What makes the finger point to APM was the recurrence of all the symptoms once the victim restarted diet colas 12 years after recovery. The harmful effects of the artificial sweetener were identified beyond doubt when all the symptoms disappeared with the young woman stopping aspartame consumption. This young person was definitely fortunate that all the side effects were reversed and her health was restored. Others were not as lucky; they were left with permanent vision loss and nervous system damage (lupus, multiple sclerosis, MS).  Barbara also stated that the chemical is habit forming; that was why her daughter was drawn to it despite her knowledge of its side effects. With two devastating experiences, hopefully she has learned the lesson. I would also like to commend Barbara Metzler’s courage for sharing her painful story with us in order to prevent youngsters from falling into a trap carefully designed by a powerful drug industry and its influential supporters, who make billions out of the torment and despair of others (you will understand what I am referring to when you finish reading the article).
As for now, I shall continue with the other “damaging” aspects of aspartame as seen by scientists and medical doctors.
Excitotoxins like APM and monosodium glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer, contribute to the destruction of the myelin sheath that protects the nerve fiber, resulting in lesions and neurological diseases like MS. By crossing the blood brain-barrier, BBB, these chemicals attack nerve tissue, destroying the nerves and incapacitating the victim. According to Dr. Blaylock, the “Liquid forms of excitotoxins [in soda drinks] are significantly more toxic because of rapid absorption and higher blood levels.”
According to ophthalmologist M. Raiford, the optic nerve atrophies with no possibility of vision recovery due to aspartame overuse. However, he asserts that “Documentation and observation also reveal that thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnabouts in their behavior when these chemicals [APM] have been removed from their diet.” They were also able to reduce the prescription drug, Ritalin.
As for Dr. Leo Rebello (www.healthwisdom.com), he asserts that “Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control,” resulting in brain damage, seizures, memory loss, panic attack, vision loss, tinnitis, uncontrollable anger and rage. Now, I am confused! How does aspartame drive “blood sugar out of control” when we are led to believe by Searle, aspartame manufacturer, that the sweetener is recommended for preventing the surge of blood sugar levels in diabetics? I shall leave that for you to figure out this “riddle”!!!???
Moreover, a major study by Stellman SD and Garfinkel L. “Artificial Sweetener Use and One-Year Weight Change Among Women” in 1985 pointed to weight gain among 78,694 women using the artificial sweetener. Neurosurgeon R. Blaylock incessantly warned of the link between aspartame and “gross obesity and insulin resistant diabetes Type 2 just as we are seeing in our youth.”
Young athletes in high schools and colleges and even professionals have encountered cardiac arrests due to food additives and artificial sweeteners. What was particularly deadly for these young ones is the combination of a diet, low in omega-3 fats and magnesium and high in calcium plus the excitotoxins found in food additives, junk food and diet soda drinks and a program of strenuous training in elevated temperatures.
Now that you are acquainted with the dangerous side effects of the chemical, I will show you how such “dangerous” products became part of our food chain. First, I wish to thank a diligent reader from Mexico who reminded me of how aspartame was legalized after the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of the artificial sweetener. Pay close attention to the following paragraphs, excerpts from the original article, How Aspartame became Legal, by Rich Murray ([email protected]):
“In 1985 Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors."
The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (currently [the one-time] the Secretary of Defense) vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved.
On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan's new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision.
It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety…” 
Despite the above-obvious manipulation, the FDA in 1996 still approved aspartame in baked goods and removed the ban on the additive in beverages and comestibles. The consumer, whether diabetic or non-diabetic, is duped by the food industry with the magical word “sugarless,” presuming that calorie-free means “healthy” or at least “harmless.” Recently, the manufacturer decided to rebrand aspartame as "AminoSweet," making it sound like a “nutritious” amino acid, an important nutrient. With this assumption in mind, people do not pay attention to the amounts of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol they consume. As I mentioned in Part 2 of last week’s articles, the chemicals’ effects are cumulative on the central nervous system and symptoms only appear after a certain level when damage is almost irreversible to nerves and vision.
Since the marketing machine is playing tricks on the consumers (you and me), we should counteract their efforts by becoming smart shoppers. We should make a point of reading the contents of food labels as well as medical leaflets for generic words such as aspartame or aspartic acid (APM, E951), phenylalanine and other artificial sweeteners and additives. There are other chemicals to look for such as monosodium glutamate, MSG (this taste-enhancer comes under different marketing acronyms and symbols) and the Es followed by a number, which are the artificial additives and colorings in foods, beverages, and pharmaceutical vitamins and drugs.
The Internet is a very useful tool for providing information about the variety of “harmful” additives, colorings, preservatives and sweeteners that can damage your health without your knowledge or consent. Meanwhile, the food and drug industries become richer and richer. When you are unaware you are blameless, but if you know and still insist on what harms your health, then you are responsible for the consequences! But, remember that you have family and friends who care about your health and wellbeing.
Next week, I shall come back with more about aspartame.