ASPARTAME INGESTION INCREASES URINARY CALCIUM, BUT NOT OXALATE EXCRETION, IN HEALTHY-SUBJECTS

Aspartame is the artificial sweetener most extensively used as a subst itute for glucose or sucrose in the food industry, particularly in sof t drinks. As glucose ingestion increases calciuria and oxaluria, the t wo main determinants of urinary calcium-oxalate saturation, we conside red it worthwhile to determine whether aspartame ingestion also affect s calcium-oxalate metabolism. Our study compares the effects of the in gestion of similarly sweet doses of aspartame (250 mg) and glucose (75 g) on calcium and oxalate metabolisms of seven healthy subjects. Urin ary calcium excretion increased after the intake of both aspartame (+8 6%; P < 0.01) and glucose (+124%; P < 0.01). This may be due to the ri se in calcemia observed after both aspartame (+2.2%; P < 0.05) and glu cose ingestion (+1.8%; P < 0.05). The increased calcemia may be linked to the decrease in phosphatemia that occurred after both aspartame (P < 0.01) and glucose (P < 0.01) load. Aspartame did not alter glycemia or insulinemia, whereas glucose intake caused striking increases in b oth glycemia (+59%; P < 0.001) and insulinemia (+869%; P < 0.01). Alth ough insulin was considered the main calciuria-induced factor after gl ucose load, it is unlikely that this mechanism played a role with aspa rtame. Urinary oxalate excretion did not change after aspartame, where as it increased (+27%; P < 0.05) after glucose load. Thus, as aspartam e induced a similar increase in calciuria as did glucose but, converse ly, no change in oxaluria, substituting glucose by aspartame in soft d rinks may appear to be of some potential benefit.