Aspartame

Well, you gotta love the artificial sweetners, right? It's been almost a year now that I've been Diet Coke free...part of the reason I quit is because of the artifical sweetner Aspartame.

Analysis Shows Nearly 100% of Independent Research Finds Problems With Aspartame

October 17, 1996

An analysis of peer reviewed medical literature using MEDLINE and other databases was conducted by Ralph G. Walton, MD, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. Dr. Walton analyzed 164 studies which were felt to have relevance to human safety questions. Of those studies, 74 studies had aspartame industry-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 problems, 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 equivalent to industry-sponsored research.

Of the 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies, all 74 (100%) claimed that no problems were found with aspartame. This is reminiscent of tobacco industry research where it is primarily the tobacco research which never finds problems with the product, but nearly all of the independent studies do find problems.

The 74 aspartame industry-sponsored studies are those which one inveriably sees cited in PR/news reports and reported by organizations funded by Monsanto/Benevia/NutraSweet (e.g., IFIC, ADA). These studies have severe design deficiencies which help to guarantee the "desired" outcomes. These design deficiencies may not be apparent to the inexperienced scientist. Healthcare practitioners and scientists should print out the all of the documents on the Monsanto/NutraSweet Scientific Abuse web page, the Scientific FAQs web page and the Aspartame Toxicity Reaction Report Samples. Please refer scientific questions to mgold@holisticmed.com.

Abuse of the Scientific Method Seen in Monsanto Aspartame Research

Which lead me to the following link: SURVEY OF ASPARTAME STUDIES: CORRELATION OF OUTCOME AND FUNDING SOURCES

Scientific Abuse in Methanol / Formaldehyde Research Related to Aspartame

Scientific Abuse in Seizure Research Related to Aspartame

Scientific Abuse in Migraine/Headache Research Related to Aspartame

Scientific Abuse in Parkinson's Disease Research Related to Aspartame

Independent Analysis of the
"Opinion of the European Commission, Scientific Committee on Food:
Update on the Safety of Aspartame / E951"

Reported Aspartame Toxicity Effects

Q. What are the reported reactions to aspartame ingestion?

How often are such effects seen?

Answer
------

==> What are the reported reactions to aspartame ingestion?

We will limit our discussion in this FAQ to reported toxicity
reactions to aspartame ingestion. Controlled studies showing
problems with aspartame ingestion will be discussed in another
FAQ. Toxicity reactions to aspartame can be divided into three
types:

1. Acute toxicity reactions occuring within 48 hours of ingestion of
an aspartame-containing product.

2. Chronic toxicity effects occuring anywhere from several days of
use to appearing a number of years (i.e., 1-20+ years) after the
beginning of aspartame use.

3. Potential toxicity effects that would be nearly impossible for
the user to recognize the link to aspartame.

In an epidemiological survey which appeared in the Journal of
Applied Nutrition (Roberts 1988), 551 persons who have
reported toxicity effects from aspartame ingestion were
surveyed. The adverse effects found cover a subset of reported
acute and chronic toxicity effects from aspartame.
What follows is a listing of the adverse health effects
which were found.

-------------------
# of
people (%)
Eye
- Decreased vision and/or other eye problems 140 (25%)
(blurring, "bright flashes," tunnel vision)
- Pain (or or both eyes) 51 (9%)
- Decreased tears, trouble with contact lens, 46 (8%)
or both
- Blindness (one or both eyes) 14 (3%)

Ear
- Tinnitus ("ringing," "buzzing") 73 (13%)
- Severe intolerance for noise 47 (9%)
- Marked impairment of hearing 25 (5%)

Neurologic
- Headaches 249 (45%)
- Dizziness, unsteadiness, or both 217 (39%)
- Confusion, memory loss, or both 157 (29%)
- Severe drowsiness and sleepiness 93 (17%)
- Paresthesias ("pins and needles," "tingling") 82 (15%)
or numbness of the limbs
- Convulsions (grand mal epileptic attacks) 80 (15%)
- Petit mal attacks and "absences" 18 (3%)
- Severe slurring of speech 64 (12%)
- Severe tremors 51 (9%)
- Severe "hyperactivity" and "restless legs" 43 (8%)
- Atypical facial pain 38 (7%)

Psychologic-Psychiatric
- Severe depression 139 (25%)
- "Extreme irritability" 125 (23%)
- "Severe anixiety attacks" 105 (19%)
- "Marked personality changes" 88 (16%)
- Recent "severe insomnia" 76 (14%)
- "Severe aggravation of phobias" 41 (7%)

Chest
- Palpitations, tachycardia (rapid heart action), 88 (16%)
of both
- "Shortness of breath" 54 (10%)
- Atypical chest pain 44 (8%)
- Recent hypertension (high blood pressure) 34 (6%)

Gastrointestinal
- Nausea 79 (14%)
- Diarrhea 70 (13%)
Associated gross blood in the stools (12)
- Abdominal pain 70 (13%)
- Pain on swallowing 28 (5%)

Skin and Allergies
- Severe itching without a rash 44 (8%)
- Severe lip and mouth reactions 29 (5%)
- Urticaria (hives) 25 (5%)
- Other eruptions 48 (9%)
- Aggravation of respiratory allergies 10 (2%)

Endocrine and Metabolic
- Problems with diabetes: loss of control; 60 (11%)
precipitation of clinical diabetes;
aggravation or simulation of diabetic
complications
- Menstrual changes 45 (6%)
Severe reduction or cessation of periods (22)
- Paradoxic weight gain 34 (5%)
- Marked weight loss 26 (6%)
- Marked thinning or loss of the hair 32 (6%)
- Aggravated hypoglycemia (low blood sugar 25 (5%)
attacks)

Other
- Frequency of voiding (day and night), burning 69 (13%)
on urination (dysuria), or both
- Excessive thirst 65 (12%)
- Severe joint pains 58 (11%)
- "Bloat" 57 (10%)
- Fluid retention and leg swelling 20 (4%)
- Increased susceptibility to infection 7 (1%)

-------------------

There are other clinical reports in the scientific literature of
aspartame-caused toxicity reactions including Blumenthal (1997),
Drake (1986), Johns (1986), Lipton (1989), McCauliffe (1991),
Novick (1985), Watts (1991), Walton (1986, 1988), and Wurtman
(1985).

Many pilots appear to be particularly susceptible to the effects of
aspartame ingestion. They have reported numerous serious toxicity
effects including grand mal seizures in the cockpit (Stoddard 1995).
Nearly 1,000 cases of pilot reactions have been reported to the
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Pilot Hotline (Stoddard 1995).
This susceptibility may be related to ingesting methanol at altitude
as suggested in a letter from Dr. Phil Moskal, Professor of
Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Pathology, Chairman of the Department
of Pathology, Director of Public Health Laboratories (Moskal 1990),
or it may simply be that some pilots tend to ingest large quantities
of aspartame during a flight. Whatever the case, numerous warnings
about aspartame dangers have appeared in piloting journals including
The Aviation Consumer (1988), Aviation Medical Bulliten (1988),
Pacific Flyer (1988), CAA General Aviation (1989), Aviation Safety
Digest (1989), General Aviation News (1989), Plane & Pilot (1990),
Canadian General Aviation News (1990), National Business Aircraft
Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), International Council of
Air Shows (ICAS 1995), and the Pacific Flyer (1995). Both the U.S.
Air Force's magazine "Flying Safety" and the U.S. Navy's magazine,
"Navy Physiology" published articles warning about the many dangers
of aspartame including the cumlative deliterious effects of methanol
and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that
the ingestion of aspartame may make pilots more susceptible to
seizures and vertigo (US Air Force 1992).

Countless other toxicity effects have been reported to the FDA (DHHS
1995), other independent organizations (Mission Possible 1996,
Stoddard 1995), and independent scientists (e.g., 80 cases of
seizures were reported to Dr. Richard Wurtman, Food (1986)).
Samples of some aspartame toxicity reactions reported on the
Internet can be found on the Aspartame (NutraSweet) Toxicity Info
Center web page:

http://www.tiac.net/users/mgold/aspartame/

Frequently, aspartame toxicity is misdiagnosed as a specific disease.
This has yet to be reported in the scientific literature, yet it has
been reported countless times to independent organizations and
scientists (Mission Possible 1994, Stoddard 1995). In other cases,
it has been reported that chronic aspartame ingestion has triggered
or worsened certain chronic illnesses. Nearly 100% of the time, the
patient and physician assume that these worsening conditions are
simply a normal progression of the illness. Sometimes that may be
the case, but many times it is chronic aspartame poisoning.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse
effects of aspartame, the following list contains a selection
of chronic illnesses which may be caused or worsened by the chronic,
long-term ingestion of aspartame. (Mission Possible 1994, Stoddard
1995)*:

Brain tumors Multiple sclerosis
Epilepsy Chronic faigue syndrome
Parkinson's Disease Alzheimer's
Mental retardation Lymphoma
Birth defects Fibromyalgia
Diabetes Arthritis (including Rheumatoid)
Chemical Sensitivities Attention Deficit Disorder

*Note: In some cases such as MS, the severe symptoms
mimic the illness or exacerbate the illness,
but do not cause the disease.

Also, please note that this is an incomplete list. Clearly,
ingestion of a very slow poison (as discussed in other FAQs) is not
beneficial to anyone who has a chronic illness.

Finally, potential toxicity effects from aspartame including brain
cancer (as seen in pre-approval research) and effects on fetal brain
and nervous system development will be discussed in other FAQs.

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/recent.html

Industry Funded Research
Non-Industry Funded Research

Monsanto Products to Avoid

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/embalm.html

The following facts shown by recent scientific research:

1. Aspartame (nutrasweet) breaks down into methanol (wood alcohol).

2. Methanol quickly converts to formadehyde in the body.

3. Formaldehyde causes gradual and eventually severe damage to the neurological system, immune system and causes permanent genetic damage at extremely low doses.

4. Methanol from alcoholic beverages and from fruit and juices does not convert to formaldehyde and cause damage because there are protective chemicals in these traditionally ingested beverages.

5. The most recent independent research in Europe demonstrates that ingestion of small amounts of aspartame leads to the accumulation of significant levels of formaldehyde (bound to protein) in organs (liver, kidneys, brain) and tissues.

6. Excitotoxic amino acids such as the one which is immediately released from aspartame likely increases the damage caused by the formaldehyde.

Aspartame / NutraSweet Dangers in Pregnancy

The Secret Dangers of Splenda (Sucralose), an Artificial Sweetener

The Potential Dangers of Sucralose:
Reader Testimonials

The Dangers of Chlorine and Issues With Sucralose

Sucralose (Splenda®) U.S. Product List

http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/