Aspartame: dangerous or harmless?

[MaineDolFan]

As I am sure a lot of you know, aspartame is used to sweeten a lot of 'diet' things (like Diet Cola, as an example).

Aspartame has been loosely connected to some very serious health issues including (but not limited to) brain tumors, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.  Official complaints made the the FDA include headaches, diarrhoea, memory loss, changes in heart rate...the list goes on.

The reasons for this is the breakdown products of aspartame:  aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol.

Independent studies of aspartame have been shown to be triggers for (or mimic) the follow list:

Chronic fatigue syndrome
Epstein Barr Syndrome
Multiple Sclerosis
Lyme disease
Grave's disease
Meniere's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Epilepsy
Lupus
Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder
Fibromyalgia
Hypothyroidism
Mercury Sensitivity from Amalgam Fillings
Parkinson's disease

 
On the other side of that coin there are just as many studies that show that people get far less aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol from aspartame than from normal consumption of natural foods. In other words, it's safe to consume and use.

My question - is the ringing alarm about aspartame much ado about nothing?  Or will we all be sitting around our TV in five years watching the news as the FDA orders all food products containing this to be removed from the shelves?

My personal stance is that MS runs in my family.  There are no genetic links in MS that anyone knows of, but genetic causes are not ruled out entirely.  Some studies between MS and aspartame are enough to scare me away from the use of food items that contain it.  The diet pop I drink has splenda and not nutra sweet, as an example.

What are your feelings on this?

[StL FinFan]

Some sugar substitutes are toxic to animals, especially those used in sugarless gum.

[Dolphin-UK]

Some sugar substitutes are toxic to animals, especially those used in sugarless gum.

Damn, I'll have to switch the dog back to regular gum then, he won't be happy, he was trying to lose weight.

[StL FinFan]

I can blame my ADD on ... what were we talking about?

Seriously, though, it seems like everything is bad for you these days.  Some things have gone from bad for you to ok for you and some things go from bad for you to serious health hazard.  I don't personally worry about it ... much.

[Phishfan]

I never liked it because I don't like the flavor. Health reasons were just a secondary cause of why I stayed away.

[Dave Gray]

I don't like the taste, so I don't use it.

But, I have always heard it's bad.  The more I learn about the actual science on some of these "bad" things, (namely vaccines and their links to stuff like autism), they're not really bad at all, and it's just people mis-understanding or misinterpreting what's in them, I question the old adage that "this is bad for you."  ....or "good for you" for that matter.

So, I don't really have an opinion on aspartame specifically.

[Sunstroke]

Damn, I'll have to switch the dog back to regular gum then, he won't be happy, he was trying to lose weight.

For some reason, this made me laugh out loud...

[YoFuggedaboutit]

And to think, a lot of "zero calorie" flavored sparkling waters are sweetened with aspartame.