Life without Aspartame...

Yes, you read that title correctly.  I am living my life without my sweet friend (get it - haha) aspartame, more commonly known as Splenda *sigh*.  This all got started with one too many conversations with the family about the effects of aspartame.  Such as...can cause brain tumors, short term memory loss, blah, blah, blah.  Basically, it's not good for you.  And I had a lot of it in my diet.  I mean, a ton.  Diet soda, light yogurt, Crystal Light, Splenda in my coffee - yup, everyday for the past who-knows-how-many-years it has been a staple.  And I loved it!  

I have shared with you all how I am doing Weight Watchers.  Well, aspartame is a good friend to have on Weight Watchers because it makes everything it touches HAVE NO CALORIES!!  Amazing!  I consumed it even more.  It's like sugar.  Except way bad for you.  Not that sugar is any better.  Really we shouldn't be consuming a lot of sugar either.  Over the past three weeks as I've slowly been cutting aspartame from my diet I have noticed how many things it is actually in and many ways my body is responding differently or improved.  And that is scary.  

Here is what I have noticed since I've quit aspartame:

I don't crave as much sugar.  Kind of ironic, no?  But my cravings have changed dramatically.  Instead of wanting ice cream, a handful of chocolate chips or lumps of brown sugar (yes, those are normal cravings for me) my body has been asking for fruit and carbohydrates in the form of bread.  Wow - what a difference!  It's amazing.  Last night at my Weight Watchers meeting I was sharing this observation with my leader.  She kicked aspartame last year because her doctor told her to.  He told her that aspartame tricks our brain into thinking it's receiving more calories than it actually is, which means that when our body doesn't receive those calories it goes looking for it somewhere else (in other words, makes you crave more calories!).  Crazy.

I don't have as many headaches.  Ok, this is kind of not true because the first week I stopped drinking diet soda I had crazy headaches.  I attribute those to the lack of caffeine in my diet.  Now, I don't have headaches as often.  I think because I'm drinking more water (what else can I drink with no diet soda and no Crystal Light?) and eating better.  

I remember more.  Actually, that should probably say "I forget less".  Before, multiple times a day I struggled to remember things I had done moments before or why I had walked into a room.  Now, I might lapse for a few seconds but I actually remember!  And I find that my brain is working better (which is pretty amazing because it's also on summer mode).  Awesome possum!  I think this can be explained by an excerpt from an article I found online (http://aspartame.mercola.com/):

The excess glutamate and aspartate slowly begin to destroy neurons. The large majority (75 percent or more) of neural cells in a particular area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic illness are noticed....A few of the many experts who have spoken out against the damage being caused by aspartate and glutamate include Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D., an experimental psychologist specializing in research design. Another is Olney, a professor in the department of psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University, a neuroscientist and researcher, and one of the world's foremost authorities on excitotoxins. (He informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice.)

Yikes!  Holes in our brains?  Get me outta there...

No more ringing.  Another online article (http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html) listed hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing or buzzing sound) as side effects.  I didn't know it until I read that article, but before a few weeks ago at any given time I almost always heard ringing in my ears.  I just thought it was normal.  I'm not joking - it was almost constant.  I learned to block it out, but if I listened for it the ringing was still there.  Right now?  No ringing.  None.  Nada.  Zip.  And that, my friends, is unusual for me. 

If you need more convincing there is a documentary out there called "Sweet Misery."  I actually haven't watched it yet.  I wanted to feel good about myself before I watched another documentary that would make me alter my entire world.  

So there you have it.  I am on a journey.  It's not easy - there is aspartame in everything.  But I am trying and so far, so good.  In fact, last night I discovered a carbonated flavored water with no aspartame!!  Guess who's going to pick some of that up later?  (I think it's called Cascade Ice and is on sale right now at Albertsons)  What is something in your diet that you've realized wasn't healthy and you kicked it?  Any other aspartame lovers out there?  Do you know of anything that is awesome and low calorie that doesn't have aspartame?  Please tell me, I'm listening (and can actually hear you)...