The Aspartame Controversy: Is It Really Safe to Consume?

**debbystewart** · #1 09-28-2009, 06:59 PM

Scientists say that Aspartame (the artificial sweetener used for sugar substitute) is safe to consume. Some consumers say it is a health risk and are weary of the product. Now, new research is being conducted to determine whether some people are sensitive to it.

Scientists are to assess whether the artificial sweetener aspartame causes health problems in people unusually sensitive to it.

Expert advice is that aspartame - found in more than 4,000 products - is safe to consume.

However, a number of people have reported sensitivity to the product including headaches, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhoea and fatigue.

The University of Hull study is funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

Aspartame, 150 times sweeter than sugar, is found in products such as diet soft drinks, cereal bars, yogurts and chewing gum.

There have long been concerns that the sweetener is linked to a raft of health problems, including a greater risk of cancer, fertility issues, nausea, double vision and an effect on appetite.

However, after reviewing the available scientific literature, both the FSA and the European Food Safety Authority decided there was no firm evidence of any impact on health, and ruled that aspartame was safe to consume.

Professor Stephen Atkin, who will lead the new research, said: "This study is not to determine whether aspartame can be consumed safely; this has already been established, but rather to see whether certain people are sensitive to it."

Read the full article at BBC NEWS | Health | Sensitivity to aspartame probed

**wordygirl** · #2 09-28-2009, 08:20 PM

Well I for one have a major aspertame habit. In the past I was drinking at least two two-liters every day, and that was while at home, so not counting little stops at a restaurant. I have noticed some memory loss over the last year or so and I have been gearing up to stop drinking it.

**yoda** · #3 09-29-2009, 01:09 PM

No one can convince me that aspartame is safe. It's dangers are well-documented and numerous doctors agree. It's made up of three toxic chemicals, that, yes, are in other foods, but not together. It forms a toxic combo that the body is not equipped to handle. As far as losing weight --you probably won't. It causes fat storage, as it increases the appetite for fatty foods, including sweets and kills metabolism, so that you cannot burn fat, which may not be reversible. When the FDA first observed it, they kept it off the market because it carries numerous heavy metals in to the body, including arsenic. These heavy metals are what poisons the metabolism. Aspartame was also originally used as a drug for peptic ulcers. One day it was tasted by a manufacturer, who discovered that it had sweet taste, so he/she thought "Wow, it's sweet! Let's lobby the FDA to approve it as a sweetener, rather than a drug, because certainly if it's safe as a drug, it would be safe as a sweetener!" NOT!!! So, why did the FDA decide to approve them? This is why:$$$$$$$$$$$
The disappointing truth: The FDA doesn't care about your health as much a you think they do (or as much as they should). As crazy as it may sound to some people, in one word, what is aspartame? POISON!!!!!
It has been linked to headaches, brain tumors/lesions (yes, cancer), brain damage, dizziness, blindness, seizures, memory loss, and many more maladies. I have heard of a couple people who have said they were dying UNTIL they got off the stuff.

Knowledge is power! (sorry that this knowledge is so depressing!) SMILE!!!!!!

**VeronicaM** · #4 10-01-2009, 02:44 PM

I would not drink asparteme. I am not a fan of anything that is unnatural. And I do wonder if, thirty years from now, we will discover that aspartame has harmful, cancer-causing ingredients. I just don't think that people should drink things that are unnatural. But that's just my two cents. Other people on here may disagree.