Woman Claims Aspartame Made Her Ill

A stock photo of a hospital (Shutterstock*)

In hopes of saving other lives, blogger Rhonda Gessner shared a story about how a “dying” woman got better. She claimed all the woman had to do was stop drinking diet sodas.

In the early 2000s, the woman became very ill. She started suffering from intense stomach spasms and other pains, which were described as excruciating. Even walking turned into “a chore” for her, according to the blogger.

Less than a year later, in 2002, the woman had undergone several tests and more doctor’s visits. She was taking 24 prescribed medications but doctors had no idea what was wrong, according to Gessner’s blog.

“She just knew she was dying,” her blog said (via IJR).

That’s when the woman started making plans for death, including putting all of her possessions in her oldest daughter’s name. She also planned a “last hooray” for March 22 of that year.

Three days before the woman’s final party, new test results came in that led doctor’s to diagnose the woman with Multiple Sclerosis. The woman called up her sister, and that’s when the sister remembered an article she had read about aspartame, according to Gessner.

Her sister then asked the woman if she drank diet soda. The woman was about to open a can at that moment.

After the woman’s sister informed her about diet drinks, the woman stopped drinking diet soda. Apparently, doing so helped and she was able to leave her wheelchair although she “didn’t feel 100 percent,” the blogger wrote.

She started feeling better, and went back to a doctor and explained what she thought had happened, according to IJR.

By the time she left, she was down to just one medication, according to the blog.

Aspartame is found in many diet sodas and drinks, and it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Some websites, including MDHealth, claim there is such a thing called “aspartame poisoning.”

“The reason for aspartame poisoning is that it dissolves into solution, travels throughout the body and deposits within tissues. Unlike saccharin, the body digests aspartame. The digestive and absorption process results in aspartame accumulating in our bodies resulting in health problems,” MDHealth says.

“Aspartame poisoning can be serious and even life-threatening,” the site then claims.

The woman stopped drinking diet soda after that and her health reportedly improved, the blog said.

Is Aspartame Poisoning Real?

The FDA’s website states that more 100 studies support the safety of aspartame.

The American Cancer Society also said that the FDA has set an “acceptable daily intake (ADI)” for the substance.

According to the FDA, “Aspartame is one of the most exhaustively studied substances in the human food supply, with more than 100 studies supporting its safety. FDA scientists have reviewed scientific data regarding the safety of aspartame in food and concluded that it is safe for the general population under certain conditions.”

(PepsiCo via AP)

But “people with a rare hereditary disease known as phenylketonuria (PKU) have a difficult time metabolizing phenylalanine, a component of aspartame, and should control their intake of phenylalanine from all sources, including aspartame. Labels of aspartame-containing foods and beverages must include a statement that informs individuals with PKU that the product contains phenylalanine,” according to the website.

Healthline also said that there are studies showing a link between aspartame and cancer, while it noted that people with Phenylketonuria cannot metabolize one of aspartame’s ingredients, phenylalanine.

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Meanwhile, the FDA, Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization, European Food Safety Authority, and World Health Organization don’t think “aspartame poisoning” is a real thing, according to HealthLine.

It noted that due to “increased public concern, however, more food and drink manufacturers have chosen to avoid aspartame.”

Meanwhile, it notes that some people are sensitive to the additive.

Symptoms

MDHealth claims that symptoms of aspartame poisoning include abdominal pain, itching, hives, high blood pressure, an upset stomach, and more.

“Detoxifying your body from the ill effects of aspartame is a powerful method to reverse any symptom related to using this artificial sweetener. Over 92 different signs and symptoms are attributed to aspartame. The detoxification program is the most effective way to remove the toxins produced from aspartame such as phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol and their damaging by-products. This 9 step program is easy to implement and will improve symptoms in 30 days,” it says.

New Study on Diet Drinks

Drinking two or more diet beverages of any kind per day has been linked to an elevated risk of blood clot-related strokes, heart attacks, and early death in women over 50, said the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association in a new study.

The risks were highest in women who had no history of heart disease or diabetes, women who were obese, or African-American women, said the study, as CNN reported.

There has been research showing a link between the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages and stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and a slew of other health problems.

The study was published in the journal Stroke.

“Higher intake of [artificially sweetened beverages] was associated with increased risk of stroke, particularly small artery occlusion subtype, coronary heart disease, and all-cause mortality,” researchers concluded. “Although requiring replication, these new findings add to the potentially harmful association of consuming high quantities of [artificially sweetened beverages] with these health outcomes.”

Women between the ages of 50 and 79 are 23 percent more likely to have a stroke if they drink diet drinks than if they do not, the study noted, reported UPI.

Meanwhile, post-menopausal women who drink diet beverages on a regular basis are 31 percent more likely to have a stroke caused via a clot, the study noted.

Those same women are also 29 percent more likely to have heart disease and 16 percent more likely to die from another cause, it was noted.