The ghosts in the next room hear you cough.

[reddragdiva]

• Bob The Angry Flower apostrophe posters available!

• "Though we still consider selling it off to our mates a fine idea in principle."

• Windows 95 is still more popular than Windows XP, and Microsoft is still its own biggest competition.

• "Do not sit around waiting for the Muse to take a magic poop on your head" - Poppy Z. Brite.

I feel terrible, have a sore throat and want to sleep lots. I shall not be at work tomorrow.

inulro and lastaii just visited, bringing a lovely new second-hand Terenziani ratty skyscraper for the boys. We can see them play in mid-air! redcountess has made a hammock for them from a face cloth. Purple, to match the carpet.

redcountess's joints have suddenly improved since she stopped drinking Nutrasweet on Friday. Although most people without phenylketonuria have no problem with aspartame - even those with lupus - enough have that we thought it might be worth a try. Rapid and interesting results so far; we'll see how this goes.

Comments

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Look out! Here comes an 's'!

(though I've also recently seen "Woah! That was an 's' just then!")

[blaadyblah.livejournal.com]

If you want to cut out aspartame bewarned, it's in things you'd never think of. Crisps, soft drinks (including those that already have added sugar), alsorts. One of the best resources for exhaustive lists of products to avoid and information about the various health problems that can be associated with aspartame is in fact the Co$ who've been camapaigning to have it banned for donkey's years. A lot of things they might be, but this is one area they're really rather useful.
Trying to cut out aspartame is almost as tough as trying to keep up with the current list of Nestle products!

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

My good friend dennyd did a good job of standing up for his principles recently while in hospital after a road accident. They were concerned that he didn't seem able to eat (mostly due to crappy hospital food!), and tried to give him those supplementary milkshake drinks. He noticed that they were made by Nestle and refused them!

[blaadyblah.livejournal.com]

Knew there'd be another reason I liked that boy :)
Sweets, chocolates, soft drinks, cat food, even bloody make up come under their banner and trying to keep up with which pies their fingers are currently in is nigh on impossible.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately most big corporations have EVIL somewhere in their portfolio - Disney invests in arms manufacturers, Pfizer refuses to release patented HIV treatments to third world countries. The only way to boycott every company that was morally suspect would be to become a hermit or something.
Not to say that one shouldn't try, of course. Just that in many cases it becomes a case of choosing the lesser of two evils.

[blaadyblah.livejournal.com]

Entirely agreed. If I so much as tried to boycott all the companies whose operations offend my ethics in one way or another I'd likely starve to death ;)

[andricongirl.livejournal.com]

yeah its very hard.. most have some evil attachment lurking in thier portfolio :\

[reddragdiva]

Yep. I do not understand why cheap lemonade has sugar and aspartame. Haven't seen it in crisps. The big phenylketonuric warnings are generally pretty clear, though.

I have no physical problem with aspartame myself. I just think it tastes like shit ;-)

[blaadyblah.livejournal.com]

I do not understand why cheap lemonade has sugar and aspartame.
Aspartame is cheaper than sugar.
Doesn't take much to work it out once you know that ;)

Haven't seen it in crisps. The big phenylketonuric warnings are generally pretty clear, though.
If the product carries them, yep - I've never seen one. Ingredient list crunching though will show up aspartame in all manner of bizarre foodstuffs... I think even Walkers use aspartame in some flavours though it's a while since I've looked.

I have no physical problem with aspartame myself. I just think it tastes like shit ;-)
I couldn't agree more, it is the instant plasticisation of food. On a side issue though, I like my sugar thank you very much and if I eat something sweet, I want it sweet properly! I am not dieting, if I were I'd buy diet, as it is - I want Fat, Calorific, Bad For Me Food and I want it now! ;) I'll be happy the day you can buy things in three varieties... Diet, Regular and Extra Fattening :)
*grins*

[reddragdiva]

If food contains aspartame, food manufacturers are required to put 'CONTAINS PHENYLANANINE' (one of the amino acids that makes it up) on the label. I can't imagine a company the size of Walker's not doing so.

[blaadyblah.livejournal.com]

Probably just me not noticing then. I tend to miss blatant tags like that ;)

[vatine]

Nik-naks contain one of the more popular artificial sweeteners. Bit of a shame, as tehy're otherwise "OK" as far as reconstituted spiced maize starch goes.

[urocyon-c.livejournal.com]

I do not understand why cheap lemonade has sugar and aspartame.
Aspartame is cheaper than sugar.
Doesn't take much to work it out once you know that ;)

Indeed. That particular food-processing niche seems to be filled by high-fructose corn syrup here--icky in its own way (particularly for some with a certain degree of insulin resistance), but not quite as offensive as aspartame.

My first shopping trip there with someone who detests the taste of artificial sweeteners was instructive and rather disconcerting. I like to know what I'm eating, but wouldn't have thought to check the ingredients on at least half the things; after the second warning or so, it didn't seem like Groceryland as I knew it. :) (No wonder a number of beverages, in particular, had tasted funky before.) That may sound slightly silly, but I'm accustomed to more obvious labelling, including a big red-and-white "NutraSweet" emblem on the front of the package.

OTOH--and veering slightly off topic--were it currently a concern, the vegetarian labelling (which has never really taken off in the U.S.) would seem an easier rough guide than hechsher symbols, though IIRC it doesn't carry the same implication that someone might occasionally be checking that they're cleaning the equipment properly after processing different things (which tends to appeal, no matter the food). Somehow I suspect there's about the same need to peek after gratuitous chicken fat and the like; it seems such a tempting ingredient, with less apparent reason than artificial sweeteners.

[andricongirl.livejournal.com]

i avoid asparatame where ever possible, I notice no side effects from cosumption but i dont need anything else that may give me brain tumours.. i do well enough in polluting my body with other nastys..

and it does taste like shit

I do however use a sacharine tablet instead of sugar.. and i guess its almost as nasty but at least has had any 'alleged' tumour incidents attached to it

"Crisps"

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

That sounds so english, but then I'm a stupid amerikan.

Re: "Crisps"

[reddragdiva]

Australians call 'em "chips", but I think you're not allowed to call a potato product "chips" here unless it's actually cut from potatoes rather than being reconstituted (c.f. "fries"). I could be completely wrong, of course.

[wednesday]

I channeled about 95% of my soda-drinking energies into the fruited-tea obsession. (I still allow myself some about once a week, because otherwise I'll go into dieter's "forbidden food" mindset, which is just icky.) Killed off headaches and a fair chunk of the remaining mood issues, along with getting some vitamins back into the diet; plus, is arguably cheaper in the long term.

Splenda is easy to get used to and lacking in the icky side effects. One of these years, I'll get together a posse to import Splenda-based, non-aspartame soda in quantity.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

I get nasty headaches from aspartame. I don't trust it.

[wintrmute.livejournal.com]

aspartame is evil!

it's one of those creations that i don't understand. I'd rather drink unsweetened stuff than stuff containing aspartame.

it can be annoyingly hard to find some stuff, like cordials, that don't contain it. Sainsburys used to stock one that was particularly nice (and didn't), but then discontinued it. Grr.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Exactly. Sugar is pretty straightforward, as carbohydrates go. I know what sugar does in my body.
Aspartame is complicated. I don't know what it's likely to do. Sangaman's Principle.