Aspartame Disease - An Ignored Epidemic
Artificial sweeteners are marketed with the promise of weight control, and the vast majority of people who consume them do so to either lose or avoid gaining weight.
Folks, this is a fraud of gigantic proportions. From 1960 to l976, there was virtually no change in the number of Americans who were overweight: roughly 24 percent of the population. However, from the mid l980s to the present, this number has more than doubled to 54 percent! this coincides with the massive infusion of noncaloric chemical sweeteners and sugar-free "diet" foods that are eaten by close to three-quarters of the adult population.
Although several factors contribute to these alarming statistics, I am convinced that our blind acceptance of the most popular of these artificial sweeteners, aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful), plays a significant role in our current weight problems. Far from helping us lose weight, aspartame has been proven to increase appetite, especially cravings for sweets. Imagine "diet" products that help you pack on extra pounds! And aspartame's downside doesn't end with weight gain: This sweetener is associated with multiple health problems.
Folks, this is a fraud of gigantic proportions. From 1960 to l976, there was virtually no change in the number of Americans who were overweight: roughly 24 percent of the population. However, from the mid l980s to the present, this number has more than doubled to 54 percent! this coincides with the massive infusion of noncaloric chemical sweeteners and sugar-free "diet" foods that are eaten by close to three-quarters of the adult population.
Although several factors contribute to these alarming statistics, I am convinced that our blind acceptance of the most popular of these artificial sweeteners, aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful), plays a significant role in our current weight problems. Far from helping us lose weight, aspartame has been proven to increase appetite, especially cravings for sweets. Imagine "diet" products that help you pack on extra pounds! And aspartame's downside doesn't end with weight gain: This sweetener is associated with multiple health problems.
Aspartame May Cause a Variety of Diseases
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, depression, 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. This cluster of symptoms has become so common that it is actually referred to as "aspartame disease". Even more serious disorders have a suspected link with aspartame. Is it an accident that the incidence of brain tumors has increased by 10% since l975? John W. Olney, MD, of the Washington University Medical School in St. Louis believes there may be a link between the two. In an article published in The Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology, he notes that animal studies reveal high levels of brain tumors in aspartame-fed rats. According to Dr. Olney, recent findings show that aspartame has mutagenic (cancer-causing) potential, and the sharp rise in malignant brain tumors coincides with the increased use of aspartame. Could serious seizures and vision loss somehow be associated with the sweetener? The U.S. Navy and Air Force published articles in Navy Physiology and Flying Safety with this warning: "several researchers have found aspartame can increase the frequency of seizures, or lower the stimulation necessary to induce them. this means a pilot who drinks diet sodas is more susceptible to flicker vertigo, or to flicker-induced epileptic activity. It also means that all pilots are potential victims of sudden memory loss, dizziness during instrument flight, and gradual loss of vision." What about multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, depression and other mood disorders? I have reviewed scores of documented cases of patients with symptoms so severe that they were mistakenly diagnosed with one of these conditions, only to have all signs of disease completely vanish after getting off aspartame. The FDA Ignores Safety Concerns
Yet the FDA has chosen to turn a deaf ear to repeated requests by scientists, physicians, and consumers to review aspartame's safety. Aspartame has spelled trouble from the get-go.
The unique property of this chemical, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, was accidently discovered in l965 by a chemist trying to develop an ulcer drug. Although the FDA rescinded its initial approval because of studies showing that it caused seizures and brain tumors in lab animals, the agency eventually capitulated to political and monetary pressure and in l981 gave aspartame the stamp of approval. In doing so, this bureaucracy overrode the 3-0 decision of a Public Board of Inquiry, which had reviewed the scientific data and had recommended delaying approval pending further studies on the sweetener's link with brain cancer. In the intervening years, safety concerns have mushroomed. Ralph G. Walton, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, reviewed all the studies on aspartame and found 166 with relevance for human safety. Every one of the 74 studies funded by the aspartame industry gave it a clean bill of health, while 92 percent of those independently funded revealed safety problems. |
Aspartame Can Upset Brain Chemistry
Once you understand a bit about the chemistry of aspartame, you'll see why it can cause so many problems.
Aspartame is comprised of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid acts as an "excitatory" neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, in the brain, stimulating neurons to fire. Problems can arise when aspartic acid is out of balance with "inhibitory" amino acids that calm things down.
Phenylalanine also easily enters the brain, where it is transformed into neurotransmitters that can further interfere with normal brain function. This is a likely reason why aspartame lowers the threshold for seizures, mood disorders, and other nervous system problems. this altered brain chemistry may also be responsible for the addictive nature of aspartame. Some report that getting off diet soda takes more willpower than giving up cigarettes!
Aspartame is comprised of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid acts as an "excitatory" neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, in the brain, stimulating neurons to fire. Problems can arise when aspartic acid is out of balance with "inhibitory" amino acids that calm things down.
Phenylalanine also easily enters the brain, where it is transformed into neurotransmitters that can further interfere with normal brain function. This is a likely reason why aspartame lowers the threshold for seizures, mood disorders, and other nervous system problems. this altered brain chemistry may also be responsible for the addictive nature of aspartame. Some report that getting off diet soda takes more willpower than giving up cigarettes!
A Little Moonshine For You?
The remaining component, which makes up 10 percent of aspartame, may be the most dangerous part. It is a methyl ester that breaks down after ingestion into methanol, a nervous system toxin also known as free methyl alcohol or wood alcohol. Methanol is extremely harmful to the optic nerve.
A main ingredient in "moonshine" it was notorious during Prohibition for causing blindness. Methanol is rapidly released into the bloodstream, where it is further metabolized into other harmful components, including formaldehyde ( a known neurotoxin and carcinogen) and formic acid (the poison in ant stings). Is it any wonder that many of the symptoms of "aspartame disease" are neurological and visual?
Drinking a diet soda or two (and I've had patients who drink at least a liter a day) delivers a powerful chemical rush with decidedly negative effects. With this kind of questionable history, who would want to consume this artificial chemical, particularly when there are natural and healthy sweeteners available?
A main ingredient in "moonshine" it was notorious during Prohibition for causing blindness. Methanol is rapidly released into the bloodstream, where it is further metabolized into other harmful components, including formaldehyde ( a known neurotoxin and carcinogen) and formic acid (the poison in ant stings). Is it any wonder that many of the symptoms of "aspartame disease" are neurological and visual?
Drinking a diet soda or two (and I've had patients who drink at least a liter a day) delivers a powerful chemical rush with decidedly negative effects. With this kind of questionable history, who would want to consume this artificial chemical, particularly when there are natural and healthy sweeteners available?
What Are the Dangers of Aspartame for Kids?
Aspartame is a highly controversial non-nutritive food supplement. In other words, aspartame does not provide any nutritional value to the foods and substances it is added to, and several medical researchers attest that aspartame is a dangerous substance to your health. Add to this the fact that children's bodies are constantly growing and developing, if aspartame does cause health problems in adults it may cause worse health issues in children.
Headaches
According to Medicine.net, when individuals are administered either placebos or aspartame, the participants who ingest the aspartame consistently report developing headaches after ingesting the aspartame, and report that the headaches are more severe than the headaches that they typically experience. These same symptoms were also reported to the Food and Drug Administration regarding children's consumption of aspartame.
Depression
According to Rense.com, Dr. Betty Martini states that the effects on children of ingesting aspartame include: increased depression, elevated anxiety levels and an increase in other mood disorders in children, and that aspartame also interacts with anti-depressant medications therefore interfering with treatment of these mood disorders. Dr. Martini states that phenylalanine is a neurotoxin which affects chemicals in the brain. When aspartame is broken down in the body one of the chemicals it is broken down into is phenylalanine which depletes serotonin levels in the brain, therefore triggering mood disorders. Since several children are diagnosed with recurring and co-occurring mood disorders it would be advisable that these children avoid aspartame.
Behavior Issues
Hyperactivity and trouble concentrating in children have been associated with ingesting aspartame. Unfortunately, even those parents reading food labels to ensure there is no aspartame in the food they give their children may miss the fact that there is aspartame in some substances. Substances such as pediatric medicine and diet foods may only state on the packaging that they contain phenylalanine, an amino acid used to make aspartame. The Food and Drug Administration only requires that companies provide a warning label for those sensitive to phenylalanine.
Increased Hunger
Several studies done with dieters have concluded that aspartame actually increases your hunger. According to the studies done by the Cancer Research Center of the European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, aspartame may increase obesity and the risk of metabolic syndrome. The theory behind this effect is that aspartame tricks your taste buds into tasting sweetness but your brain is not satisfied and so you tend to consume more calories.
Headaches
According to Medicine.net, when individuals are administered either placebos or aspartame, the participants who ingest the aspartame consistently report developing headaches after ingesting the aspartame, and report that the headaches are more severe than the headaches that they typically experience. These same symptoms were also reported to the Food and Drug Administration regarding children's consumption of aspartame.
Depression
According to Rense.com, Dr. Betty Martini states that the effects on children of ingesting aspartame include: increased depression, elevated anxiety levels and an increase in other mood disorders in children, and that aspartame also interacts with anti-depressant medications therefore interfering with treatment of these mood disorders. Dr. Martini states that phenylalanine is a neurotoxin which affects chemicals in the brain. When aspartame is broken down in the body one of the chemicals it is broken down into is phenylalanine which depletes serotonin levels in the brain, therefore triggering mood disorders. Since several children are diagnosed with recurring and co-occurring mood disorders it would be advisable that these children avoid aspartame.
Behavior Issues
Hyperactivity and trouble concentrating in children have been associated with ingesting aspartame. Unfortunately, even those parents reading food labels to ensure there is no aspartame in the food they give their children may miss the fact that there is aspartame in some substances. Substances such as pediatric medicine and diet foods may only state on the packaging that they contain phenylalanine, an amino acid used to make aspartame. The Food and Drug Administration only requires that companies provide a warning label for those sensitive to phenylalanine.
Increased Hunger
Several studies done with dieters have concluded that aspartame actually increases your hunger. According to the studies done by the Cancer Research Center of the European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, aspartame may increase obesity and the risk of metabolic syndrome. The theory behind this effect is that aspartame tricks your taste buds into tasting sweetness but your brain is not satisfied and so you tend to consume more calories.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Please take the warnings very seriously. although some people are much more sensitive to aspartame's adverse effects than others, damage is likely cumulative. Aspartame is particularly harmful to children and the developing fetus. I strongly urge anyone with an aspartame "habit" to get off this harmful sweetener.
Don't trade one bad habit for another by switching to sugar-laden drinks and sweets. Avoid most bottled or canned sodas, teas and juices altogether. If they don't contain an artificial sweetener, they're loaded with some kind of sugar. Your beverage of choice should be water. Try perking it up with a slice of lemon. Sparkling water, diluted fruit juice, and homemade iced tea flavored with the herbal sweetener stevia are other options. A few drops of stevia also nicely sweeten hot tea, coffee, cereal, yogurt, and other foods.
A 2005 study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio showed that increased weight gain and obesity was associated with increased use of diet soda in a population based study. Animal studies have indicated that artificial sweeteners can cause body weight gain. A sweet taste induces an insulin response, which causes blood sugar to be stored in tissues (including fat), but because blood sugar does not increase with artificial sugars, there is hypoglycemia and increased food intake the next time there is a meal. After a while, rats given sweeteners have steadily increased calorie intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity (fatness)
Don't trade one bad habit for another by switching to sugar-laden drinks and sweets. Avoid most bottled or canned sodas, teas and juices altogether. If they don't contain an artificial sweetener, they're loaded with some kind of sugar. Your beverage of choice should be water. Try perking it up with a slice of lemon. Sparkling water, diluted fruit juice, and homemade iced tea flavored with the herbal sweetener stevia are other options. A few drops of stevia also nicely sweeten hot tea, coffee, cereal, yogurt, and other foods.
A 2005 study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio showed that increased weight gain and obesity was associated with increased use of diet soda in a population based study. Animal studies have indicated that artificial sweeteners can cause body weight gain. A sweet taste induces an insulin response, which causes blood sugar to be stored in tissues (including fat), but because blood sugar does not increase with artificial sugars, there is hypoglycemia and increased food intake the next time there is a meal. After a while, rats given sweeteners have steadily increased calorie intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity (fatness)