🧪 The Bitter Truth About Aspartame

ketogenicfasting
Jul 9, 2023
6 min read

Updated: May 18

From Chic to Controversial: The Sweetener That Won’t Die Quietly

Jean Paul Gaultier designed couture cans in Aspartame's honor.

We’ve all done it—reached for a diet soda in hopes of staying slim and chic. 🥤 Karl Lagerfeld once claimed he lived on it. Jean Paul Gaultier designed couture cans in its honor. But behind the sparkle of zero-calorie promises lies an artificial sweetener with a stormy past and a suspicious present: Aspartame.

🎭 The Cast of Characters

At the center of this not-so-sweet saga are:

💊 GD Searle & Co. (now Pfizer)
🧬 The CDC
🧑‍⚖️ The FDA
🧪 And in the shadows? The ever-controversial Monsanto Company (now BAYER)

These names might sound familiar—especially given their more recent roles in vaccine development and food tech. But their earlier collusion over the approval of aspartame tells a much deeper tale of politics, profit, and public health betrayal.

What Is Aspartame Anyway?

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a scientist at GD Searle. It didn’t hit supermarket shelves until 1983, after nearly two decades of heated controversy.

Originally green-lit for dry foods, its eventual approval for soft drinks exploded its reach.

Today, it’s in over 5,000 products—from gum to cough syrup. And yet, 80% of all consumer complaints to the FDA involve… you guessed it: aspartame. 😬

☠️ A Toxic Trio: What’s Inside Aspartame?

Aspartame is about 180x sweeter than sugar, but here’s what it’s really made of:

🧬 Phenylalanine (50%)
💥 Aspartic Acid (40%)
🧪 Methyl Ester (10%) → breaks down into methanol → then into formaldehyde (yep, the stuff used to embalm bodies 😳)

Let’s break it down:

🧠 Phenylalanine

Too much can cross the blood-brain barrier and wreak havoc on mental health—triggering depression, schizophrenia, and seizures. It’s especially dangerous for those with phenylketonuria (PKU).

🧠 Aspartic Acid

An excitotoxin—a neurotransmitter that overstimulates neurons until they die. Linked to memory loss, Parkinson’s, and neurological disorders.

⚠️ Methanol → Formaldehyde

While methanol occurs naturally in fruits, it’s usually paired with ethanol, which protects the body. Not so with aspartame. Once consumed, methanol breaks down into formaldehyde, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin.

🧪 A History of Deception

1967

💉 First monkey studies: 5 of 7 infant monkeys given aspartame had grand mal seizures. One died.

1970

🧠 Dr. John Olney, who helped expose MSG, found that aspartic acid causes brain tumors in mice. Searle didn’t include these findings in their 1973 FDA application.

1974

🛑 FDA approved limited use… then reversed it under pressure from Dr. Olney and attorney James Turner.

🕳️ Enter the Rabbit Hole: Cronies & Corruption

🔁 1976-1981

FDA found data manipulation by Searle.
U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner was assigned to investigate… but got offered a job at Searle’s law firm and took it.
His successor let the case expire—and was also hired. 🤯
7+ FDA agents eventually got jobs at Searle or its allies.

Donald Rumsfeld was appointed Searle CEO in 1977

💼 1977 Donald Rumsfeld

Yes, that Rumsfeld. Appointed Searle CEO in 1977. Used his D.C. clout to push through aspartame approval.

👔 1981

The day after Reagan took office, Searle reapplied. Reagan fired the FDA Commissioner and replaced him with Arthur Hull Hayes, who approved aspartame—then left the FDA to work for... Searle’s PR firm.

📈 Aspartame Goes Global

With the U.S. on board, the UK quickly followed. Searle’s reps cut deals with British regulators under the radar, opening the gates to global sales. 🌍

⚖️ The Methanol Myth: What the Pro-Aspartame Camp Doesn’t Tell You

The pro-aspartame crowd loves to claim that methanol is totally safe because it “occurs naturally” in foods like fruit and alcohol 🍇🍷.

But here’s what they don’t tell you:

🔍 Naturally occurring methanol is always accompanied by ethanol—and that matters. Why? Because ethanol counteracts methanol’s toxic effects in the body.

🍏 In fruits, methanol is bound to pectin, a natural fiber that helps protect the body from its harmful impact. Your body doesn’t absorb it the same way it absorbs the free methanol released when aspartame breaks down.

So, are they being honest?

🤐 No mention of these important distinctions. But then again—💰 If you were being paid to defend aspartame... would you?

🧠 The Brain Tumor Connection

Aspartame breaks down into diketopiperazine (DKP), a compound linked to brain tumors in lab animals.

📊 Between 1984 and 1985—just after aspartame hit the soft drink market—brain tumor reports in the U.S. rose 10%. Coincidence? Critics think not.

Many people report relief from symptoms like:

⚡ Seizures
🌪️ Brain fog
😩 Fatigue
🔁 MS-like symptoms… when they quit aspartame.

📄 Even the CDC Was Concerned…

The CDC’s original 146-page report listed health risks including:

💔 Cardiac arrest
😵 Seizures
⚠️ Mood disorders
☠️ Liver damage
💀 Even death

But this damning report was buried. A whitewashed summary replaced it. The pattern? Censorship and corporate obedience.

💰 The Monsanto Connection

In 1985, Monsanto bought Searle and gained the patent for NutraSweet. Around the same time, the EPA classified glyphosate (another Monsanto product) as a Class C carcinogen.

The takeaway? We handed over our sweetener supply—and a piece of our health—to the same company that would later face thousands of lawsuits over cancer-causing chemicals. 🧑‍⚖️⚖️

🔚 Bottom Line: Aspartame Isn’t Just “Controversial” — It’s Political.

So next time you grab that “guilt-free” soda, energy drink, or sugar-free treat... pause. ✋Ask yourself:

Do I really want to sip on a chemical concoction born out of corporate deals, suppressed science, and political cronyism?

Maybe it’s time to go back to sweeteners that don’t come with a classified file. 🍯🌿

#KnowYourSweeteners #AspartameFacts #FoodPolitics #SweetPoison

🍃 The Natural Threat: Stevia vs. Aspartame

Those in the know about the dangers of aspartame began turning to a far more natural alternative: Stevia. This wild plant, native to South America and parts of Asia, is about 100 times sweeter than sugar—and completely natural 🌿.

Used for centuries in South America and in Japanese food production since the 1960s, Stevia has more than just sweetness going for it:

✨ Stabilizes blood sugar

✨ Nourishes the pancreas

✨ Softens the skin

✨ Clears blemishes

✨ Fights oral bacteria

✨ Helps manage weight

✨ And makes food taste delicious

Sounds like a dream, right? Unfortunately, not everyone was thrilled about this plant-based miracle...

🏛️ Politics Over Public Health

Stevia isn’t patentable—and that made it a threat to aspartame producers. Companies like Monsanto didn’t want to lose their grip on the sweetener market. So, they lobbied hard to keep Stevia out of Western markets by pressuring the FDA to declare it “insufficiently tested” for use in food.

Thus, a natural product with centuries of safe use was pushed aside to protect the profits of Big Agra. 😠

⚠️ Fake Healthy Sweeteners: Enter Truvia

Despite the FDA’s refusal to fully approve Stevia, demand grew—and fast. That’s when Cargill, a food industry giant on par with Monsanto, jumped in with a so-called “solution”: Truvia.

But hold on—it’s not what it seems. ❌

While Truvia sounds like a healthy Stevia-based option, it’s actually a highly processed, chemically altered product. Consumers are often misled by the branding, but here’s what’s really in it:

🧪 Erythritol — a synthetically manufactured sugar alcohol

🧪 Rebaudioside A (Reb-A) — a heavily refined Stevia extract

Unlike the whole plant extract you find in health food stores, Truvia is far from natural. In fact, Cargill has been hit with lawsuits alleging it misleads consumers by marketing Truvia as “natural.”

So let’s be clear: Truvia ≠ Stevia.

🧠 Aspartame Still Lingers… But Why?

You’d think that with all this information—and decades of reports on adverse effects—people would abandon aspartame-laced products altogether. But diet sodas, sugar-free gums, and “light” processed foods are still flying off shelves.

🤔 Why haven’t we stopped?

Well, for starters:

Aspartame is regulated as a food, not a drug—meaning manufacturers don’t have to report side effects.
The FDA has never fully acknowledged the health concerns—despite growing evidence.
Marketing works. We’ve been fed the line that aspartame is “safe,” over and over.