same symptoms from formaldehyde from building materials, wine and dark liquors, the 11% methanol part of aspartame: Bianchina inman.com: Murray 2004.07.30 rmforall

[Guest guest]

aspartameNM/message/1107

same symptoms from formaldehyde from building materials, wine and dark

liquors, the 11% methanol part of aspartame: Bianchina inman.com:

Murray 2004.07.30 rmforall

" It has long been acknowledged that the air inside a building can be worse,

some times considerably worse, then the air outside.

This is due in part to gasses, primarily formaldehyde, that are emitted from

certain building materials after they are installed in the building.

Certain floor coverings, particle board, insulation and other materials that

utilize formaldehyde in their makeup can all contribute to this problem,

and green building practices make extensive use of products that do not

contain formaldehyde. "

http://www.mortgage101.com/partner-scripts/story.asp?ID=42267

Benefits of green building: It's more than just helping the environment

Friday, July 30, 2004 By Bianchina

Inman News http://www.inman.com/ press@...

Inman News 1250 45th Street, Suite 360 Emeryville, CA 94608

800-775-4662 toll free 510-658-9252 phone 510-658-9317 fax

" Greenbuilding. " You've probably heard the term, and perhaps even considered

the use of certain green materials or green building concepts for your new

home or remodel.

But what exactly is green building, and how can it benefit you and the world

around you?

Greenbuilding encompasses many different areas of construction, and as such

there is no single definition that sums it all up.

Basically, the concept of greenbuilding is any structure, whether it's

residential, commercial or industrial, that is designed, constructed,

renovated or operated in such a manner as to minimize its impact on the

environment,

protect the health of its occupants and

utilize resources efficiently.....

OCCUPANT HEALTH

It has long been acknowledged that the air inside a building can be worse,

some times considerably worse, then the air outside.

This is due in part to gasses, primarily formaldehyde, that are emitted from

certain building materials after they are installed in the building.

Certain floor coverings, particle board, insulation and other materials that

utilize formaldehyde in their makeup can all contribute to this problem,

and green building practices make extensive use of products that do not

contain formaldehyde.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are another problem.

Paints, finishes for floors and other components, some types of adhesives

and other materials commonly found in building construction may cause VOCs

that can be harmful to building occupants, and here again, the green

building concept aims to utilize materials that are manufactured without

VOCs....

What's your opinion? Send your Letter to the Editor to newsroom@...

..

**************************************************************

2004 July 30 Please forward to Bianchina:

Formaldehyde from the 11% methanol component of aspartame will have the same

effects on susceptible persons as the one part in ten thousand methanol

impurity in wines and dark liquors, for a daily dose of one to two liters of

diet soda or wine (3 to 6 12-oz cans).

These effects will be magnified for those who are exposed to formaldehyde

from building materials and other sources.

Research has yet to study why a quarter to a half of persons who get

intoxicated never have hangovers. This is evidence that a similar

proportion will be largely immune to ordinary levels of aspartame.

http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne

Thrasher, Alan Broughton, a Madison. Immune activation and

autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde.

Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. " Immune activation,

autoantibodies, and anti-HCHO-HSA antibodies are associated with long-term

formaldehyde inhalation. " PMID: 2400243 Most of his cases lived in mobile

homes.

Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002):

aspartameNM/message/909

testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &

peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame:

L. Pall: Murray: 2002.12.09 rmforall

In mutual service, Rich Murray

**************************************************************

aspartameNM/message/1106

hangover research relevant to toxicity of 11% methanol in aspartame

(formaldehyde, formic acid): Calder I (full text): AW:

Murray 2004.07.26 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...

1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-501-2298

Since no adaquate data has ever been published on the exact disposition of

toxic metabolites in specific tissues in humans of the 11% methanol

component of aspartame, the many studies on morning-after hangover from the

methanol impurity in alcohol drinks are the main available resource to date.

AW (1987) found next-morning hangover from red wine with

100 to 150 mg methanol

(9.5% w/v ethanol, 100 mg/l methanol, 0.01%, one part in ten thousand).

Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol -- 1,120 mg aspartame in 2 L diet soda,

almost six 12-oz cans, gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol) -- the same

amount that produces hangover from red wine.

The expert review by Monte WC (1984) states: " An alcoholic consuming 1500

calories a day from alcoholic sources alone may consume between 0 and 600 mg

of methanol each day depending on his choice of beverages (Table 1).... "

Table 1 lists red wine as having 128 mg/l methanol, about one part in ten

thousand.

An editorial review by Ian Calder, F.R.C.A., " Hangovers: not the ethanol--

perhaps the methanol " , British Medical Journal 1997 Jan 4; 314(7073): 2

[ Tel/Fax: 0171 720 9279 Consultant Anaesthetist at the National Hospital

for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London WCIN 3BG, UK ]

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/search.dtl search to get free full text ] ,

states:

" In fact, ethanol itself may play only a minor part in producing the thirst,

headache, fatigue, nausea, sweating, tremor, remorse, and anxiety that

hangover sufferers report.... [ Also, dizziness is common. ]

" Between a quarter and a half of drinkers claim not to experience hangover

symptoms despite having been intoxicated. (three citations) "

The symptom list is similar to reports by aspartame reactors.

If only a fraction of aspartame users happen to be vulnerable to the

methanol, that would account well for the disbelief by those who are not

aspartame reactors, as well as the scientific difficulty in proving

aspartame toxicity in the general population.

Research can study whether the hangover prone are also vulnerable to

aspartame, methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid, and determine the

specific biochemistry for different groups.

Hangover treatments may help aspartame reactors. For instance, adaquate

folic acid (folate) helps humans eliminate toxic products from methanol.

Reprod Toxicol. 1996 Nov-Dec; 10(6): 455-63.

Influence of dietary folic acid on the developmental toxicity of methanol

and the frequency of chromosomal breakage in the CD-1 mouse.

Fu SS, Sakanashi TM, JM, Hong KH, Keen CL.

Department of Nutrition, University of California, 95616, USA.

" These results show that marginal folate deficiency in pregnant dams

significantly increases the teratogenicity of MeOH. " PMID: 8946559

There are no reports of hangover from heavy use of orange juice, 34 mg/l

methanol, since the methanol in many fruits and vegetables is locked up in

complex pectin molecules, not released by human digestion. (Monte WC 1984)

I've never found any reports by aspartame reactors, who are often sensitive

even to a single breath mint or stick of chewing gum

(0.4 to 0.8 mg methanol),

of having the same symptoms from fruits or vegetables.

Pharmacol Toxicol. 1987 Mar; 60(3): 217-20.

Elimination half-life of methanol during hangover.

AW.

Department of Forensic Toxicology, University Hospital, SE-581 85 Linkoping,

Sweden. wayne.jones@...

This paper reports the elimination half-life of methanol in human

volunteers. Experiments were made during the morning after the subjects had

consumed 1000-1500 ml red wine (9.5% w/v ethanol, 100 mg/l methanol)

the previous evening. [ 100 to 150 mg methanol ]

The washout of methanol from the body coincided with the onset of hangover.

The concentrations of ethanol and methanol in blood were determined

indirectly by analysis of end-expired alveolar air.

In the morning when blood-ethanol dropped below the Km of liver alcohol

dehydrogenase (ADH) of about 100 mg/l (2.2 mM), the disappearance half-life

of ethanol was 21, 22, 18 and 15 min. in 4 test subjects respectively.

The corresponding elimination half-lives of methanol were 213, 110, 133 and

142 min. in these same individuals.

The experimental design outlined in this paper can be used to obtain useful

data on elimination kinetics of methanol in human volunteers without undue

ethical limitations.

Circumstantial evidence is presented to link methanol or its toxic metabolic

products, formaldehyde and formic acid, with the pathogenesis of hangover.

PMID: 3588516

aspartameNM/message/1047

Avoiding Hangover Hell 2003.12.31 Mark Sherman, AP writer:

Swift, MD [ formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame ]:

Murray 2004.01.16 rmforall

aspartameNM/message/1048

hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?):

Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 2004.01.18

aspartameNM/message/1099

Diagnose-Me.com: formaldehyde from 11 % methanol part of aspartame:

recent abstracts for methanol and hangovers: Murray 2004.07.10 rmforall

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/search.dtl search to get free full text

British Medial Journal 1997 (4 January); 314(7073): 2.

Ian Calder, F.R.C.A. [ Tel/Fax: 0171 720 9279 Consultant Anaesthetist at

the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery,

London WCIN 3BG, UK ]

Editorials Hangovers: Not the ethanol - perhaps the methanol

" Wine is only sweet to happy men, " wrote an unhappy Keats to his

sweetheart.(1) His observation seems to have been vindicated.

Harburg et al found that psychosocial factors such as guilt about drinking,

a neurotic personality, becoming angry or depressed while drinking, and

having suffered " negative life events " in the past 12 months are better

predictors of symptoms of hangover than the amount of ethanol drunk.(2)

In fact, ethanol itself may play only a minor part in producing the thirst,

headache, fatigue, nausea, sweating, tremor, remorse, and anxiety that

hangover sufferers report.

Hangover symptoms are worst at a time when almost all ethanol and its

metabolite acetaldehyde have been cleared from the blood, and peak blood

ethanol or acetaldehyde levels are not related to the severity of

hangover.(3 )

Between a quarter and a half of drinkers claim not to experience hangover

symptoms despite having been intoxicated.(2, 3, 4)

Congeners - complex organic molecules such as polyphenols, higher alcohols

including methanol, and histamine, which occur in varying amounts in

ethanolic drinks - are probably more to blame than ethanol.

Chapman found that hangover symptoms were almost twice as common in

volunteers who drank 1.5 ml/kg [ body weight ] of bourbon whiskey - which

has methanol concentrations of 26 mg/l - as in those drinking the same dose

of vodka ( 3.9 mg of methanol per litre ). (5) [ For a 60 kg person, this

would be 90 mg bourbon, 0.09 l, giving 2.34 mg methanol, which led to twice

as many symptoms as the 0.35 mg methanol from vodka. The bourbon gave as

about as much methanol as an ounce of diet soda. ]

Pawan compared the hangover produced by different types of drink (but only

one brand of each) in his study of 20 volunteers. The severity of hangover

symptoms declined in the order of brandy, red wine, rum, whisky, white wine,

gin, vodka, and pure ethanol.(6) Vodka and pure ethanol caused only mild

headaches in two volunteers.

has suggested that it is the metabolism of methanol to formaldehyde

and formic acid that causes symptoms of hangover, with quicker methanol

metabolisers suffering more.(7) The justification for this suggestion is

threefold:

the types of drink associated with more severe hangovers contain higher

levels of methanol;

the time course of methanol metabolism corresponds to the onset of symptoms;

and a small dose of ethanol, which blocks the formation of formaldehyde and

formic acid, provides an effective treatment for hangovers ( " the hair of the

dog " ).

The economic and social consequences of hangovers are probably considerable

but difficult to quantify. Performance accuracy is impaired synergistically

by sleep deprivation and hangover.(8)

Drivers perform less well in simulators when tested the morning after

drinking ethanol.(9)

Making driving with a hangover a criminal offence might be logical, but is

probably impractical in the absence of a simple diagnostic test like breath

alcohol.

Many pathophysiological disturbances occur during hangover, including

dehydration; metabolic acidosis; hypoglycaemia; disturbed prostaglandin

synthesis; abnormal secretion of vasopressin, cortisol, aldosterone,

renin, and testosterone; increased cardiac output; tachycardia; and

vasodilatation.

Hypoglycaemia and acidosis can be treated with fructose or glucose,(9) and

the cardiovascular abnormalities with ß blockade,(10) but symptoms are not

alleviated.

However, rehydration and anti-inflammatory analgesics are helpful,

particularly if treatment is started before bedtime.(11)

A completely effective treatment is probably unattainable (since so many

factors - such as lack of sleep, active or passive smoking, dietary

indiscretions, unaccustomed physical activity, intermittent upper airway

obstruction, and emotional disturbances - must play a part) and is arguably

undesirable since the fear of hangover prompts most people to moderate their

ethanol intake.(4 )

Even moderate amounts of ethanol can be damaging,(12) so a penalty for

consumption is in our interests. Perhaps those who aspire to be one of Dr

's " heroes " by drinking brandy (13) are sensible as well as brave.

Ian Calder, Consultant anaesthetist, Department of Neuroanaesthesia,

National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery,

Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG UK

1. Keats J. Letter to Fanny Brawne. In: Tripp RT, ed. The international

thesaurus of quotations. England: Penguin, 1976: 266.

2. Harburg E, Gunn R, Gleiberman L, DiFranceisco W, Schork A.

Psychosocial factors, alcohol use and hangover signs among social drinkers:

a reappraisal.

J Clin Epidemiol 1993; 46: 413-22. [Medline]

3. Ylikahri RH, Huttunen M, sson CJ, Nikkila EA.

Metabolic studies on the pathogenesis of hangover.

Eur J Clin Invest 1974; 4: 93-100.

4. CM, GM.

Signs and symptoms of hangover; prevalence and relationship to alcohol use

in a generally adult population.

Drug Alcohol Depend 1983; 11: 249-69. [Medline]

5. Chapman LF.

Experimental induction of hangover.

Q J Stud Alcohol 1970; 5: 67-85. [Medline]

6. Pawan GLS.

Alcoholic drinks and hangover effects.

Proc Nutr Soc 1973; 32: 15A.

7. AW.

Elimination half-life of methanol during hangover.

Pharmacol Toxicol 1987; 60; 217-20.

8. Peeke SC, Callaway E, RT, Stone GC, Doyle J.

Combined effect of alcohol and sleep deprivation in normal young adults.

Psychopharmacol 1980; 67: 279-87. [Medline]

9. Seppala T, Leino T, Linnoila M, Huttunen MO, Ylikahri RH.

Effects of hangover on psychomotor skills related to driving: modification

by fructose and glucose.

Acta Pharmacol Toxicol 1976; 38: 209-18.

10. Bogin RM, Nostrant TT, Young MJ.

Propranolol for the treatment of the alcoholic hangover.

Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse 1986; 12: 279-84.

11. Khan MA, Jensen K, Krogh HJ.

Alcohol induced hangover. A double blind comparison of pyritinol and placebo

in preventing hangover symptoms.

Q J Stud Alcohol 1973; 34: 1195-201. [Medline]

12. Karhunen PJ, Erkinjuntti T, Laippala P.

Moderate alcohol consumption and loss of cerebellar Purkinje cells.

BMJ 1994; 308: 1663-7.

13. Boswell J.

Life of . April 7th 1779. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1970.

This article has been cited by other articles:

M. H. Pittler, A. R. White, C. Stevinson, and E. Ernst.

Effectiveness of artichoke extract in preventing alcohol-induced hangovers:

a randomized controlled trial

Can. Med. Assoc. J., December 9, 2003; 169(12): 1269 - 1273.

[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

W. T , M. E Cupples, C. H Sibbett, D. I Skan, and T. Bradley.

Challenge of culture, conscience, and contract to general practitioners'

care of their own health: qualitative study

BMJ, September 29, 2001; 323(7315): 728 - 731.

[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

© 2004 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

**************************************************************

aspartameNM/message/1100

research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity:

Murray 2004.07.30 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...

1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-501-2298

[ NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel, Benevia, E951 ]

aspartameNM/message/927

Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval:

: Murray 2002.12.23 rmforall

A very detailed, highly credible account of the dubious approval process for

aspartame in July, 1981 is part of the just released two-hour documentary

" Sweet Misery, A Poisoned World: An Industry Case Study of a Food Supply

In Crisis " by Cori Brackett: cori@...

http://www.soundandfuryproductions.com/ 520-624-9710

2301 East Broadway, Suite 111 Tucson, AZ 85719

aspartameNM/messages

129 members, 1,107 posts in a public searchable archive

aspartame/messages

834 members, 17,195 posts in a public, searchable archive

Poor memory is one of the main early complaints of aspartame reactors, who

are often people who use over 6 cans ( 2 L) diet soda daily for years.

The 6 experimental rats in this recent economical, focused study by

McConnaughey M et al (2004 May), drank a comparable level for 4 months,

about 13% of a 30-month lifespan. It is an excellent introduction to the

main issues.

Only after 3 months did the 6 aspartame rats show almost a doubling of time

to run a single-choice maze.

At 4 months, there was almost another doubling of delay: " ...two of the

treated rats even went to the wrong side of the T-maze, totally forgetting

where the reward was. " These are very powerful, worrisome results.

There were highly significant, neurologically relevant changes in certain

brain receptor densities, and changes in brain chemistry.

With 70 citations, the relevant scientific literature is well summarized.

Many other studies, often industry funded, often used single doses or

too short durations of exposure, along with lower doses, thus rarely proving

memory deficits.

The funding source for this extremely valuable study is not given.

It used a team of talented high school students.

The fact that certain brain receptor densitities increased, and that memory

deficit increase took 3 months to be significant, may reflect the paradox of

hormesis, the complex ability of organisms to make themselves stronger in

response to low levels of toxins:

aspartameNM/message/1055

hormesis: possible benefits of low-level aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde)

use: Calabrese: Soffritti: Murray 2004.03.11 rmforall

The most toxic part of the fragile aspartame molecule is its 11% methanol

component.

It is an open secret, admitted in a number of published studies for three

decades, that methanol is converted within hours by the liver into

formaldehyde and formic acid, both potent, cumulative toxins that affect all

cell types.

Few know that the classic " morning after " hangover from dark wines and

liquors is largely due to formaldehyde and formic acid from methanol

contamination, not the ethanol itself.

The actual disposition of these toxins in the tissues of human aspartame

reactors has never been determined, or, if determined, never publicly

published.

The study should be replicated, using methanol, formaldehyde, and formic

acid to verify if the same results obtain.

If blood and tissue samples have been stored, then the fast, cheap,

automated, highly sensitive Comet assay, often used to prove DNA damage from

formaldehyde, can be used to replicate the results by Yu F. Sakaki (2002),

whose intripid and much published team in Japan has found DNA damage,

testing 8 tissues from single non-lethal doses of aspartame

(near-significant high levels of DNA damage in 5 tissues) and 38 other

additives in groups of just 4 mice:

aspartameNM/message/935

Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in

mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.01 rmforall

[ Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives,

using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon,

liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame--

a very high dose. Methanol is the only component of aspartame that can lead

to DNA damage. ]

aspartameNM/message/1088

Murray, full plain text & critique:

chronic aspartame in rats affects memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and

brain chemistry, Christian B, McConnaughey M et al, 2004 May:

2004.06.05 rmforall

Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2004 May; 78(1): 121-7.

Chronic aspartame affects T-maze performance, brain cholinergic receptors

and Na(+),K(+)-ATPase in rats.

Christian B, McConnaughey K, Bethea E, Brantley S, Coffey A, Hammond L,

Harrell S, Metcalf K, Muehlenbein D, Spruill W, Brinson L, McConnaughey M.

Department of Pharmacology, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina

University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA;

North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Durham, NC 27811.

http://www.ecu.edu/pharmacology/faculty/mcconnaughey.html

Mona M. McConnaughey, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor

Department: PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY

Office: Brody Medical Science 6E-120A 252-744-2756

MCCONNAUGHEYM@...

This study demonstrated that chronic aspartame consumption in rats can lead

to altered T-maze performance and increased muscarinic cholinergic receptor

densities in certain brain regions.

Control and treated rats were trained in a T-maze to a particular side and

then periodically tested to see how well they retained the learned response.

Rats that had received aspartame (250 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water for 3

or 4 months showed a significant increase in time to reach the reward in the

T-maze, suggesting a possible effect on memory due to the artificial

sweetener. Using [(3)H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) (1 nM) to label

muscarinic cholinergic receptors and atropine (10(-6) M) to determine

nonspecific binding in whole-brain preparations,

aspartame-treated rats showed a 31% increase in receptor numbers when

compared to controls.

In aspartame-treated rats, there was a significant increase in muscarinic

receptor densities in the frontal cortex, midcortex, posterior cortex,

hippocampus, hypothalamus and cerebellum of 80%, 60%, 61%, 65%,

66% and 60%, respectively.

The midbrain was the only area where preparations from aspartame-treated

rats showed a significant increase in Na(+),K(+)-ATPase activity.

It can be concluded from these data that long-term consumption of aspartame

can affect T-maze performance in rats and alter receptor densities or

enzymes in brain. PMID: 15159141

aspartameNM/message/1067

eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV

Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 2004.03.30 rmforall [ 150 KB ]

" A 60-year-old Caucasian woman presented with a 6-month history of eyelid

dermatitis...

By strictly avoiding formaldehyde and all formaldehyde releasers for the

next 3 weeks, she improved only slightly.

Her problem, however, was subsequently solved when a local pharmacist

advised her to avoid aspartame.

She had begun using an aspartame-based artificial sweetener 5 months prior

to the onset of her dermatitis. [ 12 months of low-level aspartame use until

stopping. ]

Within 1 week of discontinuing the aspartame, her eyelid dermatitis resolved

completely and has not recurred over 18 months without specific

treatment....

Our patient was consuming an average of 80 mg (1.13 mg/kg) of aspartame

daily, well below the levels previously studied. "

[ A packet of tabletop sweetener gives 37 mg aspartame, while a 12 oz diet

soda gives 200 mg aspartame. An aspartame reactor can have immediate strong

symtoms from an under-the-tongue wafer with 4 mg aspartame. ]

aspartameNM/message/1039

three-page review: aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) toxicity:

Murray 2003.11.22 rmforall

aspartameNM/message/1026

brief aspartame review: formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 2003.09.11 rmforall

aspartameNM/message/1025

aspartame & formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 2003.09.09 rmforall

aspartameNM/message/1094

the 11% methanol component of aspartame becomes formaldehyde, now ruled a

carcinogen by WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer: Murray

2004.06.16 rmforall

aspartameNM/message/1084

26 stevia safety abstracts since 1993: aspartame vs stevia debate on

alt.support.diabetes, Schmidt, OD: Murray 2004.05.25 rmforall .....

***************************************************************

[Guest guest]

Interesting.

Thrasher and Pall - two mold nonbelievers that I told my story to

years ago and who responded that I was mistaken.

They believed that my problems were due to other exposures and that

my mold avoidance strategy was baseless.

They thought that any benefit I derived from mold avoidance is that I

was really avoiding chemical exposures - instead of mold.

We shall see!

-

[Guest guest]

Interesting.

Thrasher and Pall - two mold nonbelievers that I told my story to

years ago and who responded that I was mistaken.

They believed that my problems were due to other exposures and that

my mold avoidance strategy was baseless.

They thought that any benefit I derived from mold avoidance is that I

was really avoiding chemical exposures - instead of mold.

We shall see!

-