According to WebMD, a panel of experts concluded early in September that there are not any health risks associated with consuming aspartame, but the panel was funded by Ajinomoto Company Inc., a manufacturer of aspartame.
"We conclude aspartame is very safe," panel coordinator Bernadene Magnuson, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Maryland, said at a news conference.
But Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest, thinks the report is “totally unreliable”.
The panel was convened by a food, dietary supplement and cosmetics consulting firm, the Burdock Group, and was funded by a major maker of aspartame, Ajinomoto Company Inc. Ajinomoto did not choose the panel members, and the researchers were not notified of the study’s funding until it was submitted for publication.
Still, Jacobson is skeptical of the study.
"They say Ajinomoto paid for the study but researchers didn't know who paid. Well, they knew it was industry. And some of these people are longstanding industry consultants," Jacobson says. "You get what you pay for. What we need are high-quality studies, such as those that could be done by the National Toxicology Program."
Although the low-calorie sweetener was approved by the FDA in 1981, many nutritionists and doctors such as Janet Star Hull and Dr. Russell L. Blayloc have published books on its side effects:
- brain tumors
- brain damage
- birth defects
- abdominal pain
- irritability
- depression
- Fibromyalgia Syndrome and symptoms of Fibromyalgia
- Multiple Sclerosis symptoms
- dizziness
- menstrual problems
- headaches
In 2005, the
Department of Health and Human Services published a list of similar symptoms and complaints attributed to aspartame.
According to the FDA, the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF) published a
report in 2005
stating that
aspartame causes cancer. Read more on
newstarget.com.
Why could aspartame be harmful?
Aspartame is composed of phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid are amino acids naturally present in foods but in combinations with other amino acids. In aspartame, they stand alone and are bond by methanol.
Ten percent of aspartame is methanol or wood alcohol. It can cause toxicity. When present at room temperature, 86 degrees F, the methanol is converted into formaldehyde. Diet sodas stored at room temperature clearly pose this danger. Formaldehyde is in the same class of deadly toxins as Cyanide and Arsenic.
Aspartame is present in diet and sugar free foods; it may be labeled as phenylalanine, phenylketuronics, Canderel, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal-Measure.
The following artificial sweeteners also have been known to cause adverse side effects: Neotame, Splenda (sucralose), Acesulfame-K (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One), Cyclamates and saccharin.
No sugar is healthy, but it's safer to use natural sweeteners such as barley malt, evaporated cane juice, fruit juice, rice syrup and honey. Sugar alcohols such as xylitol and sorbitol, high fructose sweeteners and refined sugars should be used in small amounts.
