Aspartame is usually thought of in combination with diet soda, but the artificial sweetener is found in more than 6,000 foods, including gum, table-top sweeteners, diet and diabetic foods, cereals, candy, vitamins, prescription and over-the-counter drugs.  It is a zero calorie sweetener that takes the place of sugar and has quickly become the diet-food staple of choice.

Aspartame is also the most controversial food additive in history.   It’s FDA approved, against many health officials protests, and was even listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent. Aspartame has been in our food supply for 30 years, and has been doing damage to our health the whole time.

Because of it’s much deserved bad press, aspartame has been repeatedly re-branded into NutraSweet, Candereal and most recently, AminoSweet.

AminoSweet- doesn’t that sound healthy?

Aspartame producer Ajinomoto chose to re-brand the sweetenr under AminoSweet to “remind the industry that aspartame tastes just like sugar, and that it’s made from amino acids — the building blocks of protein that are abundant in our diet.”

Name it something to make people think it’s healthy.  It’s hardly a new marketing ploy, and it’s doing damage.

There have been over 10,000 reports to the FDA for reaction to aspartame, more than all other food additives combined, and according to the FDA, less than 1 percent of those who experience a reaction even report it.

About two-thirds of aspartame reactions are classified as neurological and behavioral, including headaches, mood swings, and hallucinations, while the remaining third is mostly gastrointestinal symptoms.

Aspartame is most widely used in place of sugar in low- and no-calorie foods, but research shows most of these products can actually lead to weight gain by increasing your risk of metabolic syndrome, may double your risk of obesity, which is precisely the opposite desired effect of consuming diet drinks.

More seriously, phenylalanine in aspartame dissociates from the ester bond, and while these amino acids are completely safe, they are not designed to be ingested as singular amino acids, which will cause complications.

This will also increase dopamine levels in your brain, that can lead to depression, migraines and brain tumors. The aspartic acid in aspartame is a excitotoxin, which cause brain cells to become so excessively excited they die, which can also cause a loss of brain synapses and connecting fibers which leads to neurodegeneration.

Since aspartame is found in so many foods, it is important to read your labels. While real sugar does contain calories and carries risks when consumed in excess, always choose natural foods over chemicals.

In Good Health,

Kelly Turner

Kelly Turner is a Seattle area ACE Certified Personal Trainer, health and fitness writer and editor of the fitness website, PhysiqueSpeak.com. To contact Kelly with any questions, you can email her at kellycturner@hotmail.com.