Aspartame is a sweetener that replaces sugar in diet drinks and foods. Aspartame was approved by the FDA in 1981 and is considered a safe food additive. Whether or not aspartame is dangerous is a question of much debate. According to the FDA, aspartame has no side effects. According to many health food proponents, aspartame is poisonous and can cause serious damage to the body.
Weight Gain
Aspartic acid is one of the components of aspartame, writes Jack L. Samuels in the winter 2005 edition of the "NOHA News" In an article for the World Natural Health Organization, Dr. Sandra Cabot, who practices in Australia, notes that aspartame affects blood sugar levels, increasing appetite and causing cravings for foods high in sugars. Aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates, and it might lead to overeating if you're not aware of food choices.
Headaches and Mood Disorders
Dr. Theodore E. TePass, medical director of the Adult and Child Guidance Center, St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, Illinois, writing in the fall 1990 "NOHA News" notes that the FDA received 5,064 aspartame-related complaints by 1989, a few years after the sweetener was approved. The top complaints were about headaches, followed by reports of mood swings, anxiety disorders, tinnitus, slurred speech and loss of taste. According to medical psychologist Susan Shiffman, cited in a February 1999 "Time" magazine article, headaches can be explained by allergies or consuming too much caffeine, which diet drinks contains.
Brain Disorders
According to health site Mercola, too much aspartame can cause neural cell damage. This is especially true in children, who don't have the defenses necessary to protect their brains from the free radicals caused by ingesting aspartame. A series of diseases are linked to neuronal damage, including multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, dementia and epilepsy. The FDA disagrees. According to the agency, aspartame doesn't cause any damage to the brain, with two exceptions. Pregnant women who suffer from high levels of phenylalanine in blood and people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria, or PKU, should not consume aspartame, as they cannot metabolize one of its ingredients. This, in turn, can cause brain damage.
References
- Mercola: Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
- FDA Consumer: Food Alergies Rare But Risky: December 2004
- "Nutrition Digest:" Trick or Treat? Dr. Theodore E. TePass,
- American Nutrition Association: The Obesity Epidemic: Should We Believe What We Read and Hear? Jack L. Samuels
- "Time:" A Web of Deceit:: Christine Gorman: February 1999
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