Aspartame- A Sweet Poisoned World

by Max Jones | Dec 10, 2014 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

People search multiple options to stay fit The most effective way is cutting down your sugar intake. Doing this can help people lessen their chances of getting diabetes and becoming overweight or obese. These two conditions can lead to serious health issues.
In order to combat the side-effects of sugar, scientists have developed artificial sweeteners.

Aspartame is a commonly used artificial sweetener that tastes sweet and is without calories, widely in use among the current generation. But there are invisible side-effects of taking aspartame that people are unaware of. Some side-effects of aspartame include Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, symptoms that mimic multiple sclerosis, some cancer types, and dizziness.

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener which is about 200 times sweeter than sugar and is almost calorie free. It is being used as a sweet alternative for sugar in more than 6,000 consumer foods and drinks under the trade names Equal and NutraSweet2. In the year 1965, a chemist James M. Schlatter discovered Aspartame. He first used aspartame as a food additive in the US and in some European countries in the early 1980s.
Despite approval from around the world, aspartame remains controversial as a food additive. Aspartame is an ingredient found in all kinds of diet foods and toothpastes. Moreover, some of the products that include aspartame are as follows:

• Cereals
• Frozen desserts
• Sugar-free chewing gums
• Diet soda and other soft drinks
• Gelatins
• Milk drinks
• Instant coffees
• Teas
• Yoghurt
• Tabletop sweeteners

Aspartame is also found in pharmaceutical drugs and supplements. However, aspartame isn’t as suitable for cooking and baking when compared with some other sweeteners as it loses much of its sweetness when exposed to heat. The popularity of aspartame has decreased due to a number of factors like changing consumer preferences and harmful health effects.

When aspartame enters the body

When a person has aspartame in any form, it dissolves into the solution and travels throughout the body getting deposited within any tissue. The body digests aspartame and then breaks it down into three substances:
• Phenylalanine (50% of aspartame) – Phenylalanine is an amino acid found in the brain and is very necessary for the production of neurotransmitters for the brain functioning. But, people with genetic disorder PKU (phenylketonuria) aren’t able to break down this amino acid that may lead to an excess of phenylalanine in the brain causeing brain damage.
• Aspartic acid (40% of aspartame) – Aspartic acid is an amino acid, which when taken in its free form raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The levels of neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain become high and leading to damage. Moreover, the excess of glutamate and aspartate slowly destroy neurons and the majority of neural cells in the area of the brain get killed before the symptoms of chronic illness get noticed.
• Methanol (10% of aspartame) – When the methanol group of aspartame encounters enzyme chymotrypsin, methanol is released in the small intestine. Methanol is a deadly poison which gets rapidly absorbed by the body when taken in. Free methanol is created from aspartame when heated to above 30 Centigrade. Then methanol breaks down into formaldehyde in the body, which is a deadly neurotoxin and is widely known for carcinogen, causing retinal damage and birth defects. Some of the symptoms of methanol poisoning include headaches, nausea, ear buzzing, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, chills, memory lapses, and numbness.

Disadvantages of aspartame:

Below are various disadvantages of using aspartame, these are as follows:
• Weight gain
• Obesity
• Neurologic problems
• Cognitive problems
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease
• Symptoms that mimic multiple sclerosis
• Some cancer types
• Headaches/migraines
• Dizziness
• Seizures
• Muscle spasms
• Rashes
• Nausea
• Numbness
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Vision problems
• Hearing loss
• Irritability
• Insomnia
• Heart palpitations
• Breathing problems
• Anxiety attacks
• Joint pain
If aspartame is used regularly, health problems such as those aforementioned are likely to affect people. But, in today’s world, almost all processed food or drink contains aspartame. So, what is the solution? Avoiding processed foods altogether is the only solution to avoid aspartame.

How to avoid aspartame?

You can avoid aspartame by opting or switching to homemade meals. Furthermore, always read the labels before purchasing food products. In order to avoid aspartame, try to choose healthy sweeteners like:
• Raw honey– Raw honey is thick and cloudy in appearance. It has granular consistency and as a sugar substitute is among the safest options as it does not contain aspartame. Raw honey is beneficial because it requires no processing or heating. It contains antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
• Stevia leaves– Another option to avoid aspartame is stevia leaves. These are the most suitable alternative sugar substitute to aspartame. Stevia leaves are totally natural, contain almost zero carbohydrates and do not affect the blood sugar levels.
Making use of the previously mentioned alternatives helps you in maintaining your health, wellness and proper satisfaction.
Final words:Now that you have the facts and alternatives, don’t put yourself at risk ever again. Secure your good health.