Aspartame
Read Those Labels Carefully
Aspartame is arguably the most dangerous food additive on the market today, and accounted for the majority of adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US Food and Drug Administration during the previous decade. Its use is widespread. Aspartame is the technical name for the following brand name products, which may be contained in still other products: NutraSweetTM, EqualTM, SpoonfulTM, and Equal-MeasureTM. Carefully check in order to avoid aspartame. It can be found in processed foods like instant breakfasts, cereals, frozen or gelatin desserts, topping mixes, yogurt, and breath mints. It can also be found in beverages based on cocoa, tea, coffee, juice and milk, not to mention soft drinks and wine coolers. It's even in "health products" like sugar-free chewing gum, laxatives, multivitamins, and other pharmaceuticals and supplements.
Symptoms and Diseases Associated with Aspartame
Many reactions to aspartame are serious, and have even included seizures and death, according to a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report. Among the ninety different documented symptoms found in the report are: headaches, including migraines; vision, ear, and heart irregularities; psychological concerns like depression, irritability, anxiety attacks, and memory loss; as well as nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, fatigue, insomnia, breathing difficulties, slurred speech, loss of taste, vertigo, and joint pain.
According to researchers studying the effects of aspartame, consuming this chemical poison can trigger or worsen chronic illnesses including brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.
Consider the Source of the Research
Note that these researchers were not funded by the aspartame industry. In fact, of 90 non-industry-sponsored studies reviewed in the mid-1990s, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame. Of the other 7 studies, the FDA conducted 6, and given that many FDA officials went to work for the aspartame industry after the additive's approval, those 6 studies may have actually been industry-sponsored. Not surprisingly, 74 out of 74 industry-sponsored studies of aspartame did report any problems.
For more about the prevalence and dangers of aspartame, refer to sites we included in our research: http://www.nexusmagazine.com/Aspartame.html, and http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/.
What's More, It's Addictive
Recent research on NutrasweetTM showed it to be a seriously addictive substance. There are reports of patients with severe diseases caused by this product who would rather die than give it up. In our own practice, we have also encountered patients who consider living with uncomfortable symptoms rather than give up the aspartame products they have come to depend upon.
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