Alternatives to Aspartame

Yes - Stevia.

Stevia is a natural, sweet-tasting, non-toxic plant that has no calories, lowers blood pressure and inhibits fat absorption. It is diabetic-safe as it does not adversely affect blood sugar. It is heat stable to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) so is safe for use in cooking and can be added to hot drinks. It is said to be 10-40 times sweeter than sugar and can be bought in both powder and liquid form.

Japan has been using stevia to sweeten many food products, such as ice cream, bread, candies, pickles, soft drinks and chewing gum, since the mid 1970s. By the late 1980s, stevia represented approximately 41 percent of the market share of potently sweet products consumed in Japan.

Other countries using Stevia today include Thailand, China, South Korea, Paraguay and Brazil.

In fact, Stevia has been used around the world for at least 1500 years with no reported side-effects, yet it has not been approved as a food additive in the US because "We don't have enough data to conclude that the use [in food] would be safe," (quoted from an agency position paper).

(Aspartame, on the other hand, is a constant source of complaint. A former FDA investigator admits that approximately 75 percent of all the 'adverse reaction' complaints the FDA receives are related to aspartame!)

There will be no race to test Stevia for approval while there is big money to be made from chemical substances such as aspartame because being a natural substance Stevia can't be patented by the huge pharmaceutical corporations.

Though not yet approved in the US as a food additive, Stevia can be sold, and consumed, as a 'dietary supplement'. In what way the FDA can justify how a natural food substance is safe as a supplement but unsafe as an additive is puzzling.