Joy and the Journey

Aspartame is a zero-calorie sweetener used in diet beverages, sugar susbtitutes like Equal and NutraSweet, and low-calorie and diet foods. It is even sweeter than sugar, but it doesn't have any of the calories that sugar packs.

Sounds like a winner, right? Wrong.

Worrying news has come to the attention of many top researchers and scientists about the way in which aspartame was approved by the FDA. Research done to determine its safety seems shady--with 100% of contracted researchers declaring the drug safe and 92% of independent researchers demonstrating serious health risks. And there have been many lawsuits against aspartame, even by members of the FDA and scientific researchers who worked with the stuff, which all mysteriously disappear under unorthodox pretenses. Nothing against aspartame (well, except 92 symptoms including weight gain and serious diseases identified by the FDA) has been proven, so for now, it is considered safe for the public.

BUT! For individuals dealing with depression, aspartame can often make matters far worse. A study conducted by psychiatrist Dr. Walton showed that depressed patients who partook of aspartame experienced a significant worsening in their depression that was virtually nonexistant in the depressed control group, which was given a placebo and no actual drug.

To put it more scientifically, Dr Janet Hull tells us "Aspartame suppresses serotonin, so a diet saturated with aspartame creates an environment for depression, sleep disorders, and hyperactivityand sever mood swings." If you have depression, the active serotonin in your brain is already too low. Trust me, you want to avoid anything that suppresses it further.

Ralph Walton, M.D., (Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, at Northeastern Ohio UniversitybCollege of Medicine), said: "We have known for

years that when aspartame is ingested with a carbohydrate rich meal the usual physiologic increase in tryptophan is blocked, while brain phenylalanine and tyrosine concentrations are increased. These changes in amino acid neurotransmitter precursors could, I believe, alter in doleamine/catecholamine balance, and thus have a profound effect on mood and cognition ... depressed mood, anxiety, dizziness, panic attacks, nausea, irritability, impairment of memory and concentration."

We don't have any solid conclusion here, but if you suffer from depression, you may want to stop drinking Diet sodas, keep artificial sweeteners out of your tea and coffee, and avoid diet foods containing aspartame. It definitely won't hurt you to cut aspartame out of your life, and who knows, it might help. We recommend you try it and see what happens. We certainly are!

Sources:

http://www.mcmanweb.com/diet_coke.html

http://www.janethull.com/askdrhull/article.php?id=020

http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/aspartame.htm

Scientists, wonderfully enough, are always coming up with new information about depression and its various causes, symptoms, and treatment. We at Joy and the Journey think it is important to keep up with these scientific advancements. So, when we hear/see new things that might be of interest to those that suffer from depression, we'll post them on here!

Keep checking back...we'll be updating regularly