Aspartame

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- http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/

 

Aspartame, the _controversial artificial sweetener_

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame) that was approved when Donald

_Rumsfeld_

(http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/05/07/aspa

rtame_gate_when_donald_rumsfeld_was_ceo_of_searle.htm) decided to call in his

political markers to override the FDA's

scientific doubts, seems to be nearing the end of its 'useful' life span. Not

only are consumers getting increasingly angry - once they find out what causes

their ills and they get off the poison - but threatening black scientific

and legislative clouds are lining the horizon as well. Italian study A large

multi-year study of a private Italian health research foundation has acutely

confirmed what studies in the 1980s had already found: brain tumors and other

unsavory effects of aspartame consumption. The study, which used laboratory

animals to test the cancer hypothesis, has been published by Environmental

Health Perspectives (EHP), a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news

on the impact of the environment on human health. The article is available on

the _EHP website_ (http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html) .

The study's authors said that previous studies on aspartame were too short to

show the cancer causing potential of the substance: " In our opinion, previous

studies did not comply with today's basic requirements for testing the

carcinogenic potential of a physical or chemical agent, in particular

concerning

the number of rodents for each experimental group (40 - 86, compared to 100 -

150 in the current study) and the termination of previous studies at only 110

weeks of age of the animals. " The study has made headline news, but most

countries are wary to take a first step - the FDA is held in high esteem,

although opinions might be changing after recent scandals involving painkillers

and

the effects of psychiatric drugs approved by the agency. Consumer complaints

Consumer complaints about aspartame were collected by the FDA and in a rare

slip, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in February of 1994

released a listing of adverse reactions. There are some 92, listing can be

found in _Aspartame... the BAD news!_ (http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html) .

Apparently aspartame accounted for more than 75% of all adverse reactions

reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System. The FDA is in a very

unenviable position. It has approved a neurotoxic carcinogen to be used as an

artificial sweetener and complaints are piling up to where they are difficult

to

hide. But once the sweetener was approved it became almost impossible for the

agency to admit wrongdoing, without unleashing a scandal the likes of which

has not been seen since the _thalidomide_

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide) disaster. New Mexico Against this

background, there is now action in

the New Mexico legislature to hear evidence about aspartame's health

effects. Heaven forbid that there should be hearings, Ajinomoto, the principal

manufacturer of aspartame, has hit the ceiling. Lawyers _hired by Ajinomoto_

(http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=2331) descended on legislative

committees to argue why the FDA's approval should prevent any independent

hearings from taking place. The Calorie Control Council, a group close to

industry, was called in to help. They dutifully _attempted to demolish_

(http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=12568) the Italian

study

saying it did not follow the guidelines of the National Toxicology Program, the

United States government toxicology initiative administered by the National

Institute of Environmental and HealthSciences. The people pressure against

aspartame comes from a network of former 'addicts' who have kicked the diet

habit

and from doctors who have seen the damage and halted or reversed it in their

patients. Books have been written (look at the Amazon ads in the side bar -

hint, hint) that condemn the sweetener and document its ill effects,

aspartame detoxification programs and aspartame help groups exist, a video

_Sweet

Misery: A Poisoned World_

(http://store./yhst-61637171248923/sweetmiserydvd.html) documents some

the history of aspartame's approval and some of its

egregious side effects. A tireless lady by the name of Betty Martini, who

founded _Mission Possible_ (http://www.dorway.com/possible.html) is arguably

the most well known among the aspartame opponents, although hers is not a

lonely crusade. Aspartame users (mostly ex, to be sure) and doctors in some 30

countries are involved. They swear they won't rest until the poison has been

removed from the food supply and those responsible for overriding science and

covering up the side effects are brought to justice. It is _Betty Martini_

(http://www.wnho.net/bio-bmartini.htm) who wrote the following two letters,

one

to the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and another, more recent

one, to the Governor and the Attorney General of New Mexico. While her tone

reflects her frustration of seeing official inaction in the face of an obvious

catastrophe, we should not make light of what she has to say. The comments and

documentation go well beyond the immediate issue of the New Mexico hearings.

Anyone serious about understanding what the aspartame controversy is all

about would do well to read her letters. That includes any health officials who

might be reading this article - especially! I have added some links to the

references in the letters, to make it easier for those interested to arrive at

the documents... (12/1/2005 9:50:11 PM)