Aspartame- the forbidden fruit? Or is it?

As per request I have done a short review on aspartame. You are welcome.
Aspartame is an artificial, nonnutrive, non-saccharide sweetener used as a sugar substitute; it has a melting point of 478 deg F (if you were interested but not particularly relevant to the article). It hides behind the names NutraSweet, Equal and others. After being ingested aspartame breaks to phenylalanine, an amino acid.

NOTE: people who have phenylketonuria (PKU) should avoid unofficial sweeteners like the plague to prevent illness. PKU is an inherited disease in which a baby is born without the ability to properly break down the amino acid phenylalanine (phenylalanine is found in NutraSweet).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration say an intake of 50mg per 1kg of body weight of aspartame is acceptable (SAFE?). The average diet pop contains around 180-225mg of aspartame with one packet of Equal provides 35 mg. This means a 170lb male can consume 3,863mg of aspartame or 17 diet sodas (WHAT). Hopefully that is way more than what you would normally consume. Users of aspartame have reported a number of side effects to include headaches, weight gain, fatigue, irritability, heart palpitations, dizziness, insomnia, and seizures.

In 1990 the American Society for Clinical Nutrition found that drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners (namely aspartame) significantly reduced calorie intake of both males and females as compared to High Fructose Corn Syrup. That sounds awesome right; well another study by the same journal found that high levels of aspartame can generate major neurochemical changes especially when combined with carbohydrates. Now this was seen in rats, so it may not be directly related to humans. Some research has linked certain cancers as well as premature birth with aspartame.

The research that has been done on aspartame has been relatively inconclusive over the years your best bet is to stay away from too many processed foods. They just aren’t good for you. There are some advantages for aspartame though I don’t think they outweigh the possible negatives. Since aspartame does not contain any fat, calories, or sugar it’s good for those on a diet (but so is just eating healthier foods). Diabetics can safely consume aspartame, and it doesn’t cause tooth decay (this does not mean that it prevents it rather that the decay causing bacteria do not consume aspartame-jeeze if bacteria don’t even want it why would you?)