Aspartame is an artificial sweetener 200 times sweeter than sugar with no calories, used primarily in diet sodas, chewing gum and other low-cal foods and beverages. It was invented by James Schlatter in 1965 and currently manufactured by Monsanto Corporation. According to FAO guidelines it may be safely consumed up to levels equivalent to 40 mg of bodyweight per day.
Aspartame breaks down in the digestive tract into amino acids such as aspartate and phenylalanine, both of which interact with the central nervous system to cause neurotoxicity and memory deficits. Long-term consumption also alters glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase activity as well as increasing brain methanol content while simultaneously decreasing hippocampal acetylcholinesterase activity – factors which adversely impact learning processes.
Shernhammer et al. reported a positive association between aspartame consumption and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma; however, their results were inconclusive as there was no clear dose-response relationship evident in their study.
Other studies have not demonstrated an association between aspartame and cancer or any adverse health effects in humans, and other non-sugar sweeteners authorised in Europe by EFSA, or its recent review, found no evidence linking aspartame to cancer; consequently they suggested keeping its Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) unchanged.
