Aspartame Can Harm Your Health
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By
Dr. Joseph Mercola
I wrote the following letter to the editor of the British Medical
Journal for an absurd editorial they wrote and they posted my letter
last month.
Aspartame,
an artificial sweetener containing two amino acids, aspartic acid
and phenylanine, can be found in products such as NutraSweet and
Canderel. Many health disasters, which are highlighted by horrific
personal accounts found on websites against aspartame, can be attributed
to its use. Disasters that result from aspartame use include:
- Cancer
- Hair loss
- Depression
- Dementia
- Behavioral disturbances
Public concern of the dangers related to aspartame is being taken
seriously by health agencies. These concerns prompted a review of
aspartame, which involved over 500 reports. It concluded that the
allotted daily intake of aspartame was entirely safe, except for
those people with phenylketonuria, a metabolic disorder caused by
an enzyme deficiency.
With around 10 percent of a person's daily calorie intake provided
by sugar, the notion has been raised whether replacing sugar with
a non-nutritive, non-caloric sweetener like aspartame could eliminate
obesity.
Marketing strategies for aspartame claim that it aids in embracing
a healthy way of life and prevents obesity. This evidence however
remains inconclusive.
Aspartame is 180-200 times sweeter than sucrose or sugar. By displacing
saturated fat the risk of heart disease may be reduced. Further,
large amounts of sucrose will increase triglycerides, a main component
of the metabolic syndrome, and lead toward promoting heart disease.
Marketing for aspartame focuses on the idea that it may aid in the
elimination of dental decay, due to sugars forming bacteria in the
mouth. The problem with this theory is that sugar is not the main
culprit behind decay; rather it is caused by fluoride deficiency
and prolonged exposure to sugar between meals.
In order to eliminate the concern of aspartame, manufacturers are
encouraged to use cocktails of sweeteners, making it difficult for
anyone to reach the allotted daily intake.
British
Medical Journal October 3, 2004
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