By: Marina Biljak |
Aspartame – the most dangerous modern sweetener? |
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More than twenty countries have approved the use of aspartame in thousands of food products.
But, this is not a cause for celebration, although aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar.
This artificial sweetener allows food manufacturers to advertise their sweet food items as food items with a low caloric value, dietary food items or even food items without sugar.
That way they are deceiving consumers that wish to decrease sugar amounts in their diet.
Decreased sugar amounts in one’s diet are a great idea, but have in mind that aspartame is not a good substitution for sugar.
Although various health agencies for food and medicines convince consumers that aspartame is safe for their health, researchers claim that this substance is one of the most dangerous ones in food products.
The bitter truth about aspartame
In all adverts regarding aspartame, a fact that aspartame is a natural product and that it consists of two amino acids is constantly emphasized. But that is not the whole truth.
These two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, make 90% of aspartame while remaining 10% is methyl ether that is converted into methanol just a few hours after consumption.
Methanol is a toxin that destroys myelin tissue in our body. Myelin tissue performs an important function in the organism as isolating material around nerves, allowing nerve signals to travel freely.
It is recommended to not intake more than 7.8 mg of methanol a day. But if you drink one liter of some drink containing aspartame, you will consume 56 mg of methanol, seven times more than the recommended amount.
When diet juices and non-alcoholic beverages that contain aspartame are used as a water substitute, methanol intake can be over 250 mg a day.
That is 32 times more than recommended daily amounts!
Increased methanol intake causes headaches, dizziness, sickness, digestive problems, weakness, fever, memory problems, loss of vision, accelerated heart beat, stiffness and sudden pains.
The most famous problems emanating from increased methanol intake are problems with sight, such as blurry vision, reduced scope of vision, loss of vision, retinal damages, even blindness.
But, aspartic acid is no better than methanol. According to researches conducted by Russell Blaylock, a professor of neurosurgery at a University of Mississippi Medical Center, aspartic acid crosses blood brain barrier, destroys neurons and our brain.
Doctor Blaylock warns that aspartic acid can cause multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, hyperactivity, memory loss, Parkinson’s disease and brain damages.
Phenylalanine is also dangerous substance. Phenylalanine that contains aspartame for longer time periods can cause emotional disorders and depression, headaches and memory loss.
In 1994, the American Health Protection Agency issued a report on harmful effects of aspartame with a long list of side effects, among them are:
- headache and migraine
- dizziness and sickness
- depression
- fatigue
- accelerated heart beat
- memory loss
- joint pains
- panic and anxiety attacks
- loss of hearing and vision
- insomnia
- faintness and death
According to the scientist that participated in aspartame side effects’ research, this artificial sweetener can worsen or even cause the following diseases:
- brain tumors
- multiple sclerosis
- epilepsy
- chronic fatigue syndrome
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Mental retardation
- deformations of newly-born children
- fibromyalgia
- diabetes
History of aspartame
This artificial sweetener was discovered in 1965 by a chemist James M. Schlatter who discovered it by accident while testing ulcer medicine. He discovered the sweet taste of this chemical compound.
After that, a long struggle began for allowing aspartame usage as an artificial sweetener, which was not an easy task.
It is known that the American Food and Drugs Agency (FDA) has come to the conclusion in 1975, after an appeal made by John W. Oney, that aspartame usage should not be allowed on the market due to its negative consequences for human health discovered during the testing phase.
Until 1980, a unanimous decision made by researchers and the FDA was that aspartame is dangerous and that a company that tries to introduce aspartame on the market should be legally prosecuted.
But that was not the end of aspartame. Thanks to the efforts made by a company that promoted aspartame introduction on the market, new FDA director allowed the usage of this silent killer in the food and then in the beverages.
Suspicious research results
Without a doubt, aspartame is one of the most researched chemical compounds with as much as 164 researches conducted.
But, 74 of them had been financed by the industry that wished to introduce this chemical on the market.
It is questionable can such results even be taken seriously.
It is hard to believe that such results can be valid if we take into the consideration that those researches never found a single negative side effect of aspartame.
Some researches that had been financed by the aspartame industry even claimed that aspartame can help with weight-loss, which is far from the truth.
Namely, according to the independent researches, aspartame and similar artificial sweeteners:
- enhance appetite
- enhance carbohydrate craving
- enhance storage of fat and weight gain
- enhance the risk of obesity
Health gamble
Many consumers surely think that aspartame can not be that bad, because if that were the truth, after so many years something would surely be done to prevent its production.
You have to have in mind that aspartame industry is a valuable one and that everyone involved in it will do anything to keep their main source of revenue intact.
With that in mind, next time you find some product that has "no sugar" mark on it, check its content and do not risk your health.
Eliminate this silent killer from your diet and turn to natural sweeteners like honey, agave syrup, stevia, barley malt, maple syrup or reed sugar – product you know that are natural and safe.
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