Dr. Roberts does an excellent job of summarizing the neurological and physiological effects of chronic aspartame consumption using observations from his years of medical practice as an internist as well as information obtained from other physicians and from a detailed questionnaire he sent out to a large population group. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is widely used in 'diet' soda pop as well as chewing gum, instant iced tea, jello mixes, and other food products. The weakest part of the book is probably where it attempts to identify possible mechanisms for the neurological effects of Aspartame since research is still in the early stages on WHY Aspartame has some of the negative neurological effects that are observed. Understandably, though, Dr. Roberts, feels compelled to attempt to address that question and points to several possibilities including the toxicity of aspartame metabolites such as methanol, the increased neurotoxicity of optical stereoisomers produced during storage at elevated temperatures, phenylalanine vulnerability of the 1 in 50 people who are recessive carriers of the gene for PKU disease, artificial imbalanced consumption of amino acids, interaction with neurotransmitter levels in the body, etc. Some of these are the objects of current research projects but knowledge on pathways and mechanisms is still in the early stage of discovery.
Dr. Roberts clinical observations of aspartame-triggered illness are excellent and speak to his experience and skill as a physician. This book is required reading for anyone who is interested in the physical manifestations of aspartame-caused illness.
