Aspartame:
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
If a product is approved
by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and composed of natural
ingredients, would you assume it is safe to consume?
If the same product
is an artificial sweetener, would you assume it helps control
your weight?
Millions of people
use aspartame, the artificial sweetener known as NutraSweet™,
with these assumptions in mind.
Aspartame can be found
in thousands of products such as:
- instant breakfasts
- breath mints
- cereals
- sugar-free
chewing gum
- cocoa mixes
- coffee beverages
- frozen desserts
- gelatin desserts
juice beverages
- laxatives
- multivitamins
- milk drinks
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- pharmaceuticals
and supplements, including over-the-counter medicines
- shake mixes
- soft drinks
- tabletop sweeteners
- tea beverages
- instant teas
and coffees
- topping mixes
- wine coolers
- yogurt
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However, aspartame's
tainted history of approval and potentially toxic ingredients
cast serious doubt on the safety of this sugar substitute. Furthermore,
aspartame may actually increase your appetite (Farber 52).
While the FDA approval
may signal the green light for safe consumption, 85 percent of
all complaints registered with the FDA are for adverse reactions
to aspartame, including five reported deaths. A closer look at
the unscientific studies, suspicious approval methods, and its
harmful ingredients, reveal the hidden dangers of this artificial
sweetener. In reality, aspartame poses a public health threat.
Ailments Resulting
From Aspartame
The components of aspartame
can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems
occur gradually while others are immediate, acute reactions.
A few of the many disorders
associated with aspartame include the following:
- Birth Defects
A study funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused
by consuming aspartame was cut off after preliminary data showed
damaging information about aspartame. Additionally, in the book,
While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, it is stated that aspartame
is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals.
A fetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have
suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with
problems ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to
mental retardation.
- Cancer (Brain Cancer)
In 1981, an FDA statistician stated that the brain tumor data
on aspartame was so "worrisome" that he could not
recommend approval of NutraSweet.(14)
In a two-year study
conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, twelve of 320 rats
fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumors while none
of the control rats developed tumors, and five of the twelve tumors
were in rats given a low dose of aspartame.(15)
The approval of aspartame
was a violation of the Delaney Amendment, which was supposed to
prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehye)
and DKP from entering our food supply. A late FDA toxicologist
testified before the U.S. Congress that aspartame was capable
of producing brain tumors. This made it illegal for the FDA to
set an allowable daily intake at any level. He stated in his testimony
that Searle's studies were "to a large extent unreliable"
and that "at least one of those studies has established beyond
any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain
tumors in experimental animals ... " He concluded his testimony
by asking, "What is the reason for the apparent refusal by
the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney
Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act? ... And if the FDA
itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health
of the public?"(16)
In the mid-1970s it
was discovered that the manufacturer of aspartame falsified studies
in several ways. One of the techniques used was to cut tumors
out of test animals and put them back in the study. Another technique
used to falsify the studies was to list animals that had actually
died as surviving the study. Thus, the data on brain tumors was
likely worse than discussed above. In addition, a former employee
of the manufacturer of aspartame told the FDA on July 13, 1977
that the particles of DKP were so large that the rats could discriminate
between the DKP and their normal diet.(12)
- Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending
this chemical poison to persons with diabetes, but according
to research conducted by a diabetes specialist, aspartame: 1)
Leads to the precipitation of clinical diabetes. 2) Causes poorer
diabetic control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs. 3) Leads
to the aggravation of diabetic complications such as retinopathy,
cataracts, neuropathy and gastroparesis. 4) Causes convulsions.
In a statement concerning
the use of products containing aspartame by persons with diabetes
and hypoglycemia, the researchers says:
"Unfortunately,
many patients in my practice, and others seen in consultation,
developed serious metabolic, neurologic and other complications
that could be specifically attributed to using aspartame products.
This was evidenced by the loss of diabetic control, the intensification
of hypoglycemia, the occurrence of presumed 'insulin reactions'
(including convulsions) that proved to be aspartame reactions,
and the precipitation, aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications
(especially impaired vision and neuropathy) while using these
products ... Dramatic improvement of such features after avoiding
aspartame, and the prompt predictable recurrence of these problems
when the patient resumed aspartame products, knowingly or inadvertently."
Another researcher
stated that excitotoxins such as those found in aspartame can
precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible
to the disease.(5)
- Emotional Disorders
In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons
with mood disorders, findings showed a large increase in serious
symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms
were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop
the study. Three of the participants had said that they had
been "poisoned" by aspartame. Researchers concluded
that "individuals with mood disorders are particularly
sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population
should be discouraged."(18) One researcher stated about
aspartame, "I know it causes seizures. I'm convinced also
that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I'm very angry
that this substance is on the market. I personally question
the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet
Company."(19)
Additionally, there
are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression
and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame
and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.
With the large and
growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see
that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the "safety"
of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people
who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed.
Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the
survey:
"These 80 cases
meet the FDA's own definition of an imminent hazard to the public
health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product
from the market."
Both the Air Force's
magazine, Flying Safety, and the Navy's magazine, Navy Physiology,
published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame
including the cumulative delirious effects of methanol and the
greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the
ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures
and vertigo. Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting
aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business
Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical
Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General
Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News
(1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane & Pilot (1990)
and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th
Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).
A hotline was even
set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame
ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported symptoms including some
who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit
due to aspartame.(21)
Why don't we
hear about these things?
The reason many people
do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold: 1)
Lack of awareness by the general population. Aspartame-caused
diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes.
This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands
of different locations across the United States. 2) Most people
do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame.
For the people who have killed a significant percentage of their
brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, there is no
way that they would normally associate such an illness with aspartame
consumption.
How aspartame was approved
is a lesson in how chemical and pharmaceutical companies can manipulate
government agencies such as the FDA, "bribe" organizations
such as the American Dietetic Association, and flood the scientific
community with flawed and fraudulent industry-sponsored studies
funded by the makers of aspartame.
Erik Millstone, a researcher
at the Science Policy Research Unit of Sussex University has compiled
thousands of pages of evidence, some of which have been obtained
using the freedom of information act 23, showing: 1. Laboratory
tests were faked and dangers were concealed. 2. Tumors were removed
from animals and animals that had died were "restored to
life" in laboratory records. 3. False and misleading statements
were made to the FDA. 4. The two US Attorneys given the task of
bringing fraud charges against the aspartame manufacturer took
positions with the manufacturer's law firm, letting the statute
of limitations run out. 5. The Commissioner of the FDA overruled
the objections of the FDA's own scientific board of inquiry. Shortly
after that decision, he took a position with Burson-Marsteller,
the firm in charge of public relations for G.D. Searle.
A Public Board of Inquiry
(PBOI) was conducted in 1980. There were three scientists who
reviewed the objections of Olney and Turner to the approval of
aspartame. They voted unanimously against aspartame's approval.
The FDA Commissioner, Dr Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then created a
5-person Scientific Commission to review the PBOI findings. After
it became clear that the Commission would uphold the PBOI's decision
by a vote of 3 to 2, another person was added to the Commission,
creating a deadlocked vote. This allowed the FDA Commissioner
to break the deadlock and approve aspartame for dry goods in 1981.
Dr Jacqueline Verrett, the Senior Scientist in an FDA Bureau of
Foods review team created in August 1977 to review the Bressler
Report (a report that detailed G.D. Searle's abuses during the
pre-approval testing) said: "It was pretty obvious that somewhere
along the line, the bureau officials were working up to a whitewash."
In 1987, Verrett testified before the US Senate stating that the
experiments conducted by Searle were a "disaster." She
stated that her team was instructed not to comment on or be concerned
with the overall validity of the studies. She stated that questions
about birth defects have not been answered. She continued her
testimony by discussing the fact that DKP has been shown to increase
uterine polyps and change blood cholesterol and that increasing
the temperature of the product leads to an increase in production
of DKP.(13)
Revolving Doors
The FDA and the manufacturers
of aspartame have had a revolving door of employment for many
years. In addition to the FDA Commissioner and two US Attorneys
leaving to take positions with companies connected with G.D. Searle,
four other FDA officials connected with the approval of aspartame
took positions connected with the NutraSweet industry between
1979 and 1982 including the Deputy FDA Commissioner, the Special
Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, the Associate Director of the
Bureau of Foods and Toxicology and the Attorney involved with
the Public Board of Inquiry.(24)
It is important to
realize that this type of revolving-door activity has been going
on for decades. The Townsend Letter for Doctors (11/92) reported
on a study revealing that 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left
the FDA took positions with companies they had regulated. They
also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug
companies they were assigned to manage. Many organizations and
universities receive large sums of money from companies connected
to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting
the use of aspartame. In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association
received a US$75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company. The American
Dietetic Association has stated that the NutraSweet Company writes
their "Facts" sheets.(25)
What is the FDA doing
to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Less than nothing.
In 1992, the FDA approved
aspartame for use in malt beverages, breakfast cereals, and refrigerated
puddings and fillings. In 1993 the FDA approved aspartame for
use in hard and soft candies, non-alcoholic favored beverages,
tea beverages, fruit juices and concentrates, baked goods and
baking mixes, and frostings, toppings and fillings for baked goods.
In 1991, the FDA banned
the importation of stevia. The powder of this leaf has been used
for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used
widely in Japan with no adverse effects. Scientists involved in
reviewing stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption--something
that has been well known in many parts of the world where it is
not banned. Some people believe that stevia was banned to keep
the product from taking hold in the United States and cutting
into sales of aspartame.(26)
What is the U.S. Congress
doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
What is the U.S. Administration
(President) doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of
aspartame?
Nothing.
Aspartame consumption
is not only a problem in the United States--it is being sold in
over 70 countries throughout the world.
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