Biochemisty: Aspartame Case Study TEACHER NOTES Project Goals:

 Develop research skills  Use critical thinking skills to assess scientific evidence on a topic of debate in the media.  Link principles of biochemistry and scientific literacy to current issues  Communicate effectively to a specific audience  Develop peer assessment skills  Emphasize the importance of using scientific evidence to form arguments and highlight the disconnect between public perception and the scientific community.

Background Information:

There are rampant misconceptions among the general public about the dangers of aspartame which are largely based on internet rumor. Strong claims about the dangers of aspartame have been made by critics as outlined in the article provided for students entitled “Could There be Evils Lurking in Aspartame Consumption”. One of the intentions of this project is for students to recognize the lack of scientific evidence to back these claims and much larger body of peer reviewed studies asserting that it is metabolized much like all other dipeptides in our diet. While it is encouraged for students to draw their own conclusions from their research, it would likely be a harder sell for a student to take a stand against the use aspartame while still using science in their 3 arguments.

Summary of Possible Solutions:

Main arguments FOR Main arguments AGAINST the use of Aspartame the use of Aspartame  Rigorous testing by Health Canada, FDA and other  Long term testing is limited because it was regulatory bodies worldwide introduced in 1981  Many independent review boards, and scientific committees have conducted and reviewed the data and  People with phenylketonuria cannot metabolize confirm that there is no known risk to human health phenylalanine which is present in the dipeptide eg. Scientific Committee for Food of the European Community, and the Joint Expert Committee on Food  The amino acids in aspartame are modified, Additives (JECFA) of the United Nations Food and therefore they may have different metabolic Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization pathways as normal dipeptides. (eg. methylated,  More than 90 countries have approved its use benzyl groups added to prevent reactions at other sites of the molecule)  Individual claims of cause / effect relationships between aspartame and disease are scientifically investigated on  Claims of links to many health risks: an ongoing basis. Students may note that the neurotoxic effects, seizures, cancers, multiple overwhelming body of this research does not support any sclerosis, birth defects of these links. (note that the main body of scientific literature  Perhaps a greater health risk of diet related disease does not support these claims) caused by excessive sugar intake (eg. diabetes)