Artificial Sweeteners and Their Serious Side Effects

Haven't tried anything yet but cutting out all aspartame and low-cal sweeteners today!! I consume this sweetener in everything I eat and drink. I'm constantly trying to lose weight so of course I use it. For years I have suffered from depression, headaches, stuffiness, lack of energy, and now dizziness that several doctors can't explain. I've always heard of problems with aspartame but never thought it was true but this time I am cutting it out completely. Hopefully I will feel better because at this point I can hardly make it to work.

regarding Aspartame.... After not being able to sleep a wink for 3 straight weeks and having restless leg syndrome (and arms also), I couldn't stand it any more and was ready to visit the doctor. My body felt so wired all the time and I felt like punching and kicking. But I decided to analyze what I had been eating that was different from usual. After a week of cutting out items I found it was the new gum I had been chewing that contained Aspartame. I cut that out and I was able to sleep again, and the "wired" feelings went away. After telling my Mother, who had been using sweetener for years and always had trouble sleeping, she stopped using it also and now sleeps well. I use Stevia now with no side effects at all.

ASPARTAME SIDE EFFECTS: Thank you for your wonderful website. I am a 52 y.o. male and started having strange symptoms about 4 months ago. It is very difficult to explain except to say that I had a sensation of a heavy head. This was accompanied by a low grade headache, dizziness and occasional nervousness and anxiety. After I suffered with these symptoms for about 2 months I went to a doctor and scheduled a CT scan. Meanwhile, I tried to research my symptoms on the Internet but had a hard time finding anything for a "heavy head." If I didn't think I was dying of a brain tumor or had something seriously wrong with me, it would have been funny. The scan came back normal and I was relieved that I wasn't dying. It had to be something else. Then I stumbled across information on aspartame and it finally dawned on me -- everything made sense. I had started drinking about 2-3 bottles a day of Diet Snapple several months ago. My symptoms gradually crept up on me and I didn't pay much attention. But when the lingering headaches never went away and I was plagued with dizziness and anxiety, I knew there had to be something in my system. I studied and researched more and discovered a tremendous amount of evidence linking aspartame with nervous disorders and the exact symptoms I was experiencing. Well, I stopped ingesting aspartame immediately. From what I read, it would take a long 2 months for it to leave my system. I could feel my body trying to expel it through my nose when I felt intense pressure there, similar to a sinus infection (which by the way, I was checked for and was found to be normal.) Anyway, it's been several weeks after I stopped taking aspartame I am completely well. I've learned several things from this experience, including it is very difficult for a person make a connection between their symptoms and aspartame -- who would ever think that the Diet Coke in front of them is causing their headache or all sorts of other problems? Secondly, doctors, though well intentioned, are not asking the very first question they should ask patients who are complaining of these mental symptoms. The question out of their mouths in the examining room should be, "Are you consuming any diet beverages or foods?" Third, the next time I complain of a heavy head feeling, I won't have to listen to my wife say, "Maybe you need stronger neck muscles." Haha Again, thank you for your website and the wonderful forum you provide for people to share their experiences.

I am a 45 year old female and started noticing high levels of forgetfulness and inability to focus. I had been drinking diet Snapple for a few months. By coincidence a friend of mine told me a story about how aspartame can cause forgetfulness. I stopped drinking diet Snapple and noticed an improvement in my memory within a few days. I'm not prone to believing rumors but I experienced the improvement so quickly that I believe it was the aspartame that was causing my problem. I now tell my friends about this in order to help stop the wide spread affects of this dangerous sweetener.