If you have migraines, don't drink Aspertame. It will induce a migraine. I have had them for years and Splenda does not bother me at all but Aspertame will give me a migraine every time. Both have no effect on blood sugar.

I also have fibromyalgia and I have found that the aspartime tends to make me hurt all over even more than usual. One can of diet pop per every couple of days with aspartime is my limit to keep from hurting even more. So far I have not found Splenda to have that affect, so I try to buy as many things with Splenda in it as I can.

I have heard but cannot seem to confrm that commercial pilots are not allowed to use Apartame as it affects the user's judgement. I also have a friend who once took a single swallow of pop with aspartame and had a violent seizure, the first and only one in his life as he obviously never touched the stuff again. But if you are sensitive to it in some way, the way I am sensitive to certain foods, it might cause a blood sugar spike. Even letting a dairy product touch my tongue does it to me.

I have read somewhere it can and for some people it does nasty things to them.
Try to experiment with it using the aspartame drinks versus the splenda drinks.

Oh the whole, aspartame is not good and can cause an awful lot of side-effects. There's a good web page that explains the possible side-effects here - http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

Aspartame turns into embalming fluid over time. Stay away from it, whether you are diabetic or not.
However, My dad (who has type 2) lost over 150 pounds, in part by switching from regular to diet soda. He no longer drinks diet soda because of the aspartame, and found that the flavored water, such as Fruit2O and other brands, taste pretty good. He feels better since cutting out the diet soda with aspartame. (He was having all kinds of problems related to the aspartame.)
That stuff should be illegal.

I looked at this page (http://www.sweetpoison.com/articles/0706/aspartame_symptoms_submit.html) on the site noted above and "change in menstrual pattern" caught my eye. Everyone on this discussion site has at least 1 endocrine problem already -- why court another?

I read the article regarding aspartime, I don't see anything good about it. I am going to stay away from it.

There are some people that can't tolerate Aspartame. I didn't go to the link but I remember reading another site and info about Aspartame. Dr. Mercola's website with information about Aspartame Disease:
http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/7/aspartame_disease.htm

I am afraid of aspartame as I have heard some scary things about it. I drink diet drinks of course and also caffeine free. It is hard to find caffeine free diet drinks when you are out somewhere. Diet coke makes one with splenda. Not a caffeine free one yet though. I drink Diet Rite Zero, which is zero everything and it has splenda in it. It is best when its really cold.

My name's Cliffie and I'm an icewater addict...I just wanted to pass on part of a lunch c0nversation with a coworker. She said she's heard that Aspartame can make you hungrier than you were before, and someone did a study and found that Aspartame drinkers ate almost twice as much as the ones who drank anythign else! You can have mine!!!

While Aspartame does not affect blood sugar, there are other reasons to be concerned. For me, minor symptoms are dry-eyes and increased hunger. More disturbing is the stuttering. As much as I would love to have a safe artificial sweetener, I just can't get behind this one anymore. For some, migraines and sexual dyfunction are part of their reaction. I am posting exceprts from a research outline I did for my college class two semesters ago... Check out the writings of Dr. Christiane Northrop and Andrew Golisek for more information!

Central Idea: There is an increasing volume of concernby experts and laymen alikeregarding the safety of the artificial sweetener called Aspartame and a growing belief that it is hazardous to human health and should be avoided.

Introduction

Recently, I discovered a book called In the Name of Sciencea History of Secret Programs, Medical Research, and Human Experimentation. In it, Andrew Goliszek a professor of biology, human physiology and endocrinology at North Carolina A &T State University, and recipient of National Institute of Health biomedical research grants*carefully details dangerous experiments and unethical actions committed for the betterment of humankind. In the midst of tales of human radiation experiments, biological warfare and genetic manipulation is a surprising entry under Silent Conspirators: The Government/Industry Connection is aspartame.* NutraSweet or Equal . Its that familiar blue packet on the table at home or in your favorite restaurant. According to NutraSweets website, aspartame is in over 5000 consumer products worldwide, from confections to beverages, from cereals to dairy products.** So, how on earth did this artificial sweetener end up in such bad company? I would like to discuss with you some of the growing concerns about this well known product, so that you may use your own judgment and make an informed decision about its safety.

Transition sentence: First of all, what is Aspartame?

Body

I. Aspartame is chemically manufactured.*
A. The substance was discovered in 1965. *
1. Dr. James Schlatter
2. Working for what was then G.D. Searle Pharmaceuticals (now Monsanto)
B. The compound was initially created as an ulcer medication*
1. Sweetness discovered by accident.
2. Dr. Schlatter accidentally licked his contaminated fingers.

Transition sentence: So, why should you, the consumer, be concerned?

II. Aspartame is potentially dangerous. ****
A. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup, MD, a leading authority on Womens health with over 20 years of experience, aspartame is classified as an excitotoxin. ****
1. Excitotoxins cause nerve cells to over fire.
2. In susceptible people, this can cause the actual death of brain cells.
B. Dozens of websites have sprung up in recent years, containing hundreds of personal stories of negative effects the public attributes to aspartame.
1. Much of this evidence is anecdotal and as of yet unsubstantiated.
2. Sheer volume of complaints is enough to indicate that concerns are growing.
3. Many of the sources I found online were extreme in nature, and were not sufficiently unbiased enough to quote here.
C. So, in the interest of credibility, my information is compiled from and verified by the collective resources of Professor Goliszek; Dr. Northrup; and Dr. H.J. Roberts, MD and author of Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic.

1. Their research concurs with Wikipedia, which I will quote here. ***
2. The FDA receives more complaints related to aspartame than any other food additive. Concerns about aspartame frequently revolve around symptoms and health conditions that are allegedly caused by the sweetener.
3. There are 92 health effects reported to the FDA.
a. In part: seizures and convulsions, dizziness, chronic fatigue, slurring of speech or stuttering, migraines, hearing loss, abdominal/chest pain, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, blood sugar imbalance, weight gain, asthma, chronic cough, vision loss, arthritis, edema, spasms, tremors, numbness or tingling, sexual dysfunction, personality changes, memory loss, depression, confusion, poor concentration, insomnia, panic and anxiety attacks, onset and aggravation of phobias and death.
b. Cancer studies are ongoing, but reports remain in conflict.

Transition sentence: If it is so dangerous, how was it approved in the first place?

III. Aspartame is frequently misrepresented.*
A. In the segment of Professor Goliszeks book entitled The Aspartame Story: How the FDAs Approval Process Broke Down, he indicates that vital information was withheld during initial research stages.*
1. Data indicating death and seizures in primates in the first trials was suppressed.
2. Only statistics supporting the safety of aspartame were revealed.
3. Based on this falsified and incomplete data, aspartame was approved.
4. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration and the National Soft Drink Association all felt the product was insufficiently tested and hazardous.
5. Investigations by the Senate into Searles research and reporting practices uncovered what Senator Edward Kennedy termed an unbelievable range of abuses discovered by the FDA
B. After a Public Board of Inquiry, FDA approval for aspartame eventually withdrawn in September 1980.***
C. Searle reapplied for approval less than four months later.*
1. Through direct connections within the Reagan administration with direct financial ties to Searle, FDA commissioner Dr. Jere Goyan was suspended that same week.
2. His replacement, Dr. Arthur Hayes, approved dry use within 6 months.
3. Just two years later, it was approved for beverages.
4. Immediately afterward, Dr. Hayes became senior medical advisor to a Searle Public Relations firm.

Transition sentence: Based on this information, is Aspartame really worth the risk?

Conclusion

We have reviewed the science, heard the complaints, and examined the politics. There is no way I can possibly cover the remarkable volume of informationresearch, arguments (both pro and con) and controversy regarding aspartame in the time allotted here today, but I truly encourage you to do the research for yourself, test the theories on your own, and take these concerns into consideration. When it comes to aspartame, chances are, your life may be sweeter without it.

I looked it up on the FDA website and it said it's fine for people unless they have a genetic disease called PKU.

I just got an email that aspertame is good to kill ants!! Guess that answers alot of our questions. I don't drink and/or eat anything that contains this stuff.

Please remember that bacteria can not grow in honey, but that does not make it, in itself in moderate usage bad for people. Soap is also used as an insecticide, quite a popular green alternate, not to mention beer for slug bait and killer...

In my own investigation I found references again and again to the exact same paper which was a misuse of a report. The report was a listing of a breakdown of the symptoms reported by all the people who had legitimate health issues with aspartame which had been reported to that agency. The list was pretty comprehensive in breakdown and showed by percentage - I believe, it has been 3 or 4 years since I read it - what percentage reported which symptoms.

The thing was that the people who were using the study as an "anti aspartame" banner were taking it as if the percentages were percentages of the average consuming public who used aspartame products who had those effects. This was not as the study was done, which was taking all the people who had a health issue and looking at what percentage had what problem.
Do you see the difference?
I think the people misusing the study did, but thought it better represented their view and their use of the study got copied and copied until people were citing the copies of it as if they were individual unique studies.

I guess this pushes my buttons because I have a very severe reaction to aspartame and because of all the misinformation which has come out negatively, it has been impossible for me to actually find out what the root cause for my own symptoms are when I am exposed to it. I have the symptoms whether I know I have taken it or not and they are quite severe and life effecting and I do not suffer PKU. I would gladly use products with aspartame if I had option, though I would use them in moderation. After all, who really needs to chug 6 or 8 litres of soft drinks a day?

Apologies for my rant.

It is just in my own investigation, all be it on the web, I kept coming to the point that all roads led to Rome. They all led to the same paper by a group who did not like aspartame who misused a medical study on the negative health effects on it.

I start to see the same sort of thing done with sucralose too.

Interestingly the only low calorie sugar alternative that doesn't get this treatment is Stevia. That is the herbal sweetener. I wondered about that and the one conclusion I came to is in part based on one of the selling points. Stevia has been known to and used by Europeans since the 1600's! What the ramifications of this is that it never required the advanced testing that other newer additives require. I don't think that any product as food or additive can pass through the tests totally unscathed and because of this there are always some tests that can be either legitimately held up or sometimes blown out of proportion.

But I see the same words written again and again. Not a matter of different people coming up with the same conclusion, but the same conclusion being spoon fed without real understanding from group to group. Sometimes groups will change the names on the paper and that is the only change which bothers me more.

Who to trust... personally, not be an expert myself. I would look towards groups who have nothing to gain by a positive or negative report on a sweetener, as long as the people they report to get an accurate unbiased report.

I would trust the recommendation of the Canadian Diabetics Association or their counterpart in other nations. They are not funded by sweetener companies, nor the sugar industry. There is also a very good reason to get accurate information on health issues out to the Diabetics who depend on them. They look into safety concerns and I think do give the straight dope including warnings.

Personally I wouldn't give "diet" sweeteners to a child unless there was an important health issue involved. Far better to teach healthy eating and balanced lifestyle. You can have a treat, even things like candy and cake, but only as a treat. Even diabetics can have treats once in a while.

Anyway it is hot and I am rambling. Thank you for bearing with me. I'd go out for a tall cold slug bait, but I actually am allergic to brewers yeast. ;-)