Aspartame is Bad - Truth or Fiction?

Aspartame – a chemical compound that was discovered in 1965 and was subsequently hailed as the best sugar alternative on the market.  It is used extensively in low calorie and diet foods and drinks.  The list of products containing aspartame include power bars, diet drinks, sugar free items such as candies and syrup and much much more.  According to www.aspatame.org, it is perfectly safe for you.  The FDA says so - so of course it must be true. 

Contrary to one of the current commercials on TV today, everything on the internet is not true!

So who do you believe?  Both sides will give you their story.  But at the end of the day, the scientific facts that cannot be disputed rule.  The problem is, even the scientific facts can get clouded up in this internet media frenzy.  Just as with most things, you can twist and turn the facts and figures to meet whatever your particular viewpoint is. 

Here's my personal take on aspartame - and mind you, this is only my version based on my research to date.  Aspartame, no matter how they present it is bad for you, period.  My reasoning is simple.  Any synthetically engineered chemical should not be put into your body. 

Think about your body.  It is, as they say, a "well-oiled machine".  Your body includes many chemicals.  If you search for "Composition of the Human Body" on Wikipedia, you can find the entire breakdown of these chemicals. 

Basic science knowledge shows you that when you mix two chemicals together, you generally get another chemical.  Take NaCl for example.  What is that?  Simple table salt - sodium chloride.  As table salt, we use it frequently every day.  But now look at NaOH or sodium hydroxide. This is not something you want on your food!  It is a chemical used in personal care items and drain cleaners!  Just a simple change in the chemical compound and you go from something every day simple to something highly caustic!

Your body, being made of many chemicals, reacts to everything it comes in contact with.  That could be by the air, water or food that we use every day.  Your body is engineered to take everything in and process it - good or bad.

C₁₄H₁₈N₂O₅ - This is aspartame. A bit more complicated.  It was discovered while a chemist was researching and anti-ulcer drug.  Since it was discovered, it has been approved and then disapproved by the FDA a couple times. 

Our bodies are well equipped to process (metabolize) things it needs and remove things that it does not.  One of the by-products when aspartame metabolizes in the body is methanol which then becomes formaldehyde.  Something you really don't want in your body.  But your body doesn't stop there.  It then breaks down the formaldehyde to formic acid.  It's not good for you but your body works to protect itself and works to clear it out.  This is one of the many things that are
produced by ingesting aspartame. (Wikipedia has a great breakdown on aspartame if you want more details!)

Methanol from aspartame has been linked in multiple studies to autism, spina bifida and more.  The latest study by the CDC states that 1 in 50 children will have autism.  When I started my business it was 1 in 161.  That was only 2 years ago!  What has changed?  Most of it is what we put in our bodies.  Pregnant women are especially susceptible to reactions from these chemicals.

According to the pro-aspartame people, the chemical compounds and associated body reactions from aspartame are no different than other "real" foods we eat.  The thing is, with all the other things your body has to work on every day, 24/7, why would you give it more work to do? 

The acceptable daily intake (ADI) for aspartame (according to the FDA) is 40mg/kg of body weight.  So the average 165 pound person would have to drink 21 cans of soda (at 180mg aspartame) to reach the limit.  Really, we all have that one friend or family member that is never without their diet drink.  All day long they are adding a "calorie-free" additive to their water or drinking a diet soda thinking it is good for them.  But it doesn’t stop there!  Think of all the other aspartame things you are eating and drinking.  It is in a lot of products!  The daily intake catches up quick – especially if you are “dieting” and seeking out these types of foods.

Did you ever go on a diet plan where they told you that you shouldn't have more than 2 diet drinks per day?  Want to know why?  Because when you exceed the amount of aspartame that your body can process, your body does what it does with most things it doesn't know what to do with - it stores them in fat cells just in case it may need them later!  Hmm...I think the point to the diet drink was to lose weight - not store it! (This is according to some of the anti-aspartame studies.)

Is it bad for you? I am not a scientist or chemist or nutritional expert. My bottom line – If it takes this much effort to try to figure it out – you probably shouldn’t be using it!  If you are using low-calorie, diet products containing aspartame use them sparingly.  If you are pregnant or hoping to be - stay away from ALL aspartame products.  The best things for your body are things that are all natural.  Your body is already programmed to know exactly what to do with those things.