A New Zealand doctor has “confirmed” a case of aspartame poisoning from excessive consumption of chewing sugarless gum.
When Ms Cormack, 25, of Wellington, began suffering crippling muscle cramps and tingling in her hands and feet about five months ago, she feared she was having a heart attack. She started suffering heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, depression and skin rashes, was unable to sleep and had to take sick leave. (source)
They Tested Her Extensively
Despite various tests, and prescriptions on anti-inflammatories and Valium – the symptoms persisted… Until Ms Cormack ceased her 4 packet-a-day chewing gum habit.
Her symptoms disappeared within 24 hours.
No Scientific Evidence?
There are currently many foods that can result in adverse reactions in different people (nuts, dairy, soy, gluten, etc). For these people, the process of isolating the cause (typically through a lengthy elimination diet) is difficult.
However – we know these foods can cause reactions. With aspartame – authorities claim that there is no scientific evidence of any adverse health effects.
The debate over aspartame will continue for some time yet.
In the mean time – you must find what works for you. As far as artificial sweeteners are concerned – it’s worth asking the question as to why everything we eat need be so sweet…
Alternatives to Aspartame?
Stevia seems to be the up and coming zero calorie natural sweetener and is making its way into the main stream.
Other people rave about xylitol, which is a zero calorie alcohol sugar.
I guess people could always give up chewing gum…….
Mines do the same…I feel like throwing up
I’ve been chewing about 8 to 10 sticks of gum every day (quit smoking!). Two nights ago I had an itchy rash on my lower arms, shoulders and thighs, but it went away after an hour or two. The next day, Saturday, I had no symptoms. Then last night the rash came back but 10 times worse and spread fast. I went on the Internet to discover that someone had had the same thing on and off for 3 months and found that the symptoms disapeared when she stopped chewing gum with aspartame. Something clicked in me… two night ago I had a stick of gum right before the symptoms started. Saturday I had no gum (and no rash), and then last night I had gum again… and presto, an hour later, my arms and legs were covered with tons of itchy red welts. We all know that allergies and intolerances can come up all of a suddent. A friend of mine never had a problem with seeds and nuts, but one evening she ate a bagel covered with sesame seeds. She woke up a few hours later in anaphylactic shock! All of a suddent she had become allergic to sesame seeds. It’s a no brainer for me : out with the gum and anything sugar free!
BE CAREFUL!!! Nutrasweet/ Phenylalanine is in MANY things other that sugar free stuff. I just discovered 88 mg. in my gluten free pizza crust. Geeesh!
I totally believe this as true.
Last year, a co-worker had given me some chewing gum and within an hour or so, I had the most crippling cramp-like pains ever! {And I actually don’t get them ever during that time of the month, which I was nowhere near at the time.}
I asked to look at the package of the gum and found that aspartame was definitely the culprit. I steer clear of anything aspartame-related and also avoid any fake sugars although I have accidentally consumed sucralose and felt quite alright.
But yeah – don’t drink or eat anything with fake sugar if you can help it.
no, I agree with the poster that scientists ARE assholes (in general). they are usually very ‘self-impressed’ with themselves and are an arraogant lot as a whole. kinda like lawyers. god complexes to boot. i’ve worked with many chemists and this is my impression.
they are whores for funding and are easily persuaded to fudge the facts for their funding masters. they make endless excuses for why chemicals are disposed of in the lakes and in the seas.
And we all should now by now how corrupted the FDA is. Government whores and scientist whores the lot of them.
believe it or not, i worked in the mid 90′s for the very chemist who brought NutraSweet to market. on several occasions i asked him if the then new controversy about the product being ‘unsafe’ and a neuro-toxin were true. each time he would change the subject and instead talk about how great a spokesperson Cher was (y’all remember that?) or how great the taste was. or that his stock in the company was doing really well. NEVER would he answer the question, so you interpret it as you will.
I quit my Diet Coke habit pronto.
everytime i drink flavoured water my hands and face go numb and tingley i get tunnled vision slurred speach somtimes i cant talk at all and thats followed by a excruciating migraine im going to cut it out completley and see if it happens anymore…
A degree in microbiology could help but a degree in OrganicChemistry would be what you want. And i never heard of any one turning to stone? Have you? make a reference to a recognised organic chemistry or any scientific journal then only will you have something to talk about. But being this interested in your health is a good thing don’t try to worry too much. Or don’t eat chewing gum……..!
Wrigleys ‘Extra’ Chewing gum almost did me in. 1 pack a day habit I had starting in 2001. My symptoms? Headaches, dizziness, rashes, rapidly dimishing quality of eyesight, huge irritability and personality change, depression, and last but by no means the least – unexplained bleeding from the rectum with every bowel movement. It took 3 years of doctors and finally my own research into elimination of all food and drink – one by one. I stopped chewing Extra gum – the symptoms gradually went away in a few weeks – ALL of them. Back on the gum as a test – symptoms returned. I do not need a doctor or anyone to explain that! It speaks for itself. So listen up and learn from my experience. I now have permanently damaged eyesight. That is the one symptom that did not change. Am I angry? You bet I am. Get busy and email your government departments that regulate food safety and ask them to seriously study Aspartame problems!
Well, you’re one of the lucky ones!!!
This article is seriously slaphappy. You expend most of the article talking about how awing this would be as a coefficient loss have, and how you’re exploit to try it yourself, and one younger denial at the land around “purgative insult is bad for you”.Purgative exercise is a forge of anorexia, the most deathly feature illness. Abusing laxatives to lose metric can and give penalize you. Aperient clapperclaw is not harmless, not caller, not fun, and *NOT* something you should be promoting, smooth in recreation.Earnestly, people. Are you journalists or bloggers? Because if you impoverishment to variety a avow to existence the sometime, please demonstrat
{people of the dangers kinda than claiming that you’re deed to do it yourself and vocation it “indulge”.
Unfortunately American consumers are on their own and it’s up to us to get informed and make decisions on what we ingest. For the past month and a half, I’ve been working long holiday shifts in a busy retail store and only getting one 30 minute break, so I’ve been chewing winterfresh gum like crazy to avoid getting stale breath during those long shifts, since then I’ve been suffering from terrible migraines, severe pain on the entire left side of my head including my face and eyes, tingling sensation on finger tips and left side of my upper back, feeling irritable and helpless, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, came down with a head cold that has lasted until now that I’ve lost my job due to calling out sick and stopped chewing that gum. The headaches have diminished, and I physically feel better.
So do you actually have any information to add, or are you so truly naive that you actually believe scare tactic reports from organizations that are directly opposed to artificial sweeteners as actual scientific studies? Let’s see in particular a scientific study on organ calcification due to splenda use.
Aspartame is definitely questionable in how it affects the body, but there’s really no concrete proof(to my knowledge)that it does serious harm to the body.
Thank you for helping me tonight I really appreciate it very much big time. Please help me out with all of these things and let it be the good news and I need the website that shows Alison & Cats that is the name of the gum company that doesn’t make gum without any aspartame inside those gums could you please help me out with all of those things for me. Yes please).
That is soo serious with that bad chemical: Better gum candy chemicals: Xylitol Sorbitol Succarose Mannitol Malitol Made Out Of Sugar Gum Base Corn Syrup also Acesulfame. All of those other ones can stay there but erase the chemical name that shows Aspartame out of the computer monitoring machine and throw those gums that are bad into the garbage it is horrible.
Signature’s Name: Miss: Erin Rebecca Chase same e-mail and home address for the residential home living place where I live with my parents as always. Could you please do that for me? I would really appreicate it very much if you could this is no joke can you do your best for me always?
Could you tell me how I might find a website that has to do with Alison & Cats that has to do with the gum company and that makes no gum with aspartame so I don’t have anymore seizures for me please?
That is whicked important not to have sugarfree gums and sugarless gums without any aspartame in it nobody should have it never ever. And this is something that nobody should have because it causes aspartame diseases and triggers seizures vertigo also the asthma disorder and allergic and allergies allergy stuff their is no reason for any of this stuff. Please call me at 508 997-1893 e-mail: cchase93@comcast.net Chase’s and Residential Address: 758 Main Street. Acushnet, Massachusetts. 02743-1100.
Signature’s Name: Miss: Erin Rebecca Chase. Gender Person: Female.
That’s a highly irresponsible comment coming from someone that I can only imagine lacks a degree in microbiology, or even if you did have one, I highly doubt you have reviewed all the studies and the paper work first hand. That being said, I don’t trust the government, they allow all different kinds of carcinogenics in our food. you know what happens to Splenda when it is metabolized? Neither do the Scientists, about 15% of it never leaves the body after metabolism breaks it down to a chlorine based molecule. Also, it is known to calcify your organs, that is, turn them to stone. Maybe that’s where all that “residue” goes after all. Aspartame breaks down to methanol, which breaks down to the equivalent of embalming fluid. You aren’t scared? I bet you just aren’t informed, do the research before making other people ignorant like you are. No offense. It is the same type of mentality that will elect an Obama or a McCain. We just “should” vote for them, everyone says we should…
Aspartame Makes You Fat, it tricks your body into creating Insulin and so you have an oversupply, it developes into insulin resistance and then eventually type 2 diabetes
http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/neur-sci/1998-May/032025.html
This is so true and important. I used to have chronic diarea for about 10 years. Finally one day I read that aspartame can act as a laxative. I quit gum and diet coke, and no longer had diarea.
maybe slowly detox by chewing non-aspartame gums (they do exist, find some ZAPP!)
ZAPP! Gum is aspartame free and only contains xylitol, which is a ‘sugar alcohol’ like Splenda — wayyy better for you (and has been shown to clean your teeth better, too). haven’t tried it yet though so I don’t know how the consistency is….Whole Foods also carried aspartame free sugar free gum.