subject: What's So Bad About Artificial Sweeteners [print this page] Since aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal Measure has recently become the talk of the town let's discuss it in more depth. Aspartame was approved by the FDA in the mid 70's and was even then the subject of much controversy. It is made up of three chemicals which include aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Now, upon initially glancing at this list of ingredients seeing methanol among them immediately sounds off sirens and bull horns in my head. I mean methanol is a deadly poison! Meanwhile, it doesn't get any better looking at the remaining ingredients. Aspartic acid literally kills brain cells while phenylalanine decreases seratonin levels to the point of causing depression! Of course the rebuttal by makers of this deadly product is that consuming aspartame in moderation is not harmful. However, aspartame along with the other artificial sweeteners are found in so many staple foods that consumption in moderation is near impossible. Besides that, from the perspective of producers of this product, if people were actually consuming the stuff in moderation the ends would not justify the means and they would not be realizing such huge profits. Let's face it, artificial sweeteners are big business. So, despite the proposition that people consume it in moderation, the fact is that most do so in excess. People buy diet soda by the case and far too many of those cute little blue and pink packets of "sugar" go into a cup of tea or coffee. Furthermore, artificial sweeteners are also found in several staple foods such as breakfast cereals, yogurt, snack bars, and popcorn. Who really eats these foods in "moderate" amounts?
Everyday our diets become more and more chemically-based to the point where food is just not food anymore. This begs the question, at what point did the food growing out of the same ground that gave us life and to this day sustains us become inadequate?
