I have a real weakness for the sweet taste of sugar. I could sit down and eat a whole bag of chocolate candy. This love of sweets is one of the main reasons I have had weight issues for the last few years. I am now on a weigh down plan. There are times I think I could sit down and eat a 100 lb piece of cake or pie. However, I have been and am determined to limit my sweets. I eat cookies made with xylitol occasionally. Xylitol is an all natural sweetener. I am determined to keep aspartame out of my diet and my body. I have heard for years how dangerous aspartame was to my health. I have been told so many times to use it in moderation and it would be safe. I was always afraid of aspartame, probably due to the fact that every time I did consume even a small amount in a drink or a cookie I would be sick in just a few minutes. It would give me headaches, nausea and diarrhea. Anything that makes you feel so bad could not be good for you. Short study after short study has been done on the danger of aspartame. How many reports have to say something causes cancer before it is believed?

The first artificial sweetener named saccharine was discovered in 1879. This sweetener was used during World War I and II. It was used because of the sugar shortage during this time period. I guess people have always liked that sweet taste of sugar. Because of a Canadian study finding that saccharine caused bladder cancer in rats the FDA was going to ban it. Because of the popularity of this product and the public’s desire for this artificial sweetener they decided to put a warning on the label. The label stated “Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.” You can still purchase this sweetener today.

Many artificial sweeteners and studies have come and gone. Many artificial sweeteners are still around and being used at an alarming pace.

For several years the most popular artificial sweetener has been aspartame. This has been used in soft drinks, cookies, cakes, juices, and candies. This sweetener has also been studied many times and the public has been warned of the dangers of cancer it may cause. There have been countless magazine articles, news and internet reports stating that aspartame has been shown to cause cancer in lab animals. Still no warning on the containers and no ban has been put on this dangerous artificial sweetener. What is it going to take to get this product off the shelf or at least require a warning label?

Finally there has been a long term study released. A study over a 22 year period of 77,218 women and 47,810 men shows a major link between aspartame, leukemia, myeloma and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The study very clearly states just one diet soft drink per day increases your risk of developing these diseases. The study also shows an increase of breast cancer in the female rats. Will future studies find a link between brain, breast and prostate cancer?

I watched my sweet daddy and father in law both die from leukemia. My dad had consumed probably thousands of diet soft drinks in his life time. He drank diets because he did not want to gain weight. My father-in-law always drank diet soft drinks. He also ate cookies and cakes with aspartame. He thought aspartame was healthier than sugar. Was there a link between their aspartame consumption and their leukemia? I don’t know. I do believe this study shows it is very possible. I also know I will continue to stay away from aspartame, and I encourage everyone reading this to do the same and to pass this information on to as many people as possible.

Please follow the link below and read more about this dangerous sweetener.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html