Guest guest Posted March 22, 2000 Report Share Posted March 22, 2000 Kat here << I heard years ago that aspartame (NeutaSweet), causes brain damage, and can cause depression. At that time I quit using it, and I was using a lot! Maybe the brain damage I heard about has something to do with what Rose mentioned about nerve damage? >> That was/is an internet hoax. Too much may cause a few folks to have headaches, but for most people it is fine. We should not imbibe excessive amounts of any one thing. Moderation is the key. A 150 lb person would need to drink 20 -- 12-oz. containers of carbonated soft drink (soda) in one day to have a negative effect. Or eat 97 Packets of tabletop sweetener in one day. An alternative sweetener is at the bottom of this email. There are dozens of Aspartame hoax articles on the web. This is one. http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/forum/MultipleSclerosisF/2.7.9912.14PMTIMEart icler.html http://neuro-www.mgh.harvard.edu/forum/MultipleSclerosisF/2.7.9912.14PMT IMEarticler.html " >TIME article re aspartame hoax 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 OUTRAGOUS 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), http://www.medhelp.org (especially good for cardiology), http://www.oncolink.org or cancernet.nci.nih.gov (for cancer) or http://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@.... Other Aspartame sites: http://aspartamefacts.com/aspartame.phtml http://www.msfacts.org/aspartame.htm http://ificinfo.health.org/brochure/aspartam.htm You might want to consider having Stevia anyway. It's a different sort of sweetener, made from leaves. http://www.aspartame-info-effects.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Belinda, While I am not in favor of using Nutra Sweet this seems to be a hoax see: http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HBUrbanMyths.shtml#aspartame Charlotte used it, but so does my sister who has no brain disorder (at least she does not admit one ) Take care, Bill belnorest wrote: > Someone sent me this article. Does anyone know if this is true? I > know it isn't good to drink carbonated drinks over water but what do > you all think about diet drinks? I have drunk diet coke for many > years. I stopped drinking them for several months. I didn't see any > change in me. I prefer water but I do want a diet coke a day also. It > is a rather lengthy article but I would like to hear comments from > any of you who wish to do so. > Thanks and God bless, > Belinda > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Belinda, I did not / never have used Nutra Sweet. I don't like the taste. VERY sensitive taste ability runs in the family. No, make that EXTREMELY. Things researchers say are tasteless often tastes terrible to me. Fake salt is an example. Makes everything taste rotten when I used it. Ditto on Nutra Sweet. It leaves a sickly sweet taste that lasts for hours. Tried it once and didn't finish the drink. That obviously is not enough exposure to cause my current problems. While I do not suggest using Nutra Sweet due to the taste, there has been a LOT of study done on the product. It is safe. Just as I told my kids: Just because you say so, does not make it so! This is not directed at you. Instead it is directed to those individuals that start this type of nonsense. They do it intentionally. They THINK they know the answer. But they FAIL to actually RESEARCH the answer. Just because you say so, does not make it so! Can you tell I get frustrated with the imitation of knowledge. It is called ignorance! And people BLATANTLY brandish it about. Once we searched to truth. Now we tend to hunt for what SOUNDS good. Not truth. Regards, =jbf= B. Fisher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Thanks,Bill. I am sure your sister is used to your joking at her expense by now as I am with my brother LOL We do love our brothers for some reason, I just havent figured out why yet. LOL I am glad you had a good time with your travels. I think the koala bear was adorable! God bless, Belinda > > > Someone sent me this article. Does anyone know if this is true? I > > know it isn't good to drink carbonated drinks over water but what do > > you all think about diet drinks? I have drunk diet coke for many > > years. I stopped drinking them for several months. I didn't see any > > change in me. I prefer water but I do want a diet coke a day also. It > > is a rather lengthy article but I would like to hear comments from > > any of you who wish to do so. > > Thanks and God bless, > > Belinda > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Thanks,Bill. I am sure your sister is used to your joking at her expense by now as I am with my brother LOL We do love our brothers for some reason, I just havent figured out why yet. LOL I am glad you had a good time with your travels. I think the koala bear was adorable! God bless, Belinda > > > Someone sent me this article. Does anyone know if this is true? I > > know it isn't good to drink carbonated drinks over water but what do > > you all think about diet drinks? I have drunk diet coke for many > > years. I stopped drinking them for several months. I didn't see any > > change in me. I prefer water but I do want a diet coke a day also. It > > is a rather lengthy article but I would like to hear comments from > > any of you who wish to do so. > > Thanks and God bless, > > Belinda > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 Thanks,Bill. I am sure your sister is used to your joking at her expense by now as I am with my brother LOL We do love our brothers for some reason, I just havent figured out why yet. LOL I am glad you had a good time with your travels. I think the koala bear was adorable! God bless, Belinda > > > Someone sent me this article. Does anyone know if this is true? I > > know it isn't good to drink carbonated drinks over water but what do > > you all think about diet drinks? I have drunk diet coke for many > > years. I stopped drinking them for several months. I didn't see any > > change in me. I prefer water but I do want a diet coke a day also. It > > is a rather lengthy article but I would like to hear comments from > > any of you who wish to do so. > > Thanks and God bless, > > Belinda > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 24, 2002 Report Share Posted May 24, 2002 , I know that you do not like something without proof. I am glad that it is a hoax because I happen to like nutra sweet.I think some times I would be better off to have taste buds like yours but... maybe it's just as well I don't. Thankfully I drink more water than anything. Thanks and God bless, Belinda > Belinda, > > I did not / never have used Nutra Sweet. I don't like the taste. VERY > sensitive taste ability runs in the family. No, make that EXTREMELY. > Things researchers say are tasteless often tastes terrible to me. Fake > salt is an example. Makes everything taste rotten when I used it. > Ditto on Nutra Sweet. It leaves a sickly sweet taste that lasts for > hours. Tried it once and didn't finish the drink. > > That obviously is not enough exposure to cause my current problems. > > While I do not suggest using Nutra Sweet due to the taste, there has > been a LOT of study done on the product. It is safe. > > Just as I told my kids: Just because you say so, does not make it so! > This is not directed at you. Instead it is directed to those > individuals that start this type of nonsense. They do it intentionally. > They THINK they know the answer. But they FAIL to actually RESEARCH the > answer. Just because you say so, does not make it so! > > Can you tell I get frustrated with the imitation of knowledge. It is > called ignorance! And people BLATANTLY brandish it about. Once we > searched to truth. Now we tend to hunt for what SOUNDS good. Not > truth. > > > Regards, > =jbf= > > B. Fisher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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