Aspartame - Is it dangerous?

[NU_nutrition_TS]

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...because the government or whoever controls these things hasn't banned it, thats a good sign.

Then you have more faith than I that government, or whoever is in control, knows what they are doing and has our best interests at heart!

[Barrington]

I have very little faith in the government and politicians over most things, but i don't see what is in it for the government to purposefully feed us something harmful. They are always harking on about the strain alcohol and tobacco use puts on the NHS.

[Barrington]

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I experimented by trying to reduce as much aspartame (and other sweeteners) as possible. Now when I use products with this in I tend to get a bit of brain fog. Why not experiment for yourself and see if you feel better?

What do you mean by brain fog? does it slow you down generally?

[MJ.23]

Imo you will always be better off not consuming it; than consuming it.

There is a list of "safe" food additives that the FDA approve; but the fact remains that you will be better off just sourcing better quality food. You only get one body in life and I believe it is better to be safe than sorry and fork out the little extra for some good food.

With regards to governmental influence on the food industry; well lets say there is more to it than meets the eye! Luckily we are not in as dire a situation as America is.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

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I have very little faith in the government and politicians over most things, but i don't see what is in it for the government to purposefully feed us something harmful. They are always harking on about the strain alcohol and tobacco use puts on the NHS.

Adding to what MJ has already said:

How long has tobacco and alcohol been available? In that time, at what point did their deleterious attributes become known and at what point did government and other official bodies start to advise/legislate against it?

Tobacco was introduced to Britain by Sir Walter Raliegh in 1565. The link between tobacco smoking and lung cancer was finally verified in 1950. A lag of 385 years.

Alcohol has probably always been present in the hominin diet via naturally fermenting fruit. However, intentionally brewed alcoholic beverages were available in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt among others. Although the dangers were known even during these early periods, and there have been many attempts to ban it, it has never been fully successful, with most legislation repealed. So you could say thousands of years elapsed before any serious attempt to curtail its consumption was officially sanctioned.

Aspartame was first synthesised in 1965 and approved for human consumption by the FDA in 1974. If you take tobacco as a yardstick, we probably won't see any official sanction against aspartame until the year 2359!

[craig1014]

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What do you mean by brain fog? does it slow you down generally?

I mean I feel less mentally sharp, and find it a bit harder to concentrate

[Chris1983]

I've heard fighter pilots are told not to drink diet soda before going on missions.

Personally I would avoid the stuff at all costs.