The Sweetener Aspartame Any weight-conscious consumer is aware of the value of the sweetener aspartame as a sugar substitute. Beyond dieters, controlling sugar intake is of vital importance to people with or at risk of diabetes. It's natural to consider the safety of an ingredient found in an increasing array of foods and beverages, from low-calorie desserts to breakfast cereals to soft drinks like diet Coke and Coca-Cola light. Government agencies, international health organisations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), and other respected scientific bodies have been involved in studying the health effects of aspartame. Their conclusions are remarkably uniform--aspartame poses no health risks to the general population. Experts agree, however, that a small group of people with a rare hereditary condition called phenylketonuria (PKU) should restrict or avoid ingestion of the amino acid phenylalanine, which is found in aspartame. For healthy people, however, phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, which means that it cannot be produced by the body and therefore needs to be ingested through food.