What is phenylalanine and is it dangerous?
Phenylalanine is an amino acid, one of the building blocks of proteins. It is a natural compound that is present in all proteins (vegetable or animal). The human body needs phenylalanine, as it is an integral part of all proteins in the body. Humans cannot make phenylalanine, so it is an essential component of our daily diet, without which the body cannot function. There is a group of people who suffer from the rare hereditary disease phenylketonuria (PKU). These people lack an enzyme needed to digest phenylalanine, and surplus phenylalanine will be converted by the liver to a range of (toxic) compounds known as phenylketones, which are excreted in the urine. PKU patients who ingest phenylalanine will suffer from different toxicity syndromes, including mental retardation, especially in children and intellectual disturbances in adults. Many sugar-free or light products contain aspartame as a sweetener. Aspartame is basically a small protein, that contains about 40% phenylalanine. Produc
