The Aspartame Cover-Up?

Ever since aspartame was first approved in foods and carbonated beverages as a sweetener, there has been a fire storm of controversy surrounding it. Although the FDA claims that it is one of the safest and most thoroughly tested food additives ever approved, some believe it has many side effects. A recently released Italian study reaffirms their own research from 2005 that there is an increase in cancer risks associated with aspartame. With each study citing its dangers, there is one that counters its conclusions and states the opposite. The FDA is once again busy proclaiming that it is safe and that there is no link to cancer. Yet many well researched studies by respected individuals and institutions point to aspartame as the cause of toxic reactions and illnesses. Is this a case of the FDA covering up potential risks associated with aspartame to protect the profits of large corporations? This wouldn't be the first time they have put greed ahead of our health and safety. Despite the FDA's assurances, many are making a conscious effort to avoid it in their diet. This is being done without suggestions from their doctors or support from traditional medicine. In fact in some cases, it is the patients who are educating their own physicians to the potential risks associated with aspartame.


The approval of aspartame in foods in 1981 was done under questionable circumstances, with some in the FDA recommending that it not be approved. In 1996, one of the FDA's own toxicologists, Dr. Adrian Gross, warned of it's potential to cause brain tumors and cancer. If this admission is true, it would completely violate amendments, which forbid adding any substance to food that is cancer-causing. Aspartame is not so much an additive as it is a drug and it interacts with other drugs. Methanol or wood alcohol constitutes one third of the aspartame molecule and is classified as a severe metabolic poison or narcotic. Although possible side effects can be immediate, it has been called the silent slow killer because it appears to cause gradual damage over long term use. It has brought more complaints than any other additive, and in 1995 the FDA was forced to release a list of 92 possible symptoms related to aspartame intake.


It is entirely possible that aspartame is the cause of many diseases and mystery illnesses. It breaks down into a solution, and as a result is able to travel throughout the body and deposit with any tissue. Possible side effects vary from person to person because it is directly related to genetic individuality and physical weaknesses. Some researchers claim that it is responsible for the epidemic of diabetes and connected with the sharp increase in obesity. Other studies have found that it causes depletion of serotonin that can lead to behavioral and psychiatric problems. There have been numerous side effects linked to aspartame which include blindness, headaches, migraines, dizziness, sleeplessness, memory loss, buzzing or ringing sound, nausea, shortness of breath, and allergies. Some leading doctors and researchers have cited that it might trigger, mimic, and even cause diseases such as Lyme, Graves', Alzheimer's, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and others. It has also been linked to sever depression, birth defects, suicidal tendencies, aggressive behavior, hyperactivity in children, and death. Some say that aspartame is being used as a scapegoat to explain the cause of a wide number of ailments.