Diet Soda and Cardiac Events: Nothing New

15 March
The news continues on how diet drinks are linked to strokes and vascular disorders and this isn't the first time.  A study in Boston and another in Minnesota by Dr. Lyn Steffan have proved these problems.  Dr. Steffan wondered about what it was in diet drinks that caused the problems.   Aspartame triggers an irregular heart rhythm, and interacts with all cardiac medication.  It damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death.  
 
When the Center for Disease Control investigated in the l980's you saw recorded such things as cardiac arrest .  Then they added a summary that contradicted the investigation.  To this day the phony summary remains on the CDC web site but the entire investigation has been stricken.  Find it here: http://www.dorway.com/cdctext.txt

After three decades it has been well established that aspartame causes the above problems.  Melanie Warner who use to be with the New York Times also wrote a report, "Have a Coke and a Stroke".   She investigated aspartame at the time of her story about the Ramazzini Study on aspartame showing it to be a multipotential carcinogen


February 2011
How Aspartame Impacts Your Health -

Effect of Aspartame on the Human Energy Field
Donald C. Stouffer, PhD, D. Kaiser, RN, MBA, CHTP, and J. Stouffer

Healing Touch assessment techniques were used to measure the effect of carbonated beverages with and without aspartame on the solar plexus and sacral areas of 50 healthy people. Initially the areas were open. After consumption of a carbonated beverage with regular sweetening about 1/3 were open, 1/3 blocked and 1/3 closed. After consumption of an aspartame sweetened beverage approximately 1/3 were blocked and 2/3 were closed. They noted a possible explanation as due to carbon dioxide, a human waste product and the methanol in aspartame decomposes into formaldehyde.  Learn more

From my colleague, the tireless Dr Betty Martini 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/09/AR2011020904807_pf.html

This is not the first study to link diet drinks (aspartame) to heart problems or the metabolic syndrome. The reason is very clear. Aspartame notoriously causes an irregular heart rhythm and interacts with ALL cardiac medication. At the same time It damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death. 


Aspartame, commonly known as nutrasweet, is a chemical that stimulates the brain to think the food is sweet. It breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol at a temperature of 86 degrees. (Remember, your stomach is somewhere around 98 degrees.)

Diet Soda has been linked to an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome, high cholesterol, elevated blood glucose levels, osteoporosis, obesity, brain tumours, cancer, and many more health problems, such as birth defects, Parkinson's, seizures, migraine, Cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, stress, insomnia, racing thoughts, mimic diseases like MS, ALS, Lupus, FMS, and can lead to diabetes.

Diet Cola Ingredients: Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate, Citric Acid (Citric Acid and Potassium Benzoate cause a harmful reaction).  So called natural diet drinks are no better.

Aspartame is arguably the number one ingredient to avoid. Headaches are the most common complaint after consuming the artificial sugar. Aspartame can lead to methanol poisoning and should not be ingested by pregnant women or children younger than 7 years old, nor by individuals who are allergic to phenylalanine. Splenda in diet foods can cause calcified kidneys and other health problems. Diet Colas contain about 45 mg of caffeine.

Diets Drinks & Your Kidneys

This is well explained in a report by world famous Doctor H. J. Roberts, M.D., http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_and_arrhythmias.htm
 

Here is the FDA's own report, and notice that change in heart rate is so prevalent its #15 of the 92 symptoms, http://www.mpwhi.com/92_aspartame_symptoms.pdf

Also, note that death is listed. FDA must call it the ultimate symptom! Further the issue of obesity is so relevant that even it has been linked to diet drinks. This study at the University of Texas was reported in 2005.

Wrote Stephen Fox, Mission Possible New Mexico, "I don't know why these idiots act so surprised and say its a chemical mystery. The primary cause for heart disruption comes from the methanol and formaldehyde that aspartame releases. Accordingly I have asked both N.M. senators, Udall and Bingaman, to press FDA Commissioner Hamburg immediately to rescind the FDA approval of aspartame."

Stephen Fox further wrote : "It's absurd that H. J. Roberts, Russell Blaylock and Betty Martini have worked for years to say obviously the same thing, and these guys act like its such a surprise. "

When George Carlin, well known stand up comic died it was noted that he was addicted to Diet Coke. Carlin had several heart attacks and died of heart failure. http://www.rense.com/general82/gcar.htm This article goes over other studies showing the same link.

Notice in the WBAY article: http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=14008426  the comment.

"Diet soda has previously been linked to an increased risk of diabetes, but experts say this is the first time a study found a link between diet soda and heart disease." As the story on George Carlin pointed out this is not the first time. Aspartame can precipitate diabetes, simulates and aggravates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, destroys the optic nerve and causes diabetics to go into convulsions. The free methyl alcohol causes diabetics to lose limbs.

Two Parliamentarians some years ago petitioned the United Nations to track sudden death because they could not understand why people for no reason were dropping dead. Athletes are also dropping dead. Steve Belcher died in West Palm Beach (2003) which prompted Dr. H. J. Roberts to call the medical examiner to ask how many diet drinks he was using. Indeed he was consuming diet pop as we learned later. So what did FDA do? Instead of banning aspartame they banned ephedra, and have refused to allow it back on the market when aspartame was the culprit that took his life. Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D. wrote an Athlete Alert to allow all athletes to have the information and save their lives: http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_msg_scd.htm

Even pilots drop dead from aspartame triggered problems such as myocardial infarction (heart attack)or sudden cardiac death ) and Dr. Russell Blaylock wrote an Aspartame Pilot Alert: http://www.mpwhi.com/pilot_aspartame_alert_with_letters.htm Mission Possible Aviation was started many years ago when Cliff Evans crashed his plane on aspartame and lived to tell about it. Captain Fred Fox who was with American Airlines for 35 years is our representative for aviation safety and himself suffered atrial fibrillation from aspartame.

The FAA's response to pilots dying from aspartame is that the FDA approved it. So what does FDA say since they are the ones who tried to have the manufacturer indicted for fraud and know how bad the studies are. In 2002 I filed a Citizens Petition for ban of aspartame. The FDA has by law 180 days to answer the petition. About a year later they sent me a letter stating they would like to advise me, in accordance with 21 CFR 10:30 (e) (2) (iii), that they had not yet reached a decision on the petition, due to a number of competing priorities. Translation: We have more important things to do, and this is our way of ignoring you. In 2007 I wrote an amendment that aspartame is an imminent health hazard. They only have a week or ten days to answer this one. They ignored it. In 2010 I wrote again, that they had not answered the citizens petition for ban. On January 11, 2011 the FDA answered:

"Lastly, in reference to your previously submitted citizen petition again, we would like to advise you, in accordance with 231 CFR 10.30(e)(2)(iii), that we have not yet reached a decision on your petition, due to a number of competing priorities. However, be advised that your petition and the comments that have been submitted to the docket are currently under active evaluation by our staff. "

So for 9 years the FDA has ignored the petition saying they are too busy to do anything about it. Here is 231 CFR: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=10.30

The FDA ignores and refuses to carry out the law. They speak with forked tongue. At the same time they give you an excuse for not carrying out the law they also say: "Please be assured that the FDA continues to closely monitor scientific literature for information that might indicate potential public health concerns with artificial sweeteners like any regulated food ingredient. Should the need arise; the Agency will take the appropriate action to protect public health." What FDA has really done is put on hold concern for public health by ignoring all these petitions for ban, and the constant flow of research on aspartame showing its a killer. They also know aspartame is a drug and not an additive and interacts with other drugs and vaccines, and there is no warning. Who knows how many deaths have been caused by drug interaction in aspartame consumers.

Stephen Fox also wrote: "The astonished" attitude of journalists to this so-called "discovery" is appalling. They seem more like Rip Van Winkle, waking from a 300 year nap, than true scientific journalists.

"I am grateful to the researchers for driving another nail into the aspartame coffin, but how many more "discoveries" will it take to convince the monolithic FDA to take the obvious step: Rescind aspartame approval."

Indeed the FDA has ignored other citizen petitions for ban such as the one from Dr. Kenneth Stoller. Twelve toxicologists wrote the FDA for ban as well. Consider it was never proven safe which their own toxicologist, Dr. Jacqueline Verrett, told Congress in 1987. It had already been on the market for 6 years. She also said that all studies were built on a foundation of sand and should be thrown out. Dr. Adrian Gross, scientist and FDA toxicologist, also told Congress in 1985 that because of the brain tumors and brain cancer aspartame violated the Delaney Amendment. Further he stated against his own FDA that they should not have been able to set an allowable daily intake. Both of these toxicologists exposed the fact that most of the data used to certify the safety of aspartame have been scientifically proven inadequate, false or wrong, largely by the FDA itself, Dr. Gross' last words to Congress were "And if the FDA violates it's own laws who is left to protect the public." Consider Big Pharma using an unproven drug as a sweetener without having done studies of possible interactions.

In 1985 a bill by Senator Howard Mezenbaum would have put a moratorium on aspartame and have NIH do independent studies of what they were seeing in the population like drug interactions. Today the hands of physicians are tied because so many have no knowledge aspartame is a drug and interacts. Imagine a victim having an aspartame heart attack and his physician doesn't know to ask the patient if he is on aspartame! Worst still some drugs even have aspartame in them. So, a physician could give an aspartame victim a drug that interacts with aspartame or have aspartame in the product.

Even with petitions for ban Ajinomoto is trying to get Advantame approved, another aspartame product, plus they have Neotame on the market.

Until aspartame is recalled its only going to get worse with more heart attacks and strokes, and conditions described in medical texts.

Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum, Founder

Mission Possible International

9270 River Club Parkway

Duluth, Georgia 30097

70 242-2599

Medical Text: Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic,

by H. J. Roberts, M.D. , www.sunsentpress.com

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills by Russell Blaylock, M.D.

www.russellblaylockmd.com

Documentary: Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World, cori@soundandfury.tv

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Posted in: aspartame,diet soda

Higher BMI with Artificial Sweeteners: Obesity Facts

Many studies have shown that artificial sweeteners DO lead to weight gain.  Now this one calls your attention to that chemical powder you add to coffee or tea.  Better try Just Like Sugar.

Obesity Facts. 2010 Dec;3(6):345-52. Epub 2010 Dec 7.

Coffee, Tea and Their Additives: Association with BMI and Waist Circumference.
Bouchard DR, Ross R, Janssen I.

School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada.

Abstract
Objective: The purposes of this study were to perform a detailed analysis how: i) the frequency of coffee/tea consumption and ii) the use of additives in coffee/tea is associated with measures of total and abdominal obesity. Method: 3,823 participants of the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were examined. Obesity was assessed by BMI and waist circumference (WC). Coffee and tea consumption and use of additives were assessed by questionnaire. Results: Cof-fee consumption was not related to BMI or WC in either gender. However, men who drank ≥2 cups of tea per day had lower BMI (25.9 vs. 28.0 kg/m(2)) and WC (95.2 vs. 101.32 cm) values than men who never drank drink tea (p ≤ 0.05). The associations between tea consumption and BMI or WC were no longer significant after adjustment for additive use. Coffee/tea drinkers who used artificial sweeteners had larger (p ≤ 0.05) BMIs than coffee/tea drinkers who did not use sweeteners (28.2 vs. 27.1 kg/m(2) in men, 28.4 vs. 27.1 kg/m(2) in women).

Conclusion: Frequency of coffee/tea consumption was not associated with measures of obesity because additive use explained the association between tea consumption and obesity in men. Artificial sweetener use within coffee/tea was associated with higher BMI.

Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.
PMID: 21196787 [PubMed - in process]

MEDLINE

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Posted in: artificial sweeteners,aspartame,obesity,splenda

Problems with New Sweetener

UPDATE: August 2010
Here's a toxic sweetener you most likely had never heard of, but I would caution you to make sure you do not ingest it:

^{HealthEdge's NaturallySweet} 

This is manufactured by these folks.

Truvia, Purevia, Zevia, Zerose, Zsweet are marketing names for this artificially blended  erythritol and rebiana mix.  Rebiana is a chemically modified form of  stevia, it is NOT pure stevia.

UPDATE 4, Consumer complaints regarding Truvia

UPDATE 3, 23 December 08: A reader comments on Erythritol as not causing her any problems as noted in our researcher's report. Just like all substances, the ingestion of a substance needs to be in the right form, the right amount, et al, and the effect and outcomes are individual. Please realize that our researcher is a former FDA investigator who has an indepth background in the sciences necessary to make such statements. Please note that the artificial sweeteners referred to, Truvia (Cargill) and PureVia(Whole Earth Sweeteners) are manufactured by these agribusness corporations with an extract of stevia (rebiana)and erythritol and are NOT whole leaf stevia or pure(whole leaf)stevia extract.

UPDATE 2, 22 December 08: Please note that contrary to other reports you may be reading, the FDA DID NOT APPROVE STEVIA. The FDA, in cahoots with Cargill and Coke, approved a synthesized product - as reported originally in this article - manufactured with rebiana (an extract from Stevia) and erythritol (a sugar alcohol).

As Dr. Evangelista states (quoted below): "DO NOT CONFUSE REBIANA (TRUVIA) WITH STEVIA"

UPDATE 1, 20 December 08: Zerose is the Cargill synthesized artificial sweetener made from stevia and erythritol. Zsweet is a similar product in UK and EU. There are numerous scientific studies presenting that this, and related products such as Truvia, may lead to calcium, potassium and phosphate loss with calcification (and lesions) in the kidneys (just like Splenda) and bowel alterations. Please read more.

As to Zevia soda, it seems to me to be quite irresponsible on the part of the company CEO (an attorney)to make the following quote, "Why not supplement a steady breast milk diet with some refreshing ZEVIA?" This quote is associated with a photo of an infant being fed soda by the mother on the company blog. I would suggest the mother is irresponsible as well. While the company web site does not state that Zerose is the sweetener used in their products it does mention that eryrithritol is an ingredient.

I am sure this fellow was not in my 'Social Responsibility of Business' class in grad school.

We suggest Just Like Sugar, unaltered Stevia (order the extract via the Starwest link on this page) and Agave.

We do not endorse the use aspartame or sucralose or any forms of these chemicals, first developed as inseticides, or any products containing them, as they are known toxins to human health, nor do we endorse the use of acesulfame K.
----------------------------------------
12-19-08
The news this morning on NPR seems to be focused on helping you be in the spin on 'rebiana'(Truvia) and how it is "just stevia".

Coke (using Truvia) and Pepsi (using PureVia) are marketing this new artificial sweetener in their beverages but apparently aren't open to presenting both sides of the story.

Even the one TV ad I saw recently for "Truvia" would lead you to believe that this is a safe and natural additive.

Zevia(a soda), because it contains erythritol, may also have similar problems.

The problem is that is may come from natural sources but it is an extracted and modified chemical when it comes out the other end.

DO NOT CONFUSE REBIANA (TRUVIA) WITH STEVIA
Do not confuse this with pure stevia, it is a combination of chemicals with a dab of the stevia plant. Stevia itself is a sweetener and yet they are using Erythritol which is a sugar alcohol known to cause such things as bloating, diarrhea and cramps. That tells you they are not using much stevia. Nor are they removing the poisonous aspartame from Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi. They are simply trying to satisfy a part of the population that knows how deadly aspartame is and wants to use something else.

Notice this sentence: "Stevia was not approved as a food additive by U.S. regulators, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued letters to the companies on Wednesday saying it had no objections to their sweeteners, which are derived from the plant." The FDA has made themselves clear. Industry can do anything they please but they have no intention of approving something safe for the general public. They don't want to displease the aspartame industry who is powerful and takes care of those who defend their poison. Make sure you understand this is a combination of sweeteners and chemicals and not real stevia. The pop companies feel "a dab will do you, so just buy our product regardless of how its made". The public again will be the guinea pigs and lab rats. Also, see the admission that Pepsi's Purevia is being developed with Merisant, an aspartame manufacturer. Nobody should use these products until they are analyzed. Industry is constantly adding small amounts of aspartame because its addictive. If they do this to these products aspartame victims will react because aspartame is so poisonous it causes chemical hypersensitization.

Lab Tests Point to Problems with New Sweetener
Consumer group says product can increase cancer risk
September 2, 2008

A consumer group says a new commercial sweetner, said to be 200 times sweeter than sugar, may cause health problems and needs more study. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are planning to introduce new drinks made with the sweetner, rebiana, an extract of stevia leaves.

In a letter to the Food and Drug Administration, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says the agency should require additional tests, including a key animal study, before accepting rebiana as Generally Regarded as Safe, or GRAS.

The letter cites a new 26-page report by toxicologists at the University of California, Los Angeles, several, though not all, laboratory tests show that the sweetener causes mutations and DNA damage, which raises the prospect that it causes cancer.

"A safe, natural, high-potency sweetener would be a welcome addition to the food supply," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "But the FDA needs to be as sure as possible that rebiana is safe before allowing it into foods that would be consumed by tens of millions of people. It would be tragic if the sweetener turned out to cause cancer or other problems."

One key animal study has not been conducted, according to the UCLA experts and CSPI. The FDA's guidelines advise testing prospective major new food additives on two rodent species, usually rats and mice. The new sweetener has only been tested on rats, but not mice.

The toxicologists' report said that because several studies found mutations and DNA damage, a lifetime mouse study designed to evaluate the risk of carcinogenicity and other health problems was particularly important.

The UCLA toxicologists emphasized the need for more genotoxicity tests, because of the evidence that derivatives of stevia that are closely related to rebiana damage DNA and chromosomes.

Their report noted that much of the recent research on rebiana was sponsored by Cargill and urged the FDA to obtain independently conducted tests to ensure that corporate biases don't influence the design, conduct, or results of the tests.

Rebiana is shorthand for rebaudioside A, a component of stevia. It is obtained from the leaves of a shrub native to Brazil and Paraguay. Coke, Pepsi, and other companies are excited about rebiana, because it supposedly tastes better than crude stevia, which is sold as a dietary supplement in health-food stores.

After all the controversies pertaining to saccharin, aspartame, and other artificial sweeteners, the food industry expects many calorie-conscious consumers to eagerly opt for this natural sweetener.

Two companies -- Cargill and Merisant -- have told the FDA that rebiana should be considered GRAS, a category given less scrutiny by the FDA than ordinary food additives. A third company, Wisdom Natural Brands, has declared that its stevia-based sweetener is GRAS and will market it without giving evidence to, or even notifying, the FDA. That company gave CSPI only a heavily redacted report prepared by scientists it hired to declare its stevia derivative, which is of unknown purity, is safe.

Stevia is legal in foods in Japan and several other countries, but the United States, Canada, and the European Union bar stevia in foods because of older tests that suggested it might interfere with reproduction. New tests sponsored by Cargill did not find such problems.

"I am not saying that rebiana is harmful, but it should not be marketed until new studies establish that it is safe," Jacobson said.

Cargill's version of rebiana is called Truvia and would be used by Coca-Cola. Pepsi's version is called PureVia and is produced by Merisant's Whole Earth Sweetener division. Merisant is best known for marketing the Equal brand of aspartame.

CSPI has not questioned the safety of two artificial sweeteners, sucralose (Splenda) and neotame, but says that suggestive evidence indicates that saccharin, aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), and acesulfame-K pose small risks of cancer.

"The whole issue of what gets GRAS status needs to be reviewed by Congress," Jacobson said. "It's crazy that companies can just hire a few consultants to bless their new ingredients and rush them to market without any opportunity for the FDA and the public to review all the safety evidence."

Two of the most harmful ingredients in the food supply are considered GRAS: salt, which raises blood pressure and causes thousands of unnecessary heart attacks and strokes every year, and partially hydrogenated oil, which is the source of artery-clogging artificial trans fat. CSPI has long campaigned to get partially hydrogenated oil out of the food supply and to reduce salt to safe levels.
From Consumer Affairs

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Posted in: aspartame,green living expert,health news,natural health expert,natural health news,natural news,organic living expert,rebiana,splenda,stevia,Truvia,Zevia

Childhood Obesity Campaign: Issues in Health

UPDATE: 4 August, Sugar Cut in Cereals

Remember that most of the big name cereals have been loaded with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) for years.  And also consider that it is the organic brands of cold, boxed cereal that is also loaded with sugar, only they use the organic kind.  Either way you look at it the sugar has to go, the HFCS has to go, and all of the cereals with any GMO grain or other ingredient - like beet sugar that now is about 100% of the market -) nneds to come out of these and any other product containing them.

15% cut in sugar coming in 2011 to Coco Pops

3 February, 2010  Michelle Obama Kicks Off Childhood Obesity Drive
Mrs. Obama is taking on her first substantive policy role in overseeing the Obama administration programs and partnerships dealing with what is considered a national epidemic of childhood obesity.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/02/01/michelle-obama-kicking-off-childhood-obesity-drive-feb-9/

My hope is that Michelle addresses the role of vaccines, fluoride, environment, lack of physical education in schools, the USDA food pyramid that promotes obesity, unhealthy school lunches, artificial sweeteners proven to cause obesity, HFCS, soy formula, microwave cooking, GMO soy and canola oil disguised as " plant sterols" and not healthy saturated fat, TV ads and cold cereals, and some of Tom Vilsack's GMO buddies, and more to be concerned with.  We are just a nation of starving children who are malnourished because of the focus of today's government guidelines.


Some 30+ related articles on obesity can be found here at Natural Health News

Originally posted  3/6/09

Somehow I think the lineal thinking process, or lack of any kind of meaningful thinking, is a very real issue as we address the needs for health care change and reform in the US, and of course in the world.

I also think that as long as we have this mind set those who see themselves as power brokers just might not be hitting the target, so to speak.

Try to put a few puzzle pieces together here as I give you food for thought.

First of all, look at the USDA. This is the place where dietitians get their basic education. Since most of this is funded by Big AG is it no wonder RDs end up on the short end when it comes to how this translates to a role in health care delivery. Remembering too that the ADA (American Dietetics Association) wants to control ALL nutrition education, and they support aspartame, sucralose (both known obesity promoters) and the faulty food pyramid.

Luise Light, PhD, the originator of the first food pyramid with real food, might give you more to think about. Her opinion of grains is certainly not the same as ADA or USDA or for that matter, Big AG.

Today, you can read about a culture of bias in ADA education. If it is found in students of dietetics (dietetics is not nutrition) then you can be sure it is in the faculty and the field as well.

Bias Against Obesity Is Found Among Future DietitiansBy Carolyn Colwell Healthday Reporter
Mar 5, 2009

THURSDAY, March 5 (HealthDay News) -- Just 2 percent of those training to be dietitians have positive or neutral attitudes toward people who are obese, and the rest are moderately biased against their prospective patients, a new study has found.

"Essentially, this shows that future dieticians are not immune to weight bias, and there are negative attitudes toward obese patients that may have a negative impact on the quality of care," said Rebecca Puhl, the study's lead author and the director of research and stigma initiatives at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

Most of the almost 200 dietetic students who participated in the study had pejorative views about the attractiveness, self-control, overeating, insecurity and self-esteem of people who are obese. They also rated obese patients as being less likely than non-obese patients to comply with treatment recommendations. The findings were published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

But the students aren't alone in their beliefs and share the biases with other health-care providers, Puhl said, adding that other studies have shown that many health professionals have negative perceptions about very overweight patients. Patients have reported "very many examples of providers who really make very stereotypical comments that suggest that they are making assumptions about a patient's character, intelligence or abilities because of their weight," she said.

Other signs of professional insensitivity, Puhl said, include weighing obese patients on freight scales because scales in a doctor's office don't accommodate their weight and not having blood pressure cuffs big enough for a heavy patient.

She said that the attitudes expressed by the dietetic students in the study show a lack of appreciation for how difficult it is to lose weight and for the biological factors involved. Also, the message that obesity results from a lack of self control ignores mounting scientific evidence that it's difficult to lose weight and keep it off for a sustained period of time, she said.

"Most people, when they walk into an office, have already tried to lose weight and, more likely, they've lost weight and regained the weight," Puhl said. "I think a better understanding and appreciation of the complexities and difficulties of weight loss are needed to reduce the stigma."

The 182 students who completed the study were from 14 universities and had been enrolled in an undergraduate dietetics program for about two years. With an average age of 23, 92 percent were women, and 85 percent were white.

The researchers asked the students to respond to questions about a normal-weight male and female and an obese male and female. The people they were asked about shared the same health characteristics except for weight.

Dr. Nicholas H.E. Mezitis, an assistant professor of clinical medicine and nutrition at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said that the findings might be misleading because of the small number of minority students and the predominance of white females among the participants. "If you get into ethnic communities, such as a black population, they all have different views," he said. In some groups, he explained, being thin might not be seen as desirable.

"We also have to bear in mind that a lot of what these students are reading in magazines and such are taking them to the other extreme," Mezitis said. "What's desirable is very thin, and … these [obese] patients are way on the other extreme."

Lona Sandon, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, added that students' mentors need to provide positive role modeling. "If mentors reflect weight bias, then students are likely to do the same," she said. "In addition, one's own attitudes about body image may influence attitudes towards other's weight."

The study recommends adding stigma reduction to the standard curriculum for dietetics programs. The Obesity Society has more on weight-related bias.

Then we have to give some attention to this announcement of the joint venture between the heart association (AHA), Nickelodeon and Bill Clinton's organization to allegedly fight childhood obesity.

Then consider the Healthy School Lunch Program and what actually took place over a decade ago in Wisconsin, and you have to wonder about why all of this has been taking so long.

Then remember when the push started for the Hepatitis B vaccine? It was pretty clearly established that no long term studies had been done with this vaccine, and it contributed to the development of diabetes and some other scary for parents kinds of issues.

Then, if you recall history, Mr. Bill awarded the developers of the Hepatitis B vaccine the National Technology Award.

Is it guilt, is it greed, or is it that there is a real interest in change this issue for our children.

One has to ask because we haven't seen a response on aspartame even though the FDA knows it causes diabetes and obesity.

And certainly there has to be consideration of cultural concerns because in the American Indian and other ethnic and forgotten communities, nuttrition, diabetes and weight issues are major public health problems.

Now you have some real food for thought.

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Posted in: Appleton WI,aspartame,Bill Clinton,children's health,food pyramid,healthy school lunches,independent health news,natural health news,natural news,obesity,sucralose,vaccines and obesity

Aspartame: Still Harming Pregnant Women

D. Mail 10.7.10 "DIET DRINK SWEETENERS LINKED TO EARLY BIRTHS"
EU-funded research has found that pregnant women who drink just one can of fizzy drinks containing artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, have a 37% higher risk of having a premature birth. Routinely drinking 4 or more cans a day of this could increase the risk by up to 78%.

Research by Dr. Thorhallur Ingl Halldorsson who studied 60,000 women, found there is no increased risk from sugar sweetened drinks.

They suggest exposure to methanol, which is in some artificial sweeeteners, may play a part in bringing forward the births. Methanol is said by critics to be a nerve toxin, which can form formic acid in the body. It can also lead to formaldhyde, the chemical used to preserve dead bodies. Historically, saccharine has also been identified as accumulating in the placenta.

Prof. Erik Millstone of Sussex Uni said "I would think it is prudent for pregnant women to diminish consumption of these drinks & possibly those foods containing artificial sweeteners."

Published in "American Society for Clinical Nutrition".
Some British public health experts are now advising pregnant mothers to avoid food and drink containing aspartame.

How a Public Relations Campaign Deceives the Public About Formaldehyde Poisoning From Aspartame

Natural Health News does not encourage or recommend Truvia, Zevia, Purvia or any sweetener containing erythritol or modified stevia (rebiana).  Note: Sugar alcohols may raise your blood sugar level too.

Aspartame's threat to the unborn

Safe sweeteners are Just Like Sugar and Stevia (see right hand column)

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Posted in: aspartame,aspartame danger,formaldehyde,methanol

E-GADS! Danone Makes This and People Eat It...

I live in a very small, rural community that sponsors a food program each month through our local Grange. Everyone in the community gets a box of food, and our Grange Master delivered my May box today.

I was happy to get rhubarb, mangoes, pears, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, and the organic green beans.

I'll also use some of the canned goods included and then pass on to a family I know, that is in great need, what I won't use.

With the food box was a yogurt six-pack. I enjoy yoghurt and usually make my own or get plain, organic, whole milk or 2% at the health section in my favorite market.

The shock to me was that the six-pack was Dannon.

I started eating Dannon yoghurt about 1954 or thereabouts. At that time this was real yoghurt and it came in flavors like lemon, banana, coffee, prune (which I loved), vanilla, and plain.

Now it is every artificial flavor you could ever think of and it is made with non fat milk so you can't absorb the calcium.

What was so shocking to me in this product, Light & Fit, were the sweetening additives. These included - from the label - Fructose, Sucralose, Aspartame, and Acesulfame potassium (K).

I don't know how anyone could stand that level of artificially produced sweetness. And I don't know how any one in their right mind would ingest such a chemical blend that is made up of very harmful chemicals.

If you read Natural Health News regularly you are aware that we have covered the problems with these artificial sweeteners, the new recombinant stevia/erythritol blends, and fructose.

I'm adding a comment here from a keen resource for the facts on the problematic sweeteners Danone is happy for you to consume -

Yes I will pass it along. That seems to be the new thing, instead of one sweetener they blend several together, like they do now with gum. Isn't one poison enough? At least it was on the label because you remember Mr. Pape from the National Yogurt Assn has petitioned the FDA to allow aspartame in yogurt unlabeled and dairy products. I don't believe a decision has been made. Even Jerome Bressler said that was illegal, but you never put anything pass the FDA. Also, consider the interaction, Maybe they figure it would be hard to tell which one poisoned you. Sucralose is a chlorocarbon poison, and Acesulfame potassium caused cancer and leukemia in original studies. Aspartame, of course, is an addictive excitoneurotoxic carcinogenic, genetically engineered drug and adjuvant.

There was a study in Liverpool some years ago on combing additives. The Liverpool team reported that when mouse nerve cells were exposed to MSG and brilliant blue or aspartame and quinoline yellow in laboratory conditions, combined in concentrations that theoretically reflect the compound that enters the bloodstream after a typical children's snack and drink, the additives stopped the nerve cells growing and interfered with proper signalling systems.http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/msg010306.cfm

Unfortunately government agencies ignore the studies done so have full knowledge of what is going on, and do nothing.

All my best,
Betty
www.mpwhi.com, www.dorway.com and www.wnho.net
Aspartame Toxicity Center, www.holisticmed.com/aspartame

At 08:00 PM 5/27/2010, Dr. Gayle wrote:

Hi Betty,

I just received a food delivery and they sent me a six pack of yogurt by Dannon (Danone) made with no fat which means you can't absorb the calcium, and sweetened with a combination of - from the label - "Fructose, Sucralose, Aspartame, and Acesulfame potassium".

Obviously it is a candidate for the trash bin but can you imagine needing that much sweet taste?

Hope you'll pass this along.

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Posted in: acesulfame K,acesulfame potassium,aspartame,Dannon,Danone,fructose,Light and Fit,sucralose

Soft Drinks and Pancreatic Cancer

Most soda today is made with HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and it seems as if this, along with the very toxic artificial sweeteners used in soda, causes many health problems often not discussed in the media.  It comes as no surprise that soda consumption can lead to this serious disease.  However, don't overlook the use of green tea and risk of pancreatic cancer.

Most HFCS is made from GMO corn and this genetic modification may also be a contributing factor.

The better news is that there are things you can do for pancreatic health, and also for pancreatic cancer naturally.

See also: www.leaflady.org/sweet_but_not_so_innocent.htm
www.leaflady.org/fructose.htm
http://naturalhealthnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/dangers-of-hfcs.html

Monday Feb 8,2010 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – People who drink two or more sweetened soft drinks a week have a much higher risk of pancreatic cancer, an unusual but deadly cancer, researchers reported on Monday.
People who drank mostly fruit juice instead of sodas did not have the same risk, the study of 60,000 people in Singapore found.
Sugar may be to blame but people who drink sweetened sodas regularly often have other poor health habits, said Mark Pereira of the University of Minnesota, who led the study.
"The high levels of sugar in soft drinks may be increasing the level of insulin in the body, which we think contributes to pancreatic cancer cell growth," Pereira said in a statement.
Insulin, which helps the body metabolize sugar, is made in the pancreas.
Writing in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, Pereira and colleagues said they followed 60,524 men and women in the Singapore Chinese Health Study for 14 years.
Over that time, 140 of the volunteers developed pancreatic cancer. Those who drank two or more soft drinks a week had an 87 percent higher risk of being among those who got pancreatic cancer.
Pereira said he believed the findings would apply elsewhere.
"Singapore is a wealthy country with excellent healthcare. Favorite pastimes are eating and shopping, so the findings should apply to other western countries," he said.
But Susan Mayne of the Yale Cancer Center at Yale University in Connecticut was cautious.
"Although this study found a risk, the finding was based on a relatively small number of cases and it remains unclear whether it is a causal association or not," said Mayne, who serves on the board of the journal, which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research.
"Soft drink consumption in Singapore was associated with several other adverse health behaviors such as smoking and red meat intake, which we can't accurately control for."
Other studies have linked pancreatic cancer to red meat, especially burned or charred meat.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with 230,000 cases globally. In the United States, 37,680 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in a year and 34,290 die of it.
The American Cancer Society says the five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients is about 5 percent.
Some researchers believe high sugar intake may fuel some forms of cancer, although the evidence has been contradictory. Tumor cells use more glucose than other cells.
One 12-ounce (355 ml) can of non-diet soda contains about 130 calories, almost all of them from sugar.
(Editing by John O'Callaghan)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100208/hl_nm/us_cancer_pancreas_sodas/print

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Posted in: aspartame,diet soda,pancreatic cancer,soda,soft drinks,splenda,sucralose,sugar

Heart Month Hype

This morning I was checking email as usual and came across a most amazing advertising scheme being promoted by Diet Coke.  Fashionable Diet Coke.

Yikes! let's all get cardiovascular disease because an AOL Style Writer and Coca-Cola are telling us aspartame is good for us. Did they also forget that phosphoric acid in aluminum cans promotes osteoporosis?

I just hope the the sake of your heart, and your health, you pass on this dangerous advertising scheme.

Limited-Edition Diet Coke Can for the Heart Truth Revealed!

by Rachel Felder Mon, Feb 1st 2010

Diet soda lovers rejoice! Drinking your favorite Coca-Cola beverage has never been so fashionable!

As part of Diet Coke's annual partnership with The Heart Truth campaign, the company has just introduced limited-edition "heart graphic" cans, each of which feature a large -- and just plain cute -- sketch of a big red heart.

Like our daily Heart Truth factoids that we started rolling out last week, the goal of the new design is to increase awareness about heart disease - the number one killer of women in America. It also is intended to inspire people to incorporate healthy activities into their lives and encourage others to do the same.

In addition to StyleList, there are plenty of tips on how to maintain a healthy heart on a designated area of Diet Coke's website. (The site also includes highlights from last year's Red Dress Collection fashion show to tide you over until this year's show on February 11, which we'll be covering here on StyleList.)

There's nothing like the present to start a new, healthier heart routine! Find out how you can participate with our heart-loving factoids. 

But following on this I have to refer to some experts on the sweet poison who are colleagues of mine and have done the research, a few excerpts follow below -

Additional infromation from Betty Martini (http://www.dorway.com/) and Dr Russell Blaylock

Aspartame triggers an irregular heart rhythm, interacts with all cardiac medication, damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death. Here is neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, MD., athlete alert on the subject: http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_msg_scd.htm Also, here is Dr. H. J. Roberts paper on it: http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_and_arrhythmias.htm Here is a study that proved it: http://www.rense.com/general80/meat.htm

H. J. Roberts, M.D. authored the medical text, Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic and there is a chapter on what aspartame does to the heart.

ASPARTAME, a sweetening substance that is generally touted as innocuous by our health authorities, is implicated in the epidemic of unusual sudden deaths. Often this happens to outwardly healthy people with no known heart problems; high school, college and professional athletes and thousands of children.
 
Sudden Cardiac Death is not a "heart attack" or myocardial infarction, caused by clogged arteries. Its an electrical problem in which the cardiac conduction system that generates the impulses regulating the heart suddenly output rapid or chaotic electrical impulses, or both. The heart ceases its rhythmic contractions, the brain is starved of oxygen and the victim loses consciousness in seconds.

Aspartame consists of the amino acids phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%), and a methyl ester (10%) that promptly becomes free methanol after entering the stomach. 3 The breakdown of phenylalanine to highly vasoactive substances—such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine—is clearly relevant to pulmonary hypertension, systemic hypertension, and the frequent cardiac arrhythmias experienced by persons with aspartame disease. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387446/

Aspartame triggers an irregular heart rhythm, and interacts with cardiac medication. It damages the cardiac conduction system and causes sudden death. What my colleague James Bowen MD is saying, of course, is that its not just hitting their hearts but hypothalamus and neuroendocrine system. It exacerbates damage to the cardiac conduction system - it exacerbates the arrhythmia because of the cardiac conduction system damage, and its synergistic. http://www.laleva.cc/food/aspartame_scd.html

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Posted in: aspartame,Diet Coke,Dr H J Roberts,Dr James Bowen,heart month,Rachel Felder

SOFT drinks with artificial sweeteners and kidney damage

As we have said for decades on aspartame, and in the past several years on Splenda (sucralose, which has already shown it calcifies the kidneys) - artificial sweeteners  have a serious health impact on the kidneys.   Time will tell about Truvia and similar erythritol based products.

SOFT drinks with artificial sweeteners could cause kidney damage, according to new research.

By Lucy Johnston

Just two colas or sodas a day were found to double the risk of a faster-than-average decline in kidney function, ­scientists said. However, this problem was not linked to drinks that had been sweetened with sugar.

The researchers in the United States looked at the effect of fizzy drinks on more than 3,000 women, comparing those who consumed artificially sweetened drinks with those whose drinks were sweetened with sugar. They took into account factors such as age, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, and heart disease.

But the survey looked only at older white women. The scientists admitted that it was not clear whether their findings also applied to men or people of different ethnic backgrounds.

Dr Julie Lin, who co-led the survey, with a team from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, said: “While more study is needed, our research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened soda intake is associated with greater rate of decline in kidney function.”

The research, presented last week at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual conference in San Diego, California, was carried out as part of a major health and lifestyle investigation in the US.

A spokesman for the Beverage Association, which represents soft drink manufacturers, said it was too soon to comment on the research as it had not yet been properly evaluated by other scientists.

However, he did point out that the two main causes of chronic kidney disease were diabetes and high blood pressure “not consumption of diet soda”.

Here in Britain, the artificial sweetener aspartame is coming under more scrutiny. The government watchdog, the Food Standards Agency, is calling for volunteers to help test claims that aspartame, used in more than 4,000 products, causes illnesses.

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Posted in: aspartame,diet soda,kidney damage,splenda danger,sucralose

Evidence: Collusion, Conflict of Interest at FDA and Aspartame

We all know the many reasons why we don't like the FDA, but this one is especially timely at this time. Timely as so many readers are looking up my posts on Coke Zero and related aspartame and sucralose (Splenda) or rebiana disclosures.

There are more than 67 articles here at Natural Health News concerning the products and problems with artificial sweeteners.

Here is something new to consider: During Ronald Reagan's tenure in the White House he selected Arthur Hull Hayes as FDA Commissioner.

Even though aspartame had been on the market in 1974, it was banned in 1975 because of testimony by John Olney MD, a neurologist. Dr, Olney's work raised issues about the safety of aspartame and brain cell damage. The cancer issue was also raised.

With 92 allowed adverse reactions to aspartame at the FDA, even though more have been reported, we know there is a problem. After all, aspartame, like sucralose, began as a pesticide with very sweet taste.

Reagan like Diet Pepsi just like Michael J. Fox. Fox has Parkinson's and Reagan died from Alzheimer's. Both diagnoses are known to be related to aspartame exposure.

Now, as exposed by Lane Shore, we know Arthur Hull Hayes is listed as one of the inventors of aspartame.

From McGill's Choice (Salem Press), Inventions and Inventors: Volume I, noted under "Aspartame".

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Posted in: aspartame,aspartame dangers,Coke Zero,Coke Zero banned because of aspartame,natural health news

Coke Zero Banned As a Health Threat by Venezuela

UPDATE, 22 June: UK Agency to Investigate Dangers of Aspartame

BY Sean Poulter
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1194786/Aspartame-investigated-decade-claims-harms-health.html#
Aspartame, found in diet and other soft drinks, will be investigated after claims it causes nasty side effects such as headaches and stomach upsets
Allegations that the controversial artificial sweetener aspartame is linked to bad reactions such as headaches and stomach upsets are to be investigated.

Aspartame, which is also known by the brand name Nutrasweet, has been the subject of anecdotal claims of harm to health dating back more than a decade.

The manufacturers and the Government's Food Standards Agency (FSA) have concluded that the sweetener is safe.

However, the Agency has now ordered an investigation to answer continuing consumer concerns that aspartame consumption can trigger nasty side effects.

The Agency's chief scientist Andrew Wadge, said:'This research is not to test the safety of aspartame – that is already established.

'The study will address consumer concerns, including anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame.

‘The Agency’s view remains that aspartame can be consumed safely and we are not recommending any changes to its current use.

'However, we know that some people consider they react badly to consuming this sweetener so we think it is important to increase our knowledge about what is happening.’

The pilot study will start next month and will be used to inform the design and feasibility of a proposed study led by the European Food Safety Authority.

In May 2006, EFSA rejected a study by Italian scientists which named aspartame as a cancer risk.

The watchdog said the study identifying a risk of leukaemia, kidney and other cancers was flawed.

Subsequently, the author of the research, Dr Morandi Soffritti of the Ramazzini Foundation, stood by his team's findings and called for further research.

A number of UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's and Asda, have voluntarily withdrawn aspartame from their own-label products as part of a wider drive to reduce the use of artificial additives.

Aspartame manufacturers claimed the Food Standards Agency was bowing to scare mongering rather than making decisions based on science.

A spokesman for the Aspartame Information Service, funded by manufacturer Ajinomoto, said she was puzzled as to why the Agency is spending public money on the new research.

The organisation issued a statement saying: 'Aspartame, like all low-calorie sweeteners, is approved for use in the European Union under the terms of the European Sweetener Directive.

'In May 2006, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) stated: "There is no need to further review the safety of aspartame."

'It is, therefore, surprising that the Food Standards Agency has announced that it is starting work on a further study on aspartame.

'Large scale quantified consumer research commissioned by Ajinomoto and conducted by ICM Research has shown that there is no significant level of consumer concern about low calorie sweeteners in general or aspartame in particular.'

It added: 'Aspartame, which is made from two amino acids, is digested just like any other protein and its components are treated by the body in exactly the same way as the same components in foods like meat, fish, eggs, milk and fruit juice.

It tastes like sugar and enables food and drink companies to provide many popular low-calorie and sugar-reduced products.

'Sales of products sweetened with aspartame have grown steadily since the ingredient was introduced in 1983.

'The FSA has explained its actions by referring to "anecdotal reports that have linked a range of conditions to aspartame". These include rumours circulated on the internet by scaremongers and conspiracy-theorists, mostly from the United States.

'In August 2007, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, faced with the same absurd allegations, stated: 'The claims being made - and widely reported in the media - are doing a great public disservice. The fact is, a large amount of very good science shows that aspartame is a very safe substance.

'Studies that purport to show otherwise have thus far been overwhelmingly rejected by leading food safety authorities as flawed.'

Venezuela bans Coke Zero, cites "danger to health" 10 Jun 2009 23:49:38 GMT

NB: The issue is aspartame, a toxic substance known to cause obesity, diabetes, tumours, arthritis, seizures and more than 118 known health problems.

* Minister orders Coke Zero withdrawn from market
* Socialist government increasing scrutiny of business

CARACAS, June 10 (Reuters) - The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health.

The decision follows a wave of nationalizations and increased scrutiny of businesses in South America's top oil exporter.

Health Minister Jesus Mantilla said the zero-calorie Coke Zero should no longer be sold and stocks of the drink removed from store shelves.

"The product should be withdrawn from circulation to preserve the health of Venezuelans," the minister said in comments reported by the government's news agency.

Despite Chavez's anti-capitalist policies and rhetoric against consumerism, oil-exporting Venezuela remains one of Latin America's most Americanized cultures, with U.S. fast-food chains, shopping malls and baseball all highly popular.

Mantilla did not say what health risks Coke Zero, which contains artificial sweeteners, posed to the population.

Coke Zero was launched in Venezuela in April and Coca-Cola Femsa , the Mexico-based company that bottles Coke products locally, said at the time it aimed to increase its market share for low calorie drinks by 200 percent.

Neither Coca-Cola nor the bottler responded to requests for comment on Wednesday.

The bottler was plagued with labor problems last year in Venezuela when former workers repeatedly blocked its plants demanding back pay.

The government this year has seized a rice mill and pasta factory belonging to U.S. food giant Cargill and has threatened action against U.S. drug company Pfizer .

Chavez has also nationalized a group of oil service companies including projects belonging to Williams Companies and Exterran . (Reporting by Fabian Cambero and Antonio de la Jara; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
AlertNet news is provided by Reuters

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Posted in: aspartame,Coke Zero,Coke Zero banned because of aspartame,natural health news

Senator Ortiz y Pino Continues Fight to Ban Aspartame

Please support this important FDA action. And hopefully, this time around, Ajinmoto will not send big checks - like the 10K Bill Richardson accepted - to interfere with fact and the people's will.

New Mexico Senate
Santa Fe, New Mexico
February 12, 2009

The Honorable Frank Torti, M.D.
Acting Commissioner, United States Food and Drug Administration
5400 Fishers Lane
Rockville, Maryland

Dear Dr. Torti:

I am the New Mexico sponsor of the enclosed Senate Memorial 9, 2009, asking the Food and Drug Administration to rescind its approval for the artificial sweetener, aspartame.

You may know that the FDA, to its credit, turned down G.D. Searles application for aspartame's approval from 1966 to 1981, at which point, approval was forced through the FDA at the insistence fo Searles CEO, Donald Rumsfeld.

Numerous physicians petitions as well as many private petitions have been filed with FDA since 1981 asking for the rescinding of aspartames approval. These have all been routinely ignored and responded to with industry assurance about how many industry financed "tests" aspartame has been through, all of which showed "aspartame to be safe."

FDA used to keep records on consumer complaints on aspartame, accruing a minimum of 92 alleged symptoms from ingesting aspartame, ranging from headaches, blurred vision, skin rashes, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis to that ultimate symptom, DEATH.

Dr. Torti, this chemical has produced a massive mountain of medical and neurodengenerative evidence, which I believe would lead you to order it removed from the market. While it is too late to do this now as a "precaution"; it is even more imperative to do this as a means of preventing further medical harm to future victims.

This Memorial is advancing in the New Mexico Senate, after being cosponsored by ten of my colleagues. A similar version of the Memorial has also been introduced by Hawaii Senator Chun Oakland, and is cosponsored by ten members of the Hawaii Senate. That resolution will create an evidentiary repository for Hawaii victims, especially those with diabetes and epileptic seizures, now statistically epidemic in Hawaii, with links to aspartame.

In January 2009, Hawaii Senator Kalani English introduced SB576 in that state. It would ban aspartame entirely in Hawaii. This bill is cosponsored by an astonishing 14 members of the 25 member Hawaii Senate. At the same time, Representative Mele Carroll has introduced HB669, also banning aspartames sale and use in Hawaii.

I realize a permanent FDA Commissioner has not yet been selected by the Obama Administration, but when one is appointed, I will send a similar letter to him/her to again request this action in order to protect the American public from further harm from a chemical that the FDA has known for 43 years is metabolized as methanol, formaldehyde, aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and the proven carcinogen, diketopiperazine.

This regulatory failure of epic proportions entirely resulted from the actions of Donald Rumsfeld when he was with the original patent holder for aspartame. There is sufficient evidence to warrant such a rescinding, a situation not unlike that in 1969 when President Richard Nixon similarly ordered the FDA to take away the approval for another group of carcinogens, cyclamates, which occurred very quickly.

Our concern must be the overarching concerns of preventing further neurodengenerative and carcinogenic damage to hundreds of millions of Americans, who have no other government entity to trust and depend on than the United State Food and Drug Administration!

I believe that President Obama, Congressman Bart Stupak, and Congresswoman Rosa Delauro all want to see the rebuilding of an FDA that merits the restored trust of the American people. I certainly want to see this come about, and I hope you do as well.

Rescinding aspartames FDA approval would be a major credible first step in the right direction.

Sincerely yours,
Gerald Ortiz y Pino
New Mexico State Senator
District 12
Albuquerque

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Posted in: 2009,Ajinmoto,artifcial sweeteners,aspartame,Cancer,consumer health,diabetes,diet foods,diet soda,FDA,independent information,natural health news,obesity,Senator Ortiz y Pino

Yes, Aspartame is TOXIC and don't think otherwise

UPDATE: Dec 18
Please read this important article by Bill Deagle, MD if you need more facts about the toxicity of aspartame, yet another substance originally approved as an insecticide -
ASPARTAME IS NEUROTOXIC

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This morning I received an anonymous post in response to the many articles I have posted both on my original website and Natural Health News. The post came with a signature of John E. Garst.

I was not willing to post the comment because it is submitted anonymously, which is the antithesis of our policy. We will post comments if they are submitted with your name and request it be posted without your name, and it is salient to the topic.

Whoever the Garst fellow is I found his attack on my background offensive as he states the following:

John E. Garst, Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Nutrition)
(FYI, I have absolutely no financial or biasing connection with the aspartame, the soft drink or related industries. However, I am just tired of people who have no understanding of the the sciences of pharmacology and toxicology trying to pass judgment by hearsay on something that they know nothing about.)

I have an extensive understanding of pharmacology, toxicology, and nutrition, as well as human physiology, biochemistry and medicine.
Obviously the sender failed to read ABOUT....

Aspartame is toxic, it is an insecticide. If you want to ingest insecticide, just like Splenda as well, then do so at your own risk.

And if you don't want insecticides in the food you purchase or ingest I'd encourage you to write you Member of Congress and demand it be taken off the market.

However if you want the science, please read on.

ASPARTAME FLACK TRIES TO MISLEAD NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE

John Garst brags that he played a major role in obliterating efforts to ban aspartame in 06. Hes trying to do it again by bombarding legislators with complicated lingo only a biochemist can comprehend. Its a vacuous bluff with hot air said James Bowen MD. who is a physician, surgeon, biochemist, and an aspartame victim with Lou Gehrigs.

New Mexico lawmakers are expected to take Garth's word for it and do what he wants. This last-minute blast is an ambush in bad faith, like yelling fire in a crowded theater so the legislature will run for the exits. Garst wants a stampede!

Good faith requires him to come forward in time for his assertions to be examined. But then he would be exposed. With no time for deliberation the legislators are expected to just accept his say-so.

At the say-so level: R G Walton M.D. Chairman, Center for Behavioral Medicine at NE Ohio College of Medicine analyzed 92 peer-reviewed studies not funded by aspartame industry. 92% found PROBLEMS!

There were also 74, sponsored by NutraSweet, which said its safe as rain. Dr. Walton concluded Serious questions have been raised about the reliability of industry-sponsored studies of the safety of synthetic chemicals. Aspartame, in particular, has been the focus of significant ongoing controversy Walton named numerous adverse clinical events including seizures, mood disorders, headaches and brain tumors.

In 95 the FDA listed 92 reactions from 10,000 volunteered complaints, including death.

H. J. Roberts, M.D., FACP a diabetic specialist has produced 20 books and his first text on medical diagnosis was used by 60,000 doctors to prepare for their Board examinations. In his response to Garst's allegation that aspartame sensitivity reflects folate deficiency, he wrote to the members of the New Mexico Legislature:

You have received correspondence concerning folate deficiency as the purported cause of aspartame disease. While folate plays a role in the metabolism of methanol (methyl alcohol), the severity and widespread nature of reactions to aspartame products suggest that this assertion must be tempered by the following:

*The methyl alcohol in aspartame is FREE (rarely found as such in nature.)

*The assertion that methanol concentrations never are very high after aspartame ingestion is erroneous. I devoted an entire chapter to methanol toxicity in my text, Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic (pp 668-685), and show in Figure XXI-1 the dose-related blood levels of methanollasting 8 or more hours.

*The assertion that many New Mexicans suffer from a folate deficiency is challenged. While I discussed such a theoretical deficiency in my text, there is no evidence that folate deficiency is widespread among Americans. For example, a Mayo Clinic study involving thousands of blood assays concluded that it was rare. Garst ignores the major roles of phenylalanine and aspartic acid in aspartame disease.

Enormous effort has gone into this constructive attempt to ban aspartame products. I believe that it constitutes an imminent health hazard for New Mexicans. You are to be congratulated for coming this far in the face of severe corporate resistance.

H. J. Roberts, M.D., FACP, FCCP

Dr. Maria Alemany, Departament du Nutricio I Bromatologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, who was the researcher for the damning Trocho Study wrote that he was deeply insulted by Garsts propaganda. Remember that Dr. Alemanys study proved the formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol embalms living tissue and damages DNA. As we know when you damage DNA you can destroy humanity. So concerned for the public was Dr. Alemany that after his study he reported it to the authorities. He told me personally that he was concerned aspartame could kill millions and I said has killed millions. After all aspartame can trigger all sorts of neurodegenerative diseases and tumors and can precipitate diabetes. Even the FDA found many types of tumors and brain cancer on original studies and the Ramazzini Study in 2005 confirmed FDA findings reporting the study showed aspartame to be a multipotential carcinogen. Dr. Alemany is a hero to the world and proved beyond a shadow of doubt what aspartame experts believed for years.

Dr. Alemany said: First, Garst suggests that perhaps aspartame just affects people with a metabolic deficit. If that were the case (I doubt it, deficits may just enhance the effect of aspartame), why then has it not been studied? In the case of cyclamate, the ban on its use is based on the deleterious effects on only a fraction of the population

Second. Dr. Garst accepts that aspartame yields formaldehyde... then, why not give formaldehyde to the people to help them synthesize methyl groups? Did I understood well (after speaking of the double helix which has very little to do here unless for the binding of formaldehyde to its strands to induce mutation) that Dr. Garst suggests that aspartame may be beneficial because its derived formaldehyde may supply one-carbon units for methylations through the folate pathway? If that were the case, why not get the FDA approval for aspartame as a drug/vitamin substitute? This is an outright fallacy (or better said bull-manure).

Third. Please, not again the tale of the methyl-esters of pectins! It has been proved to nausea that most of the methyl-alcohol esters of uronic acids remain esterified through intestinal passage, and that freed in the large intestine by the action of the flora is majoritarily and keenly used by these microbes for their profit. The remaining methyl alcohol leaving the intestine is largely detoxified by the liver (this is a physiological mechanism well known and proved effective for millennia). Aspartame, however, is not fully hydrolyzed in the intestine, being absorbed in part intact. After the intestine-portal vein-liver trap is surpassed, the body protection against methanol wanes, and the tiny liberation of methanol in tissues yields little amounts of formaldehyde that cause serious damage, precisely because it behaves very differently from the natural products methanol. Even in cases of wood-alcohol (methanol) intoxication, the liver helps to stem the overflow of toxic. Methanol inhalation or injection is much more dangerous, because it goes directly into the bloodstream and tissues jumping the liver barrier. This is explained in elementary physiology and biochemistry courses, it is unbelievable that this is maintained as a "serious" scientific position by somebody that got a PhD, unless this is not a discourse of science but of economy.

Theories are nice, but have to be proved true. The one Dr. Garst exposes here is that maintained by pro-aspartame fellows for decades. This is how they explained the incorporation of aspartame label into protein and DNA in the earliest experiments on aspartame using tracers that were published (none was published by this group thereafter). This theory fits very well with the story of a harmless aspartame, but it has been proven untrue. We did it, and this is why our study was so damaging. If the theory recycled by Dr. Garst were true, then, the carbon of the methyl alcohol of aspartame would enter the one-carbon path mediated by tetrahydrofolate, this can be done via formaldehyde or via formate. These one-carbon units may be processed (depending on demand) to methyl groups, such as those found in carnitine, thymine and methionine (the only amino acid that can get back methyl groups in mammals), thus explaining the presence of label in protein (methionine) or DNA (thymine). We gave labeled aspartame to rats, and got their DNA and protein from a number of tissues, and found large proportions of label. So far no differences with the Aspartame-lovers theory. However, we hydrolyzed the protein and DNA and looked for label in thymine in DNA and methionine in protein. We found none. Instead, the label was in unknown spots in the chromatograms, which plainly indicates that the incorporation of label into DNA and protein was NOT through the incorporation of methyl groups, i.e. the one-carbon folate pathway. Other ways of label incorporation should explain the attachment of the label. The most logical explanation (justified by innumerable studies that show that formaldehyde attaches to protein and other molecules) was that aspartame-derived formaldehyde was chemically bound to protein and DNA, inactivating (embalming, in fact) proteins and altering DNA structure causing mutations.

The experimental studies show that the theory is faulty. No counter-experiments were published showing our possible "errors", nor the theory of folate pathway incorporation has been proved experimentally (it is fairly easy to demonstrate, it only needs to be true, however). This is why I felt insulted. It is an insult to the intelligence of anybody with even a thin varnish of scientific knowledge to discard proven facts and stick to self-fulfilling harebrained theories. If what the aspartame lovers say about the fate of aspartame carbon is true, why nobody has proved it experimentally? It is easy to carry out and much less expensive than hiring lawyers to defend bad science with top dollar legal expertise

I used as heading the famous initial words of the second Catilinary by Cicero, which I remember from my early high-school Latin. Since probably most Americans were lucky enough not to study Latin when 10-11 years old, I provide an approximate translation: "Up to when do you, Catilina, will abuse our patience?", substitute Catilina for the present aspartame producers and probably it fits very well the picture.
Good luck on the banning of this menace to our collective health.
Best regards,
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Dr. Maria Alemany
Departament de Nutrici i Bromatologia
Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona
Av. Diagonal, 645
08028 Barcelona. Espanya / Espaa / Spain

Today in Dr. Roberts medical text there is a page on pre-embalming thanks to the work of the courageous Dr. Maria Alemany
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Dr. James Bowen was extremely upset that John Garst tried to deceive the legislature, especially the day before the discussion and said, This is a brazen attempt to violate every due process procedure with respect to all scientific and legal hearings.. Dr. Garth's ambush is only an attempt to win against the health and welfare of the people of New Mexico, by unlawful and unscientific ambush and by utilizing brazen pseudo science lying.

He hopes to impress by using impressive Big Words from science! This is merely science trash I will mention one case of his falsity: abuse of science and scientific process. Dr. Garst says that the folate issue is one reason not to disturb the present commerce of aspartame. This causes a highly synergized form in human metabolism, obligatory: methanol to formaldehyde to formic acid to carbon monoxide toxic axis! Molecule for molecule, the deadly formic acid congener (formate) from aspartame metabolism consumes (molecule per molecule) one molecule of folic acid (folate) to eliminate the formate without creating subsequent carbon monoxide poisoning.

Aspartame has caused many years of folate iatrogenic deficiency, already causing many human illness epidemics, fetal deformities. When in l984 I called the FDA about this, because they had concurrent with their licensure of aspartame, abandoned their 50 year standard of folic acid ingestion by pregnant women (1 mg), leading to grievous fetal defects, they like Dr. Garst lied their way out saying: We have already checked all that out. There just aren't any problems at all. But neural tube, bladder defects and cardiac deformities escalated within our newborn population victimized by aspartame. Birth defects are a major epidemic caused by aspartame, with full protection and avid cooperation from the US FDA. James Bowen, M.D.

Mark Gold of the Aspartame Toxicity Center says this short document answers all of the aspartame industrys claims about aspartame and formaldehyde poisoning: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html

Dr. John Garst is a Ph.D and its obvious he knows he is publishing false information. His modus operandi is to use his credentials to deceive others because he cant debate true experts who can easily take apart his nonsense.

The New Mexico legislature has better sense to even consider Garst's claptrap. Aspartame manufacturers must sit up at night thinking of ways to deceive. Families all over the world have been destroyed by this poison causing male sexual dysfunction, cancer and diabetes and sudden death. Enough is enough. Aspartame must be banned from the planet to save the human race.

Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum, Founder
Mission Possible International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770 242-2599
www.wnho.net and http://www.dorway.com
Aspartame Toxicity Center, http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame
Aspartame Information List, http://www.mpwhi.com
Aspartame Documentary: Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World

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