Health risks of Aspartame

Hence , they do not readily enter the CNS (compared to when aspartame is consumed . They may take longer than 12 hours to be digested (321 Recipes , 1996

Studies have demonstrated that the methanol content of aspartame may be as high as 10 . Natural foods also contain small quantities of methanol . However , this is usually present in combination with pectin and ethanol , which somehow reduce the toxic effect of methanol . In aspartame , methanol is produced without co-production of ethanol , and this could be potentially dangerous if aspartame is consumed in higher doses

. Even in clinical practice , ethanol is utilized as a standard antidote to reduce the ill-effects of ethanol . Usually methanol is metabolized by the body into formaldehyde and formic acid which are both deadly chemicals that can cause severe effects on the body (321 Recipes 1996

Many physicians throughout the world said that patients who consume larger amounts of aspartame experience a range of physical , mental and behavioral symptoms . On an average , an American consumes about 14 pounds of aspartame a year . The sweetener can affect almost any part of the body and can cause a range of symptoms . Some of the common neurological and psychiatric symptoms experienced include migraine headaches , dizziness , lightheadedness , unsteadiness , confusions irritability , sleepiness , numbness , over-activity (especially in children , distress , depression , agitation , personality alterations sleeplessness , anxiety , visual changes , burring of vision , tinnitus hearing problems , etc . Some of the physical symptoms experienced as a result of the condition include palpitations , difficulty in breathing rise in blood pressure , heart problems , etc (Schachter , 1996 . The other symptoms that may be associated with the use of aspartame (according to the Department of Health and Human Services , 1995 ) include mood alterations (10 reports , abdominal pain (6 .9 reports , memory loss (3 .9 reports , tiredness (3 .7 reports , skin rashes (3 .4 reports...