Aspartame Pathway


The Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness (an oxymoron if I've ever heard one), has released an "aspartame safety" page that is described as a "resource for professionals." Aspartame is used in more than 6,000 products worldwide, including Diet Coke products, which may contain up to 190 milligrams (mg) of aspartame per 8.3 fluid ounce-serving.


So why would methanol cause a problem in aspartame?

Methanol in Fruits and Veggies Differs From Methanol in Aspartame


Methanol acts as a Trojan horse: It's carried into susceptible tissues in your body, like your brain and bone marrow, where the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) enzyme converts it into formaldehyde, which wreaks havoc with sensitive proteins and DNA.

All other animals have a protective mechanism that allows methanol to be broken down into harmless formic acid, but there's a major biochemical problem with methanol in humans, because of the difference in how it's metabolized compared to all other animals. This is why toxicology testing on animals is a flawed model. It doesn't fully apply to humans.

Aspartame Poses Major Biochemical Problems in Humans


This simply isn't true. There is, in fact, an obvious biological explanation, according to Dr. Monte, professor emeritus at Arizona State University in food and chemistry:

"Here is the story: There is a major biochemical problem here," he says. "Methyl alcohol is known now, and has been known since 1940, to be metabolized differently by humans from every other animal."

Both animals and humans have small structures called peroxisomes in each cell. Peroxisome contains catalase, which helps detoxify methanol. Other chemicals in the peroxisome convert the formaldehyde to formic acid, which is harmless, but this last step occurs only in animals.



Symptoms from methanol poisoning are many, and include headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness and shooting pains in the extremities, behavioral disturbances, and neuritis. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen that causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication and may cause birth defects.

A Historical Timeline of Aspartame

Aspartame is the No. 1 source of side-effect complaints to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with more than 10,000 complaints filed and over 91 symptoms documented that are related to its consumption. Unfortunately, aspartame's approval was and still is largely a political affair. Many readers have long forgotten what the 60-Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace stated in his 1996 report on aspartame -- available to view in this 2009 article -- that the approval of aspartame was "the most contested in FDA history."


Food Industry Undermines Health Policy, Study Finds

According to a recent international analysis of the involvement by "unhealthy commodity" companies in health policy making, researchers warn that self-regulation was failing, calling for more stringent industry regulations by outside parties. The analysis, which was published in the journal Lancet, points out that aggressive marketing of health-harming foods by multinational food companies is the driving factor behind global epidemics of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Even more importantly, the researchers cited industry documents that reveal how companies are actively trying to affect health legislation and avoid regulation that might harm their bottom lines. As reported by Reuters:



Unfortunately, aspartame toxicity is not well known by physicians, despite its frequency. Diagnosis is also hampered by the fact that it mimics several other common health conditions. To determine if you're having a reaction to artificial sweeteners, take the following steps:

• Eliminate all artificial sweeteners from your diet for two weeks.
• Avoid other artificial sweeteners during this period.
• If you've been consuming more than one type of artificial sweetener, you can repeat steps two through four with the next one on your list.

If you do experience side effects from aspartame, please report it to the FDA (if you live in the United States) without delay. It's easy to make a report -- just go to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator page, find the phone number for your state, and make a call reporting your reaction.

For more by Dr. Joseph Mercola, click here.

For more on personal health, click here.