According to my geneticist, Dr. Marvin Natowicz, I have a very mild form of Phenylketonuria (PKU). This was diagnosed by a slightly elevated blood phenylalanine level, and it means that I must avoid foods with phenylalanine containing sweeteners - more specifically aspartame. Aspartame, or NutraSweet, is an artificial sweetener found in "diet" beverages, sugar-free foods and candy, and mostly commonly in chewing gum.
Since the only beverages that I drink are water, coffee, and tea, avoiding aspartame in drinks is extremely simple. As a general rule, I don't eat candy with or without artificial sweeteners (excludes dark chocolate on occasion).
Where my dietary restriction posed a problem was chewing gum. Sugar-free chewing gum contains both aspartame and phenylalanine; these are two ingredients that I am not allowed to consume.
Fortunately, there is chewing gum that does not contain aspartame or phenylalanine. It is called Spry gum (they also make mints).
What harm can high phenylalanine levels do in the blood? My general doctor, Dr. Ellen Rome, told me that consuming artificial sweeteners such as aspartame can lower IQ points. This makes sense from a logical perspective since people who have all the symptoms of PKU have very low IQ points and have severe and profound intellectual impairment. Untreated full-blown (all the symptoms) PKU in infancy leads to significant cognitive impairment.
While I have a mild version of PKU diagnosed in adulthood, I believe my prior consumption of aspartame (soda and sugar-free candy when I was very young), caused more subtle issues such as attention and learning difficulties.
Thank you for this post Katie. I have always wondered if there were levels of PKU that were not full expression of this childhood disorder. I myself am very sensitive to phenylalanine ... I break out BIG time, swell and in general feel yuck if exposed to it.... I avoid it like the plague. Joshua seizes if he has too many foods with Phenylalanine in it... Interesting.
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