Aspartame -- Not So Sweet After All

The next time you reach for a diet soda, low-fat cookies, or over 9000 other products containing aspartame (e.g. NutraSweet®, Equal®), think again. 

Growing evidence indicates that the cumulative effects of consuming aspartame might endanger your health and result in a wide range of symptoms. And what's even more surprising is that many of these symptoms are identical to anxiety symptoms.

Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener used in more than 90 countries worldwide. If so many people consume aspartame, it must be safe, right?

Not necessarily.

Since its introduction as a food additive in 1981, aspartame has accounted for more than 75% of all complaints reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS). Over 92 different adverse reactions from aspartame have been reported -- ranging from panic attacks, to headaches,
to chronic fatigue and even death.

Aspartame and Physical Symptoms

If you consume aspartame, it may be causing many of your symptoms, or at a bare minimum aggravating them. Here are a few of the 92 adverse reactions reported from using aspartame:

-- Abdominal pain
-- Panic attacks
-- Breathing difficulties
-- Chest pains
-- Mental confusion
-- Diarrhea
-- Dizziness
-- Excessive thirst or hunger
-- Fatigue
-- Feelings of detachment or unreality
-- Facial flushing
-- Headaches
-- Insomnia
-- Nausea and vomiting
-- Numbness
-- Painful swallowing
-- Tingling sensations
-- Rapid heartbeat
-- Seizures and convulsions
-- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
-- Tremors

They sound identical to anxiety symptoms, don't they? I included only a partial list; there are many more. 

Study Funding Appears to Affect Results

Although the FDA claims that aspartame is a safe product, FDA approval is no guarantee that a substance is risk-free. It's interesting to note that there is a dramatic difference in results obtained from aspartame studies that are
independently funded versus studies that are funded by companies that profit from aspartame.

Dr. Ralph G. Walton, chairman of the Center for Behavioral Medicine, states in his review of aspartame studies: "Of the 166 studies felt to have relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had NutraSweet® industry related funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry funded research attested to aspartame's safety, whereas 92% of the independently funded research identified a problem."

Removing Aspartame from Your Diet

I think you'll find that removing aspartame from your diet has a positive affect on your symptoms, as many nutritionists and doctors have found with their patients. I personally experienced a dramatic improvement in my anxiety symptoms after I stopped consuming aspartame. 

Note: It can take sixty days or more after you stop consuming aspartame to start experiencing positive benefits. 

Keep in mind that removing aspartame from your diet is not a quick fix or magic solution to overcoming anxiety. An anxiety disorder is more than physical symptoms. Anxiety-promoting thought patterns and behaviors also play a key role. 

However, you may find that removing aspartame from your diet reduces or eliminates many physical symptoms. When your symptoms are reduced, it becomes easier to focus on changing anxious thought patterns and behaviors -- which are key to overcoming an anxiety disorder.

What to Watch Out For

Check food labels to make sure that they do not contain the following ingredients: 

-- Aspartame
-- NutraSweet®
-- Equal®
-- Equal® Measure
-- Equal® Spoonful™
-- Canderel®
-- Phenylalanine
-- Aspartic acid

Remember, aspartame is present in more than 9000 products, so read labels carefully. You may be surprised to discover how many products contain aspartame, such as:

-- Diet sodas 
-- Lemonade and drink mixes
-- Cereals
-- Baked goods such as cakes and cookies
-- Yogurt, pudding, and Jello®
-- Medicine
-- Chewing gum and breath mints
-- Toothpaste

If a product label says: "sugar free" or "no added sugar," typically it has been artificially sweetened with aspartame. Aspartame can show up in the most unlikely products. For example, I have even seen aspartame in some bottled waters and vitamins! Read the label to ensure the products you consume are aspartame-free.

Deanne Repich - Founder and director of the National Institute of Anxiety and Stress, Inc., is an internationally renowned anxiety educator, teacher, author, and former sufferer who has helped tens of thousands of anxiety sufferers in more than 40 countries to reclaim their lives from anxiety, stress, anxiety disorders, panic attacks, anxiety attacks and social anxiety.

She is the creator of the Conquer Anxiety Success Program, author of more than one hundred articles, and publisher of the Anxiety-Free Living printed Newsletter for anxiety sufferers. She is a Member of Mental Health America and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.