Re: My new diet

[Guest guest]

Thanks Roni, for the suggestions! I will try some of them.

I don't do caffeine any more so no worries there. The lettuce and bullion

actually sounds good. I should get some Crystal Lite or something similar and

make pop sickles!

Any other fun suggestions from others are welcome!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

I guess Crystal Lite is not a good idea.....

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[Guest guest]

I will look into the agave nectar and stevia.

I don't eat seafood of ANY kind.

I am only doing this for three weeks till I go on vacation.

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[Guest guest]

I will be eating veggies all along. what about air popped pop corn? Is that

OK?

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[Guest guest]

I am going to have to eat veggies and fruits. What else can I eat? I will

go crazy! I am looking up low glycemic veggies and fruits

What diet to you use? Someone said they lost 40 lbs in 1 month. Can't

remember who

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[Guest guest]

Roni,

What kind of proteins and fats did you eat?

I am guessing you did not eat any vegetables or fruits the first week.

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[Guest guest]

You can do it on that regimen with no sweat. I lost

forty pounds in 4 months on that same diet. If you

feel snacky in the evening caffeine free tea with

lemon and sweetener, and ice is very refreshing and

is " free " on your diet. (Caffeine is a no no) You can also

take very fresh iceberg lettuce (very crunchy), break it up into

small pieces, sprinkle with a bit of beef bullion (the scoopable

kind) and toss.

I used to eat this in front of the tv, and was very happy.

Also you can eat cold or hot roast chicken or turkey

or chicken or egg salad in a lettuce leaf. A hard boiled

egg.....I'm sure you'll think of other snacks. It's actually

a very easy to follow diet. Just eat what you want of

the allowed foods. Keep to the low fat kinds of meat.

Have a ball. Let us know how you do.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

I now so want a cookie! Thanks Topper.

I have started a new eating regiment. I am going on Vacation in 22 days and

would like to attempt to loose 10 lbs. People all think I am crazy when I

tell them that, but I know I need to loose it. I have a bit extra in the mid

section and now that I am on meds and getting back to the gym I am going to

eat healthy till I go on vacation. No sugar, no salt, no pastas, etc. Only

Meats, fruits and veggies......I AM AN EATING MACHINE so this will be a

challenge for me! Please send me your good thoughts that I can follow thru! I

want to feel good for my cruise!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

Oh NO! No artificial sweeteners!!

cw

-- Re: My new " diet "

Thanks Roni, for the suggestions! I will try some of them.

I don't do caffeine any more so no worries there. The lettuce and bullion

actually sounds good. I should get some Crystal Lite or something similar

and

make pop sickles!

Any other fun suggestions from others are welcome!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

Aspertame and Nutri-sweet very very very bad!! Seriously! If you have to have

something sweet, get some agave nectar or stevia. Akins type diets are not good

for the kidneys or colon, trust me, I did it for about 1 year, and it messed me

up bigtime!!

I would encourage you if you are going to eat meat, eat wild salmon and

organic free range eggs.

Blessings,

Crystal <sweetnwright@...> wrote:

Oh NO! No artificial sweeteners!!

cw

-- Re: My new " diet "

Thanks Roni, for the suggestions! I will try some of them.

I don't do caffeine any more so no worries there. The lettuce and bullion

actually sounds good. I should get some Crystal Lite or something similar

and

make pop sickles!

Any other fun suggestions from others are welcome!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

That's o.k, nobody has to use what they don't want

to use. :-)

Roni

Crystal <sweetnwright@...> wrote:

Oh NO! No artificial sweeteners!!

cw

-- Re: My new " diet "

Thanks Roni, for the suggestions! I will try some of them.

I don't do caffeine any more so no worries there. The lettuce and bullion

actually sounds good. I should get some Crystal Lite or something similar

and

make pop sickles!

Any other fun suggestions from others are welcome!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

Stevia is fine, as is anything that doesn't have carbs. This is a limited

time diet, and won't do any harm for the three weeks. Then vegetables

can be added and some lower glycemic fruit.

Roni

and Irwin <familyirwin@...> wrote:

Aspertame and Nutri-sweet very very very bad!! Seriously! If you have

to have something sweet, get some agave nectar or stevia. Akins type diets are

not good for the kidneys or colon, trust me, I did it for about 1 year, and it

messed me up bigtime!!

I would encourage you if you are going to eat meat, eat wild salmon and organic

free range eggs.

Blessings,

Crystal <sweetnwright@...> wrote:

Oh NO! No artificial sweeteners!!

cw

-- Re: My new " diet "

Thanks Roni, for the suggestions! I will try some of them.

I don't do caffeine any more so no worries there. The lettuce and bullion

actually sounds good. I should get some Crystal Lite or something similar

and

make pop sickles!

Any other fun suggestions from others are welcome!

AJ

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[Guest guest]

I understand. Blessings on your healing journey, and perhaps a cleanse will

help you a lot too. www.ariseandshine.com or www.modernmanna.org

have fun on your trip!!

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

I will look into the agave nectar and stevia.

I don't eat seafood of ANY kind.

I am only doing this for three weeks till I go on vacation.

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[Guest guest]

No that is definitely a carb. The definition of a carbohydrate is anything that

grows,

that includes grains, veggies, fruits, sugar (in all it's forms) and anything

made from

these things.

My son uses a natural sweetener called xylitol. You might like to try that. As

for lemonade

squeezing a few lemons and adding water and sweetener to taste would be fine.

Just don't

drink a barrel a day. LOL

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

I will be eating veggies all along. what about air popped pop corn? Is

that

OK?

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[Guest guest]

It was me. I lost 40 lbs in a month. First two weeks nothing but protein and

some fat,

but I kept the fat as low as I could. I also ate the lettuce with bullion for

a snack and

the iced decaf tea or the lemonade you wanted to use too. The ice pops are a

good

idea. Decaf coffee with a smidgeon of cream (not milk) works for a popsicle

too.

After that I added about 7 grams of carbs (veggies, or fruit) per day per

week. Next week

14 grams, next week 21 grams and next week 28 grams. I kept up this pattern

till I reached

about 42 grams, and stopped losing. Then went back to 35 grams per day and

didn't lose

or gain. Everybody has a different set point for the carbs. You will have to

find your own.

It would help you to buy a carb counting book. Any bookstore should have one.

By the

way, Splenda is made from sugar, but has one altered molecule so that it

doesn't act

like a carb. It measures the same as sugar, is readily available in food

markets, but I find I don't need as much at all.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

I am going to have to eat veggies and fruits. What else can I eat? I

will

go crazy! I am looking up low glycemic veggies and fruits

What diet to you use? Someone said they lost 40 lbs in 1 month. Can't

remember who

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[Guest guest]

I think it is awesome that you had success with that much weightloss, but I am

not a fan of splenda either. Here is a really great article about it. Stevia

is really the best bet, or even agave nectar.

http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm

Blessings,

Roni Molin <matchermaam@...> wrote:

It was me. I lost 40 lbs in a month. First two weeks nothing but

protein and some fat,

but I kept the fat as low as I could. I also ate the lettuce with bullion for a

snack and

the iced decaf tea or the lemonade you wanted to use too. The ice pops are a

good

idea. Decaf coffee with a smidgeon of cream (not milk) works for a popsicle too.

After that I added about 7 grams of carbs (veggies, or fruit) per day per week.

Next week

14 grams, next week 21 grams and next week 28 grams. I kept up this pattern till

I reached

about 42 grams, and stopped losing. Then went back to 35 grams per day and

didn't lose

or gain. Everybody has a different set point for the carbs. You will have to

find your own.

It would help you to buy a carb counting book. Any bookstore should have one. By

the

way, Splenda is made from sugar, but has one altered molecule so that it doesn't

act

like a carb. It measures the same as sugar, is readily available in food

markets, but I find I don't need as much at all.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

I am going to have to eat veggies and fruits. What else can I eat? I will

go crazy! I am looking up low glycemic veggies and fruits

What diet to you use? Someone said they lost 40 lbs in 1 month. Can't

remember who

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[Guest guest]

No it's not a good idea. Our ancestors didn't ingest poisons like that. It

is a known carcinogen. The people over at Splenda will begin a trial in

January for telling us fine folks that their product is made from sugar.

Anyway, here is an article.

Under regular FDA guidelines, when a

New chemical designed for human consumption is

Invented in the United States it normally takes a

Long time to get from the laboratory to the kitchen

Table. Under most circumstances these chemicals

Are tested extensively on laboratory animals and

Then tested on human subjects before they are ever

Allowed to be manufactured and sold for human

Use. If the chemicals are found to be reasonably

Safe (“ reasonably safe” meaning that they are

Found to cause cancer in less than three (3) in one

Million people) it is allowed to be marketed for

Human consumption. Chemicals that are not shown

To be safe for human use are not supposed to earn

FDA approval. These products must go back to the

Laboratory for further research and development,

Which is a very costly venture for the manufacturer.

If the chemical is found to be hazardous to ones

Health after it has been authorized for marketing,

The chemicals are supposed to be pulled from the

Market, as was the case for Red Dye #19. If the

Product is not recalled, a warning label must be

Attached, as is the case of saccharine. NutraSweet,

Touted as the most tested product in the world, has

Managed to beat this system. Unknown to the

General public, the company that manufactures

Aspartame has been accused of providing falsified

Test results to the FDA and even unethical deal

Making with prosecutors from the United States

Attorney General’s office, All the while, reports of

Adverse patient reactions including headaches,

Memory loss and seizures, and even confirmed

Death continue to mount while these reports are

Being kept from the general public.

Investigations into the early stages of

Aspartame testing for human consumption reveals

That serious questions regarding its safety began to

Surface as early as 1970. As much as twenty-six

Years ago, top researchers for Searle laboratories

Addressed their genuine concerning over safety

Questions discovered while studying this chemical.

Their initial concern revolved around the fact that

They discovered a complete absence of legitimate

Study on the possible toxic effect aspartame could

Have on the human body. They also learned that no

Research was conducted on the possible toxic

Effects of the by-products of aspartame metabolism

In the body.

For example, unknown to most

NutraSweet consumers, aspartame breaks down in

The body into its component chemicals, including

Methanol, aspartic acid, phenylalanine and a little

Known chemical called diketopiperazine (DKP). 2

Each of these component parts is in itself a known

Toxin. Apparently, this fact was not made

Completely clear by those won originally sought to

Gain aspartame’s approval. Baine, associate

Director U.S. GAO stated that methyl alcohol was

Not even included in the initial description of

Aspartame provided by Searle when the company

Applied for FDA approval.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol,

Has caused blindness in countless alcoholics. It is

Often used as a paint thinner and industrial cleaner.

When methanol is metabolized by the body, it is

Broken down into formaldehyde (yes, just like

Embalming fluid) and formic acid. STEDMANS

Medical Dictionary describes methanol as “a toxic,

Mobile liquid used as an industrial solvent,

Antifreeze and in chemical manufacture; ingestion

May result in severe acidosis, visual impairment

And other effects of the central nervous system.” 3

The Environmental Protection agency includes

Methanol in their Community Right To Know List

Which is a list of toxic chemicals that must be

Clearly identified on manufacturers labels when

Certain hazardous chemicals are used in a product.

Amazingly however, methanol is not even

Mentioned on any of the labels of products

Containing aspartame. 4 Effects in the body from

Human consumption of methanol include lethargy,

Fainting, headache, nausea and vomiting, blindness,

Cough, breathing difficulties, and other vision

Problems. Methanol has been shown to cause birth

Defects in developing fetuses, as well as other

Reproductive defects. According to the Sax’s

Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials,

The “main toxic effect [of methanol] is exerted upon

The nervous system, particularly the optic nerve,

And possibly the retinae which can progress to

Permanent blindness. Once absorbed, methanol is

Only very slowly eliminated. Coma resulting from

Massive exposures may last as long as 2-4 days.

The products formed in the body by its oxidation

Are formaldehyde and formic acid, both of which

Are toxic. Because of its slow elimination,

Methanol should be regarded as a cumulative

Poison. Though single exposure to methanol may

Cause no harmful effect, daily exposure may result

In the accumulation of sufficient methanol in the

Body to cause illness. Death from ingestion of less

Than 30 ml has been reported”.5 To bring things

Into perspective, just one little blue packet of

NutraSweet, (1 gram) breaks down into 100 mg of

Methanol. Researchers have shown that a child

Who consumes 700 mg of aspartame (or less than _

of one little blue packet) would be ingesting almost

10 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA’s) recommended daily limit of methanol

consumption.6 The results can be worse if the

product has been exposed to heat or left for a long

time on the shelf because these factors promote the

3

breakdown of aspartame into its toxic components.

Considering these facts, researchers are concerned

that when high consumption levels combined with

aspartame’s unstable shelf life, methanol can easily

reach toxic levels in the systems of the millions of

people who consume this product.7,8

Additional little-known facts concerning

NutraSweet are as follows: Aspartic acid, a

component of aspartame, is a known neurotoxin

and an active part of the poison administered by ant

stings. According to Dr. Olney this byproduct

of aspartame caused holes to develop in the

brains of lab animals fed the chemical. The

researcher also documented that the chemical

caused chromosomal damage which did not

become evident until the animals reproduced and

their genetic expression was evident.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid or a basic element

of protein. Phenylalanine is an amino acid or a

basic element of protein. Phenylketonuria is a

genetic disorder in which the person is unable to

metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. When

blood levels of this amino acid rise, the toxicity

causes irreversible brain damage. Because of this,

people with phenylketonuria are particularly at risk

of serious brain damage if they consume just one

liter of aspartame sweetened soda pop in a day; thus

the warning on the label. However, anyone who

overwhelmed his or her body’s ability to

metabolize phenylalanine by consuming large

quantities of aspartame could as well be at risk of

irreversible brain damage in a similar manner. The

toxic effects of this chemical are cumulative and do

not often show up in short term testing.

Phenylalanine can alter normal brain levels of

serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for

emotional brain activity, causing symptoms

including PMS, insomnia, mood swings,

carbohydrate cravings and severe depression.9,10

Despite these hazards, Searle went forward

with the process of receiving the FDA’s approval

for the use of aspartame as an artificial sweetener.11

After only a year and a half, aspartame received an

initial limited FDA approval for its use in dry foods

and chewing gum. This action was granted by

Schmidt, M.D., who was then

commissioner of the FDA.12 Objection by

consumer watchdog groups were voiced

immediately. , a consumer safety

attorney, and Dr. Olney, Research

Psychiatrist at the Washington University School of

Medicine, filed legal objections to aspartame’s

approval. The team presented documented

evidence that animals fed the chemical during

research conducted by Dr. Olney at Searle’s

request, developed brain tumors. The health

advocates demonstrated that aspartame ingestion

could easily cause brain damage and mental

retardation in humans. and Olney requested

that an immediate Public Board of Inquiry on the

safety of aspartame be held by the FDA.13,14 In

response to these objections and because it was

evident that Searle had submitted false information

on their animal research to the FDA in order to win

approval, Commissioner Schmidt of the FDA

appointed a task force to investigate Searle’s animal

studies on aspartame. Six months later the FDA’s

task force report was in. The scathing report stated

that some of Searle’s research practices were too

inappropriate to even be considered legitimate

scientific research. The report went on to say that

Searle’s reports to the FDA were too unreliable to

determine whether the product was safe for human

consumption. Because of these findings, the FDA

initially withheld approval of aspartame. However,

these actions also delayed the Public Board of

Inquiry requested by and Olney.15,16

Finally, in March 1976 the FDA’s task force

presented a completed report to Chairman Schmidt.

The task force reported, “At the heart of the FDA’s

regulatory process is its ability to rely upon the

integrity of the basic safety data submitted by

sponsors of regulated products. Our investigation

clearly demonstrates that, in the G.D. Searle

company, we have no basis for such reliance

now…..Some of our findings suggest an attitude of

disregard for the FDA’s mission of protection of

the public health by selectively reporting the results

of studies in a manner which allays the concerns of

questions of an FDA reviewer.”17 Because of these

damaging findings, the FDA deepened its

investigation of the research studies on aspartame.18

The situation began to look grim for the

G.D. Searle company and for any further FDA

approval of their product. In January 1977, U.S.

Attorney, Sam Skinner was contacted by the Chief

Counsel of the FDA, Merrill. Chief

Counsel Merrill requested that a grand jury be

convened to investigate Searle for “violations of the

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

331(e), and the False Reports to the Government

Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001 for their willful and knowing

failure to make reports to the Food and Drug

Administration required by the Act, 21 U.S.C.

355(I), and for concealing material facts and

making false statements in reports of animal studies

conducted to establish the safety of (aspartame).”

FDA Chief Counsel Merrill specifically cited two

of Searle’s studies. One study was on the effects of

aspartame on monkeys while the other examined

aspartame toxicity in hamsters. In the instance of

the primate study, the FDA task force discovered

4

that some of the monkeys fed aspartame suffered

seizures, a fact that was never reported to the FDA

when Searle applied for the approval of aspartame.

In what many could consider an attempt to cover up

the true cause of the seizures, researchers disposed

of the primates without ever completing autopsies

to determine the true cause of this erratic brain

activity.19

In this investigation, Searle was

represented by a prestigious and powerful Chicago

law firm, Sidley and Austin. Just two weeks after

Merrill’s letter was sent to Skinner, the office of

Sidley and Austin contacted U.S. Attorney Skinner

and requested a private meeting prior to the grand

jury hearing.20 Seven days after their private

meeting, Sidley and Austin offered Skinner a high

paying position within their law firm.21 It is

important to note here that the statute of limitations

for prosecution against the G.D. Searle company

for their alleged violations was rapidly drawing

near.22 Without Skinner’s immediate action, any

legal avenues of prosecution against Searle would

be lost forever. U.S. Attorney Skinner was

personally reminded by the Justice Department of

the urgent need to proceed with the grand jury

investigation due to the statute of limitations.23

Unfortunately, without going forward with the

investigation, Skinner left his post with the U.S.

Attorney General’s office on July 1, 1977, and

joined the law office of Sidley and Austin, not

leaving sufficient time for his successor to launch

the grand jury investigation before it was too late.24

In August 1977, another team of FDA

investigators, under the direction of Jerome

Bressler, investigated Searle’s research practices on

the safety of aspartame and published the Bressler

report. This report cited that during one Searle

animal research program on the safety of

aspartame, which was never reported to the FDA,

98 of the 196 animals died during the study. That

is 50%! The FDA investigators found that rather

than try to discover what killed these lab animals

immediately, Searle researchers did not perform

autopsies until in some instances over one full year

after the animals’ deaths. Obviously, if the

company had any interest in your safety, they

would have immediately searched for a complete

explanation. Food and Drug Administration

investigators also found blatant discrepancies

between the pathology records they were provided

and those maintained in the laboratory. The

number of reported brain lesions and tumors found

during the autopsies in the animals fed aspartame

were markedly different between reports submitted

by Searle to the FDA, and those found in the

research laboratory. Several other inconsistencies

in Searle’s reporting were also discovered. In one

instance, a specific rat was reported to be alive for a

number of days, then the rat died. Later, however,

the same rat in the same study was reported to be

alive again, only to die a second time. At the very

least, this is evident of sloppy research, and

arguably, complete fraud. The FDA investigators

also discovered cases of tumors, uterine growths,

and ovarian growths which were documented on

laboratory held reports, but were not noted in

Searle’s reports to the FDA. When the FDA’s

Center for Food Investigations later conducted

research on aspartame, they found that uterine

polyps or growths, occurred in at least 15% of the

lab animals in their study (a fact consistent with the

reports found in Searle’s labs which were withheld

from the FDA).25

The FDA investigation and the Bressler

report were under the oversight of the FDA Bureau

of Foods, chaired by H.R. who was the

highest ranking recipient of the report. Completely

disregarding the obvious discrepancies outlined in

the Bressler report, announced that he

would consider Searle’s research as acceptable and

apparently authentic for the FDA. In this decision,

considered unconscionable by many,

overrode the discoveries and recommendations of

the Bressler report and recommended further FDA

approval of the controversial chemical. Because of

his position in the FDA, this meant that ’

decision would largely go unchallenged. However,

in an apparent conflict of interest, H.R.

subsequently left the FDA and became the vice

president of the U.S. National Soft Drink

Association.26,27,28,29 The benefits that the approval

of aspartame for use in carbonated beverages would

offer to the soft drink industry made its approval a

multi-billion dollar prospect.

In June 1979, five years after Olney and

’s request, the FDA finally established the

Public Board of Inquiry (PBI). The stated purpose

of this board was to investigate and rule on safety

issues surrounding NutraSweet.30 It was not until

January 1980 that the PBI finally began actually

holding its hearings. However, the evidence

against aspartame was so conclusive, that the PBI

recommended to the FDA that NutraSweet should

not be approved until further investigations have

been conducted on the incidence of brain tumors in

animals. The FDA-organized board further

reported that there was no decisive evidence that

aspartame was at all safe as a food additive.31,32,33

As a result of the board’s report, the FDA

itself began to become more and more skeptical of

the Searle’s reported research. An FDA

commissioner’s panel composed of six high-level

5

scientists was established in order to review the

issues raised by the PBI. After months of study,

three of the six FDA scientists working on the

panel, Dr. Condon, Dr. Satya Dubey, and

Dr. Park, all strongly recommended that

NutraSweet not be approved as a food additive for

human consumption. These research scientists

stated that the tests conducted by Searle were

totally unreliable and were not adequate to

determine the safety of aspartame for human use.34

Once again, the legitimate concerns and

questions raised by the PBI and FDA scientists

were largely ignored by the hierarchy of the FDA.

On July 15, 1981, then FDA commissioner, Dr.

Arthur , overruled the PBI’s motion and

approved NutraSweet for use in dry products.

Completely undermining the efforts of his own

board, stated he believed that aspartame had

been shown to be safe for its proposed uses.

cited additional evidence justifying his position,

including a study which addressed the potential of

aspartame causing cancer. stated that when

other scientists performed lab rat experiments like

Dr. Olney’s, aspartame did not cause brain lesions

or cancer in these rats. (Dr. attributed this

finding to the use of a different strain of rats.) Not

mentioned by Dr. is the fact that studies he

cited were funded and conducted by Ajinomoto, the

Japanese manufacturer of aspartame.35,36,37

By October of 1981, aspartame had been

approved for use as a tabletop sweetener in tablets,

cold breakfast cereals, dry bases for beverages,

instant coffee and tea, gelatins, puddings, fillings,

dairy-product-analog toppings, and flavor enhancer

for chewing gum. Most alarming of these approved

uses are those products which are served hot like

hot chocolate, coffee and tea because heat speeds

the breakdown of aspartame.38,39 Going forward

with its efforts to expand the market of NutraSweet

worldwide, Searle petitioned the FDA to approve

aspartame for use as a sweetener in carbonated

beverage syrup bases and other liquids.40,41

However, at this time even the National Soft Drink

Association (NSDA) was not comfortable with

Searle’s request. In July of 1983, the NSDA urged

the FDA to delay approval of aspartame for

carbonated beverages pending further testing

because temperature had been shown to speed the

breakdown of aspartame. The NSDA’s concern

was due to the fact that when their products were

shipped or stored, it was very difficult to regulate

their temperature. On hot summer days, a bottle of

beverage in the back of a closed semi-trailer sitting

in the sun can become extremely hot. The FDA

responded that they were aware of the problem with

temperature and aspartame, but that the FDA

believed proper shipping and marketing procedures

would “solve” the problems.42

In spite of these objections, on July 8,

1983, NutraSweet was approved for use in

carbonated beverages and carbonated beverage

syrup bases by acting commissioner of the FDA,

Mark Novitch. Approval was granted despite the

knowledge that when aspartame sweetened

beverages are stored for as little as 8 weeks even at

reasonably cool temperatures below 68o F up to

20% of the aspartame would be broken down to its

basic elements. (The “lost” aspartame degrades to

DKP, methanol (methyl alcohol), aspartic acid, and

phenylalanine.)43 According to the 1985

Congressional Record, when aspartame laced

products are stored or heated above 85o for a period

as short as a few weeks (such as when products are

produced, stored, shipped to the marketplace, stored

on shelves, purchased by consumers, left in the

pantry or garage until desired) absolutely no

aspartame is left in the beverage, only its byproducts.

44 Later the same month, the NSDA

drafted an objection to the FDA’s final ruling and

requested a hearing on their objections. The

association believed that Searle failed to provide

reasonable certainty that aspartame and its

degradation products were safe for use in soft

drinks. However, the drafted document was never

filed with the FDA.45 This raises a very important

question: What role, if any, did H.R. play

in this decision?

In September of 1983, FDA

commissioner, Dr. Arthur , who had

previously overruled the FDA Public Board of

Inquiry’s motion to withhold the approval of

aspartame and subsequently approved NutraSweet

for use in dry products, resigned his post. In

another apparent conflict of interest, Dr. then

accepted a position with Burson-Marsteller,

Searle’s public relations firm, as senior scientific

consultant earning what was conservatively

estimated to be $1,000.00 a day.46

In the meantime, concerns over the safety

of aspartame use continued to grow. In the July

1984 issue of Common Cause magazine, Florence

Graves, vice president of publications and editor,

wrote “NutraSweet has been touted as the most

tested food additive in history, but our investigation

reveals such serious flaws in the government’s

approval of NutraSweet that Congress should begin

its own investigation immediately.”47 By this time,

the Center for Disease Control (CDC) had received

almost 600 reported cases of adverse health

complaints from patients after ingesting aspartame,

but because of the overwhelming number, CDC had

only been able to review 213 of the reports.

6

Patients ranged from four-month-old children to

77-year-old senior citizens. More than 25%

reported experiencing similar ailments each time

they consumed a product containing aspartame.

Symptoms varied, however, many reported

disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness,

excitability, memory loss, seizures, suicidal

tendencies, and severe mood swings.

In a special report, the Center for Disease

Control recommended that future aspartame

research focus on the neurological, emotional, and

human behavior problems manifested in their

patients’ complaints.48 Ironically, in complete

conflict with his own organization’s report,

Frederick L. Trowbridge, an executive for the

CDC, added an unsolicited appendix to the report.

In his annex, Trowbridge argued that “Currently

available information based on data with limitations

as described in the report, indicated a wide variety

of complaints that are generally of a mild nature.

Although it may be that certain individuals have an

unusual sensitivity to the product, these data do not

provide evidence for the existence of serious,

widespread, adverse health consequences to the use

of aspartame.”49 How can reports of patient

problems such as aggressive behavior,

disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness,

excitability, memory loss, loss of depth perception,

liver impairment, cardiac arrest, seizures, suicidal

tendencies and sever mood swings be considered

“of a mild nature”?

It is obvious that genuine concern for our

well being is not everyone’s priority. I shudder to

think what motivates someone to ignore the plight

of honest citizens who suffer genuine health

problems when they ingest a product supposedly

harmless to them. The irregularities, conflicts of

interest and apparent fraud have somehow been

largely ignored by the mainstream news media.

Even Editor and Publisher Magazine, a periodical

for journalists, in the July 13, 1985 issue reported

“The Food and Drug Administration NutraSweet

cover up” as one of the most under-reported stories

of the year.50

In October of 1985, the Monsanto

Company purchased the Searle Company for $2.7

billion. Until this time, aspartame was still

manufactured under Searle’s pharmaceutical

operations; not a food related subsidiary. Under the

control of Monsanto, the separation of NutraSweet

from its pharmaceutical origins was accomplished,

giving aspartame a more gentle appearing, less

chemical oriented parent company.51 Despite this,

concern over the adverse effects of aspartame

continued to grow and broaden. In 1986,

R. Verrilli, M.D. and Anne Marie Mueser published

a book for expectant mothers entitled While

Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook. In this book, Dr.

Verrilli and Ms. Mueser raised concern over the

effects aspartame could have on babies growing in

the womb. The team wrote “aspartame is suspected

of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A

fetus may be at risk for these effects…some

researchers have suggested that high doses of

aspartame may be associated with problems

ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to

mental retardation.”52

As time progressed, the justification for

public concern continued to intensify. On February

3, 1986, Senator Metzenbaum released

documents from a congressional investigation of

aspartame and the G.D. Searle Company. In these

documents, the senator discovered that during at

least one Searle research project on primates, every

monkey that received either medium or large doses

of NutraSweet suffered debilitating seizures. This

was just another fact withheld from the FDA,53 yet

the product remains on the market. On July 17,

1986, consumer attorney, , filed a

petition on behalf of the Consumer Nutrition

Institute seeking to force the FDA to reconsider its

regulations regarding safe use of aspartame and to

change the current regulations.54 Three months

later, in a legal maneuver, filed a citizen’s

petition over aspartame citing that use of the

chemical inherently had hazards of seizures and

possible eye damage.55 Without having the

evidence of NutraSweet’s adverse reactions

presented for any evaluation, the FDA denied the

petitions.56 Only one week later, ever pressing in

on its efforts, aspartame was approved by the FDA

for use in concentrated fruit juices and fruit

flavored drinks, frozen popsicles, breath mints, and

teas.57

The very next month the FDA declared

aspartame, provided labeling meets certain

specifications, as safe for use as an inactive

ingredient. By calling aspartame “inactive,” the

FDA completely disregarded all the evidence which

has demonstrated the toxic effects of aspartame and

the apparent cover-up conducted by researchers.58

In a bizarre contradiction, the same month the FDA

labeled aspartame as “an inactive ingredient,” the

FDA published a list of 73 adverse symptoms

associated with aspartame use, which included four

deaths attributed to its use. Two weeks later, in

January 1987, a FDA quarterly report on the

adverse reactions associated with aspartame was

released. This report cited that the FDA had

received 3,133 consumer complaints of adverse

reactions associated with aspartame use. The FDA

publication cited that the majority of the complaints

7

referred to neurological symptoms including sever

headache, dizziness, numbness and loss of

memory.59

On June 18, 1987, the General Accounting

Office (GAO) released a report raising two very

important issues. The report stated that 12 of 69

scientists responding to a GAO poll on the inherent

safety or dangers associated with aspartame use in

humans maintained grave reservations about

aspartame safety. The report also brought Dr.

Olney’s research findings to official government

attention. The report revealed that during an

examination of aspartame animal studies, Dr. Olney

discovered that of the 320 rats experimentally given

aspartame in his program, 12 developed brain

tumors, while he found that no brain tumors had

developed in a group of 120 similar rats not fed

aspartame.60

Members of the FDA’s own staff has even

begun to publicly speak out. Dr.

Verrett, a toxicologist for the FDA and an original

member of the FDA task force charged with the

Searle investigation, was outraged at the

propagation of Searle’s so-called research and the

FDA’s final acceptance of their clearly questionable

reports. In her testimony before U.S. Senate

hearings on aspartame safety, Dr. Verrett stated that

the tests Searle used to win FDA approval for

aspartame were so inappropriate that they should

have been completely discarded. Verrett further

stated the original study results reported to the FDA

by Searle indicated the possibility of birth defects

associated with the chemical’s use, which has not

been thoroughly examined. Dr. Verrett testified

that when her FDA task force was sent to

investigate the integrity of Searle’s research, the

team was specifically directed by FDA supervisors

not to be concerned with the overall validity of that

research. She said the task force found Searle’s

researchers had committed “serious departures from

acceptable toxicological protocols.” Dr. Verrett

testified that any one of the many unscientific

procedures found documented by her team would

completely compromise any genuine research

study, much research on a product destined for

human consumption. The toxicologist further

testified that questions on the safety of human

consumption of aspartame and its breakdown

products are still unanswered. Concerns of the

hazards associated with the breakdown products of

aspartame, which breaks down more rapidly in

liquids and when heated, is the original reason

aspartame was never intended for use in liquids.

Dr. Verrett testified that because of the danger

associated with NutraSweet’s by-products, it was

decided that aspartame was too unstable to be used

in diet drinks and hot liquids such as coffees and

hot chocolates, a fact long forgotten along this

controversial pathway.

While discussing the breakdown products

of aspartame, Dr. Verrett shed some new light on

the effects of primate consumption of DKP.

Previously it had been discovered that female

primates experienced a greater incidence of uterine

tumors with aspartame, however, other studies had

indicated that DKP could also elevate blood

cholesterol, a health risk unacceptable for any

American, where heart disease is the number 1

killer.61

By the beginning of 1988, almost 500

products directly marketed to American consumers

contained the potentially lethal chemical.62

Another FDA quarterly report on adverse reactions

associated with aspartame was released on October

1, 1988. This report stated that the FDA had

received over 4,200 consumer complaints against

aspartame ingestion. As with previous information

of the hazards associated with the use of this

chemical, this report did not generate any action to

truly evaluate aspartame safety risks by the

government office designed to protect your

health.63,64

Numerous specialists in the health field

have spoken out against aspartame use. Of these

are Woodrow Monte, R.D., Ph.D., and director of

the Arizona State University Food Sciences and

Nutrition Laboratory. When I spoke with Dr.

Monte in December of 1994, he expressed his

vehement objection to the methanol content of

aspartame, calling aspartame a “crime against

humanity.” Monte argued that “humans are 100

times more sensitive to methanol than are animals.

This means when studies of the effects of

aspartame on animals are compared for human use,

the adverse effects must be multiplied 100 times.

When a person ingests aspartame, it breaks down

into methanol within one hour of ingestion.

Methanol is formed as soon as aspartame is added

into a solution and continues to form the longer it is

in solution.”

Dr. Monte also expressed concern over the

widespread use of NutraSweet in America because

heat speeds the breakdown of aspartame into

methanol. According to Dr. Monte, who has

conducted countless hours of research and

experimentation of this chemical, if aspartame is

added to a hot beverage, say hot chocolate, coffee

or tea at 80oC (145oF), one half of the amount of

aspartame originally added breaks down into

methanol in less than 10 minutes. Dr. Monte is

very concerned about the FDA’s 1993 approval for

the use of aspartame in baked goods and other

8

heated products, not to mention the products like

flavored coffees and hot chocolates which have

been on the market for several years now.

Reminding me that aspartame began its existence as

a product for a prescription medication, Dr. Monte

stated that he believes aspartame was mislabeled

from the beginning. “Aspartame is a drug, not a

food additive,” he informed me. “One hundred

million people, from pregnant women to little

babies to the elderly, are consuming this stuff in

megadoses. This product is being consumed more

than it ever would if it were labeled as a drug, like

it was originally intended to be.”65

Dr. Monte is not the only one to be

concerned. In fact, the proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of

America stated that aspartame should not be used

as a sweetener when the product will be exposed to

elevated temperatures or acidic ph.66 (Diet cola is

acidic by pH and will eat the corrosion from the

terminal of a car battery.)

Despite the reassuring claims the makers

of NutraSweet provide, researchers Ralph Walton,

M.D., Hudak, Ph.D., and Ruth J. Green-

Waite experienced a great deal of difficulty in their

experiment on the safety of aspartame. Recently

this team conducted a research study of the

problems associated with the ingestion of

aspartame on people with mood disorders. Their

study was admittedly small, including a total of 13

subjects (8 test subjects and 5 controls), however,

the results were dramatic. All of the test subjects

suffered from depression. The control group

consisted of hospital employees, including the

hospital administrator.

For the experiment, the hospital’s

pharmacy prepared capsules of aspartame for some

participants and sugar placebos for others. The

amount of aspartame used was equivalent to 10 to

12 cans of diet soda. Some would say this is an

extreme quantity, however, it has been my

experience that many soft drink users can easily

consume a two-liter bottle daily, if not more. The

results of the study were shocking. According to

Dr. Walton, the team’s research was halted after

only 20 days because the symptoms of those

receiving the aspartame were so severe, they could

not ethically continue. Despite the abbreviation of

the study, the researchers found that patients taking

aspartame suffered a dramatic increase of

headaches and that people who were dealing with

symptoms of depression or emotional issues

suffered a significant increase in their symptoms.

The research team concluded those individuals with

mood disorders; depression or other emotional

problems should be discouraged from using

aspartame. It is interesting to note that when the

researchers approached the manufacturers of

aspartame to purchase samples for their experiment,

NutraSweet refused to sell them their product.

Perhaps the people at NutraSweet already knew

what these researchers soon found out.67

While Dr. R. Walton was chief of

psychiatry at New York’s town Hospital, he

treated a 54-year-old female who had suffered a

grand mal seizure with no prior history of seizure

activity. Following the seizure, the patient’s

behavior became bizarre and uncharacteristic. Dr.

Walton could find no clinical reason for the

patient’s mental status change, and began to

question her on any changes she may have

experienced in her daily lifestyle. It appeared that

the woman generally drank about a gallon of sugar

sweetened tea daily for years. However, shortly

before her seizure she had replaced the sugar in her

tea with NutraSweet in order to lose some weight.

Dr. Walton advised his patient to refrain from using

the chemical product and within a very short period

of time, she became like her old self again. Today,

Dr. Walton does not trust the research Searle

produced to win FDA approval. The doctor stated,

“I know it causes seizures. I’m convinced also that

it definitely causes behavioral changes. I’m very

angry that this substance is on the market. I

personally question the reliability and validity of

any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company.”68

In fact, several studies have shown that

aspartame can decrease the brain’s ability to control

erratic brain wave activities which cause seizures.

Laboratory studies showed that animals fed

aspartame demonstrated increased seizure

susceptibility. Simply put, when the lab animals

were given aspartame, a much smaller stimulus

would evoke a seizure than was the case when the

animals were not given the chemical. In one of

these studies, a particular drug was given to the lab

animals, which is known to cause seizures. This

was so that a threshold or minimum dose that

would cause the animal to go into a seizure could

be measured. Following these measurements, the

animals were fed aspartame and then again given

the seizure causing medication. Amazingly, after

aspartame ingestion, rats began having seizures

when they were given only _ the original threshold

measure of the drug.69 Pinto, et al. (see end note),

demonstrated that aspartame ingestion actually

could alter the neurotransmitter (brain chemicals)

knows to protect against seizures. In his study,

Pinto calculated the levels of brain

neurotransmitters prior to and after aspartame

consumption and found once again that aspartame

9

ingestion in rats significantly increased their seizure

threshold.70

An internal medicine physician practicing

in the state of Florida, Dr. H.J. , produced a

work reporting several cases of individuals who had

been adversely affected by consuming aspartame.

Dr. described one horrible incident where a

college honor student was irreversibly debilitated

due to destruction left in the wake of aspartame use.

In this case history, Dr. told the story of

how this 18-year-old college student sought his

treatment in 1986 because of “profound intellectual

deterioration.” According to Dr. , the

patient was previously an outstanding student at a

major university, a skilled typist and a pianist.

However, her skills had rapidly declined and she

had suffered a loss of 20 IQ points by the time of

her first visit to his office. She went to the doctor

complaining of severe headaches, inability to sleep

restfully, suicidal depression and an itching in the

genital region. She also suffered a burning

sensation when she urinated, a dramatic change in

her personality, stomach pain and nausea. The

female patient had stopped having monthly periods

and experienced an ironic 15-pound weight gain

while dieting.

Dr. immediately began a battery

of extensive physical, blood and neurological tests

on the woman. Following this exhaustive array of

tests, the doctor could not find any patterns

consistent with a known form of organic brain

problem or schizophrenia. The patient’s problems

fit no known scenario or normal pattern of disease,

which at first baffled Dr. . Upon observing

the patient, Dr. noted that she became

drowsy after she drank a diet soda with aspartame.

Upon investigation, the patient revealed that she

consumed a large quantity of diet soda and had

done so for a period of time. At that point, the

physician advised his patient to avoid aspartame

products completely. Following abstinence from

NutraSweet laced products, the patient was also

advised to follow a diet rich in complex

carbohydrates and with few refined sugars to

prevent fluctuations in her blood glucose.

According to Dr. , avoidance of aspartame

relieved her symptoms, but the apparent brain

damage remained. Ultimately, this patient had to

be placed in a half-way type program for the

mentally challenged.71

In August of 1987, Stoddard

organized The Aspartame Consumer Safety

Network. Ms. Stoddard’s efforts were the direct

result of her personal debilitating experience after

consuming products made with NutraSweet. Ms.

Stoddard noticed that her general health began to

decline in 1984 after she decided she needed to go

on a diet. In her writings, Ms. Stoddard articulates

how she began to experience dozens of strange

symptoms that she had never felt before, including

blurred vision, depression, ringing in her ears,

muscle tremors, weakness in her arms and legs with

cramping of those muscles, a nervous type twitch in

her body, congested ears, sores on her skin, sinus

congestion, joint pains, and even a loss in her

hearing. Stoddard emphatically states that she did

not have symptoms prior to starting a diet to shed

some unwanted weight. It was during this diet she

began using diet products that contained aspartame

on a regular basis for the first time. While her diet

progressed, she continued to use more and more

diet products containing the chemical and observed

that her symptoms became worse. Ms. Stoddard

sought medical help, but received no beneficial

advice or relief. Eventually, Stoddard began

to look into her diet for a clue. After ruling out

other sources, she realized that her symptoms began

shortly after beginning her diet. She began to

suspect that the products she consumed containing

aspartame were the roots of her health problems.

On that hunch, she decided to eliminate NutraSweet

from her diet completely and reported that she

began to feel better immediately. Unfortunately, it

took six months for all of her symptoms to

completely recede. During her recovery, Ms.

Stoddard unknowingly ate a product that used

aspartame as a sweetener and she reported that her

symptoms returned, proving to her that aspartame

was at the root of her troubles. In 1987,

Stoddard formed the Aspartame Consumer Safety

Network to help others afflicted with aspartame

sensitivity problems.72

Currently Ms. Stoddard focuses much of

her attention on pilots and the aviation industry in

general. “I shudder to think of what would happen

if just one of our airline pilots suffered a seizure

while in the cockpit,” Ms. Stoddard stated at a

recent meeting. “I am receiving literally hundreds

of calls from pilots who have either lost their flight

status due to symptoms, especially seizures, from

consuming NutraSweet, or who have experienced

sever reactions but have been able to cover up their

problems from FAA physicians. Countless pilots

have told me personally of nearly disastrous events

that occurred while flying under the influence of

aspartame.” The July issue of General Aviation

News headlines read, “Anecdotal reactions to

artificial sweeteners are grounding some pilots, but

FDA can’t help—it approved aspartame as a food,

not a drug.”73 It appears that numerous pilots have

experienced seizures and other bizarre health

changes as a result of consuming beverages

10

sweetened with NutraSweet. Once a pilot has any

type of a seizure he or she is usually grounded for

life and their career is over. The U.S. military has

begun to express genuine concern over the issue of

NutraSweet and its pilots. Scientists at the U.S.

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) have

examined the research and papers written on

NutraSweet since 1970 and warn that consuming

aspartame may lead to blood pressure instability

and disturbances in visual perception. A

spokesperson for AFIP expressed grave concern for

pilots. When a pilot experiences any difficulties

with visual perception while in the cockpit, much

less seizures, the results could be a national

tragedy.74 The official Air Force safety magazine

Flying Safety and the Navy’s Navy Physiology

have both published warnings to their pilots to

refrain from using the chemical. Perhaps one of the

most frightening circumstantial events surrounding

aspartame and flight safety came from the voice

recorder onboard USAir Flight 427 which crashed

near Pittsburgh International Airport on September

8, 1994, killing all 132 people on board.

Conversation in the cockpit was quite normal until

the pilot, Capt. Germano ordered a beverage.

According to the Associated Press, the infamous

black box recorded that Capt. Germano consumed a

national brand diet soft drink just 10 minutes before

the crash. Other pilots have reported having

seizures while in flight following their use of diet

sodas, narrowly escaping the same fate. We are

only left to speculate what role aspartame played in

this tragic event, if any. However, according to

FAA investigators, the aircraft itself was not to

blame in the crash.

Another frightening correlation is the

relationship of the introduction of NutraSweet to

the American public and the surge in incidence of

human brain tumors. In the Journal of

Advancement in Medicine, scientists and

researchers have cited that according to National

Cancer Institute records, there has been a dramatic

rise in the incidence of brain tumors in the United

States beginning in 1985, just two years after

NutraSweet became available in diet sodas. During

that time the incidence of these brain tumors

increased 60%! And the rise has continued every

year since that time. Researchers also point to

aspartame in some cases of Alzheimer’s Disease.

On Call, a medical society journal, draws attention

to the amino acids in aspartame and their relation to

the amino acids used as neurotransmitters in the

brain. The article states that the phenylalanine,

aspartic acid, methanol and metabolites have been

shown to “alter binding of excitatory amino acids to

neuronal membranes and dysfunction of amino

acid-derived neurotransmitters.” The authors

continue that “these findings raise concern as to

whether aspartame might initiate or aggravate

Alzheimer’s Disease.”75

The years that have followed the release of

this toxic substance on the American population

have been met with literally thousands of consumer

complaints of adverse health effects associated with

consumption of products containing aspartame. In

February of 1994, the Department of Health and

Human Services Report on Adverse Reactions

Attributed to Aspartame for 1993, reported 6,888

consumer complaints, including 649 reported by the

Centers for Disease Control and another 1,305

reported by the FDA. Currently, aspartame

accounts for over 75% of all the complaints in

the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System. Yet,

the use of this product grows every day and your

FDA does nothing.

With all the controversy aspartame and its

marketed product, NutraSweet, have generated, I

am truly startled that it has remained on our store

shelves. I am very dismayed that those government

agencies we have trusted to protect us have done so

little. The unquestionable corruption surrounding

the approval and marketing of aspartame nauseates

me. What is more alarming is a question ringing in

the back of my mind: If aspartame made it to our

store shelves with this much confirmed negative

research, what other dangerous products is our

government deceiving us about?

[Guest guest]

Very lean meat,(trimmed all visible fat), poultry (no skin, trimmed fat), fish,

eggs,

low fat cheeses, low fat (no trans fat margarine), low fat mayo.

One of the tricks I used was to make veal or chicken or fish cutlets and bread

them

using parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs. You don't need anything in the

parmesan except maybe a bit of pepper if you like that. It's amazing the crust

it

makes, you'd never know what it was made from when served. I don't know how

much

cooking you do, but Atkins has a cookbook (look for the low fat version) and

there

are many good ideas in it. He even has a way to make bread.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

Roni,

What kind of proteins and fats did you eat?

I am guessing you did not eat any vegetables or fruits the first week.

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

I am aware of the problems with aspartame, and never really used it. I tasted it

once and didn't like it. Splenda IS sugar with one molecule either left out or

changed,

I forget which. Stevia is good as is xylitol.

Roni

Crystal <sweetnwright@...> wrote:

No it's not a good idea. Our ancestors didn't ingest poisons like

that. It

is a known carcinogen. The people over at Splenda will begin a trial in

January for telling us fine folks that their product is made from sugar.

Anyway, here is an article.

Under regular FDA guidelines, when a

New chemical designed for human consumption is

Invented in the United States it normally takes a

Long time to get from the laboratory to the kitchen

Table. Under most circumstances these chemicals

Are tested extensively on laboratory animals and

Then tested on human subjects before they are ever

Allowed to be manufactured and sold for human

Use. If the chemicals are found to be reasonably

Safe (“ reasonably safe” meaning that they are

Found to cause cancer in less than three (3) in one

Million people) it is allowed to be marketed for

Human consumption. Chemicals that are not shown

To be safe for human use are not supposed to earn

FDA approval. These products must go back to the

Laboratory for further research and development,

Which is a very costly venture for the manufacturer.

If the chemical is found to be hazardous to ones

Health after it has been authorized for marketing,

The chemicals are supposed to be pulled from the

Market, as was the case for Red Dye #19. If the

Product is not recalled, a warning label must be

Attached, as is the case of saccharine. NutraSweet,

Touted as the most tested product in the world, has

Managed to beat this system. Unknown to the

General public, the company that manufactures

Aspartame has been accused of providing falsified

Test results to the FDA and even unethical deal

Making with prosecutors from the United States

Attorney General’s office, All the while, reports of

Adverse patient reactions including headaches,

Memory loss and seizures, and even confirmed

Death continue to mount while these reports are

Being kept from the general public.

Investigations into the early stages of

Aspartame testing for human consumption reveals

That serious questions regarding its safety began to

Surface as early as 1970. As much as twenty-six

Years ago, top researchers for Searle laboratories

Addressed their genuine concerning over safety

Questions discovered while studying this chemical.

Their initial concern revolved around the fact that

They discovered a complete absence of legitimate

Study on the possible toxic effect aspartame could

Have on the human body. They also learned that no

Research was conducted on the possible toxic

Effects of the by-products of aspartame metabolism

In the body.

For example, unknown to most

NutraSweet consumers, aspartame breaks down in

The body into its component chemicals, including

Methanol, aspartic acid, phenylalanine and a little

Known chemical called diketopiperazine (DKP). 2

Each of these component parts is in itself a known

Toxin. Apparently, this fact was not made

Completely clear by those won originally sought to

Gain aspartame’s approval. Baine, associate

Director U.S. GAO stated that methyl alcohol was

Not even included in the initial description of

Aspartame provided by Searle when the company

Applied for FDA approval.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol,

Has caused blindness in countless alcoholics. It is

Often used as a paint thinner and industrial cleaner.

When methanol is metabolized by the body, it is

Broken down into formaldehyde (yes, just like

Embalming fluid) and formic acid. STEDMANS

Medical Dictionary describes methanol as “a toxic,

Mobile liquid used as an industrial solvent,

Antifreeze and in chemical manufacture; ingestion

May result in severe acidosis, visual impairment

And other effects of the central nervous system.” 3

The Environmental Protection agency includes

Methanol in their Community Right To Know List

Which is a list of toxic chemicals that must be

Clearly identified on manufacturers labels when

Certain hazardous chemicals are used in a product.

Amazingly however, methanol is not even

Mentioned on any of the labels of products

Containing aspartame. 4 Effects in the body from

Human consumption of methanol include lethargy,

Fainting, headache, nausea and vomiting, blindness,

Cough, breathing difficulties, and other vision

Problems. Methanol has been shown to cause birth

Defects in developing fetuses, as well as other

Reproductive defects. According to the Sax’s

Dangerous Properties of Industrial Materials,

The “main toxic effect [of methanol] is exerted upon

The nervous system, particularly the optic nerve,

And possibly the retinae which can progress to

Permanent blindness. Once absorbed, methanol is

Only very slowly eliminated. Coma resulting from

Massive exposures may last as long as 2-4 days.

The products formed in the body by its oxidation

Are formaldehyde and formic acid, both of which

Are toxic. Because of its slow elimination,

Methanol should be regarded as a cumulative

Poison. Though single exposure to methanol may

Cause no harmful effect, daily exposure may result

In the accumulation of sufficient methanol in the

Body to cause illness. Death from ingestion of less

Than 30 ml has been reported”.5 To bring things

Into perspective, just one little blue packet of

NutraSweet, (1 gram) breaks down into 100 mg of

Methanol. Researchers have shown that a child

Who consumes 700 mg of aspartame (or less than _

of one little blue packet) would be ingesting almost

10 times the Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA’s) recommended daily limit of methanol

consumption.6 The results can be worse if the

product has been exposed to heat or left for a long

time on the shelf because these factors promote the

3

breakdown of aspartame into its toxic components.

Considering these facts, researchers are concerned

that when high consumption levels combined with

aspartame’s unstable shelf life, methanol can easily

reach toxic levels in the systems of the millions of

people who consume this product.7,8

Additional little-known facts concerning

NutraSweet are as follows: Aspartic acid, a

component of aspartame, is a known neurotoxin

and an active part of the poison administered by ant

stings. According to Dr. Olney this byproduct

of aspartame caused holes to develop in the

brains of lab animals fed the chemical. The

researcher also documented that the chemical

caused chromosomal damage which did not

become evident until the animals reproduced and

their genetic expression was evident.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid or a basic element

of protein. Phenylalanine is an amino acid or a

basic element of protein. Phenylketonuria is a

genetic disorder in which the person is unable to

metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine. When

blood levels of this amino acid rise, the toxicity

causes irreversible brain damage. Because of this,

people with phenylketonuria are particularly at risk

of serious brain damage if they consume just one

liter of aspartame sweetened soda pop in a day; thus

the warning on the label. However, anyone who

overwhelmed his or her body’s ability to

metabolize phenylalanine by consuming large

quantities of aspartame could as well be at risk of

irreversible brain damage in a similar manner. The

toxic effects of this chemical are cumulative and do

not often show up in short term testing.

Phenylalanine can alter normal brain levels of

serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for

emotional brain activity, causing symptoms

including PMS, insomnia, mood swings,

carbohydrate cravings and severe depression.9,10

Despite these hazards, Searle went forward

with the process of receiving the FDA’s approval

for the use of aspartame as an artificial sweetener.11

After only a year and a half, aspartame received an

initial limited FDA approval for its use in dry foods

and chewing gum. This action was granted by

Schmidt, M.D., who was then

commissioner of the FDA.12 Objection by

consumer watchdog groups were voiced

immediately. , a consumer safety

attorney, and Dr. Olney, Research

Psychiatrist at the Washington University School of

Medicine, filed legal objections to aspartame’s

approval. The team presented documented

evidence that animals fed the chemical during

research conducted by Dr. Olney at Searle’s

request, developed brain tumors. The health

advocates demonstrated that aspartame ingestion

could easily cause brain damage and mental

retardation in humans. and Olney requested

that an immediate Public Board of Inquiry on the

safety of aspartame be held by the FDA.13,14 In

response to these objections and because it was

evident that Searle had submitted false information

on their animal research to the FDA in order to win

approval, Commissioner Schmidt of the FDA

appointed a task force to investigate Searle’s animal

studies on aspartame. Six months later the FDA’s

task force report was in. The scathing report stated

that some of Searle’s research practices were too

inappropriate to even be considered legitimate

scientific research. The report went on to say that

Searle’s reports to the FDA were too unreliable to

determine whether the product was safe for human

consumption. Because of these findings, the FDA

initially withheld approval of aspartame. However,

these actions also delayed the Public Board of

Inquiry requested by and Olney.15,16

Finally, in March 1976 the FDA’s task force

presented a completed report to Chairman Schmidt.

The task force reported, “At the heart of the FDA’s

regulatory process is its ability to rely upon the

integrity of the basic safety data submitted by

sponsors of regulated products. Our investigation

clearly demonstrates that, in the G.D. Searle

company, we have no basis for such reliance

now…..Some of our findings suggest an attitude of

disregard for the FDA’s mission of protection of

the public health by selectively reporting the results

of studies in a manner which allays the concerns of

questions of an FDA reviewer.”17 Because of these

damaging findings, the FDA deepened its

investigation of the research studies on aspartame.18

The situation began to look grim for the

G.D. Searle company and for any further FDA

approval of their product. In January 1977, U.S.

Attorney, Sam Skinner was contacted by the Chief

Counsel of the FDA, Merrill. Chief

Counsel Merrill requested that a grand jury be

convened to investigate Searle for “violations of the

Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C.

331(e), and the False Reports to the Government

Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001 for their willful and knowing

failure to make reports to the Food and Drug

Administration required by the Act, 21 U.S.C.

355(I), and for concealing material facts and

making false statements in reports of animal studies

conducted to establish the safety of (aspartame).”

FDA Chief Counsel Merrill specifically cited two

of Searle’s studies. One study was on the effects of

aspartame on monkeys while the other examined

aspartame toxicity in hamsters. In the instance of

the primate study, the FDA task force discovered

4

that some of the monkeys fed aspartame suffered

seizures, a fact that was never reported to the FDA

when Searle applied for the approval of aspartame.

In what many could consider an attempt to cover up

the true cause of the seizures, researchers disposed

of the primates without ever completing autopsies

to determine the true cause of this erratic brain

activity.19

In this investigation, Searle was

represented by a prestigious and powerful Chicago

law firm, Sidley and Austin. Just two weeks after

Merrill’s letter was sent to Skinner, the office of

Sidley and Austin contacted U.S. Attorney Skinner

and requested a private meeting prior to the grand

jury hearing.20 Seven days after their private

meeting, Sidley and Austin offered Skinner a high

paying position within their law firm.21 It is

important to note here that the statute of limitations

for prosecution against the G.D. Searle company

for their alleged violations was rapidly drawing

near.22 Without Skinner’s immediate action, any

legal avenues of prosecution against Searle would

be lost forever. U.S. Attorney Skinner was

personally reminded by the Justice Department of

the urgent need to proceed with the grand jury

investigation due to the statute of limitations.23

Unfortunately, without going forward with the

investigation, Skinner left his post with the U.S.

Attorney General’s office on July 1, 1977, and

joined the law office of Sidley and Austin, not

leaving sufficient time for his successor to launch

the grand jury investigation before it was too late.24

In August 1977, another team of FDA

investigators, under the direction of Jerome

Bressler, investigated Searle’s research practices on

the safety of aspartame and published the Bressler

report. This report cited that during one Searle

animal research program on the safety of

aspartame, which was never reported to the FDA,

98 of the 196 animals died during the study. That

is 50%! The FDA investigators found that rather

than try to discover what killed these lab animals

immediately, Searle researchers did not perform

autopsies until in some instances over one full year

after the animals’ deaths. Obviously, if the

company had any interest in your safety, they

would have immediately searched for a complete

explanation. Food and Drug Administration

investigators also found blatant discrepancies

between the pathology records they were provided

and those maintained in the laboratory. The

number of reported brain lesions and tumors found

during the autopsies in the animals fed aspartame

were markedly different between reports submitted

by Searle to the FDA, and those found in the

research laboratory. Several other inconsistencies

in Searle’s reporting were also discovered. In one

instance, a specific rat was reported to be alive for a

number of days, then the rat died. Later, however,

the same rat in the same study was reported to be

alive again, only to die a second time. At the very

least, this is evident of sloppy research, and

arguably, complete fraud. The FDA investigators

also discovered cases of tumors, uterine growths,

and ovarian growths which were documented on

laboratory held reports, but were not noted in

Searle’s reports to the FDA. When the FDA’s

Center for Food Investigations later conducted

research on aspartame, they found that uterine

polyps or growths, occurred in at least 15% of the

lab animals in their study (a fact consistent with the

reports found in Searle’s labs which were withheld

from the FDA).25

The FDA investigation and the Bressler

report were under the oversight of the FDA Bureau

of Foods, chaired by H.R. who was the

highest ranking recipient of the report. Completely

disregarding the obvious discrepancies outlined in

the Bressler report, announced that he

would consider Searle’s research as acceptable and

apparently authentic for the FDA. In this decision,

considered unconscionable by many,

overrode the discoveries and recommendations of

the Bressler report and recommended further FDA

approval of the controversial chemical. Because of

his position in the FDA, this meant that ’

decision would largely go unchallenged. However,

in an apparent conflict of interest, H.R.

subsequently left the FDA and became the vice

president of the U.S. National Soft Drink

Association.26,27,28,29 The benefits that the approval

of aspartame for use in carbonated beverages would

offer to the soft drink industry made its approval a

multi-billion dollar prospect.

In June 1979, five years after Olney and

’s request, the FDA finally established the

Public Board of Inquiry (PBI). The stated purpose

of this board was to investigate and rule on safety

issues surrounding NutraSweet.30 It was not until

January 1980 that the PBI finally began actually

holding its hearings. However, the evidence

against aspartame was so conclusive, that the PBI

recommended to the FDA that NutraSweet should

not be approved until further investigations have

been conducted on the incidence of brain tumors in

animals. The FDA-organized board further

reported that there was no decisive evidence that

aspartame was at all safe as a food additive.31,32,33

As a result of the board’s report, the FDA

itself began to become more and more skeptical of

the Searle’s reported research. An FDA

commissioner’s panel composed of six high-level

5

scientists was established in order to review the

issues raised by the PBI. After months of study,

three of the six FDA scientists working on the

panel, Dr. Condon, Dr. Satya Dubey, and

Dr. Park, all strongly recommended that

NutraSweet not be approved as a food additive for

human consumption. These research scientists

stated that the tests conducted by Searle were

totally unreliable and were not adequate to

determine the safety of aspartame for human use.34

Once again, the legitimate concerns and

questions raised by the PBI and FDA scientists

were largely ignored by the hierarchy of the FDA.

On July 15, 1981, then FDA commissioner, Dr.

Arthur , overruled the PBI’s motion and

approved NutraSweet for use in dry products.

Completely undermining the efforts of his own

board, stated he believed that aspartame had

been shown to be safe for its proposed uses.

cited additional evidence justifying his position,

including a study which addressed the potential of

aspartame causing cancer. stated that when

other scientists performed lab rat experiments like

Dr. Olney’s, aspartame did not cause brain lesions

or cancer in these rats. (Dr. attributed this

finding to the use of a different strain of rats.) Not

mentioned by Dr. is the fact that studies he

cited were funded and conducted by Ajinomoto, the

Japanese manufacturer of aspartame.35,36,37

By October of 1981, aspartame had been

approved for use as a tabletop sweetener in tablets,

cold breakfast cereals, dry bases for beverages,

instant coffee and tea, gelatins, puddings, fillings,

dairy-product-analog toppings, and flavor enhancer

for chewing gum. Most alarming of these approved

uses are those products which are served hot like

hot chocolate, coffee and tea because heat speeds

the breakdown of aspartame.38,39 Going forward

with its efforts to expand the market of NutraSweet

worldwide, Searle petitioned the FDA to approve

aspartame for use as a sweetener in carbonated

beverage syrup bases and other liquids.40,41

However, at this time even the National Soft Drink

Association (NSDA) was not comfortable with

Searle’s request. In July of 1983, the NSDA urged

the FDA to delay approval of aspartame for

carbonated beverages pending further testing

because temperature had been shown to speed the

breakdown of aspartame. The NSDA’s concern

was due to the fact that when their products were

shipped or stored, it was very difficult to regulate

their temperature. On hot summer days, a bottle of

beverage in the back of a closed semi-trailer sitting

in the sun can become extremely hot. The FDA

responded that they were aware of the problem with

temperature and aspartame, but that the FDA

believed proper shipping and marketing procedures

would “solve” the problems.42

In spite of these objections, on July 8,

1983, NutraSweet was approved for use in

carbonated beverages and carbonated beverage

syrup bases by acting commissioner of the FDA,

Mark Novitch. Approval was granted despite the

knowledge that when aspartame sweetened

beverages are stored for as little as 8 weeks even at

reasonably cool temperatures below 68o F up to

20% of the aspartame would be broken down to its

basic elements. (The “lost” aspartame degrades to

DKP, methanol (methyl alcohol), aspartic acid, and

phenylalanine.)43 According to the 1985

Congressional Record, when aspartame laced

products are stored or heated above 85o for a period

as short as a few weeks (such as when products are

produced, stored, shipped to the marketplace, stored

on shelves, purchased by consumers, left in the

pantry or garage until desired) absolutely no

aspartame is left in the beverage, only its byproducts.

44 Later the same month, the NSDA

drafted an objection to the FDA’s final ruling and

requested a hearing on their objections. The

association believed that Searle failed to provide

reasonable certainty that aspartame and its

degradation products were safe for use in soft

drinks. However, the drafted document was never

filed with the FDA.45 This raises a very important

question: What role, if any, did H.R. play

in this decision?

In September of 1983, FDA

commissioner, Dr. Arthur , who had

previously overruled the FDA Public Board of

Inquiry’s motion to withhold the approval of

aspartame and subsequently approved NutraSweet

for use in dry products, resigned his post. In

another apparent conflict of interest, Dr. then

accepted a position with Burson-Marsteller,

Searle’s public relations firm, as senior scientific

consultant earning what was conservatively

estimated to be $1,000.00 a day.46

In the meantime, concerns over the safety

of aspartame use continued to grow. In the July

1984 issue of Common Cause magazine, Florence

Graves, vice president of publications and editor,

wrote “NutraSweet has been touted as the most

tested food additive in history, but our investigation

reveals such serious flaws in the government’s

approval of NutraSweet that Congress should begin

its own investigation immediately.”47 By this time,

the Center for Disease Control (CDC) had received

almost 600 reported cases of adverse health

complaints from patients after ingesting aspartame,

but because of the overwhelming number, CDC had

only been able to review 213 of the reports.

6

Patients ranged from four-month-old children to

77-year-old senior citizens. More than 25%

reported experiencing similar ailments each time

they consumed a product containing aspartame.

Symptoms varied, however, many reported

disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness,

excitability, memory loss, seizures, suicidal

tendencies, and severe mood swings.

In a special report, the Center for Disease

Control recommended that future aspartame

research focus on the neurological, emotional, and

human behavior problems manifested in their

patients’ complaints.48 Ironically, in complete

conflict with his own organization’s report,

Frederick L. Trowbridge, an executive for the

CDC, added an unsolicited appendix to the report.

In his annex, Trowbridge argued that “Currently

available information based on data with limitations

as described in the report, indicated a wide variety

of complaints that are generally of a mild nature.

Although it may be that certain individuals have an

unusual sensitivity to the product, these data do not

provide evidence for the existence of serious,

widespread, adverse health consequences to the use

of aspartame.”49 How can reports of patient

problems such as aggressive behavior,

disorientation, hyperactivity, extreme numbness,

excitability, memory loss, loss of depth perception,

liver impairment, cardiac arrest, seizures, suicidal

tendencies and sever mood swings be considered

“of a mild nature”?

It is obvious that genuine concern for our

well being is not everyone’s priority. I shudder to

think what motivates someone to ignore the plight

of honest citizens who suffer genuine health

problems when they ingest a product supposedly

harmless to them. The irregularities, conflicts of

interest and apparent fraud have somehow been

largely ignored by the mainstream news media.

Even Editor and Publisher Magazine, a periodical

for journalists, in the July 13, 1985 issue reported

“The Food and Drug Administration NutraSweet

cover up” as one of the most under-reported stories

of the year.50

In October of 1985, the Monsanto

Company purchased the Searle Company for $2.7

billion. Until this time, aspartame was still

manufactured under Searle’s pharmaceutical

operations; not a food related subsidiary. Under the

control of Monsanto, the separation of NutraSweet

from its pharmaceutical origins was accomplished,

giving aspartame a more gentle appearing, less

chemical oriented parent company.51 Despite this,

concern over the adverse effects of aspartame

continued to grow and broaden. In 1986,

R. Verrilli, M.D. and Anne Marie Mueser published

a book for expectant mothers entitled While

Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook. In this book, Dr.

Verrilli and Ms. Mueser raised concern over the

effects aspartame could have on babies growing in

the womb. The team wrote “aspartame is suspected

of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A

fetus may be at risk for these effects…some

researchers have suggested that high doses of

aspartame may be associated with problems

ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to

mental retardation.”52

As time progressed, the justification for

public concern continued to intensify. On February

3, 1986, Senator Metzenbaum released

documents from a congressional investigation of

aspartame and the G.D. Searle Company. In these

documents, the senator discovered that during at

least one Searle research project on primates, every

monkey that received either medium or large doses

of NutraSweet suffered debilitating seizures. This

was just another fact withheld from the FDA,53 yet

the product remains on the market. On July 17,

1986, consumer attorney, , filed a

petition on behalf of the Consumer Nutrition

Institute seeking to force the FDA to reconsider its

regulations regarding safe use of aspartame and to

change the current regulations.54 Three months

later, in a legal maneuver, filed a citizen’s

petition over aspartame citing that use of the

chemical inherently had hazards of seizures and

possible eye damage.55 Without having the

evidence of NutraSweet’s adverse reactions

presented for any evaluation, the FDA denied the

petitions.56 Only one week later, ever pressing in

on its efforts, aspartame was approved by the FDA

for use in concentrated fruit juices and fruit

flavored drinks, frozen popsicles, breath mints, and

teas.57

The very next month the FDA declared

aspartame, provided labeling meets certain

specifications, as safe for use as an inactive

ingredient. By calling aspartame “inactive,” the

FDA completely disregarded all the evidence which

has demonstrated the toxic effects of aspartame and

the apparent cover-up conducted by researchers.58

In a bizarre contradiction, the same month the FDA

labeled aspartame as “an inactive ingredient,” the

FDA published a list of 73 adverse symptoms

associated with aspartame use, which included four

deaths attributed to its use. Two weeks later, in

January 1987, a FDA quarterly report on the

adverse reactions associated with aspartame was

released. This report cited that the FDA had

received 3,133 consumer complaints of adverse

reactions associated with aspartame use. The FDA

publication cited that the majority of the complaints

7

referred to neurological symptoms including sever

headache, dizziness, numbness and loss of

memory.59

On June 18, 1987, the General Accounting

Office (GAO) released a report raising two very

important issues. The report stated that 12 of 69

scientists responding to a GAO poll on the inherent

safety or dangers associated with aspartame use in

humans maintained grave reservations about

aspartame safety. The report also brought Dr.

Olney’s research findings to official government

attention. The report revealed that during an

examination of aspartame animal studies, Dr. Olney

discovered that of the 320 rats experimentally given

aspartame in his program, 12 developed brain

tumors, while he found that no brain tumors had

developed in a group of 120 similar rats not fed

aspartame.60

Members of the FDA’s own staff has even

begun to publicly speak out. Dr.

Verrett, a toxicologist for the FDA and an original

member of the FDA task force charged with the

Searle investigation, was outraged at the

propagation of Searle’s so-called research and the

FDA’s final acceptance of their clearly questionable

reports. In her testimony before U.S. Senate

hearings on aspartame safety, Dr. Verrett stated that

the tests Searle used to win FDA approval for

aspartame were so inappropriate that they should

have been completely discarded. Verrett further

stated the original study results reported to the FDA

by Searle indicated the possibility of birth defects

associated with the chemical’s use, which has not

been thoroughly examined. Dr. Verrett testified

that when her FDA task force was sent to

investigate the integrity of Searle’s research, the

team was specifically directed by FDA supervisors

not to be concerned with the overall validity of that

research. She said the task force found Searle’s

researchers had committed “serious departures from

acceptable toxicological protocols.” Dr. Verrett

testified that any one of the many unscientific

procedures found documented by her team would

completely compromise any genuine research

study, much research on a product destined for

human consumption. The toxicologist further

testified that questions on the safety of human

consumption of aspartame and its breakdown

products are still unanswered. Concerns of the

hazards associated with the breakdown products of

aspartame, which breaks down more rapidly in

liquids and when heated, is the original reason

aspartame was never intended for use in liquids.

Dr. Verrett testified that because of the danger

associated with NutraSweet’s by-products, it was

decided that aspartame was too unstable to be used

in diet drinks and hot liquids such as coffees and

hot chocolates, a fact long forgotten along this

controversial pathway.

While discussing the breakdown products

of aspartame, Dr. Verrett shed some new light on

the effects of primate consumption of DKP.

Previously it had been discovered that female

primates experienced a greater incidence of uterine

tumors with aspartame, however, other studies had

indicated that DKP could also elevate blood

cholesterol, a health risk unacceptable for any

American, where heart disease is the number 1

killer.61

By the beginning of 1988, almost 500

products directly marketed to American consumers

contained the potentially lethal chemical.62

Another FDA quarterly report on adverse reactions

associated with aspartame was released on October

1, 1988. This report stated that the FDA had

received over 4,200 consumer complaints against

aspartame ingestion. As with previous information

of the hazards associated with the use of this

chemical, this report did not generate any action to

truly evaluate aspartame safety risks by the

government office designed to protect your

health.63,64

Numerous specialists in the health field

have spoken out against aspartame use. Of these

are Woodrow Monte, R.D., Ph.D., and director of

the Arizona State University Food Sciences and

Nutrition Laboratory. When I spoke with Dr.

Monte in December of 1994, he expressed his

vehement objection to the methanol content of

aspartame, calling aspartame a “crime against

humanity.” Monte argued that “humans are 100

times more sensitive to methanol than are animals.

This means when studies of the effects of

aspartame on animals are compared for human use,

the adverse effects must be multiplied 100 times.

When a person ingests aspartame, it breaks down

into methanol within one hour of ingestion.

Methanol is formed as soon as aspartame is added

into a solution and continues to form the longer it is

in solution.”

Dr. Monte also expressed concern over the

widespread use of NutraSweet in America because

heat speeds the breakdown of aspartame into

methanol. According to Dr. Monte, who has

conducted countless hours of research and

experimentation of this chemical, if aspartame is

added to a hot beverage, say hot chocolate, coffee

or tea at 80oC (145oF), one half of the amount of

aspartame originally added breaks down into

methanol in less than 10 minutes. Dr. Monte is

very concerned about the FDA’s 1993 approval for

the use of aspartame in baked goods and other

8

heated products, not to mention the products like

flavored coffees and hot chocolates which have

been on the market for several years now.

Reminding me that aspartame began its existence as

a product for a prescription medication, Dr. Monte

stated that he believes aspartame was mislabeled

from the beginning. “Aspartame is a drug, not a

food additive,” he informed me. “One hundred

million people, from pregnant women to little

babies to the elderly, are consuming this stuff in

megadoses. This product is being consumed more

than it ever would if it were labeled as a drug, like

it was originally intended to be.”65

Dr. Monte is not the only one to be

concerned. In fact, the proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences of the United States of

America stated that aspartame should not be used

as a sweetener when the product will be exposed to

elevated temperatures or acidic ph.66 (Diet cola is

acidic by pH and will eat the corrosion from the

terminal of a car battery.)

Despite the reassuring claims the makers

of NutraSweet provide, researchers Ralph Walton,

M.D., Hudak, Ph.D., and Ruth J. Green-

Waite experienced a great deal of difficulty in their

experiment on the safety of aspartame. Recently

this team conducted a research study of the

problems associated with the ingestion of

aspartame on people with mood disorders. Their

study was admittedly small, including a total of 13

subjects (8 test subjects and 5 controls), however,

the results were dramatic. All of the test subjects

suffered from depression. The control group

consisted of hospital employees, including the

hospital administrator.

For the experiment, the hospital’s

pharmacy prepared capsules of aspartame for some

participants and sugar placebos for others. The

amount of aspartame used was equivalent to 10 to

12 cans of diet soda. Some would say this is an

extreme quantity, however, it has been my

experience that many soft drink users can easily

consume a two-liter bottle daily, if not more. The

results of the study were shocking. According to

Dr. Walton, the team’s research was halted after

only 20 days because the symptoms of those

receiving the aspartame were so severe, they could

not ethically continue. Despite the abbreviation of

the study, the researchers found that patients taking

aspartame suffered a dramatic increase of

headaches and that people who were dealing with

symptoms of depression or emotional issues

suffered a significant increase in their symptoms.

The research team concluded those individuals with

mood disorders; depression or other emotional

problems should be discouraged from using

aspartame. It is interesting to note that when the

researchers approached the manufacturers of

aspartame to purchase samples for their experiment,

NutraSweet refused to sell them their product.

Perhaps the people at NutraSweet already knew

what these researchers soon found out.67

While Dr. R. Walton was chief of

psychiatry at New York’s town Hospital, he

treated a 54-year-old female who had suffered a

grand mal seizure with no prior history of seizure

activity. Following the seizure, the patient’s

behavior became bizarre and uncharacteristic. Dr.

Walton could find no clinical reason for the

patient’s mental status change, and began to

question her on any changes she may have

experienced in her daily lifestyle. It appeared that

the woman generally drank about a gallon of sugar

sweetened tea daily for years. However, shortly

before her seizure she had replaced the sugar in her

tea with NutraSweet in order to lose some weight.

Dr. Walton advised his patient to refrain from using

the chemical product and within a very short period

of time, she became like her old self again. Today,

Dr. Walton does not trust the research Searle

produced to win FDA approval. The doctor stated,

“I know it causes seizures. I’m convinced also that

it definitely causes behavioral changes. I’m very

angry that this substance is on the market. I

personally question the reliability and validity of

any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company.”68

In fact, several studies have shown that

aspartame can decrease the brain’s ability to control

erratic brain wave activities which cause seizures.

Laboratory studies showed that animals fed

aspartame demonstrated increased seizure

susceptibility. Simply put, when the lab animals

were given aspartame, a much smaller stimulus

would evoke a seizure than was the case when the

animals were not given the chemical. In one of

these studies, a particular drug was given to the lab

animals, which is known to cause seizures. This

was so that a threshold or minimum dose that

would cause the animal to go into a seizure could

be measured. Following these measurements, the

animals were fed aspartame and then again given

the seizure causing medication. Amazingly, after

aspartame ingestion, rats began having seizures

when they were given only _ the original threshold

measure of the drug.69 Pinto, et al. (see end note),

demonstrated that aspartame ingestion actually

could alter the neurotransmitter (brain chemicals)

knows to protect against seizures. In his study,

Pinto calculated the levels of brain

neurotransmitters prior to and after aspartame

consumption and found once again that aspartame

9

ingestion in rats significantly increased their seizure

threshold.70

An internal medicine physician practicing

in the state of Florida, Dr. H.J. , produced a

work reporting several cases of individuals who had

been adversely affected by consuming aspartame.

Dr. described one horrible incident where a

college honor student was irreversibly debilitated

due to destruction left in the wake of aspartame use.

In this case history, Dr. told the story of

how this 18-year-old college student sought his

treatment in 1986 because of “profound intellectual

deterioration.” According to Dr. , the

patient was previously an outstanding student at a

major university, a skilled typist and a pianist.

However, her skills had rapidly declined and she

had suffered a loss of 20 IQ points by the time of

her first visit to his office. She went to the doctor

complaining of severe headaches, inability to sleep

restfully, suicidal depression and an itching in the

genital region. She also suffered a burning

sensation when she urinated, a dramatic change in

her personality, stomach pain and nausea. The

female patient had stopped having monthly periods

and experienced an ironic 15-pound weight gain

while dieting.

Dr. immediately began a battery

of extensive physical, blood and neurological tests

on the woman. Following this exhaustive array of

tests, the doctor could not find any patterns

consistent with a known form of organic brain

problem or schizophrenia. The patient’s problems

fit no known scenario or normal pattern of disease,

which at first baffled Dr. . Upon observing

the patient, Dr. noted that she became

drowsy after she drank a diet soda with aspartame.

Upon investigation, the patient revealed that she

consumed a large quantity of diet soda and had

done so for a period of time. At that point, the

physician advised his patient to avoid aspartame

products completely. Following abstinence from

NutraSweet laced products, the patient was also

advised to follow a diet rich in complex

carbohydrates and with few refined sugars to

prevent fluctuations in her blood glucose.

According to Dr. , avoidance of aspartame

relieved her symptoms, but the apparent brain

damage remained. Ultimately, this patient had to

be placed in a half-way type program for the

mentally challenged.71

In August of 1987, Stoddard

organized The Aspartame Consumer Safety

Network. Ms. Stoddard’s efforts were the direct

result of her personal debilitating experience after

consuming products made with NutraSweet. Ms.

Stoddard noticed that her general health began to

decline in 1984 after she decided she needed to go

on a diet. In her writings, Ms. Stoddard articulates

how she began to experience dozens of strange

symptoms that she had never felt before, including

blurred vision, depression, ringing in her ears,

muscle tremors, weakness in her arms and legs with

cramping of those muscles, a nervous type twitch in

her body, congested ears, sores on her skin, sinus

congestion, joint pains, and even a loss in her

hearing. Stoddard emphatically states that she did

not have symptoms prior to starting a diet to shed

some unwanted weight. It was during this diet she

began using diet products that contained aspartame

on a regular basis for the first time. While her diet

progressed, she continued to use more and more

diet products containing the chemical and observed

that her symptoms became worse. Ms. Stoddard

sought medical help, but received no beneficial

advice or relief. Eventually, Stoddard began

to look into her diet for a clue. After ruling out

other sources, she realized that her symptoms began

shortly after beginning her diet. She began to

suspect that the products she consumed containing

aspartame were the roots of her health problems.

On that hunch, she decided to eliminate NutraSweet

from her diet completely and reported that she

began to feel better immediately. Unfortunately, it

took six months for all of her symptoms to

completely recede. During her recovery, Ms.

Stoddard unknowingly ate a product that used

aspartame as a sweetener and she reported that her

symptoms returned, proving to her that aspartame

was at the root of her troubles. In 1987,

Stoddard formed the Aspartame Consumer Safety

Network to help others afflicted with aspartame

sensitivity problems.72

Currently Ms. Stoddard focuses much of

her attention on pilots and the aviation industry in

general. “I shudder to think of what would happen

if just one of our airline pilots suffered a seizure

while in the cockpit,” Ms. Stoddard stated at a

recent meeting. “I am receiving literally hundreds

of calls from pilots who have either lost their flight

status due to symptoms, especially seizures, from

consuming NutraSweet, or who have experienced

sever reactions but have been able to cover up their

problems from FAA physicians. Countless pilots

have told me personally of nearly disastrous events

that occurred while flying under the influence of

aspartame.” The July issue of General Aviation

News headlines read, “Anecdotal reactions to

artificial sweeteners are grounding some pilots, but

FDA can’t help—it approved aspartame as a food,

not a drug.”73 It appears that numerous pilots have

experienced seizures and other bizarre health

changes as a result of consuming beverages

10

sweetened with NutraSweet. Once a pilot has any

type of a seizure he or she is usually grounded for

life and their career is over. The U.S. military has

begun to express genuine concern over the issue of

NutraSweet and its pilots. Scientists at the U.S.

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) have

examined the research and papers written on

NutraSweet since 1970 and warn that consuming

aspartame may lead to blood pressure instability

and disturbances in visual perception. A

spokesperson for AFIP expressed grave concern for

pilots. When a pilot experiences any difficulties

with visual perception while in the cockpit, much

less seizures, the results could be a national

tragedy.74 The official Air Force safety magazine

Flying Safety and the Navy’s Navy Physiology

have both published warnings to their pilots to

refrain from using the chemical. Perhaps one of the

most frightening circumstantial events surrounding

aspartame and flight safety came from the voice

recorder onboard USAir Flight 427 which crashed

near Pittsburgh International Airport on September

8, 1994, killing all 132 people on board.

Conversation in the cockpit was quite normal until

the pilot, Capt. Germano ordered a beverage.

According to the Associated Press, the infamous

black box recorded that Capt. Germano consumed a

national brand diet soft drink just 10 minutes before

the crash. Other pilots have reported having

seizures while in flight following their use of diet

sodas, narrowly escaping the same fate. We are

only left to speculate what role aspartame played in

this tragic event, if any. However, according to

FAA investigators, the aircraft itself was not to

blame in the crash.

Another frightening correlation is the

relationship of the introduction of NutraSweet to

the American public and the surge in incidence of

human brain tumors. In the Journal of

Advancement in Medicine, scientists and

researchers have cited that according to National

Cancer Institute records, there has been a dramatic

rise in the incidence of brain tumors in the United

States beginning in 1985, just two years after

NutraSweet became available in diet sodas. During

that time the incidence of these brain tumors

increased 60%! And the rise has continued every

year since that time. Researchers also point to

aspartame in some cases of Alzheimer’s Disease.

On Call, a medical society journal, draws attention

to the amino acids in aspartame and their relation to

the amino acids used as neurotransmitters in the

brain. The article states that the phenylalanine,

aspartic acid, methanol and metabolites have been

shown to “alter binding of excitatory amino acids to

neuronal membranes and dysfunction of amino

acid-derived neurotransmitters.” The authors

continue that “these findings raise concern as to

whether aspartame might initiate or aggravate

Alzheimer’s Disease.”75

The years that have followed the release of

this toxic substance on the American population

have been met with literally thousands of consumer

complaints of adverse health effects associated with

consumption of products containing aspartame. In

February of 1994, the Department of Health and

Human Services Report on Adverse Reactions

Attributed to Aspartame for 1993, reported 6,888

consumer complaints, including 649 reported by the

Centers for Disease Control and another 1,305

reported by the FDA. Currently, aspartame

accounts for over 75% of all the complaints in

the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System. Yet,

the use of this product grows every day and your

FDA does nothing.

With all the controversy aspartame and its

marketed product, NutraSweet, have generated, I

am truly startled that it has remained on our store

shelves. I am very dismayed that those government

agencies we have trusted to protect us have done so

little. The unquestionable corruption surrounding

the approval and marketing of aspartame nauseates

me. What is more alarming is a question ringing in

the back of my mind: If aspartame made it to our

store shelves with this much confirmed negative

research, what other dangerous products is our

government deceiving us about?

[Guest guest]

Oh, I don't believe in the whole low fat fad either. God didn't make low

fat. Butter is a good fat like olive oil and coconut oil. Use coconut oil

to cook with and olive oil in your salads. www.jordanrubin.com on there

you can take free online courses to learn how you are suppose to eat. They

are very short courses and give a list of good, average and below average

foods. Hope you lose lot's!!!!

crystal

-- Re: My new " diet "

Very lean meat,(trimmed all visible fat), poultry (no skin, trimmed fat),

fish, eggs,

low fat cheeses, low fat (no trans fat margarine), low fat mayo.

One of the tricks I used was to make veal or chicken or fish cutlets and

bread them

using parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs. You don't need anything in

the

parmesan except maybe a bit of pepper if you like that. It's amazing the

crust it

makes, you'd never know what it was made from when served. I don't know how

much

cooking you do, but Atkins has a cookbook (look for the low fat version) and

there

are many good ideas in it. He even has a way to make bread.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

Roni,

What kind of proteins and fats did you eat?

I am guessing you did not eat any vegetables or fruits the first week.

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

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[Guest guest]

This is a special diet, and there will be not too many carbs to mitigate the

fats, so for a couple of weeks the fats can be kept to a minimum. Facts need

to be seen in their particular circumstance, and not everything is for

everybody

all the time.

Roni

Crystal <sweetnwright@...> wrote:

Oh, I don't believe in the whole low fat fad either. God didn't make

low

fat. Butter is a good fat like olive oil and coconut oil. Use coconut oil

to cook with and olive oil in your salads. www.jordanrubin.com on there

you can take free online courses to learn how you are suppose to eat. They

are very short courses and give a list of good, average and below average

foods. Hope you lose lot's!!!!

crystal

-- Re: My new " diet "

Very lean meat,(trimmed all visible fat), poultry (no skin, trimmed fat),

fish, eggs,

low fat cheeses, low fat (no trans fat margarine), low fat mayo.

One of the tricks I used was to make veal or chicken or fish cutlets and

bread them

using parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs. You don't need anything in

the

parmesan except maybe a bit of pepper if you like that. It's amazing the

crust it

makes, you'd never know what it was made from when served. I don't know how

much

cooking you do, but Atkins has a cookbook (look for the low fat version) and

there

are many good ideas in it. He even has a way to make bread.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

Roni,

What kind of proteins and fats did you eat?

I am guessing you did not eat any vegetables or fruits the first week.

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

just take enough iodine and salt and skip the diet.

Gracia

I guess Crystal Lite is not a good idea.....

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

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[Guest guest]

Iodine and salt will not help you to lose weight in 22 days.

Roni

Gracia <circe@...> wrote:

just take enough iodine and salt and skip the diet.

Gracia

I guess Crystal Lite is not a good idea.....

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

honestly, it will. join the iodine group to learn more.

Gracia

Iodine and salt will not help you to lose weight in 22 days.

Roni

Gracia <circe@...> wrote:

just take enough iodine and salt and skip the diet.

Gracia

I guess Crystal Lite is not a good idea.....

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

I am in the iodine group.

I just don't usually post.

Roni

Gracia <circe@...> wrote:

honestly, it will. join the iodine group to learn more.

Gracia

Iodine and salt will not help you to lose weight in 22 days.

Roni

Gracia <circe@...> wrote:

just take enough iodine and salt and skip the diet.

Gracia

I guess Crystal Lite is not a good idea.....

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)

[Guest guest]

Fiber will do the best job when it comes to fats. If you eat a spinach

salad with each meal it will help pull the meat through your system.

cw

-- Re: My new " diet "

Very lean meat,(trimmed all visible fat), poultry (no skin, trimmed fat),

fish, eggs,

low fat cheeses, low fat (no trans fat margarine), low fat mayo.

One of the tricks I used was to make veal or chicken or fish cutlets and

bread them

using parmesan cheese instead of bread crumbs. You don't need anything in

the

parmesan except maybe a bit of pepper if you like that. It's amazing the

crust it

makes, you'd never know what it was made from when served. I don't know how

much

cooking you do, but Atkins has a cookbook (look for the low fat version) and

there

are many good ideas in it. He even has a way to make bread.

Roni

AthleticItaliano@... wrote:

Roni,

What kind of proteins and fats did you eat?

I am guessing you did not eat any vegetables or fruits the first week.

**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes

(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)