I had been drinking Aspartame in Diet Coke/coffee/crystal light and eating it in snack foods for about six years and began to have chronic urinary tract infections – at least two major episodes per year for three years. Medical professionals blamed it on caffeine. So I gave up all caffeine which, of course, decreased my Aspartame intake, which caused my symptoms to improve slightly. However, even without caffeine, I was still having infections. My friend who is a nurse suggested that artificial sweeteners can cause bladder irritation. Because I love coffee and coke, and was hoping caffeine was not the cause, I gave up all Aspartame, in foods and drinks.
For one year I had no infections while continuing to enjoy about 1 cup of coffee and 1 coke per day (my usual intake). Everything was going along well when all of the sudden, I had an infection. While I’m wondering what could have happened (was it really caffeine after all?) I started looking at the foods and drinks I had recently purchased. Although I am fastidious about checking labels, I had missed a very small label on the corner of a box of Fiber One cereal. It did indeed contain Aspartame and it only took eating a small bowl of cereal three days in a row to cause a major urinary tract infection.
I have had no reactions for three years since that last episode, and I can enjoy as much coffee and coke as I like as long as I do not ingest Aspartame in any amount. I will not even chew a stick of gum that contains Aspartame. I also noticed, about a year after I stopped ingesting Aspartame that I felt more alert. I hope this information is helpful. I would be interested in working towards having Aspartame pulled by the FDA (even if that hope is slim). Luckily, as a health educator, I have the opportunity to increase awareness of the dangers of Aspartame.