Aspartame is a poison

In 1994 the Department of Health and Human Services released a list of more than 60 reported adverse reactions to aspartame, including: chest pains, asthma, arthritis, migraine headaches, insomnia, seizures, tremors, vertigo, and weight gain.

The surprising item on that list is "weight gain," given the fact that aspartame is the sweetener used in most diet sodas. In fact, according to one study, aspartame may actually STIMULATE appetite, prompting cravings for calorie-rich carbohydrates.

But weight gain is nothing compared to some of the horror stories out there.

On an HSI Forum thread titled "Fear The Turtle," a member named John shares some of the details of how a steady intake of diet soda prompted a debilitating hormonal reaction to aspartame. The details are no less than tragic, although John was fortunate enough to discover the source of his physical and neurological disorders in time to take the necessary action to nurse himself back to relative good health. I say "relative" because apparently he will never fully return to the robust health he once enjoyed.

John's story is fascinating, and you can read the full account of his case history (along with several others) on a web site called "Aspartame Poisoning Information Site" (www.aspartame.ca).

The cause of most or possibly all of these adverse aspartame reactions is methanol. When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a potent neurotoxin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol to be a "cumulative poison" and recommends a safe consumption of no more than 7.8 mg per day. If you drink a one-liter beverage containing aspartame, you ingest 7 times that amount - about 56 mg of methanol!

But it gets even worse. Because if the product containing aspartame is heated to a temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, "free methanol" is created, speeding up the absorption of methanol, and magnifying the effects of the neurotoxins. Nevertheless, in 1993 the FDA approved the use of aspartame in food items such as gelatin desserts that require heating well over the 86 degree range.

The result? People are hurting - people like John, whose life will never be the same. According to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System, approximately 75 percent of all complaints received about food additives are aspartame related. That's right: 3 out of every 4! And yet the FDA still refuses to acknowledge the evidence that aspartame is essentially poison. [via HSI]