All You Need to Know About Aspartame

Aspartame is the technical name of the famous NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, Equal-Measure, etc. Aspartame was accidentally discovered in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist at G.D. Searle, tested an anti-ulcer drug. Here you’ll find out all you need to know about Aspartame.

A bit of history

The European Code for aspartame is E 951, and is “related” with E 950 (acesulfame K), being part of the chemical sweetener (artificial) category.

The benefits of using aspartame have been greatly written. The Nexus Magazine has given this issue a great deal of attention, publishing important articles about aspartame and what is behind the business.

Aspartame is by far the most dangerous chemical additive in the food market. A report by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) reveals that over 75% of the adverse reactions claimed by synthetic additives are due to aspartame.

Many of these reactions are very serious, including death, as revealed in a US Department of Health and Human Services report of 1994.

Here are just a few of the over 90 symptoms documented in the report:

• muscle spasms
• vision problems
• panic attacks
• tired speech
• tachycardia, palpitations
• memory loss
• hearing loss
• dizziness, headache, generalized pain
• depression
• increased fatigue
• irritability, insomnia

Researchers studying the effects of aspartame have shown that it triggers and aggravates the following chronic diseases:

• brain tumors
• multiple sclerosis
• epilepsy
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s syndrome
• mental retardation
• fibromyalgia
• diabetes

What is aspartame made of?

Aspartame is made of three chemicals:

• aspartic acid
• phenylalanine
• methanol

In the book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, written by James and Phyllis Balch, aspartame was on the list of the chemical poisons. As you will see, this is the truth.

Dr. Russell Blaylock, professor of neurosurgery at Mississippi University, has published a book detailing the destructive effects of aspartame using nearly 500 scientific references. He also shows the damage caused by glutamate, an additive that contains 99% glutamic acid.

Aspartate and glutamate are neurotransmitters, that it facilitate the transmission of information from one neuron to another. An excessive amount of aspartate or glutamate will lead to the irreversible destruction of some neurons due to an excessive influx of calcium in these cells.

This calcium supplement, which the neuron receives, will result in the formation of excess free radicals that kill the cell. Therefore aspartate and glutamate are called excitotoxins that stimulate neuronal cells until they kill them.

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. In its free form, it leads to increased blood levels of aspartate and glutamate. After consuming products containing aspartame or glutamate, the blood level of these neurotransmitters, the true excitotoxins, increases.

The brain receives an excessive level of aspartate or glutamate, and the destruction of neurons begins with galloping, and the vast majority (over 75%) of neurons in certain areas of the brain are dead before any visible symptoms occur.

All of these statements are well documented and demonstrated by Dr. Russell Blaylock in his book.

Some of the most important chronic diseases exacerbated or triggered by excitotoxins such as aspartame and glutamate are:

• memory loss
• multiple sclerosis
• hearing loss
• dementia
• hypoglycemia
• brain injury
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s disease
• epilepsy
• hormonal disturbances

The risk is greatly increased for newborns, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and patients with chronic health problems.

Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same adverse effects as glutamic acid.

Among the main effects, we only mention a few:

• headaches
• nausea
• abdominal pain
• increased fatigue (by preventing glucose from reaching neurons)
• insomnia
• vision impairments
• panic attacks and depression
• asthma and severe breathing problems

Aspartame side effects

Persons who have used aspartame most often complained of memory loss. This is the most important effect after the large number of cases.

Blaylock is not the only famous doctor who appears in these research. Among those who talked about the damage caused by aspartate and glutamate are Dr. Adrienne Samuels, a research psychologist.

Another is Olney, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington School of Medicine. He is one of the most famous physicians, being an authority in this field.

He even informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid causes holes in the brains of guinea pigs used in aspartame experiments. The list of those concerned with the effects of these excitotoxins is way too large to be entirely put here.

Another component of aspartame is phenylalanine. This is an amino acid that is naturally found in the brain. People who suffer from phenylketonuria can not metabolize phenylalanine. This leads to a dangerously high level of phenylalanine in the brain, which is often deadly.

It has been shown that aspartame-associated carbohydrate consumption results in increased levels of phenylalanine in the brain, even in people who do not suffer from phenylketonuria!

This is not a theory, all the experiments made so far demonstrate this with greatness.

With increased levels of phenylalanine in the brain, serotonin levels will drop very much, leading to depression and other serious emotional problems.

Even a single use of aspartame leads to an increase in the amount of phenylalanine in the blood.

An impressive story about aspartame has recently been published in the Wednesday Journal in the article called A Nightmare with Aspartame.

John Cook started drinking 8 soft drinks every day. Early symptoms included loss of memory and frequent headaches. Moreover, he felt the need for even more dietetic refreshments.

The state of health has deteriorated so much that it has led to radical behavioral changes and access to violent anger. Although not suffering from phenylketonuria, blood tests showed a level of phenylalanine of 80 mg/dl.

Also, brain damage and abnormal functioning of the central nervous system have been reported. After completely giving up on aspartame, his health improved dramatically.

Blaylock demonstrates that an increased level of phenylalanine in the brain eventually leads to schizophrenia. Therefore, regular use of aspartame led to increased sales of Prozac to control schizophrenia. All of this to the joy of the big pharmaceutical concerts that have a huge profit.

The last component of aspartame is methanol, a deadly poison. We all know cases of alcoholics who have consumed methanol, becoming blind or even dying. Methanol is gradually released into the small intestine under the action of the enzyme chymotrypsin.

By heating aspartame to a temperature higher than 30 degrees Celsius (in the case of dietary sweets, without calories, based on aspartame), methanol is released and therefore present in the food.

Once in the body, methanol decomposes into formic acid and formaldehyde, which is a deadly neurotoxin. Research shows that formaldehyde is a cumulative poison because it does not disappear once it has reached the body.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning include:

• migraines
• dizziness
• nausea
• gastrointestinal disorder
• weight loss
• loss of balance
• colds
• memory loss
• behavioral disorders

The most well-known problems caused by methanol poisoning are those related to vision loss, diminishing of the field of vision, foggy vision, retinal damage, and blindness.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen that affects the DNA and leads to birth defects. Due to the lack of certain enzymes, humans are more helpless in the face of this toxin than the animals. That’s why tests with aspartame on animals do not realistically reflect the dangers for humans which are much higher.

True facts about aspartame

As Dr. Woodrow Monte, director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University, said, ‘there are no studies to evaluate the mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic effects of methanol on humans’.

He even sued the FDA to ban aspartame, at least until new research, saying that ‘once you have approved aspartame, nothing will be done to repair the mistake’, as was the case with the known saccharin carcinogenic agent.

Shortly after this intervention, the FDA Commissioner approved the use of aspartame, then resigned from the FDA and was employed by Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame.

It is not the only name that has benefited from the approval of aspartame. Donald Rumsfeld, the known Bush administration figure, was hired by Searle (executive director) before offering his government services.

And yet, why do not we hear about these things? Why nobody says anything?

The causes are:

• Lack of interest on the part of the population. Diseases and accidents caused by aspartame do not appear in newspapers as an aviation accident in the media, for example.
• Most people do not associate their symptoms with the use of aspartame. Because once a man has destroyed an important part of his neurons and reached a chronic illness, he can not even think of associating his disease with aspartame.
• The way aspartame was approved is a lesson on how chemical and pharmaceutical companies manipulate government agencies like the FDA, bribes non-governmental organizations like the American Dietetic Association, and floods the scientific community with fraudulent studies sponsored by the recipient industry (aspartame manufacturers, in this case).

Erik Millstone, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University, gathered hundreds of evidence pages obtained through the US Information Freedom Act (23), saying:

• Laboratory tests have been defrauded and the dangers have been hidden
• The brain tumors were “removed” from the guinea pigs and the animals that died were recorded as “well-served” in the laboratory records
• The FDA was “fed” with false and erroneous statements
• The two prosecutors appointed to bring the manufacturer of aspartame to the court for information fraud were immediately notified by the manufacturer in order not to carry out their mission
• The FDA Commissioner ignored the warnings of his own scientific committee that investigated the case of aspartame, and shortly after the approval of aspartame, he was offered a job in the company that was responsible for the public relations of the aspartame producing company, Searle
• In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association received a $75,000 donation from NutraSweet. Many other independent organizations have benefited from large sums of money from aspartame manufacturers. The aforementioned association received money from NutraSweet and to organize a chef school in Chicago (to teach them how to use aspartame in dishes)
• An independent New England researcher who has shown the dangers of aspartame is now a consultant to Monsanto (sister with Searle)
• Another researcher from the southeastern US has testified about the dangers of aspartame on children. An investigative reporter has discovered he was told to “keep his mouth”

Aspartame is sold in over 80 countries in the world and can be found in:

• instant breakfast
• sugar-free chewing gum (Orbit, Airwaves, etc.)
• cereals
• sugarless candies
• soft drinks
• ice cream
• fruit juices
• laxatives
• food supplements
• carbonated drinks
• food sweeteners
• some types of instant coffee
• some types of yogurt

Aspartame was also found in products that did not mention this on the label. Also, food supplements and multivitamin tablets contain aspartame.