Artificial Sweetner

Many people with ED use artificial sweetener on a regular basis but at what cost...?

The approval of Aspartame, one of the most common artificial sweeteners – found in most diet drinks, food products like low fat/diet yogurts, biscuits, sugar substitutes such as Canderel & Hermesetas Gold, and some medicines – was the most contested in the American’s FDA’s (Food & Drug Administration) history! There have been more reports to the FDA for reactions to aspartame than for ALL other food additives COMBINED.

Many, many side effects to aspartame have been reported. Nearly two-thirds fall into neurological and behavioural categories such as headaches, mood alterations and hallucinations. The remaining two-thirds are mostly gastrointestinal symptoms.

In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, 12 of 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumours while NONE of the control rats developed tumours, and five of the twelve tumours were in rats given a low dose of aspartame. Other studies show that aspartic acid (the main ingredient in aspartame) causes damage to the brains of infant mice.

Aspartame also contains phenylalanine. 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.

On top of that, it also contains methanol, also known as wood alcohol. Not only is methanol on its own a poison, but it breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde -- a deadly neurotoxin -- in your body. Methanol poisoning can lead to a variety of symptoms such as:
• Vision problems
• Headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness
• Nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances
• Weakness, numbness and shooting pains in your extremities
• Behavioural disturbances
• Memory lapses

Aside from the damage it can do to your brain, aspartame can cause cancer. One well-controlled, peer-reviewed, SEVEN-year study even found that as little as 20 mg per day can cause cancer in humans (the average can of diet drink contains about 180 mg of aspartame).

Splenda (sucralose), which was hailed as a ‘healthier’ alternative to aspartame, is not without its own risks.

In a recent study on animals, Splenda reduced the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50 percent, increased the pH level in the intestines, contributed to increases in body weight and affected P-glycoprotein (P-gp) levels in such a way that crucial health-related drugs could be rejected. The P-gp effect could result in medications used in chemotherapy, AIDS treatment and treatments for heart conditions being shunted back into the intestines, rather than being absorbed by the body.

Additionally, artificial sweetners have been linked to weight gain and increase body fat. So, are they worth it...?

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