What's the Story With Aspartame?

I’ve been teaching for decades about health and nutrition, and I’m still surprised at the number of people who don’t know (or don’t want to know) the ill effects of sweeteners on physical and emotional health!

In honor of World Diabetes day, I wanted to talk specifically about the killer sweetener substitute Aspartame also known by diverse brand names including Equal, NutraSweet, Tropicana, AminoSweet, etc.

The sugar substitute Aspartame is specifically marketed to people with diabetes! Why would that be when research shows that Aspartame is known to contribute to increased blood glucose levels and a higher risk of diabetes in mice. And, for those trying to lose weight, research suggests that, more often than not, the result of medium-term Aspartame use is an increase in waistlines.

What is Aspartame?

• 40% Aspartic acid which is a non-essential amino acid and a neurotransmitter.
• 50% Phenylalanine which is also an amino acid that helps the brain create active nerve chemicals that affect mood including epinephrine and dopamine. Too much of this substance leads to a decrease in serotonin in the body. Serotonin regulates mood, sleep, appetite, muscle contraction and memory and learning abilities. So messing with the production of serotonin is not a good idea!
• 10% Methanol which is literally known as wood alcohol which is an industrial solvent found in anti-freeze, paint, copy machine fluids, varnish and fuel additives.

Unfortunately, these chemicals have limited stability in liquid, and therefore over time break down into formaldehyde and DKP (a brain tumor agent). This breakdown happens even when Aspartame is kept cold, but accelerates significantly at room temperature or in heat. Studies show that formaldehyde from the breakdown of Aspartame concentrates in the brain, liver, kidneys and other vital organs.

Rats fed Aspartame over an 8-week period showed an increased incidence of cancerous kidney tumors and an increase in leukemia and lymphoma. Another study showed that small amounts of Aspartame exposure before birth and in the early years not only also led to a significant increase in both leukemia and lymphoma over the child’s lifetime but a dose- related increase in breast cancer for females and multiple myeloma in men.

And, another interesting fact is that Aspartame failed to receive FDA approval for nearly 2 decades and was only approved under a cloud of controversy (see FDA docket file #02P-0317 for details).

What is Aspartame in?

If you’ve had a mint, a piece of gum, a slice of pizza, brushed your teeth, drank a flavored water or sports drink, enjoyed a blueberry yogurt, took your vitamin C (or many other medicines or vitamins) had any diet food or beverages… you’ve just consumed a known cancer-causing sweetener that is also one of the most addictive neurotoxins used in the food supply.  

What does Aspartame do?

Aspartame is an excitotoxin that can overstimulate neurons to the point of cellular death.

Aspartame has been proven to contribute to (or downright cause) symptoms such as headaches, vision changes, blindness, numbness, tingling, menstrual changes, fatigue, convulsions, seizures, allergies, low platelet counts, low blood pressure, coma, liver dysfunction, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, leg cramps…

There are more than 90 evidence-based symptoms associated with the consumption of Aspartame.

With more than 5,000 clients over 30 years, I’ve seen miracles occur when Aspartame and all artificial sweeteners are removed from the diet. What kind of miracles? Thanks for the question! Re-read the list of the symptoms and conditions to which Aspartame is directly linked and those are the symptoms and complaints that are often no more.

Enjoying an Aspartame-free diet is not easy because it’s an ingredient in nearly all processed foods. You!Healing advocates a plant-based, non-processed diet to avoid artificial sweeteners and other hidden sugars.