Other than an on-again off-again relationship with my weight, I've had overall good health basically my whole life. Seasonal allergies, sinus, and colds were always the worst of the lot until I was diagnosed with IBS. Still I was mostly healthy with little aches and pains and decent fitness.
When I got pregnant with our second son, I had problems with gestational diabetes. My eating and health habits had to change drastically. One major change for me was switching to diet sodas. I didn't/don't drink a lot of soda, maybe 18 ounces in a day. But I had to make better choices for my baby.
Shortly after the birth of our second little boy I noticed odd aches and anxiety. This I just chocked up to post baby issues. My body was readjusting to baby-less ways and I was sure to experience many new and old symptoms. After all this was my second child in nineteen months. But these symptoms lasted and lasted. I saw my doctor often trying to figure out what was causing my continued fatigue, anxiety, headaches, body aches, stomach pains, and cloudy head. Two years after our second son and still not symptom free, my doctor and I found some medications to alleviate some symptoms. The medication for my IBS was a great thing. However , I don't like the thoughts of being on any medication long term. And my symptoms started to return.
But you learn to deal with them. You learn to live around and with the symptoms instead of letting it stop your life. The headaches and fatigue were the worst. I constantly felt awful and couldn't enjoy my kids. I wanted to sleep all the time and became very moody. All my symptoms could be linked to various issues. I had heard several whispers of a link between aspartame and many of my symptoms. I just never gave it much thought. I mean they were only whispers.
Four years later and the birth of our third son headed me into the choice to make better health choices. I lost some weight and started eating better. I still had most of my symptoms but the better eating lightened some. I started seeing more and more "warnings" about the effects of aspartame and prolonged use. But I still thought it was more than likely just my poor eating and fitness habits.
Seven months ago, we had our fourth little boy and I reserved to lose all my extra weight, exercise and better mine and my family's health. I started watching my sugar, fat, and calorie intake as well as cooking better for my family. I added a wider variety of vegetables and started working out. I was feeling great! I still had symptoms as before but a few were more minor. The fatigue was a lot better and the foggy head too. But I had massive joint pain in my hips and shoulders. I had constant terrible headaches and my shoulders were consistently tense. I had an unusual pressure in my head as well. A month after the delivery I made some trips to the doctor and had antibiotics to clear up sinuses but I still had the symptoms.
After seeing some more articles warning against aspartame, I decided to cut it out of my diet. Within weeks my symptoms all disappeared! No more headaches, no more muscle aches, no more foggy head or fatigue! But it was hard. I craved diet Dr. Pepper just like it was water. And the symptom free part didn't come easy. The first week of not having aspartame I had withdrawals. I was cranky and had a slight headache. But it was a small price to pay to eliminate all the rest. Once my system had cleared of the substance I was good to go.
I still get cravings for diet Dr. Pepper (my fave soda) and would break down and have one occasionally. Over the holiday I broke down and drank one whenever I wanted. This week I have definitely paid the price. I have joint pain that's brought me to tears, been even more fatigued, stomach cramps, and horrendous headaches. Not to mention awful mood swings and pressure in my head. These could all be linked to stress as well and not taking good care of myself over the holidays. But all that is still the same, still stressed and not been able to take as good of care of myself due circumstances but I have not had any diet Dr. Pepper or any other item containing aspartame in a few days. My system is resuming to its normal state. My joint pain is mostly gone and my mood is settling. The headache is still there but easing up. So for me, it seems kind of obvious that since the only change is eliminating aspartame from my diet, aspartame is the cause of my symptoms.
I have been doing some research on the subject and found the views to be a mixed bag. In the '80's the CDC did a survey of sorts of complainants of aspartame. Being basically surveillance it didn't help much in the clearing up of disputes. You can read the article here.
I have found that you will find adamant views for both sides of this dispute. You will find both founded by studies and supporters. A little knowledge goes a long way when ciphering through all the opinions and studies. The most important deciding factor for me has been personal experience.
Aspartame is made of three chemicals: Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, and Methanol.
Phenylalanine is a protein found in various protein-rich foods. It isn't considered a health risk for most individuals unless you have certain preexisting conditions. PKU is the biggest concern thus the warnings on diet products containing aspartame. The Mayo Clinic has a good little article on phenylalanine. You can check it out here.
Methanol is best known for its fuel use. Which to me speaks volumes of what effects aspartame is/can have on your health. you can read the definition and some history of methanol here. However certain studies find the amount is insignificant enough to not cause harm. One article I found stating this can be read here.
Aspartic acid is naturally occurring amino acid. You can read the technical stuff here. the previous link I gave for the article talking about methanol also has information about aspartic acid and its role in aspartame.
I have came across many articles stating the down sides and various studies to support them. You can read my top two picks can be read here, here, and here.
I am by no means and expert nor a doctor. I have done no studies myself just done some reading up and also know the effects aspartame has on my own body. I have the differences in when I consume aspartame and when I don't consume aspartame to show me whether aspartame is a chemical I want to consume- no matter how naturally occurring the ingredients may be.
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