Aspartame
A non-calorific sweetener
Also known as:
Nutra Sweet, Sancta, Twinsweet, Equal, Candarel, E951, E962
First approved for use by the FDA in 1974 and has had a number of manufacturers since then including Monsanto.
Found in:
Over 6,000 food products, including:
Diet fizzy drinks, chewing gum, yoghurts, chocolate powder drinks, cook-in sauces and cordials.
Toxicity:
Made from aspartic acid, phenylalanine which all occur naturally in foods, although aspartame is a manufactured, genetically modified, synthetic and fermented product which involve the use of bacteria made from warm water, carbohydrate sweet foods, acetic acid which can be alcohol or hydrocarbons, nitrogen, and ammonia which could be urea.
Once ingested aspartame produces other breakdown products in the body like
Methanol (a nerve poison) and formaldehyde (a human carcinogen).
Health effects:
IN 1998 aspartame was responsible for 80% of complaints to the FDA about food additives.
Independent studies including a 2005 study reported in the BMJ, together with anecdotal evidence show that aspartame can cause:
headaches, seizures, depression, mood changes, dizziness, vomiting, fatigue, abdominal pain and cramps, diarrhea and memory loss.
A 22 year study championed by Eva Schernhammer of the Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brighams Woman’s Hospital, and Harvard Boston School of Medicine, concluded that aspartame is linked to the increase of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple myeloma in men.
Countries that have banned aspartame:
Even though quite a few countries have spoken about banning aspartame including the EU, it appears from my research that no country has actually banned it yet.
Links to further information:
