In a world where people are addicted to sugary beverages, sodas artificially sweetened by aspartame seem like the perfect alternative healthy solution (spoiler alert: they’re not!).
The flavor of these sugar-free and diet beverages may seem sweet, but their impacts on your body are anything but. These zero-calorie sodas contain sweeteners instead of sugar to flavor their drinks. Aspartame is the most popular and commonly used sweetener- 200% sweeter than sugar, even a little goes a long way.
Unfortunately, little amounts of aspartame can add up against your health. And unfortunately, it can be found in nearly every sugar-free processed item like juice, ketchup, and gum- it’s everywhere. Here are the most harmful effects that aspartame can cause on the body:
Cancer
In a study by the Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center of the Ramazzini, rats that were exposed to aspartame had increased odds of producing malignant tumors.
Harvard researchers reported a positive correlation between aspartame intake and an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.
Aspartame is also a leading candidate to explain the increase of brain tumors. The prevalence of malignant brain tumors increased following the approval of Aspartame.
Cardiovascular Disease
High amounts of phenylalanine (one of the two ingredients of aspartame) can cause nerve damage. This ultimately results in arrhythmia (an irregular heartbeat). Arrhythmia can lead to an increased risk of heart disease and heart attacks.
Additionally, women who consumed 2 diet drinks per day had a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases and cardiovascular related deaths.
Aspartic Acid in high amounts may also cause arrhythmia in the heart tissue, causing sudden cardiac arrest and even death.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia
Researchers have found a consistent pattern between the consumption of sugary beverages and preclinical Alzheimers.
A Boston Puerto Rican Health Study has also found in a research pool of 737 participants that higher sugar intake leads to Alzheimer-like behavior patterns like smaller brain volume and poorer episodic memory.
When aspartame metabolizes, it becomes methanol, which then turns into formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is strongly associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. Mice and monkeys that were exposed to methanol expressed memory loss and other AD syndromes.
Weight Gain
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener and isn’t absorbed the same way as natural sugars. This has negative effects on the body. Artificial sweeteners have shown to increase appetite and lead to weight gain.
Aspartame didn’t provide rats with natural energy. This led to rats tapping into their muscles as an energy source, ultimately causing muscle breakdown. The overall long-term effects on rats were the damaged ability to process sugars as well as chronic weight gain. This lead to other health problems like diabetes and morbid obesity.
People are usually under the notion that since aspartame-containing drinks have zero sugars, that there are no negative effects- this false assumption leads to more aspartame consumption and higher chances of obesity.
Neurological Impacts and Changes in Behavior
High consumption of aspartame has been linked to changes in the brain. In a 2016 study by Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, mice experienced a morphological change in their hippocampus. Additionally, it has been shown to cause headaches and migraines in individuals. Toxic quantities of aspartame also cause lapses in memory and lead to changes in behavior.
According to a 2008 study by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, aspartame has been reported to trigger seizures and even insomnia.
