Is Aspartame Safe ?

USES: artificial sweetener

Dubious history
Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965 by a scientist working on a drug for peptic ulcers, for the US pharmaceutical company G D Searle. It was approved as a sweetener by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in July 1974. The approval was revoked in December the same year because of objections - tests showed 'lab' rats being given aspartame developed brain tumours.

In response to the concerns raised the FDA set up a public board of inquiry (PBOI). In October 1980 the PBOI unanimously recommended that aspartame should not be approved until additional studies were performed to establish whether or not a relationship existed between the ingestion of aspartame and brain tumours.

In 1981, however, and before any further tests, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, overruled the PBOI and approved aspartame for use in dry foods. In 1983 aspartame received approval for use in beverages.

Hayes soon left the FDA to take his place as paid consultant with Searle's public relations firm Burson-Marsteller.


What is aspartame?
Aspartame is made of three compounds:

• Phenylalanine. This lowers the seizure threshold in some individuals, and can cause seizures and brain tumours, according to the head of Brain Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Aspartic Acid. Causes lesions in the brains of lab animals as
  well as changes their DNA. This means future generations can be affected; in animal lab tests health problems skipped a generation and went on to the third, producing obese and sexually dysfunctional lab animals.
• Methanol. Causes depression. In fluid form, Methanol (wood
  alcohol) breaks down into formic acid (used in industry to strip epoxy and urethane coatings) and formaldehyde (used for embalming corpses). An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed."

Affects of aspartame
Aspartame consumption has been connected with many symptoms including headaches, joint pain, memory loss, numbness, tinnitus, hearing loss, vision problems, weight gain, rashes, seizures, fatigue, muscle spasms, dizziness, asthma and chest tightness.

Betty Martini - a tireless campaigner against the use of aspartame - says that many people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis have lost all symptoms once they stopped using aspartame.


Check the ingredients labels
To avoid aspartame (also known by the E-number E951) you need to be aware of the widespread use of it in many of our everyday food products. Not just used in diet drinks and sugar-free gum, it can also be found in more than 5000 other food/drug items, even some nutritional supplements!