Aspartame – Poison disguised as a sweetner?
From the very beginning, the risks of this toxic artificial sweetner were presenting themselves loud and clear. Unfortunately, policy makers chose to ignore them.
Studies have shown that aspartic acid, one of the main ingredients in aspartame, causes brain damage to the brains of infant mice. The studies have also shown that consuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally, and may lead to neurodegeneration.
How, then, did this clearly harmful chemical make it to market? Fraud, plain and simple. The evidence that showed aspartame was harmful was ignored or falsified and it was rushed through the FDA’s approval process by a select few who stood to benefit handsomely from its profits.
When aspartic acid is consumed, it significantly raises your blood level of aspartate, which leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of your brain, where they slowly begin to destroy neurons. Neurons connect with each other and form neural pathways which create new thoughts and images in your brain and determine our intelligence and our ability to learn.
You most likely would not notice the symptoms until 75% or more of your neurons are already gone. Then chronic illnesses such as the following, which may be caused by long term exposure to excitatory amino acid damage, may occur:
- Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzhemier’s Disease
- Memory and Hearing Loss
- Hormonal Problems
- Epilepsy
- AIDS
- Brain Lesions
- Neuroendocrine Disorders
And there’s more. Aspartame is 50% phenylalanine. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in your brain can cause the levels of serotonin in your brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It can also cause schizophrenia or make you more susceptible to seizures.
As for the other 10%, well that’s methanol, also known as wood alcohol. Not only is methanol on its own a poison, but it breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde – a deadly neurotoxin in your body. Methanol poisoning can lead to a variety of symptoms such as:
- Vision Problems
- Headaches, Ear Buzzing, Dizziness
- Nausea and Gastrointestinal Disturbances
- Weakness, Numbness and Shooting Pains in Your Extremeties
- Behavioral Disturbances
- Memory Lapses
Aside from the damage it can do to your brain, aspartame can cause cancer. One well-controlled, peer-reviewed seven-year study even found that as little as 20 mg per day can cause cancer in humans.
One 12-ounce of diet soda contains about 180 mg. of aspartame, so do the math on that risk.
There are many sources of aspartame as well. Sold commercially under names like: NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, Equal-Measure and Canderel. It is found in:
- Diet sodas, juice drinks and flavored waters
- Chewing gum
- Table-top sweetners
- Breakfast cereals, such as Fiber One
- Fiber supplements such as orange-flavored Metamucil
- Jams
- Sweets
- Certain vitamins (including childrens) as well as prescription and over the counter drugs such as Alka Seltzer plus, and some Tylenol medications.
This article was taken from the book “Sweet Deception”. It is a most comprehensive book on the market addressing this issue. You can also watch the movie which is part documentary, part detective story that sheds much-needed light on the controversy surrounding aspartame.
If you have experienced an adverse reaction to any aspartame product, call the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in your area.
