ASPARTAME –Facts & Findings about Equal and Nutrasweet
Aspartame is defined as, “An artificial sweetener synthesized from two amino acids, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It is 180 times sweeter than sugar. It is unsuitable for cooking because the flavor is changed when heated. Trade names are Equal and Nutrasweet.” Phenylalanine is “An essential amino acid formed from protein.” Persons with phenylketonuria (PKU) should not use aspartame. Phenylketonuria (PKU) is “A phenylpyruvic acid in the urine. A recessive hereditary disease caused by the body’s failure to oxidize phenylalanine to tyrosine, because of a defective enzyme. If the disease is not treated early, brain damage may occur, causing severe mental retardation” (Taber’s Cyclopedic, 1985).
Amino acids are, “…the building blocks of which proteins are constructed and are the end product of protein digestion or hydrolysis” in the body (Taber’s Cyclopedic, 1985). Essential amino acids are necessary for the digestion of proteins in the body. Nutrasweet and Equal are a combination of aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and thus can be considered as essential to digestion. However, these artificial sweeteners have been found to contain excitotoxins that can cause many complications that can be fatal. “Excitotoxins are molecules, such as MSG and aspartate, that act as excitatory neurotransmitters, and can lead to neurotoxicity when used in excess” Excitotoxins can mimic disease such as fibromyalgia, lupus, diabetes, ADD, and chronic fatigue and depression when used with aspartame (Aspartame, (2010). Excitotoxins can also affect diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s – degenerative neurotransmitter diseases – ALS, and Huntington’s chorea (Pharmacother, A. et al 2001). A review of the book by Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills, Lawrence R. Huntoon, MD, PhD. States, “Dr. Blaylock defines excitotoxins as “a group of excitatory amino acids that can cause sensitive neurons to die." The most common ones are glutamate, aspartate, and cysteine.
In neuro-degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington's chorea, ALS, are especially vulnerable and at risk due to toxic effects of MSG and aspartame. This is because use of aspartame and MSG causes a breakage in the blood brain barrier (BBB). Stroke victims may also be susceptible to the effects of aspartame due to a disruption of the BBB. Hypoglycemia and hypoxia, which need the protection of cell transport mechanisms, are also affected. BBB is “A physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of brain capillaries, so that some substances, such as certain drugs, are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to enter freely (Blood brain barrier, 2010). The brain has an innate ability to balance nerve damage as well as cell loss. The BBB mechanism does not allow the MSG and aspartate to enter brain cells and cause the neurons to fire abnormally resulting in cell death. However, the BBB is limited in the face of high levels of MSG and aspartate and brain cells die. This is because these high-level toxins bypass the BBB, causing in cell death. The BBB is ineffective prior to birth so that if MSG is allowed to enter the brain, the BBB is compromised. Also, after birth the BBB may not have reached full development.
Aspartame may also be blamed for memory disruption, including short-term memory loss, brain tumors caused by such things as use of aspartame and cell phones (MedScape Today (1994-2010), among others. Lymphoma and leukemia, weight gain (Lavin, J. H. et al, (1997), as well as hypoglycemia, hypoxia, migraines, seizures, endocrine disorders, and types of obesity (Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD, (1994) are often effects of use of aspartame. Aspartame has been reported to result in headaches, memory loss, seizures, vision loss, coma, and cancer.
New research has found that use of aspartame found in most diet drinks, might affect brain function, specifically a disruption in short-term memory loss. Studies have been ongoing since the early 1980s.Timothy M. Barth, Ph. D., a psychology professor at Texas Christian University, does not agree, and states in his study of 90 students participating in a lab study, that students who regularly drank diet soda performed equally in laboratory tests. However, it was also found that people who regularly use aspartame reported lapses in long-term memory, such as forgetting personal details of daily routines or in completing tasks in more instances than those who did not use aspartame. This was most likely due to participants reporting memory problems that were inconsistent to the types of memory loss in laboratory studies. Dr. Barth reiterates further that the untested effects of long-term use of aspartame may still need to be carried out before choosing to refrain from drinking diet soda.
An 8-year study conducted at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center reported as much as a 41% increase in the risk factor of weight gain for every diet soda consumed per day. The study concluded, “that females with eating restraint had a higher Calorie intake subsequent to aspartame intake as opposed to sugar or water intake” (Lavin, J. H., French, S. J., Read, N. W., (1997).
Processed supermarket foods, especially diet food or frozen foods, often contain from 2-4 types of excitotoxins. The sweet taste of sugar makes our brains release endorphins “any of a group of endogenous peptides (enkephalin) found especially in the brain that bind chiefly to opiate receptors and produce some pharmacological effects (as pain relief) like those of opiates”(Merriam-Webster Online), or pleasure hormones. Sugar provides energy, something the body needs, and aspartame has no calories and therefore no energy. Mixed messages to the brain only makes the body crave more sugar to replenish energy. It becomes a vicious circle resulting in weight gain in some people.
Personal experience has demonstrated that discontinuing the use of aspartame and MSG by at risk persons has resulted in amazing improvements in the symptoms of some of the diseases detailed in this discourse. Benefits can be gained by using more natural ways to sweeten our lives.
References:
Academy of Wellness, (2010). Excitotoxins, 1, Retrieved from www.academyofwellness.com/excitotoxins.htm
Blood brain barrier, (2010).1, Retrieved from www.answers.com
Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, MD, (1994). Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills, Santa Fe, NM:Health Press.
Retrieved from Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills
Lavin, J. H., French, S. J., Read, N. W., (1997). The Effect of Sucrose- and Aspartame-Sweetened Drinks on
Energy Intake, Hunger and Food Choice of Female, Moderately Restrained Eaters, International Journal of
Obesity, Volume 21, 37-42.
MedScape Today (1994-2010). Brain Tumors, 1. Cell Phone Link to Brain Tumors – Still No Clear Answers by
Pharmacother, A., Smith, J. D., Terpening, C. M., Schmidt, S. O., Gums, J.G., Randall, M., (Jun 2001).
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins. 35(6):702-6. Veterans
Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Rebhahn, P. (Mar/April 2001). Dangerous Diet Drinks, Facts &Findings, Subject(s): ASPARTAME – Physiological
effect; NONNUTRITIVE sweeteners, Side effects; MEMORY Source: Psychology Today, Vol. 34, Issue 2,
p 20, p.2/5, Section, Nutrition.
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (1985). Various Definitions: Amino Acids (p. 74)
Aspartame (p. 150), Phenylalanine and Phenylketonuria (p. 1385).
My parents got fooled by Aspertame. We all should go back and file lawsuits on behalf of our ancestors and relatives. What a criminal attack on the public! They felt like they were doing themselves a favor in their senior years by avoiding sugar. I tried to tell them . . .
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