So why am I writing about Aspartame again? Isn’t it a bit redundant? It would be if there were not still so many who do not know of its tragic effects, convinced by greedy big business advertising that it is safe. Sadly, a few years ago when I learned about aspartame I checked out every single package of gum and mints at the register and every single one had aspartame listed.
Beware everyone, but also you pilots and pregnant mothers! You both have others on board.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ~Soren Kierkegaard
Excellent, illuminating video! 6 minutes.
If you are concerned about cancer, you will want to watch.
Aspartame has been linked to over 40 adverse health effects
In biomedical literature, it has been shown to exhibit both neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity.
Did you know that Aspartame literally turns into formaldehyde and methanol inside your body? It breaks down into, according to one paper, “phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%) and methanol (10%) during metabolism in the body. The excess of phenylalanine blocks the transport of important amino acids to the brain contributing to reduced levels of dopamine and serotonin.”
What’s the Deal with Methanol?
Once ingested, methanol quickly converts to formaldehyde. Yes, that’s the embalming fluid used in preserving bodies. Formaldehyde causes gradual and eventually severe damage to the neurological system, immune system, and causes permanent genetic damage at extremely low doses.
And methanol easily passes thru your blood-brain barrier which normally protects your brain from toxins.
Methanol/formaldehyde destroys the myelin sheath of the nervous system.
It is a cumulative poison. Once injured, one can display symptoms that are commonly seen in diseases like MS, ALS, and Parkinson’s and also migraines that can include bizarre and inconsistent visual field disruptions.
When these clinical symptoms do occur, they may or may not be associated with aspartame consumption. The connection is obscured over time, and the cascade of multiplying health problems takes front and center stage.
Dangers for Fetuses (Babies), Young Children, and Pilots
It has been determined that babies in utero and infants are four times more sensitive to neurotoxic agents than adults. Cases of seizures, learning deficits, and irreversible brain damage are not unusual (source and source). If a mother consumes drinks (or foods) with aspartame while pregnant or nursing, it is passed to the baby. Despite this, the American Dietetic Association still recommends aspartame for pregnant and nursing women! Would it be overstatement to say this has the potential to dumb us down just a bit?
While having NO methanol in the body makes most sense, the EPA has accepted that a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day is still OK. According to Woodrow Monte, Ph.D, director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University:
“When diet sodas and soft drinks, sweetened with aspartame, are used to replace fluid lost during exercise and physical exertion in hot climates, the intake of methanol can exceed 32 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended limit of consumption for this cumulative toxin.”
A stunning FDA docket (a PDF download) shows the KNOWN EFFECTS of Aspartame. (See Objections to FDA Approval). This was understood for quite some time, yet marketing pushed onward anyway.
If you are looking for specific studies, you can check out these ones published in the US National Library of Medicine:
• Consumption of artificial sweetener and risk of lymphoma and leukaemia
• Effect of chronic exposure to aspartame
• Long-term consumption of aspartame and brain antioxidant defense status
• Aspartame-induces impairment of spatial cognition and insulin sensitivity
• Synergistic interactions between food additives in a developmental neurotoxicity test
• Multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame
Evidence & Warnings
Both the U.S. Air Force’s Flying Safety Magazine (May, 1992) and the U.S. Navy’s magazine Navy Physiology (early 90s) published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including cumulative deleterious effects of methanol. The articles goes on to note that the ingestion of even small amounts of aspartame could mean a pilot who drinks diet sodas is more susceptible to flicker vertigo, or to flicker-induced epileptic activity. It also means that all pilots are potential victims of sudden memory loss, dizziness during instrument flight, and gradual loss of vision. (source)
Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) surveyed 80 people who suffered brain seizures after eating or drinking products with Aspartame. Findings: “These 80 cases meet the FDA’s own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market.” (source)
Oh, the greed.
According to an article from General Aviation News, “hundreds of pilots have reported life-threatening adverse reactions due to aspartame.” USAF Major Michael Collings suffered from seizures whenever he drank diet soda. When he stopped using aspartame products, he remained seizure-free. Unfortunately, he lost his medical certification and can no longer fly. (source)
Many pilots appear to be particularly susceptible to the effects of aspartame ingestion. They have reported numerous serious toxicity effects including grand mal seizures in the cockpit. (Stoddard 1995). This susceptibility may be related to ingesting methanol at altitude, or it may simply be that some pilots tend to ingest large quantities of aspartame during a flight. Whatever the case, numerous warnings have appeared in piloting journals. (source).
“According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements, and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms. Then, there are users who don’t ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by phenylalanine, methanol, and aspartic acid.” (source)
More scientific Studies that still remain accessible to public. The rest have been scrubbed!
• Stroke, April 2017 DOI: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.016027
• Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2017.01.024
• Is soda bad for your brain? (And is diet soda worse?) Science Daily
A Sweetener By Any Other Name?
Look for the usual names and the rebrand names of Aspartame: Neotame®, Equal®, NutraSweet®, Blue Zero Calorie Sweetener Packets™, Advantame®, NutraSweet New Pink, Canderel®, Pal Sweet Diet®.
Acesulfame K is just as bad. These two products are in almost all brands of sugar free chewing gum, soft drinks and a plethora of daily use items.
Updated: Aspartame may be disguised as a new name in your favorite foods – AminoSweet®.
“Excitotoxins have been found to dramatically promote cancer growth and metastasis. In fact, one aspartame researcher noticed that, when cancer cells were exposed to aspartame, they became more mobile.” ~Dr. Russell Blaylock, a retired neurosurgeon
Please Mamas, think twice or even three times before bringing diet sodas, ‘sugar-free’ drinks, gum, or foods for your family or for yourself. If you are wondering why you, your husband, or children are often sick, feeling out-of-control, or incapable of focusing on a task, you may be unwittingly consuming a cumulative poison.
I write this not to cast blame, fear, or make you feel guilty. My goal is to inform so you can make healthy choices and hopefully bless your family with good health.
You Can Detox Aspartame Safely and Gently
I have written a short post on how to remove toxins from aspartame as well as many other environmental toxins. Find it here.
See the complete list of adverse reactions and side effects to aspartame both medical and psychological.
Let’s stop this insidious assault on our bodies and minds now. Let’s spread the word about aspartame and its tragic effects until everyone knows better than to believe the deceptive marketing so common today.
Are you an ingredient label reader? Will you accept my challenge to become one?
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Su
Thank you for this post. What are good replacements for the aspartame?
Jacqueline
Hello, Su!
I think the best thing is raw honey. You have to really be intentional to not go back to easier, but very dangerous, diet sodas and drinks. It is more work up front, but you could have save yourself years of health problems and freedom from medications and hospital visits. Basically, ‘Pay now, pay later’! Raw honey is what we use, but I’ve also found that most people don’t react to using Trader Joe’s pure stevia. Some stevias are problematic b/c they are refined and highly processed to take stevia from green and plantlike (you can brew the fresh or dried herb for a very sweet tea) to a white, free-flowing powder. Processing makes them MSG forming and very addictive: https://deeprootsathome.com/homemade-green-stevia-water-make-your-recipes-sweet/ I hope this helps! 😀
Toni N.
I use Stevia (plant extract) in green packet. Also, Truvia.
Laura Jeanne
Thank you very much for sharing this. I had heard, of course, that aspartame was unhealthy but I did not realize just how bad it was. Sometimes I do buy sugarless gum but I think I will avoid that from now on. Thanks also for the the tip about processed stevia – this is something I had used in the past but I’ll try to stick to honey from now on if I want to cut back on cane sugar.
Jacqueline
Laura Jeanne,
I sometimes feel like I am a fire alarm! I am thankful if it can help even one person or family 🙂
Blessings!
Darla
Thank you so much for your newsletters, Jacqueline!! You are part of the reason I have finally gone organic and am making better decisions for what I put in and on my body. Thank you for all the research you do and for spreading it liberally ‘out there’ so that others can become better informed on how to live better while we’re on this side of heaven.
Sister in Christ,
Darla
Erin
Do you know if damage caused by aspartame is reversible?
If it came in a sugar free formula, my mom bought it thinking that was the healthy choice. We ate and drank that stuff for much of my childhood years. I cut it out completely at the age of 22. Nineteen years later and I have odd health issues that mimic what you described. Some of it can be attributed to a recent diagnosis of Graves’ disease, but there is more going on than just thyroid issues.
Jacqueline
Yes, Erin, there is much to point to restoration of some things after being off it for 2-3 months. We know people personally who have rebounded tremendously and are feeling SO MUCH better now…that’s one of the reasons I started paying attention to this topic! God bless you as you strive to restore your health 🙂
Erin
Thanks! I sometimes forget how much the thyroid affects every part of the body. My meds have been reduced (a good thing) but some physical issues have returned. Heavy sigh.
Your blog is such a blessing-I love the information.
Kathleen
Thank you for writing on this very important subject. I am sure you do feel like a fire alarm. Please keep ringing, we need to hear and pay attention to this.
Kathleen
Fridays Blog Booster Party #30
Jill York
Thank you so much for writing on this and warning people! I consumed aspartame in ignorance as a teenager but now avoid it like the plague!
Beverly
Great article. I use to have diet sodas before, but for years now I never have it. So glad to not be putting all that poison in y body. I do use honey and sometimes monk fruit sweeter.
Thanks for sharing at Wake Up Wednesday,
Bev
Monica
As I was reading this blog post I thought, this is what happened to Uncle Mike. The USAF Major Michael Collings you mentioned is my mother’s brother. Thank you for warning others of the danger of aspartame.
I enjoy reading your blog posts. So much good information in them. I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication.
Jacqueline
Thank you, Monica! I was just talking with my oldest son who is a pilot for a major airline carrier. He told me this does happen, and that he never drinks anything with aspartame anymore. How interesting that you would see this. Thanks for letting others understand more of the backstory.
Blessings!
Holly
I have never liked the taste of artificial sweeteners, so have never used them. Then I found out that they are bad for you, so I have never let my kids have anything with them in EXCEPT for sugar-free gum. Is there a safe alternative? My kids LOVE gum.
Jackie Harris
My 96 year old mother has diabetes and uses sweet and low in her hot instant tea every morning. Could she use honey instead even though she’s a diabetic?
Jacqueline
Hi, Jackie! based on this study, I would say “Yes!
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15117561
I wrote this post on cinnamon and pure raw honey: https://deeprootsathome.com/honey-and-cinnamon-powerful-duo-knocks-colds-and-more/
I hope that helps, Jackie 🙂
Christina
You don’t want to switch to honey if your mother has Type 1 diabetes (as I am). There are too many carbohydrates in a serving of honey as opposed to sweet n low that would affect her blood sugar and as a result any insulin she may be taking to control it. Be cautious if you have to count carbs to manage her disease before introducing more carbs into her diet.
Michelle Dryer
Thank you for helping spread the truth about this poison. I personally can not even touch the stuff. I suffered from severe migraines from age 12 until 29. I finally went to a doctor who told me to keep a journal of everything I ate and drank and to mark when I felt migraines coming on. It didn’t take long to make the connection. I drank diet soda regularly. Once we made the connection and I stopped drinking the diet sodas, my migraines almost stopped. We were then able to connect them to times that I had eaten or drank anything else with aspartame in it. It was tough to completely eliminate it from my diet, but I did. I am now 42 and have only had two migraines since I was 29. Both times I was able to connect them to something I had accidentally eaten or drank with aspartame (snow cones both times). Please understand, when I say migraines I mean to the point of being hospitalized. I passed out when I was home alone with my two month old son. ONE drink with aspartame is enough to cause a week of suffering for me. I have lost jobs because of the migraines.
Also, my daughter was dating a young man who suddenly started having tremors all over his body for no apparent reason. His mom had taken him to multiple doctors and had countless tests run, all with no answers. Then, one evening at dinner at a restaurant I witnessed him dumping five or six packets of the pink stuff into his tea. I convinced him to go without the stuff for one week. I made him a bottle of simple syrup to carry around with him. One week later he reported the tremors bad almost stopped. He continued to stay away from the aspartame and all of his symptoms went away completely. Unfortunately, the answer was not found in time to save his football scholarship.
One more quick word. My mother in law drank diet sodas every day for many, many years. She suffered from dementia for 10 years before she passed away. We don’t know if there is a connection for her or not, but I believe there is.
The FDA does not care one iota about our health. They are 100% money-driven.
Again, thank.you for sharing and standing up to this poison.
Jacqueline
Michelle, you are once again confirming the truth of the ubiquitous aspartame problem. Thank you for adding your story! Wow, you are a blessing to your daughter’s boyfriend! Praise God.
Sheena
Thanks for this! I’m 31 years old and I drank 2-3 Diet Cokes a day for almost a decade. A few months ago I started having ocular migranes, blurred vision, and my eye had even started twitching. I connected the dots and figured out it was the aspartame causing my problems. I stopped drinking the soads cold-turkey about 5 weeks ago (which I realize now might have not been the best way to do it), and all of the above issues stopped. I’m still going through the withdrawal process. Today is the first day I’ve felt normal in a couple of weeks. My anxiety has been through the roof, my brain has been foggy almost daily, I’ve been moody and had frequent headaches. The withdrawal symptoms have really made me realize how much of an addictive posion the stuff really is. I’ve cut all artificial sweeteners from my diet and anyone reading this should too!
Jacqueline
Wow! Just so frightening, Sheena. I am so glad you did what you did. Here is a detox protocol that is designed to get it all (or almost all) out of your system. It is safe and will help your whole immune system to bounce back again. There are other things you can do, too, but this is a sound start: https://deeprootsathome.com/how-to-detox-aspartame-the-sweet-poison/
May the God of the Bible bless you on your journey! Ask Him and He will give you wisdom when you seek Him! (Jeremiah 29: 11-13)
LeAnne Cody
Are water enhancers like crystal light is bad for you?
Jacqueline
LeAnne,
I would say a resounding “Yes” if they include aspartame. (My SIL is dying of liver cancer after drinking little else but aspartame-based Crystal Light while sailing the Caribbean for 2 years). But there is another thing to consider: they contain dyes and artificial flavors (always) which have neurotoxic effect as well. I wrote these for moms who serve such things to their children who them have behavioral issues and don’t know the connection. I pray this helps families, b/c these dear disruptive children cannot learn and cause parents to label them and become angry in many cases.
https://deeprootsathome.com/does-tasty-kill-excitotoxins/
https://deeprootsathome.com/evidence-how-foods-affect-childrens-behavior/
I hope this helps, LeAnne!
Robin
I was having what felt like tiny bug bites on my legs that was driving me crazy and there were no visible bites. I stopped drinking Diet Coke for other reasons and the symptoms went away. I mention this as this may be happening to others.
Jacqueline
Yes, Robin!
We have a older friend who had similar crawling feelings on his legs that the later developed into ulcers in the same spot. He drank 2 diet Pepsi a day and his daughter asked him to stop after reading about Aspartame. He did stop and the ulcers healed (terrible scars) and the crawling feeling slowly left. He will never use anything with it in it again!
Thanks for your helpful comment!
Wendi Groden-Thomas
There is a British study about diet soda and kidney disease. Basically showed that 2 or more diet sodas a day over a two year period resulted in 40 % reduction in kidney function. I found out I have chronic kidney disease at 47 years old. Way too young. Did every test in the book and could find no abnormalities or explanation. I never drank water only diet coke. Based on the study, I believe it was aspartame that caused my kidney disease. Just wanted to share this with you.
Jacqueline
Thank you, Wendi. It was so kind of you to share something so hard for you. Have you tried to detox out the aspartame so your body can heal itself? https://deeprootsathome.com/how-to-detox-aspartame-the-sweet-poison/
I have no idea if your kidneys can restore somewhat once the poison is totally gone, but we have a great Physician who can heal anything. I don’t tell many this, but in nursing school my senior year, I had 58% kidney damage on the right and 56% on the left after acute glomerulo-nephritis where the antibiotics failed to work for strep throat that went to my kidneys. I was told I “might have to go on dialysis in a few years.” I wasn’t a believer at the time. Later, when we were infertile and I wanted to try to have children, I was told my kidneys were not in shape to have children so I prayed for healing. When they did the creatinine clearance tests, they found they were totally 100% functional. My docs had seem the old diagnosis and prognosis and were amazed!
I will pray along with you for healing! God bless you! Jeremiah 29: 11-13
Ina
Saccrin is not Aspertame…why is it dangerous?
Jacqueline
Hi, Ina! I don’t believe I even mentioned saccharine in the article.
Here is what I found on saccharine: http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/1641.pdf
and “In the early 1970s, saccharin was thought to be a carcinogen when it was linked to bladder cancer. This link was based on studies done on rats. The National Cancer Institute notes that human trials have found no such link and that the mechanism that caused bladder cancer in rats does not exist in humans. Still, the Center for Science in the Public Interest believes that saccharin is unsafe and has issued the sweetener its lowest rating of “avoid.” In a 1997 press release, the CSPI acknowledged that saccharin has not been proven to cause cancer in humans, but the CSPI contends that studies that have been done on saccharin indicate that it may still present a risk.”
I hope that helps 🙂
Jean
I am interested in the connection with Aspartame, migraines and nerve involvement.
Jacqueline
Hi, Jean!
Did you read the full post and explore the links?
It is really oxidative stress to central nervous system tissue in the brain! Chronic exposure of aspartame resulted in detectable methanol in blood, and when there is damage, there is pain: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22922192
These words in the post explain it well:
“Once ingested, methanol quickly converts to formaldehyde. Yes, that’s the embalming fluid used in preserving bodies. Formaldehyde causes gradual and eventually severe damage to the neurological system, immune system, and causes permanent genetic damage at extremely low doses.
And methanol easily passes thru your blood-brain barrier which normally protects your brain from toxins.
Methanol/formaldehyde destroys the myelin sheath of the nervous system. It is a cumulative poison. Once injured, one can display symptoms that are commonly seen in diseases like MS, ALS, and Parkinson’s and also migraines that can include bizarre and inconsistent visual field disruptions. When these clinical symptoms do occur, they may or may not be associated with aspartame consumption. The connection is obscured over time, and the cascade of multiplying health problems takes front and center stage.”
I hope that helps!
Blessings ~J