Energy drink excitotoxins may sound exciting, but they are not. They are one of the more insidious dangers posed that are not getting the attention they deserve.

Don’t get me wrong — I am a big fan of a few brands of energy drinks that are smartly designed to produce more mental and physical energy, with little downside.

The problems start when unsuspecting consumers buy diet energy drinks without studying the ingredient label. They assume that, just because energy drink ingredients must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that they must be safe.

Big mistake!

It is really sad that you practically need a PhD in chemistry to keep abreast of all the dangerous food additives that turn up in our food and beverage supplies.

While I don’t have a PhD, I am sensitive enough to know when I’ve been dosed with an excitotoxin such as MSG or aspartame. Over the years, I have made it a point to learn the names and aliases these artificial flavors go by, so I could generally avoid them.

The most common of the energy drink excitotoxins is aspartame, which you may also know as NutraSweet. Sounds harmless enough, doesn’t it?

The problem is that in laboratory tests of aspartame on mice, doses comparable to what many humans consume daily produce tumors, obesity that is resistant to dieting, learning disabilities, and reproductive difficulties.

Judging by the damaged areas in the brains of lab research subjects, it is plausible that aspartame can also contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ADD, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Keep in mind that mind that humans are about fifteen times more sensitive to excitotoxins than are mice. Children, with their still-developing nervous systems are especially at risk.

Of course, it will be years — or even decades — before a cancer can be diagnosed in those who may be frequent users of excitotoxin-laced energy drinks, so the company that makes them will off the hook when there is blame to be passed out.

You might wonder how an artificial sweetener manufacturer could get a license to add such a toxic product to our food and drink. It is a fascinating yarn that says a lot about how our government has been taken over from the inside by corporations intent on making more money.

To learn how aspartame got around the FDA regulatory process (after being turned down once), Google “Donald Rumsfeld, aspartame”.

One more factoid that should be passed along to those working in extremely hot places, such as Iraq and Arizona: Aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde, methanol, DKP, and formic acid — all toxic and/or suspected of being carcinogenic — when stored at high temperatures.

Of course, the safest thing to do with energy drink excitotoxins is to avoid them and tell all your friends.