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Carlos Vivanco

Mr. Powers

ENGL 1302

6 Feb. 2023

Reducing Fake Sugar

Abstract:

This essay explores the potential benefits and drawbacks of reducing aspartame intake in

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar on mood, energy, and functioning. The topic of aspartame intake in diet

sodas and its effects on health has been a controversial subject. The study employs a multi-faceted

approach, including a review of relevant peer-reviewed studies and a personal experiment. The

personal experiment involved an 18-year-old participant who replaced their usual soda intake with

healthier alternatives for three days and kept a journal to track their moods, physical symptoms,

and energy levels. The results suggest that reducing aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar can

have both positive and negative effects on health outcomes. The experiment's limitations include

the small sample size and the short duration of the experiment, highlighting the need for further

research to better understand the complex relationship between aspartame intake and health

outcomes.

Introduction:

For many people, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar has become an everyday necessity. Compared to

Coca-Cola Diet, Zero Sugar provides a taste that closer emulates Coca-Cola Original. However,

many diet sodas have the same ingredient that provides its sweet taste: aspartame. Despite its

popularity, many researchers have begun questioning the health effects of consuming aspartame

daily. The objective of this study is to observe the effects of reducing aspartame intake in Coca-
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Cola Zero Sugar on mood, energy, and functioning. Reducing aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero

Sugar will result in improved health outcomes, as measured by the mitigation in symptoms

associated with aspartame intake.

The consumption of aspartame in diet sodas has been a popular topic of controversy, with

many opinions on its effects on health. There are some studies that suggest a connection between

consuming aspartame and the development of allergies, including skin problems (Czarnecka et al.,

2021). The purpose of this study is to examine the potential benefits and drawbacks of reducing

aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. A recent study by Chen et al. (2022) found that

aspartame consumption may lead to mitochondrial disorder-induced impaired ovarian function and

increase infertility risk. However, Czarnecka et al. (2021) conducted a narrative review of the

safety analysis of aspartame and concluded that aspartame is safe for general use. On the other

hand, a study by Amin et al. (2018) investigated the effects of chronic aspartame consumption on

Parkinsonism in mice and found that aspartame may have negative effects on the nervous system.

Methods:

This study employed a multi-faceted approach to examine the potential benefits and

drawbacks of reducing aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar. This approach included a

review of peer-reviewed studies and a personal experiment. The peer-reviewed studies were

selected based on their relevance to the topic of aspartame intake in diet sodas and its effects on

health. These studies were analyzed to provide a comprehensive examination of the current state

of knowledge on the topic.

The personal experiment was conducted by the participant, who is 18 years old. The

participant replaced their usual soda intake with healthier alternatives, such as water and natural

fruit juices, for three days. During this time, the participant kept a journal to track their moods,
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physical symptoms, and energy levels. The participant also used a visual discomfort scale to

measure their feelings as soon as they woke up each day. This data was then compared to past

studies mentioned earlier in the review of peer-reviewed studies.

Results:

The results of the personal experiment showed a boost in appetite, particularly around 12

pm. However, the participant reported feeling less energy in the mornings. Around the afternoon,

there was a noticeable boost in awareness. The visual discomfort scale started at 4 out of 10 in the

mornings on the first day of the experiment, then decreased to 3 on the second day, and increased

to 6 on the third day. Overall, the participant's feelings were reported to be better at the end of the

experiment compared to before the experiment began.

These results suggest that reducing aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar can have a

positive impact on mood, energy, and overall well-being. The increase in appetite and boost in

awareness in the afternoons may indicate improved physiological function, while the decrease in

energy in the mornings may be due to the body adjusting to the new diet. The fluctuations in the

visual discomfort scale may indicate a dynamic response to the reduction in aspartame intake, with

the body undergoing changes over the course of the three days.

Analysis:

The data partially supported the hypothesis. While the participant reported feeling better

overall, the boost in appetite and decrease in energy in the mornings suggest that reducing

aspartame intake in Coca-Cola Zero Sugar may have both positive and negative effects on health

outcomes. It is possible that the increase in appetite was due to the participant's body adjusting to

the new diet, which may have resulted in hunger pangs as the body adapted to consuming fewer

artificial sweeteners.
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The boost in awareness in the afternoons may have been due to improved physiological

function resulting from the consumption of healthier alternatives. The decrease in energy in the

mornings could be attributed to the participant's body adjusting to the new diet, which may have

disrupted their usual routine. If the data did not support the hypothesis, it is possible that the

experiment was not conducted for a long enough period to observe significant changes in health

outcomes. The fluctuations in the visual discomfort scale may suggest that the body's response to

reducing aspartame intake is not static and may change over time. This may indicate that further

research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between aspartame intake and

health outcomes.

Discussion:

The experiment aimed to observe the effects of reducing aspartame intake in Coca-Cola

Zero Sugar on mood, energy, and functioning. The participant, an 18-year-old, replaced their usual

soda intake with healthier alternatives for three days and tracked their moods, physical symptoms,

and energy levels in a journal. The participant also used a visual discomfort scale to measure their

feelings as soon as they woke up each day. The results showed a boost in appetite, particularly

around noon, but the participant reported feeling less energy in the mornings. There was a

noticeable boost in awareness around the afternoon, and the visual discomfort scale fluctuated over

the three days. The limitations of the experiment include the small sample size, the short duration

of the experiment, and the lack of control for external factors that could have influenced the results.

Further research is needed to better understand the complex relationship between aspartame intake

and health outcomes, including the long-term effects of reducing aspartame intake in diet soda.
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Works Cited:

Amin, Shaimaa Nasr, et al. "Effects of Chronic Aspartame Consumption on MPTP-induced

Parkinsonism in Male and Female Mice." Archives of Physiology & Biochemistry, vol.

124, no. 4, Oct. 2018.

Anbara, Hojat, et al. "Long-term Effect of Aspartame on Male Reproductive System: Evidence

for Testicular Histomorphometrics, Hsp70-2 Protein Expression and Biochemical

Status." International Journal of Fertility & Sterility, vol. 14, no. 2, 2020, p. 86-93.

Chen, Yang-Ching, et al. "Aspartame Consumption, Mitochondrial Disorder-Induced Impaired

Ovarian Function, and Infertility Risk." International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol.

23, no. 21, Nov. 2022.

Czarnecka, Kamila et al. “Aspartame-True or False? Narrative Review of Safety Analysis of

General Use in Products.” Nutrients vol. 13,6 1957. 7 Jun. 2021.