Please help me get this translated as widely as possible and emailed to people in health and journalism, so that this might be effected all over the world!!!!

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Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/British-Columbia-

Parents-F-by--O-Connor-of-t-090227-348.html

----------February 27, 2009

British Columbia Parents Force Education Ministry to Ban ALL Artificial

Sweeteners

By O'Connor of the Merritt News (B.C.)

Parents Say No to Artificial Sweeteners

Despite the findings by Health Canada that artificial sweeteners are safe,

parents in B.C. have decided to play it safe and say no.

The B.C. Ministry of Education has recently pulled all artificial sweeteners

from being sold in B.C. primary and middle schools after consultations with

parents of school children.

" I'd be very suspicious of Aspartame, " said former Nicola Valley Teacher's

Union leader, Ralph Poynting. " I wouldn't put it in there, why take the

chance? "

The findings were issued in the September 2007 Guidelines for Food and

Beverage Sales in B.C. Schools enacted by the B.C. ministries of education

and health as part of a healthy schools initiative. The ministry came to its

after consultations with parents, trustees, and dieticians.

The guidelines allow for artificial sweeteners in small amounts and

as a condiment in secondary schools, but not in elementary or middle

schools. " The studies related to aspartame clarify enough concern as regards

adverse health effects, that their use in schools should be banned, " said

neurosurgeon, Blaylock, in an exclusive interview with the Merritt

News.

" Careful studies, including the original studies by G.D. Searle company,

demonstrate a significant cancer risk, especially for brain cancers, breast

cancer, lymphomas and leukemias, such that would justify their being

banned, " he continued.

Blaylock considers artificial sweeteners and MSG as " excitotoxins " that play

a critical role in neuro-degenerative diseases like Parkinson's Disease,

Alzheimer's, and MS.

Health Canada has allowed the use of artificial sweeteners since 1981, when

former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Rumsfeld, then CEO of the Searle

Corporation, petitioned the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for approval.

The passing came despite the fact that the FDA's Public Board of Inquiry,

made up of scientists, voted unanimously against the approval of aspartame.

On July 15, 1981, Dr. Arthur Jr, in one of his first acts as FDA

Commissioner, overruled the Public Board of Inquiry and approved NutraSweet

for dry products.

Health Canada followed suit and the artificial sweetener industry was

born. Health Canada scientists have concluded that the reported findings

of the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology, which found malignancies

in rats tested with doses of aspartame, did not indicate a need to change

the existing restrictions already outlined in the Food and Drug Regulations.

Health Canada concludes that the overwhelming body of evidence supports the

safety of artificial sweeteners. Health Canada has requested the complete

raw data from the Ramazzini Foundation and has been analyzing it since 2006.

There has been no word yet on their analysis.

Some of the most common artificial sweeteners are: Aspartame, Sucralose,

Splenda, Acesulfame-K (Acesfulfame Potassium), NutraSweet, as well as

Saccharin. Aspartame is composed of L-Aspartly-L-phenylalanine methyl ester.

They can be found in beverages, breath mints, chewing gum, prescription

drugs, supplements and vitamins, and various other food products.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Symptoms attributed to

Aspartame in complaints submitted to the FDA show headaches as the highest

complaint followed by dizziness. Aspartame related complaints make up 80 per

cent of total complaints to the FDA each year.

The FDA lists a total of 92 aspartame-related symptoms. The Aspartame

Material Safety Data Sheet, a description label used by industry, states

under toxicological information, that acute effects may be harmful by

inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption. Stevia is one herb, not approved

by Health Canada, that some advocate as being a safer alternative to

artificial sweeteners even for use by diabetics.