Introduction
Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has been around since 1965 when it was first synthesized. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved it in 1974 for use in food products. It has been sold under several brand names including NutraSweet and AminoSweet.
Acne
Since its approval, the safety of the sweetener has been questioned. The latest medical review, issued in 2007, showed that consumption of the sweetener was safe for humans and would cause no adverse side affects.
The Causes of Acne - Can Aspartame Cause Acne?
But did you know that there are now people who claim that aspartame caused them to develop acne. Here is the information you need to help you judge for yourself if aspartame can cause acne.
What Causes Acne
Acne is believed to be caused by a hormonal imbalance in the body as is evidenced by the majority of acne cases are reported in teenagers going through puberty.
This hormonal imbalance is believed to cause excess sebum (oil) to be secreted by the skin. When this happens, dead skin clumps together because of the excess oil and ends up clogging your pores and trapping bacteria.
The bacteria trapped in the skins pores starts to grow. This causes your immune system to react by attacking the bacteria, resulting in acne.
So if this is the cause of acne how does aspartame cause acne?
Aspartame And Acne
People started noticing that drinking diet soda, which contains aspartame, made them breakout with acne and when they stopped drinking it, their complexion cleared up.
But is this clearing of the skin because they drank more water or because they stopped drinking diet soda.
Well drinking water is one of the recommendations to stop and prevent acne. So when you stop drinking diet soda and drink more water does not prove that acne is caused by aspartame.
People have also noticed that if they chew gum-containing aspartame, it caused them to break out with acne, but not all people would break out with when they chewed gum-containing aspartame. This too is not absolute proof that aspartame causes acne.
People, who reported developing acne from aspartame, develop the form of acne known as cystic acne. This is a severe type of acne, which develops deep and inflamed breaks on the face, or other areas of the body.
Cystic acne is usually the result of an over-reaction by the immune system attacking healthy cells in the body, not necessarily the result of consuming aspartame.
Conclusion
If you read various acne message boards on aspartame, you will find various arguments both pro and con on the use of aspartame and acne.
No definite conclusion can be drawn on whether aspartame causes acne or not, but based on recent medical reports, the answer is aspartame does not cause acne.
The Causes of Acne - Can Aspartame Cause Acne?
Jimmy C has been studying skin care for many years because of his skin problems in his youth and he is the Editor in Chief of a number of skin care web sites. Being a victim of acne in his younger days, he has researched this subject to help people prevent and stop acne. He has also studied many aspects of caring for the bodies skin and keeping it youthful and free of irritants.
For more information on caring for acne or other facial blemishes and keeping your youthful appearance go to his web sites at http://www.skinguidelines.com/p/causes-and-cures-for-acne.html or http://www.squidoo.com/cause-and-cures-of-acne.
