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Dr. Mercola
April 26 2008
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How Does Aspartame Damage Your Brain?

brainConsuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally, according to a new review by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo.

The review found that high doses of the sweetener may lead to neurodegeneration. It has also previously been found that aspartame consumption can cause neurological and behavioral disturbances in sensitive individuals.

Specifically, the review found a number of direct and indirect changes that occur in your brain as a result of high consumption levels of aspartame, including disturbing:
  • The metabolism of amino acids
  • Protein structure and metabolism
  • The integrity of nucleic acids
  • Neuronal function
  • Endocrine balances
Further, the breakdown of aspartame causes nerves to fire excessively, which can indirectly lead to a high rate of neuron depolarisation.

Despite these growing concerns, neither the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have changed their guidelines regarding the safety of the ingredient or intake advice.

Dr. Mercola Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Aspartame is a poison that does not belong in your body, and this is not an exaggeration. Yet, this toxic substance is consumed by over 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products.

Everything from soda and chewing gum to desserts, yogurt, and even some vitamins and cough drops contain it.

When you drink, say, a can of diet soda sweetened with aspartame, what are you REALLY consuming? Here’s a breakdown of aspartame’s three chemicals: the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and methanol.

1. Aspartic acid (40 percent of aspartame)

Aspartate acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate in your brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into your cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill your cells.

The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate is why Dr. Russell Blaylock refers to them as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate your neural cells to death.

Now, when aspartic acid is consumed, it significantly raises your blood level of aspartate, which leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of your brain, where they slowly begin to destroy neurons.

Your brain cells could be dying right now, but you likely would not notice the symptoms until 75 percent or more are gone. Then, chronic illnesses such as the following, which may by caused by long-term exposure to excitatory amino acid damage, may occur:
  • Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease
  • Memory and hearing loss
  • Hormonal problems
  • Epilepsy
  • AIDS
  • Brain lesions
  • Neuroendocrine disorders
2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in your brain, however people with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize phenylalanine. This leads to dangerously high -- and sometimes lethal -- levels of phenylalanine in your brain. It has been shown, though, that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in your brain even if you do not have PKU.

Even consuming aspartame one time has been found to raise your blood levels of phenylalanine. What’s the risk of this?

Excessive levels of phenylalanine in your brain can cause the levels of serotonin in your brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It can also cause schizophrenia or make you more susceptible to seizures.

3. Methanol (aka wood alcohol) (10 percent of aspartame)

Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison, and the absorption of methanol into your body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Well, free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when an aspartame-containing product is improperly stored (in the sun, for instance) or when it is heated, such as part of a "food" product like Jello.

Meanwhile, methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde -- a deadly neurotoxin -- in your body.

Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic."

They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day, but a one-liter aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily -- or 32 times the EPA limit!

The symptoms of methanol poisoning are numerous and varied. They include:
  • Vision problems
  • Headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness
  • Nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances
  • Weakness, numbness and shooting pains in your extremities
  • Behavioral disturbances
  • Memory lapses
Do You STILL Believe Aspartame is Safe?

I could literally go on for days about the many problems plaguing this artificial sweetener; both the dangers it poses to your health and the blatant greed and manipulation that got it on the market.

That is why I spent years researching and writing Sweet Deception. It is the most comprehensive book on the market addressing this issue, and if you or your loved ones drink diet beverages or eat diet foods, please read it sooner rather than later.

I also highly recommend watching Sweet Misery, which is part documentary, part detective story that sheds much-needed light on the controversy surrounding aspartame.

Folks, aspartame is not your friend. It is actually responsible for 80-85 percent of the food complaints registered with the FDA!

Aside from the damage it can do to your brain, aspartame can cause cancer. One well-controlled, peer-reviewed, SEVEN-year study even found that as little as 20 mg per day can cause cancer in humans.

One 12-ounce diet soda contains about 180 mg of aspartame, so you do the math on that risk!

If you have NutraSweet or Equal packets in your home, I urge you to get rid of them. About the only good use for them I’ve heard about is using them to kill ants in your kitchen.

And if you’re consuming diet foods or drinks of any kind, toss those as well. Your health will be much better off for it.

If you find you’re still having sweet cravings or are having a hard time giving up your diet soda, Turbo Tapping is a simple tool to help you get rid of your soda addiction in a short period of time. And in the case of aspartame, getting it out of your diet can’t come fast enough.
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Community Comments ( 62 )
 		Comment on this Article
  
  
ZPE
 [ Joined on 02/08 ] [ Posted on April 8, 2008 ]
23 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
"Neither the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) have changed their guidelines regarding the
safety of the ingredient or intake advice."

Preaching to the choir, I know, but if those findings were against a vitamin, herbal remedy, or raw milk - the FDA would have closed them down before you could say 'habeas corpus'.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Aaltrude
 [ Joined on 04/07 ] [ Posted on April 7, 2008 ]
23 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
This is not new information. It has been described by Russell Blaylock in his book "Excitotoxins, The Taste that Kills" which was published in 1997.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
HealthCoachSandraG
 [ Joined on 03/08 ]  [ Posted on April 8, 2008]
16 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
YES!!!

Blaylock's book points to the dangers of Aspartame from Parkensons and Alzheimers to learning disabilities and Autism.  He also highlights the dangers of MSG.  I've always wondered if Splenda was rushed to the market because Aspartames days were numbered.  Now we'll have to wait years of being human guinea pigs to see what that (splenda/sucralose) fake food does to humans. 

MSG needs the same negative press.  It's just has harmful.
Mercola
  
Islander
 [ Joined on 03/07 ]  [ Posted on April 26, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Moderator User
  Mercola

FTR, Blaylock does cover MSG as well as aspartame in his book.

  
  
Linda24
 [ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on April 8, 2008 ]
20 Points        
   
 
Novice User
And yet, millions of people continue to eat this poison.  So many people are so uneducated about these artificial sweeteners.  It's so sad how the public is constantly being duped.  I bought a box of stevia into the office today.  My co-workers' husband has diabetes.  She had no clue about stevia and how its derived from a plant and there is no chemicals in the product.  She read the box - she even made a xerox copy of the box for her mom.  People just don't think about educating themselves about the foods they eat.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
sally t
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on April 26, 2008 ]
18 Points        
   
 
Savvy User

Life is simple.  If man made it don't eat it.  READ LABELS.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Voltaire
 [ Joined on 03/08 ]  [ Posted on April 26, 2008]
6 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Yes! We really do need to adhere to this simple rule for a Healthy Life.

I am very pissed that an exiting FDA commissioner approved Aspartame as G.R.A.S

(Generally Recognized as Safe)  This single action by a corrupt man has resulted in Aspartame being hidden in thousands of prepared foods like cake mix, etc.
  
  
mmc88121
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on April 7, 2008 ]
16 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
This needs to be forwarded to every one you know who uses aspartame as a warning, because it will not be in the news.

Mary
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
VMC
 [ Joined on 03/08 ]  [ Posted on April 8, 2008]
16 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
I was affected by aspartame in 1997 and have been waiting "patiently" for the FDA to recind it's approval.  It's not happening and I'm tired of trying to aviod foods with aspartame and telling my kids that they can't chew the gum in conventional grocery stores.  I'm ready to speak out for myself and others who have been affected by this poison.  If you know of anyone in Florida, who has been affected by aspartame, please direct them to my blog:  www.mptampabay.blogspot.com

I'm trying to get a support group together in my area in order to produce awareness and, hopefully, invoke some type of change.  Thanks.
Mercola
  
VMC
 [ Joined on 03/08 ]  [ Posted on April 8, 2008]
13 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola
Just one of the affects,,, sometimes I don't spell things right.  :)
  
  
buttns
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on April 26, 2008 ]
13 Points        
   
 
Novice User

Hello all, especially you Darko.... You value your science so much do you?

I must say i do wonder why all the other forum contributors are actually responding to some of your dribble, yet from this last posting "I figured I'd get the best alternative perspective from this forum"  i see where you are coming from and the best thing about that is that it makes people actually question themselves and their "facts."  Only resulting in making them much more determined to strengthen their position and resolve.  

what i have seen is a lot of intelligent, well informed and researched information as much as the average person has access to and this is part of the problem.  Most "accessible" research and scientific studies can say just about whatever they want it to say, its almost as desirable as statistics.  This is what the poeple are fighting against.  

A good debate requires an opposing team, thanks for keeping us on track and even more determined to "prove."   Evidence based medicine is at the heart of all health and this can include hundreds of modalities, they all seem to benefit though. At the end of the day who knows and who cares, science is not so commendable anymore so rely on yourself, i don't consume any sugar, (let alone its pretend substitutes) dairy or anything that is highly processed, white, refined, packaged or man made, and i can honestly say i have only improved in my health, and never need a doctor, as far as "soda" is concerned, what is it with you americans, seriously, who needs it really.  When i grew up it was party food, (gee that happened every mmm... once a year) what i value is good common sense and personal responsibility to make wise decisions on what goes into my body and that of my children.  

Dizzyizzy is on target, it is not just one factor, but a conglomeration of facets that lead to ill health, diseases and body disharmony, not to mention disease mongering.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
jayp
 [ Joined on 12/07 ]  [ Posted on April 26, 2008]
6 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

buttns m bofriend is from hati and wont stop drinking soda regardless of what information i provide.. me im an AMERICAN and i dont drink soda not even at parties... so the "what is with you Americans" was a bit unneccesary. I like a bit of common sense too which may include not stereotyping people based off their geographic location---

but yes we all know msg and aspartame are no good we just got to get the world out to the misinformed un health conscience individuals without insulting them.

Good day all
  
  
Dr. Dancer
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on April 26, 2008 ]
12 Points        
   
 
Novice User

I wanted to post a reply more as a helpful practical matter.  I remembered from a previous post that aspartame would remove fireants.  Well, I encountered a fireant nest at my back door and decided to give it a try.  I sprinkled a single packet on the mound and found that the ants were completely gone in 2 days.  Needless to say I was thrilled to be rid of the ants and rid of the aspartame!  So, please give this a try as it is a wonderful use for the artificial sweetner you might have left in your cabinet.  ( I also tried this on some wood ants that invaded my home and unlike the fireants, they did not carry the aspartame away but completely abandoned my home!)   Fleas beware!

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Spectrum
 [ Joined on 03/08 ] [ Posted on April 26, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Novice User

Great article Doc. This stuff is pure poison. When I served in the Intel Community(now retired), we were taught a great trick that worked no matter what country we'd be in. If there were pesky insects around where we were located, just tear open a few Aspartame sweetener packets and spread it around. It could be right on the ground, in huts or hotel rooms. Kills'em all. Bring a few packets though as its a one time feeding, and they all want to get in on the feeding frenzy action, but you don't need to bring a lot as they're freely available in any coffee shop to experiment on the less informed. I always keep the cheapest box you can buy(because it has the heaviest concentration of Aspartame), around home and shop as it's the best ant killer available. Y'all should try it, you'll laugh at how well it works!

 [ Reply ]
  
  
KAC
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on April 9, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I wish more people new the health dangers of aspartame so we can get rid of it in our foods.  It is in vitamins and a lot of shelved foods so beware.  Read ingredients.  I found it in a ginger jar.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
audygirl
 [ Joined on 08/07 ]  [ Posted on April 26, 2008]
4 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

HI, Do you have any brand names of products which contain aspartame? (vitamins) I read the labels but I am not up on what other names apartame can fall under.

Thanks
Mercola
  
beck62
 [ Joined on 04/08 ]  [ Posted on April 26, 2008]
10 Points        
   
Novice User
  Mercola

Your double-blind placebo studies were meticulously controlled by Monsanto, maker of Aspartame, as well as funder of the 'research'. Of course the information they chose to release favored their product; they just left out any of the facts they found unsavory. As far as case studies go, I am (luckily) living proof of Aspartame's ill effects. At the age of 30, I developed a large blind spot in my left eye that the top retina specialist in the Southeast labeled 'one of the .005% of cases' he couldn't diagnose. After hearing about aspartame's possible toxicity, I cut it out of my diet, took powerful anti-oxidants, and...regained my sight.

Yet still, there's a debate?!?

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest to find that it was a carcinogen. How it works chemically is not something I'm an expert on, but few of us are ( nor do we need to be to recognize that, say, thalidomide causes birth defects, or asbestos exposure leads to cancer...).  Yes, cause and effect can be determined without knowing every subtle nuance of each preceding factor involved, especially when it's something blatant, as my two examples show.

You have to admit we still have a lot more to learn about cancer prevention as well as it's cures-and considering the flack I caught from the traditional med community over my macular cure, it's extremely likely that cancer patient's reporting of aspartame intake as a possible impetus for their disease is grossly neglected/dismissed out of pocket by their doctors.