No matter what the industry claims, the evidence against aspartame keeps mounting and mounting. Artificial sweeteners are among the worst "foods" you can eat, and aspartame itself is arguably the very worst of a very bad lot.

If you are like me and just don't have time to read the enormous amount of compelling evidence that makes the case for why you or anyone you love should never consume aspartame, then I would strongly recommend ordering the video Sweet Misery. Without question, it is the single best summary of the issues of aspartame toxicity and some of the leading crusaders for bringing the truth to the public are in the film.

One of the reasons the chemical is so dangerous is that the ester bond in aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde and methanol, which have their own toxicities. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, so it is absolutely no surprise that cancer is associated with aspartame use.

But shockingly enough, cancer is only one of the ways aspartame puts your life in danger. The phenylalanine in aspartame dissociates from the ester bond and increases dopamine levels in your brain. That can lead to symptoms of depression because it distorts the serotonin/dopamine balance. It can also lead to migraine headaches and brain tumors through a similar mechanism.

Even further, the aspartic acid component, from which aspartame gets its name, is a well-documented excitotoxin. Excitotoxins are usually amino acids, such as glutamate and aspartate. These special amino acids cause particular brain cells to become excessively excited, to the point they will quickly die. Excitotoxins can also cause a loss of brain synapses and connecting fibers.

If you are having trouble kicking the, in this case, "diet" soda habit, then you might want to read up on how to easily get rid of your soda addiction.