes like vanilla) is in a list of ingredients, it is almost certain that you'll find aspartame right there next to it.

Vanillin is a phenolic aldehyde, an organic compound with the molecular formula C8H8O3. Its functional groups include aldehyde, ether, and phenol. It is the primary component of the extract of the vanilla bean.

Not artificial by default. But there is artificial Vanillin.

Synthetic vanillin, instead of natural vanilla extract, is sometimes used as a flavoring agent in foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals.

Non sequiter. You're assuming things.

However, people such as the woman I quoted in my OP find that if vanillin is listed alone without aspartame, they still seem to suffer from the same adverse reactions they get when they consume aspartame, which MIGHT indicate that the aspartame is still there but isn't being listed.

Aspartame. No vanillin. That is the culprit, no? So which is it. Vanillin OR aspartame? You say yourself it "MIGHT" be an indication that they have included aspartame.

What I'm taking issue with is the fact you're accusing something innocuous as being detrimental, because it has an association with a known chemical that has reported negative effects. Guilt by association.

And I certainly don't need to wade through all the misinformation when looking things up, to find random things that are only treated with disdain because they happen to be an ingredient WITH another one.

Prove to me the negative effects of Vanillin. Don't just say "Oh it might also have Aspartame.." .. this is ignorance at it's best.

Yes, this is VERY possible, food companys can and do include ingredients in their products without listing them. This would be a perfect example of such, considering the sales of said baby milk would go through the floor if people knew aspartame was in it.

So the conspiracy here is...are they putting aspartame in baby formula,

Show me a study on any baby formulae that has this conclusion. Otherwise you're fear mongering for stars and points.

seeing as vanillin is listed in it's ingredients and 99% of the time aspartame is right there with it,

So is water. Why no outcry about water? I'm sure you are as concerned about water and aspartame being mixed together? Why not?

hidden or not? That's the question I'm trying to ask here - no fearmongering involved I'm afraid.

edit on 13-9-2012 by KatieVA because: (no reason given)

Definite fear mongering. You've already concluded that Vanillin is a dangerous thing as it's associated with Aspartame.

Ignorance. Do you know that 100% of people who die, also have Feet? It is therefore simple to deduce that walking is a sign that someone is about to die.

Sigh

Maybe we can find a forensic scientist to test some baby formula for it...or a product that has vanillin in it to see if the aspartame is hidden but not listed! Any one know one who would do it? ...it wouldn't surprise me if its there but not listed...but without proof...maybe the synthetic vanillin is the culprit? After all it is SYNTHETIC ! And that word - synthetic- mixed with my food ...is just scary to me....

reply to post by winofiend

Originally posted by winofiend
Do you know that 100% of people who die, also have Feet? It is therefore simple to deduce that walking is a sign that someone is about to die.

Sigh

Don't be ridiculous!

Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time

Your analogy is completely silly and out of context.

I for one appluad the OP for making us all more aware of the "food" we cram into our face-holes on a daily basis and for taking the time to stop and ask questions (which is all she was doing) about it. Not that I have eaten much baby formula recently (I do dabble) but it's good to know.

When did we start calling people who ask questions fear mongers?

Sigh.

Aspertame is in almost every single brand of chewing gum as well. Show me a kid that doesn't chew gum!

I guess they use it because the sweetness lingers thus the claim "long lasting flavor..".

yeah - that ain't the only lasting effect

Originally posted by Meldionne1
Maybe we can find a forensic scientist to test some baby formula for it...or a product that has vanillin in it to see if the aspartame is hidden but not listed! Any one know one who would do it? ...it wouldn't surprise me if its there but not listed...but without proof...maybe the synthetic vanillin is the culprit? After all it is SYNTHETIC ! And that word - synthetic- mixed with my food ...is just scary to me....

I think you can pay to have a foresenics person test just about anything..

This info is really important. I've never even heard of that brand though.. I almost wonder if the company can be sued for child abuse if studies show it is what we think it is. And geez, who approves this kind of b.s? Why do companies skimp on using good ingredients?

Boob milk is the best milk for as long as a woman can stand though, but don't look down on her when those boobs looks like sad moobs after months of feeding..

Originally posted by TXRabbit
Aspertame is in almost every single brand of chewing gum as well. Show me a kid that doesn't chew gum!

I guess they use it because the sweetness lingers thus the claim "long lasting flavor..".

yeah - that ain't the only lasting effect

You're right, but not every brand has the deadly ingredient in it.
I always take my time when buying any food, don't care who's looking, I check the label on everrryyttthiinnggg..

I was surprised to find that trident didn't have aspartame in it, since it's a brand that's been around for so long.
It was usually those colorful, eye catching, super juicy brands that had all the killings in it.

I also noticed they put it in lip gloss as well.

Originally posted by LightWarrior11

You're right, but not every brand has the deadly ingredient in it.
I always take my time when buying any food, don't care who's looking, I check the label on everrryyttthiinnggg..

I was surprised to find that trident didn't have aspartame in it, since it's a brand that's been around for so long.
It was usually those colorful, eye catching, super juicy brands that had all the killings in it.

I also noticed they put it in lip gloss as well.

Since you mentioned Trident, I was at the store tonight and checked a few labels. The flavors/types of Trident I checked DID have aspartame

So far, the only brand I've seen that doesn't is Double Bubble which suits me fine. I love that gum! +1 as well for being a popular candy-bag offering at Halloween time!

OT - my Halloween offerings this year will be completely organic. Homebrew and garden veggies