Can Nutrasweet (Aspartame) trigger seizures?
In 1984, there were 3 reports about large amounts of Aspartame causing a lowering of the seizure threshold and therefore increasing seizure activity. The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta did a review of this and were unable to find any cause or effect relationship at normal doses. More recently, Aspartame has been found to be unsuitable for some children with generalized absence Epilepsy. A Queen’s University study looked at the brain-wave patterns in 10 children and the effects of the artificial sweetener “Nutrasweet”. A 40% increase in abnormal brain-wave activity associated with absence seizures was found in this study. However, there was no effect on the actual number of seizures. Research on this topic is continuing.
In 1984, there were 3 reports about large amounts of Aspartame causing a lowering of the seizure threshold and therefore increasing seizure activity. The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta did a review of this and were unable to find any cause or effect relationship at normal doses. More recently, Aspartame has been found to be unsuitable for some children with generalized absence Epilepsy. A Queen’s University study looked at the brain-wave patterns in 10 children and the effects of the artificial sweetener “Nutrasweet”. A 40% increase in abnormal brain-wave activity associated with absence seizures was found in this study. However, there was no effect on the actual number of seizures. Research on this topic is continuing.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can induce epileptic-type seizures. This condition can be caused by diet or by drugs such as insulin. This is not really Epilepsy since it is not recurrent seizures that are due to abnormal brain activity. Here the seizures are directly caused by the blood sugar levels.
