Why is Aspartame still on the market?

Aspartame or "Nutrasweet" which is in all diet sodas and other diet products is very deadly and dangerous. It causes, among other things:

Brain cancer, uterine polyps, seizures and convulsions, arthritic and joint pain, chronic fatigue, depression, memory loss, vision damage and loss, tingling in the extremities, slurring of speech, irritability, severe anxiety attacks, menstrual problems, blood sugar control problems, symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis, worsening of fibromyalgia, parkinson's tremors, etc., etc.

The scientific facts are that aspartame produces methanol in the system of the person ingesting it. In addition, the methanol from aspartame is converted to the extremely toxic formaldehyde and formic acid in the body. An avid aspartame consumer will be getting the equivalent amount of methanol as a person working part-time and inhaling methanol fumes in a methanol-laden chemical plant. Other aspartame breakdown products may potentiate the methanol/formaldehyde toxicity.

What mega-corporation produces this poinson? MONSANTO!! And how much money did they need to pay off the FDA to get this poison approved? Plus, when mixed mith nitrates, which are in products such as bacon, cold cuts, sausage, and other porcessed foods, it becomes many times more toxic!

Please provide some links to scientific studies to back up your claims.

77...yes sir!!

www.holisticmed.com...

The above link discusses the ill effects of Aspartame and there many, many more out there!!

[edit on 4-2-2005 by Zabilgy]

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. 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.

FDA Commissioner Alexander Schmidt, M.D., approved aspartame only for dry foods on July 26, l974, 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.

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.

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..

www.befreetech.com...



[edit on 4-2-2005 by Flange Gasket]

i was under the opinion that it caused the problems of which you speak in lab rats. They were given mass quanities and all sorts of problems appeared. The problem came in, where we realized that if you put the amount they ingested on a comparitive level, a human would have to ingest something like 24 cases of diet pop a day for "X" amount of years or something...

You may want to look at the following:
Aspartame Myths
All of these claims have been debunked at least acording to the information on the link.

Originally posted by kenshiro2012
You may want to look at the following:
Aspartame Myths
All of these claims have been debunked at least acording to the information on the link.

I checked this link out... their 'debunking' is minimal, and contains absolutely no references. Furthermore they don't even address some of the fundamental issues. What zabilgy posted is for the most part true. The chemistry he cites is right on. Notice how the 'aspartame is safe' sites convienently ignore the methanol aspect. This is because there IS NO defense for it. Consuming methanol is bad... no two ways about it. The other two breakdown ingredients, aspartic acid and phenylalanine, while natural products are known to excite neuronal cells when they are in the 'free form.' Notice how these sites that 'debunk' the Aspartame myths contain excessive handwaving re: the science ie "studies overwhelmingly demonstrated that aspartame is not associated with adverse health effects, including headaches, seizures, changes in mood, cognition, or behavior, or allergic reactions," but don't provide ANY refs. or links. Compare that to a link such as this one or this one. That says a lot in my opinion. Why don't they publish their refs./links.

[edit on 4-2-2005 by mattison0922]

Aspartame is manufactured by Monsanto's...

Who is Monsanto's...

Headquartered just outside St. Louis, Missouri, the Monsanto Chemical Company was founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny. Queeny, a self-educated chemist, brought the technology to manufacture saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, from Germany to the United States. In the 1920s, Monsanto became a leading manufacturer of sulfuric acid and other basic industrial chemicals, and is one of only four companies to be listed among the top ten U.S. chemical companies in every decade since the 1940s.

By the 1940s, plastics and synthetic fabrics had become a centerpiece of Monsanto's business. By the 1980s the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed polystyrene as fifth in its ranking of the chemicals whose production generates the most total hazardous waste.

In 1929, the Swann Chemical Company, soon to be purchased by Monsanto, developed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were widely praised for their nonflammability and extreme chemical stability. The most widespread uses were in the electrical equipment industry. By the 1960s, Monsanto's growing family of PCBs were also widely used as lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cutting oils, waterproof coatings, and liquid sealants. Evidence of the toxic effects of PCBs appeared as early as the 1930s, and Swedish scientists studying the biological effects of DDT began finding significant concentrations of PCBs in the blood, hair, and fatty tissue of wildlife in the 1960s.


www.nbenrenb.elements.nb.ca...



Mod Edit: to shorten the quoted text. Please only quote 1 or 2 paragraphs and link to the rest of the article.




[edit on 5-2-2005 by kinglizard]

mattison...right on! And GASKET...excellent post!....and as far as the recent post regarding "debunking" the ill-effects, I'm sure Monsanto has a lot of material that would attempt to "debunk" the ill-effects....just like the tobacco industry used to deny that smoking cigarettes was bad for your health.

I'll tell you what, aspartame makes my mind cloudy. I haven't had a can of diet pop in MONTHS--not with aspartame. And I feel better, especially since I'm cutting carbs. Even Dr. Atkins said avoid the stuff.

I also read that aspartame can cause the symptoms of ADHD, and that aspartame and monosodium glutamate together is pretty toxic.

I'm too lazy to hunt for those sites. Y'all can run a Google search.

Try just posting a paragraph or two (at least your main points) from the source so that way it makes the thread a bit easier to read.

This has been done unto death many times.

Try a little experiment. Take a look around you at all the people who are 40 or over. Most of them have been drinking diet sodas for at least 10 years and probably longer. Ask how many of them have the so-called symptoms that aspartane is supposed to bring on.

The answer will be "none" (or they wouldn't still be drinking the stuff.)

If that report was right, we'd have a health crisis beyond imagining right now; something that couldn't be explained by overeating and lack of exercise.

Will some people have some of those problems? Yes. But they're very few and far between. Your chances of getting hurt in a car accident are much higher than your chances are of getting hurt by drinking diet sodas.

Originally posted by Flange Gasket
Aspartame is manufactured by Monsanto's...

Who is Monsanto's...

Headquartered just outside St. Louis, Missouri, the Monsanto Chemical Company was founded in 1901 by John Francis Queeny. Queeny, a self-educated chemist, brought the technology to manufacture saccharin, the first artificial sweetener, from Germany to the United States. In the 1920s, Monsanto became a leading manufacturer of sulfuric acid and other basic industrial chemicals, and is one of only four companies to be listed among the top ten U.S. chemical companies in every decade since the 1940s.

By the 1940s, plastics and synthetic fabrics had become a centerpiece of Monsanto's business. By the 1980s the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) listed polystyrene as fifth in its ranking of the chemicals whose production generates the most total hazardous waste.

In 1929, the Swann Chemical Company, soon to be purchased by Monsanto, developed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were widely praised for their nonflammability and extreme chemical stability. The most widespread uses were in the electrical equipment industry. By the 1960s, Monsanto's growing family of PCBs were also widely used as lubricants, hydraulic fluids, cutting oils, waterproof coatings, and liquid sealants. Evidence of the toxic effects of PCBs appeared as early as the 1930s, and Swedish scientists studying the biological effects of DDT began finding significant concentrations of PCBs in the blood, hair, and fatty tissue of wildlife in the 1960s.


www.nbenrenb.elements.nb.ca...



Mod Edit: to shorten the quoted text. Please only quote 1 or 2 paragraphs and link to the rest of the article.




[edit on 5-2-2005 by kinglizard]

Monsanto Ah Ha! i knew I had heard that name before the seed police stuff. Here's the scoop on aspartame, the company that makes the stuff used to develop weapons grade chemical agents for Uncle Sam. Aspartame was one of their little projects that fell through, but the remarkable sweetness of the chemical was alluring to the greedy bastards, so they presented it to the FDA for approval as a sweetner. The FDA panel voted it down because of course it is deadly poison, but the then head of the FDA who has a sort of Veto power, overturned the decision, got it approved, and later resigned and took a corporate level job with the aspartame folks as a spokesperson. It's deadly.

My mom has been having headaches for some time, had part of her reproductive organs removed, pains in her side, but still drinks diet pop like water, despite my warning. She won't quit drinking long enough to see if this is the problem. Seems like this stuff could be addictive too. I don't know what she drinks it for, she had only gained weight in her years of drinking it.

Food additives are a definite problem. If you are going to eat food, then try to eat "real" food as much as possible. Bottom line.

I'm disgusted that comapanies, even big name companies put garbage like MSG in their foods. Check out a bag of Nacho flavored chips and see if you don't see MSG in the label. Saving money at the consumer's expense.

Troy

On a jar of "Planters" sunflower seeds at my house today, MSG is listed as an ingredient! Disgusting.

Troy

I would also be interested in your scientific evidence for it causing blood sugar level control problems. Being a diabetic myself and having dieticians recommend this as a sugar substitute, I am amazed that you say it can actually affect blood sugar levels. So please provide some evidence for your claims

Originally posted by Byrd
Will some people have some of those problems? Yes. But they're very few and far between. Your chances of getting hurt in a car accident are much higher than your chances are of getting hurt by drinking diet sodas.

While I don't think aspartame will necessarily make you sick, it does have health consequences, esp. causing some diffuculties in weight loss. I know many people, including myself, who stall out due to asparatame use. Maybe it causes bloat, dunno. But, I do know that quitting diet sodas and replacing it with water jump-started losing weight for me.

I would also be interested in your scientific evidence for it causing blood sugar level control problems. Being a diabetic myself and having dieticians recommend this as a sugar substitute, I am amazed that you say it can actually affect blood sugar levels. So please provide some evidence for your claims

check this out:
Nutritionist Susan Allen, RD, CCN, at Chicago’s Northwestern Center for Integrative Medicine, suspects that something additional is going on in many of her patients who have been using aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. Allen believes that when they consume them, the sweet taste of no-calorie sweeteners triggers their bodies to release insulin, even though there is no food to feed the cells. Normally, when we eat, the sugar in that food, which is derived from carbohydrates, is broken down into simple sugars, like glucose, which then enter the blood stream (we call it "blood sugar").

We depend on insulin (secreted by the pancreas) to usher that blood sugar into our cells to supply energy and maintain normal blood sugar levels. The problem Allen sees is that an "insulin-sensitive" person who uses artificial sweeteners teases his or her body into thinking food is on its way, so insulin is released. But when the body discovers it was cheated out of food, it revolts by throwing a food-craving tantrum that can only be quelled by eating blood sugar food that will more than likely be high-calorie sugary snacks. "I point out to them how it doesn’t make sense. . . they’re trying to save themselves sugar but then they eat more foods that are going to raise their blood sugar anyway."

found at: www.westonaprice.org...

There are many more places where this type of info can be found.....

Originally posted by slick
I would also be interested in your scientific evidence for it causing blood sugar level control problems.

ASPARTAME AND SACCHARIN IN WEIGHT LOSS
The brain has a conditioned response in reaction to something that is sweet.
It is called “cephalic phase response”.
This response is established as a result of a life long experience with sugar, and the body’s perception of the arrival of new energy (sugar).
When the taste of an artificial sweetener such as aspartame stimulates the tongue, the brain programs the liver to prepare for the arrival of new energy (sugar) from outside.
The liver, in turn, stops the manufacture of starch and protein from reserves in the body, and instead begins to store the glucose (energy) that is circulating in the blood stream.

www.healthebodyshop.ca...

Googling aspartame and blood sugar gives two view: the one the FDA believes (and I don't think the FDA is always right!) and other sites that may or may not be trying to sell something.
This site thinks stevia, a truly natural product is a safer sweetener:
www.kayted.com...
This one is a bit dubious:
www.yourhealth911.com...

Yahoo search for cephalic phase response + aspartame
Many of these sites say use of artifical sweetenrs can, at least, make you fat.

[edit on 8-2-2005 by DontTreadOnMe]

Check this link out it has a very interesting quote I believe you guys will find very interesting

en.wikipedia.org...

One of the many hypotheses about the causes of Gulf war syndrome is that soldiers, after drinking gallons of soft drinks containing aspartame in the extreme heat, accumulated toxic doses of methanol, formaldehyde, diketopiperazine and formic acid from the breakdown of the sweetener into its component molecules. However, the symptoms do not greatly resemble those of classic methanol poisoning, and the body, in its normal metabolism, produces methanol in quantities comparable or greater than would be ingested via aspartame, so this theory does not have wide support.

Now I never have heard of this chem ever been linked to Gulf war syndrome. When you think about all the stuff the US soldiers must have been drinking in the hot weather it does sound kinda plausible ya know(even though the Wikipedia article seems sceptical). Oh yeah I know some people who drink a whole 24 of Diet Coke everyday, they ain't losing the wieght and they are unhealthy as I have ever seen. They look even more sickly looking then Pure Vegans who eat too much Tofu.

[edit on 8-2-2005 by sardion2000]