Sugar Substitute Advantame: What You Need to Know

Ever heard of advantame? It's a sweetener that's been getting a lot of attention. Scientists have been looking into it to see if it's safe for us to eat. Here's what they found: Advantame is stable, but not in every situation. It can break down in acidic drinks and foods that are heated up. Researchers studied how the body handles advantame using animals like mice and rats, as well as humans. They found out that it gets absorbed quickly but not completely. Most of it ends up in our poop. Now, the big question: is it safe? Scientists think so. It doesn't cause any concerns for genotoxicity, which is a fancy word for something that can damage our DNA. In animal studies, the only issue was some tummy troubles in pregnant rabbits. But this happened at really high doses.Humans, both with normal and high blood sugar levels, didn't have any problems with advantame. This led the scientists to set a safe limit called the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) at 5 mg per kg of body weight per day. To make sure this limit is safe, they looked at how much we might eat in a day, even if we love sweet food. They found that even if we eat a lot of food with advantame, we still won't reach the ADI. So, advantame looks like a safe choice for a sweetener. But remember, everything in moderation!