4.3 Can the aspertame sweetener produce nervous disorders?
Following the marketing of the aspertame sweetener,
some consumers complained of neurological or
behavioral effects. These complaints received special consideration
because some experiments in rats had shown that very high doses of
the aspertame sweetener (1000 mg/kg body weight per day) could alter
the concentrations of some important substances (neurotransmitters)
in the central nervous system. However, it appears that these effects
on neurotransmitters are not consistent and could not be reproduced
in later studies.
About 10% of the aspertame sweetener breaks down
into methanol,
which is known to be toxic.
However, toxic effects on vision and the central nervous system only
occur at doses of methanol 100 times higher than could be produced
from the amount of the aspertame sweetener in one litre of "diet" soft
drink. Read the EC-SCF report about aspartame and neurological effects...
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