Do you drink diet sodas or use other sugar free products that contain aspartame? Or did you when you were younger? New research has found aspartame induces anxiety and fear via changes in glutamate-GABA signaling. What is even more concerning is that these effects are transgenerational, meaning you could be living with the anxiety-provoking effects of aspartame via the diet soda habits from your father and his father/your grandfather. This study found it impacts 2 generations via the paternal line but I suspect ongoing research may yet find impacts via your mother and grandmother too. Also, keep in mind, your current or prior use of aspartame is very likely going to impact your children and grandchildren. It’s an animal study but we don’t want to ignore yet another issue with artificial sweeteners.
The good news is that we can use the amino acid GABA to help counter the high glutamate and low GABA, and ease this physical anxiety this imbalance causes. And we can use GABA and glutamine and other amino acids to break the addiction to aspartame and other artificial sweeteners.
Here is the abstract of the paper – Transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety and changes in glutamate-GABA signaling and gene expression in the amygdala
We report the effects of aspartame on anxiety-like behavior, neurotransmitter signaling and gene expression in the amygdala, a brain region associated with the regulation of anxiety and fear responses. C57BL/6 mice consumed drinking water containing 0.015% or 0.03% aspartame, a dose equivalent of 8 to 15% of the FDA recommended maximum human daily intake, or plain drinking water. Robust anxiety-like behavior (evaluated using open field test and elevated zero maze) was observed in male and female mice consuming the aspartame-containing water. Diazepam, an allosteric modulator of the GABA-A receptor, alleviated the anxiety-like behavior. RNA sequencing of the amygdala followed by KEGG biological pathway analysis of differentially expressed genes showed glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse pathways as significantly enriched. Quantitative PCR showed upregulation of mRNA for the glutamate NMDA receptor subunit 2D (Grin2d) and metabotropic receptor 4 (Grm4) and downregulation of the GABA-A receptor associated protein (Gabarap) mRNA. Thus, taken together, our diazepam and gene expression data show that aspartame consumption shifted the excitation-inhibition equilibrium in the amygdala toward excitation. Even more strikingly, the anxiety-like behavior, its response to diazepam, and changes in amygdala gene expression were transmitted to male and female offspring in two generations descending from the aspartame-exposed males. Extrapolation of the findings to humans suggests that aspartame consumption at doses below the FDA recommended maximum daily intake may produce neurobehavioral changes in aspartame-consuming individuals and their descendants. Thus, human population at risk of aspartame’s potential mental health effects may be larger than current expectations, which only include aspartame-consuming individuals.
A few notes to highlight:
- Aspartame caused anxiety in both male and female mice but the intergenerational effects were along the paternal line i.e.“the anxiety phenotype, its response to diazepam, and changes in amygdala gene expression were transmitted from the aspartame-exposed male founders to their descendants.”
- These effects were caused by the equivalent to 2–4 small /8 oz/ 240 ml cans of aspartame-sweetened diet soda.
- The anxiety-inducing effects of aspartame in humans are potentially far more widespread than what is currently known
There is still no consensus on adverse effects
The paper also highlights a very concerning aspect: there is still no consensus on aspartame’s effects on brain monoamine content (serotonin and the catecholamines dopamine, adrenaline, and noradrenaline) or behaviors such as memory, depression and anxiety. Despite much research, consensus is also still lacking on aspartame’s carcinogenic or cancer-causing effects and the impacts on weight-gain and obesity, and the bad effects on the microbiome.
In fact, “the US government policy and publications indicate that aspartame is safe when consumed within FDA recommended maximum daily intake value of 50 mg/kg.” In this study it was much less than the maximum i.e. the equivalence of just “8 to 15% of the FDA recommended maximum human daily intake” caused the above anxiety and intergenerational effects.
This paper is adding to the body of knowledge but if you’re still consuming aspartame it is time to make your own decisions and quit. This is often easier said than done and I address this below.
GABA and other amino acids as a solution for your diet soda addiction
I address the addictive nature of diet soda in this blog: I need help with my Diet Coke addiction – when I stop, my fatigue, brain fog, anxiety/depression increase big time!
I need help with my Diet Coke addiction. I have been using it for 35 years and I am too appalled to tell you how much I drink.
I have tried to quit many times and ended up in utter failure. When I stop, my fatigue, brain fog, anxiety/depression increase big time. I know this drink is literally killing my health and I am desperate for some answers, suggestions….or a miracle.
Kevin shares this in the comments: “I was VERY addicted to diet coke and Pepsi. I found oxycontin and morphine easier to quit.” And Karen shares this: “I can relate to a Coke/Pepsi (diet and/or regular) addiction because I drank 3 every day, Monday-Friday for years. For me, that first sip in the morning was my “hit” in the morning for this teetotaler.”
When it comes to using amino acids to help break the addiction, pretty much everything I write about in relation to sugar addiction or cravings would also apply to quitting Diet Coke or other diet sodas. You need to figure out what emotions are driving your addiction and use the respective amino acid supplement/s (one or more of them) to help break the addiction and improve your anxiety and mood symptoms at the same time.
This could be glutamine if you drink it when your blood sugar is low and crave the sweet taste, GABA if you drink it when stressed, tryptophan or 5-HTP if you drink it later in the day in order to feel happy, DPA if it’s your reward and tyrosine if it gives you a mood and energy boost. It’s all explained in the above blog post.
The amino acids ease alcohol withdrawal symptoms too. I share a study in this blog – An amino acid supplement with DLPA, glutamine and 5-HTP eases alcohol withdrawal symptoms at an inpatient detoxification program – and practical solutions using these amino acids. Read this and simply substitute alcohol with diet soda. And keep in mind it’s always an individualized approach based on each person’s needs, for endorphin and dopamine support (from the DLPA), blood sugar support (from glutamine) and serotonin support (from 5-HTP).
GABA as a solution for the physical anxiety symptoms
In this study the mice responded well to diazepam, a benzodiazepine prescribed for anxiety. However, given the many issues with long-term benzo use, the amino acid GABA, used as a supplement is a safer choice. It also addresses the root cause of low GABA and high glutamate.
The FDA approved aspartame as a nutritive sweetener in 1981 and for use in carbonated beverages in 1983 so I don’t have the intergenerational impacts. I drank Tab in my early 20s and it contained aspartame for a short time. It was very likely part of the perfect storm of factors that contributed to my anxiety. GABA was a life-saver for me.
Here are a few blog posts on using GABA for easing physical anxiety and fears:
- GABA is a life saver for anxiety, theanine helps at night (insomnia) and 5-HTP makes a significant difference in lessening daily pain
- Drastic reduction in intrusive thoughts, anxiety and fears (and better sleep) with GABA, tryptophan, 5-HTP and the pyroluria protocol
- GABA, Heartmath and EFT ease Micki’s mold-induced anxiety and panic attacks
Be sure to use the search feature to find other similar articles on the blog.
Resources if you are new to using amino acids as supplements
If you are new to using GABA or any of the other amino acids as supplements, here is the Amino Acids Mood Questionnaire from The Antianxiety Food Solution (you can see all the symptoms of neurotransmitter imbalances, including low GABA and low serotonin).
If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.
There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control, sugar cravings, self-medicating with alcohol and more.
The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs. You can find them all in my online store.
If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.
If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.
Did you drink diet sodas in the past or do you still consume them or other products that contain aspartame?
Do you suspect they may be one root cause of your anxiety? And has stopping helped?
Did GABA help ease your anxiety and fear? And help with breaking the addiction and quitting? What about other amino acids like tyrosine, glutamine, tryptophan/5-HTP or DPA (d-phenylalanine)?
What about suspected intergenerational impacts from your parents and grandparents?
Feel free to post your questions and feedback in the comments below.
Hi Trudy!
I enjoy reading your articles! My son has ADHD and was wondering what dose and what brand would be best for him regarding supplementing with GABA. He is 12 years old and currently is taking ZOOM fish oils and Vyvanse. Thank You!
Janice
Assuming a child also has low GABA symptoms (https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-mood-questionnaire-from-the-antianxiety-food-solution/ I start with 1/2 of Source Naturals GABA Calm which has 125mg. If this trial goes well, we increase based on symptom relief.
You may find these blogs helpful:
– Half a crushed GABA Calm for my autistic child: sleep, anxiety and sensorimotor skills (writing, horse riding and swimming) improve https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/half-a-crushed-gaba-calm-for-my-autistic-child-sleep-anxiety-and-sensorimotor-skills-writing-horse-riding-and-swimming-improve/
– GABA for children: ADHD, focus issues, irritability, anxiety and tantrums https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/gaba-children-adhd-focus-issues-irritability-anxiety-tantrums/
Diet is also big factor with ADHD and anxiety. My book “The Antianxiety Food Solution” is a great place for the foundations and has a chapter on the amino acids with dosing/timing information. More here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/the-antianxiety-food-solution-by-trudy-scott/
My online GABA Quickstart group program is helpful when you have questions related to GABA and need guidance (and moral support/encouragement). More here about the program and purchase info https://www.anxietynutritioninstitute.com/gabaquickstart/
You don’t mention if you were (or still are) a drinker of diet soda (or have ingested aspartame via other ways)? Or if your husband, husband’s parents or your parents did?
My husband is drinker of Coke Zeros. I drink Zevias and try to stay away from Aspartame.
JaniceC
Thanks for the update and it helps to see the study results correlate with what we are seeing in humans too.
Hopefully your husband will be open to making some changes. A reminder about using the amino acid to make quitting easy.
Stevia sweetened drinks like Zevias don’t have the issues we see with aspartame but stevia does impact the microbiome and having sweet-tasting beverages often leaves us wanting more sweet stuff.
Thank you for sharing this new study! I am a former Diet Coke drinker, typically one a day for close to 20 years! Unfortunately I also consumed during my first two pregnancies (they said it was “fine” if I don’t go over my caffeine limit ). I have been off all sodas for 8 and a half years and absolutely am more regulated.
There is hope for restoring the gaba-glutamate signaling. I (and my kids) take gaba when needed. We love Gabacalm. I always make sure I have vitamin B6 in the P5P form and magnesium to support as well. When I am consuming sufficient protein and taking these supplements, I don’t have the “hankering” for a diet soda pick me up like I used to.
Erin
Thanks for sharing your Diet Coke drinking history – and yep you’ll be told it’s fine! Well done on being off all sodas – so glad you feel more regulated
And love your Gaba calm results for you and your kids, plus the additional co-factor nutrients that are so important. And no more hankering for diet soda which is exactly what we want and see when neurotransmitters are balanced.
You are the poster child for this blog and love your message of hope
Thanks too for the amazing work you do!
Senior lay American male findings on so-called “modern medicine” and the ‘Silent American Genocide;’ prevention v. cure.
Hello (again?) Trudy,
Individualized for you: starting my day this morning with a new investigation into “msg and transgenerational disease” with some success before moving on to “aspartame and transgenerational disease” with more success, I resultantly happened upon your blog. Thinking you look familiar and I probably wrote you previously with no reply, I browsed your blog to confirm you, too-typically of most modern healthcare professionals, have yet to identify the real ‘root causes.’
So, as I sit here relatively calmly sipping my second cup of instant Folger’s with so-called “non-dairy-creamer” (allergic to cow’s milk as I am) and eating a glazed donut to postpone having a real breakfast for a while, I’ve decided to write you again (probably) to inform you and as many of your colleagues, peers and readers as possible of what I know to be the real root causes of so much chronic disease and premature mortality in the US (minimally, going/gone global with the ‘Western Diet’), including those mostly falsely blamed on the pandemic for the past thirty-four months and counting.
I was encouraged by your providing a link to the same article on aspartame and transgenerational anxiety I responded to the authors of, previously, partly because it overlaps some with my more recent lay online findings involving estrogen and uric acid in older women.
So, for the time being (as I continue to ponder the issue of whether or not this is the right time for me to make another (six or seven on file) attempt to commence and complete a full-length book on these matters, specifically to include how I discovered my own allergy related serious non-medically diagnosed calcium deficiency in late 2010, how I identified my own allergy related even more serious non-medically diagnosed [hypo] phosphatemia in mid-March of 2021 and how I monitor my various symptoms at-home and through affordable lab testing, and treat them mostly with targeted nutritional supplements, like you, albeit with much less expertise than you on that it seems.
Standardized for all (already in need of revision/updating): with no discouragement, disrespect and/or offense intended to anyone medically educated apart from the AMA and the US Government (e.g., deliberately perpetuated allergy related disease ignorance and medical incompetence), it appears you are still unaware of some of what I’ve had to learn the difficult, painful and tedious way on my own at-home, just to survive to become a still only relatively healthy, free thinking, independent living, prescription drug free, not vaccinated, lay American male at age seventy-nine.
Despite beginning with the US FDA (with replies) in October of 2005 (after some 20,000 others about MSG; website ‘counter’ in the day) about my early lay findings of connections between allergies, added MSG, chronic disease and obesity (obviously, now, in-vain), and JACI and The Lancet in 2011 about allergy related calcium (minimally) deficiency and the failure of standard blood serum testing for calcium to be reliable, I’m still seeking to become an effective advocate for the reversal of that 1980 FDA approval of the expanded use of added MSG, after a full seventeen years and counting of writing about 3,000 more authoritative, qualified and/or resourceful professional others (updating as possible), also mostly in-vain.
One thing I can state for certain, now, is that there is some kind of a major disconnect between any one body of healthcare professionals and most others; failing to learn the findings as well as failing to share the credit. And, it now amounts to a global ‘pandemic’ of medical ignorance and incompetence; still dark-ages ‘blood letting’ and ‘potions’ in the US, with Johns Hopkins researchers announcing in May of 2016 that even then, prior to the pandemic farce, fraud, hoax and scam (a ‘scamdemic’), ‘medical error’ was already the third leading cause of death in the U.S.
Copied and pasted below my name is my most recently updated (again due for revision; e.g., probable transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety (minimally) in humans, since 1981) one-page (hard copy, for sharing) overview and summary of my entire adult illness experience. Deliberately omitting a lot of personal illness, failed medical examinations and at-home investigations, experiments and discoveries for the sake of brevity, I believe it’s still inclusive enough for most adults to get the ‘gist’ of it and for most healthcare professionals to infer and/or extrapolate just how serious some common chronic conditions can become in conjunction with a few common and ordinary complications.
Thank you for your time and attention. More details and/or personal lay perspectives upon fair request.
Best regards, and wishes for a great 2023 abundent with great successes in all of your valid endeavors.
Charles G. Shaver
That overview and summary:
A SENIOR BLUE-COLLAR MALE AMERICAN GUIDE TO THE SILENT AMERICAN GENOCIDE
© 2022 Charles G. Shaver ~ Redgranite, WI, USA ~ cgshaver@gmail.com ~ Odysee dot com/@charlesgshaver ~ not AMA or FDA approved.
Historically, allergies and gout have plagued humanity for millennia. By 1935 then renowned American immunologist Dr. Arthur F. Coca identified, studied and reported on a kind of allergy reaction that could cause a number of chronic diseases, long-term (e.g., THE PULSE TEST, 1956, Chapter One), and be self-diagnosed/treated, at-home. With the advent of penicillin, beginning about 1945 mortality due to chronic diseases began to exceed that of infectious diseases. Independent of Dr. Coca, American author L. Ron Hubbard presented a cause and cure for allergies (e.g., Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, 1950, Chapter 5: “Psycho-somatic illness”). In 1981 one Dr. Hamer of Germany began studying thousands of illnesses in clinical settings, developing a new medical paradigm he labeled “German New Medicine.” Still, mainstream medicine and the FDA still fail to recognize and/or research my kind of food allergies.
By the early 1970s about 95% of common allergen, incomplete protein, phytoestrogen (similar to human female estrogen) rich US soy was being processed more cheaply with toxic hexane with some residue, said to be “GRAS” by the FDA. The US female breast cancer epidemic presented by 1979 (ACS and NCI data).
In 1980 the FDA approved the expanded use of added ‘cultured-free’ monosodium glutamate (MSG) fully aware then it would be harmful to some (FASEB reports on MSG to the FDA) but, apparently, not “how, how many or how soon?” I became mysteriously, seriously (nearly incapacitated) ill with chronic fatigue, generalized aches, pains and muscle weakness and serious mood swings in 1981. A thorough medical examination revealed only a high serum level of uric acid (asymptomatic gout) and a low oral temperature (96.8 F; often lower since). The US obesity/diabetes epidemic presented by 1990 (CDC/NCHS data).
In late 1981 I first (age 37; failed skin-prick allergy testing in 1973) learned I had multiple food and food additive allergies through soon thereafter medically abandoned “cytotoxic blood testing for food allergies” through an independent laboratory advertising in a then local newspaper. After about a month of at-home experimentation with diet and lifestyle I recovered sufficiently (never completely) to return to permanent full-time employment as a primarily diagnostic union industrial electrician on mostly production shifts.
Approximate etiology and pathology of most chronic disease (T = time): subclinical psycho-somatic non-IgE-mediated allergy reactions + offending foods + T + MSG/soy (minimally; less T) > inflammation + T > xanthine oxidase + T > serum uric acid (gout) + ROS (free radicals) + T > immunodeficiency + T > calcium (minimally) loss + T > acidic blood + T > mitochondria switching from glycolysis (glucose-to-energy) to glycogenesis (glucose-to-fat) + T > uric acid deactivating nitric oxide + T > oxidative stress + T > insulin resistance + T > metabolic syndrome (chronic fatigue, aches, pains, muscle weakness and brain fog) + T > chronic/degenerative disease (aging, Alzheimer’s, ALS, AMD, anxiety, bad moods [confusion; depression; mass shootings; suicides], cancer, cataracts, CFS/ME & FM, diabetes, gout, HBP, insomnia, obesity, PD, stroke, tinnitus, tooth loss, etc.) and/or medical error + T > premature disability and/or death.
Possible complications: both soy and MSG are known to harm the thyroid in lab mice and adult rats; soy is known to interfere with the uptake of thyroid hormones (even synthroid); excess MSG can cause a vitamin B6 (with many metabolic functions) deficiency; fructose/HFCS (unlike dextrose and glucose) is known to raise serum levels of uric acid, unregulated; uric acid may function as either an antioxidant (in plasma) or pro-oxidant (within cells); uric acid may crystallize in smooth muscle tissue (attached to hair follicles and lining blood vessels and the urethra, minimally) as well as in joints to cause many strange symptoms; gout is known to occur even in ears, eyes and skin; estrogen being protective against uric acid, postmenopausal women not on hormone therapy are as likely to get gout as younger men; blood serum testing for calcium is not reliable (e.g., blood pH regulation), supplementing with calcium carbonate can cause a phosphorus deficiency and energy decline and preservative TBHQ may cause neurological events and vision problems.
At age 79, Rx free, I estimate since 1980 some 30 million unsuspecting Americans have died prematurely of undiagnosed allergies, FDA approved food poisoning and excessive related medical errors; a ‘genocide.’
Charles
I’m with you and appreciate you sharing the harmful effects of MSG.
Be sure to watch your intake of non-dairy creamer and glazed donuts and focus on real whole foods. You may find this an interesting read – Could Free Glutamic Acid in Processed Food be the Surprise Ingredient in Mood Disorders? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8642059/
Trudy
Thank you for the advice. Rest assured I do moderate (and monitor) what I ingest. As a ‘worse’ but not ‘worst’ case scenario of chronic subclinical allergy reactions to many common food products aggravated with added MSG I have to. Thanks too for the link to the article. I’m always open to learning more and sharing my unusual lay findings when and where it seems appropriate.