Ask Karen: Is aspartame too dangerous?

I have condensed this week’s question because it was in e-mail form asking about an e-mail going around regarding aspartame and possible dangers associated with it. It basically blamed aspartame for everything from Gulf War Syndrome to multiple sclerosis, lupus and ADHD. That being said, here’s what I have been able to find out from a local dietitian regarding aspartame and any complications that may come from ingesting it.

Registered dietitian Dorothy Shaver says, “If someone has PKU (phenylketonuria) they are unable to metabolize phenylalanine (which is in aspartame), and some fibromyalgia/MS symptoms have occurred in people with PKU when they ingest something that contains phenylalanine.”

She says, about 1 in 20,000 people will see those symptoms because of PKU.

“As far as being dangerous for others, I have not heard that and no studies say that it causes sickness such as MS, cancer or fibromyalgia. There have been many studies that show it causes cancer in animals (rats), but not in humans. Epidemiological studies don’t provide clear evidence,” Shaver says.

However, this is not a recommendation for people to ingest aspartame.
Shaver says, “I wouldn’t recommend eating and drinking items that contain aspartame all of the time because it is an unnatural, lab-made food, but it is generally recognized as safe.”