Artificial Sweeteners and Their Serious Side Effects

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

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Posted by Jayden Giovanni (San Antonio, TX) on 03/03/2007

Undoubtedly you have heard that Aspartame is a safe sweetener and people use it to loose weight. Unfortunately that information is criminally false and misleading. You can find out more about how public relations firms shape and manipulate the public's beliefs on the "Why you believe what you believe" page.

Aspartame is made of 3 components, 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol (wood alcohol). In the body methanol breaks down into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and formic acid.

Aspartame banned in Europe for children's products On the European Common Market, Aspartame is banned for all children's products. Why is this not the case in Canada and the U.S.? Because Monsanto - which owns the NutraSweet Company which manufactures Aspartame - pays off the FDA, the American Medical Association, The American Dietetic and Diabetic Associations, Congressmen and Senators and virtually anyone who gets in the way, and in other countries too. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation caught them red handed and aired a program where Monsanto was trying to bribe Canadian Doctors at Health Canada.

More on the Monsanto company: Monsanto is the world's largest manufacturer of poisons, not only of the citizens of the world but also of the environment. In 1995, Monsanto ranked 5th among US corporations in the EPA's Toxic Release Inventory, having discharged 37 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air, land, water and underground.

Responsible for mass poisoning of the world. How Robert B. Shapiro, President and CEO of Monsanto and the other members of the board, many of whom call themselves "Doctors" can live with themselves, knowing what they and the company are responsible for is incomprehensible. The entire lot should be prosecuted for mass genocide. Their track record of plain lying, falsifying and concealing data, bribery of officials, and the list goes on, is truly astonishing.

To quote the Toronto Globe and Mail reporting on the outcome of a three year trial, "The evidence of Monsanto's executives at the trial portrayed a corporate culture where sales and profits were given a higher priority than the safety of products and its workers..... They just didn't care about the health and safety of their workers. Instead of trying to make things safer, they relied on intimidation and threatened layoffs to keep their employees working".

Aspartame contains 10% methanol NutraSweet (Aspartame) is composed of linkages of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. The aspartic acid acts as a neuroexcitatory agent. When NutraSweet is digested, it yields 10% methanol (wood alcohol). The wood alcohol (methanol) is widely distributed throughout the body including brain, muscle, fat and nervous tissue. It is then metabolized to FORMALDEHYDE which enters the cells and binds to the proteins and DNA (the genetic material).

Cytogenetic effects (changes in DNA) have been shown to result from FORMALDEHYDE exposure and DNA damage occurs from FORMALDEHYDE. The nature of the injury generally involves breaking and then creation of cross linking within the genetic material which alters the cells.

This finding has been confirmed numerous times and the DNA-protein-cross-links are believed to cause cancers in experimental animals. Changes in the genetic material is associated with cancer production in humans. The ability of Aspartame to cause cellular mutations has been shown through studies by Shephard, et al. There are increases in malignant brain tumors suggested to be associated with aspartame use. FORMALDEHYDE is a known stimulant for cancer and genetic damage in the cell.

THE FDA has admitted that only approximately 1% of people know how to, or do, file complaints with them. Under a recent Freedom of Information order the FDA admitted that aspartame accounted for over 75% of complaints filed. They claimed that over 8000 were filed, but they keep changing their bookkeeping to keep the numbers low. The fact that 8000 reports were received indicates that there must have been over 800,000 people adversely affected at the very least.

An average person's daily intake of methyl alcohol from natural sources averages less than 10 mg (1). Aspartame beverages contain 55 mg methanol per liter, and nearly double as much in some carbonated orange sodas. Persons ingesting 5 liters/day can therefore consume over 400 mg methanol. These facts are pertinent:

. Methyl alcohol is probably the first component of aspartame released within the small intestine, and is rapidly absorbed. Blood and methanol concentrations correlate with aspartame intake. "Abuse doses" (100 mg/kg or more) ingested by normal subjects significantly elevate blood methanol concentrations, remaining detectable for 8 or more hours (2).

. Humans are more vulnerable to the toxic effects of methanol than animals because several enzymes required for its metabolism have been lost during evolution and are not present in humans.

. The toxicity of methanol is enhanced by its slow rate of oxidation - only 1/7 that of ethyl alcohol - occurring mainly in the liver and kidneys. Even though the half life in human volunteers ingesting small amounts (1-5 ml) is about 3 hours, complete oxidation to carbon dioxide usually requires several days.

. The body attempts to detoxify methyl alcohol by oxidizing it to formaldehyde (a deadly neurotoxin and Class A carcinogen), and then to formate or formic acid within minutes. Formate and formaldehyde each may contribute to toxicity and nervous system/immune dysfunction through various mechanisms. One is the conjugation of formaldehyde with human serum albumin (F-HSA) to form a new antigenic determinant. Patients with multiple health complaints who had been exposed chronically to formaldehyde develop anti F-HSA antibodies and elevated Tal cells (antigen memory cells), consistent with sustained antigenic stimulation of the immune system


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Posted by Suzanne (Chicago, IL) on 02/23/2007

I worked at a company about 5 years ago, where one of the legal assistants drank 5-6 Diet Cokes throughout the day and had been doing it for a number of years. Those were the days when Diet Coke was made with Aspartame... No Splenda on the market -- yet... She was having medical tests done to figure out why she was shaking with tremors and experiencing severe brain fog, among other symptoms. She admitted that she was going downhill fast and had no idea why. I had known about aspartame causing a slew of neurological conditions and one day suggested she stop drinking the diet coke and research the subject. She didn't take me up on my suggestion, in fact looked at me like I was crazy, and continued drinking the DC like a true addict. I left the company shortly after that, so I don't know what happened to her, but I can tell you that her decline was fast -- she was fine when I arrived there and shaking with tremors 8 months later.


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Posted by Jennifer (Phoenix, AZ) on 02/17/2007

I started to use Splenda as a sugar replacement in my coffee and tea. One day I got out of the shower and had a herendous rash all over my body. The itching was uncontrolable. I knew I was having an allergic reaction but I was not sure to what.I started to take antihistamines. The rash and itching would not go away. When I would itch, huge welts would form under my skin. Then one day I started vomiting uncontrollably. I had no idea what was going on. I told a friend of mine what was happening, she told me the same thing had happened to her son and that he turned out to be allergic to Splenda. So I did some research and found out that my symptoms were very common to others who were also having allergice reactions to splenda. So I stopped using Splenda and all my ailments went away.


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Posted by Joan (Fitchburg, MA) on 02/11/2007

I used to drink crystal light all the time until one day I got a headache and lost part of my eyesight....Like pieces of what I was looking at were missing. I stopped drinking it and tried it again and the same thing happened. I just don't use it anymore and I'm fine. Just recently I had something with aspartame in it and didn't realize it and the symptom happened...I checked out what I had to drink and sure enough there it was.....Aspartame! Dangerous stuff!


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Posted by Wayne (Henderson, NC) on 09/07/2006

Aspartame caused flu-like symptoms, including runny nose, nausea, bowel distress, clogged sinuses, slothfulness and fatigue. I used 3 pks of aspartame per cup of coffee and drank about 6 cups per day. The symptoms seemed negligible at first, but after about of month of usage, I became so discomforted, that I self-diagnosed myself as contracting a virus from somewhere, anywhere. However, my wife never contracted any of the symptoms, which is uncustomary for a virus. Than I remembered something I read about aspartame and how it, thru a heating process by cooking with or adding to heated foods or drinks, it (aspartame, creates, emits, or changes into formaldehyde in in its final state,

After 2 days of not using this product (though I continued to drink the same amount of coffee) my head cleared up, and my nose stopped running; but I still felt very ill and out of it. After refraining from this deleterious delight for 1 week, I began to completely recover. A common virus normally doesn't last for two plus weeks (at least not for me), so, since I quit using aspartame after a two week stint of illness, and began recovery only after I quit using it during the third week; I can only conclude that the onset and perpetuation of my discomfort was due to aspartame usage. My daughter forwarded this informative web site to me, and now I am more than convinced, that I am not the only one who gets ill from this government endorsed poison.


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Posted by Susan (Morehead City, NC) on 07/16/2006

Haven't tried anything yet but cutting out all aspartame and low-cal sweeteners today!! I consume this sweetener in everything I eat and drink. I'm constantly trying to lose weight so of course I use it. For years I have suffered from depression, headaches, stuffiness, lack of energy, and now dizziness that several doctors can't explain. I've always heard of problems with aspartame but never thought it was true but this time I am cutting it out completely. Hopefully I will feel better because at this point I can hardly make it to work.


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Posted by Christine (Glenview, Illinois) on 07/16/2006

regarding Aspartame.... After not being able to sleep a wink for 3 straight weeks and having restless leg syndrome (and arms also), I couldn't stand it any more and was ready to visit the doctor. My body felt so wired all the time and I felt like punching and kicking. But I decided to analyze what I had been eating that was different from usual. After a week of cutting out items I found it was the new gum I had been chewing that contained Aspartame. I cut that out and I was able to sleep again, and the "wired" feelings went away. After telling my Mother, who had been using sweetener for years and always had trouble sleeping, she stopped using it also and now sleeps well. I use Stevia now with no side effects at all.

Replied by Darla
(Flint, Mi)
05/02/2012

Got noro and drank nothing but diet vernors for 2 days. About a week later saw a sale for diet sprite "zero" so got 3 bottles. Waiting on neck surgery and my neck suddenly for no apparent reason "went out" on me to the tune of 2 er trips in one day and a cortesone shot and still hurts. Saw a post on this site that someone else has neck issue flared bc of sweetener. never again.


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Posted by Lee (NY) on 05/11/2006

ASPARTAME SIDE EFFECTS: Thank you for your wonderful website. I am a 52 y.o. male and started having strange symptoms about 4 months ago. It is very difficult to explain except to say that I had a sensation of a heavy head. This was accompanied by a low grade headache, dizziness and occasional nervousness and anxiety. After I suffered with these symptoms for about 2 months I went to a doctor and scheduled a CT scan. Meanwhile, I tried to research my symptoms on the Internet but had a hard time finding anything for a "heavy head." If I didn't think I was dying of a brain tumor or had something seriously wrong with me, it would have been funny. The scan came back normal and I was relieved that I wasn't dying. It had to be something else. Then I stumbled across information on aspartame and it finally dawned on me -- everything made sense. I had started drinking about 2-3 bottles a day of Diet Snapple several months ago. My symptoms gradually crept up on me and I didn't pay much attention. But when the lingering headaches never went away and I was plagued with dizziness and anxiety, I knew there had to be something in my system. I studied and researched more and discovered a tremendous amount of evidence linking aspartame with nervous disorders and the exact symptoms I was experiencing. Well, I stopped ingesting aspartame immediately. From what I read, it would take a long 2 months for it to leave my system. I could feel my body trying to expel it through my nose when I felt intense pressure there, similar to a sinus infection (which by the way, I was checked for and was found to be normal.) Anyway, it's been several weeks after I stopped taking aspartame I am completely well. I've learned several things from this experience, including it is very difficult for a person make a connection between their symptoms and aspartame -- who would ever think that the Diet Coke in front of them is causing their headache or all sorts of other problems? Secondly, doctors, though well intentioned, are not asking the very first question they should ask patients who are complaining of these mental symptoms. The question out of their mouths in the examining room should be, "Are you consuming any diet beverages or foods?" Third, the next time I complain of a heavy head feeling, I won't have to listen to my wife say, "Maybe you need stronger neck muscles." Haha Again, thank you for your website and the wonderful forum you provide for people to share their experiences.


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Posted by Nicole (Miami) on 05/02/2006

While I believe that aspartame is unhealthy, publishing the "Nancy Markle" letter as some kind of substantiated report is beyond irresponsible. There is no Nancy Markle. No one has found her, ever. http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp
Do right by your readers and publish facts supported by studies. Include footnotes and sources. Don't publish anectodal writings and emails, presenting them as facts.

Replied by Mark
(Decatur, Ilinois)
03/18/2011

If you want to read up on the "Nancy Markel" scheme then it traces back to Betty Martini. It seems as if Betty Martini has an agenda to brainwash people about the "dangers" of aspartame. I'm almost certain she is associated with the sugar industry.

Betty Martini is a regular visitor to many "anti-aspartame" websites always suggesting unsubstantiated claims about aspartames side effects.

If you want the opinion of an actual expert with a background in this area(toxicology)then search what John Garst has to say. If you would like to research this better and not

believe all the anti-aspartame hype then check pubmed.gov

Research things like aspartame and diabetes.

Note the amount of studies that come back. Then research sugar and diabetes then note the much larger amount of studies. Blindness and aspartame a WHOPPING(chuckle) 2 studies come back. Now blindness and sugar.. Figure it out. What is more dangerous to society.

Remember a couple of things:

1)Despite Betty Martini's biggest argument about rats getting cancer from aspartame it is NOT been even remotely established to be true in humans.
Here's a shocker for the layperson: RATS GET CANCER!!! Why? In the longetivity newsgroups they first of all "know their stuff" because many have backgrounds in longetivity research suggest that rats getting cancer is merely a way to control overpopulation.NO BIG DEAL.

Replied by Carmen
(Canada)
03/19/2011

I, being your average lay-person am able to do my research. I, without a doubt beleive there is a danger to consuming aspertame. I'm not saying it is poison to everybody but is most certianly is nothing but poison to some, myself included. I will listen to my body and the experiences of others on such sites as this. Thanks but no thanks, my children will be educated on the dangers of aspertame, sugar, gmo's, factory farms, microwave ovens, floride, over processing ETC, ETC, ETC. The choice will be theirs to make but they will not easily swallow a line like yours stating that aspertame is less dangerous than sugar.

Replied by Bess
(Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
03/19/2011

I'm with Carmen on this one! Sorry, but in no way, shape or form is aspartame "safe" to ingest. According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, it's a neurotoxin made up of three chemicals discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist of G. D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug.

"Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain."

The fact that it was approved by the FDA means nothing. They also approved so many drugs that had to be withdrawn after patients were killed using them (the cure was worse than the disease).

I agree that sugar isn't healthy. However, I would drink or eat something containing sugar, while I would never do so with aspartame. Something to note: I have found that since drinking green smoothies (an acquired taste for sure), my craving for cane sugar has dropped dramatically.

Replied by Mojo
(London, Uk)
03/19/2011

My response is directed to "Mark from Decatur, Ilinois".

I read your post with a mixture of surprise and pity. Surprise because you believe Aspartame to be safe. Pity because you've not yet been affected by this sweet but deadly poison, assuming you ingest it. When you do, you'll know about it.

I consider myself a fairly healthy person, I was last off work sick about 4 years ago. I attribute this good health to Earth clinic, to Ted and to all the feedbacks posters have kindly provided.

I oil pull in the morning 5 times a week, after which I drink a glass of warm water with a teaspoon of ACV and 2 shakes of cayenne pepper.

My only real issues are mild sinus congestion and ... Tinnitus. Tinnitus began about a year ago when I consumed several packets of sugar free gum a day plus used the sweetner Splenda. Symptoms: heavy head, deep tiredness, unclear eyesight, ringing ears, dripping nose, forgetfulness, sugar craving, aching limbs, blocked nose at night, too many other issues to mention.

Strangely enough, my doctor could find nothing wrong. I assumed it was just old age catching up with me.

2 weeks after giving up all sweeteners, only using Stevia, all symptoms, apart from the Tinnitus, has gone.

Aspartame, and all its derivatives, is toxic to humans. Some people are not affected but most are. The debilitating effects (worse than what I experienced) creep up on a person over a very long period of time, so it can be hard to pinpoint the cause(s).

Anyone who advocates artificial sweeteners as "safe" needs to re-educate themselves before more innocent people are damaged.

Replied by Darla
(Flint, Mi)
05/02/2012

Regarding falsified letters "proving" the opposite of the letter is true, did you know some people will deliberately write these and the same group will prove them wrong to make people believe everything it says is wrong? Its a tactic to try to brainwash people. Like the letter might say its a fact that nutrasweet has caused 1000 cases of brain cancer. Fact is no it hsan't but that doesn't mean it's good for you but the group that puts that letter out will be the same group using different names that will come out and refute it and thus try to get you to believe it's perfectly safe. It's just a big ugly scam.


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Posted by Tami (Pleasant Hill, CA)

I am a 45 year old female and started noticing high levels of forgetfulness and inability to focus. I had been drinking diet Snapple for a few months. By coincidence a friend of mine told me a story about how aspartame can cause forgetfulness. I stopped drinking diet Snapple and noticed an improvement in my memory within a few days. I'm not prone to believing rumors but I experienced the improvement so quickly that I believe it was the aspartame that was causing my problem. I now tell my friends about this in order to help stop the wide spread affects of this dangerous sweetener.


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Posted by Donna (Columbus, Ohio) on 10/17/2011

Does vit. C mitigate the toxicity of aspartame, and if so, how much? Thank you.

Replied by Timh
(Louisville, Usa)
10/18/2011
2048 posts

Donna, the worst hazards of Aspartame is the wood alcohols as they can be quite toxic if not properly detoxified. To help the detox: Zinc, Manganese, and Niacin are the principle nutrients. Milk Thistle Seed would help the liver also. One clear symptom of Aspartame toxicity is light sensitivity in the pupils of the eyes. I once had this condition which became obvious after looking at a stop-light and those bright colors continuing in my visual field for several seconds following. If Aspartame is not discontinued, this condition could worsen to blindness.



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