Kim and Peter Dixon held the evening at St Thomas More Church Hall to portray the dangers of a sweetener, called aspartame, through the film Sweet Misery — A Poisoned World.
Aspartame can be consumed in a number of ways, through low-calorie drinks, diabetic food or weight loss products.
The Dixons have taken an interest in the sweetener after Peter did some research into the topic.
After cutting it from his diet drinks he found that he no longer suffered from headaches in the mornings and stomach related problems.
Speaking of her husband's diet, Kim said, 'The only common factor in the change in diet was the fact that he wasn't drinking diet drinks containing aspartame anymore and has now eliminated aspartame from his diet completely.
'Just recently he had a dessert and about half an hour later received a bad headache. When we looked at the packaging we realised it contained aspartame. Aspartame, when broken down in our bodies, produces methanol or wood alcohol and that's a poison!'
Peter, an air traffic controller at Gatwick, said, 'If aspartame is so safe, why was it necessary to bring it in fraudulently? It was never tested in this country.'
The DVD included a number of stories from other 'sufferers' and contributions and evidence from doctors.
As well as being keen to highlight the symptoms of taking aspartame, which include tiredness, menstrual problems and panic attacks, Kim and Peter also want to make people aware of the side effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), another additive used in foods.
The pair were shocked by one doctor's findings. Kim said, 'MSG is particularly hazardous to health because it causes the brain cells to get too excited and burn out. Dr Blaylock, who dedicated all his research and time into studying the problems with aspartame and MSG, explains this in the DVD, Sweet Misery, he calls them 'excitoxins'.
'It causes irreversible holes in the brain! This was found out when they studied the results from feeding this substance to mice in controlled experiments. Why are this dangerous substances allowed in our foods?'
Anybody who missed out on the screening and would like to know more about aspartame can contact Kim or Peter on 491151.