Re: Dr's article on Aspartame

March 25, 2000

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ASPARTAME (NUTRASWEET): NO DANGER

---------------------------------------------------------(she also uses the

name Merkle) ---------------

The Inappropriate and Unsubstantiated Alarm Over Aspartame

Squillacote, MD

Senior Medical Advisor, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation

January 12, 1999

In the 1960's, before the advent of satellite communications, gold workers in

the interior of South America knew the closing price of gold on the London

market within an hour of the closing. The final leg of the communication was

over jungle drums. Before the Internet, information moved through the

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) community in a similarly informal, but high fidelity,

fashion. Now, within minutes of a breaking story or rumor, the first question

appears on the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (MSF) Internet forum. Such is

the case with the recent alarm over aspartame (NutraSweet and similar dietary

sweetening agents).

In a recent article by Markle, allegedly based on talks at the " World

Environmental Conference " , wild and inaccurate information about aspartame is

being spread. I have no problem with information dissemination, even when it

is wrong, but Ms. Markle has crossed the line. The MSF has asked me to look

into the allegations raised and report on them.

1. There is no connection between the MSF and Ms. Markle. The MSF has no

knowledge of Ms. Markle's professional credentials (none are cited), and a

MEDLINE search shows no contributions to the world medical literature by her.

2. The MSF has/had no connection with the " World Environmental Conference " .

3. Neither the MSF nor myself have any connection with Monsanto (producer of

NutraSweet). We do not support any of the inflammatory allegations about

NutraSweet made at this conference, but neither do we in any way formally

endorse or condemn the product.

I ran a number of MEDLINE searches on aspartame.

1. There are 377 citations in the world medical literature (all languages)

from 1966-1998.

2. There is no information whatsoever about deleterious effects of aspartame

on MS, systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE or lupus), or fibromyalgia.

3. There is no evidence that aspartame in any way causes, provokes, mimics or

worsens MS.

4. There is no evidence of any " aspartame disease " .

5. Repeated studies in peer reviewed journals show no adverse effects of

aspartame on seizures (rats, children, adults), weight gain, body

temperature, cognitive/behavioral/neuropsychiatric/neurophysiologic function,

brain/intestinal/liver hormones or enzymes, brain tumors, cancer, birth

defects (rats and humans), Parkinson's disease, allergic responses, blood

pressure, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, etc.

6. It has not been shown to be dangerous to diabetics in any way.

7. One small study (which has not been repeated) did find some worsening of

depression when depressed patients took large doses of aspartame.

8. Several small reports have appeared showing that there may be a subset of

migraine patients who worsen with aspartame. Other studies show no connection

in patients who have claimed to have aspartame-related headaches.

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This is a man who is working with Betty i to scare people who use

Aspartame. They appear together to speak, for a fee, and he has written many

books which have made lots of money for him, but he isn't a regular

physician.

Betty i is responsible for hoax email about Aspartame. The Multilple

Sclerosis Society wrote to discredit all of this false information.

http://www.msfacts.org/aspartame.htm

=====================

TIME article re aspartame hoax

This article submitted by isweet@... on 2/7/99.

Email Address:

PERSONAL TIME/YOUR HEALTH

FEBRUARY 8, 1999 VOL. 153 NO. 5

A Web of Deceit

The latest e-mail scare campaign attacks an artificial sweetener.

Here's how to find the truth

BY CHRISTINE GORMAN

Heard the one about the common shampoo ingredient that causes cancer? Or how

about the epidemic of blindness among toddlers who accidentally get

waterproof sunscreen in their eyes? These absurd fictions used to be the

stock-in-trade of ninth-graders bent on frightening the younger kids. But now

such tall tales are appearing on the Internet, and many adults are taking

them seriously.

Consider the latest electronic health scare: about the artificial sweetener

aspartame, which is found in everything from Equal to Diet Coke. A widely

disseminated e-mail by a " Markle " links aspartame to Alzheimer's, birth

defects, brain cancer, diabetes, Gulf War syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis

and seizures. Right away, the long list warrants skepticism. Just as no

single chemical cures everything, none causes everything.

In this and similar cases, all the Markles of the world have to do to

fabricate a health rumor is post it in some Usenet news groups and let

ordinary folks, who may already distrust artificial products, forward it to

all their friends and e-mail pals. I received several copies last week, as

have many doctors and health organizations.

When I searched Altavista www.altavista.com) for aspartame AND brain AND

seizure AND sclerosis, I learned that Markle's message is almost identical to

an antiaspartame screed first penned under a different name in 1995. None of

the specific allegations pan out, however. Among the more outrageous claims:

--Aspartame leads to " methanol toxicity. " Not even close. Trace amounts of

methanol exist naturally in many fruits and vegetables, and a tiny amount is

released whenever the body digests aspartame. But there's four times as much

methanol in a glass of tomato juice as in a can of aspartame-sweetened soda,

and our bodies have no trouble handling such a tiny amount.

--Aspartame triggers headaches. Wrong again, says Shiffman, a medical

psychologist at Duke University who conducted a double-blind

placebo-controlled trial of 40 " aspartame sensitive " people. A little probing

often revealed the real trouble. One woman, who often ate peanuts with her

diet soda, was allergic to peanuts. Another drank too much caffeine.

--Aspartame is responsible for the recent uptick in brain-cancer rates. So

how do you explain that the trend dates back to 1973, eight years before

aspartame was approved in the U.S.? Curiously, Markle didn't warn against

aspartame's single known health risk. Folks with an uncommon genetic disorder

called phenylketonuria shouldn't consume the sweetener because they cannot

metabolize one of its ingredients.

Before you decide to believe or, worse, forward an e-mail with serious health

claims, do a little checking. Start on the Web with

urbanlegends.miningco.com, which catalogues the more persistent rumors. Then

go to reliable health sites, like mayohealth.org (for general health),

www.medhelp.org (especially good for cardiology),

www.oncolink.org or cancernet.nci.nih.gov (for cancer) or

www.navigator.tufts.edu (for nutrition). Otherwise, you might get caught in a

web of confusion.

For more Web resources on Internet health rumors, see time.com/personal. You

can e-mail at gorman@....

March 25, 2000