Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are marketed to the masses as the solution for calorie control and weight loss. Between the years of 1960 and 1976 the obesity rate in the United States remained stable at around 24 percent of the population. From 1976 to 2010 the obesity rate in the US has more than doubled to an amazing 54 percent of the population. Synthetic sweeteners such as saccharin and later aspartame became widely used during the mid 1970’s; at the same time we as a population began getting fatter and fatter. How can this be? The dramatic increase in obesity seems to directly coincide with the massive infusion of chemical sweeteners into our diets.
There are certainly a variety of factors that have contributed to the growing obesity in America, but I believe that the use of chemical sweeteners has contributed greatly to the problem. Aspartame, which is the most used synthetic sweetener today, has been shown in multiple studies to increase appetite and cravings, particularly sweet cravings. Isn’t it ironic? People are using huge amounts of these chemicals to sweeten everything, yet these very chemicals are making them crave more sugars and more sweets from other sources.
Aspartame may be responsible for a wide variety of diseases and conditions. It is routinely diagnosed as the cause of elevated liver enzymes. Elevated liver enzymes are the precursor to full blown liver disease and doctors take it very seriously. When liver enzymes become elevated it means that the body is unable to process and ultimately rid itself of environmental or ingested toxins. Once aspartame is discontinued the liver enzymes usually return to normal. Other conditions that have been attributed to aspartame are chronic headaches, depression, dizziness, anxiety disorders, attention problems, memory loss, slurred speech and even vision problems. These symptoms are often referred to as “aspartame disease”.
Aspartame is made of two different amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. Aspartic acid acts to excite the neurotransmitters in the brain and if other calming amino acids are not available this over stimulation can lead to mood disorders and nervous system problems. Phenylalanine also directly effects neurotransmitter function in the brain and interferes with normal brain chemistry. Altering of the brain chemistry is also thought to be responsible for the very addictive nature of aspartame. Many people say getting off diet drinks can be harder than quitting cigarettes.
There is another component of aspartame called methyl ester. Once methyl ester is digested it turns into methanol. Methanol is a wood alcohol that is used in everything from formaldehyde to powering internal combustion engines. It has a high toxicity in humans. If enough methanol is consumed it can cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve and 30 milliliters can be fatal. It is no wonder that one of the most common symptoms of “aspartame disease” is vision problems, since this alcohol directly affects the optic nerve.
There is absolutely no reason today to be using chemical sweeteners. Why risk your health when there are great natural no calorie sweeteners such as Stevia readily available? Stevia is truly all natural and is not a chemical in any way. It comes directly from the Stevia plant that grows in South America. There are some natural soft drink companies currently producing Stevia sweetened sodas. I hope as Stevia becomes more popular the major players, Coke and Pepsi will get on board.
I don't take sugar or aspartam since month, my colleague told me about stevia, it taste good enough and it's better for health
Everyone is so caught up in the diet craze, that they will cut calories any way they can... its a shame that there is not more public coverage of the negative effects of aspartame.
optometrist toronto
I've been reading about this a lot recently, apparently it's basically very similar to plastic or oil and our bodies just can't understand what it is.
We cant really win, real sugar is bad for us, fake sugar bad for us...looks like the answer is to just cut down on real sugar?
Steve@ acne solutions´s last blog ..Acne solutions – to pick or not to pick
Yeah - that is some nasty stuff. It also eats away you teeth and causes them to become yellow. Juicing will help you detox the aspartam out of your system. I highly
recommend getting off diet drinks and detoxing yourself on a juicing detox system.
My site has Juicing tips and advice: vegetable and fruit juicers
vegetable and fruit juicer´s last blog ..The Centrifugal Juicer
Aspartame dissolves into solution and can therefore travel throughout the body and deposit within any tissue. The body digests aspartame unlike saccharin, which does not break down within humans.
The multitude of aspartame side effects are indicative to your genetic individuality and physical weaknesses. It is important to put two and two together, nonetheless, and identify which side effects aspartame is creating within you.
I'm aware of the symptoms of the so called "aspartame disease" but I still keep drinking a lot of diet coke. I've tried to stop but I think that I'm kind of addicted
Your post reminded me that I should try again, harder this time. Thanks 
Great post! I learnt about the dangers of aspartame during my training to become a personal trainer. I used to drink allot of diet drinks thinking that the no sugar option was better for me. It really used to slow me down and give me horrendous headaches. Good job on highlighting the dangers to people keep up the good work!
wow...that's really dangerous thing for body
that's why we must be selective and it's better using herbal sweeteners
opan@healthy eating for kids´s last blog ..Create Healthy Eating Habits for Toddlers
I have stopped consuming softdrinks for years. Great to see that there are people spreading the danger of aspartame. This 'chemical' has been 'killing' people silently. Just wondering if detox solution will help to cure this problem.
Good post. I have come to the conclusion that the only healthy way to stay in shape is to eat moderate portions, exercise and eat organic food. It seems most artificial products invented to lose weight seem to have other negative side affects. So don't believe everything you read on products that lose weight. The advertisers don't tell you that you might die too!
thank you for this post! this is exactly why i stay away from sodas. a great alternative is natural sodas like hansens. now i just have to get my sister to stop drinking diet coke!
sam@san diego wellness´s last blog ..Wellness is more than the Health of your Body
Great post, I drink a lot of Diet Coke and I didn't realize that aspartame is bad! thanks for the advice i'll definitely cut back now that i know this.
Excellent article, i wrote a similair one a few weeks ago:
<a href="http://www.northwestpt.co.uk/2010/06/are-diet-drinks-damaging-your-health/"Are Diet Drinks Damaging your Health
Ill put a link to it back to this one.
cheers