Ministry Of Health: Limit Consumption Of Artificial Malams To Prevent Health Risks

Director of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health Maxi Rein Rondonuwu (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) classifies artificial aspartam or sweeteners as a chemical raw material for food and drinks that need to be limited in consumption so as not to pose a health risk.

"According to research published in the journal Nutrients (2021), aspartam has a sweetness rate of 180--200 times sweeter than sucrose. Therefore, aspartam is often used as dietary sugar for diabetics," said Director of Disease Prevention and Control (P2P) of the Indonesian Ministry of Health Maxi Rein Rondonuwu quoted from Antara, Sunday.

He said aspartam is a compound made from phenilanine and aspartic acid that functions to replace sugar or sweeteners in food and beverage products that are sold freely in the market.

The World Health Organization/WHO) has limited the consumption of aspartam or artificial sweeteners in food and drinks to a maximum of 40 mg per kg of body weight per day to prevent the risk of a bad effect on health.

There are a number of health problems that have a negative impact on aspartam, including increasing weight if consumed excessively.

"This condition risks disrupting metabolism in the body which triggers weight gain. In addition, foods that contain aspartam are often made from other materials that have high calories," he said.

If the food is consumed beyond reasonable limits, said Maxi, it can increase weight to cause obesity.

Aspartam also worsens migraines, because it can produce side products in the form of glutamate when the human body's metabolism is processed. If glutamate levels exceed the normal limit, these conditions risk causing headaches and worsening symptoms of migraines, said Maxi.

excessive consumption of aspartam can also be reported to trigger behavioral disorders, because the acid content of asparticates and phenilanines that will be converted into methanol, where these compounds can affect a person's cognitive function, mood, motor activity, sleep patterns, and appetite.

Maxi said fenilketonuria complications could also be caused by aspartam. The combination is a genetic disorder that causes sufferers to not be able to break down phenilanine properly.

"Therefore, phenilketonuria sufferers need to avoid consuming products that contain phenilalanin, such as aspartam, because they risk causing various complications, one of which is brain damage," he said.

One of the health problems that is the negative impact of aspartam is diabetes. Although it is often used as a substitute for sugar for diabetics, excessive consumption of aspartam can actually increase blood sugar levels which trigger damage to the pancreas.

"As a result, the production of the insulin hormone in the body becomes disrupted, so it risks causing diabetes," he said.

According to Maxi, methanol generated through aspartam metabolism also risks increasing free radical levels, thereby triggering damage to cells in the body, including cells in the nervous system.

"Therefore, excessive consumption of aspartam and in the long term can exacerbate damage to the nervous system which increases the risk of progressive degenerative diseases, one of which is Alzheimer's disease," he said.

Maxi added that based on research published in the journal PLOS Medicine (2022), artificial sweetener consumption, especially aspartam and ascesulfame-K, has the potential to increase the risk of cancer, such as breast cancer and blood cancer.

"However, further research is still needed to find out the impact of aspartam consumption on the risk of cancer," he said.