The Most Dangerous Food Additive?

Do you use “sugar-free” products thinking that they will help you lose weight or in an effort to eat healthier?  If so, you may be surprised to find out that you are using one of the most dangerous food additives ever invented. 

Aspartame is a chemical that is 180 times more sweet than sugar, unfortunately it is when Aspartame starts to be digested in your body that the problem starts.  First, one of the chemicals that it is made of, Aspartic acid, is broken into two amino acids, aspartate and glutamate.  Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in our brain, assisting in the transmission of information from one neuron to the next.  Unfortunately when we have too high a concentration of these amino acids they cause excessive calcium to go into the neurons.  This excessive calcium leads the neuron to die.  So aspartame literally kills brain cells.

Of adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA, Aspartame accounts for 75%.  Some of the symptoms associated with aspartame reactions: headache, nausea, depression, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety attacks, joint pain, heart palpitation, vision problems and ironically enough WEIGHT GAIN.  Many of these symptoms are a direct result of the damage done to the brain cells. 

Another component of Aspartame, phenylalanine, can build up in the brain and cause a decrease in serotonin levels.  Decreased serotonin is associated with emotional disorders like depression.   This can be especially dangerous for infants and unborn children due to the rapid development of their brains.  Some studies have even suggested that an increase in phenylalanine can cause schizophrenia and increase the likelihood of seizures.

The third of the dangerous components in Aspartame is methanol, or wood alcohol.  Methanol is broken down into formaldehyde and formic acid.  Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin and carcinogen, responsible for damage to the retina of the eye and birth defects.  The toxic effects of methanol are greatly increased when it is heated above 86 degrees, this happens with improper storage or in the cooking process, think sugar-free gelatin. 

The EPA recommends limiting consumption of methanol to 7.8 mg/day.  One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage contains approximately 56mg of methanol.  Methanol poisoning can lead to headaches, weakness, memory loss, pain into the arms and legs and vision loss.  Many of these symptoms are similar to the symptoms that come from the damage done in multiple sclerosis.