Aspartame: Is It Really Safe?
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is at least 200 times sweeter than white sugar. It is marketed and sold under the brand names of "NutraSweet" and "Equal."
In 1981, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved this artificial sweetener for use in dry goods. Two years later, they approved it for use in carbonated drinks.
Look over the shelves in your local supermarket and you will find literally thousands of different products that contain aspartame.
According to the NutraSweet website, it is now in over 5000 foods and drinks around the world. It's not just in diet foods and special foods for diabetics anymore. It is everywhere!
You can find it in:
- Sugar-free beverages and soda pop
- Gum
- Candy
- Instant desserts
- Instant breakfasts
- Some breakfast cereals
- Hot chocolate mixes
- Frozen desserts
- Low-calorie desserts
- Yogurt
- Laxatives
- Gelatin
- Drink mixes
- Breath mints
- Some brands of chewable vitamin supplements and children's multi-vitamins
Aspartame is made up of three main chemical components:
1. Phenylalanine - (40%)
Phenylalanine is an amino acid that is normally found in your brain. It occurs naturally in foods such as asparagus, chickpeas, lentils, walnuts, and soybeans.
The problem with phenylalanine comes in when too much gets into your brain.
Too much can cause the serotonin levels in your brain to go down. If your serotonin levels are too low, it can leave you feeling depressed. That's a serious issue.
I wonder how many people are taking antidepressant medication for a problem that is caused by too much phenylalanine from this artificial sweetener?
2. Aspartic acid - (50%)
Aspartic acid is also an amino acid that also occurs naturally in foods such as avocados, asparagus, and oats.
The problem with aspartic acid is that it is an excitatory amino acid (excitotoxin). Too much can lead to a number of serious symptoms and problems including neurological problems. In excess, it can also kill your brain cells!
Learn more about excitotoxins in the book Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills
When you eat or drink items that contain aspartame, your brain gets flooded with phenylalanine and aspartic acid. This flooding can cause serious damage to your brain.
This flooding reaction does not happen when you eat foods that naturally contain phenylalanine and aspartic acid.
Why?
Natural foods are made up of a wide variety of other amino acids and nutrients. They do not just contain phenylalanine and aspartic acid alone. The combination of nutrients in natural foods allows the amino acids to be metabolized in a way that your body can handle.
Aspartame is NOT natural. Your body cannot metabolize it in a way that is healthy for you.
3. Methanol - (10%)
Methanol is also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol. Methanol is poisonous! Without a doubt, it is hazardous to your health.
Methanol is destructive to your brain cells. Even if you take only small amounts from time to time, the effects will add up. Damage will occur.
Toxic levels of methanol can lead to blindness, swelling of your brain, seizures, loss of balance, and other symptoms. The lethal dose is only 2 teaspoons!
If you heat aspartame to 30 degrees Celsius (about 86 degrees Fahrenheit) or more, you will get a substance called free methanol.
Free methanol further breaks down into formaldehyde.
Yes, embalming fluid!
You can find this sweetener in a lot of different foods that get heated up past 30 degrees Celsius at some point or another. Baked goods, gelatin desserts, and hot chocolate are just three examples.
Even if you do not need to bake or heat up a product, it can get heated up by accident if you don't store it properly. This can happen before it even reaches the shelves in the grocery store!
When you think about these dangers, is it really worth the risk?
* Click here to read about even more health problems and side effects that are associated with aspartame. Includes information on healthier alternatives.
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