Read more below about the sweeteners found in diet drinks and decide for yourself...

Aspartame: Besides diet soft drinks, the main sources of Aspartame in people's diets are the sweetener in the blue packets - "EQUAL" and the brand name sweetener "NUTRASWEET". Aspartame is an FDA approved natural sweetener made from amino acids. Scientific testing to establish aspartame's safety prior to FDA approval resulted in brain tumors and grand mal seizures in rat studies, and depression, menstrual irregularities, constipation, headaches, tiredness, and general swelling in human test groups. When exposed to heat, aspartame breaks down into toxic methyl alcohol. This may occur even at temperatures reached by diet sodas during regular storage.

An analysis of peer reviewed medical literature using MEDLINE and other databases was conducted by Ralph G. Walton, MD, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Dr. Walton analyzed 164 studies which were felt to have relevance to human safety questions. Of those studies, 74 studies had aspartame industry-related sponsorship and 90 were funded without any industry money. Of the 90 non-industry-sponsored studies, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame. Of the 7 studies which did not find a problems, 6 of those studies were conducted by the FDA.

Given that a number of FDA officials went to work for the aspartame industry immediately following approval (including the former FDA Commissioner), many consider these studies to be equivalent to industry-sponsored research. Of the 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies, all 74 (100%) claimed that no problems were found with aspartame. Given this data, one has to question the safety of Aspartame.