NAP- Neighborhood Alliance of Pawtucket

Health Hazards

Aspartame

Aspartame... the BAD news!
Article courtesy of: Mark Gold mgold@tiac.net
(researcher for twenty years on such subjects)

Equal, Nutrasweet, Equal Measure, Spoonful, Canderal (E951)

Aspartame was not approved until 1981, in dry foods. For over eight
years the FDA refused to approve it because of the seizures and brain
tumors this drug produced in lab animals. The FDA continued to refuse
to approve it until President Reagan took office (a friend of Searle)
and fired the FDA Commissioner who wouldn't approve it. Dr. Arthur
Hull Hayes was appointed as commissioner. Even then there was so much
opposition to approval that a Board of Inquiry was set up. The Board
said: "Do not approve aspartame". Dr. Hayes OVERRULED his own Board of
Inquiry.

Shortly after Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., approved the use of
aspartame in carbonated beverages, he left for a position with G.D.
Searle's Public Relations firm.

Long-Term Damage. It appears to cause slow, silent damage in those
unfortunate enough to not have immediate reactions and a reason to
avoid it. It may take one year, five years, 10 years, or 40 years, but
it seems to cause some reversible and some irreversible changes in
health over long-term use.

METHANOL (AKA WOOD ALCOHOL/POISON) (10% OF ASPARTAME) Methanol/wood
alcohol is a deadly poison. People may recall that methanol was the
poison that has caused some "skid row" alcoholics to end up blind or
dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the
methyl group of aspartame encounter the enzyme chymotrypsin.

The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably when
free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from aspartame
when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would
occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly stored or when
it is heated (e.g., as part of a "food" product such as Jello).

Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body.
Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol
states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low
rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is
oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites
are toxic." The recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A
one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains
about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products
consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.

The most well known problems from methanol poisoning are vision
problems. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage,
interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects. Due to the
lack of a couple of key enzymes, humans are many times more sensitive
to the toxic effects of methanol than animals. Therefore, tests of
aspartame or methanol on animals do not accurately reflect the danger
for humans. As pointed out by Dr Woodrow C. Monte, Director of the
Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University,
"There are no human or mammalian studies to evaluate the possible
mutagenic, teratogenic, or carcinogenic effects of chronic
administration of methyl alcohol."

It has been pointed out that fruit juices and alcoholic beverages
contain small amounts of methanol. It is important to remember, that
the methanol in natural products never appears alone. In every case,
ethanol is present, usually in much higher amounts. Ethanol is an
antidote for methanol toxicity in humans. The troops of Desert Storm
were "treated" to large amounts of aspartame-sweetened beverages which
had been heated to over 86 degrees F. in the Saudi Arabian sun. Many
of them returned home with numerous disorders similar to what has been
seen in persons who have been chemically poisoned by formaldehyde. The
free methanol in the beverages may have been a contributing factor in
these illnesses. Other breakdown products of aspartame such as DKP,
may also have been a factor.

In a 1993 act that can only be described as "unconscionable", the FDA
approved aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items that would
always be heated to above 86°degrees F (30°Degrees C).

Much worse, on 27 June 1996, without public notice, the FDA removed
all restrictions from aspartame allowing it to be used in everything,
including all heated and baked goods.

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:

DORway documents now linked to SYMPTOM!

Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
arthritis
asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing difficulties
burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
can't think straight
Chest Pains
chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
fatigue
feel unreal
flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Impotency and Sexual Problems
inability to concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
laryngitis
"like thinking in a fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
poor memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain

Aspartame Disease Mimics Symptoms or Worsens the Following Diseases

Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease
Lupus
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's Disease
Birth Defects
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lymphoma
Lyme Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Panic Disorder
Depression and other Psychological Disorders

How it happens:

Methanol, from aspartame, is released in the small intestine when the
methyl group of aspartame encounters the enzyme chymotrypsin (Stegink
1984, page 143). Free methanol begins to form in liquid
aspartame-containing products at temperatures above 86 degrees F..
also within the human body.

The methanol is then converted to formaldehyde. The formaldehyde
converts to formic acid, ant sting poison. Toxic formic acid is used
as an activator to strip epoxy and urethane coatings. Imagine what it
does to your tissues!

Phenylalanine and aspartic acid, 90% of aspartame, are amino acids
normally used in synthesis of protoplasm when supplied by the foods we
eat. But when unaccompanied by other amino acids we use [there are
20], they are neurotoxic.

That is why a warning for Phenylketonurics is found on EQUAL and other
aspartame products. Phenylketenurics are 2% of the population with
extreme sensitivity to this chemical unless it's present in food. It
gets you too, causing brain disorders and birth defects! Finally, the
phenyalanine breaks down into DKP, a brain tumor agent.

In other words: Aspartame converts to dangerous byproducts that have
no natural countermeasures. A dieter's empty stomach accelerates these
conversions and amplifies the damage. Components of aspartame go
straight to the brain, damage that causes headaches, mental confusion,
seizures and faulty balance. Lab rats and other test animals died of
brain tumors.

Despite the claims of Monsanto and bedfellows:

1. Methanol from alcohol and juices does not get converted to
formaldehyde to any significant extent. There is very strong evidence
to confirm this fact for alcoholic beverages and fairly strong
evidence for juices.

2. Formaldehyde obtained from methanol is very toxic in *very small*
doses as seen by recent research.

3. Aspartame causes chronic toxicity reactions/damage due to the
methanol to formaldehyde and other break down products despite what is
claimed otherwise by the very short, industry-funded experiments using
a test substance that is chemically different and absorbed differently
than what is available to the general public. "Strangely enough",
almost all independent studies show that aspartame can cause health
problems.

4. A common ploy from Monsanto is to claim that aspartame is "safe"
yet a few select people may have "allergic" reactions to it. This is
typical Monsanto nonsense, of course. Their own research shows that it
does not cause "allergic" reactions. It is there way of trying to
minimize and hide the huge numbers of toxicity reactions and damage
that people are experiencing from the long-term use of aspartame.

Summary

Given the following points, it is definitely premature for researchers
to discount the role of methanol in aspartame side effects:

1. The amount of methanol ingested from aspartame is unprecedented in
human history. Methanol from fruit juice ingestion does not even
approach the quantity of methanol ingested from aspartame, especially
in persons who ingest one to three liters (or more) of diet beverages
every day. Unlike methanol from aspartame, methanol from natural
products is probably not absorbed or converted to its toxic
metabolites in significant amounts as discussed earlier.

2. Lack of laboratory-detectable changes in plasma formic acid and
formaldehyde levels do not preclude damage being caused by these toxic
metabolites. Laboratory-detectable changes in formate levels are often
not found in short exposures to methanol.

3. Aspartame-containing products often provide little or no nutrients
which may protect against chronic methanol poisoning and are often
consumed in between meals. Persons who ingest aspartame-containing
products are often dieting and more likely to have nutritional
deficiencies than persons who take the time to make fresh juices.

4. Persons with certain health conditions or on certain drugs may be
much more susceptible to chronic methanol poisoning.

5. Chronic diseases and side effects from slow poisons often build
silently over a long period of time. Many chronic diseases which seem
to appear suddenly have actually been building in the body over many
years.

6. An increasing body of research is showing that many people are
highly sensitive to low doses of formaldehyde in the environment.
Environmental exposure to formaldehyde and ingestion of methanol
(which converts to formaldehyde) from aspartame likely has a
cumulative deleterious effect.

7. Formic acid has been shown to slowly accumulate in various parts of
the body. Formic acid has been shown to inhibit oxygen metabolism.

8. The are a very large and growing number of persons are experiencing
chronic health problems similar to the side effects of chronic
methanol poisoning when ingesting aspartame-containing products for a
significant length of time. This includes many cases of eye damage
similar to the type of eye damage seen in methanol poisoning cases.

Toxicity Effects of Aspartame Use Selection of Health Effects from
Short-term and/or Long-Term Use Note: It often takes at least sixty
days without any aspartame NutraSweet to see a significant
improvement. Check all labels very carefully (including vitamins and
pharmaceuticals). Look for the word "aspartame" on the label and avoid
it. (Also, it is a good idea to avoid "acesulfame-k" or "sunette.")
Finally, avoid getting nutrition information from junk food industry
PR organizations such as IFIC or organizations that accept large sums
of money from the junk and chemical food industry such as the American
Dietetic Association.

If you are a user of any products with aspartame, and you have
physical, visual, mental problems... take the 60-day no aspartame
test. If, after two months with no aspartame your symptoms are either
gone, or are much less severe, please get involved to get this
neurotoxin off the market. Write a letter to the FDA, with a copy to
Betty Martini (for proof of how the FDA doesn't keep proper records).
Write your congressmen. Return products containing aspartame to the
point of purchase... for a FULL refund. Make a big stink if they WON'T
give you a full refund! Tell all your friends and family... and if
they stop using aspartame and also "wake up well"... get them involved
in the same way.

Aspartame is an "approved sweetener" because of a few greedy and
dishonest people who place profits above human life and well-being.
With the FDA and our Congress culpable, only an INFORMED and ACTIVE
public will affects its reclassification from "food additive" to TOXIC
DRUG, and removed from the human food chain.

Need to view some of the FDA original documentation? View it at
http://www.presidiotex.com/aspartame/Facts/92_Symptoms/92_symptoms.gif

Link to a printable report form:

http://www.dorway.com/reprtfrm.html

Addresses:

Commissioner
Food and Drug Administration
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland 20857

Mrs. Betty Martini
Mission Possible International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
Internet E-mail: bettym19@mindspring.com

Links for additional information:

http://www.dorway.com Front door to everything!
http://www.dorway.com/possible.html Mission Possible Files
http://www.dorway.com/asprlink.html Links to more sites/source information
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame More in-depth Information
http://www.trufax.org/menu/chem.html#aspartame More good articles

Links for books:

http://www.dorway.com/books.html
http://www.dorway.com/amazon.html DORway Amazon Bookshelf

NOW... that you are aware of the 92 FDA recognized symptoms
(that required a Freedom Of Information Act request to pry from
their reluctant hands) and HOW aspartame does its dirty work,
change to my Official Dogma page. On this page Mark Gold has
taken the IFIC "Official" aspartame safety myth and shot it
full of holes using all of the smoking guns that were used
by the FDA to approve this poison as a food additive, along
with information they either ignored or discounted. This excellent
debunking of the official FDA/Monsanto/Searle/Nutrasweet/Nutrasweet
Kelco/AMA/ADA/IFIC/??? chain of lies and half truths includes a
long history of this "product's" sordid trail to the marketplace
and the sweet tooth.

Health Warnings

Aspartame via MarkGold
FDA Original Documentation
FDA/Monsanto/Searle/Nutrasweet/Nutrasweet