The Accident : Aspartame

Numerous neurological and behavioral side effects have been linked with consuming aspartame at well below the approved safe limits set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has been ingested in the United States for over three decades. Even though there are several studies showing the harmful effects of its consumption. When aspartame is digested several toxic chemicals are produced, most notability formic acid & glutamate. Both of these chemicals cause the body to mimic the side effects of multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer. Even the passing of aspartame to be allowed in food was controversial. Just as the studies on it, continue to be today.

Rhonda's sister became very sick in October 2001. She woke up with stomach spasms and could not walk. She suffered from constant pain that was severe. Rhonda talked about her sister's ordeal on her blog. Rhonda's sister had several muscle and tissue biopsies, and doctors still could not find out what was wrong.

However the 52-week toxicity in infant monkeys and the 2010 Swiss mice studies has provided pivotal, contradictory evidence to the aspartame debate. Dr. Waisman at the University of Wisconsin Medical Center located in Madison Wisconsin initiated the 52-week toxicity study in infant monkeys in 1971 . This study orally served Aspartame mixed in milk formula to seven infant Rhesus monkeys over a 52-week period . Waisman put the monkeys into three groups: a low dose group (1.0 g/kg), a medium dose group (3.0 g/kg) and a high dose group (4-6 g/kg) . There was no control group, meaning there was not a group of newborn monkeys that were not fed aspartame. Since monkeys are primates similar to humans—with only a 1.2 percent genetic difference—monkeys were chosen to study the effects of aspartame on primates. Data shows that one monkey from the high dosage group died over 300 days, five of seven suffered grad mal seizures in the low dose group starting on the 218th day of treatment, and all monkeys in the medium and high dose groups exhibited seizures . According to data, the seizures coincided with the levels of phenylalanine . One should note that in the low dose group there was not a significant increase in serum phenylalanine levels; therefore, convulsions were not expected . Overall, the findings of this study correlated brain seizures with high amounts of aspartame particularly phenylalanine ingested by the monkeys, but at low dosages no biologically meaningful alterations occurred . In addition, the study reported food intake and growth rate were reduced when compared to the historical range . (This data can be studied in figures two to four .) Though the evidence of this study correlates aspartame with brain seizures, the FDA still approved aspartame for human consumption. This is because there are issues with the studies sample size and procedures. The study did not use a large sample of

To first formulate the major arguments that about Aspartame, we first must understand what Aspartame is, and how it is digested in our bodies.Aspartame is an artificial sweetener often used as a substitute for sugar in beverages,foods,gums, and other uses, it is often denoted as E951.It was approved for use in 1980. Shown right is the chemical structure of aspartame (wikipedia). Aspartames is a dipeptide which is a protein made of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, what makes it sweet is a hydro carbon that is attached to the phenylalanine (authoritynutrition).

Who uses the sweetener or consume diet drinks may have heard of the controversy surrounding aspartame. The product has been linked with diseases or disorders such as migraine, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer, cancer, lymphomas, and brain tumors, among others. This association is mainly caused by the fact metabolized in the human body-releasing methanol, a chemical compound that has toxic and accumulative effect on the nervous system. Despite being naturally present in small amounts in chicken in the meat, the beans and skim milk when ingested in large quantities methanol can cause blindness, among other problems. This fact has been known since the approval of aspartame in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However,

My belief is that aspartame is not safe to use. The reason I believe aspartame is not safe is because it accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death. Another reason I think the use of aspartame is unsafe is that diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and brain tumors are a few chronic illnesses that can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame. This hits home for me because my son is a diabetic. Everyone knows the less sugar you include in your diet, the better. But replacing sugar with aspartame is not the solution, and in fact is likely to be even worse for your health. I believe regardless

Mary Oliver in her poem, ‘Not Anyone Who Says” explores the idea of true love and its origins. She expresses the idea of true love and that someone cannot scheme or plan it, but rather an experience that is natural and wholesome. The beginning lines open with the thought that there are two different outlooks of love. Shown in the lines, “Not anyone who says,” already beginning with a contrast from the other view, and following with, “I'm going to be careful and smart when in the matters of love” laying out the view being challenged. Oliver claims the two intentions, one being unrealistic since it's a planned matter and the other being pleasing since it's genuine.

Demand-side benefits of scale: The demand of aspartame was mainly from diet soft drinks industry and was majorly dominated by Coke & Pepsi. NutraSweet had secretly negotiated multi-year contracts with them and also charged substantial premium over saccharin. So they already had power over demand side and extracted buyers willingness to pay.

Aspartame has now been on the market for many years and most people seemingly haven’t had adverse reactions. Or have they? Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. warns that many people don’t notice of the serious symptoms because “they’re more resistant to the obvious toxic effects, but they’re still getting very subtle toxic effects that over many years is going to produce obvious disease in those persons.” However, some people have had more direct, severe reactions. For example, FDA officials have estimated that only 1% of toxic reactions are likely to get reported and the agency received reports of 7,000 toxic reactions with aspartame from 1982 until 1995. In fact, there were likely more official reports of toxicity, but we can’t be sure to the extent. After all, Congress found out in 1987 that the FDA had been transferring aspartame toxicity calls to the AIDS Hotline.

However, soft drinks manufacturers were its major customer (80% of the total aspartame consumption) with table-top product as the secondary (15% of total aspartame consumption) . Notably, the soft drinks industry was dominated by two major players – Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, accounting for 60% of the soft drinks market. Usually, this would have led to a strong buyer power, however, NutraSweet had the advantage due to its monopolistic position as the sole provider of aspartame. This power could easily dissolve once the patents expire and alternative producers enter this industry.

The global market for artificial sweeteners is expected to reach $1.7 billion by 2018, due in large part to increasing concerns about diabetes and the obesity epidemic (PRWeb). Artificially sweetened foods and drinks are increasingly viewed as a viable alternative for diabetics and people attempting to lose weight, but these products entered the marketplace before being tested thoroughly for any long-term health effects. The lack of data concerning this issue is important, in light of the fact that between 4 and 18% of all carbonated beverages consumed by children are artificially sweetened (reviewed by Brown, De Banate, and Rother 307). In the United States alone, 4,500 tons of the artificial sweetener aspartame is consumed in the form of diet soda each year, which represents 86% of the total amount of aspartame ingested (reviewed by Schernhammer et al. 1419). Given the amount of artificial sweeteners entering the food market globally, and the financial incentives involved, researchers and health professionals continue to be concerned about the long-term health effects of these chemicals.

There is a lot of High Fructose Corn Syrup, the sugar of choice, in regular sodas. People started finding out about how bad sugar is for them and how much sugar was really in their favorite every day drink. Everyone started turning against all of the soda companies and they had no choice but to come up with an alternative. So, instead of using natural sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup in sodas, scientists invented artificial sweeteners, a way to keep the soda sweet yet contain no sugar. Artificial sweeteners like Aspartame that are added to diet soda are actually worse for us than the sugar that is in regular soda. This was proven by an Osteopathic Physician from the American Colledge of Nutrition who states, "While many of the artificial sweeteners have reportedly similar side effects, aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA" (Mercola).

Following the primary release of aspartame in 1981, the occurrence of many brain diseases suspiciously began to grow.

The debate between naturally derived sugars and low-calorie artificial sweeteners has been going on for years now. As our population’s obesity rate grows every year and health concerns related to weight-control grows along with it, natural sugar is scrutinized and we are told to keep away from it as it is our enemy. Over the last couple of decades, we have been introduced to more and more varieties of artificial sweeteners promising to deliver the same sweetness or even more sweetness than natural sugar (some offer as much as 200 times more sweetness than sugar) but with a much lower calorie content, or some even no calories at all. Artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Sweet n’ Low, NutraSweet, and Equal have become popular as “better alternatives” to table sugar, promising to help battle weight gain and actually assist in losing weight. However, does this make it the healthier option? As with all things, both natural sugar and artificial sugar have their pros and cons, but in order to find the best option in regards to our health and futures, it’s important to weigh them according to scientific findings and research.

Aspartame is a toxicin to the people who consume it. At least that’s what the critics say. Zero calorie artificial sweeteners reputation has been degraded due to people criticizing all of the “dangers” that can come from the consuming of these products. These allegations come from people who, more than often, lack any credibility or proof of these dangers involved with artificial sweeteners. The truth is artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame, are not as dangerous but are just as good as natural sugars. Aspartame is actually the most researched sweetener to date and has been scientifically proven that it has no negative effect towards depression, cancer, and people with a “sensitivity” to aspartame.