Is Diet Coke Lethal?

I got an email today claiming that "aspartame has a mildly addictive quality (for more susceptible individuals, it's majorly addictive) that makes you want to drink large quantities of it, and doing so will make you crave carbohydrates." The sender related his own experience with weight gain, which he attibutes to his former addiction to aspartame, along with a whole litany of other compaints from others about NutraSweet -- everything from despression to Gulf War Syndrome. Others claim it might contribute to the increasing rate of MS, lupus, fibromyalgia and even brain tumors in the US.

I don't have much experience with NutraSweet -- way back in my college days, my envi sci prof warned our class against the evils of aspartame, and being the lazy student that I was, I figured it'd be easier to just take her word for it and avoid the stuff rather than to actually research her claims. It appears that since then, the debate has raged without any decisive evidence from anyone on either side.

So, why take the risk? Is it really that good a sweetner? Is it worth potential health problems or weight gain? Is there a better sweetner out there? Saccharin? Sugar (I try and avoid this since G-Dog conquered his migrane problems by giving up sugar and other simple carbs)? Honey? How about Stevia -- is it the new miracle sweetner or just more hype?

What say you?