Aspartame has been controversial since it’s FDA approval in 1981. One point that has complete agreement with the scientific world, is that aspartame should never be consumed by people who have phenylketonuria, because aspartame contains phenylalanine, which causes serious health problems for pheylketonurics. But if only pheylketonurics have a problem, why have there been so many adverse reaction complaints to the FDA about aspartame?

Aspartame has been studied all over the world. In fact, it’s one of the most thoroughly studied food ingredients, but the results have been mixed. Many scientists and food safety agencies say that consuming a reasonable amount of aspartame over a lifetime is safe, but others disagree.

Independent studies have shown:

• Aspartame ingestion may cause formaldehyde accumulation in the body...
• Aspartame and MSAspartame and MSG may cause painful fibromyalgis symtpoms...
• Swedish study finds link between use of diet drinks and large brain tumors...
• Aspartame may cause memory loss...
  Reference Sources

  Trocho, Cal., 1998. "Formaldehyde Derived From Dietary Aspartame., et Vinds to Tissue Components in vivo," Life Sciences, Vol. 63, No. 5, pp. 337+, 19
  
  Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6 Relief of fibromyalgia symtoms following discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins. Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG. Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.98

  http://www.medscape.com/MedGenMed/braintumors

  Title: Dangerous Diet Drinks. Subject(s): ASPARTAME -- Physiological effect; NONNUTRITIVE sweeteners Side effects; MEMORY Source: Psychology Today, Mar/Apr 2001, Vol. 34 Issue 2, p20, 2/5pG

  
  (Close Window)

That’s not all… There are studies out there that show everything from aspartame ingested by pregnant mothers causing mental retardation in their babies to aspartame as a possible cause of the “Gulf War Syndrome”...  this is due to the fact that large supplies of diet sodas were left in the desert sun and heated to high temperatures before consumption… the aspartame in the soda, according to some studies breaks down into formaldehyde when the temperature is raised. In fact, a sixth grader in New Jersey was able to easily prove this for a science experiment by storing 7 cans of diet soda at room temperature, 7 cans of diet soda in the refrigerator and 7 cans of diet soda in an incubator at 104 degrees and then having them tested for formaldehyde.

Needless to say, you should inform yourself thoroughly before allowing your family to consume this product.

The FDA has set the “acceptable daily intake” of aspartame at 50 mg per kg of body weight. That’s the equivalent of a 150 lb adult drinking around 20 cans of diet coke or a 50 lb child drinking around 6 cans. So, there are probably few, if any, concerned about exceeding the “acceptable daily intake” by drinking too many diet sodas.

We know when we chose to drink a product like diet soda we are choosing to consume aspartame. It’s also common knowledge that if a product says “sugar-free” and we want to avoid aspartame, we should check the label. Fair enough, but what you may not know is that aspartame is found in numerous products that you would never think of checking a label for. An example would be your children’s medicine…

Children’s chewable fruit flavored Tylenol has 6 mg of aspartame per tablet. If your child weighs 50 lbs and takes 4 tablets 4 times in a day, they’ve just consumed 96 mg of aspartame. (Note: Tylenol bottles printed before Dec. 2003 are printed incorrectly and read only 3 mg of aspartame per tablet. See Tylenol.com for error message and correction to 6 mg.) Motrin chewables contain 1.4 mg of aspartame per tablet. Aspartame is also found in antibiotics such as Augmentin.

Other surprising sources of aspartame include: bubble gum (not the “sugar-free” kind, the regular kind), toothpaste, chewable vitamins, ice cream toppings, juice, drinkable yogurts, cereals, candy (yes, the kind with sugar), protein drinks, frozen ice cream novelties, nutritional bars, pudding, instant cocoa, fruit spreads, and vegetable drinks.

The bottom line is… you and your children may be consuming much more aspartame than you realize. If you personally prefer to keep aspartame intake to a minimum level or not consume it at all, it may be something to pay closer attention to because there are presently over 6,000 products containing aspartame and many of these potential sources may not be as obvious as one would think.

The choice of whether or not we consume aspartame belongs to each of us, but it should be a choice we make consciously and not a decision we’re subjected to unknowingly.

*To find out if a product contains aspartame, look for a “Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine” statement on the product label or aspartame in the ingredients list.