[null and void]

I didn't read it, I lived it. The year Chrystal Light came out I drank gallons of the stuff without a second thought, I had never heard one bad word about aspartame, indeed I thought it was wonderful.

By the end of that summer I was so depressed I could barely move.

I figured something was causing it, but what?

I systematically back tracked every change in my life and diet and undid them one by one.

Eliminating Chrystal Lite eliminated most of the depression. Reintroducing it spiked the depression. Eliminating it again, and the depression backed off.

I avoid aspartame. Sometimes I'll unknowingly ingest some and be utterly mystified at the resulting bout of depression, until I figure out that a formerly "safe" product changed their recipe, as one cough drop manufacturer did recently.

I avoid the sweetener that requires a warning label, by all means you should eat as much of it as you can hold.

but it's hard to reach someone with a fixed mentality.

Yeah, tell me about it!

[CARDINALRULES]

I get severe headaches within minutes if I drink/eat/chew anything that has this junk.

I have had problems when jerks at a fast food decided I needed diet Coke instead of what I ordered. One sip and I was back at the counter ripping them a new one about people that can NOT have aspartame.

I also hate that most gums that are NOT labeled sugar free now have aspartame. Found that out the hard way when I couldn’t figure out way I had such bad headaches, then I looked at the pack - had been chewing the brand for years and they changed with no warning. Literally had bought the old formula about two weeks before I bought the new.