The year was 1965. Chemist James Schlatter was testing a new chemical in his search for an anti-ulcer drug, when he accidentally discovered aspartame. As the story goes, he was recrystallizing aspartame from ethanol when some of the mixture spilled onto the outside of the flask. Unknowingly, some of the powder got onto his fingers, and when he licked his thumb to pick up a piece of paper, he noticed the extremely sweet taste. Realizing the sweet taste was likely to have come from the compound he had been working over, and believing it not likely to be toxic, he took a bit and tasted it. Though the discovery was reported in 1966, there was no mention of the sweetness. It wasn't until 1969 that the discovery was reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Concern for a growing rate of obesity among adults in the 1950's and 60's had brought forth a new market, that of diet products. The US drug giant Searle, recognized the enormous financial gains to be had by marketing their newly found sweetener to the masses. It was 200 times sweeter than sugar but contained no calories. It was a Capitalist's dream come true!

Today, the NutraSweet “swirl” can be found on numerous food and beverage products stored in every household in America. Hundreds of millions of people world wide, consume products containing aspartame, also known as Equal, NutraSweet, Spoonful, etc..

The three components making up the compound are methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Methanol is a poisonous and flammable liquid used for making formaldehyde, gas additives, paint strippers, and carburetor cleaners for car engines. It's the kind of alcohol that causes blindness if one should choose to drink it. Poisoning from the breakdown of methanol causes devastating and debilitating effects, even in small amounts. It's especially damaging when introduced with free-form amino acids (excitotoxins) such as the phenylalanine present in aspartame.

When methanol is absorbed through the stomach and small intestine it is converted to formaldehyde which is a known carcinogen. Following this conversion, the formaldehyde is converted to formic acid. Both of these metabolites are toxic and cumulative, meaning they will be stored in the body.

Amino acids are good for us EXCEPT when they are separated from their protein chains, and used alone which is how the phenylalanine (another excitotoxin) is used in aspartame. The third component of the compound, Aspartic acid, is a substance that over-stimulates nerve cells. It occurs in the brain, as well as peripheral nerves. When aspartic acid is used in free form, it accelerates absorption and very easily crosses the blood-brain barrier. Nerve cells become so overly excited that nerve function literally breaks down, and the cells die.

Aspartame is a true toxin and can not be construed as simply an allergic reaction. There is no other name to accurately describe it other than POISON. Excitotoxins are known to play a key role in diseases that affect the nervous system such as Lou Gherig's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases. During critical periods of brain development, an imbalance of these excitotoxins can result in malformation of brain pathways, leading to behavioral problems such as ADHD, ADD, aggression, and poor learning abilities. In addition, there may be a lifetime of endocrine problems such as menstrual difficulties, premature puberty, and even infertility.