"New" & "Natural" Sweetener (Which is Neither)

I just read this really disturbing article about how the makers of aspartame (a/k/a Nutrasweet and Equal) is rebranding their product with a new name and under the guise of being a "natural sweetener."

Aspartame has been renamed and is now being marketed as a natural sweetener

Friday, February 12, 2010
by: Ethan Huff, citizen journalist

In response to growing awareness about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, what does the manufacturer of one of the world's most notable artificial sweeteners do? Why, rename it and begin marketing it as natural, of course. This is precisely the strategy of Ajinomoto, maker of aspartame, which hopes to pull the wool over the eyes of the public with its rebranded version of aspartame, called "AminoSweet".

Over 25 years ago, aspartame was first introduced into the European food supply. Today, it is an everyday component of most diet beverages, sugar-free desserts, and chewing gums in countries worldwide. But the tides have been turning as the general public is waking up to the truth about artificial sweeteners like aspartame and the harm they cause to health. The latest aspartame marketing scheme is a desperate effort to indoctrinate the public into accepting the chemical sweetener as natural and safe, despite evidence to the contrary.

You can read the rest of this article here.

I think one of the biggest problems is that the term "natural" is essentially useless these days. "Natural" makes me think of unprocessed, healthy things. But "natural" is just a buzzword that only wants to make you think those things so you'll buy whatever is being advertised to you.

We need to be so diligent in reading packages and ingredients and knowing what we're putting into our bodies. And saying no to "frankenfoods" that are nothing more than processed crap that end up causing all kinds of unthinkable diseases years after we've all become addicted to them.

I have not eaten an artificial sweetener for about 7 years now. But this post isn't about proselytizing to you to give them up also. What I want to do is educate people who think they are getting something supposedly healthy. Or the person who gave up aspartame/Nutrasweet and instead will get this "new" sweetener, AminoSweet, not realizing it's the exact same thing. Eat what you want to eat, but at least be educated on what it is. Or in this case, what it isn't.