Aspartame is a low-calorie artificial sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. The calories in some foods and beverages can be reduced or even eliminated by using aspartame instead of sugar.

Aspartame was created in 1965, but had to wait until 1981 to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, aspartame has been used worldwide. Aspartame is also widely used by diabetic patients, allowing them to eat sweet foods without consuming any sugar. There are many brand names for aspartame, including NutraSweet and Equal.

Aspartame is a combination of two natural amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, plus methanol, derived from fruits and vegetables.

The FDA has set an “Accepted Daily Intake” (ADI) for aspartame.

The ADI is expressed as the amount of aspartame in milligrams (mg) per kilograms (kg) of body weight (mg/kg).

The FDA’s ADI for aspartame is 40 to 50 mg/kg of body weight, which is equivalent to a 70 kg person consuming about 20 cans of aspartame sweetened beverages in a day.

After digestion, aspartame breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol, which then enters the blood. The body uses these products the same way it would if derived (in much greater amounts) from natural foods and beverages.

For example, a serving of non-fat milk gives six times more phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid than a similar serving of a beverage containing aspartame. Similarly, a serving of tomato juice will give six times more methanol than a typical serving of aspartame.

Neither aspartame nor its components accumulate in the body.

Aspartame is one of the most researched sugar substitutes in US. There has been lot of misconception about the use of aspartame since its approval in 1981, but, aspartame has not been shown to cause any specific disease and so far no consequences of aspartame usage have been reported. It does not cause tooth decay, and can help control weight. It is also safe for use by diabetics.

However, the use of aspartame is often questioned. The controversy that surrounds aspartame is usually focused on the components present in aspartame.

Methanol, one of the metabolic products of aspartame, is absorbed and converted into formaldehyde. Formaldehyde can destroy cells and tissues. Formaldehyde also gets converted into formic acid, and can cause metabolic acidosis.

Aspartic acid is metabolized easily and absorbed very quickly, thereby increasing the level of aspartic acid in blood. This has shown to cause brain-damage in many animal studies

Aspartame can break down if stored at high temperatures.

In addition, aspartame should not be consumed by people who have phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare hereditary disease that prevents phenylalanine from being metabolized by the body. Phenylalanine is one of the components of aspartame. Non-metabolized phenylalanine starts accumulating in the body and can result in serious health complications.