Aspartame is found in thousands of products -- sodas, chewing gum, dairy products and even many medicines. NutraSweet and Equal are popular brands. Aspartame is consumed by over 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products. Aspartame is found in Equal, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Diet Snapple, Sugar Free Kool-Aid, Breyers Light, General Foods Sugar-Free International Coffees, among other foods.
   Aspartame, developed by the G.D. Searle company, is used in more than 6,000 food products worldwide. Merisant Co is another leading aspartame company, with the brands Equal, Canderel and NutraSweet. Aspartame was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1981.

Stevia is a safe alternative to aspartame
There is a natural herb called stevia which is as sweet as artificial sweeteners and is safe to use. You can find more information on stevia.

Aspartame sweetener
Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar. It has a caloric value similar to sugar (4 kcal/g), but the amounts used are small enough to consider aspartame essentially free of calories. Brand names include NutraSweet and Equal. Aspartame was first approved by the FDA in 1981 as a tabletop sweetener, and for use in gum, breakfast cereal, and other dry products. The use of aspartame was expanded to sodas in 1983, and then to use as a general-purpose sweetener in all foods and drinks in 1996.

Aspartame industry funded study disputes aspartame risks and dangers
A panel of American, British and Dutch industry members, having reviewed published research over the past 2 decades, has concluded that aspartame does not cause cancer, seizures, neurological damage or learning problems, or contributes to obesity. The panel did conclude that some people might get headaches after consuming aspartame. The panel's work was funded by Japanese food and seasonings giant Ajinomoto Co , a maker of aspartame. The reviewers rejected the findings of a study published in June 2006 by Italian scientists that showed aspartame might cause leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer in rats. Journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology, Sept 2007.
   Comments: I'm always cautious in believing opinions that come out from industry sponsored studies.

Subscribe to a FREE Supplement Research Update newsletter. Twice a month we email a brief abstract of several studies on various supplements and natural medicine topics, including aspartame, and their practical interpretation by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

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In a July, 2006, memo, the FDA reports:
"Before approval, the FDA reviewed numerous studies showing that aspartame did not cause cancer or other adverse effects in laboratory animals. "This included three studies in which rats were fed aspartame in proportions more than 100 times higher than humans would likely consume. In the mid-1990s, a researcher raised concerns that a rise in brain cancer incidence in the United States was linked to aspartame use. According to FDA experts, there is no scientific evidence supporting a link between aspartame and any type of cancer. The National Toxicology Program, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also conducted aspartame studies in mice and found no cancer link. In 2005, the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF) published new findings of a long-term feeding study on aspartame in rats. ERF scientists concluded that aspartame causes leukemia and lymphoma and that current uses of aspartame should be reevaluated. After reviewing the study data, however, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) released a statement in May 2006 that said the ERF's conclusion was not supported by the data. After learning of the ERF study results, the FDA requested the study data and received a portion of the data in February 2006. The FDA will announce its conclusions after completing its review. "At this time, our position that aspartame is safe is based on the large body of information previously reviewed," Tarantino says. "Our conclusions are based on a detailed review of more than 100 toxicological and clinical studies on safety." When ingested, aspartame is converted in the body to methanol and two amino acids--aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Tarantino says, "These substances are produced in much greater amounts in other common foods." Because of the phenylalanine component, aspartame does carry a risk for people with the rare genetic disorder phenylketonuria. People who have this disorder should avoid or restrict aspartame use because of their body's difficulty in metabolizing phenylalanine. Its use can cause phenylalanine to build up in the blood at higher levels than normal. The aspartame regulation requires that a statement be placed on the label of all products containing aspartame specifically to alert phenylketonurics of the presence of phenylalanine."
     Dr. Sahelian comments: I wonder how quickly FDA would have acted if it had been found that stevia caused an increased risk of cancer in rodents.

Chemistry of Aspartame
Aspartame is composed of two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, as the methyl ester.

The Aspartame Controversy - Whom do you trust?
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has garnered a great deal of controversy since an Italian study in rats indicated that aspartame consumption could increase the risk for lymphoma and leukemia. The actual aspartame study is detailed below. However, this study was disputed in May of 2006 by a panel of scientists advising the European Food Safety Authority. The new review found that the number of tumors did not increase in relation to the dosage of aspartame fed to the animals. Many of the rats in the study had suffered from chronic respiratory disease and that was the most likely cause of the tumors, the panel said. The European panel said its assessment should put the lid on years of debate over the aspartame sweetener found in thousands of products, including diet sodas, chewing gum, dairy products and even many medicines. The food safety scientists were also satisfied with the current European level set for the safe daily consumption of aspartame -- a maximum of 40 milligrams per kilogram of body weight -- saying that the limit is well above what people consume normally.
     The Italian researchers who conducted the rat study insisted that their initial findings were correct and pledged to continue studying the subject. Dr. Morando Soffritti, who led the study for the Bologna-based European Ramazzini Foundation, also assailed a U.S. study that concluded aspartame was safe, saying that it was an example of how "some researchers are ready to put themselves at the disposal of the industry" that produces sweeteners. He contended the U.S. research didn't distinguish between aspartame and other sweetener use and did not measure lifetime sweetener use. History is full of examples where animal studies showed benefit or harm from a substance that later proved not true of people. But Soffritti insists that animal studies are better when it comes to aspartame because it's nearly impossible to find a comparison group of people who don't use the sweetener at all. "How do you do a study on humans when aspartame is used in 6,000 products? How do you find a population that has never used it?" he asked.
     The rodents were divided into seven groups and fed different doses of the aspartame sweetener over their natural life span. Some of the rats, especially females, developed more lymphomas and leukemias than those not fed aspartame. But the European food safety panel faulted the colony of rats used in the study, saying they had respiratory problems. These and other factors could have affected the observations, the panel said.
     The U.S. findings on aspartame are based on lengthy food questionnaires sent in the 1990s to 340,045 men and 226,945 women, ages 50 to 69. They were participating in a research project by the National Institutes of Health and AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons. Based on those food surveys, filled out in 1995 and 1996, researchers with the National Cancer Institute calculated how much aspartame the participants consumed, especially from sodas or from adding the sweetener to coffee or tea. No connection was found between aspartame consumption and the type or number of tumors developed in later years.

Dr. Sahelian comments on Aspartame
For the time being I tend to side with the Italian researchers who conducted the rat study. Although there is little reason to avoid aspartame completely, it is a good idea to reduce intake of diet sodas, chewing gum, along with NutraSweet and Equal. Just use less artificial sweeteners and consider using stevia and other natural sweeteners as a partial substitute. I don't know enough about the European Food Safety Authority to know whether they are influenced by the major corporations, but their vehement attempt to discredit the rat study makes me suspect that sometimes fishy is going on.

From the May 15 Supplement Research Update Newsletter
The Aspartame Controversy Continues
A new Italian study in rats by the Ramazzini Foundation indicates aspartame may be dangerous. Aspartame was given to 8-week-old rats. The treatment lasted until natural death. The results showed that aspartame increased the risk of lymphoma, leukemia, urinary tumors, and tumors of certain nerves. The researchers state, "The results of this experiment indicate that aspartame is a carcinogenic agent (cancer causing), even at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg body weight, much less than the current acceptable daily intake. On the basis of these results, a reevaluation of the present guidelines on the use and consumption of aspartame is urgent and cannot be delayed.""Long-Term Carcinogenicity Bioassays to Evaluate the Potential Biological Effects, in Particular Carcinogenic, of Aspartame Administered in Feed to Sprague-Dawley Rats," conducted by the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF) of Bologna, Italy.
     Now I am going to try an attempt at my "The Daily Show with Joh Stewart" satire. Immediately after these findings were published, the European Food Safety authority put out an all bulletin alert. Right?
     Sorry. A panel of scientists advising the European Food Safety Authority immediately disputed the findings and claimed aspartame was safe and should continue being used.

May 2007 update, FDA still supports aspartame
Rather than show concern about the potential danger of aspartame, FDA has decided to rather dispute aspartame study. They say, "Aspartame was approved in the United States in 1981 and is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners. When metabolized by the body, it is broken down into two common amino acids, aspartic acid and
phenylalanine, and trivial amounts of methanol. These three substances are available in similar or greater amounts from eating common foods. The ERF did not comply with FDA's request for full disclosure of the study's data and would not permit the agency to review its pathology slides.*Based on the available data, there are significant shortcomings in the design, conduct, reporting, and interpretation of this study. The pathological changes were incidental and appeared spontaneously in the study animals, and none of the tissue changes reported appear
to be related to treatment with aspartame.*Considering results from many other studies on aspartame's safety,
including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to modify its previous conclusion that
aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food."
   My comments: It is up to the reader to decide whether FDA would have gone out of its way to defend a study if it involved stevia.

Potential short term Aspartame side effects
The list of aspartame side effects reported by consumers is quite long, but headaches and dizziness from excessive use appears to be common.

Aspartame Research
Aspartame -induced Sjogren syndrome. South Med J. 2006 Jun;99(6):631-2.

First experimental demonstration of the multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley rats.
Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Mar;114(3):379-85. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Degli Esposti D, Lambertini L, Tibaldi E, Rigano A. Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy.
The Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center of the European Ramazzini Foundation has conducted a long-term bioassay on aspartame, a widely used artificial sweetener. Aspartame was administered with feed to 8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats at concentrations of 100,000, 50,000, 10,000, 2,000, 400, 80, or 0 ppm. The treatment lasted until natural death, at which time all deceased animals underwent complete necropsy. Histopathologic evaluation of all pathologic lesions and of all organs and tissues collected was routinely performed on each animal of all experimental groups. The results of the study show for the first time that aspartame, causes a) an increased incidence of malignant-tumor-bearing animals b) an increase in lymphomas and leukemias c) a statistically significant increased incidence of transitional cell carcinomas of the renal pelvis and ureter and their precursors; and d) an increased incidence of malignant schwannomas of peripheral nerves. The results of this mega-experiment indicate that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogenic agent, even at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg body weight, much less than the current acceptable daily intake. On the basis of these results, a reevaluation of the present guidelines on the use and consumption of aspartame is urgent and cannot be delayed.

The effect of aspartame metabolites on human erythrocyte membrane acetylcholinesterase activity.
Pharmacol Res. 2006 Jan;53(1):1-5. Epub 2005 Aug 29. Department of Experimental Physiology, Medical School, University of Athens, Greece.
Studies have implicated aspartame with neurological problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in human erythrocyte membranes after incubation with the sum of aspartame metabolites, phenylalanine (Phe), methanol (met) and aspartic acid (aspt), or with each one separately. Erythrocyte membranes were obtained from 12 healthy individuals and were incubated with aspartame hydrolysis products for 1 h at 37 degrees C. Conclusion: Low concentrations of aspartame metabolites had no effect on the membrane enzyme activity, whereas high or toxic concentrations partially or remarkably decreased the membrane AChE activity, respectively. Additionally, neurological symptoms, including learning and memory processes, may be related to the high or toxic concentrations of the sweetener metabolites.

Chronic aspartame affects T-maze performance, brain cholinergic receptors and Na+,K+-ATPase in rats.
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004 May;78(1):121-7. Christian B, McConnaughey K, Bethea E, Brantley S, Coffey A, Hammond L, Harrell S, Metcalf K, Muehlenbein D, Spruill W, Brinson L, McConnaughey M.  Department of Pharmacology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
This study demonstrated that chronic aspartame consumption in rats can lead to altered T-maze performance and increased muscarinic cholinergic receptor densities in certain brain regions. Control and treated rats were trained in a T-maze to a particular side and then periodically tested to see how well they retained the learned response. Rats that had received aspartame (250 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water for 3 or 4 months showed a significant increase in time to reach the reward in the T-maze, suggesting a possible effect on memory due to the artificial sweetener. It can be concluded from these data that long-term consumption of aspartame can affect T-maze performance in rats and alter receptor densities or enzymes in brain.

Aspartame Emails
Q. Thank you for your continued insight and open, honest approach to supplements, to life. I am pleased to see you are doing well and continuing your role as an intelligent voice of wisdom in this increasingly insane world. Specifically, I can hardly tell you how emphatically I agree with your views on aspartame in the May 15, 2006 issue of your supplement research update newsletter. Hell yes, be aware… damn right choose wisely. And be a purist if you’re compelled to but as soon as you get some effective medication (pharmaceutical or non) we shall be here living maximum freedom at A- !!!  All the Best to You!

Q. I enjoy getting your health bulletin and product spotlights, especially since you are focused on a more holistic approach to living which seems in harmony with nature and is a lifestyle I follow strongly. I have tried a few of the products you have developed and they seem like quality products. I am a holistic therapist, and beside using various natural healing modalities have studied nutrition and preventive medicine, and wanted to send you another article I read last year that posts Aspartame as a serious health threat, as you mentioned it is ok to use this in moderation which I am questioning.
    To quote Dr Robert from Florida who did the research "I have described many serious side effects and medical/public health hazards attributable to aspartame products. The neurological, psychological, eye, endocrine, metabolic and pediatric ravages in my data base of over 1,200 aspartame reactors, comprised of both patients and correspondents, are impressive. Additionally, it is my increasing conviction that aspartame products can cause, aggravate or accelerate migraine, seizures, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and its complications, Alzheimer's disease, and even brain tumors. The clinical and scientific basis for these assertions have been detailed previously. There is also a major issue with addiction to this product and strong withdrawal symptoms have been noticed." Hope this helps you spread the truth about this horrific sweetener...      I also have not seen you talk about Microwaving food which kills enzymes and makes foods lose nutritional value.
   A. Thank you for sending this. We have so many things we want to share with our readers, we'll get to microwaving some day. As to aspartame, our role as we see it here is to inform people about the science, and each person has a choice how pure they wish to be with their diet.

Q. About your recent article on Aspartame: If aspartame is really as bad as they say, why hasn't it been removed from the market? My doctor told me that Splenda (sugar substitue) is somewhat better than Equal (with aspartame), but that the difference isn't enough to worry about. He said that if I took them, for example, for 20 years, then I might notice a difference. Do you think Splenda is safe to use? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated! Please note that it helps me a lot to have a sugar substitute; this is one thing that has helped to control my weight, and even lose some weight.
   A. I have not studied Splenda enough to have an opinion on its safety. At this time I do not think high amounts of aspartame are safe and I don't know why the governmental authorities are not saying much about the recent research that showed great safety concerns with aspartame.

Q. I am a doctor and found the article on green tea extract in coke quite scary, not because of the excess green tea but because of the other chemical in the coke, aspartame for instance. I think it is a disgrace and a bit of a abomination that the large companies are seeking to mislead the consumers on a grand scale by using a health substance as a smoke screen and a sales tool. Thank you for the newsletter updates.

Q. Can resveratrol since it is a strong antioxidant reverse any damage from aspartame?
   A. I have not seen any research combining the two, so it is difficult to say.

Q. If you don't have PKU, is there in real danger in consuming aspartame sweetener?
   A. Small amounts of aspartame sweetener consumption should not cause any health issues.