Nutrasweet "one of the worst things"
My brother-in-law, an anesthesiologist, recently shared some warnings about Nutrasweet. Click "comments" to read the full text.
posted by Tom Cleland @ 6/04/2005 07:19:00 PM
5 comments
My brother-in-law, an anesthesiologist, recently shared some warnings about Nutrasweet. Click "comments" to read the full text.
posted by Tom Cleland @ 6/04/2005 07:19:00 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
I have recently been reading (to my horror) about soft drinks. I
think I can say without exaggeration, that drinking soda, diet or not, is one of the worst things that a person can do.
Please read the article that I have attached and pass it on to your friends. I think you will find it rather shocking.
(None of the writing is original with me. I have simply collected it from various sources and assembled it into a readable form.)
A Brief History of Aspartame
The artificial sweetener aspartame has been approved for use in more
than 100 nations. It has been sold around the world under various
brand names including NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonfuls, Canderel,
Bienvia, NatraSweet and Miwon. Today, aspartame is in over 5,000
products including children's medicines and chewable vitamins. 400
tons of aspartame are produced annually and 200,000,000 ignorant
consumers continue to ingest it. The following is a brief outline of the
politics which led to the approval of this toxin for human consumption.
In December 1965, while working on an ulcer drug, James Schlatter, a
chemist at G.D. Searle, discovers aspartame, a substance that is 180
times sweeter than sugar yet has no calories, when he licked his
fingers to pick up a piece of paper and accidentally tasted the intense
sweetness of the compound he had created. Over the next two years,
Searle begins testing to determine the safety of this substance as a
food additive. Of the seven monkeys that were being fed aspartame
mixed with milk, one dies and five others have grand mal seizures.
Other studies also conducted by Searle turned out very badly and
remain as some of the most damning evidence against aspartame’s
safety. Two of Searle’s own scientists, concerned about the safety of
the new product, filed a formal objection to try to keep aspartame
from coming to the market. A team from the FDA conducted its own
study of Searle’s data and on the corpses of aspartame-poisoned mice,
and issued a scathing document called the Bressler Report, compiled
by FDA investigators and headed by Jerome Bressler. The report finds
that 98 of the 196 animals died during one of Searle's studies and
weren't autopsied until later dates, in some cases over one year after
death. Many other errors and inconsistencies are noted. For example,
a rat was reported alive, then dead, and then alive, then dead again; a
mass, a uterine polyp, and ovarian neoplasms were found in animals
but not reported or diagnosed in Searle's reports. (Nevertheless,
Senator Howard Metzenbaum, commenting on the FDA relative to the
aspartame issue in 1985 said, "the FDA is content to have Searle
conduct all safety tests on aspartame.")
Following the issuance of the Bressler Report came a period of
thickening political intrigue and red tape, wherein two key figures at
the FDA failed to press forward with further investigations, only to
leave the FDA for jobs with Searle’s law firm, Sidley & Austin. Higher
authorities in the FDA quietly consigned the Bressler Report to the
archives, and only made it public later, through a Freedom of
Information Act Request. (The interested reader may view the entire
report at http://www.sweetpoison.com/articles/fda-report-onsearle1.
html.)
Searle executives endeavor to create a "Food and Drug Sweetener
Strategy" that they feel will put the FDA into a positive frame of mind
about aspartame. An internal policy memo describes psychological
tactics the company should use to bring the FDA into a subconscious
spirit of participation" with them on aspartame and get FDA regulators
into the "habit of saying, 'Yes'."
In 1971, neuroscientist Dr. John Olney (whose pioneering work with
MSG was responsible for having it removed from baby foods) informs
Searle that his studies show that aspartic acid (one of the ingredients
of aspartame) caused holes in the brains of infant mice. One of
Searle's own researchers confirmed Dr. Olney's findings in a similar
study. Attorney, Jim Turner (consumer advocate who was instrumental
in getting cyclamate taken off the market) meets with Searle
representatives to discuss Dr. Olney's study which showed that
aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of infant mice. In spite of this,
the FDA grants aspartame its first approval for restricted use in dry
foods.
Turner and Olney's petition objecting to the approval of aspartame
triggered an FDA investigation of the laboratory practices of
aspartame's manufacturer, G.D. Searle. The investigation finds
Searle's testing procedures shoddy, full of inaccuracies and
"manipulated" test data. The investigators report they "had never seen
anything as bad as Searle's testing." By 1977, the FDA formally
requests the U.S. Attorney's office to begin grand jury proceedings to
investigate whether indictments should be filed against Searle for
knowingly misrepresenting findings and "concealing material facts and
making false statements" in aspartame safety tests. This is the first
time in the FDA's history that they request a criminal investigation of a
manufacturer. U.S. Attorney Skinner's withdrawal and resignation
stalls the Searle grand jury investigation for so long that the statue of
limitations on the aspartame charges runs out. The grand jury
investigation is dropped.
At this point, Searle hires prominent Washington insider Donald
Rumsfeld as the new CEO to try to turn the beleaguered company
around. A former Member of Congress and Secretary of Defense in the
Ford Administration, Rumsfeld brings in several of his Washington
cronies as top management including Samuel Skinner, who leaves the
U.S. Attorney's office and takes a job with Searle's law firm.
In January 1981, Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle, states in a sales
meeting that he is going to make a big push to get aspartame
approved within the year. Rumsfeld says he will use his political pull in
Washington, rather than scientific means, to make sure it gets
approved. According to a former Searle employee, Rumsfeld told them
that “no matter what, he would see to it that aspartame would be
approved. . . ”. Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United
States. Searle re-applied for FDA approval of aspartame on the very
same day that Ronald Reagan took office in 1980. Reagan's transition
team, which includes Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of G. D. Searle, hand
picks Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. to be the new FDA Commissioner. In
one of his first official acts, Dr. Arthur Hayes Jr., the new FDA
commissioner, overrules the Public Board of Inquiry, ignores the
recommendations of his own internal FDA team and approves
NutraSweet for use in dry products. Hayes says that aspartame has
been shown to be safe for its proposed uses and says few compounds
have withstood such detailed testing and repeated close scrutiny.
In October 1982, the FDA announces that Searle has filed a petition
that aspartame be approved as a sweetener in carbonated beverages
and other liquids. The National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) urges
the FDA to delay approval of aspartame for carbonated beverages
pending further testing because aspartame is very unstable in liquid
form. When liquid aspartame is stored in temperatures above 85
degrees Fahrenheit, it breaks down into diketopiperazine (DKP), a
known carcinogen, and formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin.
Nevertheless, by fall 1983, the first carbonated beverages containing
aspartame are sold for public consumption.
In 1985, Searle Company sold the NutraSweet business to Monsanto,
who has also brought the world such atrocities as Agent Orange, PCBs,
dioxins, Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), Round-Up
herbicide and a host of genetically modified foods. The Material Safety
Data Sheet on aspartame (CAS# 22839-47-0) says that to work with
the sweetener, one should wear chemical goggles, protective gloves to
prevent skin exposure, a chemical apron and a NIOS/MSHA approved
air purifying dust or mist respirator.
In 1986, the Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court
refused to consider arguments that the FDA had not followed proper
procedures in approving aspartame, despite arguments that the
product "may cause brain damage." Since Bush-nominated Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a former attorney for Monsanto, it is
unlikely that hundreds of millions of people will find redress. There are
also indications of ties between Monsanto and elements in the CIA.
One of the more interesting developments in 1989 surfaced in the
Palm Beach Post on October 14th, where an article by Dr. H.J. Robert
described several recent aircraft accidents involving confusion and
aberrant pilot behavior caused by ingestion of products containing
aspartame. Soft drink makers were notified of this problem in 1991. It
is interesting to note that after Samuel Skinner left Sidney & Austin,
Searle’s law firm, he was appointed Secretary of Transportation.
Hence, he was in charge of the FAA, just in time to head off complaints
from pilots affected by aspartame. His wife was employed by Sidney &
Austin. Later as George Bush’s Chief of Staff in 1991, during the Gulf
War, he was in a position to head off all inquiries relative to
aspartame, no matter where they were directed - to the FDA, FAA or
Department of Defense. This constitutes criminal negligence and
racketeering. George Bush, of course, was an ex-director of the
Central Intelligence Agency. The March 1995 issue of The Pacific Flyer
published a pro-aspartame article in which it stated, "the Federal
Aviation Administration conducted its own cognitive research and,
according to experts, found no contraindications that would prevent
pilots, or anyone, from ingesting aspartame." This flies in the face of
consistent reports from pilots who maintain they have suffered severe
and dangerous repercussions in the air after drinking soft drinks
containing aspartame. Virtually every time, symptoms disappeared
when aspartame-laced drinks were discontinued. Over 600 pilots have
reported this problem.
On July 20, 1990, an article in the national British newspaper The
Guardian, entitled "NutraSweet test results ‘faked’", revealed that the
British government had finally been persuaded to review the safety of
aspartame after "receiving a dossier of evidence highlighting its
potential dangers." According to The Guardian, the dossier alleged that
laboratory tests were falsified, tumors were removed from laboratory
animals and animals were ‘restored to life’ in laboratory records. The
dossier against NutraSweet was compiled by Erik Millstone, a lecturer
at the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University and author of
two books on food additives. It was based on thousands of pages of
evidence, much of which was obtained under the Freedom of
Information Act. The COT, Committee on Toxicity, was at the time
looking into consumption of artificial sweeteners and did not possess
the key documents covering alleged mishandling of the safety tests
which Millstone was asked to provide.
The British Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Health have
never revealed the evidence upon which approval was given in
England for the distribution of aspartame, maintaining that "these are
matters of commercial confidence." The British government does not
testing of its own but relies on safety tests provided by the
manufacturer, which of course constitutes a conflict of interest. The
1990 article quoted the British Department of Health as saying
"NutraSweet is not a health hazard on the available evidence, but
people do suffer ‘idiosyncratic reactions’ to food additives."
Interestingly, it was pointed out that three out of 14 members of the
Committee on Toxicity have direct or indirect links with the artificial
sweetener industry, according to David Clark, the Labour Party
Agriculture spokesman, who requested a Parliamentary Answer to
address questions of conflict of interest. Aspartame is also sold in
England under the product name "Canderel." In 1990, the market for
aspartame in England was estimated at £800 million.
G.D. Searle conducted animal experiments on the safety of DKP. The
FDA found numerous experimental errors occurred, including "clerical
errors, mixed-up animals, animals not getting drugs they were
supposed to get, pathological specimens lost because of improper
handling," and many other errors. These sloppy laboratory procedures
may explain why both the test and control animals had sixteen times
more brain tumors than would be expected in experiments of this
length.
In an ironic twist, shortly after these experimental errors were
discovered, the FDA used guidelines recommended by G.D. Searle to
develop the industry-wide FDA standards for good laboratory
practices.
In 1991, the National Institutes of Health listed 167 symptoms and
reasons to avoid the use of aspartame , but today it is a multi-million
dollar business that contributes to the degeneration of the human
population, as well as the deliberate suppression of overall intelligence,
short-term memory and the added contribution as a carcinogenic
environmental co-factor. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control
continue to receive a stream of complaints from the population about
aspartame. It has also been indicated that women with an intolerance
for phenylalanine, one of the components of aspartame, may give
birth to infants with as much as a 15% drop in intelligence level if they
habitually consume products containing this dangerous substance.
The Toxicity of Aspartame
The truth about aspartame's toxicity is far different than what
Monsanto, the NutraSweet Company would have you believe. In
February of 1994, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
released the listing of adverse reactions reported to the FDA (DHHS
1994). Aspartame accounted for more than 75% of all adverse
reactions reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System
(ARMS). By the FDA's own admission, fewer than ONE PERCENT of
those who have problems with something they consume ever report it
to the FDA. This balloons the almost 10,000 complaints they once had
to around a million. However, the FDA has a record keeping problem
and they tend to discourage or even misdirect complaints, at least on
aspartame. The fact remains, though, that most victims don't have a
clue that aspartame may be the cause of their many problems! Many
reactions to aspartame were very serious including seizures and death.
Those reactions included:
Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
Arthritis
Asthma
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer
Breathing difficulties
Burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
Chest pains
Chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive thirst or hunger
Fatigue
"Feeling unreal"
Flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Impotency and Sexual Problems
Inability to concentrate or "think straight"
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
Laryngitis
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain
What are you eating when you have a Diet
Coke?
Aspartic Acid (40 percent of aspartame)
Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of neurosurgery at the Medical
University of Mississippi, recently published a book thoroughly
detailing the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive
aspartic acid from aspartame. Blaylock makes use of almost 500
scientific references to show how excess free excitatory amino acids
such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid (about 99 percent of
monosodium glutamate (MSG) is glutamic acid) in our food supply are
causing serious chronic neurological disorders and a myriad of other
acute symptoms.
How Aspartate (and Glutamate) Cause Damage
Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by
facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too
much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by
allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx
triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill the cells. The
neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and
glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins." They "excite"
or stimulate the neural cells to death.
Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken in its free form (unbound to
proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and
glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma
shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid
(glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters
in certain areas of the brain.
The blood brain barrier (BBB), which normally protects the brain from
excess glutamate and aspartate as well as toxins, 1) is not fully
developed during childhood, 2) does not fully protect all areas of the
brain, 3) is damaged by numerous chronic and acute conditions, and
4) allows seepage of excess glutamate and aspartate into the brain
even when intact.
The excess glutamate and aspartate slowly begin to destroy neurons.
The large majority (75 percent or more) of neural cells in a particular
area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic
illness are noticed.
Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)
Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Persons
with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize
phenylalanine. This leads to dangerously high levels of phenylalanine
in the brain (sometimes lethal). It has been shown that ingesting
aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess
levels of phenylalanine in the brain even in persons who do not have
PKU.
This is not just a theory, as many people who have eaten large
amounts of aspartame over a long period of time and do not have PKU
have been shown to have excessive levels of phenylalanine in the
blood. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the
levels of serotonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional
disorders such as depression. It was shown in human testing that
phenylalanine levels of the blood were increased significantly in human
subjects who chronically used aspartame.
Even a single use of aspartame raised the blood phenylalanine levels.
In his testimony before the U.S. Congress, Dr. Louis J. Elsas showed
that high blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain
and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. He also showed
that phenylalanine is metabolized much more efficiently by rodents
than by humans.
One account of a case of extremely high phenylalanine levels caused
by aspartame was recently published the "Wednesday Journal" in an
article titled "An Aspartame Nightmare." John Cook began drinking six
to eight diet drinks every day. His symptoms started out as memory
loss and frequent headaches. He began to crave more aspartamesweetened
drinks. His condition deteriorated so much that he
experienced wide mood swings and violent rages. Even though he did
not suffer from PKU, a blood test revealed a phenylalanine level of 80
mg/dl. He also showed abnormal brain function and brain damage.
After he kicked his aspartame habit, his symptoms improved
dramatically.
As Blaylock points out in his book, early studies measuring
phenylalanine buildup in the brain were flawed. Investigators who
measured specific brain regions and not the average throughout the
brain notice significant rises in phenylalanine levels. Specifically the
hypothalamus, medulla oblongata, and corpus striatum areas of the
brain had the largest increases in phenylalanine. Blaylock goes on to
point out that excessive buildup of phenylalanine in the brain can
cause schizophrenia or make one more susceptible to seizures.
Therefore, long-term, excessive use of aspartame may provide a boost
to sales of serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac and drugs to
control schizophrenia and seizures.
Methanol (10 percent of aspartame)
Methanol is a deadly poison. Some people may remember methanol as
the poison that has caused some "skid row" alcoholics to end up blind
or dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the
methyl group of aspartame encounters the enzyme chymotrypsin.
The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably
when free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from
aspartame when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade).
This would occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly
stored or when it is heated (e.g., as part of a "food" product such as
Jello).
Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body.
Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol
states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low
rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized
to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic."
They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter
(approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56
mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products
consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA
limit.
Symptoms from methanol poisoning include headaches, ear buzzing,
dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, vertigo,
chills, memory lapses, numbness and shooting pains in the
extremities, behavioral disturbances, and neuritis. The most well
known problems from methanol poisoning are vision problems
including misty vision, progressive contraction of visual fields, blurring
of vision, obscuration of vision, retinal damage, and blindness.
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage,
interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects.
Due to the lack of a couple of key enzymes, humans are many times
more sensitive to the toxic effects of methanol than animals.
Therefore, tests of aspartame or methanol on animals do not
accurately reflect the danger for humans. As pointed out by Dr.
Woodrow C. Monte, director of the food science and nutrition
laboratory at Arizona State University, "There are no human or
mammalian studies to evaluate the possible mutagenic, teratogenic or
carcinogenic effects of chronic administration of methyl alcohol."
He was so concerned about the unresolved safety issues that he filed
suit with the FDA requesting a hearing to address these issues. He
asked the FDA to "slow down on this soft drink issue long enough to
answer some of the important questions. It's not fair that you are
leaving the full burden of proof on the few of us who are concerned
and have such limited resources. You must remember that you are the
American public's last defense. Once you allow usage (of aspartame)
there is literally nothing I or my colleagues can do to reverse the
course. Aspartame will then join saccharin, the sulfiting agents, and
God knows how many other questionable compounds enjoined to
insult the human constitution with governmental approval." Shortly
thereafter, the Commissioner of the FDA, Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr.,
approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages, he then left
for a position with G.D. Searle's public relations firm.
It has been pointed out that some fruit juices and alcoholic beverages
contain small amounts of methanol. It is important to remember,
however, that methanol never appears alone. In every case, ethanol is
present, usually in much higher amounts. Ethanol is an antidote for
methanol toxicity in humans. The troops of Desert Storm were
"treated" to large amounts of aspartame-sweetened beverages, which
had been heated to over 86 degrees F in the Saudi Arabian sun. Many
of them returned home with numerous disorders similar to what has
been seen in persons who have been chemically poisoned by
formaldehyde. The free methanol in the beverages may have been a
contributing factor in these illnesses. Other breakdown products of
aspartame such as DKP (discussed below) may also have been a
factor.
In a 1993 act that can only be described as "unconscionable," the FDA
approved aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items that
would always be heated to above 86 degree F (30 degree C).
Diketopiperazine (DKP)
DKP is a byproduct of aspartame metabolism. DKP has been implicated
in the occurrence of brain tumors. Olney noticed that DKP, when
nitrosated in the gut, produced a compound that was similar to Nnitrosourea,
a powerful brain tumor causing chemical. Some authors
have said that DKP is produced after aspartame ingestion. I am not
sure if that is correct. It is definitely true that DKP is formed in liquid
aspartame-containing products during prolonged storage.
DKP has also been implicated as a cause of uterine polyps and changes
in blood cholesterol by FDA Toxicologist Dr. Jacqueline Verrett in her
testimony before the U.S. Senate.
The symptoms of aspartame intoxication include severe headaches,
nausea, vertigo, insomnia, loss of control of limbs, blurred vision,
blindness, memory loss, slurred speech, mild to severe depression
often reaching suicidal levels, hyperactivity, gastrointestinal disorders,
seizures, skin lesions, rashes, anxiety attacks, muscle and joint pain,
numbness, mood changes, loss of energy, menstrual cramps out of
cycle, hearing loss or ringing in the ears, loss or change of taste, and
symptoms similar to those in a heart attack. In addition, aspartic acid
chelates (combines) with chromium - which is a necessary element for
proper operation of the thyroid gland. People who consume large
quantities of aspartame may end up with a false diagnosis of Graves
disease and suffer allopathic irradiation of their thyroid gland for no
reason. Complaints about aspartame represent 80-85% of all food
complaints registered with the FDA. More than 6,000 complaints have
been made concerning the effects of aspartame. Thirty independent
doctors and scientists have conducted research on the adverse effects
of aspartame or have compiled supporting data against its use.
The Irony
As if the toxic effects of aspartame were not enough, it turns out that
aspartame helps to make you fatter. When you ingest the toxic
chemical aspartame, it is absorbed from the intestines and passes
immediately to the liver. The liver then metabolizes aspartame to its
toxic components - phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This
process requires a lot of energy from the liver which means there will
be less energy remaining in the liver cells. This means the liver cells
will have less energy for fat burning and metabolism, which will result
in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing
"fatty liver" and when this starts to occur it is extremely difficult to
lose weight.
Aspartame also causes weight gain by other mechanisms. It causes
unstable blood sugar levels, which increase the appetite and causes
cravings for sweets/sugar. Thus, it is particularly toxic for those with
diabetes or epilepsy. In addition, it causes fluid retention giving the
body a puffy and bloated appearance. This makes people look fatter
than they are and increases cellulite.
The major selling point of aspartame is as a diet aid. However, it has
been demonstrated that the use of this product actually causes people
to consume more food. Interestingly, even the American Cancer
Society confirmed that users of artificial sweeteners gained more
weight than those who didn’t use the products, further undermining
the supposed "purpose" for the existence of aspartame in the food.
Normally, when a significant quantity of carbohydrate are consumed,
serotonin levels rise in the brain. This is manifested as a relaxed
feeling after a meal. When aspartame is ingested with carbohydrates,
such as having a sandwich with a diet drink, aspartame causes the
brain to cease production of serotonin, meaning that the feeling of
satiety never materializes. Thus, the actual effect of aspartame defeats
its own alleged "purpose" as a "diet aid", since high doses instill a
craving for calorie-laden carbohydrates. Then, the aspartamecarbohydrate
combination further surpresses serotonin and a vicious
circle is established. One eats more foods, many containing
aspartame, and the cycle continues.
Monsanto is also getting fat off of aspartame. Profit from its
NutraSweet Division was $993,000,000 in 1990.
Soft Drinks without Aspartame
Or
Things do NOT go better with Coke
According to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA), consumption
of soft drinks is now over 600 12-ounce servings (12 oz.) per person
per year. Since 1978, soda consumption in the US has tripled for boys
and doubled for girls. Young males age 12-29 are the biggest
consumers at over 160 gallons per year—that’s almost 2 quarts per
day. At these levels, the calories from soft drinks contribute as much
as 10 percent of the total daily caloric intake for a growing boy.
Huge increases in soft drink consumption have not happened by
chance—they are due to intense marketing efforts by soft drink
corporations. Coca Cola, for example, has set the goal of raising
consumption of its products in the US by at least 25 percent per year.
The adult market is stagnant so kids are the target. According to an
article in Beverage, January 1999, "Influencing elementary school
students is very important to soft drink marketers."
Since the 1960s the industry has increased the single-serving size
from a standard 6.5-ounce bottle to a 20-ounce bottle. At movie
theaters and at 7-Eleven stores the most popular size is now the 64-
ounce "Big Gulp." Let us examine the constituents of this beverage
that Americans, and increasingly the rest of the world, are guzzling in
previously unheard of quantities.
Fructose
For many years, Dr. Meira Fields and her coworkers at the US
Department of Agriculture investigated the harmful effects of dietary
sugar on rats. They discovered that when male rats are fed a diet
deficient in copper, with sucrose, a disaccharide composed of 50
percent glucose and 50 percent fructose as the carbohydrate, they
develop severe pathologies of vital organs. Liver, heart and testes
exhibit extreme swelling, while the pancreas atrophies, invariably
leading to death of the rats before maturity.
Lysl oxidase is a copper-dependent enzyme that participates in the
formation of collagen and elastin. Fructose interferes with copper
metabolism to such an extent that collagen and elastin cannot form in
growing animals—hence the hypertrophy of the heart and liver in
young males. The females did not develop these abnormalities, but
they resorbed their litters. Dr. Fields repeated her experiments to
determine whether it was the glucose or fructose moiety that caused
the harmful effects. Starch breaks down into glucose when digested.
On a copper-deficient diet, the male rats showed some signs of copper
deficiency, but not the gross abnormalities of vital organs that occur in
rats on the sucrose diet. When the rats were fed fructose, the fatal
organ abnormalities occurred.
The bodies of most children today are mush. The culprit is the modern
diet, high in fructose (primarily in the form of high fructose corn syrup
(HFCS) in soft drinks) and low in copper-containing foods, resulting in
inadequate formation of elastin and collagen—the sinews that hold the
body together.
These experiments should give us pause when we consider the great
increase in the use of high fructose corn syrup during the past 30
years, particularly in soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages
aimed at growing children, children increasingly likely to be copper
deficient as modern parents no longer serve liver to their families.
(Liver is by far the best source of copper in human diets.)
Until the 1970s most of the sugar we ate came from sucrose derived
from sugar beets or sugar cane. Then sugar from corn—corn syrup,
fructose, dextrose, dextrine and especially high fructose corn
syrup—began to gain popularity as a sweetener because it was much
less expensive to produce. High fructose corn syrup can be
manipulated to contain equal amounts of fructose and glucose, or up
to 80 percent fructose and 20 percent glucose. Thus, with almost twice
the fructose, HFCS delivers a double danger compared to sugar.
In fruit, the ratio is usually 50 percent glucose and 50 percent
fructose. However, fruit contains fiber which slows down the
metabolism of fructose and other sugars, but the fructose in HFCS is
absorbed very quickly. In addition, most commercial fruit juices have
HFCS added. In 1980 the average person ate 39 pounds of fructose
and 84 pounds of sucrose. In 1994 the average person ate 66 pounds
of sucrose and 83 pounds of fructose, providing 19 percent of total
caloric energy. Today approximately 25 percent of our average caloric
intake comes from sugars, with the larger fraction as fructose.
High fructose corn syrup is extremely soluble and mixes well in many
foods. It is cheap to produce, sweet and easy to store. It’s used in
everything from bread to pasta sauces to bacon to beer as well as in
“health products” like protein bars and “natural” sodas.
In the past, fructose was considered beneficial to diabetics because it
is absorbed only 40 percent as quickly as glucose and causes only a
modest rise in blood sugar. However, research on other hormonal
factors suggests that fructose actually promotes disease more readily
than glucose. Glucose is metabolized in every cell in the body but all
fructose must be metabolized in the liver. The livers of test animals fed
large amounts of fructose develop fatty deposits and cirrhosis, similar
to problems that develop in the livers of alcoholics.
Pure fructose contains no enzymes, vitamins or minerals and robs the
body of its micronutrient treasures in order to assimilate itself for
physiological use. While naturally occurring sugars, as well as sucrose,
contain fructose bound to other sugars, high fructose corn syrup
contains a good deal of “free” or unbound fructose. Research indicates
that this free fructose interferes with the heart’s use of key minerals
like magnesium, copper and chromium. Among other consequences,
HFCS has been implicated in elevated blood cholesterol levels and the
creation of blood clots. It has been found to inhibit the action of white
blood cells so that they are unable to defend the body against harmful
foreign invaders.
The Maillard reaction is a browning reaction that occurs when
compounds are exposed to various sugars. It is basically the
attachment of sugars to proteins, also known as glycosylation. Simple
sugars, such as fructose and glucose, react with and bind to the amino
acid residues that constitute proteins. This alters and damages the
protein permanently. They are in effect "caramelized". Fructose
browns food seven to fifteen times faster than glucose. The damage
wrought by glycosylation accumulates over time and wreaks the most
havoc with long-lived structural proteins. Effectively, every biochemical
reaction that occurs in the body involves proteins and when proteins
are 'sugar-coated", they no longer can carry out their various
functions. Glycosylation (along with oxidation) are two of the primary
mechanisms by which aging occurs resulting in not only cosmetic
problems (e.g. loss of skin elasticity) but also serious health problem
ranging from cataracts to failure of major organs.
Studies on the Maillard reaction indicate that fructose may contribute
to diabetic complications more readily than glucose. Maillard products
can inhibit the uptake and metabolism of free amino acids and other
nutrients such as zinc, and some advanced Maillard products have
mutagenic and/or carcinogenic properties.
Fructose reduces the affinity of insulin for its receptor, which is the
hallmark of type-2 diabetes. This is the first step for glucose to enter a
cell and be metabolized. As a result, the body needs to pump out more
insulin to handle the same amount of glucose. This impaired ability to
properly handle glucose is known as insulin resistance and essentially
the definition of type-2 diabetes.
Fructose causes a significant increase in the concentration of uric acid;
after ingestion of glucose, no significant change occurs. An increase in
uric acid can be an indicator of heart disease. Furthermore, fructose
ingestion in humans results in increases in blood lactic acid, especially
in patients with preexisting acidotic conditions such as diabetes,
postoperative stress or uremia. Extreme elevations cause metabolic
acidosis and can result in death.
Fructose is absorbed primarily in the jejunum before metabolism in the
liver. Fructose is converted to fatty acids by the liver at a greater rate
than is glucose. When consumed in excess of dietary glucose, the liver
cannot convert all of the excess fructose in the system and it may be
malabsorbed. The portion that escapes conversion may be thrown out
in the urine. Diarrhea can be a consequence. A study of 25 patients
with functional bowel disease showed that pronounced gastrointestinal
distress may be provoked by malabsorption of small amounts of
fructose.
Fructose interacts with oral contraceptives and elevates insulin levels
in women on “the pill.”
In studies with rats, fructose consistently produces higher kidney
calcium concentrations than glucose. Fructose generally induces
greater urinary concentrations of phosphorus and magnesium and
lowered urinary pH compared with glucose.
In humans, fructose feeding leads to mineral losses, especially higher
fecal excretions of iron and magnesium, than did subjects fed sucrose.
Iron, magnesium, calcium, and zinc balances tended to be more
negative during the fructose-feeding period as compared to balances
during the sucrose-feeding period.
There is significant evidence that high sucrose diets may alter
intracellular metabolism, which in turn facilitates accelerated aging
through oxidative damage. Scientists found that the rats given
fructose had more undesirable cross-linking changes in the collagen of
their skin than in the other groups. These changes are also thought to
be markers for aging. The scientists say that it is the fructose molecule
in the sucrose, not the glucose, that plays the larger part.
Because it is metabolized by the liver, fructose does not cause the
pancreas to release insulin the way it normally does. Fructose converts
to fat more than any other sugar. This may be one of the reasons
Americans continue to get fatter. Fructose raises serum triglycerides
significantly. As a left-handed sugar, fructose digestion is very low. For
complete internal conversion of fructose into glucose and acetates, it
must rob ATP energy stores from the liver.
Not only does fructose have more damaging effects in the presence of
copper deficiency, fructose also inhibits copper metabolism—another
example of the sweeteners double-whammy effect. A deficiency in
copper leads to bone fragility, anemia, defects of the connective
tissue, arteries, and bone, infertility, heart arrhythmias, high
cholesterol levels, heart attacks, and an inability to control blood sugar
levels.
The observation of increased body weight associated with fructose
ingestion is of interest. One explanation for this observation could be
that fructose ingestion did not increase the production of two
hormones, insulin and leptin, that have key roles in the long-term
regulation of food intake and energy expenditure.
The magnitude of the deleterious effects of fructose varies depending
on such factors as age, sex, baseline glucose, insulin, triglyceride
concentrations, the presence of insulin resistance, and the amount of
dietary fructose consumed. Some people are more sensitive to
fructose. They include hypertensive, hyperinsulinemic,
hypertriglyceridemic, non-insulin dependent diabetic people, people
with functional bowel disease and postmenopausal women.
Everyone should avoid over-exposure to fructose, but especially those
listed above. One or two pieces of fruit per day is fine, but commercial
fruit juices and any products containing high fructose corn syrup are
more dangerous than sugar and should be removed from the diet.
High fructose corn syrup is the primary sweetener used in soft drinks,
now readily available to children in school vending machines. The soft
drink industry increased US production from 22 to 41 gallons of soft
drinks per person a year between 1970 and 1997.
By now you may be thinking, "Well…I'll just switch to something
healthy like fruit juice." Consumers often drink commercial fruit juices
in the belief that they are healthier than soft drinks. Fruit juices are
very high in sugar, usually added HFCS, and have actually been more
detrimental to the teeth of test animals than sodas!
Moreover, the manufacture of fruit juices is a highly industrialized
process. Orange juice, for example, is made in huge quantities. The
entire orange is squeezed and goes into the tank, which means that
neurotoxic cholinesterase inhibitor pesticide sprays on the peel end up
in the juice. Although the juice is pasteurized under high temperatures
and pressures, pressure-resistant and temperature-resistant fungi and
molds can remain in the juice. Many mutagenic factors have been
detected in commercial orange juice. A compound made of soy protein
and pectin is added to orange juice so that it remains opaque and
doesn’t settle.
Other fruits, such as grapes, present additional problems because of
the large amounts of fluoride-containing pesticides used on the crops.
If you think that HFCS is reason enough not to drink soda pop or
commercial fruit juices, you're right. But wait…we've yet to explore…
Phosphoric acid
Now that soft drinks are sold in almost all public and private schools,
dentists are noticing a condition in teenagers that used to be found
only in the elderly—a complete loss of enamel on the teeth, resulting
in yellow teeth. The culprit is phosphoric acid in soft drinks, which
causes tooth rot as well as digestive problems and bone loss. Dentists
are reporting complete loss of the enamel on the front teeth in
teenaged boys and girls who habitually drink sodas.
Normally the saliva is slightly alkaline, with a pH of about 7.4. When
sodas are sipped throughout the day, as is often the case with
teenagers, the phosphoric acid lowers the pH of the saliva to acidic
levels. In order to buffer this acidic saliva, and bring the pH level
above 7 again, the body pulls calcium ions from the teeth. The result is
a very rapid depletion of the enamel coating on the teeth.
When dentists do cosmetic bonding, they first roughen up the enamel
with a chemical compound—that chemical is phosphoric acid! Young
people who must have all their yellowed front teeth cosmetically
bonded have already done part of the dentist’s job, by roughening up
the tooth surface with phosphoric acid.
Tooth decay, also known as caries, will occur when the dental enamel
dissolves. This will happen at a pH value below 5.5. The pH scale is a
logarithmic scale measuring acidity and alkalinity, which means that a
pH of 3 is ten times more acid than pH 4, or hundred times more than
pH 5. Nearly all common soft drinks, as well as most fruit drinks have
a pH far below 5.5, typically 2.7 – 3.7. Cola drinks are the most acid,
with a pH of 2.7. (This is approaching the pH of battery acid which is
about 1.0)
Besides the pH, two other factors increase the risk of tooth decay.
Sugars are easily fermented by the oral bacteria, which results in acid
production. This acid enhances the tooth decay. Ironically under these
conditions, brushing your teeth will have a detrimental effect, as the
enamel becomes softer due to the acid. Brushing can remove the soft
enamel more easily, thereby increasing dental decay.
Phosphoric acid also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach,
which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize
nutrients. Phosphoric acid interferes with the body's ability to use
calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and
bones. Over the last 30 years a virtual tome of information has been
published linking soft drink consumption to a rise in osteoporosis and
bone fractures. New evidence has shown an alarming rise in
deficiencies of calcium and other minerals and resulting bone fractures
in young girls. A 1994 Harvard study of bone fractures in teenage
athletes found a strong association between cola beverage
consumption and bone fractures in 14-year-old girls. The girls who
drank cola were about five times more likely to suffer bone fractures
than girls who didn't consume soda pop.
Teenagers and children, the industry’s main targets, are among the
largest consumers. In the past 10 years, soft drink consumption
among children has almost doubled in the United States. Teenage boys
now drink, on average, three or more cans of soda per day, and 10
percent drink seven or more cans a day. The average for teenage girls
is more than two cans a day, and 10 percent drink more than five cans
a day. A typical 20-ounce Coke contains zero fat, zero protein and 27
grams of carbohydrate in the form of high fructose corn syrup.
There are an estimated 20,000 vending machines in schools
nationwide, according to the National Automatic Merchandising
Association. The USDA collected data on vending machines in schools
and reported that 88 percent of high schools, 61 percent of middle
schools and 14 percent of elementary schools have food or beverage
vending machines for student use. Thirty-four percent of high schools
and 15 percent of middle schools permit students to use school
vending machines at any time, and 6 percent of elementary schools
allow students to use vending machines during lunch.
Aluminum
Soft drinks are frequently marketed in aluminum cans, as everyone
knows. The cans have a protective food liner, but this liner can
deteriorate over time and allow aluminum from the can to seep into
the food. Aluminum is a widely recognized nerve toxin. It has been
found in increased concentrations in all Alzheimer's disease (AD)
affected tissue. Recent scientific studies provide four independent lines
of compelling evidence that implicate aluminum's role in the cause of
AD.
Laboratory observations of the learning and memory performance of
animals support the association. If aluminum is directly injected into
the brain of sensitive species such as cats and rabbits, they will have
delayed memory and learning impairment. They will then develop
altered muscle control, muscle jerks, and seizures. Their illness is very
similar to AD in humans. Aluminum also induces neurochemical
changes. Abnormal accumulation of aluminum has been found in at
least four sites in the AD-affected brain.
Environmental aluminum is linked to increased rates of AD. Aluminum
is a common constituent of the environment and has no recognized
biologic function. It is absorbed primarily through the intestine but also
through the lungs and skin. Seven studies have related elevated
aluminum concentrations in drinking water to an increased incidence of
AD.
Of more practical importance is a case-control study which looked at
the association of AD and lifetime exposure to aluminum in
antiperspirants and antacids. Scientists found a direct correlation. The
more antiperspirant that was used, the more likely the person would
develop AD. The same held true for aluminum antacids. The risk in
high users was as high as 300%.
There is another line of independent evidence that shows aluminum is
associated with the cause of AD. If persons affected with AD are given
a compound which binds aluminum and helps to remove it from their
body, they deteriorate at much slower rates compared to those who do
not receive the binder.
Science still has quite a few years of research before it can definitely
state that aluminum causes AD. However, the above items of evidence
should encourage us to limit our aluminum intake if we hope to avoid
this horribly devastating illness.
Miscellaneous other ingredients
The toxicity of artificial flavors (often containing traces of MSG),
artificial colors, sulfites and other preservatives and caffeine — whose
toxicity is well known and well documented elsewhere would seem to
be self-evident and in need of no further comment.
Glad I hate diet soda!!! But I should sent my friend Nick this link because he was just telling me he liked diet soda better than the regular stuff.
My feeling has always been that water tastes better than diet soda and is zero calories. Although I like the carbonated water, which is not supposed to be as good for you.
I have occassionally chewed gum with aspartame or eaten mints.
It's funny to see the aspartic and glutamic acid mention though because just this morning I was looking up the amino acids for certain vegetables on the USDA's nurtition database website.
As a side note, most vegetables seem to have more aspartic acid than other amino acids. Sunflowers are loaded with phenylalnine. I wonder if you blended sunflowers and mixed them with certain vegetables whether you are creating natural aspartame in your food.
Hold on....check out the aspartic acid levels in most legumes: http://sun.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/duke/farmacy2.pl?719
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