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Aspartame: Some helpful information

Aspartame is used by more than 100 million people world-wide, and is found in more than 6,000 products. This sweetener has been extensively researched in more than 200 studies. What is interesting is that in the U.S. you find the most favorable research while outside the U.S. are some findings that do not favor Aspartame.

Discovered in 1965, aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener that is used in products worldwide, including as a tabletop sweeteners, various foods and carbonated beverages. Because aspartame is up to 200 times sweeter than sugar, very little is need for the desired level of sweetness.

Description:

Aspartame is made from two amino acids - protein components, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are building blocks of protein that are found in all protein-containing foods, including meats, grains, and dairy products. Aspartame is made by combining these two amino acids and a methyl group. This methyl group breaks down during digestion and forms methanol. Methanol is found naturally in the body and in many foods such as fruit and vegetable juices. The body metabolizes the amino acids in aspartame the same as those from other protein-containing foods. Very little is needed for the sweet taste.

Relative Sweetness:

180 to 200 times sweeter than sucrose.

Assets:

Aspartame has a sugar-like taste. It is said to enhance some flavors and is appropriate for many applications. When aspartame is combined with other low-calorie sweeteners, they enhance each other so that the combinations are sweeter than the individual sweeteners.

Limitations:

Aspartame is not suitable in applications that require prolonged exposure to high temperatures (cooking or baking) as it loses sweetness. However, it can successfully be added to recipes, and an encapsulated form is now available for commercial baking. It also is used successfully in beverages, but does lose its sweetness in liquids over an extended period of time. (The rate of change is gradual and is determined by temperature and acidity.) Persons with PKU (phenylketonuria) must restrict their intake of phenylalanine. As such, all U.S. products containing aspartame are labeled: "This product contains phenylalanine."

Status:

Aspartame is classified as a "general purpose sweetener" by the FDA and is approved for use in food and beverages.

Results of Aspartame use in lab animals:

Neuroscientist, Dr. John Olney is the world expert on the neurological effects of aspartic and glutamic acids. His research shows that aspartic acid, one of the breakdown products of aspartame, caused holes in the brains of lab animals. Dr. Olney and ACSN co-founder, James Turner, Esq. were the original 'whistle blowers' on the toxicity of aspartame. He was featured at a Washington press conference to announce his findings of a ten percent increase in the rate of brain tumors since the advent of aspartame.
From: aspartamesafety.com / a non-profit organization

Below are just a few resources for you to followup on:

BOOKs:

Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health
by Joseph Mercola, Kendra Degen Pearsall

Sweet Poison: How the World's Most Popular Artificial Sweetener Is Killing Us - My Story
by Janet Starr Hull

Fight for Your Health: Exposing the FDA's Betrayal of America
by Byron J. Richards

Aspartame (Nutrasweet): Is It Safe? (Nutrasweet : Is It Safe?)
by H. J. Roberts

Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame
Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and President of Aspartame Consumer Safety Network since 1987.

Articles:

Sour finding on popular sweetener: increased cancer incidence associated with low-dose aspartame intake.(Environews: Science Selections): An article from: Environmental Health Perspectives
by M. Nathaniel Mead

Ubiquitous aspartame: is it a safe sweetener or a cancer time bomb? : An article from: Environmental Nutrition

DVD:

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World