Aspartame

I was told that this is something I personally should look into.

It is a-ok for me and doesn't taste like sugar substitute.

I've used a lot of nutrasweet for years and have never had any bad effects. Sugar, on the other hand, has caused a lot of tooth decay and gingivitis.

I don't know that there is any "perfect" sugar or substitute, but as I've said before, I think too much of anything is bad for the body (even water!)

I remember (and found) this article in the NY Times about that: "Diets combining extremely low food consumption with high water intake can carry a risk of overwhelming the kidneys if not carefully monitored". Granted, they where speaking about dieters, but I've heard about it before for people in marathons (stopping and drinking WAY too much water for the body, in addition to not replacing vital electrolytes).

One of those things. Just take a note of what you put into your body and don't over indulge!

I agree that aspartame is fine - just eat healthy and don't drink mountains of soda (which you shouldn't be doing anyway!) and you'll be fine. I've never had a reaction to it. Like most things, it's fine in moderation.