A conspiracy that really hit home - Aspartame Poisoning

Originally posted by Eternal_Question
does aspartame have withdrawl symptons?

I am starting to believe this stuff does have addictive qualities.

I quit smoking over ten years ago by using Nicorette gum. Well that became somewhat addictive because of the nicotine but I new if this was working to help me quit, so be it.
What I then did was take up chewing sugar free gum and was killing about two packs of gum a day since quiting the nicorette gum. Not thinking it was bad, or at the least, much better than the smoking or nicorette gum.

Fast forward to three to a few days ago when I read this thread and thought I don't need this gum, I had tried to put it down before but always relied on the above thought, its better than the alternative and how bad could it be. Well going on day three now of no gum and although not really much of a soda hound, still cut out some of that. I am experiencing cravings similar to quiting smoking, maybe not as strong, but cravings none the less. I atribute this directly to the gum with aspartame, it couldn't be anything else. The cravings come and go throughout the day and kind of mimic nicotine withdrwal symptoms, they have subside slightly today so far but the cravings are still there.

I appreciate the thread info and the feedback from everyone and thought I needed to share my experience so far. What seemed so harmless after years of chewing turns out to be not so harmelss. I haven't been off long enough to feel any positive side effects yet but based on the negative ones so far, I expect benefits over the next few weeks.

Thanks for the info

Don't fool yourselves people. As someone else here already pointed out, it's in REGULAR soda too!! It's covered by "Natural Flavor". The FDA has approved the use of cover terms such as natural flavors, spices, "other added flavors". Stop drinking soda all together! Until the situation changes. If it doesn't change, then let the stores who carry the product absorb the losses because people stop buying it. I just had a Sierra Mist Natural last night (a sip) and threw the whole bottle out because I got that crappy after-taste that fake sugar has. Since August 2010, Sierra Mist Natural WAS using sugar. It tasted great, had no bitter after-taste and was refreshing like you remember soda as a kid. Recently the FDA guidlines kicked in that allowed them to make the switch. The use of real sugar for a few months was to get people buying it who were sick of drinking high-fructose corn syrup. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT: The TARGET of this poisonous deception are the people who are waking up to what's going on and are trying to avoid the New World Order's poisons. The Target of this planned poisoning are health-foodies, people who care about what they ingest, people who DO NOT CONFORM, people who never go to MacDonalds, people who avoid doctors as much as possible to avoid false medical treatment. This was a lie and a trick for mostly the "awake" people out there who already know aspartame is a poison. It was a trick to make you all think that certain drinks are "safe". It doesn't work though. Because regardless of what the ingredients say and don't say, you can still taste the bitter of fake sugar. The real danger and tragedy is for people who are allergic to aspartame. They could die with one sip. They would be the ones who would complain the loudest about this latest trick to fool the public, but not if they're dead. And because the ingredient list doesn't say it has any aspartame in it, and the bottle says "No artificial flavors" (Aspartame is now allowed to be a natural flavor by the FDA) some allergic people will never know what or how they were killed, nor will their families. And if you manage to try to sue them over the issue they will argue that the FDA allowed them to disguise the poison with "Natural Flavors" so you will have to sue the FDA. Good luck with that. You'd stand a better chance of success fostering rebellion.

reply to post by phair


Thanks for the warning.

BOY am I glad I have well water to drink. And make my tea with.

I do/did drink soda occasionally but I have also noticed the ADDICTIVE problem. Drink one and all of a sudden you are reaching for another one. GRRRrrrrr.

reply to post by phair


I just did some browsing on line for possible home made "fizzy" drinks.

The Lowdown On Real Ginger Beer Plant

The REAL ginger beer recipe!

I know when we pressed our own cider we often ended up with "sparkling" cider if we caught it quick and refrigerated it.

Originally posted by phair
Don't fool yourselves people. As someone else here already pointed out, it's in REGULAR soda too!! It's covered by "Natural Flavor".

While it is in some regular sodas, I know for a fact that regular Dr Pepper does NOT have it in there. There is a FAQ on the website specifically asking if their non-diet sodas contain aspartame and the answer is no for all of them.

Also, and I'm not trying to say soda is good for you I'm just throwing the info out there, if you have a Mexican supermarket around you, you should be able to find the "made in mexico" coke and other products, that not only are absent of aspartame, but they even use cane sugar in place of HFCS, so that's another plus.

Another option is making your own soda at home, it is ridiculously easy to do. I've made my own root beer, ginger ale, and strawberry sodas. They taste great, and you know EXACTLY what is going into them. Plus they (depending on how you carbonate them) have a tiny bit of alcohol so that's a plus

Originally posted by pale5218

Originally posted by Eternal_Question
does aspartame have withdrawl symptons?

I am starting to believe this stuff does have addictive qualities.

Like I said in my previous post, I'm damn near certain that aspartame does cause addiction, at least in some people. Having played around with Opiates the cravings for aspartame based diet sodas was familiar in terms of the feeling of craving, not really the strength. Again I'm not talking about physical withdrawals, which I personally have not experienced, but it sure does give me some bad cravings, which I'm actually having right now because I've yet to drink a soda for about a day now after my last post. Very strange! I guess I'm just sticking to water from here on out, but who knows what the hell is in that too!

reply to post by James1982


I will be very interested in what you come back to say. Four or five different folks in this thread are going to go on a Aspartame fast and report back. Good luck with the cravings.

reply to post by pale5218


Wow; keep notes on how you feel generally as well. I predict an upswing for you as well. And in two weeks; things should be much better.

I've heard these stories time and time again. Yet I find it EXTREMELY hard to believe. I think the people who have problems with Aspartame most likely have some form of allergic reaction to it.

I've been drinking about 2 litres of Diet Coke a day for about the last ten years. Yeah yeah I know hardly the healthiest choice in the world, but I really don't like hot drinks and seeing as I get about 4 hours sleep a night the caffeine is pretty much needed.

So I must have HUGE doses of Aspartame in me, yet I have no adverse health problems in the slightest, and very very rarely get ill (despite being a smoker and slightly overweight).

I suppose it is possible that it could be worse for you from being heated, however in the UK here 90% of all all soft drinks including children's fruit juices ALL contain aspartame, and yet we are not seeing mass health problems which we would if it really was so bad (with the exception of obesity of course!).

So i really do find it hard to believe that it is so bad as many of these conspiracy theories say, unless of course you are in the minute minority that has some form of adverse/allergic reaction to the stuff.

I feel for your wife though and glad she is better after stopping using the stuff, however you need to bear in mind there are other ingredients in that sweetener, and her body simply may not be able to process the stuff. There's no doubt more people in the world allergic to peanuts than aspartame, yet that doesn't make the companies selling them some evil corporate giant. I doubt there is any food product in the world that someone isn't allergic to, I for one am completely alergic to mint... probably the most common food flavouring on the planet. Yet it makes me instantly throw up eating it, and even someone breathing minty fresh breath at me makes me gag and sometimes throw up. It doesn't make it some sort of conspiracy though, my body just apparently doesn't react well to it (yeah I know I'm a freak, I've never met anyone who has this problem).

hmmmm, on another quick note, just read the post above about cravings and possible addiction to aspartame. That's a very interesting point that I really had never considered. I get MAJOR cravings for a diet coke if I've not had one after only a day (or less in some cases!), would be interesting to see if anyone else gets major cravings for drinks that contain aspartame?

Of course it could just be that it tastes so damn good, but who knows. I might actually try a weeks withdrawal from the stuff and report back... as long as I can find some other caffeine replacement to stop me from falling asleep at work (no hot drinks or gum rotting energy drinks though).

reply to post by crezo


As I asked the poster above. Are you RH- by any chance? Interested to see if there is a connection, If you don't mind sharing. Thanks for the nice post!

reply to post by crezo


Mountain Dew throwback is 100% sugar I believe. No Aspartame, No fructose corn syrup. Plenty of caffeine.

Absolutely no idea what blood type I am, I'm afraid. Although with the amount of coke I get through it's probably brown No Mountain Dew over here in the UK I'm afraid, and every soda here has aspartame in, even most of the full fat sugar ones.

I'm sure I'll find something though. I'll start my diet coke / aspartame related withdrawal for one week after next and see if it makes any difference with regards to cravings, I think its probably just that when something becomes so routine if you don't do it you want it, but will be interesting to see all the same. And if I can manage to give up the diet coke then I may just have a crack at giving up the fags next

reply to post by Macabees


I hear you, I have had a lot of strange symptoms that I can't explain for years, over 50% of the symptoms on the list on the link, being misdiagnosed left, right and center! I had heard of aspartame being bad for you but I never know how deep the rabbit hole I could go with a little research....I guess it's worse than people initially thought...here's one of the links I found... Aspartame Toxic Effects I will certainly be checking all foods and drinks from now on, with special attention to diet foods and keeping the occasional processed foods off the shopping list completely!

Thanks for the tip off Macabees!

Originally posted by crezo
hmmmm, on another quick note, just read the post above about cravings and possible addiction to aspartame. That's a very interesting point that I really had never considered. I get MAJOR cravings for a diet coke if I've not had one after only a day (or less in some cases!), would be interesting to see if anyone else gets major cravings for drinks that contain aspartame?

Haha sounds like you are in the exact same boat as me. I always thought this stuff was bunk, or at least that it's just a allergic reaction some people have and it gets overblown by everybody else. I too am a slightly overweight smoker in pretty damn good health all things considered, and didn't notice any of the problems people talk about.

Then after reading a little more, and thinking about it, I realized I do have crazy cravings for diet soda after not having it. Which made me think, if these people are right about the cravings, maybe they are right about everything else too. Still have not made up my mind as I just stared my aspartame free experiment, but I'm pretty interested to see if anything changes, and definitely more open minded about the possibility that aspartame is doing something negative to me. This is why I love ATS, people on here are usually able to get their point across and make others (in this case, me) think more before jumping to conclusions. I'm a little ashamed to be honest that I was so against the idea of aspartame being bad for you without really doing some seriously thinking and research.

Another thing about the cravings, some might say it's from the lack of caffeine, but I drink plenty of strong coffee and even then I'm still wishing for a diet dr pepper!

I'm not sure if this was mentioned in this thread already, but Phenylketonuria is a disorder that (among other things) inhibits your ability to process aspartame. But I'm sure not everybody who is complaining of problems has such a disorder, and there are quite a few other issues that go along with it, and is apparently tested for at birth. Just thought it was worth a note.

reply to post by wonderboy2402


Make sure you come back and tell us how it worked for you
- in hopes you'll feel better,

what would be interesting to note is what foods and drinks DONT contain this crap!

i just read the Codial juices in the cupboard they have it in, the stuff you dilute with water?

fresh juice doesnt as far as i know, i bought some fresh apple juice the other day, the ingredients said "from concentrate" with no mention of any additives which i believe have to be mentioned explicitly on any labels here in UK.

check your food labels carefully for the names mentioned in the thread..

be careful and stay safe.

When processed and additive laden foods are given up, it is so much easier to appreciate real untampered food which tastes so much better.

Processed foods and overly salted / sweet, artificial additive ingredients taste offensive and toxic.

If people want to drink carbonated drinks, then carbonated spring water with fresh lemon juice sweetened with sacharin is far healthier and tastes infinitely superior to factory drinks.

Additionally, detoxing oneself from things like aspartame and other toxic ingredients makes cravings disappear and often restores health.

All it takes is a comprehensive shopping list containing only natural ingredients, easily done.

Water or Coke? �WATER 1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half the world population) 2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger. 3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%. 4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of Washington study. 5. Lack of water, the No. 1 trigger of daytime fatigue. 6. �Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of�water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. 7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on�the computer screen or on a printed page. 8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day? COKE 1. In many states the Highway Patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident. 2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days. 3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china. 4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:�Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola. 5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion. 6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes 7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy. 8. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run�through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield. FOR YOUR INFORMATION: 1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis. 2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must use a Hazardous Material place cards reserved for highly corrosive materials. 3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean engines of their trucks for about 20 years! Now the question is, would you like a glass of Water? or Coke?

www.saccharin.org...

hubpages.com...

reply to post by theabsolutetruth


We started baking our own bread; three or four loaves a week, and I cannot begin to describe how good it is. I am eating more bread than ever before. Slowly getting back to a more natural style.

reply to post by Macabees


it's so worth it....

I had allergies to wheat, milk, nuts, in fact could barely eat anything for years though drank plenty of diet coke and things got intolerable.

About 10 years ago, started to eat healthy, through trial and error found decent flours for baking (restaurant management major part of career and worked for a baker as a teenager) so started baking again, bread, cakes etc., which I enjoy, and do a few times a week. I also enjoy cooking, mostly traditional and eastern, all using only natural ingredients and prefer these to prepared ones. Also stopped drinking pop, and now drink tea, coffee, water, pressed juice, red wine and the occasional brandy etc, all good and tastes so much better....

Eventually my tasted buds realigned, my health improved and able to eat things I couldn't before, I have to say it was one of the best decisions I ever made and would never drink canned pop drinks or aspartame again.

reply to post by crezo


I use home made iced tea and add various "herbal teas" for flavor.

We can get raspberry, blueberry, cherry, spearmint and others here in the states so I pop a couple into my sun tea jar along with a good black tea.

If you prefer there is always iced coffee.

I normally make the stuff extra strong. Then I take a two litter plastic drink bottle , fill it 1/4 full of water tilt it on side and freeze it.

I live in North Carolina and those bottles go all over the farm with me. especially when the temps hit 35C and above!