It is my hope that reading the last BodyWise column has convinced my readers to at least cut down on their aspartame consumption, if not stop it completely. As promised, I am continuing in a similar vein this week by explaining why diet soda will not help your efforts at weight loss. I am going to do this by talking about one of the most important organs in the body, the liver.

The liver is of vital importance to our overall health, as it is the cleanser and filter of the blood stream. The liver is the major fat-burning organ, as it regulates fat metabolism, and it can also pump excess fat out of the body through bile into the small intestines. In other words the liver keeps our weight under control by getting rid of excess fat as both a fat-pumping and a fat-burning organ.

If the liver filter becomes damaged or clogged up by toxins and excessive waste, it will not be able to efficiently remove fat globules from the blood stream. This will lead to a buildup of fat in the blood vessel walls and eventually in other parts of the body, including other organs and under the skin (otherwise known as cellulite).

The liver is also essential for regulating blood cholesterol levels; therefore an unhealthy liver will increase your chances of cardiovascular diseases, such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes. Also, many of the toxins we ingest are fat-soluble and are stored in the fatty organs such as the brain and the endocrine (hormonal) glands. Over time, this may result in brain dysfunction and hormonal imbalances, such as breast pain, infertility, menstrual disturbances, adrenal gland exhaustion and early menopause.

Increased toxins in the bloodstream will also cause the immune system to become overloaded, which can lead to symptoms of immune dysfunction such as allergies, inflammatory states, swollen glands, recurrent infections, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia or autoimmune diseases.

Dr. Sandra Cabot is a medical doctor specialising in the liver and metabolism, and the author of several best-selling health books, including "The Liver Cleansing Diet", "Don't Let Hormones Ruin Your Life" and "Women's Health". Dr.. Cabot was asked by www.dorway.com (referenced in the last article) to give a position statement on the use of aspartame. In her statement, Dr. Cabot refers to aspartame as a toxic chemical and expresses the opinion that "people have been brainwashed into thinking aspartame will keep their weight down and is good for health." The following is taken directly from her position statement:

"After having been consulted by thousands of overweight people suffering with problems concerning the liver and/or metabolism I can assure you that aspartame will not help you in any way, indeed it will help you to gain unwanted weight.

"This has been my experience, and there are logical reasons to explain the fattening and bloating effects of aspartame. When you ingest the toxic chemical aspartame it is absorbed from the intestines and passes immediately to the liver where it is taken inside the liver via the liver filter. The liver then breaks down or metabolises aspartame to its toxic components - phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This process requires a lot of energy from cells. This means the liver cells will have less energy for fat burning and metabolism, which will result in fat storing.

"Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing "fatty liver" and when this starts to occur it is extremely difficult to lose weight. In my vast experience any time that you overload the liver you will increase the tendency to gain weight easily."

Aspartame also causes weight gain by other mechanisms:

4 Causes unstable blood sugar levels, which increases the appetite and causes cravings for sweets/sugar, thus it is particularly toxic for those with diabetes or epilepsy.

4 Causes fluid retention giving the body a puffy and bloated appearance; this makes people look fatter than they are and increases cellulite.

Dr. Cabot also has an informative website, www.liverdoctor.com, on which she goes into greater detail on the function of the liver and offers advice on achieving and maintaining a healthy liver. Most of the information above is taken from her website.

The bottom line is the more toxins you ingest, the harder your liver has to work, the less energy it has for metabolising fat and the harder it is to control your weight. Every time you ingest a diet soda, low-fat yogurt or other aspartame-containing product, you are increasing the toxins going into your body.

All too often we allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security because we generally feel well. The liver is a fairly forgiving organ in that our bodies will continue to function normally even with a reduced liver function. Eventually, however, a line will be crossed beyond which the consequences of a damaged liver will become all too apparent. This damage is irreversible and can have a serious impact on our general health.

It is important to understand the function of this vital organ and act now to minimise the effects of harmful toxins. A good reason indeed to be BodyWise!