Aspartame: By Far the Most Dangerous Substance Added to Most Foods Today

Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. It was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug.

What you don't know WILL hurt you. Find out the dangerous effects of artificial sweeteners to your health. Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26, 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr. John W. Olney and consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974, as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (December 5, 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include:

Headaches/migraines Dizziness Seizures Nausea Numbness
Muscle spasms Weight gain Rashes Depression Fatigue
Irritability Tachycardia Insomnia Vision problems Hearing loss
Heart palpitations Breathing difficulties Anxiety attacks Slurred speech Loss of taste
Tinnitus Vertigo Memory loss Joint pain

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:

Brain tumors Multiple sclerosis Epilepsy Chronic fatigue syndrome Parkinson's disease
Alzheimer's Mental retardation Lymphoma Birth defects Fibromyalgia
Diabetes

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Aspartame patent reveals E. coli feces used

The European patent for aspartame is now available online, and it confirms the artificial sweetener is made from the waste products of genetically modified E. coli bacteria.

Though this fact was reported as early as 1999, not much attention was paid at the time to aspartame and its maker Monsanto, which was allegedly adding GM aspartame to soft drinks in Britain.

The patent refers to "cloned microorganisms" later revealed to be genetically modified E. coli bacteria. They are modified to produce an especially large peptide used to create aspartame.

The cultivated and well-fed bacteria then produce proteins which contain the aspartic acid-phenylalanine amino acid segment required to produce the sweetener.

The bacteria waste is then treated to turn the large peptide and a free carboxyl group into a dipeptide. The the dipeptides are then treated with alcohol and methanol to produce aspartame.

Controversy has steadily grown around genetically modified foods and GM giant Monsanto. Coke recently ran an ad campaign defending their use of aspartame, saying studies support the product's safety.