Aspartame Danger and Hyperthyroidism

Aspartame and Hyperthyroidism

I often receive emails from women, asking about aspartame- an artificial sweetener usually used in diet coke and other products. We are often concerned about our weight and there is a steady tendency of substituting regular white sugar with artificial sweeteners. I personally, never did that. Partially because never had weight problems, and partially because I just don’t like the taste of artificial sweetener.

So- what is Aspartame? To the best of my research:

Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods.

Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. It was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug.

However, before considering any actions, this is the story I want to tell you and you draw your own conclusions.

Justin Dumais, a 25-year-old male elite athlete, a diver, finished in sixth in the synchronized springboard competition in Athens Olympics in 2004. Seven months ago, however, he was very tired, even unable to get into the shower.

Initially he thought that this is probably due to overtraining. His doctor though had another opinion- after careful examination and blood tests his diagnose was Graves’ Disease. Not very pleasant surprise for a 25 years old man, needless to say he was shocked. All his dreams just vanished.

Finally he decided not to give up. He began taking medication in February but continued doing his own research. He found a nutritionist who suggested he cut aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in products such as diet soda, from his diet.

Now his doctors were shocked. In mid-March, he quit diet soda and his medication. Now Dumais feels so much better and he questions what happened to his Graves’ disease, which has no known cure.

So, again, consider taking diet products- they are packed with unknown chemicals, which one or another way reflect on our health. Sometimes every little thing helps. I personally read almost every label when I buy stuff- and I avoid aspartame to the best I can.

P.S. Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid.

The exact mechanism of acute reactions to excess free glutamate and aspartate is currently being debated. As reported to the FDA, those reactions include: (5)

* Headaches/migraines

* Nausea

* Abdominal pains

* Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain)

* Sleep problems

* Vision problems

* Anxiety attacks

* Depression

* Asthma/chest tightness.

Do your own judgement, but I strongly recommend not using it for a while at least to see the difference.