Aspartame - What you don't know CAN hurt you.

amandarenee31

I think EVERYONE should read this. The ingredients that companies put in their foods are not always the healthiest. In most cases, they load up with chemicals that could very possibly be dangerous, but are allowed because of money and greed.

http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/aspartame-dangers

"Millions of Americans gobble down diet sodas, artificial sweeteners and thousands of other products that contain huge amounts of aspartame and never even imagine that they could literally be destroying their health. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist for G.D. Searle & Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. It is the most common sweetening additive being used in over 6,000 consumer foods, beverages, multivitamins, frozen desserts, cereals, pharmaceutical products, and artificial sweeteners sold worldwide.

Aspartame contains three very insidious components: methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. All three of these chemicals have each been shown to either stimulate brain cells to death, severely disrupt hormone balances in the brain or act as a dangerous nerve poison.
'Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.'

And did you know that aspartame is 10 percent methanol? Methanol (also known as wood alcohol) is a very deadly poison.

'Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.'

So if you want to be healthy you have to watch out for yourself and your family. Don't count on the FDA to help you."

The above is just a few tid bits I thought were extremely important. If you consume any artificial sweeteners, like Splenda, please take a look. It’s no joke. I have talked to people who had several major health problems from this stuff. They couldn’t figure out why at first, but when they found this out and stopped consumption, they miraculously improved health wise.

I have thrown out everything with Aspartame and will no longer buy anything that has this. It is honestly way better to consume regular natural sugars even though it may be slightly more calories. The best thing, though, is to avoid processed things for the most part and eat as many natural things as possible.

For a natural sweetener to add to drinks that is zero calories, try Stevia or any other form of it. Look it up. The stevia plant has several healthy and great qualities to it.

jlrae

This is why I avoid artificial sweeteners.

abbigail_r

I always avoid aspartame because even the sound of the name drives me insane. I do not agree with the USDA or FDA most of the time. I think keeping it real and natural are the only wats to go! Thanks for the info.

rdmchugh

Thanks for posting this! I have several friends who need to read this!

nneka86

Never liked the stuff, anyway. It has such a weird taste...

ninerbuff

I think EVERYONE should read this. The ingredients that companies put in their foods are not always the healthiest. In most cases, they load up with chemicals that could very possibly be dangerous, but are allowed because of money and greed.

http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/aspartame-dangers

"Millions of Americans gobble down diet sodas, artificial sweeteners and thousands of other products that contain huge amounts of aspartame and never even imagine that they could literally be destroying their health. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist for G.D. Searle & Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. It is the most common sweetening additive being used in over 6,000 consumer foods, beverages, multivitamins, frozen desserts, cereals, pharmaceutical products, and artificial sweeteners sold worldwide.

Aspartame contains three very insidious components: methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. All three of these chemicals have each been shown to either stimulate brain cells to death, severely disrupt hormone balances in the brain or act as a dangerous nerve poison.
'Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.'

And did you know that aspartame is 10 percent methanol? Methanol (also known as wood alcohol) is a very deadly poison.

'Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.'

So if you want to be healthy you have to watch out for yourself and your family. Don't count on the FDA to help you."

The above is just a few tid bits I thought were extremely important. If you consume any artificial sweeteners, like Splenda, please take a look. It’s no joke. I have talked to people who had several major health problems from this stuff. They couldn’t figure out why at first, but when they found this out and stopped consumption, they miraculously improved health wise.

I have thrown out everything with Aspartame and will no longer buy anything that has this. It is honestly way better to consume regular natural sugars even though it may be slightly more calories. The best thing, though, is to avoid processed things for the most part and eat as many natural things as possible.

For a natural sweetener to add to drinks that is zero calories, try Stevia or any other form of it. Look it up. The stevia plant has several healthy and great qualities to it.

Sorry but from an ORGANIC review, this is a biased opinion.

VulcanLover

Not a big aspartame fan,but the occasional diet soda with it does not faze me at all.

I've tried Stevia...it's bitter...just can not do it. I tried a few times to wean myself in that direction.

I love natural raw honey and Agave...but that comes with the calories that I do not want,

I like my coffee sweetened. I use splenda. I've had some "inside scoop" on Splenda and while not completely natural by any means, better than aspartame.

I do have issues, however, with articles written by and for "organics" groups and crazies like Dr. Mercola, etc. Naturally, they all slant things a great deal for obvious reasons. And I am ALL for more natural foods and buying a good deal of organics, etc...but some of these crunchy sites are a bit more than anyone should put stock in. They scare the masses into not vaccinating children, boycotting foods, etc. It's EXtreme:)

hollyk57

THANK YOU for posting this!! FINALLY someone has put some decent research findings out about this topic. I have had terrible reactions to artificial sweeteners for years, and avoid them completely because of it - I won't even use stevia/truvia. I can't use sucralose/Splenda, aspartame, Equal, Sweet-n-Low, etc.... They all make me terribly nauseous, dizzy and I get terrible migraines. Some people don't believe me when I tell them that it's the artificial sweetener that does it. I can't stand the stuff. I hate the flavor - it tastes like chemicals. And I hate putting something so unnatural in my body. It always amazes me that people eat so many so-called health food products that are laced with these dangerous poisons.

TripleJ3

And it tastes terrible.

Although I'd Google Stevia side effects. I don't have any links but 2 1/2 years ago I Googled it. I'm sensitive sensitive to side effects plus I was trying to conceive so I wanted to know what it was about. I found too much good & negative articles on it, mainly something about reproductive organ damage so I decided to stay away since I needed mine:)

You can always find something good or bad about anything but I made the decision to stick to the real stuff or go w/o.

liberaltendencies

I kicked my Diet Coke and aspartame habit about a month ago and have been feeling amazing. My headaches are gone and my skin looks awesome from all of the water.

Thank you for posting this!

ninerbuff

Peer-reviewed comprehensive review articles and independent reviews by governmental regulatory bodies have analyzed the published research on the safety of aspartame and have found aspartame is safe for consumption at current levels.

Magnuson, B. A.; Burdock, G. A.; Doull, J.; Kroes, R. M.; Marsh, G. M.; Pariza, M. W.; Spencer, P. S.; Waddell, W. J. et al. (2007). "Aspartame: A Safety Evaluation Based on Current Use Levels, Regulations, and Toxicological and Epidemiological Studies". Critical Reviews in Toxicology 37 (8): 629–727.

EFSA National Experts (May 2010). "Report of the meetings on aspartame with national experts". EFSA. Retrieved 9 January 2011.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand: "Food Standards Australia New Zealand: Aspartame – what it is and why it's used in our food". Retrieved 2008-12-09.

Butchko, H; Stargel, WW; Comer, CP; Mayhew, DA; Benninger, C; Blackburn, GL; De Sonneville, LM; Geha, RS et al. (2002). "Aspartame: Review of Safety". Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 35 (2 Pt 2): S1–93.

amandarenee31

I'm not all for the kind of site that this is, but you can google the dangers of Aspartame and get PLENTY of other sources stating pretty much the same thing. I just liked this one the best.

I know a few people who have consumed the stuff all their lives and had several healthy issues. Going to all different kinds of doctor's, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. After cleaning up their diets and cutting this stuff out, they miraculously had many of their health problems disappear. I know what the stuff can do. It took the FDA 15 years to pass the stuff and make it legal. It's not biased at all. Just stating facts with the article posted. The full article states that a man persuaded the FDA to pass it for political and money reasons. People can either believe the facts and help make their lives healthier and longer, or they can go on denying it all.

gritgirl

There is medical support of this:

Effect of long term intake of aspartame on antioxidant defense status in liver.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21376768

Aspartame-induced fibromyalgia, an unusual but curable cause of chronic pain.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21176433

But they're also showing some positive properties of aspartame

Dietary aspartyl-phenylalanine-1-methyl ester delays osteoarthritis and prevents associated bone loss in STR/ORT mice.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21372000

Frankly, it's a fake sweetener and I know it's not likely doing good for me. But I drink the soda to get the caffeine so I'm just not thinking of the possible bad.

ninerbuff

I'm not all for the kind of site that this is, but you can google the dangers of Aspartame and get PLENTY of other sources stating pretty much the same thing. I just liked this one the best.

I know a few people who have consumed the stuff all their lives and had several healthy issues. Going to all different kinds of doctor's, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. After cleaning up their diets and cutting this stuff out, they miraculously had many of their health problems disappear. I know what the stuff can do. It took the FDA 15 years to pass the stuff and make it legal. It's not biased at all. Just stating facts with the article posted. The full article states that a man persuaded the FDA to pass it for political and money reasons. People can either believe the facts and help make their lives healthier and longer, or they can go on denying it all.

While I don't disagree with money and the FDA, there is plenty of scientific peer viewed studies showing that it's safe.
All people react differently to different things. Allergies, hystamine, sunlight, etc. have different affects on people who have genetic predispositions.
Have you ever thought about the chemicals that are actually in bottled water? Apparently something healthy for you?

savanahspring

I just love how the author calls aspartic acid and phenylalanine "insidious" ....uummm they are just amino acids found in much larger amounts in pretty much any protein than in aspartame ( and phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that we need because our bodies can't make it)

As for the methanol, it is NOT an ingredient in aspartame. It is actually a chemical that forms from the metabolism of aspartame. And the amount of methanol that forms from drinking a diet soda with aspartame is less than the amount that is naturally found in fruit juices, and some fruits leaving the level of formic acid and formaldehyde much less than toxicity levels.

Can't say that I can take this article seriously...at all

amandarenee31

I'm not all for the kind of site that this is, but you can google the dangers of Aspartame and get PLENTY of other sources stating pretty much the same thing. I just liked this one the best.

I know a few people who have consumed the stuff all their lives and had several healthy issues. Going to all different kinds of doctor's, they couldn't figure out what was wrong with them. After cleaning up their diets and cutting this stuff out, they miraculously had many of their health problems disappear. I know what the stuff can do. It took the FDA 15 years to pass the stuff and make it legal. It's not biased at all. Just stating facts with the article posted. The full article states that a man persuaded the FDA to pass it for political and money reasons. People can either believe the facts and help make their lives healthier and longer, or they can go on denying it all.

While I don't disagree with money and the FDA, there is plenty of scientific peer viewed studies showing that it's safe.
All people react differently to different things. Allergies, hystamine, sunlight, etc. have different affects on people who have genetic predispositions.
Have you ever thought about the chemicals that are actually in bottled water? Apparently something healthy for you?

It's true that some people may not have any bad side affects from aspartame their entire lives, but there are a lot more who have negative side affects. I know I personally suffer from sever migraines. I get extremely dizzy with the migraines and no amount of medicine or sleep helps. Only to flush my body of any toxins. I have yet to get a migraine since cutting this stuff out. So I've had personal experience with the negative side. The part that freaks me out is that Aspartame has a wood alcohol in it and when the stuff is heated up to 87 degrees Fahrenheit, it's converted to formaldehyde - the stuff used to embalm bodies. The human body's average temperature is 98.6 degrees. The second that stuff enters our bodies, it will turn to formaldehyde. With the amount that a lot of people consume, there will probably be no more need for the embalming process.

As far as the water bottles go, I am already aware of that. I don't use plastic to drink. I use glass or metal that is BPA free.

ninerbuff

I just love how the author calls aspartic acid and phenylalanine "insidious" ....uummm they are just amino acids found in much larger amounts in pretty much any protein than in aspartame ( and phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that we need because our bodies can't make it)

As for the methanol, it is NOT an ingredient in aspartame. It is actually a chemical that forms from the metabolism of aspartame. And the amount of methanol that forms from drinking a diet soda with aspartame is less than the amount that is naturally found in fruit juices, and some fruits leaving the level of formic acid and formaldehyde much less than toxicity levels.

Can't say that I can take this article seriously...at all

Exaggeration sells.

amandarenee31

Here are some peer reviews done that shows how Formaldehyde is derived from aspartame and the effects of Aspartame
http://www.wnho.net/formaldehyde_from_aspartame.pdf

http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html

http://www.wnho.net/report_on_aspartame_and_children.htm

Aspartame Toxicity Center
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

KanCrav

moderation moderation moderation.

Anything in LARGE amounts isn't going to seem healthy in the large sceem of things. Wine in small amounts is not bad, but wine in large amounts will eventually shut down your liver. Sugar in small amounts is not bad, but sugar in huge amounts will make your heart sad and your body fat!

I say, If your not shooting the aspartame into you blood stream, then enjoy in moderation, just like everything else!!!!

........ even veggies in large amounts arent very good.. lol, especially if you have to share a bed with someone.!~!~!~!

nilla128

I think EVERYONE should read this. The ingredients that companies put in their foods are not always the healthiest. In most cases, they load up with chemicals that could very possibly be dangerous, but are allowed because of money and greed.

http://organichealthadviser.com/archives/aspartame-dangers

"Millions of Americans gobble down diet sodas, artificial sweeteners and thousands of other products that contain huge amounts of aspartame and never even imagine that they could literally be destroying their health. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist for G.D. Searle & Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. It is the most common sweetening additive being used in over 6,000 consumer foods, beverages, multivitamins, frozen desserts, cereals, pharmaceutical products, and artificial sweeteners sold worldwide.

Aspartame contains three very insidious components: methanol, phenylalanine, and aspartic acid. All three of these chemicals have each been shown to either stimulate brain cells to death, severely disrupt hormone balances in the brain or act as a dangerous nerve poison.
'Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame: Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.'

And did you know that aspartame is 10 percent methanol? Methanol (also known as wood alcohol) is a very deadly poison.

'Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.'

So if you want to be healthy you have to watch out for yourself and your family. Don't count on the FDA to help you."

The above is just a few tid bits I thought were extremely important. If you consume any artificial sweeteners, like Splenda, please take a look. It’s no joke. I have talked to people who had several major health problems from this stuff. They couldn’t figure out why at first, but when they found this out and stopped consumption, they miraculously improved health wise.

I have thrown out everything with Aspartame and will no longer buy anything that has this. It is honestly way better to consume regular natural sugars even though it may be slightly more calories. The best thing, though, is to avoid processed things for the most part and eat as many natural things as possible.

For a natural sweetener to add to drinks that is zero calories, try Stevia or any other form of it. Look it up. The stevia plant has several healthy and great qualities to it.

Sorry but from an ORGANIC review, this is a biased opinion.

My sister is a bio-chemist and in 2001 she read in The British Medical Journal (a non-biased resource) about a study of Aspartame which revealed it stayed in the body a long time after it is consumed. Any artificial chemical that lingers in your insides can be up to no good. I have not touchd a food product containing that stuff since 2001 and I don't let my kids near the "no sugar added" foods either as they all contain it.
Better safe than sorry.

JonesAaronM

Thanks to ninerbuff and savanahspring for offering reasonable thoughts and common sense.

As KanCrav said; everything is bad for you if you overdue it.