Aspartame and Autism?

What's the deal with Aspartame and Autism? Whenever you see a study claiming that a single ingredient has a specific link to a specific health outcome, you should immediately feel wary. That’s because it is nearly impossible to conduct a study that provides solid evidence in support of such a claim. Let's look at the research
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[@chavesa5]

There's very little money in helping autistics, but a lot of money in scaring parents.

[@jackabug2475]

Autistic people, or autists, are the terms preferred over using "autistic" as a noun. You're right, though -- Autism Speaks in particular spent millions of dollars on trying to prove vaccines cause autism, _even after the fraudulent basis for the very idea was exposed,_ and only a token pittance on helping families with a child on the spectrum, much less supporting autistic adults to live independently.

[@DannyboyO1]

I disagree about the first part. You can get noise-cancelling headphones. You can also get headphones that don't touch the ears. One helps people who get overwhelmed by noise, the other helps people who have an issue with touch on sensitive areas. That's 2 commercial devices that help autistic people. For ADHD, on this very site, note that you can speed up videos. So it doesn't get too slow to hold attention. There's a lot of money in helping autistics, it's just hidden under choice and comfort. :D

[@chavesa5]

@@DannyboyO1 what a sad MBA answer. I pity the unfortunate souls in your orbit who mistake your band aid horseshit for real solutions.

[@Cythil]

@@DannyboyO1 The thing is... I do not think these devices were developed for autistic people in mind. The product developers likely did not get any research grants to develop this product. After all, such technologies have other uses. I for example work in a noisy industry and having access to ear protection that can also cancel out noise (yet let you hear others speak) are quite useful. So while this technology can help people with Autism, it is not made for people with Autism. Though if where you live people with autism are actually getting access to such technology for free or at a cheaper cost, then yes, then there is at least some money going to helping people with autism. And I do believe that how much help people with autism depends a lot on where you live. But... Chaves5 actually made their statement about little money going towards helping autistic people in relationship to how much money goes into things like studies that only scares parents and not address issues. Now, I do not know if that is actually true. But it sure feels like that sometimes, at least from my experience, since you get a lot more stories out there from my experience about how something will turn your children autistic and very few stories about how autistic people were helped. This actually just be a media reporting bias. Which I see as a problem in itself. Which actually is something the video also touches on.

[@dfresh1524]

There's been a small increase of awareness of autism but not enough and little consideration. You get laughed at don't get complaints taken seriously. Law enforcement refuses to enforce noise violations, cities continue to allow subwoofers, bright headlights, dogs kept outside in cages all day barking, and there is more and more support for marijuana smoke

[@constexprDuck]

I drank a coke zero and the next day my autism got cancer. Coincidence?

[@sneakerbabeful]

🤣🤣🤣

[@BeerPatio]

WebMD says “must be true” Talk to your local 8 ball today and see if cantismide is right for you.

[@magicwaffl3z]

💀

[@jliller]

I have autism and I hate the taste of diet soda. Coincidence?

[@nathanhallisey441]

Very witty.

[@bevinfritz-waters3333]

Also we should study what helps people with autism have success in different areas of life and put funding towards providing those on a public scale.

[@MontgomeryWenis]

Unfortunately since autism is such a broad spectrum, a study like this would need to be impossibly large and widespread, would take decades, and couldn't guarantee help even if the results were promising. A general trend that connects most people with autism is a severe inability to accept change. I know _I'm_ having incredible difficulty adapting to my work in therapy, and I'm as self aware as can be.

[@dotnothing5620]

Exactly! That is worth studying.

[@californiumblog]

This channel is an invaluable resource. Not just for debunking pop science and trends but for breaking down how scientific studies work and where these ones go wrong. You make us all better and more discerning!

[@Silverizael]

I'm forever confused on how a methyl ester of two common amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, that dissociates in your digestive system into its constituent parts (and a minor amount of methanol) is meant to cause any of the effects claimed to it. The only actually defensible biological effect is that the perceived sweetness has an effect on insulin production and your overall feeling of fullness. But that's just a physiological response to the sweetness, not the compound's components itself. Do any of these "studies" try to give any form of biochemical reasoning?

[@tHebUm18]

I wish our gov't had the gumption to overrule the lobbying groups for food companies and pass common sense regulations around things actually making us unhealthy like added sugar and the difficulty of easily telling what foods are (un)healthy without needing to become a hobbyist dietician. Maybe then we'd have less traction in popular health media that know nothing spreading misinformation on food so many more people become equally uninformed.

[@Praisethesunson]

Misinforming the rabble about basic health information is more profitable then letting the rabble know what they shouldn't be putting in their bodies.

[@thehomeschoolinglibrarian]

Unfortunately the sugar lobby has deep pockets and most politicians are lazy. Now if we had universal healthcare the government would care more because the cost of bad health would be coming out of taxes.

[@Zaviex]

Is this data public? I do research in this field of pregnancy nutrition and I’d love to crunch it if it’s on DASH. Much of what they didn’t control for, should be in the study data. Given what you’ve described here, I’m guessing there was some willing ignorance of other factors to uphold their results. I definitely agree on the confounders you mentioned likely being more important. The sibling thing is interesting as it could serve as a quasi internal control but there’s a huge temporal element there, by default a non-twin sibling would be born at least 9 months later following significant hormonal, microbial, and body composition changes. Which is a big factor that would worth me about comparing them. For instance, it’s already established that a first pregnancy is significantly different than a second in the odds for some outcomes

[@SpySappingMyKeyboard]

Red flag 1) Food A causes condition B Red flag 2) Pregnancy scaremongering Red flag 3) ASD assumed to be a male-centric disorder Red flag 4) Describing Autism as harm Colour me surprised that the study design is crap

[@sneakerbabeful]

Well, Autism is a _disorder_ so I would describe it as harm. I'm autistic and if gene therapy was discovered to cure autism, I'd be first in line.

[@charlespentrose7834]

and a lot of autistic people do not see it as a disorder or as a harm. Myself kind of included since it's a spectrum and a lot depends on how it impacts one's life, both directly and indirectly. @@sneakerbabeful

[@GrubbyZebra]

@@sneakerbabeful disorder!=disease, it just means different from normal. Different isn't necessarily harm.

[@SpySappingMyKeyboard]

Autism is a neuro divergence, which can be a disorder (ASD). In a similar way, sadness is an emotion, but depression can be a disorder. We don't say someone is harmed when they get are sad after their mum dies, but there is a problem when you struggle to get out of bed every morning. It can be a struggle, and I don't blame you for wanting to be rid of it @sneakerbabeful, but that's also not the experience of many other autistic people. And given the history of justifying anti-vax views because of the fear of autism, medical professionals should be aware of the damage their words can cause.

[@JennaGetsCreative]

@@sneakerbabeful It may be officially classified as a disorder, but most of us who are autistic don't see it that way and would not change our brains given the chance. It is simply a different way of thinking.

[@bryonyf]

i don't know that we should be looking into this honestly, any more than we should look into what causes someone to be born with any traits that arent inherently debilitating, this isn't like finding out how to prevent your child being born without a limb or organ issues etc, not all autistic people are disabled, and looking into finding what causes autism (assuming anything besides genetics does) feels like a dangerous step towards people deciding not to have kids purly because they might be autistic or blaming parents for their childs autism when autistic people arent inherently worse off we're just oppressed and disrespected due to abelism and capitalist ideals that none of us should have to live up to autistic or otherwise. i'm glad youre dispelling these awful myths but also the problem is more that people care about these myths because they see autism as an illness to be avoided rather than the name we've given to a cluster of harmless traits that if there was more autisim acceptance wouldn't be a huge issue for anybody in most cases.

[@phantomstrider]

Thank you. I deeply appreciate what this channel does.

[@aquaintsound]

I'm autistic and aspartame has always made mother's my stomach upset, same for me. We avoided it. And that's not even discussing how limited autism diagnoses are

[@maddenedgeek7726]

I’m female and my mum STOPPED drinking Coke Zero when she was pregnant with me. I’m autistic. So clearly, NOT consuming aspartame during a pregnancy with a FEMALE foetus causes autism, right?! 🙄 I’m so sick of people trying to find ways to prevent autism. Autism is not a disease! Yes, there are lots of struggles with autism but there are also many wonderful things about it! Lots of my greatest strengths come from my autism. For example, my attention to detail, my ability to recognise patterns and make connections that most people are unable to recognise and my capacity for empathy. Yes, empathy. Most autistic people have a greater capacity for empathy than neurotypical individuals. The reason that many think autism means a lack of empathy is because empathy is often triggered differently in autistic people. Sometimes it’s more difficult to trigger, and sometimes it’s just different, but once triggered the empathetic response is often far greater. The way I explain my empathy trigger is, when I was a little kid, people would tell me to think before I speak about how the other person may feel about what I was about to say. The problem was, because I’m autistic and different, how I might feel hearing someone say something to me is often different to what someone else would feel! What I might take as innocuous, someone else might take as an insult. So that didn’t work. Once I said the thing though, and once I understood that I had hurt the other person’s feelings, I would be absolutely wracked with guilt, to the point of feeling really physically ill and sometimes vomiting. Over time, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become better at judging in advance how others would feel about what I say based on an accumulated knowledge and experience. I got that through trial and error though.

[@jliller]

As a high-functioning, late-diagnosed adult male with autism, I am absolutely in favor of finding ways to prevent autism. I might not have the career I do without autism, but the condition (especially combined with my comorbid ADHD) is such a double-edged sword that it is absolutely a net negative in my life.

[@maddenedgeek7726]

@@jliller I have ADHD too. I was diagnosed in my early teens. The problem is that autism, by its very nature, is such a fundamental part of who I am as a person. It governs the way I think. I don’t know who I would be without it, and I’m not interested in knowing. When people talk about wanting to prevent or cure autism, it feels like someone is saying “YOU are wrong” and that does not sit well with me.

[@jliller]

@@maddenedgeek7726 I'm sure I would be a very different person without autism. I'm not interested in a cure for myself because it's too late for me. I've had to adapt to life the way I am and would be terribly ill-equipped But if I had a child I would definitely want them cured as early as possible, when they were still able to grow up normal. The mentality you speak of is basically circular reasoning: "who am is who I should be because it's who I am." My autism is wrong just as my nearsightedness is wrong.

[@sneakerbabeful]

Why does a disability have to have strengths? We don't say epilepsy or narcolepsy have strengths, and saying autism brings benefits sounds rediculous.

[@jliller]

@@sneakerbabeful You don't seem to understand autism very well. Autism causes certain behaviors and ways of thinking that can be useful, but because they're ever-present are also an hindrance. Autistic people usually have a very attention to details. Great if you're a proofreader or an analyst - you literally see what other people overlook. But that ability never turns off. You drive people crazy by being a nitpicky perfectionist complainer. You drive yourself crazy because you see so many things wrong with the world that nobody else cares about. Autistic people like order and routines. Great list-makers. They often love organizing and cataloging data, tasks most people find boring. But they struggle much more than most people to deviate from those routines and schedules. The chaos and disorder of the world we live it is a constant irritant. If you have autism and ADHD, you're a great list maker but a terrible list follower.

[@mschrisfrank2420]

My mom hates diet soda and I’m still on the spectrum. Add that to that anecdotal evidence pile, lol.

[@NadeemAhmed-nv2br]

Maybe she was fat like mentioned in the video

[@Bob-cu6uw]

THANK YOU.

[@TheSuzberry]

I can tell you that my daughter was fed hot fudge sundaes and Pepto Bismal in utero. And that was 50+ years ago.

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Aspartame is consumed more by people who are trying to reduce carbs or calories.

[@SaHaRaSquad]

Reminds me of that study which associated daily egg consumption with a shorter life. Turns out they ignored all other factors, and who would have guessed that people who consume more eggs simply tend to eat more in general and are more likely to be obese and less likely to exercise.

[@Silverizael]

Honestly, it feels like a vast majority of the "causes obesity" studies are just finding that exact correlation, that someone eating or doing (or not doing) that one thing are just more likely to be people who eat more in general and exercise less.

[@jessicag630]

Not related to this topic, could you make a video on statin pills? Does it really have harmful side effects, cause nerve damage and muscle disability? Thank you.

[@211teitake]

Love the show.

[@therabbithat]

Mothers of Autistic males are often undiagnosed Autistic or ADHD themselves.. Often meaning preferring processed food because it tastes the same every time. If there was correlation, which there probably isn't, it could be that

[@bobbyadkins6983]

I like aspartame. I use it and stevia to sweeten my tea.

[@cottagedwellingcat]

When i first saw the title i thought "hey, i'm autistic, i like diet soda, i wonder if other autistic cats also like diet soda"

[@sneakerbabeful]

Seriously though, soda _is_ pretty bad.

[@MaverickBlue42]

I'm more concerned with the fact that aspartame metabolizes into formaldehyde...or simply decomposes into formaldehyde upon heating...or just sitting on the shelf in warm weather....there are better fake sugars....

[@abbyb6958]

Aspartame metabolizes into amino acids and methanol. The body metabolizes methanol into formaldehyde because it is less toxic to the body. It can also be used by the body to fuel certain reactions in the body as the body already creates formaldehyde for this purpose. The IARC classifies aspartame as a class 2B carcinogen. This class includes pickled vegetables and oxazepam, a common benzodiazepine. Not saying aspartame is safe, but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as fear-mongers make it out to be

[@alarcon99]

❤️❤️❤️ for the algorithm

[@timotheatae]

Placeholder title?

[@human_brian]

This "study" is the definition of correlation vs causation. All it does is cloud the water and make real studies look less useful.

[@DynamixWarePro]

I am a male with Autism. My mom was skinny when she was pregnant with me and in her 20s. She never smoked, drank anything alcoholic at all or drank much soft drinks. I was born 5 weeks premature which I assume was in part had something to do with my Autism as my brain wouldn't have been as developed as someone born around the normal time would have been. I also have two cousins, one first is a first cousin with Autism so I also think it could be partly genetic.

[@skywise001]

Before Aspertain was a thing I had Autism. Or Sugar Sensitivity they called it back then. It was all the sugar in candy and soda that was /obviously/ causing my hyperactivity and crashing depressions. For years I was tormented about my diet (Since IM naturally heavy and this simply would not do) and the sugar in it. I remain a bit resentful of the Doctors who talked out of their ass and made me suffer. Back in the 50s my Grandma made sure to stick the kids out under the awning so they could get night air because somehow that was supposed to stop SIDS. She went to all sorts of trouble for my mom and my three uncles.

[@DJKoo-wl3jj]

I'm an epidemiologist and recognize that the study is flawed. However, as a pregnant woman who enjoys zero-sugar sodas containing aspartame, I find myself hesitant to consume them as freely as I did before. Despite my professional knowledge, the potential risks highlighted in studies, however imperfect, make me cautious.

[@zaybx]

modern science journals should be embarrassed by studies like these.

[@danielleuneus7151]

Why does everyone forget that its likely that the mothers are autistic too?? Alkohol and overweight could be the result of being handicapped in an abelist society. Another "cause" of autism I've heard is that complex births where the child doesn't get enough oxygen BUT again could be that the mother is autistic and a common comorbidity is EDS that can cause complications.

[@JennaGetsCreative]

THIS! I'm autistic. My mother has ADHD. My sister has ADHD. Our maternal grandfather likely had ADHD. Neurodivergence is clearly genetically linked here. Mom also has a lot of markers for EDS, and my sister and I were born premature.

[@paineoftheworld]

Pointing out the Grift Economy's Number One Play one more time!

[@MontgomeryWenis]

I'm a male with autism. My mother was addicted to diet Pepsi and smoking. Her doctor told her to go take a smoke break around the hospital to induce my labor. Yes, smoking in hospitals wasn't illegal here until I was five. But she didn't drink diet Pepsi and didn't smoke nearly as much for the pregnancies of my four older siblings, and three of them are neurotypical.

[@chairshoe81]

aspartism 😢

[@JennaGetsCreative]

Did they consider, oh, say, whether or not the mothers themselves have autism or ADHD? Because a lot of mothers of autistic kids are also neurodivergent, and a lot of women of/recently of childbearing age are only just now being identified.

[@Praisethesunson]

Science only remembers women exist when it's too blame them for something

[@faeriesmak]

This is what I am thinking. I have 2 sons with autism. I found out that I have autism in my 40s and am pretty sure my elderly mother has autism as well. Most of my maternal cousins are probably autistic, as well as my aunts and I am pretty positive that my late grandmother was also autistic. Autism was not recognized in girls or women until very recently. My 23 year old was only diagnosed with ADHD because they didn’t give dual diagnoses in the early 2000s. It makes me wonder more if there is an attraction to diet soda by autistic women.

[@Praisethesunson]

@@faeriesmak I'll set some diet coke bait traps at the park and report back my findings.

[@JennaGetsCreative]

@@faeriesmak Now that's an interesting question! Personally I avoid it because aspartame and my gut are not friends, but I could easily see an autistic person in particular either choosing a diet soda because of an intense interest in health/nutrition, or because of a strong preference for the flavour difference.

[@dotnothing5620]

THis study is so bad... so why cover it? There are a ton of bad studies. Does the algorithm want this video or something? If so, then I"m glad you're criticizing it. But I have never heard this myth, so I wonder why its being highlighted. Somtimes people walk away more convinced there is something to a myth after hearing a debunkiing. So it's best to not debunk really bad ideas if no one holds those myths already to begin with. Just my two cents! What really is one learning if an obscure study about an obscure idea turns out to also have bad evidence?

[@allergiccookies6735]

that’s true, however misinformation about autism is highly rampant among researchers. even if aspartame isn’t a common one, “random thing causes autism” is, and it’s harmful.

[@dotnothing5620]

@@allergiccookies6735 then I would think a broader survey would be better. This one just really invites people who only saw the headline, to say, "I heard aspartame may cause autism." Have to consider whether it's worthwhile on KZbin to try to speak to clinicians/researchers, or take ownership of the fact you're talking to a bunch of idiots in the GP. The screen cap "autism and aspartame" is irresponsible from a media effects perspective.

[@dotnothing5620]

@@allergiccookies6735 exactly what you wrote is why the stakes are so high and why our expectations for very clear public information should be very high. This video doesn't pass my bar.

[@Dmoore37]

At the end of the day, regardless if this garbage causes cancer it isn’t good for you.

[@anita.b]

At the super end of the day, anything outside of breathing in pure oxygen in a liquid womb isn't good for you. Absolutely everything is not good for you, if we keep pushing the lines of "well being"

[@km1dash6]

Though it's not good for causation, I do find these correlational studies very interesting because it may be a good indicator for early intervention. Not telling mothers to stop drinking diet soda, but potentially screening their children for autism early so that interventions can be delivered early on.

[@chavesa5]

Interventions are a mixed blessing. While many treatments can be effective at orienting children properly to minimize and manage their symptoms, the wide range of comorbidities and stigmatized nature of the disorder can really alter a child's self-image.

[@deathpigeon2]

Also, like, it's not inherently a bad thing if aspartame makes autism more likely. Autism isn't, like, a bad thing.

[@Praisethesunson]

Autism makes you a less useful cog in the machines our capitalist overlords need wage slaves to run. Therefore autism is bad.

[@sneakerbabeful]

Yes, autism _is_ a bad thing.

[@deathpigeon2]

@@sneakerbabeful Autism is just a different way for your mind to work. Autistic people, like myself, aren't inherently worse off than allistic people and mostly end up in worse positions in society because the structure of said society. No, autism isn't a bad thing.

[@VanBurenOfficial]

It still seems like a pretty small sacrifice to give up certain artificial sweeteners even if there is a tiny chance it might cause autism during pregnancy, this is useful data in the quest to be ultrasafe even if it ends up being untrue

[@JennaGetsCreative]

This study is horribly flawed, though. First of all, as an autistic person, I assure you it is not automatically a harm. Second, it assumes both that they're only going to find autism in male babies and also failed to consider whether or not the mother herself is autistic. There is stronger evidence for a genetic link with autism and ADHD than any other cause.

[@faeriesmak]

Meh. I gave it up completely and still had only autistic children…probably because autism runs in my family. And I am probably also autistic.

[@voteforhamsandwich1112]

Vegans be like: HeRe Is MoRe MeaAT caUSinG CanCeR StuDie