Boy, that is scary. I am happy to say I have finally kicked the Pepsi habit after years of drinking it. Unfortunately, most of it was diet. Makes me wonder what ill effects I will suffer because of it. I will never drink it again!!!

I didn't read the article but I quit drinking diet sodas several months ago......and amazed to see my liver enzyme that has been high for a long time go back to just above normal.
That is enough proof for me!

WOWÂthat is dramatic! Fortunately, I discovered early on that aspartame gave me joint pain. It also caused migraines in my daughter Jill.

I've read a lot of alarming stuff about aspartame, but nothing quite this graphic. I knew a few people I'll send it to. Thanks for posting!

You might like to check the snopes site out on aspartame first...

Here is a link that might be useful: link to snopes on aspartame

Thanks for posting the Snopes truth Zipper.

A Few Rat Facts

Rats only live to 2 to 2 1/2 years or rarely 3 years at best.

Many if not most female rats may develope mammary tumors especially if they are not spayed. Even spaying doesn't avoid the problem entirely.

Bumblefoot and skin disorders are very common in rats. More rats living together equal more disorders.

Males who are not neutered will also frequently develop testicular tumors.

RATS ARE PRONE TO ALL SORTS OF TUMORS.

Rat tumors grow large extremely quickly if left untreated. Even when surgically removed most but not all will grow back.

The above applies to healthy well-cared for rats fed the most careful of diets.

Therefore the study proves NOTHING.

Aspartame irritates my urinary tract. I prefer Splenda for that reason.

A little comment about Splenda (just one of a ton of information on the Internet):

Although Splenda is still technically still being studied, it has already proven to impair the thymus gland and the immune system in experimental animals. And even though pre-approval research showed that Splenda caused the thymus gland to shrink up to 40% while enlarging the liver and kidneys and calcifying the kidney, it was still approved for human consumption.

Snopes is usally reliable, but the fact is, aspartame is nasty stuff. SPeaking from my *own* experience, I suffered from chronic back pain that was crippling and *AS AN EXPERIMENT* I stopped drinking diet sodas (like, three and four a day). It took about a month, but eventually, the back pain evaporated and never returned.

Severe heart palpitations also left as did some other physical problems.

I was drinking those clear sodas (no caffeine). These days, I won't touch aspartame with a ten-foot pole. It's very unhealthy for the human body to ingest this neuro-toxin.

It was developed as ANT POISON.

Rose

I ageee, it is very bad for us. Last year, when hubby was trying to eat better, we stopped all the regular soda, and I started buying everything " diet". Unfortunately, this means a lot of things that has aspartame in them. He kept saying that his eye was bothering him (Joe is already blind in one eye), that he felt like the vision was going in that eye, so I srated reading up on this stuff, as it was the only thing that we had done different, Well, it convinced me to stop all that stuff, it's just not worth it.
I don't have time right now to read that article, ( I will later) but I have read a lot on the subject. It's just not worth it. They even advise airplane pilots not to drink it because of the effect it has on vision.

You know what bothers me is that the Singulair tablet I give my child daily for alleriges has aspartame in it. I know it's small amount, but really, I would prefer that small amount to be regular sugar instead of aspartame. And these are chewable tablets made for chidlren... What are they thinking using the stuff in kid's medicines?

I've read that too, about airline pilots. There are also stories about people going off aspartame for months and then ingesting a little bit and getting quite ill. Having been off it for one year now, I'm scared of the stuff.

I quickly gulped some green tea recently, thinking it was "regular" when it was diet tea. Within moments, I got that aspartame aftertaste in my mouth and felt a little "off."

The feeling eventually passed but man, I stay away from that stuff. It's addictive, too. I had a most difficult time quitting and had to do so "cold turkey." These days, I drink lots of Brita water. I wonder what other people drink? I'm trying to stay away from sugary drinks and I won't drink anything diet. What's left?

Rose

I wonder what other people drink?

I drink coffee in the morning (two cups, with milk and sugar), water from noon to about 4:00, and wine (usually white) after 4:00. Works for me!

I can count on one hand the number of soft drinks I've had in the past year. And I don't think I've ever had a diet soft drink.

They admitted in the study that some of the control rats got tumors, but it was something like 3, while about 35 (if I remember right) got tumors in the aspartame group.

I just know that I don't want formaldehyde in my system.....EVER! I never did drink diet sodas, but like I said, I did drink Crystal Light, although not often, and not but a glass or two a day.

Chemistry is chemistry. No matter what Snopes says, that stuff is a poison. Hey, remember that dogs die from drinking antifreeze. They like it because it's SWEET! It has the same chemical in it as aspartame becomes after it's metabolized in your body...methanol (wood alcohol). If you want to drink antifreeze, go right ahead. Me, I'll stick with water and fruit juice.

For those who would like to learn how these scare studies come about the link below is quite interesting. Some fine reading if you click on the links within the body of the article.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutra Sweet Study Debunked