Sweet Poison. Janet Starr Hull

aspartame products. I’m really much too busy to keep up with the countless changes developing in pharmaceuticals,” he continued.

      “So, I subscribe to an information service that supplies me with the latest information in the industry, by the industry. I’ve never received any information about aspartame. Why haven’t I heard about this before?” he asked.

      I smiled again and replied, “That’s the question all of us should be asking. I have my theories,” I went on. “And I think pockets run too deep for simple answers. However, I am convinced it’s the sugar-free stuff that made me very sick.”

      My confidence building with his positive response, I handed him an article written by Lendon Smith, M.D. “Dr. Smith is a noted pediatrician and author. He has been featured on numerous television and radio interviews concerning contemporary health issues.”

      “I’ve seen him on TV,” the doctor said.

      I nodded. “Dr. Smith has stated that eighty-five percent of all complaints registered with the Food and Drug Administration concern reactions to aspartame, the sole ingredient in NutraSweet, and there have been four known deaths in FDA files listed under aspartame symptoms.

      “It’s funny,” I went on. “Symptoms of using products with aspartame run the gambit. Over ninety-two different symptoms are documented—ninety-two! Some people get headaches, some nausea and vertigo. Others suffer with insomnia, numbness, or blurred vision. One person may become hyperactive and another suffer extreme fatigue. Dr. Smith listed neurological, dermatological, cardiac and respiratory problems associated with the use of aspartame. He reported symptoms of food sensitivities, low blood sugar, Alzheimer’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, amalgam-filling disease and methanol poisoning. Everyone agrees that their symptoms vanish when all aspartame use is terminated.”

      I shifted about in my chair, making the doctor shift around in his.

      “Even though aspartame is about one-hundred-eighty-times sweeter than sugar,” I continued feeling like I was the doctor, and he the patient, “it isn’t worth it when you find out what’s in it. There’s the amino acid phenylalanine, which is a known toxin to the brain and causes seizures. There’s the amino acid aspartic acid, which can cause brain damage, especially to a developing brain. And then there’s methanol, which creates eye problems and, when heated, turns into formaldehyde—embalming fluid, an obvious toxin—unless you’re dead!”

      I pushed on, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of the doctor. “Aspartame does not affect everyone equally. Common to most chemicals in solution, aspartame dissolves in the body. Its toxic by-products can then be deposited anywhere. Usually in the weakest spots, like my thyroid gland, making it even weaker and eventually breaking the system down.

      “This is one reason why there are so many different symptoms related to using products with aspartame,” I continued lecturing. “The chemical by-products dissolve in the blood and travel throughout the entire body. Who knows where the wastes will be deposited? They can go to the brain and cause headaches. If they go to the eyes, the results can be blurred vision, blindness, and in my case, retinal tearing. Toxins deposited in the pancreas can cause hypoglycemia and diabetes. And if they go to the thyroid, of course, you can get Graves’ disease.

      “Dr. Smith asked in one of his articles, ‘Why is the scientific community having trouble evaluating these reports? Might there be a substantial loss of revenue involved?’” I shoved Dr. Smith’s article across the slick desktop.

      “You know, Doctor,” I stated, “if I unknowingly eat or drink anything with aspartame, I have an instant reaction. This has happened twice in the past three months. I took the kids to the cafeteria a couple of weeks ago. We all grabbed a cherry gelatin. I didn’t realize it was diet—it wasn’t labeled ‘sugar-free.’ But, boom! I had an immediate reaction. I got one of my bad migraines within minutes. I had to sit in the cafeteria holding my head until the pain subsided. Another time, my girlfriend served me lemonade sweetened with aspartame. Both times, my heart immediately started beating faster, I developed headaches, started to sweat, and got very, very hot. I had trouble breathing and suffered an asthma attack. Exercise induced asthma, I believe you call it. But I wasn’t exercising. I was sitting still. Within minutes, I knew I’d fallen prey to hidden aspartame,” I concluded. “I’m like a barometer for aspartame-laced foods,” I said, jokingly. Maybe some humor would lighten the mood, I thought. The doctor didn’t crack a smile.