That's really weird. I'm not thankful for aspartame or other sweeteners, and even less thankful for corrupt food agencies approving them. Refined sugars aren't healthy, but aspartame isn't a solution. In my household, a kilogram of sugar lasts for months if not a year. Yes, we do buy food with added sugar, but always avoid artificial sweeteners, except when they are unavoidable in drugs or food supplements. I'm 192cm 75kg in early 40s and just occasionally ride a bike or take a walk.

#5 is like: I'm thankful that you can smoke a cigarette and not die immediatelly of it.

What science are you basing that on?

> When your body processes aspartame, part of it is broken down into methanol.

Which is also found in citrus fruits.

Do you think those are unhealthy too?

> Aspartame is one of the most rigorously tested food ingredients.[5] Reviews by over 100 governmental regulatory bodies found the ingredient safe for consumption at current levels.[6][7][8][9][10] As of 2018, several reviews of clinical trials showed that using aspartame in place of sugar reduces calorie intake and body weight in adults and children.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

I'm basing it on common sense: don't take anything artificial if you don't have to.

The same science claimed that DDT is safe, eating sugar is good, mRNA vaccines are safe, etc.

Because its the most famous/infamous and is the most studied.