Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure.

Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company was testing an anti-ulcer drug... and was later approved for dry goods in 1981.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to FDA... and is considered by most health professionals to be the most dangerous substance on the food additive market.

Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death which was disclosed in a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report.

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include... headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame... brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.