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PSA: Food Chemistry
Monday, September 20th, 2010 10:40 pmHave I mentioned here that I'm allergic to Aspartame?
It used to be that it "only" gave me a headache, but the last two times I've unwittingly ingested it, I've gotten, um, *ill*.
So! A few tips:
Aspartame/Nutrasweet is not, oh-no-not, the same as sugar. No, really.
While it's a nice idea to make sweet things for a group event with Aspartame/Nutrasweet so that the diabetic members of the group won't be deprived of the happiness that is dessert? The idea that it's OK to simply make all sweet things with Aspartame because sugar is Poison to Diabetics but Anyone Can Eat NutraSweet -- is demonstrably wrong.
I am myself personally allergic to Aspartame. No, really; I do mean that.
This means:
1. If I happen to pull you out of a signing line, for instance, to hand you a five dollar bill and ask you to get me a Coke or Pepsi? I want The Real Thing, not Diet. Not Brand Zero. I want the Awful, Fattening, Sugar-Loaded stuff. Really. Mind you, I don't do this often, but sometimes at cons I hit a point where I need the caffeine more than I don't need the sugar.
2. If I ask you, "Is the cookie/cake/pie you are offering me made with sugar, I mean SUGAR. NutraSweet is not sugar. Not even a little bit. NutraSweet makes me sick; sugar only makes me fat. A small but important difference.
3. It's also worth noting here that Tylenol is not the same as aspirin. If someone asks you for an aspirin and all you have on you is Tylenol, it's worth saying, "I have Tylenol, will that help?" before just handing over a couple of nondescript white pills.
It used to be that it "only" gave me a headache, but the last two times I've unwittingly ingested it, I've gotten, um, *ill*.
So! A few tips:
Aspartame/Nutrasweet is not, oh-no-not, the same as sugar. No, really.
While it's a nice idea to make sweet things for a group event with Aspartame/Nutrasweet so that the diabetic members of the group won't be deprived of the happiness that is dessert? The idea that it's OK to simply make all sweet things with Aspartame because sugar is Poison to Diabetics but Anyone Can Eat NutraSweet -- is demonstrably wrong.
I am myself personally allergic to Aspartame. No, really; I do mean that.
This means:
1. If I happen to pull you out of a signing line, for instance, to hand you a five dollar bill and ask you to get me a Coke or Pepsi? I want The Real Thing, not Diet. Not Brand Zero. I want the Awful, Fattening, Sugar-Loaded stuff. Really. Mind you, I don't do this often, but sometimes at cons I hit a point where I need the caffeine more than I don't need the sugar.
2. If I ask you, "Is the cookie/cake/pie you are offering me made with sugar, I mean SUGAR. NutraSweet is not sugar. Not even a little bit. NutraSweet makes me sick; sugar only makes me fat. A small but important difference.
3. It's also worth noting here that Tylenol is not the same as aspirin. If someone asks you for an aspirin and all you have on you is Tylenol, it's worth saying, "I have Tylenol, will that help?" before just handing over a couple of nondescript white pills.
