Let’s talk about aspartame.

Two hundred times sweeter than sugar, aspartame was developed in the 1960s by scientists looking for a drug to treat ulcers. Aspartame’s sweet taste was discovered accidentally, and the product went through a few studies to prove it safe for human consumption.

In spite of some questionable findings, aspartame was eventually approved for use in dry goods and, later on, in liquids such as diet soda.

Over the years I read a few dramatic email forwards about the dangers of aspartame, but usually just ignored them. They didn’t seem to apply to me since I rarely consumed the stuff other than a short time in high school when I went through a diet Coke phase. It always left a funny taste in my mouth; and anyway, I wan’t particularly interested in cutting calories.

While the thought of a chemical sweetener didn’t really freak me out, I remember thinking that it made more sense just to eat the sugar.

According to Wikipedia, when ingested, “aspartame breaks down into natural residual components, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methanol,^[25] and further breakdown products including formaldehyde^[26] and formic acid. Did I read that right? Formaldehyde?

Yep.

Some people claim that aspartame has ruined their health, and studies have shown that it might have caused tumors in rats.

Really, how can we know the truth? What if the people who are now sick and dying from aspartame consumption were living otherwise unhealthy lifestyles and their diet soda habit was just a coincidence? Can anyone say without a doubt exactly what caused their health problems?

I don’t think so.

But, when you stop to think about it, does it make sense intuitively to put chemicals in your body on purpose?

Like my good friend Stacie says, “I think I’ll stick to sugar because my body knows what to do with it.”

I love that.

If what you’re eating isn’t actually a food, why eat it? My personal philosophy is to eat as much whole food as possible. If you don’t know how it was made or what it’s made out of, please choose something else.

My final advice is to keep an eye on labels.

Aspartame can show up in unlikely places. I used to have a 3 to 4 piece-a-day sugarless chewing gum habit. I never realized I was swallowing aspartame with each piece. I’ve cut down on gum a lot, but when I do want a piece I stick with xylitol-sweetened Spry brand.

For more information, watch the documentary “Sweet Misery.”