Aspartame - Is It a Necessary or Healthy Food Additive?Is aspartame a safe artificial sweetener? Will it help with weight loss? People in the United States are becoming increasingly overweight and are obsessed with losing weight. However, many refuse to give up their sweets, junk foods, and soft drinks, and believe they are “being good” by consuming diet soft drinks, coffees, teas, and desserts, as they stuff themselves with giant-size hamburgers and fries. And yet, the obesity epidemic continues. What Is Aspartame?It consists of the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and methanol (also known as wood alcohol or methyl alcohol). It’s much sweeter than sugar, requiring smaller amounts to sweeten food. You’ll recognize it by the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, and other laboratory-made, artificial sweeteners. Its use is very widespread in processed foods and… …It can be found in the following products:
Safety Issues?Aspartame is considered an excitotoxin. Excitotoxins added to food are the same ones that caused experimental brain damage in animals. Interestingly, the initial experiments performed to test its safety before final approval in 1981 evidenced a high incidence of brain tumors in the animals fed nutrasweet. And unfortunately, the only experiments done to show the long-term effects in human beings are currently being conducted on you (if you use any of these products) and your family by the food manufacturers and producers of the excitotoxin(s). In addition to possible brain tumors, other concerns include headaches, blindness, brain swelling, inflammation of the heart and pancreas, mood swings, changes in vision, nausea, diarrhea, seizures, sleep disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. It appears to be especially dangerous for children. And why do people continue to get fat, in spite of the ingestion of tons of sugar-free products? Could it be the excitotoxin fools people into thinking they can eat more than they should? Could it be that it makes you crave more sugary sweets and refined carbohydrate junk? It’s something to think about. The Simple SolutionIf you have a concern about aspartame—and research and experiential evidence shows that you should—the smartest, safest, healthiest thing to do is to stop ingesting it. Just because you may feel okay right after a couple of diet colas doesn’t mean long term damage isn’t being done to your body. Why take a chance? Read about stevia sweetener here. It’s very simple… go back to the basics: Eat and drink the way nature intended… whole foods and fresh juices. This food nourishes you, doesn’t poison you. It heals your body and helps maintain excellent health. Are you concerned about the potential dangers of stevia? Return from Aspartame to Healthy Eating Guidelines. |
