Aspartame has been renamed and is now being marketed as a natural sweetener

reply to post by Astyanax


while we can argue about studies it still does not change the fact that humans are not ment to consume wood alcohol

that you can find tons of material in you local library or better yet just go to a doctor and ask him/her what they think about wood alcohol and human consumption.

but regarding studies and aspartame www.janethull.com...

try that link and youll find a few studies.

reply to post by Astyanax


In what zany version of reality do you occupy to believe that the FDA even remotely cares about your well-being?

They exist purely to protect the industries that give it money. It isn't the first time a regulatory body's only purpose is to fool the common citizen into thinking they are there to protect them.

reply to post by zerbot565

Thank you for the link. Three studies were mentioned on the page.

One of them, referred to by Janet Hull as the 'Greek Study', actually concludes that aspartame does not cause any of the pathologies investigated at recommended dosages, but did so at what the paper calls 'abuse doses', many times higher than what one might normally expect to consume--in other words, the stuff did no harm if not consumed in unfeasible quantities.

A second, referred to by Hull as the 'Spanish Study', is criticized for its failure to consider and cite earlier work, as well as for methodological flaws, here.

The third, which she calls the Italian Study, seems to have been published in a non-peer-reviewed journal, though I may be wrong on this.

None of the above comments invalidates any of the studies, but I'm sure you'll agree that they do raise disquieting questions about reliability and replicability.

The scientific bona fides of Janet Hull, on the other hand, are highly questionable. I grew suspicious when I read the 'About Dr. Janet Hull' page on her site and found no reference to any medical qualification. Instead, she claims a doctorate in nutrition here but this turns out to be from an unaccredited 'natural health college' peddling alternative medicine degrees. Quackwatch warns the public to beware of the college and its graduates.

'Dr.' Hull is, I learn from Google, the author of a book about the supposed dangers of aspartame. She is, therefore, an interested party, hardly an unbiased source of information. This inclines me to take the studies she cites with a large grain of salt.

I'm afraid we need something a little more definite than this before we get too worked up about the awfulness of aspartame.

Please don't conclude from the above that I'm defending aspartame. Personally, I do not consume artificial sweeteners of any kind; I don't have much of a sweet tooth anyway, and when I do eat or drink something sweet, the sweetening agent is invariably sugar. All I am trying to do is introduce an element of rationality into the present discussion, which seems to me somewhat lacking in it.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Thanks for posting this, I consider it valuable information.

Coincidentally this week I noticed that Asda (the UK arm of Wal Mart) has rebranded its' cola as "Aspartame free" and a couple of months ago Tesco (Uk biggest retailer) were practically giving away Nutrasweet.

Now you posted this info the dots can be connected and I smell a big rat.

Once again thanks for the awareness S&F

Originally posted by StrangeBrew
In what zany version of reality do you occupy to believe that the FDA even remotely cares about your well-being?

In what zany version of reality did you find a defence of the FDA in anything I posted?

They exist purely to protect the industries that give it money. It isn't the first time a regulatory body's only purpose is to fool the common citizen into thinking they are there to protect them.

I see. Gosh, what dirty doublecrossing rats they must be. Good thing we have so many clear-headed conspiracy theorists on ATS to sniff them out for us.

[edit on 13/2/10 by Astyanax]

Originally posted by SaturnFX
As a person whom watches what he eats, I have switched over to sweetener awhile back...and with the exception of diet soda, I use splenda (yellow). I used to use aspartime sometime back and I started getting alot of very random symptoms...and this was before I even knew there was potential issues with the stuff.

So, without lecturing, I recommend going yellow if your going to use a artifical sweetener to begin with...tastes better and no aspartame

How about a fully natural extract? Stevia is an AWESOME alternative, because it has no side effects, promotes healthy blood sugar levels, and is made directly from nature.

As for aspartame... [shudder] I sent this info to my list. We will avoid it, regardless of what it's called.

reply to post by ModernAcademia

According to Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock Aspartame actually burns out an area of the brain that tells you, 'you have eaten enough'...
...so while marketed as 'diet' it can actually contribute to obesity.

Originally posted by Ha`la`tha

Originally posted by righteyered
Sometimes a name says it all. Ajinomoto is Japanese for MSG. With a name like that, I wouldn't expect them to care what chemicals people consume.

MSG OCCURS NATURALLY... Far out...

You eat a tomato, you're eating MSG in large amounts....

and aspartame is made from two building blocks of protein that are found naturally in food as well. Everything can be found in nature, but when you synthetically create it and use it in a way that is not natural to our bodies that the problems occur. Maybe in 10,000 years we will have evolved to where factory made MSG and aspartame are healthy for us but they're going to be a lot of sick people along the way.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Wow, more than 100 flags!!!

If I were to ask you to produce a single peer reviewed published study showing aspartame to be a health risk at levels even higher than could be reasonably consumed; you would not be able to. Why, because none exist. Only studies by people of questionable repute or in some cases sanity can be pointed out.

Why is that? I'm sure there is a financial reason behind all this. Health food product hoaxes, irrational people spreading their own paranoia and most notably a single hoax claiming the studies that lead to its initial approval for sale were rigged somehow. I'm sure somebody had a financial reason to stop the sale of this safe product. Perhaps the hoax was started by the sugar lobby which is very powerful.

In fact I'm fairly positive that is where the truth is and that the sugar industry still has its minions saturating the web with these myths. The phonies posting the so called evidence they fabricate may well be on the sugar industries payroll.

Nobody will ever convince fanatical health food customers of the truth and the health food merchants stock and trade is mislead people into paying huge prices for their so called natural products that are often dangerous themselves. Ironically, many products on these snake oil salesman shelves contain plenty of sugars themselves, so of course they don't want you using a substitute.

People completely close their eyes to the fact that you would have to eat so much aspartame to have a negative effect, you simply could never eat even a small part of that much in a lifetime. Even water is toxic at certain levels.

It's a shame that this anti-aspartame hoax is being pushed on a site like ATS but it is inevitable it would be. One thing is for sure, those clicking on the flag button, have never checked this out for real and are being led around by their nose by liars and hoaxers. How does it feel to be that gullible?

Some wise advice on these health topics -

-Look for peer reviewed studies that are published in recognized journals.

-Be very leary of "Dr." before a persons name. They are not MD's in many if not most cases to do with these topics. Many are Doctors of Divinity from fake Universities and others are Dr.'s but in a subject unrelated entirely. Don't let "Dr." fool you.

-This one I actually did myself. Gather up a list of all the various names of sugar used in labeling. Go to your local health food market. Be ready to be shocked at the number of products spiked with sugar to hook you on them. While your at it check out the health claims on the packaging and be again prepared for a shock when you check them out and find they are pure fiction.

The Health Food and Vitamin / Supplement industry is probably one of the most corrupt industries on this planet. Sadly their own customers do most of the dirty work for them, thinking they are doing right, not knowing they have been tricked. Spreading hoaxes and lies about legitimate products without knowing they are doing it. Harming innocent businesses while helping enrich snake oil salesman.

Remember if somebody you trust tells you a product will do something positive for your health and then hands you a worthless sugar pill, you will experience those results due to the placebo effect. The same also works in reverse. You can have imaginary negative effects to nearly anything if a person you trust says you will. It's imaginary of course, but you don't know that.

I'll get flamed for this, but perhaps some reading will actually check this out themselves and realize what is really going on. If you do, you will never look at the health food, vitamin / supplement industries the same way again.

Before you take a swig of the $60 a pint, nasty tasting /smelling crap you bought from a health food expert who was a Burger King employee just a month ago, check it out. That little boost from the B12, chromium and sugar can be had far cheaper. Realize that when your in a health food store that most items on the shelves are misrepresented, overpriced and for the most part placebo's. Some are even dangerous. Way more dangerous since they never went through the studies that products like the one being lied about in this thread have.

Go ahead and flame me now. Have fun. You can't prove me wrong though. Those paranoid of their health are the easiest targets for con games.




[edit on 2/13/2010 by Blaine91555]

Let's make this simple folks.....

Eat what the body is made to function on.............

That is only nutritionally dense whole foods.....and filtered water.

and if you can afford it make as many of those foods as organic and local in source as possible.

Regardless if any thing you purchase reads like a chemistry set in the ingrediants............put it back.......

Eat as close to a hunter/gathering natural diet as possible.............anything that steers away from this in processed/manufactured food begins to compromise the body's ablity to function...............over time inflammation and then every disease known to Western diets will take over and ruin your health, quality of life and bankrupt your ablilty to maintain health care.

Sugar and anything that even resembles sugar in taste is literally a poison to the body..........get it out and you will no longer crave it.........artifical and or "natural" synthetic sweeteners only reinforce the craving for sweet things.......

Nature gave us sweetness in whole fruits that contain the fiber to slow the process of frucose (fruit sugar) being absorbed into the body.........some vegatbles as well.............we are not designed to isolated simple sugars or their subsitutes....

Food manufacter's since the 70's are in an all out war to drive you to consum as mucdh of their processed stuff they call food as possible to increase their sales or drive out competition even if it is infighting between brands owned by the same corporation.....

It is sickening what a western diet has become......

This is easier said than done but I've been doing it for 20 years now and have reversed any issues I had without medical care...............

From the poisons website: Ajinomoto Defends the Reputation of Aspartame

Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe has issued legal proceedings for defamation (malicious falsehood) against ASDA Stores Limited, who have chosen to describe aspartame as a "nasty" on a wide range of own-label products sold in the company's stores.

Ajinomoto is the leading supplier of aspartame, a low calorie sweetener that tastes like sugar and which enables people to reduce their calorie intake. Brand leaders in a range of product categories, including carbonated soft drinks, squashes, yogurts, hot chocolate and chewing gum are sweetened with aspartame.

Ajinomoto has tried to negotiate an agreement with ASDA by which the retailer would stop its denigration of aspartame, but has not succeeded. Ajinomoto has taken this legal step to defend the reputation not only of the ingredient, but also of the many products that are sweetened with aspartame.

Aspartame is a simple food ingredient made from amino acids, the building blocks of protein that occur widely in our diet, including in eggs, meat, fish, cheese and milk. When we consume aspartame, it is broken down in the digestive system to tiny amounts of common dietary components. It is therefore absurd that ASDA should refer to aspartame as a "nasty".

Products sweetened with aspartame help people to control their weight. At a time when the health profession and the government are seeking ways to combat overweight and obesity, it is unconscionable that ASDA should try to vilify a safe and beneficial food ingredient.

23 April 2008

[edit on 13-2-2010 by sylph16]

Originally posted by BenJammin
One more natural sweetener worth looking into is called Xylitol.. it's made from Birch trees and is actually GOOD for you in several ways! It does not affect your blood sugar like cane sugar and agave nectar, thus safe for diabetics, and it protects your teeth from decay if used enough. I bought 2 lbs for $16 but I bet it can be found cheaper.

Wikipedia: Xylitol

However you can't bake with it because yeast won't process it like it does sugar.

I was looking for someone else that uses it. I love xylitol. The only problem is that it can cause diarreah because of the natural antibiotic properties. So eat it in small quantities.

reply to post by Blaine91555

A star for your post and a big too. Your guess is correct.

From last week's Economist:

Merisant, which makes Equal, an aspartame sweetener, declared bankruptcy in January 2009, having been caught out by changing tastes. This month the firm emerged from bankruptcy ready for a comeback. It is betting heavily on the industry’s new divine ambrosia: a fake sugar that is natural.

The 'divine ambrosia', or flavour of the month if you prefer, is... you guessed it.

The latest pretender is stevia, a shrub, and a sweetener extracted from it that was cleared for use by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2008. In some ways stevia is ideal. It contains no calories. It is natural. It also happens to taste like odious liquorice.

Yet America’s food giants have thrown their weight behind it. Merisant, partnered with PepsiCo, and Cargill, with Coca-Cola, promptly introduced PureVia and Truvia, improving stevia’s taste with natural ingredients. In supermarkets, green-and-white boxes of PureVia and Truvia now beckon to shoppers with promises of being “all natural” and “nature’s perfect sweetness”.

I notice a lot of health-food freaks on this thread are already pushing stevia like the blazes. No, they aren't 'paid disinformationists'; just dupes who don't realize that whether it's sugar, aspartame, sucralose (Splenda) or stevia makes no difference to the huge food companies that make the processed treats people love to slurp and gobble; all they want is for you to buy their products, and they'll sweeten them with whatever you presently feel comfortable with, so long as it isn't too expensive and cuts into their profits.

More interesting facts from that Economist article:

• Merisant, which makes Equal (aspartame) is also the maker of PureVia and Truvia (stevia)
  
  
• Splenda is marketed by Tate & Lyle Nutritionals, one of the world's biggest sugar companies.

Are the scales beginning to fall from your eyes, conspiracy-crazed innocents on this thread? Perhaps this Reuters story will bring further illumination:

Tate & Lyle Warns of Lower Sweetener Margins
Britain's Tate & Lyle said margins at its U.S. corn sweetener business would fall 10 percent in 2010 and lead to marginally lower profit due to the fall in prices agreed for its sweetener and starches.

And why would that be?

U.S. corn millers such as Tate, privately-owned Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland agree pricing for sweeteners at the start of the year with buyers like drinks makers Coca-Cola Co, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple.

Aspartame and Splenda are both corn products. They have become less profitable to their manufacturers--partly because of the recession, as mentioned in the Reuters story, but also because the same people who once bought aspartame and sucralose because they were afraid of real sugar have now developed a fear of those sweeteners too. Coca-Cola, Pepsico and the rest don't want to scare away their customers, so what do they do? They switch to a new brand of sweetener, stevia. That creates an opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors, who promptly begin to talk up the new product in hopes of getting more people to consume it, and also to drive up the share price of the company that produces it.

Right now, the stevia PR machine is in full spate:

What's Next for Stevia? Experts from GLG Life Tech Corp Share Views
What's next in Stevia's emergence as a mainstream sweetener? The Stevia World Americas Webinar, "Stevia-Taking the Next Steps" will see Senior Management from GLG Life Tech Corp, one of the world's leading producers of stevia extracts, share on the future of Stevia...
PR Web, 10 February

GLG Life Tech Corporation Announces New Line of Stevia Products
GLG Life Tech Corporation is a global leader in the supply of high purity stevia, an all natural, zero-calorie sweetener used in food and beverages. The Company's vertically integrated operations cover each step in the stevia supply chain... CNN Money, 19 January:

PureCircle Set for Sweet Deal with Major Sugar Company
The product will be a combination of Reb A and ordinary sugar, and its unique selling point is that it will be 100 per cent natural, while offering just half the calories of sugar alone. Reb A is derived from the stevia plant... The Independent on Sunday

The people knocking aspartame and promoting stevia (and Splenda) on this thread are simply doing Big Sugar's work for them--exactly as you said, Blaine91555. Having swallowed the whole bill of goods (but it tasted so sweet!), they are now regurgitating it online for the benefit of Merisant, Tate & Lyle, Cargill and Coca-Cola, who profit from their foolish credulity and entirely undeserved credibility as sources in forums like this one.

Originally posted by Blaine91555
It's a shame that this anti-aspartame hoax is being pushed on a site like ATS but it is inevitable it would be. One thing is for sure, those clicking on the flag button, have never checked this out for real and are being led around by their nose by liars and hoaxers. How does it feel to be that gullible?

I have often wondered the same thing, especially when I see the same usernames popping up time after time on ATS to promote the latest woowoo fad or flavour. Don't these people ever learn?

Okay well, since this thread is some 6 pages long and I don't have time to read through all the replies I have no idea whether this has been already posted: According to sources, aspartame metabolizes:

Upon ingestion, aspartame breaks down into natural residual components, including aspartic acid, phenylalanine, methanol, and further breakdown products including formaldehyde, formic acid, and a diketopiperazine.

Source

Then about toxicity of methanol:

Methanol has a high toxicity in humans. If ingested, as little as 10 mL can cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve and 30 mL is potentially fatal, although the usual fatal dose is typically 100–125 mL (4 fl oz).

Source

About the 'health effects' of formic acid:

Formic acid is readily metabolized and eliminated by the body. Nonetheless, it has specific toxic effects; the formic acid and formaldehyde produced as metabolites of methanol are responsible for the optic nerve damage causing blindness seen in methanol poisoning.

Source

I don't know about others, but for me it clearly says that it is a substance to be avoided.

-v

[edit on 14-2-2010 by v01i0]

Thanks for the post, scary stuff! I tweeted it although I've not got many followers yet.

I guess if its not peer reviewed its not true ey?
Gimme a break!

Originally posted by Blaine91555
reply to post by ModernAcademia

 

-Look for peer reviewed studies that are published in recognized journals.






[edit on 2/13/2010 by Blaine91555]

Who pays for the peers research / studies ? Just follow the money ...you can buy off anyone and twist research to make anything look good....

Originally posted by Pilot
Another alternative sweetener is agave nectar. It's pretty good and not too expensive.

Found in your local health food store, some regular grocery stores carry it also.

Stevia rocks but it's $$$.

There's PLENTY of 'natural' sweetners: Raw sugar cane, natural honey. I hated it when they processed sugar to make it nice n white n purty....Geeez! Natural sugar is much better for you.

I thank the OP for pointing this chemical out, although I watch what I eat/drink (used to drink stuff called FRESCA) I loved it as a kid...then one day last year I was offered one...I thought SURE! one tiny sip....YUCK it's got NUTRASWEET in it..so I poured it out!

I also find it hard to get gum or mints without that poisonous stuff in it, even toothpaste / mouthwash (which also has FLOURIDE in it).

It's just proof positive that CODEX ALIMENTARIUS is in full swing, foods devoid of any nutrients, chemicals, additives POISON!!

Without question, the people pushing this poison on us are CANCERS of earth and need to be removed. I'll bet DONALD RUMSFELD is making a killing on this new poison!

Which is why I won't buy fruits/vegetables from stores now (more monsanto garbage GMO's Hybrids). Pretty soon I see more people waking up to these monsters and taking their riches away...by not buying their modified foods, poisonous sweetners and chemical remedies for the diseases THEY caused!

Originally posted by SaturnFX
As a person whom watches what he eats, I have switched over to sweetener awhile back...and with the exception of diet soda, I use splenda (yellow). I used to use aspartime sometime back and I started getting alot of very random symptoms...and this was before I even knew there was potential issues with the stuff.

So, without lecturing, I recommend going yellow if your going to use a artifical sweetener to begin with...tastes better and no aspartame

Try Stevia. You can get it in plant form. It's very popular in many countries as a true and natural sweetener that is low in calories.

So, have a look at the FAQs on their website!

What's that about the E number for AminoSweet? Oh, you know, 951, the same as aspartame.

They must think we are really stupid.