Despite brand name, neurotoxin’s effects not so sweet

What would you think of a food additive that caused brain tumors and lesions, headaches, seizures, irritability, depression, possible birth defects, neurotransmitter alterations within the brain and peripheral nerves, gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia, mood alterations, skin polyps, occasionally blindness and was shown to erode intelligence and short-term memory?

What if that same additive was also linked to loss of diabetic control for diabetics, intensification of hypoglycemia for hypoglycemics and presumed insulin reactions including convulsions? What if some scientists believed it may cause the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease? What if other scientists believed it may contribute to the onset of Type II diabetes?

You’d probably believe it doesn’t belong anywhere near your food and beverages, right? You’d think such a substance would be banned by the Food and Drug Administration for consumption in this country, right?

Think again.

That food additive, which should probably be more properly classified as a neurotoxin, is aspartame, also known by brand names NutraSweet and Equal.

It’s in over 6,000 food products consumed in the United States regularly. In addition, it’s in about 500 products aimed at children, including children’s vitamins and medications. It’s the main sweetener in most diet soft drinks.

Discovered in late 1965 by a chemist at G.D. Searle, aspartame is comprised of phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methyl ester.
Some folks are allergic to phenylalanine and can suffer brain damage and other complications if they ingest it, hence the warning on the side of most diet soft drink labels that say, “Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine.”

Aspartic acid and methyl ester become formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, when they break down. And since aspartame is unstable at temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit, ingesting aspartame is essentially ingesting formaldehyde. (Since one ingests it, and human body temperature is about 96 degrees, there’s essentially no way to avoid this.)

If all of the above isn’t enough, aspartame also has been shown to often increase weight, which seems awfully ironic in a “diet” sweetener. Researchers aren’t sure exactly what causes this, but feel it’s either due to a brain chemistry change that makes one crave more carbohydrates (real ones) or possible metabolic changes that increase appetite and depress speed of metabolism.

All of these things haven’t gone completely unnoticed in the nearly 25 years since aspartame was approved. It took nearly 15 years for it to be approved at all and was approved over the objections of many at the FDA at the time.
Now, state Senator Gerald Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque is sponsoring a bill in New Mexico that would ban the sale of any food product containing aspartame within the state. It is especially important to note that New Mexico has one of the highest rates of diabetes, especially among its majority Native American population, in the nation.

The United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands are also considering bans.

Attorneys are reportedly taking aspartame brain tumor cases in New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Mississippi.
And, lastly, a major manufacturer of aspartame in Holland has announced that it will cease all production of the stuff at the end of this year.

Personally, I don’t think it can be too soon. I’ve only ingested aspartame willingly once or twice. It gave me a nasty, fuzzy headache that lasted for a couple of days. Since I’m particularly sensitive to many food additives, I just shrugged it off at the time as one of my “quirks” that way. But I hated the feeling enough that I’ve not willingly tried it again since, though I’m pretty sure I’ve been unwittingly “poisoned” by it a couple of times since.

Anecdotally, many, many folks have reported improvements in various medical conditions when they cut aspartame out of their diets. (If you don’t believe me, do an Internet search. Try “adverse reactions aspartame”) Mysterious and not-so-mysterious ailments have seemingly disappeared or seen drastic improvement when it was eliminated, even ones such as chronic pain in other parts of the body not usually associated with aspartame reactions.

So, if you’re feeling fuzzy and can’t think straight, having headaches, having trouble with depression, have gastrointestinal problems, can’t seem to lose that weight no matter how many diet soft drinks you consume, are suddenly diagnosed with epilepsy, have multiple sclerosis and/or can’t seem to keep your diabetes under control, you might consider eliminating aspartame from you diet to see if you have any improvements (while continuing to see your physician, of course).

And even if you don’t have any of those symptoms, it certainly can’t hurt.

(Originally published in The Easton News, April 6, 2006)