Aspartame is one of the most widely used artificial sweeteners in the world. It is added to approximately 6,000 consumer foods, beverages, chewable vitamin supplements, laxatives, milk drinks, pharmaceutical drugs and supplements, shake mixes, teas, instant coffees, wine coolers, condiments, etc. It is also sold under the trade names Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel. It was originally produced by G.D. Searle, but this company was purchased by Monsanto in 1984.
The dangers of aspartame use has been a very contentious issue. The FDA, and other large corporations and regulators have claimed that aspartame is a harmless chemical. But others have argued that aspartame is very dangerous. After a careful examination of the evidence, it would appear that aspartame is harmful. This is in addition to the controversy surrounding the scientific studies that were used to justify the approval of aspartame for human consumption.
