Aspartame, NutraSweet, Equal...
If the label says sugar-free, don't even think about it.
by Jim Lynn
Diet Cola Drinkers Take Notice...
Aspartame is an unstable drug that turns to formaldehyde
(embalming fluid) in liquids above freezing temperature.
If you are a daily consumer of artificial sweeteners and suffer from headaches, joint pain, memory loss, numbness, tinnitus, hearing loss, vision problems, weight gain, rashes, seizures, fatigue, muscle spasms or dizziness, asthma or chest tightness, you might want to discontinue artificial sweetener consumption and see if you notice an improvement. Many people do.
The culprit, according to many scientists and researchers, could be aspartame, the artificial sweetener that is found in carbonated soft drinks and more than 5000 other food/drug items. Cereals, instant breakfasts, breath mints, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, coffee beverages, frozen deserts, juice beverages, laxatives, multi-vitamins, milk drinks, pharmaceuticals, shake mixes, nutritional supplements, tabletop sweeteners, tea beverages, instant tea and coffees, topping mixes and yogurt are just a few of the food items that list aspartame as an ingredient.
What is Aspartame?
Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names of artificial sweeteners, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful and Equal-Measure. The substance was discovered by accident in 1965 by James Schlatter, a chemist working for the G.D. Searle Company. Monsanto Corporation bought out Searle in 1985, and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.
Studies show that long-term use of aspartame can trigger, aggravate or even mimic chronic illnesses like brain tumors, epilepsy, parkinson's disease, birth defects, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus and fibromyalgia.
Lupus, multiple sclerosis, fybromyalgia, brain tumors and Alzheimer's disease have become almost epidemic, especially among heavy users of diet cola's. Most licensed physicians are not aware of the aspartame connection, and so mis-diagnosis is common and the illness remains aggravated.
If you are using aspartame regularly, or are a heavy user of diet cola's and have any symptoms displayed by these diseases...stop consuming diet drinks and sugar substitutes to see if your symptoms improve.
Very briefly, aspartame is composed of three drugs, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol. In fluid form, Methanol (wood alcohol) breaks down into formic acid (ant sting poison) and formaldehyde (embalming fluid).
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed." (1) Formic acid is used in industry as an activator to strip epoxy and urethane coatings. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin, used for embalming corpses in the funeral industry.
As an aside...
Police departments and morticians are aware that human corpses (they find) do not quickly corrupt (decompose) like they once did 20 years ago. Nowadays, corpses tend to remain intact. Could this be due to high concentrations of formaldehyde stored in body fat caused from heavy and regular consumption of diet drinks?
A one liter aspartame sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit (2).
In 1985 the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) noted that aspartame converts to formaldehyde even while stored in the can or bottle, and made a recommendation to the FDA that aspartame NOT be approved for use by people in soda. The higher the storage temperature (especially above 86 degrees), the greater the loss of aspartame and the greater the increase of formaldehyde.
NSDA's reasoning was that the longer diet drinks are stored, the more conversion of aspartame to formaldehyde occurs, which affects the taste of their products. This account is published in the 1985 congressional record. Later, NSDA must have seen the hand writing on the wall, because they did a complete turn around and lobbied for the use of aspartame in soft drinks on Monsanto's behalf.
The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually, others more immediate, There are millions of people who are suffering from symptoms contributed to aspartame, yet are wondering why herbs or drugs are not helping relieve their problems. Some people seem not affected by using aspartame. However, research indicates long term continued use makes these individuals just as suseptible.
The reasons the general populace has not heard about serious reactions to aspartame are;
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Lack of awareness by the general public. 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 world.
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Most people do not associate their symptoms with long-term use of aspartame. The assumption is whatever is in food must be safe, since all that "stuff" is regulated by the gov't.
Birth Defects:
Dr. Diana Edwards, a researcher was funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by ingestion of aspartame. After preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame, funding for the study was cut off. (3) Today we hear of babies being born without brains and 30 year old women suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
In 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the listing of adverse reactions reported to the FDA. Aspartame accounted for more than 75% of ALL adverse reactions reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS). This makes aspartame, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death. (4)
Is Aspartame a Diet Product?
No, it is not! Consuming aspartame makes the consumer actually crave carbohydrates and get fat. Those who stop using aspartame typically lose weight. the words, "diet cola" was a hoax designed to create a market on a nation of overweight people. Did it work? You decide.
There is no reason for consuming aspartame. It is not a safe food additive but a deadly drug. It is a poison like arsenic or cyanide..it just takes longer to harm or kill you.
Monsanto and the FDA:
How aspartame was approved as a food additive should serve as a lesson in how the drug industry manipulates, infiltrates, and uses government agencies and non-profit organizations like the American Dietetic Association to serve their own agenda. (6)
The FDA and Monsanto have had a revolving door employment policy for years. So much so, Monsanto employees jokingly refer to the FDA as a Monsanto branch office. The Townsend Letter for doctors (11/92) reported on a study that showed 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left the FDA took positions offered by the companies they regulated. They also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug companies they were assigned to manage.
Many large organizations and universities receive large sums of money from companies connected to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting the use of aspartame. The American Dietetic Association (ADA) who received a $75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company (a Monsanto Corporation), has stated the NutraSweet company writes their "facts" sheets. (5) By taking money from NutraSweet, the ADA loses its neutral position by endorsing a Monsanto product.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, did a peer review analysis on aspartame. Dr. Walton used MEDLINE and other databases to analyze 164 studies which he felt had a relevance to human safety questions. Of these studies, 74 had aspartame related sponsorship and 90 were funded without any industry money.
Of the 90 non-industry sponsored studies, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame. Of the 7 studies which did not find a problem, 6 of those studies were conducted by the FDA. Given that a number of FDA officials went to work for the aspartame industry immediately following approval (including the former FDA Commissioner), many consider these studies to be the equivalent to industry-sponsored research. (7)
Due to space requirements, this report does not address all the dangers associated with aspartame. If this report has not convinced you to stop using aspartame laced products, my hope is that you will at least investigate the subject further. Please take advantage of the resource and reference material following this report.
Take the 60 day no aspartame test...
If you are a user of aspartame products experiencing chronic illness symptoms, take the 60 day no aspartame test. This is the length of time to go without aspartame most people experience to notice health improvement. But there is a catch...you must check all food labels very carefully for the word "aspartame," including vitamins and pharmaceuticals, and avoid them.
Show this report to friends and loved ones...
With over 100 million people consuming aspartame products, the likelihood is that someone you know or love is slowly being poisoned by this hideous toxic drug. Please pass this report on to them as someone did for you. Makes copies and pass it on to church groups, clubs, grocery stores, and to your family doctor.
P.S.
Monsanto will soon offer a new sugar substitute product called Neotame. For all intent and purposes, neotame is an aspartame look-alike. Please do not switch from one toxic sweetener to another...Avoiding chemical sugar substitute products is not only wise, it might even save your life.
References:
1. Woodrow C. Monte, pH.D., "Aspartame: Methanol and the Public
Health" Journal of Applied nutrition, 36 (1): 42-53
2. Ibid.
3. Hearing before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources
United States Senate, First Session on Examining the Health
and Safety Concerns of NutraSweet (Aspartame), Nov. 3, 97
4. Department of Health and Human Services, "Report on All
Adverse Reactions in the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System,"
Feb 25 and 28, 1994
5. ADA Courier, Jan 25, 1993, Vol. 32, #1
6. History Behind how Aspartame was Approved by FDA
http://www.dorway.com/enclosur.html
7. Analysis of Peer Reviewed Medical Literature
http://www.dorway.com/whotest.html
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