Aspartame is an artificial sweetener. It is 180 times as sweet as sugar without the high energy value of sugar. While aspartame has a caloric value of 4 kilocalories (17 kilojoules) per gram, the quantity of aspartame needed to produce a sweet taste is so small that its caloric contribution is negligible, which makes it a popular sweetener for those trying to avoid calories from sugar. The taste of aspartame is not identical to that of sugar: the sweetness of aspartame has a slower onset and longer duration than that of sugar.
Aspartame goes under many names including Tropicana Slim, Equal, NutraSweet, and Canderel.
Aspartame has been found to have possible connections with headaches, brain tumors, brain lesions, and lymphoma.