Aspartame and its effects on health: Independently funded studies have found potential for adverse effects

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7486.309-a

BMJ 2005;330:309-310 (5 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7486.309-a

Letter

Aspartame and its effects on health

Independently funded studies have found potential for adverse effects

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Lean and Hankey's editorial on the effects of aspartameand health gives this artificial sweetener a clean bill of health.¹However, it seems they have ignored or dismissed a wealth ofevidence, which shows that aspartame can provoke a wide rangeof symptoms including depression² and headaches.^3
4 Other studies(a total of 91) that attest to aspartame's potential for harmcan be found in an online review of peer reviewed literature.⁵

This review is particularly worrying as it shows that, although100% of industry funded (either whole or in part) studies concludethat aspartame is safe, 92% of independently funded studieshave found that aspartame has the potential for adverse effects.

Molecular structure of aspartame

Credit:www.lefinnosis.net

Also, while Lean and Hankey speculate on the potential of aspartameto bring about weight loss, their assessment is largely theoretical(based on the potential for the replacement of sugar with . . . [Full text of this article]

John Briffa, general practitioner

London N6 5ED DrJBriffa@aol.com