The artificial sweetener<unk>  has been the subject of several<unk> es since its initial approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974. The FDA approval of<unk>  was highly contested, beginning with suspicions of its involvement in brain cancer, alleging that the quality of the initial research supporting its safety was inadequate and flawed, and that conflicts of interest marred the 1981 approval of<unk> , previously evaluated by two FDA panels that concluded to keep the approval on hold before further investigation. In 1987, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that the food additive approval process had been followed properly for<unk> . The irregularities fueled a conspiracy theory, which the "Nancy Markle" email hoax circulated, along with claims—counter to the weight of medical evidence—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) are caused by the consumption of<unk>  in normal doses.<unk>  is a methyl ester of the aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide. Potential health risks have been examined and dismissed by numerous scientific research projects. With the exception of the risk to those with phenylketonuria,<unk>  is considered to be a safe food additive by governments worldwide and major health and food safety organizations. FDA officials describe<unk>  as "one of the most thoroughly tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved" and its safety as "clear cut." The weight of existing scientific evidence indicates that<unk>  is safe as a non-nutritive sweetener.
Aspartame controversy
Heteroecious
Vangent
Balm in Gilead 
Hematinic
Obligate carrier
Nullisomic
Emotional eating