It’s in everything today – from diet sodas to chewing gum to sugar-free baked goods. Aspartame seemed like a Godsend when it came out on the market in 1981; a sweet taste without all the pesky calories of sugar! Before long, countless products were flooding the market promising weight loss, prevented tooth decay and well… better living. The dark side being that Aspartame was NOT a naturally occurring substance so our body’s do not know now to process it and the long-term side effects are frightening.

According to a new review by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo, April, 2008, consuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally and cause long term brain malfunction and even behavioural problems and depression.

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.

To understand why Aspartame is so destructive, it is important to understand the three components that make up Aspartame: aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%). 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% or more are gone. Then, chronic illnesses such as the following may occur:

• Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease
• Memory and hearing loss
• Hormonal problems
• Epilepsy
• Brain lesions
• Neuroendocrine disorders

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.

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

Still think Aspartame is a safe choice? Be a smart consumer and read your labels. Give up chewing gum and diet sodas. If you must have something sweet, turn to natural sweeteners or even just good old sugar. Your body knows what to do with it and your brain will thank you!