Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that we have been hearing a lot about in the last twenty years. It has been removed from the list of FDA approved items not once; but twice. Yet, there it is; still being used in products that we consume every day.
Even though it was claimed for years that aspartame is harmless, and even healthy, recent research showed that aspartame can cause brain cancer, as well as numerous other illnesses and types of cancer.
First developed by G.D. Searle, a pharmaceutical company, aspartame failed to be approved by the FDA due to the animal studies (performed on monkeys and mice) showed tumor, lesion, and cancer development in the subjects. It kept being rejected for 16 years, with the company relentlessly trying to get it approved for use.
G.D. Searle was acquired by Monsanto and NutraSweet Company back in 1985, and it remained under the ownership of these companies until the year 2000, when it was purchased by J.W. Childs Equity Partners. By the time of this change in ownership, the FDA has officially discovered 92 symptoms of aspartame consumption:
- Cancer
- Nausea
- Weight gain
- Dizziness
- Loss of hearing
- Loss of sight
- Death
After all this, aspartame was magically approved for use, and now you can find it in more than six thousand products across the globe. The FDA suddenly changed their stance on this artificial sweetener and found it healthy and recommendable. If you want to steer clear of it, this might prove to be a tough task, as it can be labeled in dozens of different ways. Companies rarely list it on the label as aspartame; most commonly it is listed as phenylalanine, as the word of its harmfulness has spread so much and so many people are aware of the devastating consequences this sweetener has.
Aspartame is commonly added to the ingredients you would never expect it in. This includes antibiotics in liquid form and even vitamins.
Even though there are medical experts and hundreds of people claiming that aspartame causes autism, these claims are yet to be proven. What it is proven to affect is the production of every major hormone, which can lead to numerous conditions, one of which is diabetes.
The testing on monkeys, back in 1977 showed that prolonged exposure to aspartame causes increased rates of cancer occurrence, seizures, and brain lesions. The ban on aspartame was lifted in 1981, despite condemning evidence of its harmfulness, presumably due to corruption.
If you want to avoid consuming this artificial sweetener, the most basic things you need to avoid are sodas and sweets. Make sure you check the labels of every produce you buy, as it can even be found in canned tomatoes, beans, etc. Study up on alternative names for aspartame, and you should be good.
Source: Healthy Food House
