Artificial Sweeteners

I have consumed foods with Aspartame in it.

Bad after taste. Didn't have a specific health complaint from eating it. But I didn't feel right after consuming it. Most people consume it thinking they are doing something healthy for their body. This junk ain't healthy. In the animal experiments, it made them fat and unhealthy. It's addictive, too. Nasty stuff. I found some really good links about it (below) and some very informative videos on youtube. This stuff is really bad. People have a hard time believing that it isn't safe because the FDA approved this stuff.  - bfg

 

• Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda.

There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilepsy/seizures. • Acesulfame-K: Another artificial sweetener, on which testing has been scant and some studies show the additive may cause cancer. • Splenda: An artificial sweetener that may destroy up to 50 percent of your healthy intestinal bacteria, which are necessary to help maintain your body's overall balance of friendly versus unfriendly micro-organisms, and support your general health. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/04/Venezuela-Bans-Coke.aspx

http://www.aspartameexperiment.com

As a private citizen, I performed a 2-1/2 year scientific study putting aspartame in the form of packets of NutraSweet in the drinking water of 60 rats and keeping 48 rats as controls. Of the 30 females in the aspartame group, 20 developed tumors the size of golf balls or greater. The rats on aspartame also developed miscellaneous health issues, such as paralysis and other apparent neurological problems, eye and skin disorders, thinning and yellowing fur, and obesity, which is sad, because many people use aspartame to lose or maintain their weight.

"Aspartame ...

This is the most widely consumed artificial sweetener in America - and the most controversial. It is in almost all diet soft drinks and in many diet foods. Once in the body, I've found it breaks down into formaldehyde and can cause a long list of health problems."  - Dr. Susan Lark Source: The Lark Letter, P.O. Box 2030, Forrester Center, WV 25438-2030, 1-877-437-5275 

 

Does Aspartame Cause Depression, Insomnia, Hyperactivity, and Mood Swings?

The chemicals in aspartame block normal serotonin production in the brain.... Janet Starr Hull has a very diverse background with academic degrees and experience in geology, international geography, environmental science, fitness training and nutrition. She is an OSHA Certified Environmental Hazardous Waste Emergency Response Specialist and Toxicologist, a former firefighter and college professor. In 1991, Dr. Hull had an unexpected change in career after she was diagnosed with “incurable” Grave’s Disease. Through diligent research and her thorough understanding of toxicity, she later discovered her “Grave’s Disease” was actually aspartame poisoning. She has since worked to inform consumers about the health dangers of artificial sweeteners.

Italian scientist Morando Soffritti's research,

which determined that aspartame could cause cancer, http://www.mercola.com

FDA Should Reconsider Aspartame Cancer Risk, Say Experts

If FDA concludes that aspartame does cause cancer in animals, the agency is ... All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for ... www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/06/aspartame_cancer.html

This investigation of consumer complaints of symptoms

experienced after consumption of aspartame-containing products identified no specific constellation of symptoms clearly related to aspartame consumption. [In other words... lots of different side effects...] The overrepresentation of women reporting symptoms could not be explained with available data. [Hmmm... do more women diet than men?] Despite great variety overall, the majority of frequently reported symptoms were mild [OK but what about the minority that were not mild?] and are symptoms that are common in the general populace. While some reports are undoubtedly due to the coincidence of symptoms and aspartame consumption, and others may be due to the suggestibility of some persons, still others may be attributable to some as yet undefined sensitivity of some individuals to aspartame in commonly consumed amounts. The only way these possibilities can be thoroughly evaluated would be through focused clinical studies. [In other words, we'll ignore it and maybe it will go away?-bfg] From the Center of Disease Control website http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000426.htm

From 1985 to 1995, approximately 400 aspartame research studies

were performed both by Searle researchers and independent scientists. Most interestingly, those studies finding no problems with aspartame were one hundred percent funded by G.D. Searle. All studies funded by non-industry sources raised very serious questions and doubts concerning aspartame's safety in the public food supply. Dr. Janet Hull's aspartame expertise is based on her professional background.  She holds a Doctorate in Nutrition, a Master's Degree in Environmental Science, is an international geographer and geologist, a former university professor, firefighter and Hazardous Waste Specialist and Emergency Responder.  She is a Licensed Certified Nutritionist, certified fitness professional, author and aspartame victim.

FDA Lists 92 Symptoms from Nutrasweet (Aspartame) (including Death!)

Please Note:  Nutrasweet is in Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi Article courtesy of: Mark Gold mgold@tiac.net (researcher for twenty years on such subjects) This article originally appeared on www.dorway.com Note:   This information required a Freedom Of Information Act request to pry it from the reluctant hands of the FDA. The truth about aspartame's toxicity is far different than what the NutraSweet Company would have you readers believe.

In February of 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the listing of adverse reactions reported to the FDA (DHHS 1994). Aspartame accounted for more than 75% of all adverse reactions reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS). By the FDA's own admission fewer then ONE PERCENT of those who have problems with something they consume ever report it to the FDA. This balloons the almost 10,000 complaints they once had to around a million. However, the FDA has a record keeping problem (they never did respond to the certified letter from the WEBMASTER of this site a major victim!) and they tend to discourage or even misdirect complaints, at least on aspartame. The fact remains, though, that MOST victims don't have a clue that aspartame may be the cause of their many problems! Many reactions to aspartame were very serious including seizures and death.

Those reactions included:

Aspartame Disease Mimics Symptoms or Worsens the Following Diseases

http://www.relfe.com/Aspartame_92.html

...By 1987, the FDA had received more than 6,000 complaints,

including 250 involving epileptic seizures. How much aspartame do Americans eat? The average American consumes over 14 pounds of aspartame each year and this amount has been rising daily. Since many of you out there and I avoid it completely, some of you are ingesting a lot more than 14 pounds per year. In April, 1993, aspartame was approved for use in baked goods and mixes which greatly added to the 4,200 products already containing the synthetic sweetener. Symptoms which May be Due to Aspartame What kinds of symptoms may occur as a result of ingesting aspartame? They may involve almost any system of the body. Probably the most common are headaches, including migraines. As I mentioned, one can also experience seizures. Some pilots have lost their licenses after having experienced seizures from aspartame. Several articles have appeared in flying magazines. Other neurologic or psychiatric symptoms include dizziness, unsteadiness, confusion, severe drowziness and sleepiness, numbness, hyperactivity-- especially in children, severe depression, irritability, anxiety, aggression, personality changes, insomnia and phobias. Michael Schachter, M.D.

There is no direct proof that aspartame caused the brain tumors,

but there is enough reason to suspect that, and the television show, "60 Minutes" recently did a report linking the increase in brain cancer to aspartame use. http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/153591

GREED vs HEALTH Which Will Win?

by Dr. Lendon Smith It is now reported that FIVE DEATHS and at least 70 different symptoms have resulted from its use. The list includes neurological, dermatological, cardiac, respiratory all the symptoms I have ever seen reported for food sensitivities, low blood sugar, Alzheimer's, Chronic Fatique syndrome, amalgam-filling disease and methanol poisoning. The Searle Pharmaceutical Company has actually covered up or, at the very least, failed to report adverse reactions just so the FDA would allow this product to be used by millions worldwide. http://www.whale.to/a/smith13.html

A: The facts are interesting, aren't they?

In 1983, the Commissioner of the FDA, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. approved NutraSweet for soft drinks two months before leaving office. Two-to-three months later, he accepted a position as Senior Medical Advisor to Searle's public relations firm, Burson Marsteller. He was paid $1,000 per day as consultant. Q: Really, $1,000 a day? This is a matter of public record? A: A matter of public record. http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/wright.txt

Re: Nutrasweet-Aspartame: A letter from a veteran ...

The joint pain you also had and on DORway is Dr. Roberts paper on joint pain and aspartame. Actually, Dave Rietz who has this web page is a victim himself ... www.gene.ch/gentech/1997/Jul-Aug/msg00388.html  

Aspartame: UK Parliamentarian Calls For Ban - Health Supreme

Cori Brackett is an aspartame victim who was diagnosed with MS. ....  

“Think Your Doctor Knows Best? Think Medical Science is on Your Side? Think again!”

I exercised daily, ate healthily, drank rarely, smoked never, and had monogamous and protected sex. Perhaps my only vice… and one that I was assured was not a problem by numerous doctors (who cited FDA conclusions), was that I drank five Diet Cokes a day. I’d been doing so since I was sixteen. I stopped drinking Diet Coke… without a doctor’s orders. Then, slowly, I stopped taking the epilepsy medication… without a doctor’s orders. It’s been a year since I’ve consumed Diet Coke and six months since I’ve taken a pill. Every single side-effect that had burdened me since I was sixteen years old is now gone. No headaches, no seizures, no blindness, no persistent amnesia, no blurry vision… nothing! 

La Leva di Archimede (ENG): Italian Study Links Aspartame To Cancer

You will see some brain tumor victims in the aspartame documentary Sweet Misery: A ... "When Dr. John Olney pointed out these findings to the FDA "Aspartame ... www.laleva.org/eng/2005/07/italian_study_links_aspartame_to_cancer.html 

Notice aspartame is a drug that interacts with other drugs!

A good deal of Dr. Blaylock's material is on www.dorway.com including a lecture where he says the reactions to aspartame are not allergic in nature but toxic like arsenic and cyanide. http://www.essense-of-life.com/info/tmultiplesclerosis.htm 

 

An honest FDA toxicologist,

the late Dr. Adrian Gross wrote to Senator Howard Metzenbaum: "The views of the FDA's Center for Food Safety read like a script written for Abbott & Costello in the sense of their having perceptions inside-out and upside-down. FDA may have gone through the motions...such a "process" or dance represented a farce and a mockery."  

Dr. John Olney, a neuroscientist

at Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, who has demonstrated the harmful effects of excitotoxins and testified before Congress, believes that both glutamate and aspartate damage areas of the brain controlling endocrine functions leading to obesity. He posits that the 30 percent increase in obesity in America in the past decade might be related to the increased use of aspartame. http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=89;t=000433 

DogtorJ is a veterinarian

The application lies in that little blue packet of artificial sweetener containing aspartame or diet drinks containing this compound. The warning label states that people with "PKU" should avoid this product. I suggest that we all avoid these compounds because of their unnatural and potential harmful qualities. Aspartame contains a blend of aspartate and phenylalanine, everything wrong in an amino acid all rolled into one. Yes, these essential amino acids are found in virtually all proteins, but when they are in high quantity from an unnatural source, there is certainly room for an index of suspicion as to their role in "the spiral". Like glutamate, aspartate is a neurostimulator. It has a very close relationship with its brother protein in neuron stimulation. Excessive amounts can understandably cause similar harm in susceptible individuals.

The reported complaints include short-term memory loss, headaches, pain syndromes, and even an MSG-like rush. Some clients have reported being hooked on diet drinks, and it is either the caffeine or the aspartate that is driving their addiction.

A group of airline pilots are involved in a class-action suite over the mental damage done by these compounds. The problem with the argument against this compound is that a few misguided souls are stating that the principle damage done by aspartame is accomplished by its conversion to formaldehyde in the body. This melodramatic aspect of aspartame's harm is only a part of the story but proponents of this compound are using the nonsensical nature of this argument as a defense. The fact is that aspartame does contain methanol which in turn is converted to a formaldehyde compound by the liver. Formaldehyde is both a component of embalming fluid and a carcinogen. These are not to be overlooked in their importance, but the best arguments against aspartame lie in the direct effects of its other aforementioned components.

So, the fact is that aspartame doesn't need to be converted in the body to anything. It's neurotoxic all by itself. The proof that these artificial sweeteners are potential harmful is found partly in the origin of its components. One of the principle sources of phenylalanine is milk. In fact, for the diagnosis of PKU, doctors use a milk challenge to detect susceptible individuals. As we have established, no mammal should drink milk after it triples it's birth weight, so this primary source of phenylalanine should be eliminated. Remember the mood effects of this amino acid? Remember the "toxic" effects being mental retardation? These would be "natural" effects in the nursing young, keeping them quiet, less mobile, and content so as not to wander off or signal a predator. In some, it has a permanent effect on their temperament. One of my standard illustrations is the "autistic" nature of the cow. "Look at this guy", I would say. He doesn't move except to eat or graze or find some shade. They barely need a fence around them. And we drink their milk, of all possible sources? No wonder we're all depressed." http://www.dogtorj.net/id4.html  

hives …another episode

Posted by Taz's Mom under Health , Allergies No Pawprints  He just had another outbreak…from a sugar free icepop with different dyes in it. It also had aspartame. That is the only thing I can figure as to why he broke out. This is so aggravating. 

EYELID CONTACT DERMATITIS BY FORMALDEHYDE FROM ASPARTAME

Compiled By Rich Murray, MA   

My name is Crista and I live in Ohio.

I have had a severe allergy to Aspartame (name brand Nutra Sweet) since I was 16. As I have gotten older my allergy has progressed. I am now to the point that I can not touch it, smell anything that has it as an ingredient, and if I am in a room where it has gone airborne (i.e. someone has opened a diet soda) you may as well call the ambulance. You see, Aspartame puts me into anaphylactic shock, regardless of the amount in which I come into contact. I am sure that you are aware of how many products are out there with this sweetener in them. Way too many, to my families thinking. I have been unable to hold a job, because I never know if I am going to have a reaction, and when I do have a reaction I am so painfully swollen it is grotesque. I am sooo sensitive, that talking to or even hugging people has become dangerous. Between the diet sodas, the sugar free gums and breath mints, if they so much as pronounce a heavy 'p' sound their spittle (that we can't see with the naked eye) will send me into a reaction.  

[389] Aspartame made me very sick (March 2006)

I have been unwell for a few years with many mysterious and varied complaints. I experienced a bout of Optic Neuritis in March 2004. I was hospitalised with a possible MS diagnosis. It's a long story but I was researching a link between my maladies and a toxin as a possible cause of my health complaints when I came across aspartame and its numerous effects on health. My problems I believe can be related to the vast quantities of Diet Coke I was drinking, 1.25 litres every second day and I was addicted to this stuff. Diet coke was my preferred drink. I also had lots of sugarfree chewing gum, pocket breath strips, diet foods etc. Coke and Wrigley say its safe because FSANZ say it is. I deleted aspartame from my diet in Sept 2004 and my symptoms have gone or abated at the least. I was put on a nasty anti-depressant as well back in March so life was a struggle. I have avoided all aspartame since Sept 2004 and got off the anti-depressant in Nov 2004 and am slowly feeling like my old self. I know aspartame did terrible things to me and I hope I have not suffered permanent damage. I fear for our kids. - Andrea, by email

[388] Blackouts from aspartame (March 2006)

I just wanted to tell you about the effects of aspartame on my insulin dependant father in-law. He has drunk at least a can of diet soft drink every day for the last 10 yrs since becoming diabetic, thinking he was doing the right thing. But about 12 months ago he started having regular blackouts every few months or so. He is 6ft 5in and a very big man so when he falls there is a lot of room for damage of some description. The last blackout on his veranda whilst sitting on a chair putting on his boots resulted in a badly dislocated shoulder with permanent damage. He no longer drinks diet drinks after I researched and found some absolutely shocking information linking aspartame to blackouts and has not had a blackout in over 12 months. Aspartame is definitely not recommended for diabetics and no-one should ingest this poison. The alarming thing is I have recently found it in salad dressing and things kids would eat. It’s also in most low fat products. - Simonne, by email  [and see our new Factsheet: sugarfree sweeteners] 

In May 1992, the official U.S. Air Force Magazine, Flying Safety explained:

"In pregnancy the effects of aspartame can be passed directly to the fetus, even in very small doses. People have suffered aspartame-related disorders with doses as small as that carried in a single stick of chewing gum. This could mean a pilot who drinks diet sodas is more susceptible to flicker vertigo or to flicker-induced epileptic activity. It also means that all pilots are potential victims of sudden memory loss, dizziness during instrument flight and gradual loss of vision." 

We've also had reports that artificial sweeteners can trigger a herpes breakout (both genital and oral) within about 10 minutes of consumption. At first we thought it was only aspartame causing these outbreaks, but apparently Splenda is another culprit. [This website has many emails from aspartame victims.] 

"Avoid Diet Sodas"

 I've found they trick your body into releasing insulin into your bloodstream. This causes your blood sugar levels to drop, tricking you into feeling hungry and overeating." Source: The Lark Letter, P.O. Box 2030, Forrester Center, WV 25438-2030, 1-877-437-5275  

"...sucralose. Animal studies show that it may harm the immune system. Scientists have many unanswered questions." Source: The Lark Letter, P.O. Box 2030, Forrester Center, WV 25438-2030, 1-877-437-5275