Allow me to continue the saga of Dr. Ansari in my
Nutrition class at Palmer College of Chiropractic. One day we came into class,
and somehow the discussion turned to Aspartame. In 1981, Aspartame was a
relatively unknown product – diet soft drinks were about the only thing that
contained it. Most people were still leery about no-calorie sweeteners because
of the Saccharin debacle. Today Aspartame is known by several labels, including
NutraSweet® and Equal®.
Dr. Ansari informed us that
in the body, Aspartame was broken down into amino acids which, in large
quantities, caused de-myelinization of the nerves. Nerves transmit an impulse
at a set, measurable rate of speed. Myelin forms around the nerves and acts as
an insulator which allows the impulse to travel at a higher rate of speed –
more myelin, faster signal.
The benefit of this is that different
nerves carry information and instructions at different rates of speed, creating
coordination. When the myelin deteriorates there is a loss of coordination, not
only of the skeletal muscles, but of all bodily functions. One of the
conditions this generates is called Multiple Sclerosis or MS.
We were all naturally
concerned, and asked if we should quit drinking diet drinks. He laughed, and said that one or two sodas
every day or so was perfectly safe. The
only problem came, he said, if every meal contained mostly Aspartame instead of sugar,
and there was no danger of that happening.
I realize that our federal
government issued a statement in 1987 saying that there was absolutely no risk
is consuming Aspartame, but have you looked at the ingredients list on the
foods you buy nowadays? You would be hard-pressed to find any prepared
foods that don’t contain Aspartame or other artificial sweeteners, and
government and other entities have been wrong before. Is drinking all the soda
you want and eating extra calories because you aren’t drinking them, worth the
risk of a condition like MS?
Getting rid of your pain,
Dr. Steven Ray,
Chiropractor
Val Vista Chiropractic
I didn't know this ingredient can hurt our system. Thanks much for sharing this message.
ReplyDeleteObviously there is still lots of discussion on this topic. I just find it interesting that numbers of MS-related cases seem to be on the rise. It's hard to believe that it's only coincedence.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and commenting.