The Connection Between Aspartame & Bipolar Disorder

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The Connection Between Aspartame and Bipolar Disorder JoAnn Guest Jul 31,

2003 18:56 PDT

 

The Connection between Aspartame (Artificial Sweetener) and Panic

Attacks, Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Memory Problems, and Other Mental

Symptoms

 

 

(The following article is a letter to the editor written to Time

Magazine. It is posted here because of its excellent references on the

relationship between aspartame and mental symptoms. Further references

are at the end of this article)

 

by Betty Martini, Founder

Mission Possible International

9270 River Club Parkway

Duluth, Georgia 30097

770 242-2599

www.dorway.com

 

I have read your article on Young and Bipolar, Aug 19, 2002. It says:

" Once called manic depression, the disorder afflicted adults. Now it's

striking kids. Why? "

 

I personally believe the answer is obvious, but Time has known the true

facts on aspartame for years and refuses to publish them.

 

If you had the ability to publish the truth, I would tell you to get in

touch with psychiatrist Ralph Walton, M.D.. He is Professor and

Chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Universities

College of Medicine. In one statement he said: " We have known for years

that when aspartame is ingested with a carbohydrate rich meal the usual

physiologic increase in tryptophan is blocked, while brain phenylalanine

and tyrosine concentrations are increased. These changes in amino acid

neurotransmitter precursors could, I believe, alter

indoleamine/catecholamine balance, and thus have a profound effect on

mood and cognition ... depressed mood, anxiety, dizziness, panic

attacks, nausea, irritability, impairment of memory and concentration. "

 

Of course, bipolar is an affective disorder in which the patient

exhibits both manic and depressive episodes.

 

Aspartame has 50% phenylalanine which as an isolate is neurotoxic and

goes directly into the brain. Dr. Richard Wurtman of MIT explained this

to Congress in l985 and has done a great deal of research. He

undoubtedly would not give an interview today. Perhaps if you read about

him in the United Press International 8 month investigation of aspartame

you would understand why. It's on www.dorway.com You see the

phenylalanine also lowers the seizure threshold and Dr. Wurtman wanted

to do seizure studies. He was threatened by Searle that if he did his

research funds would be rejected and they were. But MIT is getting

research funds now. The phenylalanine also depletes serotonin. And when

you deplete serotonin it triggers MANIC DEPRESSION, anxiety,

hallucinations, panic attacks, insomnia, paranoia, mood swings and even

suicidal tendencies.

 

So Dr. Wurtman was very interested in the seizure issue and serotonin

issue. Back in l986 he was a real tiger and he understood very well that

if you wanted valid research you needed independent studies. I have a

copy of his introductory comments presented to the FDA on April 21, l986

in which he said:

 

" The present system, in which the companies that sell our synthetic

foods - like NutraSweet - fund virtually ALL of the studies,

FDA-mandated or not, of their safety is too vulnerable to misuse: As we

can discuss, if you like, when outside investigators propose studies

that might yield the " wrong " answer, a large bag of " dirty tricks " is

available for derailing those studies. We hope that the evolving

aspartame study will provide impetus for a new mechanism, in which

companies that manufacture new, synthetic food constituents (like

NutraSweet's manufacturer, Monsanto), or those that insert it into their

foods (like Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola, or the makers of Kool-Aid or

Crystal Lite) will be obligated to support the research that affirms

their product's safety, but will not be allowed to choose exactly what

studies are done, nor who conducts them. "

 

Dr. Wurtman left us a lovely paper trail in the book Dietary

Phenylalanine and Brain Function, edited by Richard J. Wurtman and Eva

Ritter-Walker, Birkhauser.

 

H. J. Roberts, M.D., who declared Aspartame Disease to be a global

plague has written the medical text, Aspartame Disease: An Ignored

Epidemic, www.aspartameispoison.com or www.sunsentpress.com or

1 800 814 - 9800.

 

There are chapters on the psychiatric and behavioral problems triggered

by aspartame, drug interaction, and of course, the issue of bipolar and

aspartame. And he brings out that there is considerable information

existing concerning marked neuropsychologic changes when

dopamine-serotonin balance is altered. And he says that decreased brain

serotonin has been associated with insomnia, depression, anxiety, panic

attacks, hallucinations, suicidal attempts, hostility and psychopathic

states like Dr. Walton.

 

And Dr. Roberts also quotes Dr. Wurtman. He says that aspartame and its

components can lower brain serotonin levels through several mechanisms:

 

" * Dr. Richard Wurtman demonstrated that aspartame inhibits the

carbohydrate-induced synthesis of serotonin (Congressional Record -

Senate 1985a, P. S 5511). Serotonin is an important component of the

feedback system that helps limit one's consumption of carbohydrate to

appropriate levels by blunting the carbohydrate craving.

 

* The amino acid tyrosine, derived from phenylalanine, reduces the

amount of tryptophan that can cross the blood-brain barrier for

utilization in serotonin production. "

 

Dr. Roberts says that the mounting scientific evidence for altered brain

dopamine concentrations in mental illness is relevant.

 

" * The injection of dopamine (a metabolite of phenylalanine) into the

brain ventricles of humans can precipitate psychotic epidoes, including

hallucinations.

 

* Wong et al (l986) studies the D2 dopamine receptor density in the

caudate nucleus of normal volunteers and patients with schizophrenia by

positron emission tomography (PET). Higher densities were noted in the

schizophrenic group, even without prior neuroleptic drug treatment.

 

* Several aspartame reactors with severe neuropsychiatric features

evidence brain changes by SPECT imaging studies.

 

* .. Dopaminergic influences in aspartame and other addictions

(discussed in VII-G)

 

* More numerous D2 dopamine receptors have been found in the basal

ganglia of schizophrenic patients obtained at postmortem examination,

compared to persons having no history of neurologic or psychiatric

disease. "

 

He also quotes Dr. Walton and says with regard to other changes:

 

" Dr. Ralph G. Walton (l986) urged physicians to bear in mind " the

possible impact of aspartame on catecholamine and indolamine metabolism,

and inquire about use of this artificial sweetener when assessing

patients with affective disorders. "

 

The brain edema and vascular stasis due to chronic methanol intake ( 10%

of aspartame) could contribute to the neuropsychiatric manifestations of

aspartame reactors.

 

The observation that tryptophan depletion in nonalcoholic young men can

induce behavioral changes is pertinent in view of the depletion of

tryptophan by aspartame consumption. "

 

I might add at this point that Dr. Roberts says that suicide has become

a public health crisis. One occurs ever 17 minutes in the US, ranking it

third among causes of death for young people and second for college

students. Accordingly, any substance that may contribute to suicide

cannot be ignored, particularly when consumed in large amounts.

 

Now consider that Parents Magazine in Sept, 1999 wrote an article titled

What's Happening To Our Children? They said that almost every family in

the US has been affected and that by the time a child reaches the 4th

level of high school, one out of four has contemplated suicide.

 

Remember that aspartame is used by 2/3rds of the population and 40% of

our children. I hope this helps you to understand this epidemic. So

whatever is happening to adults will also happen to children. Aspartame

simply destroys the brain and this was proven in a study by Searle in

South America although they did not publish it. An affidavit from the

translator is on www.dorway.com A few months a study in Norway also

showed that aspartame destroys the brain, especially in the areas of

learning. In l970 the famed Dr. John Olney who founded the field of

neuroscience called excitotoxicity did the studies on aspartic acid

which is 40% of aspartame and found that it caused lesions in the brains

of mice. It is an excitotoxin.

 

Russell Blaylock, M.D., neurosurgeon wrote the book on excitotoxicity:

Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, www.amazon.com And he too goes into

the effect of aspartame on the brains of our children and even admits

that it triggers such things as ADD and autism. I have heard both

Doctors Roberts and Blaylock say that many people in mental hospitals

today are simply aspartame victims.

 

Aspartame also triggers such things as brain hemorrhage, stroke and

aneurysms, so you would expect the same thing in children. Not much

shocks me but I know industry had to stay up a lot of nights to come up

with the excuse heard on TV over two months ago. It was stated that

young children are having brain hemorrhages, aneurysms and strokes in

increasing proportions but researchers say that the cause of this is

that children get scared on roller coasters. Why they used such

stupidity I don't know as it definitely insults the intelligence of the

general public.

 

In Dr. Roberts discussion of Mania and " Bipolar " Depression in his

medical text are these comments:

 

" Several aspartame reactors in this series had " bipolar " depression

wherein the depression would alternate with periods of manic behavioral

characterized by intense excitement and overactivity. As many as two

million Americas suffer manic-depression.

 

" The ability of phenylalanine to stimulate the central nervous system,

directly or through its conversion to other neurotransmitters is

germane.

 

" Some studies suggest that bipolar and unipolar affective disorders are

distinct entities - that is, in terms of familial prevalence, genetics

(including twin studies), prognosis, and response to treatment (Schwartz

1987). Several observations are pertinent

 

" * Women outnumber men with unipolar depression by about two to one.

* Difference in unipolar and bipolar depression are reinforced by

positron emission tomography studies (Schwartz 1987). Patients with

unipolar depression have significantly higher local cerebral metabolic

rates for glucose, but these are reduced in bipolar depression.

Accordingly, a further reduction of the cerebral metabolic rate

caused by aspartame or its by products might precipitate clinical

depression in pre-disposed individuals.

 

* A subset of manic-depression appears linked to a dominant gene on the

tip of the short arm of chromosome 11. The tyrosine hydroxylase gene

which cascades the synthesis of dopamine, exists in this region. "

* Whereas the cyclic antidepressants are more effective than lithium in

unipolar depression, they tend to cause more behavioral disturbances in

bipolar depression.

 

Dr. Roberts gives the case history of a 67 year old man that had been

treated for bipolar depression, essential tremor and a labyrinthine

syndrome. He fared well for several years on small doses of propranolol

and lithium. He says that one month prior to his June 1986 visit, the

tremor and vertigo intensified, coupled with " increased mood elevation. "

On direct questioning, he admitted to recent consumption of aspartame

products. His symptoms promptly subsided when he avoid them and did not

recur over the ensuing year, notwithstanding enormous stress because of

his wife's serious illness during that period.

 

Dr. Ralph Walton did a study on aspartame discussed in this medical

text.

 

" Walton, Hudock, and Green-Waite (1993) dramatically demonstrated the

adverse effect of aspartame intake in patients with a history of

depression. They administered aspartame (30 mg/kg) daily or a placebo

for seven days in a double-blind challenge to 40 patients with unipolar

depression and a similar number of persons without a history of

psychiatric problems. The NutraSweet Company apparently refused to

supply these researchers with aspartame, so analytically certified USP

grade aspartame was purchased from a chemical distributor.

 

" The frequency and severity of depression, headache, nervousness,

difficulty in remembering, insomnia, fatigue and malaise were striking

among patients with a history of depression after ingesting aspartame,

compared to the placebo, both in these patients and nondepressed

volunteers. Persons without a history of depression did not manifest

frequent or severe symptoms when given aspartame. The severity of

reactions among patients with a history of depression proved

sufficiently alarming that the Institutional Review Board had to halt

this project prematurely.

 

" * Three participants spontaneously volunteered that they felt

" poisoned " after taking the product later determined to be aspartame.

* A 42 year old Ph.D. psychologist with a history of recurrent severe

depression experienced pain in one eye, followed by retinal detachment

requiring emergency surgery.

* Another depressed patient evidenced conjunctival bleeding for the

first time during the week she ingested aspartame.

* Individual patients with a history of depression experienced swollen

lips, a bad taste in the mouth, facial numbness, weight gain and

irritability - complaints not reported by nondepressed volunteers.

 

" This experience also has raised questions about the nature of the

aspartame supplied for published " negative " double-blind studies. "

 

Perhaps you can understand now why aspartame manufacturers have fought

to prevent independent, corporate neutral research.

 

Dr. Roberts continues but since this is getting long I'm sure you can

see the bottom line. He is stresssing that the decrease of serotonin by

aspartame administration has considerable relevance to depression and

other psychological problems. He mentions that Smith et al (1997)

reported that the rapid lowering of brain serotonin can precipitate

clinical depressive symptoms in untreated individuals vulnerable to

major depression. Also that aspartame decreases the availability of

L-tryptophan (a precursor of serotonin) and alters its balance with

norepinephrine, another important neurotransmitter. Also that some have

likened its effects to that of a lesion in the lateral hypothalamus

causing depression, other psychiatric problems, and eating disorders.

Dr. Walton I know has written about this and the report is on web.

 

You might want to read The Lancet 1987;2:949-950 where Dr. Roberts says

there is considerable evidence for the diminished turnover of brain

serotonin in depression and behavioral disturbances, including suicide.

 

Could it get any worse? Yes, how could a physician treat these patients

if he didn't know about aspartame since it interacts with

antidepressants. For instance, the serotonin elevating action of

fluoxetine (Prozac) for treating depression could be counteracted by

aspartame. It can block tryptophan entry into the brain, thereby

inhibiting synthesis of serotonin! This is discussed in the chapter on

drug interaction and antidepressant drugs. Aspartame interacts with just

about every drug used to treat the problems it causes!

 

Obviously after 20 years on the market we know what aspartame does.

Doctors who have seen aspartame victims in the trenches of medical

practice for years are experts and constantly alert the public through

writings. But we have a reluctant press who could have done something

about this issue years ago. Dr. P. Maxwell Foshay, Editor, Cleveland

Journal of Medicine said it the best way back in 1900:

 

" It will thus be seen that medical journalism is in a state of chaos ...

The greed for advertising patronage leads, the editor only too often to

prostitute his pen or his pages to the advertiser, so long as he can

secure the coveted revenue. "

 

In 1999 Time Magazine was on www.dorway.com investigating an email that

made world news on the World Environmental Conference. It was signed

Nancy Markle but I was the one who lectured. Time's Mrs. Gorman admitted

that she had seen an almost identical post which was my original. So she

knew I was the author and instead of calling me wrote that it was a

hoax. Basically it read like a Monsanto commercial down to " Sweeten Your

Life Without Shortening It " . A good example of reverse psychology.

Flooded with mail Time refused to retract their misinformation stumbling

many consumers back on aspartame only to suffer such things as grand mal

seizures. Mission Possible gave Time Magazine the award for The Most

Irresponsible Journalism - 1999, and were added to the Hall of Shame.

 

Monsanto could not put out the fire, however, because the email

saturated the globe and sold the NutraSweet Company. But as Mohammed Ali

once said: " They can run but they can't hide. " Today we are taking case

histories for class action having to do with the brain tumors,

blindness, eye deterioration and seizures.

 

Because aspartame is also an abortifacient millions of babies have been

murdered in their mother's womb. Dr. James Bowen said in Aspartame

Murders Infants on web:

 

" At every point in the fertility process aspartame destroys, beginning

with the gleam in Mom and Pop's eyes, it ruins female sexual response

and induces male sexual dysfunction. Beyond this, aspartame disrupts

fetal development by aborting it or inducing defects. And if a live

child is born aspartame may have heinously damaged the DNA of the baby,

cursing future generations. "

 

It's a shame that Time Magazine doesn't consider the lives of our

children to be more important than the advertising funds of such

companies as NutraSweet, Coke and Pepsi, for example.

 

Today aspartame is estimated to be in 9000 products and climbing and 100

countries of the world. It is in pediatric prescription drugs like

pediatric penicillin, Augmentin, chewable Tylenol, chewable Benadryl,

pediatric vitamins, etc. Our children don't have a chance.

 

If you go to www.greatfallspro.com (Mission Possible Maine) you can

download Dr. John Olney's entire report to the Board of Inquiry of the

FDA. Here you can read his prophecy of what will happen to the brains of

our children if aspartame is approved, and this prophecy has now been

fulfilled.

 

I don't expect for Time Magazine to expose the aspartame issue to the

public because they have known the real facts for years and only added

to misinformation. So I leave you with the words of Patrick Henry:

 

" Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. "

 

Further References:

 

Book: Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, www.aspartameispoison.com

or www.sunsentpress.com or 1 800 814 - 9800.

 

Web site: http://web2.airmail.net/marystod

 

The following posts cover various symptoms reportedly caused by

aspartame:

 

Anxiety - http://nancymarkle.com/hulse.txt

Anxiety - http://nancymarkle.com/wolverto.txt

Nerve damage - http://nancymarkle.com/raiford.txt

Neuropsychiatric disorders - http://nancymarkle.com/blayenn.txt

Panic attacks - http://nancymarkle.com/drake.html

Psychiatric complaints - http://nancymarkle.com/roberts-headach.txt

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/AIM.html

 

 

 

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