This is one of the most bizarre discoveries we have ever heard about.
A scientist noticed that when he got up out of his chair after watching a football game, his arthritis pain was greatly diminished.
During the course of the game he had consumed a six-pack of diet soda containing aspartame. Putting two and two together, he thought this artificial sweetener might have contributed to his relief.
He organized a placebo-controlled trial involving aspartame (aka Equal, NutraSweet) and confirmed that doses of 76 to 152 mg did indeed provide pain relief, roughly comparable to anti-inflammatory agents.
This research was published in the very respectable scientific journal, Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.*
*Edmundson, A. B., and C. V. Manion. "Treatment of Osteoarthritis with Aspartame." Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 1998; 63:580-593.
Copyright (c) 1999 by Graedon Enterprises, Inc. From The People's Pharmacy Guide To Home And Herbal Remedies by Joe Graedon and Teresa Graedon. Reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press, LLC.