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- instant breakfasts
- breath mints
- cereals
- sugar-free chewing gum
- cocoa mixes
- coffee beverages
- frozen desserts
- gelatin desserts
- juice beverages
- laxatives
- multivitamins
- milk drinks
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- pharmaceuticals and supplements, including over-the-counter
medicines
- shake mixes
- soft drinks
- tabletop sweeteners
- tea beverages
- instant teas and coffees
- topping mixes
- wine coolers
- yogurt
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However, aspartame's tainted history of approval and potentially
toxic ingredients cast serious doubt on the safety of this sugar
substitute. Furthermore, aspartame may actually increase your appetite
(Farber 52).
While the FDA approval may signal the green light for safe consumption,
85 percent of all complaints registered with the FDA are for adverse
reactions to aspartame, including five reported deaths. A closer
look at the unscientific studies, suspicious approval methods, and
its harmful ingredients, reveal the hidden dangers of this artificial
sweetener. In reality, aspartame poses a public health threat.
Ailments Resulting From Aspartame
The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments.
Some of these problems occur gradually while others are immediate,
acute reactions.
A few of the many disorders associated with aspartame include the
following:
A study funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused
by consuming aspartame was cut off after preliminary data showed
damaging information about aspartame. Additionally, in the book,
While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, 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.
In 1981, 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 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain
tumors while none of the control rats developed tumors, and 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 (formaldehye) and DKP from entering our food supply.
A late FDA toxicologist testified before the U.S. 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 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)
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending
this chemical poison to persons with diabetes, but according to
research conducted by a diabetes specialist, 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 gastroparesis. 4) Causes convulsions.
In a statement concerning the use of products containing aspartame
by persons with diabetes and hypoglycemia, the researchers says:
"Unfortunately, many patients in my practice, and others
seen in consultation, developed serious metabolic, neurologic
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."
Another researcher stated that excitotoxins such as those found
in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically
susceptible to the disease.(5)
In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons
with mood disorders, findings 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. Researchers concluded that "individuals with
mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener;
its use in this population should be discouraged."(18) One
researcher stated about aspartame, "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)
Additionally, 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.
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 delirious 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 & Pilot
(1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the
57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney
1986).
A hotline was even 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)
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 United States. 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 their
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)
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
this 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 that has been well known in many parts of
the world where it is not banned. Some people believe that stevia
was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the United States
and cutting into sales of aspartame.(26)
What is the U.S. Congress doing to protect the
consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
What is the U.S. Administration (President)
doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
Aspartame consumption is not only a problem in the United States--it
is being sold in over 70 countries throughout the world.
Who I'd like to meet:
Everyone consuming 'light', 'diet' or 'less than 1 calorie' products
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