'Have your views on aspartame changed? DO you use it?"

Don't know what so "ridicolous," Noney.

But I agree with the research suggestion. Lots of reliable info out there. Some voodoo too. Suggest we be leery of information supplied by those wanting to sell ya something or those with a monetary interest (business and politicos come to mind).

Another approach would be to speak with health care folks knowledgeable in nutrition. IMHO there's lots to learn in this area (aspartame isn't the only chemical we need to be concerned with, e.g., pesticides).

I've also witnessed people diagnosed with aspartame prob's (mostly heart related issues) at the hospital.

Up and till last year, I had the same attitude as some of the above posters. Feel so much better after discontinuing Equal. (No other changes made.) So if you're open to finding out for yourself, still another course would be to experiment. (Give it, at least, a couple of months.)

Not trying to convert anyone. I'm for personal choice. After all, it's our bodies and minds.

Let's celebrate our health!

So Sonny Bono was drinking diet coke when he crashed into a tree skiing, huh?

And John Ritter may have been a diet coke drinker?

That sort of garbage included in 'research' seen by the public is just stupid.

Maybe all these reported deaths possibly related to aspartame were in reality due to these people eating carrots or green beans or potato chips or drinking tap water instead of bottled water or....? Did this researcher check to see if these folks had any of these things in common?

We have brains for a reason. We are supposed to use them!

A comedian once said "no i'm not a healthnut, it would suck for my last meal to be wheat germ and bee pollen, gimme the Big Mac"

My feelings exactly about "research".

I don't like all the hype re aspartame. It's hard to know what to believe and what to dismiss. All I know is that I used to drink diet sodas and eat foods with aspartame daily. I had stiff joints, loose stools to the point of IBS s/s, headaches, and hypoglycemic episodes, all in my 30's. I was tired and fatigued almost all the time. Even went to my Dr who tested my thyroid, blood levels, and he couldn't find any problem. I decided to cut out the aspartame and after about a month, all my s/s went away and have not returned. The only thing I changed was my intake of diet products. Coincidence? I doubt it. Perhaps it bothers some but not all? I have no scientific data to share, only my own personal experience. But, I do wonder why there is so much information/misinformation out there re aspartame if there isn't some problem with the product?

Crap...I drink diet cokes and use Equal in my coffee every day. Is that why I can't quite reach that 94% on my exams to make an A? Is it killing my brain cells? They said alcohol kills brain cells, so I quit drinking...now it's aspartame.
No smoking, no drinking, no eating (the good stuff)...die anyway. sigh...

As one of my brothers is fond of saying: "No one gets out alive!"

If ya really like the soda....keep on keeping on...you won't have problems until in your 40's when the heartburn starts.

I'm 42.

I'm 46 and NO heartburn.

I did have it two years ago but I was preggers.

Just had a cup of coffee with Splenda . . . soon to imbibe in a Diet Pepsi.

If it bothers you, stop using it. If not, go ahead. Just don't pass on rumors and innuendo . . .we are professional medical people. The public trusts us, or should trust us to make solid scientific decisions.

steph

Been drinking diet pop for 10-15 years, have no problems.

For people seeming to be affected by aspartame, the docs should have also asked what else is in their diet, how much sleep they get, do they excersize, how physically demanding their jobs are, etc.

I have coworkers complain of the same things - stiff joints, headaches, fatigue, etc. - and try to blame aspartame - but most of them are trying to take care of their families and houses all day long, never get more than 3 hours sleep per day, never excercise, eat junk all the time, etc. Especially if there are busy nurses complaining about these side effects - maybe the problem has more to do with lifestyle?

(Of course, my rant about how nurses treat the night shift as if it's some other plane of existance is another topic altogether. We all have coworkers who wake up at 6am every day, never take a nap, and come onto the night shift as if there's nothing wrong with being on no sleep, EVERY NIGHT THEY WORK. I know childcare is an issue, but so is your patients' safety!)

I too question how we are tending to use anecdotal information when scientific studies have not shown anything. Anectdotally, I have had no problems with aspartame and so tend to believe that it's not a problem.

I tend to side with those who point to our overall unhealthy lifestyle choices in this society and our tendency to want to blame a single thing for the attendant health problems when, like most problems, the cause is multifactorial. If we outlawed aspartame tomorrow, we would still be a people that (generalizing here) overeats, doesn't exercise enough, wants a pill to fix everything we've done wrong to our bodies, and doesn't take responsibility when our chickens come home to roost.