All I found about this chemical on the internet are mostly negative, ranging from causing cancer to headache, some even said it affects sper.m production and health negatively. But to my surprise this chemical is in our common vitamin C tablet and most of the non-sugar soft-drinks. So Im confused, could any Doctor in the house advise on this?

The artificial sweetener
aspartame has been the
subject of several
controversies since its
initial approval by the U.S.
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) in
1974. The FDA approval of
aspartame was highly
contested, [1] with critics
alleging that the quality of
the initial research
supporting its safety was
inadequate and flawed and
that conflicts of interest
marred the approval of
aspartame. [2][3][4] In
1987, the U.S. Government
Accountability Office
concluded that the food
additive approval process
had been followed
properly for aspartame. [2]
[5] In spite of this, rumors,
unsupported by medical
evidence, propagate that
numerous health
conditions (such as
multiple sclerosis, systemic
lupus, methanol toxicity,
blindness, spasms,
shooting pains, seizures,
headaches, depression,
anxiety, memory loss, birth
defects and death[6] ) are
caused by the
consumption of aspartame
in normal doses. Publicity
of this controversy has
been spread through an
elaborate health scare [7]
and "Internet smear
campaign" [8] involving the
hoax [7][8][9] "Nancy
Markle" e-mails which
widely circulated a
conspiracy theory . The
unsubstantiated claims are
still repeated by thousands
of self-published Web sites.
The potential health risks
have been examined and
dismissed by numerous
scientific research projects.
With the exception of the
risk to those with
phenylketonuria ,
aspartame is considered to
be a safe food additive by
governments, worldwide,
and major health and food
safety organizations. [2][10]
[11][12][13] with FDA
officials describing
aspartame as "one of the
most thoroughly tested
and studied food additives
the agency has ever
approved" and its safety as
"clear cut". [4] The weight
of existing scientific
evidence indicates that
aspartame is safe as a non-
nutritive sweetener. [10

source:- en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame_controversy

What Is Aspartame Made Of?
Aspartic Acid (40 percent of
Aspartame)
Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of
neurosurgery at the Medical University
of Mississippi, recently published a
book thoroughly detailing the damage
that is caused by the ingestion of
excessive aspartic acid from
aspartame. Blaylock makes use of
almost 500 scientific references to
show how excess free excitatory
amino acids such as aspartic acid and
glutamic acid (about 99 percent of
monosodium glutamate (MSG) is
glutamic acid) in our food supply are
causing serious chronic neurological
disorders and a myriad of other acute
symptoms.
How Aspartate (and
Glutamate) Cause Damage
Aspartate and glutamate act as
neurotransmitters in the brain by
facilitating the transmission of
information from neuron to neuron.
Too much aspartate or glutamate in
the brain kills certain neurons by
allowing the influx of too much
calcium into the cells. This influx
triggers excessive amounts of free
radicals, which kill the cells. The neural
cell damage that can be caused by
excessive aspartate and glutamate is
why they are referred to as
"excitotoxins." They "excite" or
stimulate the neural cells to death.
Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken
in its free form (unbound to proteins)
it significantly raises the blood plasma
level of aspartate and glutamate. The
excess aspartate and glutamate in the
blood plasma shortly after ingesting
aspartame or products with free
glutamic acid (glutamate precursor)
leads to a high level of those
neurotransmitters in certain areas of
the brain.
The blood brain barrier (BBB), which
normally protects the brain from
excess glutamate and aspartate as
well as toxins, 1) is not fully developed
during childhood, 2) does not fully
protect all areas of the brain, 3) is
damaged by numerous chronic and
acute conditions, and 4) allows
seepage of excess glutamate and
aspartate into the brain even when
intact.
The excess glutamate and aspartate
slowly begin to destroy neurons. The
large majority (75 percent or more) of
neural cells in a particular area of the
brain are killed before any clinical
symptoms of a chronic illness are
noticed. A few of the many chronic
illnesses that have been shown to be
contributed to by long-term exposure
to excitatory amino acid damage
include:
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
ALS
Memory loss
Hormonal problems
Hearing loss
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's disease
Parkinson's disease
Hypoglycemia
AIDS
Dementia
Brain lesions
Neuroendocrine disorders
The risk to infants, children, pregnant
women, the elderly and persons with
certain chronic health problems from
excitotoxins are great. Even the
Federation of American Societies for
Experimental Biology (FASEB), which
usually understates problems and
mimics the FDA party-line, recently
stated in a review that:
"It is prudent to avoid the use of
dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid
by pregnant women, infants, and
children. The existence of evidence of
potential endocrine responses, i.e.,
elevated cortisol and prolactin, and
differential responses between males
and females, would also suggest a
neuroendocrine link and that
supplemental L-glutamic acid should
be avoided by women of childbearing
age and individuals with affective
disorders."
Aspartic acid from aspartame has the
same deleterious effects on the body
as glutamic acid.
The exact mechanism of acute
reactions to excess free glutamate and
aspartate is currently being debated.
As reported to the FDA, those
reactions include:
Headaches/migraines
Nausea
Abdominal pains
Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry
into brain)
Sleep problems
Vision problems
Anxiety attacks
Depression
Asthma/chest tigShtness.
One common complaint of persons
suffering from the effect of aspartame
is memory loss. Ironically, in 1987,
G.D. Searle, the manufacturer of
aspartame, undertook a search for a
drug to combat memory loss caused
by excitatory amino acid damage.
Blaylock is one of many scientists and
physicians who are concerned about
excitatory amino acid damage caused
by ingestion of aspartame and MSG.
A few of the many experts who have
spoken out against the damage being
caused by aspartate and glutamate
include Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D., an
experimental psychologist specializing
in research design. Another is Olney, a
professor in the department of
psychiatry, School of Medicine,
Washington University, a
neuroscientist and researcher, and
one of the world's foremost
authorities on excitotoxins. (He
informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic
acid caused holes in the brains of.......

source:- articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx