Aspartame—True or False? Narrative Review of Safety Analysis of General Use in Products
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2. Aspartame Metabolism
Aspartame consists of two amino acids (L-phenylalanine and L-aspartic acid). It is hydrolyzed and absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) through the action of esterase and peptidases. Digestion releases methanol (10%), aspartic acid (40%) and phenylalanine (50%) (Table 1), which are absorbable in the intestinal mucosa [10]. These metabolites can be harmful at high doses and hence prolonged aspartame consumption may be a risk factor [11,12]. Indeed, the metabolism products of aspartame are believed to be more toxic than the original substance itself [13,14]. Methanol is firstly oxidized in the liver to formaldehyde and again to formic acid; however, while methanol is known to damage the liver, formaldehyde and formate are also responsible for the destruction of liver cells.
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One of the first and most serious allegations against aspartame consumption was its carcinogenic effect on the body; which has been attributed to its breakdown to harmful formaldehyde, with carcinogenic potential [135]. Consumption of 1 L of diet soda results in the transformation of approximately 600 mg of aspartame into 60 mg of formaldehyde [136,137,138], which greatly exceeds the ADI (0.15 mg of formaldehyde for every kg of body weight). There is clearly a great need for further studies to determine the impact of such aspartame metabolization.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8227014/
Donald Rumsfeld and the Strange History of Aspartame
Yes, that Donald Rumsfeld, the “knowns and unknowns” guy who remarkably executed some of the worst decisions in American foreign policy and got a medal for it. I have been reading up on this strange chapter in the history of Donald Rumsfeld and have learned two things. One, the chemical additive aspartame is very potentially a cancer and brain tumor-causing substance that has no place in our food. And two, the reasons and means by which Rumsfeld helped get it approved are nefarious at best, criminal at worst. And by the way, that medal that Rumsfeld got back in 2004 was the Presidential Medal of Freedom, also awarded to Tommy Franks, George Tenet and that charming warrior L. Paul Bremer. Evidently, “Freedom” means the right to use your powerful friends in Washington to approve your company’s dangerous substance for human consumption and make a fat bonus on the way out the door. So how did aspartame become legal? And more importantly, if it had been rejected multiple times over fears of brain tumors and cancer, why?
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581