Aspartame poisoning (allergy?)

[Dave Shepard]

There has been mention of Aspartame poisoning before on the Forum in the migraine thread, but I thought I would start a seperate thread, as it affects more than migraines.


I've discovered that Aspartame is much worse than the sugar I was trying to replace. I've had a pretty rotten summer health wise. Several migraines, no energy, and generally wishing I'd get lightly trampled by a big truck. The last few weeks were so bad that I seriously questioned if I'd be able to keep my job. For some reason I thought I was having a vitamin deficiency, so I started drinking a ton of orange juice and some of those fancy vitamin water drinks. I started having a few good days, but then the old symptoms would come right back. I don't know how I made the connection, but I realized that on the days I was drinking the juices and water, I wasn't drinking my usual Diet Dr. Pepper. I googled aspartame poisoning, and was shocked to find out how bad this stuff was, much worse than the migraine reactions I had heard about here on the Forum. I didn't seem to have an aspartame related migraine problem, so I kept drinking diet sodas.

Now for the positive part. I stopped drinking all diet sodas on monday, and all of the symptoms of the past summer have cleared up, and I haven't felt this good, or been in such a positive state of mind, since I went on a crash diet many years ago were I eliminated just about everything from my diet. This was the only time I have stopped drinking diet sodas in almost twenty years. According to several of the websites I visited aspartame can cause all of the symptoms I had, and dozens more. I's just as soon eat rat poison as aspartame. I'll never consume it again.


Dave

[Rocky_J]

I switched from Coke to diet Coke about 3 years ago after gaining some weight (I added 20 lbs after quitting smoking). Been drinking diet Coke daily ever since. No headaches, but I'm not as energetic as I used to be. I attributed that to aging. One thing that bothers me a lot is tinitis- ringing in the ears. I figured it was from chainsaw use but it's as bad or worse on days I don't run chainsaws. It hits me in the evenings after 3-4 diet Cokes.

Looks like I may have to find an alternative beverage for a few weeks and see if eliminating the diet Coke also eliminates the tinitis.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into this further.

A quick search on Google and the second result is from Snopes. Their site says the claims are false.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

[Dave Shepard]

I don't know the true extent of aspartames effect, it certainly seems unlikely that one thing could cause every disease for lupus to MS, but over the last couple of weeks, I can see a significant pattern of responses to drinking diet sodas.

Here is what I do know, I haven't changed my diet significantly in the last four months, with the exception of about 3 days of an attempt at low carb. The only changes I have made recently is to stop diet beverages and replace them with the vitamin water type drinks. I was baffled that the symptoms were on/off over the last two weeks, so I studied what was different, and what I was drinking was the only change. Some of it may be internet hype, but I know how I'm feeling right now. At the very least, not drinking soda's can't be bad for me.


Dave

[Fla._Deadheader]

 It's a known fact that Aspertame converts to Methanol in the body. Methanol internally is BAADD. It is hard to flush from the system. I can't imagine WHY the Food and Drug people don't ban the stuff ???  

[rebocardo]

Some things you might want to research is brain cancer rates have gone up 500-600% since the 60s, when they started to introduce artificial sweetners ... but, there is no connection! Sort of like smoking does not cause cancer ...

The worse thing is these cause you to crave carbs! Which sort of defeats the whole purpose.

Not to mention many of these sweetners are TOXIC when hot, like a can of coke left in the sun.

imho, You are WAY better off now.

[Lanier_Lurker]

I swore off aspartame at least 10 years ago.  The stuff is poison in my opinion.  Even so, I never consumed it much anyway.

The only "sweetener" in my diet is honey - which I use mostly in coffee.  I also stopped drinking sweet tea about 8 years ago.  My sugar intake is limited to occasional desserts.

I refuse to become yet another victim of "adult onset" type 2 diabetes, which is generally avoidable.

My height and weight are the same now (at 44) as when I was 21.  Granted, things have shifted around a little bit....but that happens.   

My sister is a Diet Coke junkie - and she gives the stuff to her prepubescent daughter.  I have spoken to her about this on several occasions, but she keeps right on doing it.  As bad as aspartame is for adults, it is much worse for pre-adults.

Now if I could just gain better control over my intake of caffeine.........and alcohol.   :

[Bibbyman]

I had no idea about that stuff but I've all but quit drinking any kind of carbonated soft drink for the past few years.  I've been drinking a lot of green tea with ginseng and honey.  In the winter, I'll fix hot green tea and sweeten it with honey.

Lately I've been trying to substitute raw milk a couple of times a day.  We get two gallons a week from a local farmer. For a while the girls really drank it up but then slowed.  We started letting them put chocolate in it and they continued to drink it but have got tired of that too.   

I find I feel a lot better in the summer months when there is plenty of work out in the heat and I pour a lot of water through my system.

[Faron]

No doubt in my mind but that for some people aspartame is deadly.  I think intensive lobbying and liberal greasing of certain palms keeps it on the market. 

[moonhill]

Why did they create aspartame?  Too keep folks on the slim side of things?     Tim

[SwampDonkey]

Actually, when I first saw it as an ingredient in diet soft drinks, I also noticed that the Food and Drug made them post a warning that it can cause cancer in animals. That was enough for me and I read labels on everything and avoid it. No such warning in Canada. If I make a mistake and forget to read the label at the store and discover it later, the product goes to the trash.  Even in "artificial" yogurt and ice cream for some time it has been in there. I buy Activia with real milk product in it, avoid the diet version and all those brands full of bean gum.  Activia Vanilla flavour is full of bean gum to and not one is vanilla bean. : I'm not concerned to much with weight, other than the fact I avoid a lot of junk food and eat nuts, dates, craisons , grains, small amount of cheese and yogurt. Some of which are found in my parfaits.  ;D Not many sweets. The best nuts for toppings are pecans. I wanted to get some almonds and hazel nuts used up and crushed them up in the grinder for topping on my parfaits. It's interesting,  :D I'm only doing it to use them up.  : I try to get unsalted nuts.

[Ironwood]

I was watching a show on TV the other day (so it must be true!), but the guys diet suggestion was "don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize" there has got t obe soem wisdom there!

Ironwood

[beenthere]

No doubt in my mind but that for some people aspartame is deadly.  I think intensive lobbying and liberal greasing of certain palms keeps it on the market. 

Sounds like more Govt. control suggested here....I drink diet cola, and have no problem with it.

If those who do have a problem, then they should stop drinking it. Seems simple as that. Don't need to blame others for our own actions, or lack of self control.   Just seems to me anyways... : :

[SwampDonkey]

Food is addictive, but your right about having to make our own choices. We have to be informed to make them though. It's nice that someone is out there who cares and can present the information so I can make my own choice. Already somebody made the comment about eating rat poison. I guess we are rats and unless someone tells us about the potential harm we will never know while someone profits by it and we get ill.

[Gary_C]

There are millions of people in this country being fed rat poison every day. So what's wrong with that?

It's actually called Warfarin, Coumadin, or just blood thinner.

I have been taking it for the last seven weeks, but today is my last day.   8)

Oh and I drink Diet Coke too. Thinking bout quitting and have gone without for two or three days at a time and felt no different. But I don't like paying for bottled water!   :

[Tom]

Well.........you could'a had a V-8 :D

[Gary_C]

Good idea Tom, but most of those tomato juice drinks are so loaded with sodium (salt) that I can't drink them either.  ;D

[Tom]

Try the low sodium V-8.  It's so tasteless that I can't stand to drink it.    :D
I think that, the worse it tastes, the less harmful it is. :-\

Castor Oil should really be good for you.  :D :D :D

[Gary_C]

If you want to talk about poisons you can't forget salt as it is far worse than anything else that is approved to eat or drink. It just takes longer to cause you problems.

There are to many prepared foods that are overloaded with salt to prevent spoilage. Soups and tomato juice are just a few and those snacks like potato chips and pretzels are very bad too.

Actually the FDA does have a campaign on to reduce the amount of salt in prepared foods but they are meeting a lot of resistance from manufacturers because salt is cheap and effective plus there are not too many alternatives.

Try the low sodium V-8.  It's so tasteless that I can't stand to drink it.    :D

Yes, that is one of the problems. Plus here it is twice the price.

Best thing is home canned tomatos and as a bonus they are salmonella free. But it does not look like a good crop this year for some reason.

[johncinquo]

Try the low sodium V-8.  It's so tasteless that I can't stand to drink it.    :D
I think that, the worse it tastes, the less harmful it is. :-\

Castor Oil should really be good for you.  :D :D :D

1 pickle, 2 olives, 2 oz vodka, Tastes great! 

Hey, its healthy still, right?! 

[Dodgy Loner]

I think the whole aspartame hoopla has been blown way out of proportion, but if you're feeling ill on a day-to-day basis, cutting out soft drinks- diet or not- is probably a pretty good idea.  My dad drinks Diet Coke on a daily basis and has never suffered from any of the symptoms it's supposed to cause.  I hardly ever drink cokes, and I've also never suffered from the symptoms it's supposed to cause.  The snopes article that was posted pretty handily dispels the whole "aspartame is poison" myth.

[Lanier_Lurker]

Even so, I know that I read somewhere (that I cannot cite) that it is probably best not to feed the stuff to children under 12 or so.  It takes an adult digestive system and metabolism to really handle the stuff.

[Paul_H]

I have to say that I take Faron at his word that Aspartame caused his wife severe migranes and I think some peoples sensitivity to it is real no matter what a 2nd or 3rd party info like snopes tells me.I don't think he's the only member here that has had with problems with it,is he?

[DanG]

But I don't like paying for bottled water!   :

What's wrong with your tap water, Gary?  That's what I drink after coffee time and before beer time.  Once in a while, I get caught out somewhere without any water, and have to buy a bottle.  I always save the bottles and refill them from my own well.

I don't drink anything with artificial sweeteners.  Never been able to stand the taste of them.

[SwampDonkey]

As I tell the boys after climbing a hard hill and smoking two by the time they get to the top: "Have another one". Of course it's a joke, but to some that's how they function in life.

Brings another phrase to mind: "bottoms up boys".  ;D

[Bro. Noble]

I have to say that I take Faron at his word that Aspartame caused his wife severe migranes and I think some peoples sensitivity to it is real no matter what a 2nd or 3rd party info like snopes tells me.I don't think he's the only member here that has had with problems with it,is he?

I have had problems with high BP  and diabetis for years.  Soon after we built a new house 3 or 4 years ago,  I began to have several new problems that the Dr.s tried to associate with my ailements.  My eyesight  started failing due to vessles leaking in my retena,  which is typical of long term high BP and Sugar,  I started having bad back/side pains,  which they tried to connect to my kidneys or colon,  gbut aftter several tests,  concluded that it was just a digestive problem or muscle strain,  and I was having problems in the romance department.

After reading some of the first posts about aspartame,  I got to thinking back.  I eat a lot of 'sugar free' stuff because of my diabetis.  I'd get pretty sick after eating too much chocolate made with aspertame,  but seemed to get along  allright if I avoided it.  When we built the new house,  the welldrillers had an old worn-out rig and got oil in the well.  I couldn't stand to drink the water so started drinking a lot of diet soda.  Pretty soon that's about all I drank except for what water I drank from the well at the barn or the sawmill.

As soon as I read these first posts,  I have limited my diet drinks to no more than one a day and I really had just as soon have something else.  I drink water, fruit and vegetable juices,  and coffee.

The pain in my side has gone,  Don't need the love pills,  I know my vision will never be like I wish it was,  but my sast report was the first good one since this problem began.  The swelling in the back of my eyes was less,  and I didn't have to have the usual lazer surgery.

I drove to town by myself last Thursday for the first time in a couple of years and have more ambition than I've had for a while.

This may all be a coincidence,  but I'm thinking that stuff's poison.  In moderation,  it's probably allright,  I was just overloading on it.