Aspartame is Poison
A worldwide epidemic is raging. The cause is a poisonous chemical sweetener, aspartame (marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful), the most controversial food additive ever approved.
In reality it is a drug which interacts with other drugs and changes brain chemistry.. H.J. Roberts, M.D., describes interactions with drugs such as Coumadin, Dilantin, Inderal, methyldopa or Aldomet, insulin, and lidocaine in Aspartame (NutraSweet): Is It Safe?
[1] From the paper Effects of Aspartame on the Brain: Neurological Effects of Aspartame? by Richard J. Wurtman and Timothy J. Maher: “Compounds that do affect physiological systems are classified as drugs by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are subject to considerably more demanding regulatory procedures than food constituents.
However, and perhaps paradoxically because food additives must be shown to be physiologically inert in order to win initial FDA approval, once they have obtained this approval they are thereafter exempted from the requirement (imposed on all drugs) that their safety continue to be monitored. The companies that manufacture and use them are not obligated to monitor adverse reactions associated with their product, nor to submit to the FDA reports of such adverse reactions; they also are not required to carry out additional government-mandated research programs to affirm their product’s safety.”
[2] So the question is, should aspartame be considered inert? The National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) reported in l983: “Aspartame is inherently, markedly and uniquely unstable in aqueous media. In a liquid, such as a soft drink, aspartame will degrade as a function of temperature and pH..
Higher temperatures and more acidic liquids increase the rate of degradation.” The NSDA also knew the use of such an unstable chemical sweetener is illegal and said under Section 402 of the FDC Act 21 U.S.C..
342: “a food is adulterated if it contains in whole or in part . . . a decomposed substance or if it is otherwise unfit for food.”
[3] This report became part of the Congressional Record in l985.. The reason aspartame is so dangerous is that it is a molecule composed of three components, all of which are neurotoxic: aspartic acid (40 percent), methanol (10 percent), and phenylalanine (50 percent). Aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic as isolates, unaccompanied by other amino acids in food to block them from going directly into the brain.
Methanol or wood alcohol is a severe metabolic poison. Sax’s Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials states that methanol is “a human poison by ingestion.” It’s also classified as a narcotic. [4] Aspartame breaks down to diketopiperazine, a brain-tumor agent. A confidential internal memo at Searle (the company that developed aspartame) indicated concern over lack of complete toxicological data on DKP. [5]
FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt, M.D., approved aspartame only for dry foods on July 26, l974, [6] and the following month consumer attorney James Turner and Washington University researcher Dr. John Olney filed objections to the FDA’s approval, citing evidence of brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders in animal studies and concerns the substance may cause brain damage and mental retardation in humans. They also requested a hearing on the safety of aspartame.
[7] In December l975 Turner and Olney waived their right to a public hearing and agreed to a Public Board of Inquiry. On March 24, l976, the FDA’s task force reported: “At the heart of the FDA’s regulatory process is its ability to rely upon the integrity of the basic safety data submitted by sponsors of regulated products. Our investigation clearly demonstrates that, in the G.D. Searle Co., we have no basis for such reliance now . . . Some of our findings suggest an attitude of disregard for FDA’s mission of protection of the public health by selectively reporting the results of studies in a manner which allays the concerns of questions of an FDA reviewer.”
[8] On January 10, l977, in a 33-page letter, FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill recommended to US Attorney Sam Skinner that a grand jury investigate Searle for “apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 331 (e), and the False Reports to the Government Act, l8 U.S.C. 355 (i) and for concealing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of aspartame.” The FDA called special attention to studies investigating the effect of NutraSweet on monkeys and hamsters.
[9] Searle was never indicted because the statute of limitations expired..
In l981 President Ronald Reagan appointed Arthur Hull Hayes “who overruled a Public Board of Inquiry in order to approve aspartame” as FDA Commissioner. On July 1, l983, the National Soft Drink Association urged the FDA to delay approval of aspartame for carbonated beverages pending further testing, but on July 8, l983, it was approved anyway..
Disregarding the protests and outcry by physicians and scientists, a chemical poison was blessed for human consumption. Poisoned consumers were outraged, and three congressional hearings were held. Senator Howard Metzenbaum sponsored bill S. 1557 (99th Congress), requiring independent studies on five of aspartame reported toxic effects: on brain chemistry, on pregnant women and fetuses, on increased probability of seizures, its behavioral and neurological effects (especially in children), and its interactions with drugs, including monoamine oxidase inhibitors..
The bill called for a moratorium on aspartame, but because of heavy lobbying by Monsanto (the corporation that acquired Searle in l985), it never got out of committee. Senator Orrin Hatch protected Monsanto as we see in a press release (February 11, 1986) from Labor and Human Resources titled Hatch Says No to Committee Hearings on Aspartame. He said: “[I]t would serve no useful purpose to commit Committee resources to this issue at this time.”
Consumers were going blind due to the wood alcohol from aspartame. Many were diagnosed by Morgan Raiford, M.D., a methanol toxicity specialist. The Chicago Sun Times (October 17, 1986) announced Consumer Group Links NutraSweet to Blindness. “Charging that aspartame, the widely used artificial sweetener marketed as NutraSweet-causes blindness, a consumer group yesterday petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban it. The petition was another step in a long and so far fruitless campaign by the Washington based Community Nutrition Institute against aspartame..
Consumer anti-aspartame organizations sprang up. Shannon Roth, blinded in one eye by aspartame, started Aspartame Victims and Their Friends of Ocala, Florida. Totally blinded, Joyce Wilson began Aspartame Victims and Their Friends of Georgia. Jeanette Soto, who wrote the brochure Blinded Sight when aspartame took her husband’s vision, today is running Mission Possible of Brooksville, Florida..
As aspartame destroyed their central nervous systems, patients began being misdiagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. Victims lost memory, and memory loss is number eleven on a secret FDA list of 92 aspartame reactions. H.J.. Roberts, M.D., wrote Defense Against Alzheimer’s Disease in l995, connecting aspartame with this exploding twentieth-century disease..
Another congressional hearing in l987 exposed NutraSweet, but again ended with no legislation to protect consumers. That year, Gregory Gordon of United Press International conducted an eight-month investigation of NutraSweet and the FDA’s handling of the product. Gordon reported that NutraSweet was at the center of intense controversy since the day Hayes approved its use on July 18, l981, and that Hayes overrode six of the nine scientists on two agency review panels who felt links to brain tumors in rats had been ignored. Dr. Richard Wurtman, one-time Searle consultant, resigned to become a critic of NutraSweet. He told Gordon he had been contacted by more than 200 people who suspected their seizures resulted from the toxin.
Barbara Alexander Mullarkey, a columnist for the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park, Illinois, and author of Bittersweet Aspartame: A Diet Delusion, wrote the FDA for a list of the pivotal studies that approved aspartame. A letter from Dr. Rudolph Harris of the FDA [10] included SC 18862, a 52 Week Oral Toxicity Study in the Infant Monkey. Seven were fed aspartame, five had grand mal seizures, and one died. The FDA report of 92 symptoms lists four types of seizures. (The phenylalanine in aspartame lowers the seizure threshold.)
Gordon’s UPI story reported that Dr. Wurtman said: “Dr. Gerald Gaull, a Searle vice president, visited his laboratory in l985 and threatened to veto funding by ILSI, the Washington-based tax-exempt foundation, for his planned study into whether NutraSweet changes brain chemistry, lowering some humans seizure thresholds.” Gaull didn’t deny making the threat. Dr.. William Partridge told Gordon that after he raised questions about the sweetener’s effects on children, ILSI rejected his two grant proposals in l985..
Additional revelations from the UPI investigation put the aspartame picture in perspective:
“Drs. Louis Elsas of Emory University and William Pardridge of the UCLA Medical School charged that the diet food and drink industry has engaged in a ‘whitewash’ by rejecting health concerns, manipulating research studies and wining and dining scientific critics..
“These and other researchers describe a world of subtle, high-stakes strategy in which the availability of corporate funds and the design of research protocols may have influenced the course of a multibillion-dollar industry and potentially affected the safety of millions of people..
“Elsas, who publicly assailed NutraSweet in l985, said he was put off for a year before ILSI rejected his proposal without stating a reason..
“While denying funding for these aspartame skeptics, the company (G. D.. Searle/NutraSweet Co.) and ILSI have financed researchers with whom they have long-running relationships. A number of industry-funded scientists acknowledge that company and ILSI officials originated ideas for their studies or participated in the research design. These studies generally have reported the sweetener is safe..
“In the summer of l985 the firm flew Wurtman, Elsas, Matalon, Pardridge, several of their wives and other NutraSweet critics to a two-day meeting at a luxurious home in Northeast harbor, Maine.
An afternoon was spent on a yacht, participants said. ‘This was industry wooing the concerned to shut up,’ Elsas said.. “Dr. Richard Wurtman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist, says heavy NutraSweet consumption may so flood the bloodstream with phenylalanine that other essential amino acids are blocked from reaching the brain, causing chemical changes that can affect behavior and lower the threshold at which many suffer epileptic seizures..
“Dr. Sidney Wolfe, executive director of the Washington-based Health Research Group said, ‘The thing that’s really worrisome is that it clearly affects brain metabolism in animals, and anyone who disputes that is irresponsible.’
“Dr. Richard Matalon of the University of Illinois has reported that heavy consumption of NutraSweet’s main component-the amino acid phenylalanine-may cause neurological problems such as lo
ss of memory and concentration.”
“Consumer lawyer Jim Turner said, ‘The notion that an industrial company would take large sums of money and parcel it out to scientific consulting firms and university departments, who they consider to be personal and commercial allies, is an unconscionable way to ensure the safety of the American food supply.’ He said the NutraSweet experience shows that ‘the entire system of the way scientific research is done needs to be carefully investigated, evaluated and revamped.’
“Matalon said, ‘Let us say cigarettes were invented today and you give 20 people two packs a day and after six weeks, no one has cancer, would you
say that it was safe? That’s what they did with NutraSweet.'” [11]
Though the FDA originally wanted the manufacturer indicted, eventually their loyalty transferred to the manufacturer. They distributed Monsanto’s propaganda with a paper from the International Food Information Council Foundation which is rebutted by Mark Gold of the Aspartame Toxicity Center on the Dorway Web site. This disinformation is also distributed by trade organizations funded by the industry. The American Dietetics Association is often called Monsanto’s media flack, and in the January l993 issue of the ADA Courier is a picture of smiling dietitians receiving a check for $75,000 from NutraSweet, admitting they write ADA’s material..
James Bowen, M.D., writes of NutraSweet:
Toxic Mechanisms:
Abortifacient: Abortion causation
Terotogen: Birth defect production
Adjuvant: Forms antigenic tissue, triggering immunologic attack, fetal wastage
Chelation: Chelates metals, promoting heavy metal poisoning [12]
Diabetic specialist H.J. Roberts, M.D., has a position paper on aspartame
and diabetes on Dorway in which explains how aspartame can precipitate diabetes, keep blood sugar out of control, destroy the optic nerve, and even cause diabetic convulsions.[13] Yet the American Diabetes Association, funded by NutraSweet, distributes NutraSweet propaganda recommending the poison..
When Dr. H. J. Roberts wrote Aspartame (NutraSweet): Is It Safe?, he added an epilogue quoting comments at his first press conference: “I think it would be a tragedy if this issue is ignored since we could be inviting disastrous medical, psychological and neurological problems. I hope I’m wrong. But lets look at the problem NOW instead of in five or ten years when we might be having a medical plague on our hands.”
In l996, FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler granted blanket approval of this neurotoxin to be used like sugar. I had asked then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich for help. On August 26, l996 (p 20-21) the Food Chemical News reported, “Gingrich told FDA in a July 26 letter that he would appreciate any information the agency could provide him on aspartame..
Aspartame-commercially known as ‘NutraSweet’-was recently approved for all food and beverages uses by the FDA.” I had provided 26 questions for the FDA to answer that could remove aspartame from the market if FDA would answer them honestly. To this day (August 4, 2000) the FDA has refused to answer them, even though given to them by a man who at that time was considered one of the most important men in the world..
In December l996 John Olney, M.D., the famed neuroscientist who founded the branch of neuroscience known as excitotoxicity, made world news when he published Increasing Brain Tumor Rates: Is There a Link to Aspartame? in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology.
[14] He was
accompanied on 60 Minutes by Dr. Ralph Walton, who provided peer-reviewed research on aspartame showing that 83 of 90 independent studies (i.e. not funded by the industry) revealed problems. Six studies from the FDA had to be disqualified because of their controversial role regarding aspartame.. One literature review almost exclusively reflected the industry-sponsored research. With these studies excluded, 100 percent of the truly independently-funded research demonstrated some type of adverse reaction
to NutraSweet..
Dr. Ralph Walton-chairman of the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Youngstown, Ohio-did a study on these effects [15], but NutraSweet, knowing they had no control over the study, had refused to sell him the aspartame he needed. When he obtained it elsewhere, the institution had to stop the study as some subjects complained of being poisoned, one sustained a retinal detachment, and one suffered conjunctival bleeding.
Dr. Michael Friedman, acting Commissioner of the FDA, defended Monsanto on 60 Minutes. Yet, it was the FDA themselves who refused to approve aspartame for sixteen years because of the brain tumor issue. Their own toxicologist, the late Dr. Adrian Gross, had told Congress that aspartame-because it triggers brain tumors-violates the Delaney Amendment that makes it illegal to allow any residues of cancer-causing chemicals in foods. In concluding testimony Gross asked, “Given the [cancer-causing potential of aspartame] how would the FDA justify its position that it views a certain amount of aspartame as constituting an allowable daily intake or ‘safe’ level of it? Is that position in effect not equivalent to setting a ‘tolerance’ for this food additive and thus a violation of that law? And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?” [16]
We were flooding Dr. Friedman with case histories, but they were never reported in the FDA report of complaints. And even in congressional hearings, it was admitted the FDA was referring aspartame complaints to the AIDS Hotline to get rid of them. When he defended Monsanto, I couldn’t help but think one day they would reward him. His reward came in June 1999 when they hired him..
In Atlanta, Georgia, in l998 I attended an International Conference on Unexplained Emerging Epidemics, attended by the Communicable Disease Center, physicians and scientists from 91 countries, and the global press.. I couldn’t help but remember the prophecy in Dr. Robert’s book as I distributed his information declaring aspartame disease a world plague. I also distributed a paper exposing the CDC for their part in the cover-up.. In l984 they investigated complaints and reported such symptoms as aggressive behavior, disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness, excitability, memory loss, loss of depth-perception, liver impairment, cardiac arrest, seizures, suicidal tendencies, severe mood swings, and death!
They recommended further investigations of the neurological and behavioral problems. Perhaps aspartame would not be on the market today if Frederick L. Trowbridge had not added an executive summary to the report which conflicted with the information in the report, stating: “Currently available information, based on data with limitations as described in the report, indicated a wide variety of complaints that are generally of a mild nature.” As usual, only the summary was widely circulated. I told Dr.. Satcher, who headed the CDC before he became Surgeon General, if he didn’t remove the summary, I would put the entire document on the Web for the whole world to read. He didn’t and I did, and it can now be read on Dorway..
It’s hard to believe anyone associated with the approval of aspartame didn’t know the gun was loaded. Glutamate researchers used aspartame as a placebo in studies so they could say MSG wouldn’t react anymore than the placebo. MSG is also an excitotoxin, as discussed in Dr. Blaylock’s book Excitotoxins. In l993 Jack Samuels, President of the Truth in Labeling Campaign, was reviewing FDA docket files relating to an FDA study on the safety of amino acids in supplements. In the files, he found a letter dated March 22, l991, from Andrew G. Ebert, PhD, Chairman, International Glutamate Technical Committee-a glutamate industry organization-in which Ebert admitted that aspartame had been used since at least l978 in test and placebo materials that his organization provided to scientists who study the safety of MSG..
A review of studies conducted with the above-referenced test material clearly indicates that some subjects reacted to both MSG test material and placebo material. Scientists conducting such studies concluded that since subjects reacted to both MSG and placebos, their reactions were not from MSG. Even though such logic is highly questionable, we now know that subjects reacted to placebos because of the presence of aspartame, an additive that causes MSG-type responses in MSG-sensitive people. Because
of the disclosure of the use of aspartame in placebo material by Jack Samuels, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, in its July 1995 report on the safety of MSG in food, concluded that the use of aspartame in placebo materials was inappropriate..
All the articles, all the TV shows, and all the organizations warning the public could not bring Monsanto Chemical Company to its knees, although I believe getting out the warning has saved the lives of thousands of people.. But at the end of l998 something happened that even Monsanto and the FDA could not contain-the email that made world news..
In l995 I had lectured for the World Environmental Conference sponsored by the Department of Environmental Justice of the EPA through a grant. Dr.. Clarice Gaylord gave the keynote address and said: “We have an epidemic of MS and lupus and cannot identify the toxin.” I answered: “I’m Betty Martini of Mission Possible International, and I’m here to lecture on MS and lupus and identify the toxin as NutraSweet.” When I returned to Atlanta I wrote about this conference and the epidemic on a neurological list headed by a Dr. Rivner. I put on the list a position paper by Dr. Roberts titled Multiple Sclerosis or Aspartame Disease? and material on the subject by neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., author of Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, explaining that aspartame disease mimics multiple sclerosis. I also discussed many of the other problems it triggers. The post was put on the Web at Dorway, where it still remains today..
A person calling herself Nancy Markle published the article under her name, changing the title and some of the wording. John Smith saw it in the UK and sent it to a global networker in Clarkston, Georgia-Shoshanna Allison.. Shoshanna’s marriage had been shattered when her husband developed lupus and the usual mood swings from aspartame. She didn’t want it to happen to anyone else, so with the help of Jean Hudon in Canada, she put the post in cyberspace, and it made world news. Today Shoshanna is dubbed Paula Revere for firing the shot heard around the world..
Who could have predicted what would happen as this post was sent to hospitals, clinics, doctors, media, corporations, and victims? It didn’t take long for people to realize I was the author, as all you had to do was search the Web for “aspartame” to find Dorway and read the original article. My phone wouldn’t stop ringing, and finally I had to remove call waiting because it was impossible to talk to two people at once all day long and do radio shows. Over a year and a half later, the phone still has not stopped ringing. Articles continue to be written, some exposing the truth, while others simply repeat industry-influenced lies. I believe thousands have been yanked from the jaws of death..
Two support groups were set up online to help the victims calling from all over the world: the Aspartame Support Group and Aspartame Survivors International. The Aspartame Toxicity Center in Concord, New Hampshire, continues to report the case histories of the victims, some of whom have now passed on..
When this post began its world tour, the propaganda mills geared up. First came Lauren Neergard’s Associated Press article on January 29, l999, titled Internet Health Scares. She wrote: “An email campaign attacking an artificial sweetener was spreading fear facts. ‘Could I have been misdiagnosed? Will eliminating the aspartame in my diet eliminate the MS symptoms?’ a panicked patient asked the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.” She quoted Jeff Stier of the American Council on Science and Health, who said: “I call them toxic terrorists.”
I called Lauren Neergard and told her I was the one who lectured for the World Environmental Conference, and there was no hoax. She said: “But Mrs.. Martini, I didn’t use your name.” Does that mean she knew there was no hoax but published the article anyway? Why didn’t she use my name? She finally said, “If you can prove that the FDA doesn’t report all the complaints, I’ll consider doing the story.” I explained that we had the copies, but Ms.. Neergard has never done the story and never retracted the misinformation she published..
On February 8, 1999, Time magazine contained Web of Deceit, an article that read like a Monsanto commercial down to, “Aspartame sweetens your life without shortening it.” I guess that’s a little reverse psychology! The article contained the usual propaganda about there being four times as much methanol in a glass of tomato juice as in a can of aspartame-sweetened soda. The truth is written in a paper by Dr. Woodrow Monte titled Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health-“Ethanol, the classic antidote for methanol toxicity, is found in natural food sources of methanol at concentrations 5 to 500,000 times that of the toxin. Ethanol inhibits metabolism of methanol and allows the body time for clearance of the toxin
through the lungs and kidneys.”
[17] There’s no ethanol in aspartame-thus, no counteracting effect on the methanol-but the propaganda put out by NutraSweet finds itself rubberstamped in newspapers, articles, and Web sites geared at protecting industry..
The interesting thing about Christine Gorman’s article in Time is that she was on the Dorway Website and knew the truth. She says: “When I searched Altavista for aspartame and brain and seizure and sclerosis, I learned that Markle’s message is almost identical to an anti-aspartame screed first penned under a different name in 1995.” So she saw my original post and
all the evidence of facts on Dorway, including the damning CDC investigation, the FDA’s own audit, the Bressler Report, the secret trade information, and even the protest of the National Soft Drink Association. She must have seen Dr. Robert’s position paper Multiple Sclerosis or Aspartame Disease?
The least she could have done was to call me, but instead she spewed the real web of deceit and misled the public.. Phyllis Weidmann had seen the original post and quit using aspartame..
However, misled by Time, she started the use of aspartame again and sustained a grand mal seizure. Now that she’s permanently off the toxin, her seizures have stopped, and she is an activist on the Aspartame Survivors Support list..
Many people repeated Christine Gorman’s search, and when reading the facts on Dorway told me they were outraged that Time would publish such an article, having known the truth..
David Emery, who runs the Urban Legends Web site at About.com, insisted there were many questions I could not answer, but when I did answer them, he refused to put them on his site. It continues to mislead the public to this day. That also goes for Dr. Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch..
As my phone was ringing off the hook, I called Dr. Rudolph Harris, who confirmed the FDA was having the same experience. I said: “How can you tell consumers aspartame is safe when we have FDA’s own audit, the Bressler Report, on the Web.” His only answer was, “I can’t refute that..
In an interview with Dr. James Bowen, he stated: “The FDA has made aspartame a self-validating compound, meaning that since they have released it to market generally recognized as safe, it must be held blameless.. Therefore, their own studies which show horrendous toxicity must be held invalid.” Dr. Bowen-who says aspartame triggered his Lou Gehrig’s Disease,
toxic cardiopathy, and severe depression, not to mention changing his hair from rich, dark brown to total silver gray in six weeks-wrote the FDA several years ago telling them that aspartame was a mass poisoning of the American public and more than 70 other countries.
Their only response to this, says Dr. Bowen, was to send an FDA investigator to his office after he collected 30 other cases for them. This investigator told Dr. Bowen, “We don’t like what you’re doing, and we want you to stop.” He told me she repeatedly refused to accept the 30 cases of aspartame poisoning he collected. Whereupon he said to her, “Did you come here to intimidate me, or did you come here to review the case reports, as you say you have?”
He says she merely glared at him and refused to take the reports until he repeatedly pressured her to do so, and nobody has seen those reports since..
Why is the post still heavily circulated after a year and a half? Why is it still causing articles to be written? The post contained so many symptoms and problems triggered by aspartame that many victims read their problems and got off the toxin, and then continued to forward it to friends. Even if the reader was not using aspartame, many saw the problems in their friends and family..
Nancy Markle reared her head again when she wrote The Ecologist in the UK, using my home address. After explaining the situation, I received a call from journalist Ed Metcalfe, who did his own investigation on aspartame, which was published in the June 2000 issue of The Ecologist. He discusses the FDA-commissioned taskforce, headed by Jerome Bressler, that investigated some studies to determine whether or not they had been properly conducted. “In August l977 the Bressler Report (as it became known) was released. Investigators found significant deviations from acceptable procedures for conducting non-clinical laboratory studies.
They discovered, for instance, that a significant proportion of animal tissues from one of the studies had been allowed to decompose before post-mortem examinations could be performed. Original animal pathology sheets and the pathology sheets submitted to the FDA showed marked differences.
Animals
were recorded as dead and then subsequent records would indicate that the same animal was still alive-almost certain evidence of a mix-up-which tallied with evidence that animals had not been correctly tagged. In one of the studies examining the possible carcinogenicity in rats of a breakdown product of aspartame called diketopiperazine (DKP), investigators could not ascertain what dosage of DKP had been fed to the rats. There was also evidence that the feed in the DKP test had been improperly mixed, allowing the animals to avoid the DKP while eating..
“In l987 Dr. Jacqueline Verrett, a toxicologist and member of the Bressler Task Force, testified before a US Senate hearing. She described the discrepancies found in the Searle tests of aspartame as ‘serious departures from acceptable toxicological protocols.’
“‘It is unthinkable,” she said, ‘that any reputable toxicologist giving a complete, objective evaluation of the data resulting from such a study could conclude anything other than that the study was uninterpretable and worthless and should be repeated..
“On the crucial question itself: ‘It would appear that the safety of aspartame and its breakdown products has still not been satisfactorily determined, since many of the flaws cited in these three studies were also present in all of the other studies submitted by Searle.'” [18]
The Ecologist’s investigation shows again that aspartame was never proven safe..
Today physicians are opening aspartame detoxification centers to help the victims of this chemical poison. The first one was set up by Dr. Paula Rhodes in Atlanta, Georgia. When I first saw a sign for the Aspartame Detoxification Center, I knew the world was getting the message.
Likewise, Dr. David Dahlman of the Hyde Park Holistic Center in Cincinnati has been treating aspartame victims from all over the country. Dr. Ron Austin is not only detoxifying aspartame victims but plans in the future to have them treated with hyperbaric oxygen. I also received a call from the Hyperbaric Oxygen Department of the Whitaker Wellness Center saying their doors are now open aspartame victims who want assistance..
Monsanto could not put out the fire and sold the NutraSweet Company. They also sold the rights to Neotame, a more potent aspartame product. Dr.. Jeffrey Bada, a peptide chemist, told me by phone that Neotame had the same dangerous breakdown products as aspartame. A 1998 study published in the prestigious journal Life Sciences showed that formaldehyde from aspartame accumulates in the cells and damages DNA, with substantial amounts of toxicity in the liver, kidneys, adipose tissue, retina, and brain. [19]
The poisoning of the world’s population by this FDA-approved potion is a tragedy on a scale unrivaled in history. Little blue packs of rat poison nestle in neat containers on every restaurant table, and it’s added to thousands of foods. An avalanche of new afflictions is sweeping away the well-being of millions to feed the greed of corporations and bureaucrats without conscience, without honor. It is time to stop the massacre, destroy the destroyers..
Endnotes
[1]. Roberts, H.J., M.D. (1990) Aspartame (NutraSweet): Is it safe?
Philadelphia, PA: The Charles Press..
2. Wurtman, Richard J. & Timothy J. Maher. (1987). Effects of aspartame
on
the brain: Neurologic effects of aspartame. Presented at the symposium: “Sweeteners: Health Effects,” Naylor-Dana Foundation, New York; February
18-20, l987..
[3]. Congressional Record. Senate, May 7, l985 (S5507 – S5511)..
[4]. Louis, R. J. (1992)..
[4]. Sax’s Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials (eighth edition)..
New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold: 2251-2252..
[5]. G. D. Searle Company. (1970)..
Confidential internal memorandum entitled “Food and drug sweetener strategy
documents supplied by Sen. Howard Metzenbaum’s office. December 28..
[6]. Federal Register 39: 27317 (July 25, l974)..
[7]. Federal Register 46: 38285 (July 24, l981); US Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 84-1153 Community Nutrition Institute, et al, Petitioners v Dr. Mark Novitch, Acting commissioner, Food
and Drug Administration, Respondent, G. D. Searle Co., Intervenor, Petition
for Review of an Order of the Food and Drug Administration, No. 84-5253 Community Nutrition Institute et al, Appellants v. Dr. Mark Novitch, Acting
Commissioner, food and Drug Administration, Appellee (September 24, l985)..
[8]. Food and Drug Administration, Searle Investigation Task Force Chaired
by Carlton Sharp. (1976). “Final report of Investigation of G. D.
Searle
Company.” March 24..
[9]. Letter from Richard A. Merrill, Chief counsel, Department of Health,
Education, and Welfare, Food and Drug Administration, to Honorable Samuel
K. Skinner, US Attorney, Northern district of Illinois, requesting that Skinner’s office convene a Grand Jury investigation into G. D. Searle co..
for submitting false reports. (January 10, l977)..
[10]. Letter from Dr. Rudolph Harris of FDA to Barbara Alexander Mullarkey,
dated August 10, l994..
[11]. Gordon, Gregory. (1987). NutraSweet: Questions swirl. United Press
International, 3-part series..
[12]. Bowen, James, M.D. (2000). Aspartame murders infants in violation of
Title 18 of the Genocide Law. Dorway Web site, June 6..
[13]. Roberts, H.J., M.D. (1994). Statement of H.J. Roberts, M.D., concerning the use of products containing aspartame (NutraSweet) by persons
with diabetes and hypoglycemia. Dorway Web site, August 9..
[14]. Olney, John, M.D. (l996). “Increasing brain tumor rates: Is there
a link to aspartame?” Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology,
Vol 55, No 12 (December)..
[15]. Walton, Dr. Ralph (1993). “Adverse reactions to aspartame: Double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population.” Society
of Biological Psychiatry..
[16]. Congressional Record SID835:131. (August 1, l985)..
[17]. Monte, Dr. Woodrow. (1984). “Aspartame: Methanol and the public
health.” Journal of Applied Nutrition, Vol 36, No 1..
[18]. Metcalfe, Ed. (2000). “Sweet talking.” The Ecologist, Vol 30, No 4
(June)..
[19]. Trocho, C., R. Pardo, I. Rafecas, J. Virgili, X. Remesar, J.A..
Fornandex-Lopez, M. Alemany. (1998). “Formaldehyde derived from dietary
aspartame binds to tissue components in vivo.” Life Sciences 63 (5),
June
26, pp 337-49..
Aspartame Detoxification Centers:
Dr. Paula Rhodes
3767 Chamblee Dunwood Road
Atlanta GA 30341
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Aspartame
The primary cause of brain tumors
By James Bowen, M.D.
Posted: 26 February 2005
In the Wistar rat, the appropriate rat strain to test for brain
tumorigenicity studies, a dose of Aspartame only equivalent to three cans of pop per day, scaled down to the weight of the animals, and given for only sixty days caused the highest incidence of brain tumors, that any chemical ever tested in that strain of rat, ever caused.
FDA rules, and the Laws governing the Agency, require that every chemical licensed for use as a human food additive be tested at “one hundred times the maximum human consumption,” so the aspartame dose used was only somewhat less than 5% of the required dosage level.
The law also requires rats to be given the chemical at that mandated dose for two years, so the sixty-day time period of administering Aspartame was totally inadequate, as was the dosage. Even though administered at less than 5% the requisite dosage, and for only 8% the time lawfully specified, Aspartame produced more brain tumors than any chemical ever tested at any dose, ever caused!
This brain tumor finding alone, forever outlaws Aspartame as an ingredient in any human food! Since science would never be able to set that shocking rat brain tumor finding aside, Rumsfeld handled the licensing of Aspartame as merely a “political matter,” which he then conducted with ruthless organized crime techniques!
Being fully aware of all this, the American Soft Drink Bottling Association boycotted Aspartame for a year and a half after its Rumsfeld engendered phony approval. In their denial letter to the manufacturer, they used the words: “The brain tumor issue has never been resolved.”
Dr
Martini has a copy of the denial letter posted on dorway.com for your review. Yes, no FDA committee ever approved Aspartame for licensure, and it strikingly failed many of the required toxicity tests, all of which it was required to pass in order to even possibly qualify for approval! The results of the infant monkey studies, and human toxicity tests were similarly striking failures of all safety standards.
No surprise then, that the US brain tumor incidence jumped 10% in the first six months after Aspartame was eventually added to diet soft drinks!
Rumsfeld, who very publicly, personally bragged about his getting Aspartame approved, ruthlessly used organized crime techniques to railroad Aspartame down the throats of the American public! Reagan appointed Dr Arthur Hayes as head of the FDA. Hayes previously, had already been found guilty of giving high dose brain damaging agents to US military recruits without their knowledge or consent, leaving many of them permanently brain damaged and pensioned out all around our country!
Hayes got himself, and the US Government quite successfully sued thereby! Why was the entire US Media at the time, kept silent about all this well-known malfeasance?
Hayes was then entrapped and blackmailed! The records reveal that within a few days of having felony charges lodged against him, Hayes approved Aspartame for human consumption, even after his prior refusal to license it! The felony charges against Hayes were then abruptly dropped, just a few days after his approval of Aspartame for human consumption. He went on to become the first publicist/pundit in the history of mankind who will not say a single word to justify the chemical he was blackmailed into licensing for human consumption!
Sincerely,
James D. Bowen, M.D.
Consumer Information On Aspartame
NUTRITION & HEALING – November 1995
Exclusive Interview
Consumer Information On Aspartame
MARY NASH STODDARD
Mary Nash Stoddard is founder of the ASPARTAME CONSUMER SAFETY NETWORK, and author of DEADLY DECEPTION, a fact-filled sourcebook concerning the sweetener “aspartame” (NutraSweet/Equal.) She started ACSN’s Pilot’s Hotline, which has taken over 500 pilot-related calls about aspartame-related flight-safety impairments, including grand mal seizures in the cockpit, as well as loss of vision, vertigo, and heart problems.
Stoddard has qualified as an expert witness in aspartame-related courtroom proceedings and is a board member of the National Natural Foods Association.
From 1977-1983 she was appointed Judge on the State of Texas Board of Adjustments. In the 1960’s she was the first woman disc jockey in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and operated “KSAM Productions,” an audio-visual production studio from 1965 through 1987.
Deadly Deception and other aspartame-related materials including THE ASPARTAME CONSPIRACY, an hour-long video are available from $25.00 each from ACSN at 1-800-969-6050, or at PO Box 780634, Dallas, TX 75378 USA.
Q: Your important consumer education work on the sweetener “aspartame” is well known and we are delighted to speak to you. Is it true that the large majority of non-drug complaints to the Food and Drug Administration are about
adverse reactions to aspartame, also called NutraSweet or Equal?
A: Currently, it’s about 78% of all complaints. At one time, the figure was 85%! Yet, this isn’t reported in the newspapers or announced through other media. It’s a well-hidden secret.
Q: Imagine if it were a vitamin or herbal product, we’d have the federal pill police swarming like angry bees. Would you please list for us some of the symptoms caused by aspartame?
A: Aspartame not only causes individual symptoms, it can mimic entire syndromes! For example, the CFIDS (chronic fatigue and immune deficiency syndrome) newsletter calls it the “sweet poison, NutraSweet,” because it can mimic the symptoms of CFIDS. It can also cause grand mal seizures. According to H.J. Roberts, M.D., it can cause decreased vision, pain in the eyes, decreased tears, ringing in the ears, hearing impairment, headache, dizziness
and unsteadiness, confusion, memory loss, drowsiness, sleepiness, slurring of
speech, numbness and tingling, tremors, depression, irritability, aggression,
anxiety, insomnia, phobias, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, high blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, itching, hives, menstrual changes, weight gain, hair thinning and hair loss, urinary burning and frequency, excessive thirst, fluid retention, bloating, increased infection, and even death.
Q: Death?
A: Five deaths reported prior to 1987. We don’t know the number since then.
Q: What’s in this stuff?
A: Among other things, it’s about 10% methanol (wood alcohol,) famous for causing blindness in alcoholics. In the body, methanol metabolizes into formaldehyde, a neurotoxin; formic acid, a venom in ant stings; and diketopiperazine, which causes brain tumors in animals. It’s so bad that in July of 1983, the National Soft Drink Association presented official objections to putting aspartame in beverages. I’ll read you one of their objections:
“It is well established under Section 402(a)(3) that a food which
contains a decomposed substance…is subject to seizure by FDA.” It’s thoroughly established that after a number of weeks and at temperatures over 85 degrees F, there’s no aspartame left in a soft drink, only breakdown products. So, why isn’t FDA seizing it under Section 402 (a)(3)?
Q: Your book, Deadly Deception reports that initially FDA had started investigations of the G.D. Searle Company, makers of aspartame.
A: Yes. In 1977 an FDA task force submitted a 15,000 page document covering their investigation. Here are two quotes:
“We have uncovered serious deficiencies in Searle’s integrity…”
“The cumulative findings of problems within and across the studies we investigated reveal a pattern of conduct which compromises the scientific integrity of the studies.”
Q: These are from FDA’s own task force report on Searle’s aspartame research?
A: Exactly. Your readers may not know that aspartame was originally approved in 1974, but when the brain-tumor issue arose, the approval was withdrawn.
Q: Tell us about the “brain-tumor issue.”
A: Many of the test animals fed aspartame developed large tumors. These were actually cut out, and the animals returned to the study. In some cases, the tumors weren’t even examined for malignancy, and the tumors weren’t reported to FDA. In several cases, animals were reported as dead and later reported as
alive again.
Q: No wonder FDA’s task force “uncovered serious deficiencies in Searle’s integrity!”
A: The results of the task force investigation of aspartame and other Searle drugs were presented to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor and Public Welfare. Senator Edward Kennedy said that “the extensive nature of the almost
unbelievable range of abuses discovered by the FDA on several major Searle products is profoundly disturbing.”
Q: So, how did aspartame ever get approved and progress so far into our food supply?
A: Well, for one thing, a former member of Congress and Chief of Staff in the
Ford Administration, Donald Rumsfeld, was hired as President of Searle in 1977. Rumsfeld was paid $2 million in salary and $1.5 million in bonuses between 1979 and 1984.
Q: Oh-oh.
A: Also, in 1977, Senior Assistant U.S. Attorney, William Conlon was assigned
to the Searle case. He took no action, despite repeated prodding by Richard Merrill, Chief Counsel to the FDA. One year later, Conlon took a position with Sidley and Austin, the law firm representing Searle.
Q: A pattern seems to be emerging.
A: Rumsfeld, now Searle president, hired: John Robson as Executive Vice-President – he had been a spokesman of the Civil Aeronautics Board; William Greener as Chief Spokesman for Searle – he had been a spokesman in the Ford White House; and, Robert Shapiro as General Counsel, who later became head of Searle’s NutraSweet Division – he had been a Special Assistant
in the Department of Transportation.
But, here’s the pay-off!
Q: No pun intended?
A: The facts are interesting, aren’t they? In 1983, the Commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. approved NutraSweet for soft drinks two months before leaving office. Two-to-three months later, he accepted a position as Senior Medical Advisor to Searle’s public relations firm, Burson Marsteller. He was paid $1,000 per day as consultant.
Q: Really, $1,000 a day? This is a matter of public record?
A: A matter of public record. And, Michael Taylor was also involved in the approval of aspartame.
Q: Michael Taylor, the Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) man, who worked for FDA, lawyered for Monsanto to get rBGH approved, then went to work for FDA writing
the rBGH regulations?
A: The very same. Didn’t you know that G. D. Searle is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto, with Robert Shapiro as current CEO?
Q: What a surprise. And a not unfamiliar pattern. But, tell us about aviation
and aspartame.
A: The official Air Force safety magazine, FLYING SAFETY, and the Navy’s flight magazine, NAVY PHYSIOLOGY, have both published warnings about using aspartame and flying.
Q: Will you give us an example?
A: A pilot called ACSN’s Pilot Hotline two nights ago and told me about his experience. Flying for Peninsula Airlines in Alaska, he had a seizure in flight at 10,000 feet and was grounded. He had been drinking eight to ten cups of coffee a day sweetened with Equal, another aspartame compound. Since he quit aspartame, he’s been seizure-free, but he hasn’t been allowed to fly.
Q: We need to know more about this.
A: In my book, Deadly Deception, there’s a reprint of a scientific paper showing that aspartame aggravates abnormal brain waves in children with epilepsy (Neurology 1992;42:1000-1003.)
Q: Maybe airline passengers should question pilots about aspartame use before
boarding! What about those U.S. Senate hearings during which pilots testified
about the adverse effects of aspartame on their flying abilities?
A: There have actually been three hearings.
Q: Here we go again!
A: Speaking of contributions… watch out diabetics! The NutraSweet company has given money, money, money to the American Diabetic Association. And, remember when you hear a registered dietitian say aspartame is safe for pregnant women, children, and everyone else, the Registered Dietitian’s
professional association has been given $75,000 to expound on the virtues of aspartame. The American Dietetic Association has even stated that the NutraSweet company writes their “Fact Sheets.”
Q: So, there’s money everywhere…to members of Congress, former regulatory bureaucrats, professional associations…
A: Absolutely. Aspartame approval and persistence on the market has everything to do with money and politics, and almost nothing to do with science and reason. Even the FDA’s own reviewers were against aspartame until
those political/financial events I’ve mentioned.
Q: Is there any hope to reverse all this?
A: Each of us will have to do it ourselves, one at a time and by spreading the word. Fortunately, it appears that the public pays more attention to this issue when they’re given access to the information I’ve been outlining. The last TV show I appeared on about this issue, received 100,000 calls over the next three days.
Q: Thank you so much for devoting your time and energy to spreading the word about the hazards of aspartame.
A: Your readers can call the ASPARTAME CONSUMER SAFETY NETWORK at (214)352-4268 for more information as well as many suggestions for helping to
make known the truth about aspartame.
(Cover story Interview with Mary Nash Stoddard, founder of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and author of a source book about the sweetener, aspartame. – Dr. Jonathan V. Wright’s NUTRITION & HEALING with Alan R. Gaby, M.D., November 1995 – Vol. 2, Issue 11. Pub. by Nutrition & Healing, Inc.,
Phoenix, AZ.)
*(U.S. Attorney, Samuel Skinner was prosecuting G.D. Searle for falsifying tests submitted for approval of aspartame, but recused himself at the last minute to join Searle’s law firm, Sidley & Austin. Skinner then went back into Government, becoming head of the Dept. of Transportation – over the FAA.
From there he was appointed Chief of Staff in President Bush’s White House.
Recently, he was nominated Man-of-the-Year by the Epilepsy Foundation in Chicago. Ironically, aspartame is reported to “trigger” epilepsy in a number of Epileptics. Also, former Monsanto Attorney, Clarence Thomas was appointed Supreme Court Judge amidst swirling controversy over his appointment! Ed.)
Facts They Don’t want you to know about Artificial Sweeteners
Food Safety Expert / Author, Mary Nash Stoddard In the original lab tests, ASPARTAME caused 4 kinds of tumors: Brain Tumors / Breast Tumors / Pancreatic Tumors / Uterine Tumors.
Results of these tests were criminally falsified – then submitted to FDA! When the temperature of Aspartame exceeds 86 degrees Fahrenheit [body temperature is: 98.6], the 10% methanol [wood alcohol] in ASPARTAME [aka NutraSweet/Equal] converts to formaldehyde [embalming fluid] and then to formic acid [toxin found in ant sting venom].
Aspartame may be the unidentified environmental trigger for: Brain Tumors – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – Lyme Disease – PMS – Migraine – Mild to Severe Depression – Carpal Tunnel – Arthritis – Meniere’s – MS [Multiple Sclerosis] – Epilepsy – Anxiety/Phobia Disorders – Alzheimer’s – ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease – Eosinophilia Myalgia Syndrome [EMS] – Graves Disease – Tinnitus – Fibromyalgia – Stroke – Heart Disease – Lupus – Mental Illness – Attention Deficit Disorder – other “Difficult-to-Diagnose” Diseases.
Aspartame poisoning can trigger the following: Chronic Fatigue; Lupus; Graves Disease; Alzheimer’s; Fibromyalgia; Multiple Sclerosis; Heart Attacks; Brain Tumors; Pancreatic Cancer; Breast Cancer; Uterine Cancers; and Mental Disorders.
Three Senate Hearings have been conducted on the safety of aspartame – yet no official action has been taken by our government. Aspartame Consumer Safety Network’s Mary Nash Stoddard, representing a constituency of over 10,000 individuals worldwide has provided formal testimony at the Senate Hearing in 1987 and has on numerous occasions since then, registered formal objections both in writing and in person to the FDA; FAA; EPA; USDA; Presidents Bush and Clinton; Secretary of Defense Cohen and various members of Congress.
James Bowen, M.D., outspoken anti-aspartame advocate had his license to practice medicine revoked in eight states because medical boards found not that he had “harmed” a patient, but that he was “delusional” about aspartame’s adverse effects. Dr. Bowen [appeared on CBS Evening News with Dan Rather in 1984 talking about his case of Lou Gehrig’s Disease which he reversed by getting off aspartame].
Dr. Bowen states, “Aspartame’s adverse effects have to be non-specific, affecting virtually every organ of the body. Otherwise, it [aspartame] would have been off the market within the first two years!”
When ACSN’s founder, Food Safety Expert, Mary Nash Stoddard met with FDA and FAA officials in Washington [87-88] they claimed their hands were tied.
They were unwilling to undo the wrongs [including criminal actions taken on the part of those submitting aspartame for approval] that had been committed in allowing aspartame to remain illegally on the market. The Supreme Court refused to hear the petition regarding aspartame’s illegal entry into the marketplace – filed in Washington D.C. by Consumer Attorney and ACSN co-founder, James Turner, Esq.
Does MONSANTO have a “gatekeeper” on the U.S. Supreme Court in the form of former Monsanto attorney, Judge Clarence Thomas?
Law suits have been settled out of court. In 1992, G.D. Searle [wholly-owned subsidiary of Monsanto Chemical, St. Louis, MO since 1985] lost their exclusive patent on the pharmaceutical sweetener and now there are over 10,000 products containing aspartame as both active and inactive ingredient. [It is not always listed clearly on the ingredient label.] Diketopiperazine [DKP], a known brain tumor agent, is a breakdown product of aspartame.
Dr. John Olney of Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, shows a 10% rise in the two specific forms of brain tumors that showed up in lab tests: Astrocytomas and Glioblastomas [glio cell tumors], since aspartame came onto the market in the early eighty’s. Formaldehyde [embalming fluid], a breakdown product of methanol [wood alcohol] in aspartame is found on the EPA’s list of hazardous chemicals. Phenylalanine [50% of molecule] in aspartame can change the chemistry of the brain and lower the seizure threshold, according to studies done by Dr. Richard Wurtman, head of brain science at MIT. Phenylalanine also blocks production of a neurotransmitter – serotonin, which may result in mood swings; sleep disorders; mild to suicidal depressions and aberrant behaviors in some. Prozac and L-Tryptophan both increase serotonin levels.
A newsletter published by the Association of Birth Defect Children, shows Phenylalanine in aspartame can be responsible for both mild and severe birth defects – including permanent neurological damage. Aspartic Acid [40% of the molecule] in aspartame can change DNA, caused holes in the brains of lab animals and is classified as a neuroexcitatory amino acid. The connection with aspartame has been established, but can Ibuprofen cause birth defects too? Some lawyers are bringing a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug lawsuit which links Ibuprofen and birth defects.
Aspartame can sabotage weight loss attempts. Many report a paradoxical weight gain while using the products sweetened by aspartame. A study done at Leeds University in the U.K. showed weight gains by the men in the study on aspartame.
Physicians and researchers know what damage may be caused by ingesting wood alcohol. Two teaspoons have been know to cause death.
[Every 12-oz can of diet soda which contains 200 mg. of aspartame may contain as much as 20 mg. of methanol.] The effect of methanol on the eye, liver, pancreas and other organs of the body are well documented in the scientific literature. In nature, ethanol, methanol’s antidote is always present to neutralize the toxin. There is no ethanol in aspartame for protection. Aspartame can be especially hazardous to anyone with a preexisting medical condition such as diabetes.
Manufacturers of aspartame and makers of the thousands of products which contain the fake sweetener, generously fund in various ways, the following so-called independent organizations: American Diabetes Association, American Dietetic Association, members of Congress, prestigious medical schools and others. [The New York Times – 11/15/96 – reported the American Dietetic Association takes money from the food industry to endorse their products].
These books/videos are available by calling 1-800-969-6050 [Aspartame Consumer Safety Network’s Book Order Department]:
** “EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS” by Neurologist, Russell Blaylock, M.D.
** “ASPARTAME [NUTRASWEET] – IS IT SAFE?” by H.J. Roberts, M.D.
** “DEADLY DECEPTION – STORY OF ASPARTAME” [Toxicology Sourcebook] by Epidemiologist, Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder of the world’s massive anti-aspartame movement.
** “THE ASPARTAME CONSPIRACY”, [VIDEO LECTURE at an international Science Symposium].
ACSN’s ANTI-ASPARTAME ACTION AGENDA:
** Take everything back to the store you may now have in your possession that contains aspartame!
** Print as many copies of this article as you can. Distribute and warn everyone you know. Send it out to the rest of the world by email / fax / mail.
** Take all aspartame out of your diet for 60 to 90 days and send us your adverse reaction report.
About the author of this article: Mary Nash Stoddard earned international recognition through public appearances and interviews in media as a pioneer of the burgeoning worldwide anti-aspartame movement.
As Aspartame Consumer Safety Network’s founder and spokesperson for over a decade, she is acclaimed for her high profile stand against any unwarranted pollution of our food supply by irresponsible food and drug manufacturing practices. Stoddard defends her position with dozens of articles from peer-reviewed medical journals and over 10,000 adverse reactions to the artificial sugar sweetener in her files. This courageous researcher claims the FDA’s aspartame cover-up is an “unprecedented crime against society!
Retained frequently by media as an articulate Consumer Advocate and resource for numerous stories on national and international TV, Stoddard also provided eye opening testimony at Senate Hearings in Washington. Her important “Sixty Minutes” segments aired in both the U.S. and Australia. Stoddard’s book, Deadly Deception – The Story of Aspartame, is acclaimed globally as an invaluable resource. Certified Expert Witness on the subject of the dangerous food additive, aspartame and popular consultant to doctors, scientists, attorneys, airline pilots and health care professionals, Stoddard is often referred to as pilot’s “Guardian Angel” for work done on their behalf.
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network P.O. Box 780634 – Dallas TX 75378 USA
Phone: 214-352-4268 Email
Aspartame in Children’s Vitamins
A warning by Kathleen Fairchild
I am finding that even among the most informed regarding the health hazards of aspartame, the following is a little known fact:
Have you checked the ingredients of chewable
vitamins, both adult and children’s.
The following is a brief account of my personal experience and horrifying discovery.
Starting in 1991 I learned of
the health hazards of aspartame, because I had been consuming NutraSweet on a regular basis, and was having increasing excruciating monthly periods, eventually becoming bed-ridden 3 days at a time, every month or more.
I took myself off NutraSweet, and slowly but surely, my monthly periods got much better, and I began feeling better overall.
I avoided aspartame as if it was poison – which it is!
Years later in 2001, I became
pregnant with my second child and began taking large doses of chewable vitamin C, since I was preparing to have a scheduled C-Section delivery.
3 months after delivery, I began experiencing very similar symptoms like those I had had years earlier, with my period, and during my ovulations.
One day, I happened
to glance through the ingredients of my vitamin C, and imagine my anger when I saw the word Aspartame in my vitamins!
I then checked the ingredients in all vitamins and was absolutely
infuriated and horrified to learn that nearly all children’s vitamins found in supermarkets, and grocery stores have Aspartame in them! All varieties of the Flintstone’s chewables have this poison!
Please get the word out! As a mother
of three young children, I feel it’s important to spread the word of warning to
as many people as possible.
Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Kathleen Fairchild
Aspartame Poison
If you or any of your friends are using “diet” anything – STOP! READ LABELS on everything you eat or drink. If these ingredients are listed – they’re poison! Irrefutable proof below!
Extracted from Nexus Magazine, Volume 2, #28 (Oct-Nov ’95) and Volume 3, #1 (Dec ’95-Jan ’96). PO Box 30, Mapleton Qld 4560 Australia.
Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company was testing an anti-ulcer drug.
Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26, 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr John W. Olney and Consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974 as well as investigations of G.D. Searle’s research practices caused the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (December 5, 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.
Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death as recently disclosed in a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report.(1) A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include:
Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.
According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2)
Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson’s disease, alzheimer’s, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.
Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: Aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol.
The book, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James and Phyllis Balch, lists aspartame under the category of “chemical poison.” As you shall see, that is exactly what it is.
ASPARTIC ACID (40% OF ASPARTAME)
Dr Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi, recently published a book thoroughly detailing the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive aspartic acid from aspartame. [Ninety nine percent of monosodium glutamate MSG) is glutamic acid.
The damage it causes is also documented in Blaylock’s book.] Blaylock makes use of almost 500 scientific references to show how excess free excitatory amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid in our food supply are causing serious chronic neurological disorders and a myriad of other acute symptoms.(3)
SUMMARY OF HOW ASPARTATE (AND GLUTAMATE) CAUSE DAMAGE
Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells.
This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as “excitotoxins.” They “excite” or stimulate the neural cells to death.
Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken in its free form (unbound to proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) which normally protects the brain from excess glutamate and aspartate as well as toxins 1) is not fully developed during childhood, 2) does not fully protect all areas of the brain, 3) is damaged by numerous chronic and acute conditions, and 4)allows seepage of excess glutamate and aspartate into the brain even when intact.
The excess glutamate and aspartate slowly begin to destroy neurons. The large majority (75%+) of neural cells in a particular area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic illness are noticed.
A few of the many chronic illnesses that have been shown to be contributed to by long-term exposure excitatory amino acid damage include:
Multiple sclerosis (MS), ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, hypoglycemia, AIDS, dementia, brain lesions, and neuroendocrine disorders.
The risk to infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and persons with certain chronic health problems from excitotoxins are great. Even the Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology (FASEB), which usually understates problems and mimics the FDA party-line, recently stated in a review that “it is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children.
The Existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders.”(4)
Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid.
The exact mechanism of acute reactions to excess free glutamate and aspartate is currently being debated. As reported to the FDA, those reactions include:(5)
Headaches/migraines, nausea, abdominal pains, fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain), sleep problems, vision problems, anxiety attacks, depression, and asthma/chest tightness.
One common complaint of persons suffering from the effect of aspartame is memory loss. Ironically, in 1987, G.D. Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame, undertook a search for a drug to combat memory loss caused by excititory amino acid damage. Blaylock is one of many scientists and physicians who are concerned about excititory amino acid damage caused by ingestion of aspartame and MSG.
A few of the many experts who have spoken out against the damage being caused by aspartate and glutamate include Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D., an experimental psychologist specializing in research design.
Another is Olney, a professor in the department of psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University, a neuroscientist and researcher, and one of the world’s foremost authorities on excitotoxins. (He informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid caused holes in the brain of mice.)
Also included is Francis J. Waickman, M.D., a recipient of the Rinkel and Forman Awards, and Board certified in Pediatrics, Allergy, and Immunology.
Other concerned scientists include: John R. Hain, M.D., Board Certified Forensic Pathologist, and H.J. Roberts, M.D., FACP, FCCP, Diabetic Specialist, and selected by a national medical publication as “The Best Doctor in the US”
John Samuels is concerned, also. He compiled a list of scientific research sufficient to show the dangers of ingesting excess free glutamic and aspartic acid.
And there are many more who can be added to this long list.
PHENYLALANINE (50% OF ASPARTAME)
Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Persons with the genetic disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize phenylalanine.
This leads to dangerously high levels of phenylalanine in the brain (sometimes lethal). It has been shown that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in the brain even in persons who do not have PKU.
This is not just a theory, as many people who have eaten large amounts of aspartame over a long period of time and do not have PKU have been shown to have excessive levels of phenylalanine in the blood.
Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It was shown in human testing that phenylalanine levels of the blood were increased significantly in human subjects who chronically used aspartame.(6)
Even a single use of aspartame raised the blood phenylalanine levels. In his testimony before the US Congress, Dr Louis J. Elsas showed that high blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain, and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. He also showed that phenylalanine is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents than by humans.(7)
One account of a case of extremely high phenylalanine levels caused by aspartame was recently published the “Wednesday Journal” in an article entitled “An Aspartame Nightmare.”
John Cook began drinking 6 to 8 diet drinks every day. His symptoms started out as memory loss and frequent headaches. He began to crave more aspartame-sweetened drinks. His condition deteriorated so much that he experienced wide mood swings and violent rages.
Even though he did not suffer from PKU, a blood test revealed a phenylalanine level of 80 mg/dl. He also showed abnormal brain function and brain damage.
After he kicked his aspartame habit, his symptoms improved dramatically.(8)
As Blaylock points out in his book, early studies measuring phenylalanine buildup in the brain were flawed. Investigators who measured specific brain regions and not the average throughout the brain notice significant rises in phenylalanine levels.
Specifically the hypothalamus, medulla oblongata, and corpus striatum areas of the brain had the largest increases in phenylalanine. Blaylock goes on to point out that excessive buildup of phenylalanine in the brain can cause schizophrenia or make one more susceptible to seizures.
Therefore, long-term, excessive use of aspartame may provided a boost to sales of serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac and drugs to control schizophrenia and seizures.
METHANOL (AKA WOOD ALCOHOL/POISON) (10% OF ASPARTAME)
Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison. Some people may remember methanol as the poison that has caused some “skid row” alcoholics to end up blind or dead.
Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounter the enzyme chemotropism.
The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly stored or when it is heated (e.g., as part of a “food” product such as Jell-O).
Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol “is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed.
In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic.” The recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.(9)
Symptoms from methanol poisoning include headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness and shooting pains in the extremities, behavioral disturbances, and neuritis.
The most well known problems from methanol poisoning are vision problems including misty vision, progressive contraction of visual fields, blurring of vision, obscuration of vision, retinal
damage, and blindness.
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication, causes birth defects.(10) Due to the lack of a couple of key enzymes, humans are many times more sensitive to the toxic effects of methanol than animals.
Therefore, tests of aspartame or methanol on animals do not accurately reflect the danger for humans. As pointed out by Dr Woodrow C. Monte, Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University, “There are no human or mammalian studies to evaluate the possible mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic effects of chronic administration of methyl alcohol.” (11)
He was so concerned about the unresolved safety issues that he filed suit with the FDA requesting a hearing to address these issues. He asked the FDA to “slow down on this soft drink issue long enough to answer some of the important questions.
It’s not fair that you are leaving the full burden of proof on the few of us who are concerned and have such limited resources. You must remember that you are the American public’s last defense. Once you allow usage (of aspartame) there is literally nothing I or my colleagues can do to reverse the course.
Aspartame will then join saccharin, the sulfating agents, and God knows how many other questionable compounds enjoined to insult the human constitution with governmental approval.”(10) Shortly thereafter, the Commissioner of the FDA, Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages, he then left for a position with G.D. Searle’s Public Relations firm. (11)
It has been pointed out that some fruit juices and alcoholic beverages contain small amounts of methanol. It is important to remember, however, that methanol never appears alone. In every case, ethanol is present, usually in much higher amounts. Ethanol is an antidote for methanol toxicity in humans.(9)
The troops of Desert Storm were “treated” to large amounts of aspartame-sweetened beverages which had been heated to over 86° F. in the Saudi Arabian sun.
Many of them returned home with numerous disorders similar to what has been seen in persons who have been chemically poisoned by formaldehyde. The free methanol in the beverages may have been a contributing factor in these illnesses. Other breakdown products of aspartame such as DKP (discussed below) may also have been a factor.
In a 1993 act that can only be described as unconscionable,” the FDA approved aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items that would always be heated to above 86° F (30° C).
DIKETOPIPERAZINE (DKP)
DKP is a by-product of aspartame metabolism. DKP has been implicated in the occurrence of brain tumors. Olney noticed that DKP, when nitro sated in the gut, produced a compound which was similar to N-nitrosourea, a powerful brain tumor causing chemical. Some authors have said that DKP is produced after aspartame ingestion. I am not sure if that is correct.
It is definitely true that DKP is formed in liquid aspartamecontaining products during prolonged storage.
G.D. Searle conducted animal experiments on the safety of DKP. The FDA found numerous experimental errors occurred, including “clerical errors, mixed-up animals, animals not getting drugs they were supposed to get, pathological specimens lost because of improper handling,” and many other errors. (12)
These sloppy laboratory procedures may explain why both the test and control animals had sixteen times more brain tumors than would be expected in experiments of this length.
In an ironic twist, shortly after these experimental errors were discovered, the FDA used guidelines recommended by G.D. Searle to develop the Industry-wide FDA standards for Good Laboratory Practices. (11)
DKP has also been implicated as a cause of uterine polyps and changes in blood cholesterol by FDA Toxicologist Dr Jacqueline Verrett in her testimony before the US Senate.(13)
AILMENTS RESULTING FROM ASPARTAME
The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually, others are immediate, acute reactions.
There is an enormous population of people who are suffering from symptoms contributed to by aspartame, yet they have no idea why herbs or drugs are not helping relieve their problems.
There are other users of aspartame who appear not to be suffering immediate reactions to aspartame. But even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP. A few of the many disorders that are of particular concern to me include the following.
Birth Defects.
Dr Diana Dow Edwards, a researcher was funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by the ingestion of aspartame. After preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame, funding for the study was cut off.
A Genetic Pediatrician at Emory University has testified that aspartame is causing birth defects.7360-367.
In the book, While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook by George R. Verrilli, M.D. and Anne Marie Mueser, it is stated that aspartame is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A fetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with problems ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to mental retardation.
Cancer (Brain Cancer).
In 1981, Satya Dubey, an FDA statistician, stated that the brain tumor data on aspartame was so “worrisome” that he could not recommend approval of NutraSweet.(14) In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, twelve of the 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumors while none of the control rats had tumors.
Five of the twelve tumors were in rats given a low dose of aspartame. (15) The approval of aspartame was a violation of the Delaney Amendment which was supposed to prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehyde) and DKP from entering our food supply.
The late Dr Adrian Gross, an FDA toxicologist, testified before the US Congress that aspartame was capable of producing brain tumors. This made it illegal for the FDA to set an allowable daily intake at any level. He stated in his testimony that Searle’s studies were “to a large extent unreliable” and that “at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals….”
He concluded his testimony by asking, “What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act? …. And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?” (16)
In the mid-1970s it was discovered that the manufacturer of aspartame falsified studies in several ways. One of the techniques used was to cut tumors out of test animals and put them back in the study. Another technique used to falsify the studies was to list animals that had actually died as surviving the study.
Thus, the data on brain tumors was likely worse than discussed above. In addition, a former employee of the manufacturer of aspartame, Raymond Schroeder told the FDA on July 13, 1977 that the particles of DKP were so large that the rats could discriminate between the DKP and their normal diet.(12)
It is interesting to note that the incidence of brain tumors in persons over 65 years of age has increase 67% between the years 1973 and 1990.
Brain tumors in all age groups has jumped 10%. The greatest increase has come during the years 1985-1987.(17)
In his book, Aspartame (NutraSweet). Is it Safe?, Roberts gives evidence that aspartame can cause a particularly dangerous form of cancer – primary lymphoma of the brain.
Diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending this chemical poison to persons with diabetes. According to research conducted by H.J.
Roberts, a diabetes specialist, a member of the ADA, and an authority on artificial sweeteners, aspartame:
1) Leads to the precipitation of clinical diabetes.
2) Causes poorer diabetic control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs.
3) Leads to the aggravation of diabetic complications such as retinopathy, cataracts, neuropathy and gastro paresis.
4) Causes convulsions.
In a statement concerning the use of products containing aspartame by persons with diabetes and hypoglycemia, Roberts says: “Unfortunately, many patients in my practice, and others seen in consultation, developed serious metabolic, neurological and other complications that could be specifically attributed to using aspartame products.
This was evidenced by:
“The loss of diabetic control, the intensification of hypoglycemia, the occurrence of presumed ‘insulin reactions’ (including convulsions) that proved to be aspartame reactions, and the precipitation, aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications (especially impaired vision and neuropathy) while using these products.
“Dramatic improvement of such features after avoiding aspartame, and the prompt predictable recurrence of these problems when the patient resumed aspartame products, knowingly or inadvertently.”
Roberts goes on to say:
“I regret the failure of other physicians and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) to sound appropriate warnings to patients and consumers based on these repeated findings which have been described in my corporate-neutral studies and publications.”
Blaylock stated that excitotoxins such as that found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease. (5)
Emotional Disorders.
A double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons with mood disorders was recently conducted by Dr Ralph G. Walton. Since the study wasn’t funded/controlled by the makers of aspartame, The NutraSweet Company refused to sell him the aspartame. Walton was forced to obtain and certify it from an outside source.
The study showed a large increase in serious symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop the study.
Three of the participants had said that they had been “poisoned” by aspartame.
Walton concludes that “individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population should be discouraged.” (18)
Aware that the experiment could not be repeated because of the danger to the test subjects, Walton was recently quoted as saying, “I know it causes seizures.
I’m convinced also that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I’m very angry that this substance is on the market. I personally question the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company.” (19)
There are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.
Researchers have pointed out that increasing in phenylalanine levels in the brain, which can and does occur in persons without PKU, leads to a decreased level of the neurotransmitter, serotonin, which leads to a variety of emotional disorders. Dr William M. Pardridge of UCLA testified before the US Senate that a youth drinking four 16-ounce bottles of diet soda per day leads to an enormous increase in the phenylalanine level.
Epilepsy/Seizures.
With the large and growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the “safety” of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed.
Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the survey:
“These 80 cases meet the FDA’s own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market.”
Both the Air Force’s magazine Flying Safety and the Navy’s magazine, Navy Physiology published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including the cumulative deleterious effects of methanol and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo.
Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News (1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane and Pilot (1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).
Recently, a hotline was set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported
symptoms including some who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit due to aspartame. (21)
One of the original studies on aspartame was performed in 1969 by an independent scientist, Dr Harry Waisman. He studied the effects of aspartame on infant primates. Out of the seven infant monkeys, one died after 300 days and five others had grand mal seizures. Of course, these negative findings were not submitted to the FDA during the approval process. (22)
Why don’t we hear about these things?
The reason many people do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold:
1) Lack of awareness by the general population. Aspartame-caused diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes. This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands of different locations across the US.
2) Most people do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame. For the people who have killed a significant percentage of the brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, there is no way that they would normally associate such an illness with aspartame consumption.
How aspartame was approved is a lesson in how chemical and pharmaceutical companies can manipulate government agencies such as the FDA, “bribe” organizations such as the American Dietetic Association, and flood the scientific community with flawed and fraudulent industry-sponsored studies funded by the makers of aspartame.
Erik Millstone, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit of Sussex University has compiled thousands of pages of evidence, some of which have been obtained using the freedom of information act 23, showing:
1. Laboratory tests were faked and dangers were concealed.
2. Tumors were removed from animals and animals that had died were “restored to life” in laboratory records.
3. False and misleading statements were made to the FDA.
4. The two US Attorneys given the task of bringing fraud charges against the aspartame manufacturer took positions with the manufacturer’s law firm, letting the statute of limitations run out.
5. The Commissioner of the FDA overruled the objections of the FDA’s own scientific board of inquiry. Shortly after that decision, he took a position with Burson-Marsteller, the firm in charge of public relations for G.D. Searle.
A Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) was conducted in 1980. There were three scientists who reviewed the objections of Olney and Turner to the approval of aspartame. They voted unanimously against aspartame’s approval. The FDA Commissioner, Dr Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then created a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the PBOI findings.
After it became clear that the Commission would uphold the PBOI’s decision by a vote of 3 to 2, another person was added to the Commission, creating a deadlocked vote. This allowed the FDA Commissioner to break the deadlock and approve aspartame for dry goods in 1981. Dr Jacqueline Verrett, the Senior Scientist in an FDA Bureau of Foods review team created in August 1977 to review the Bressler Report (a report that detailed G.D. Searle’s abuses during the pre-approval testing) said:
“It was pretty obvious that somewhere along the line, the bureau officials were working up to a whitewash.” In 1987, Verrett testified before the US Senate stating that the experiments conducted by Searle were a “disaster.” She stated that her team was instructed not to comment on or be concerned with the overall validity of the studies.
She stated that questions about birth defects have not been answered. She continued her testimony by discussing the fact that DKP has been shown to increase uterine polyps and change blood cholesterol and that increasing the temperature of the product leads to an increase in production of DKP.(13)
Revolving doors
The FDA and the manufacturers of aspartame have had a revolving door of employment for many years. In addition to the FDA Commissioner and two US Attorneys leaving to take positions with companies connected with G.D. Searle, four other FDA officials connected with the approval of aspartame took positions connected with the NutraSweet industry between 1979 and 1982 including the Deputy FDA Commissioner,
the Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, the Associate Director of the Bureau of Foods and Toxicology and the Attorney involved with the Public Board of Inquiry. (24)
It is important to realize that this type of revolving-door activity has been going on for decades. The Townsend Letter for Doctors (11/92) reported on a study revealing that 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left the FDA took positions with companies they had regulated.
They also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug companies they were assigned to manage. Many organizations and universities receive large sums of money from companies connected to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting the use of aspartame.
In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association received a US $75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company. The American Dietetic Association has stated that the NutraSweet Company writes their “Facts” sheets. (25)
Many other “independent” organizations and researchers receive large sums of money from the manufacturers of aspartame. The American Diabetes Association has received a large amount of money from NutraSweet, including money to run a cooking school in Chicago (presumably to teach diabetes how to use NutraSweet in their cooking).
A researcher in New England who has pointed out the dangers of aspartame in the past is now a Monsanto consultant. Another researcher in the Southeastern US had testified about the dangers o aspartame on fetuses. An investigative reporter has discovered that he was told to keep his mouth shut to avoid causing the loss of a large grant from a diet cola manufacturer in the NutraSweet Association.
What is the FDA doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Less than nothing.
In 1992, the FDA approved aspartame for use in malt beverages, breakfast cereals, and refrigerated puddings and fillings. In 1993 the FDA approved aspartame for use in hard and soft candies, non-alcoholic favored beverages, tea beverages, fruit juices and concentrates, baked goods and baking mixes, and frostings, toppings and fillings for baked goods.
In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia. The powder of the leaf has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used widely in Japan with no adverse effects. Scientists involved in reviewing stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption – something which has been well known in many parts of the world where it is not banned.
Everyone that I have spoken with in regards to this issue believes that stevia was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the US and cutting into sales of aspartame. (26)
What is the US Congress doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
What is the US Administration (President) doing to protect the
consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
Aspartame consumption is not only a problem in the US. It is being sold in over 70 countries throughout the world.
ASPARTAME CAN BE FOUND IN:
– instant breakfasts
– breath mints
– cereals
– sugar-free chewing gum
– cocoa mixes
– coffee beverages
– frozen desserts
– gelatin desserts
– juice beverages
– laxatives
– multivitamins
– milk drinks
– pharmaceuticals and supplements
– shake mixes
– soft drinks
– tabletop sweeteners
– tea beverages
– instant teas and coffees
– topping mixes
– wine coolers
– yogurt
I have been told that aspartame has been found in products where it is not listed on the label. One must be particular careful of pharmaceuticals and supplements. I have been informed that even some supplements made by well-known supplement manufacturers such as Twinlabs contain aspartame.
The information I have related above is just the tip of the iceberg as far as damaging information about aspartame. In order for the reader to find out more, I have included some resources below.
BOOKS
Blaylock, Russell L., Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills (Health Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1994). One of the best books available on excitotoxins. Well worth reading!
H. J. Roberts, M.D., Aspartame (NutraSweet), Is it Safe? Available from the Aspartame Consumer
Safety Network.
Sweet’ner Dearest, Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network
Mary Nash Stoddard, The Deadly Deception, Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety network.
Barbara Mullarkey, Editor, Bittersweet Aspartame – A Diet Delusion,
Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.
The Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, The Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Synopsis.
Dennis Remington, M.D. and Barbara Higa, R.D., The Bitter Truth About Artificial Sweeteners,
Available from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network ASPARTAME CONSUMER SAFETY NETWORK
PO Box 780634
Dallas, Texas 75378, USA.
Phone: (214) 352-4268
REFERENCES
(1) Department of Health and Human Services, Report on All Adverse
Reactions in the
Adverse
Reaction Monitoring System, (February 25 and 28, 1994).
(2) Compiled by researchers, physicians, and artificial sweetener experts for Mission
Possible,
a group dedicated to warning consumers about aspartame.
(3) Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, by Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
(4) Safety of Amino Acids, Life Sciences Research Office, FASEB, FDA
Contract No.
223-88-2124,
Task Order No. 8.
(5) FDA Adverse Reaction Monitoring System.
(6) Wurtman and Walker, “Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function,” Proceedings of
the First
International Meeting on Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function., Washington,
D.C., May 8,
1987.
(7) Hearing Before the Committee On Labor and Human Resources United States Senate,
First
Session to Examine the Health and Safety Concerns of NutraSweet (Aspartame).
(8) Account of John Cook as published in informed Consent Magazine. “How Safe Is
Your
Artificial Sweetener” by Barbara Mullarkey, September/October 1994.
(9) Woodrow C. Monte, Ph.D., R.D., “Aspartame: Methanol and the
Public Health,”
Journal of
Applied Nutrition, 36 (1): 42-53.
(10) US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, No. 84-1153 Community
Nutrition
Institute and Dr Woodrow Monte v. Dr Mark Novitch, Acting Commissioner, US FDA
(9/24/85).
(11) Aspartame Time Line by Barbara Mullarkey as published in Informed Consent
Magazine,
May/June 1994.
(12) FDA Searle Investigation Task Force. “Final Report of Investigation of G.D.
Searle
Company.” (March 24, 1976)
(13) Testimony of Dr Jacqueline Verrett, FDA Toxicologist before the US Senate
Committee on
Labor and Human Resources, (November 3, 1987).
(14) Internal FDA memorandum.
(15) Analysis prepared by Dr John Olney as a statement before the Aspartame Board of
Inquire
of the FDA. Also Excitotoxins by Russell Blaylock, M.D.
(16) Congressional Record SID835: 131 (August 1, 1985)
(17) National Cancer Institute SEER Program Data.
(18) Walton, Ralph G., Robert Hudak, Ruth Green-Waite “Adverse Reactions to
Aspartame:
Double-Blind Challenge in Patients from a Vulnerable Population,” Biological
Psychiatry,
1993:34:13-17.
(19) Barbara Mullarkey, “How Safe Is Your Artificial Sweetener,” September/October
1994 issue
of Informed Consent Magazine.
(20) US Air Force. “Aspartame Alert.” Flying Safety, 48 (5): 20-21 (May 1992).
(21) Reported by the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network.
(22) Barbara Mullarkey, Bittersweet Aspartame, A Diet Delusion.
(23) Millstone, Eric “Sweet and Sour.” The Ecologist, 25 (March/April 1994).
(24) Mary Nash Stoddard, Editor, “The Deadly Deception,” Aspartame Consumer Safety
Network.
(25) ADA Courier, January 1993, Volume 32, Number 1. (26) “FDA Rejects AHPA Stevia
Petition”
by Mark Blumenthal, Whole Foods, April 1994.
Testimonial to the Deleterious Effects of Aspartame
“In October of 2001, my sister started getting very sick, she had stomach spasms, she was having a hard time getting around, to walk was a major chore.
It took everything she had just to get out of bed, she was in so much pain. By March 2002, she had undergone biopsies, and was on 24 various prescription medications. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so sick, she knew she was dying.
She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance etc. in her oldest daughters name, and made sure her younger children were to be with her oldest daughter.
She wanted her last hooray, so she planned a
trip to FL (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd. On March 19th I called her to ask her how one of her tests went, and she said they didn’t find anything on the test, but they believe she had MS.
I
thought, oh, my….then I recalled an article a friend of mine emailed to me…and I asked her….Do you drink Diet pop?
She
told me yes, as a matter of fact she was getting ready to crack one open that moment….
I told her not to open it, and stop drinking the diet pop….and emailed her the following article. She called me within 32 hours after our phone conversation and told me she stopped drinking the diet pop, and she can walk…she went up the stairs, and the muscle spasms went away.
She said she didn’t feel 100% but sure
felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her doctors with this article and would call me back when she got home.
She called me, and
her doctor was amazed, he is going to call all of his MS patients to find out if they consumed artificial sweetener….In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the aspartame in the diet soda, dying a slow death. When she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was one pill, and that was a pill for poisoning….she is well on her way to recovery…..and she is walking!!!!! No wheelchair!!!! This article saved her life!!!!”
The
life saving article:
If it
says “sugar free,” on the label, Don’t even think about it!!! I have spent several days lecturing at the World Environmental Conference on “Aspartame” marketed as ‘NutraSweet’, ‘Equal’, and ‘Spoonful’.
In the
keynote address by the EPA, it was announced that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus, that it was hard to understand what toxin was causing this to be rampant. I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on exactly that subject.
I will
explain why Aspartame is so dangerous:
When
the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in Aspartame converts to Formaldehydes and then to formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. (Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of fire ants.)
The methanol toxicity mimics
among other conditions multiple sclerosis. People were being diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis in error. The multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, where methanol toxicity is!
Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that the aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its use, aggravating the lupus to such a degree that it may become life-threatening.
We have seen patients with systemic lupus become asymptomatic once taken off diet sodas.
In the
case of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, (when in reality, the disease is methanol toxicity), most of the symptoms disappear. We’ve seen many cases where vision returned and hearing improved markedly.
This also applies to cases of tinnitus.
During
a lecture I said “If you are using aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc.) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss – you probably have aspartame disease!”
People
were jumping up during the lecture saying, “I’ve got some of these symptoms: Is it reversible?” Yes! Not drinking diet sodas and keeping an eye out for aspartame on food labels, yes! We have a very serious problem. A stranger came up to Dr. Espisto (one of my speakers) and me and said: “Could you tell me why so many people seem to be coming down with MS?”
During
a visit to a hospice, a nurse said that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence! Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi etc. is not a diet product !
The
Congressional Record states that it makes you crave carbohydrates and will make you fat. The formaldehyde stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs. Once off these products with no significant increase in exercise, etc., Dr. Roberts in his lecture stated that he had patients who lost an average of 19 pounds
over a trial period.
Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We found that physicians would believe that they have a patient with retinopathy, when in fact the symptoms are caused by aspartame. The aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neuro-toxic without the other amino acids found in protein. Thus it passes the blood brain barrier and deteriorates the neurons of the brain, causing in diabetics (as well as in patients not suffering from diabetes) various kinds of brain damage, seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks, rage, violence. (The Aspartame in thousands of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.)
Dr.
Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects i.e. mental retardation if taken at the time of conception and early pregnancy. Children are especially at risk for neurological disorders and should NOT be given NutraSweet. I can relate different case histories of children having mal seizures and other disturbances being on NutraSweet.
Unfortunately it is not always easy to convince a mother that aspartame is to blame for her child’s illness. Only by trial and success will she be able to warn other mothers to take their children’s health in their own hands.
Stevia,
a sweet herb, not a manufactured additive, which helps in the metabolism of sugar (which would be ideal for diabetics) has now been approved as a dietary supplement by the FDA. For years the FDA has outlawed this sweet food because of their loyalty to Monsanto. Books on this subject are available:
Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills – by Dr. Russell Blayblock (Health Press 1-800-643-2665)
Defense Against
Alzheimer’s Disease – by Dr. H. J. Roberts, also a diabetic specialist.
These
two doctors will be posting a position paper with some case histories on the deadly effects of Aspartame on the Internet.
According to the Conference of the American College of Physicians “we are talking about a plague of neurological diseases caused by this deadly poison.” Here is the problem: There were Congressional Hearings when aspartame was included in 100 different products. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, but to no avail. Nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets. Now there are over 5,000 products containing this chemical, and the patent has expired !
I
assure you, Monsanto, the creator of Aspartame knows how deadly it is.
They fund among others, the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association, the Conference of the American College of Physicians. This has been exposed in the New York Times – to no avail. These Associations cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to Monsanto because they take money from the food industry and have to endorse their products.
Senator
Howard Hetzenbaum wrote a bill that would have warned all infants, pregnant mothers and children of the dangers of aspartame. The bill would have also instituted independent studies on the problems existing in the population (seizures, changes in brain chemistry, changes neurological and behavioral; symptoms). It was killed by the powerful drug and chemical lobbies, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting public.