A Tale of Two Sweeteners

[Guest guest]

*A Tale of Two Sweeteners

Aspartame & Stevia*

 

For more than 20 years, a war has been silently waging in this country. The

battlefield is the billion dollar artificial sweetener industry. The

combatants are the giant agri-chemical industry and its allied forces, the

FDA against a handful of small private companies and concerned citizens on

the other. The casualties are the 200 million men, women, and children who

regularly consume more than 5,000 food products artificially sweetened with

saccharin, acesulfame k, and aspartame. They do so because they are

diabetic, hypoglycemic, or just concerned about their weight. They

unwittingly become victims by consuming artificial sweeteners in everything

from chewing gum to soft drinks. Even more disturbing, is the use of

aspartame, perhaps the most toxic of these chemicals in children's vitamins

like Centrum, Jr., Sunkist Multivitamins, and Bayer's Flintstones and Bugs

Bunny Chewables. Aspartame is marketed under the innocuous sounding names

Equal and NutraSweet.

 

The only warning label which appears on the little blue packets of Equal and

products containing aspartame concerns phenylketonuria (PKU) a rare disorder

which affects about 1 in 15,000 individuals. These individuals lack one of

the paired genes that most people possess at birth which controls the

metabolism of phenylalanine.

 

But nowhere on the label is there even the slightest hint that aspartame has

caused brain tumors in laboratory animals (although saccharin does carry

this warning), or that according to National Cancer Institute data, there

has been an alarming increase in the incidence and malignancy of brain

tumors in Americans since the introduction of aspartame into our food supply

in the early 1980's(1).

 

Nowhere on the label are consumers warned of the thousands of complaints

associated with aspartame that are on file at the FDA and the Centers for

Disease Control. Reports of 92 different serious side effects include

headaches, menstrual irregularities, nausea, dizziness, skin lesions,

rashes, hyperactivity, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal disorders,

blackouts, numbness, memory loss, blindness, seizures, and suicidal

depressions. While reports of these side effects number only in the

thousands, the real number of adverse effects associated with aspartame use

is estimated to be as high as 700,000. This is because most people don't

associate symptoms with aspartame, and even if they did, only a small

fraction of patients or doctors actually take the time to report them.

 

Meanwhile, an all-natural, non-caloric, non-toxic sweetener that is safe for

use by both diabetics and hypoglycemics is being kept a secret from the

American public. This herbal substance has been used safely for hundreds of

years, is in almost half of all sweetened foods consumed in Japan, has been

cultivated and studied extensively around the world with no reports of any

ill side effects, and has the ability to prevent tooth decay, inhibit the

growth of certain bacteria, balance blood sugar levels, heal wounds, and

reduce the craving for sweets!

 

Why is the FDA keeping the world's greatest sweetener a secret from the

American public?. Why aren't diabetic, hypoglycemic, and weight-conscious

individuals allowed to learn about a truly safe alternative to aspartame and

other artificial sweeteners? Let's take a closer look.

 

*What is Aspartame? *

 

Researchers at G.D. Searle pharmaceutical company were looking for an ulcer

drug when they accidentally stumbled upon a white, crystalline powder that

was 180 times sweeter than sugar. This man made synthetic compound consisted

of two isolated amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid chemically

bonded by methanol (wood alcohol.) Searle dubbed the new compound aspartame

and was relentless in gaining approval for its use as a food additive,

despite the dangers.

 

Phenylalanine breaks down into diketopiperazine, a brain tumor agent.Ê Rats

in original laboratory studies developed astrocytoma brain tumors.Ê Elevated

levels of phenylalanine also cause changes in brain chemistry which may

account for brain/mood symptoms such as seizures, mania, and severe

depression.(2) Other specific types of reactions which were published in the

Journal of Applied Nutrition in 1988 included: extreme irritability, severe

anxiety attacks, marked personality changes, recent severe insomnia, and

severe aggravation of phobias.(3)

 

Aspartic acid is a neurotransmitter, one of a class of chemicals

manufactured and used by the brain. It is believed by some experts that the

aspartic acid in aspartame causes brain lesions by literally exciting brain

cells to death.(4) Aspartic acid has caused brain lesions in experimental

animals.Ê

 

In nature, methyl alcohol (or methanol) occurs in combination with ethyl

alcohol, its antidote. Only in aspartame, does methyl alcohol appear alone.

Once ingested, methanol converts to formaldehyde, which not surprisingly,

affects the brain. It is then further converted to formic acid (ant sting

poison) which causes metabolic acidosis. Absorption of methanol is hastened

when aspartame has broken down, as it does when it is heated, (added to hot

beverages or baked goods) or decomposes during prolonged storage. Methyl

alcohol is specifically toxic to the optic nerve and has been known to cause

blindness.(5)

 

There are 32 breakdown products from aspartame that we know of. These

include: methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, epinephrine, phenylethylamine,

phenypyruvate, phenylactic acid,Êdiketopiperazine, aspartylphenylalanine,

beta aspartame, tyrosine, L-Dopa, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

 

*Approval Over Controversy and Objections *

 

There are very powerful economic forces behind aspartame. Even before

aspartame received its final green light from the FDA for use in dry foods

in 1981 and in beverages in 1983, scientists objected to its approval.

Aspartame was initially granted FDA approval for use in dry foods in 1974,

but was later blocked by objections raised by attorney James Turner and John

Olney, M.D. Investigators described aspartame safety studies conducted by

G.D. Searle between 1967 and 1975 as 'shoddy science' and 'sloppy tests.'

Ninety out of 113 aspartame safety tests showed discrepancies. FDA

scientists and outside researchers insisted that more rigorous and reliable

testing was needed. Despite these concerns, on July 18, 1981 aspartame was

approved for use in dry foods by FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes who,

incredibly overruled his own Public Board of Inquiry which recommended that

approval be denied. He also ignored the law, Section 409©(3) of the Food

Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348), which says that a food additive

should not be approved if tests are inconclusive (6)

 

Objections to aspartame's continued use continued. In 1981, John Olney,

professor of psychiatry and neuropathology at Washington University, St.

Louis cited risks involved with the use of aspartame. Olney, who was

instrumental in banning the use of cyclamates, warned that aspartame had

brain damaging properties. The American Academy of Pediatrics raised

concerns about the effects of phenylalanine on PKU carriers who were unaware

that they had the defect. Astonishingly, even the National Soft Drink

Association had serious doubts about the safety of aspartame. In 1983, the

NSDA filed a 30-page objection to aspartame's use in beverages and then,

inexplicably reversed its opposition. Aspartame received approval for use in

soft drinks in 1983 and shortly thereafter, Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes

left the FDA. He was then hired as a consultant (at the rate of $1,000 per

day) with G.D. Searle's public relations firm, Burston Marsteller.(7)

 

Prompted by mounting safety concerns within the scientific community, Ohio

Senator Howard Metzenbaum called for Senate hearings on NutraSweet. He

introduced the Aspartame Safety Act of 1985 on August 1st of that year. The

bill called for clinical studies to ascertain the safety of aspartame, a

moratorium on the introduction of aspartame into new products until

independent testing was complete, labeling of products including the amount

of aspartame in each serving and the allowable daily intake, and a warning

that aspartame is not intended for infant use. The bill also required the

FDA to set up a clinical adverse reaction committee to collect reports of

adverse effects and to send written notices to physicians about aspartame.

In a March 3, 1986 news release, the Senator stated 'we cannot use

American's children as guineas pigs to determine the Ôsafe' level of

NutraSweet consumption.' Sadly, the bill that potentially could have stopped

an ongoing tragedy, was killed in the Labor and Human Resources Committee,

and never reached the Senate floor.

 

After suffering a $28 million dollar loss in the previous year, G.D. Searle

sold out to the chemical company, Monsanto in 1985.(8) Monsanto then created

the NutraSweet Company as a subsidiary, separate from G.D. Searle. Over the

next decade, aspartame consumption soared and reports of ill side effects

increased.

 

In June of 1996, FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler lifting all restrictions

on the use of aspartame and granted it blanket approval, despite the fact

that this neurotoxin (mislabeled as a food additive) is in reality, a

dangerous drug that changes brain chemistry and interacts with other drugs.

He did so without public notification. He also ignored a request by Senator

Metzenbaum (then retired) to initiate additional safety testing. Aspartame

could now be used as freely as sugar.

 

*Stevia: America's Prohibited Sweetener *

 

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a perennial shrub native to the Amambay

Mountain region of Paraguay. It has been enjoyed by the Guarani Indians for

hundreds of years, who use it primarily to sweeten their herbal mat tea . By

the 1800's daily consumption of stevia had spread to South American settlers

in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil. In 1899, Stevia was 'rediscovered' by

Italian botanist, Moises Santiago Bertoni. This set the stage for the

cultivation of stevia, which until that time had only grown in the wild in

its native Paraguay.

 

The first stevia crop was harvested in 1908. Soon plantations began

flourishing throughout South America and abroad. Stevia was first brought to

the attention of the US Government in 1918 by a US Botanist. In 1921

American Trade Commissioner George S. Brady, aware of stevia's great

commercial possibilities, again brought it to the attention of the US

Government, this time to the USDA. Brady noted that stevia had a long

history of safe use, and was especially ideal for use as a sweetener by

diabetics. This news no doubt, alarmed US sugar producers, much in the same

way that the sugar industry in Germany had felt threatened when stevia was

introduced there in 1913.

 

In 1931, the French isolated a pure white crystalline extract: stevioside.

US government researcher Dr. Hewitt G. Fletcher labeled it 'the sweetest

natural product yet found.' Curiously, it appears that stevia did not make

its emergence onto the US sweetener scene at this time.

 

In the late sixties and early seventies, the FDA was busy setting the stage

for approval of aspartame for mass consumption in the US. But, Japan had

already banned or severely restricted its use, as it had with other unsafe

food additives. By 1970, the Japanese discovered stevia: the ideal

replacement for sugar and its synthetic substitutes.

 

In the mid-1980's stevia was being used by several US companies as a flavor

enhancer in herbal teas. Suddenly, the FDA poised itself for an all out

assault on stevia and launched an aggressive campaign to stop its use.

Prompted by an anonymous trade complaint, a series of FDA actions against

companies using stevia included: embargoes, search and seizures, and

ultimately an all out 'import alert.' (9) Stevia was not granted GRAS

(Generally recognized as safe) status, despite it's long history of safe use

and the numerous world wide scientific studies supporting its safety.

Instead, it was classified as an 'unsafe food additive'. Celestial

Seasonings and other companies were forced to stop using stevia.

 

While stevia was being grown and enjoyed in such countries as China, Japan,

Brazil, Israel, Malaysia, and even Germany, it disappeared completely from

the US marketplace until 1994. Despite the FDA's opposition, passage of the

Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act allowed stevia to reenter the US

market as a food supplement. Companies which market stevia products are

prohibited from making the slightest implication that stevia has sweetening

qualities. To do so is to risk stevia being relabeled as an unsafe food

additive and to once again be banned entirely from the U.S. market.

 

To further protect the interests of Monsanto, and to continue the poisoning

of the American public, the FDA would ultimately resort to strategies

frighteningly reminiscent of tactics practiced in Nazi Germany. Recently,

the FDA placed an embargo on shipments of stevia to the small Stevita

Company of Arlington, Texas. In a letter to Stevita dated May 19, 1998 the

FDA further demanded that Stevita destroy a warehouse full of 'cookbooks,

literature, and other publications' and promised to be on hand to 'witness

the destruction' of the offending materials. In a later development, the FDA

asked the Stevita Company to recall the more than 6,500 books already in

distribution to stores, and private individuals for the purpose of

destroying these, as well.

 

Although the book burning has yet to take place (FDA officials backed off

when local media cameras began rolling) and the FDA now denies these

allegations, the letter to Stevita is proof that these threats were real.

The matter has not gone unnoticed by the local chapter of the ACLU either.

The FDA's actions which are in clear violation of the constitutional right

to freedom of the press, should be of particular concern to all Americans at

a time when free speech is being attacked on several fronts. As evidenced by

the recent Oprah Winfrey trial, passage of food disparagement laws in 13

states stifle free speech by threatening legal action against anyone with a

disparaging word to say about a U.S. agricultural product.

 

*Sweet Surrender*

 

While the rest of the world freely enjoys an all-natural, non-toxic,

non-caloric herbal sweetener that is 180-400 times sweeter than sugar, but

without any of sugar's side effects, Americans are being kept in the dark.

Even though the FDA acknowledges that it considers stevia 'a potent

sweetener', U.S. companies are prohibited from implying that stevia has any

sweetening properties at all.

 

*The benefits of stevia as a sweetener are unrivaled*:

 

* Stevia actually balances blood sugar levels, and is safe for use by both

diabetics and hypoglycemics.

 

* Unlike aspartame, there are no reports of adverse effects from stevia's

use and scientific studies throughout the world prove out its safety. Stevia

has never been shown to cause brain tumors, seizures, blindness, or any of

the other 92 adverse reactions associated with aspartame. * Unlike

aspartame, stevia reduces the craving for sweets, making it the ideal

sweetener for a society desperate to lose weight.

 

* Unlike sugar, stevia reduces cavities by retarding the growth of plaque.

 

* Stevia is used as a digestive aid in Brazil.

 

* Stevia contains antiseptic properties which have proven beneficial in

speeding the healing process of skin wounds.

 

* Tests show that stevia's antimicrobial properties inhibit the growth of

streptococcus and other bacteria. This is especially noteworthy since some

forms of streptococcus have become antibiotic resistant.

 

*The Fight for a Safe Sweetener *

 

I know that some might question my qualifications or motivation for telling

this story. Very simply, both are rooted in my own personal experience with

aspartame and stevia. For twelve years, I suffered from chronic migraine

headaches, at least four times a week. I was literally addicted to Fiorinal,

a prescription drug containing butalbital, caffeine, and aspirin, and the

only medication I found effective at alleviating the often unbearable pain.

All the while, I had attributed these headaches to a whiplash injury I

sustained in an automobile accident around the same time the headaches began

occurring more frequently. Several months ago as I started reading about the

hazards associated with artificial sweeteners, I decided to quit using all

products containing aspartame. Since that day, I have not had one single

headache. The transformation from chronic pain to living pain-free has been

nothing short of miraculous.

 

I have also begun to learn about using stevia as a sweetener. Granted, it

takes some getting used to. Stevia is so very powerful, that you have to

learn to use the smallest amount to achieve a desired sweetness. But the

rewards are more than worthwhile. In addition to not having to deal with

splitting headaches, I have noticed that my craving for sweets has become

significantly diminished. Talk about an easy, painless way to stop

overindulging in goodies. (my weakness!) And I have found stevia concentrate

to be not only delicious, but an invaluable aid in healing skin abrasions

and a wonderfully nourishing skin mask.

 

Don't wait for the FDA to give stevia its blessing. It may be a long time in

coming. I urge you to immediately (if not sooner) empty your kitchen

cupboards of all products containing aspartame. Throw out your Equal,

Crystal Lite, diet sodas, chewing gum, and don't forget the toothpaste! You

not only will become liberated, but a whole lot healthier in the process.

And remember these words from Dr. Julian Whitaker: 'Frankly, I don't let

aspartame into my house--children live there.'(10)

 

Notes

 

1. Dr. Julian Whitaker, A Natural Sweetener That's Also Calorie Free, Health

& Healing, Vol.

 

4, No. 12, December, 1994.

 

2. Ibid

 

3. Aspartame: Is it Safe? an Interview with H.J. Roberts, M.D., Mastering

Food Allergies #61, 1990.

 

4. Linda Bonvie, Bill Bonvie, and Donna Gates, The Stevia Story, B.E.D.

Publications, Atlanta, Georgia, 1997.

 

5. Ibid 1.

 

6. Steven A. Farber, " Aspartame and the Regulation of Food Additives: A

Study of FDA Decision-Making and a Proposal for Change, " Master of Science

in Technology and Public Policy Thesis at Massachusetts Institute of

Technology, 1989.

 

7 Gregory Gordon, " NutraSweet: Questions Swirl, " UPI Investigative Report,

10/12/87. Reprinted in US Senate (1987, page 483-510).

 

8. Ibid.

 

9. Ibid 4.

 

10. Ibid 1