Aspartame

[Guest guest]

Here are some comments on Nancy's posting on Diet Coke and aspartame.

 

First Nancy is not correct that there are no mainstream opponents of

aspartame - all of the research done showing the dangers of

aspartame have been done by the leading research labs in the world.

There is of course a large pro aspartame lobby because there are

100'sof millions of dollars being spent to protect the multi billion

$ aspartame market. This is a political issue - the producers of

aspartame MUST stop this body of incontravertable research not just

to protect their profits but also to fend of the potential

catastrophic law suits that could be brought against them. Many

politicians recieve a lot of contributions from the various pro

aspartame lobbies. My wife has been working on this issue for years.

Several people in our anti-aging group had taken aspartame in the

past and when they stopped (in some cases this was not easy)their

health improved tremendously. Many countries of the world have long

ago banned or restricted the selling of aspartame - not US where

most any thing can be sold as long as the lobby is rich and powerful

enough. Profits before health is a long standing American tradition.

 

The problems with aspartame have mainly to do with not just

L-phenylalanine but with the combination of phenylalanine and L-

aspartic acid. Phenylalanine is the building block for dopamine -

the primary excito brain chemical - taking this substance can

artificially raise dopamine levels this is what one becomes addicted

to. Depressed and or hypometabolic people are by definition dopamine

defecient - and they crave stimulants of all types in an attempt to

compensate for the lack of energy they suffer. In human consciouness

the primary Yang substance is dopamine. All Yang defecient people

will crave stimulation since they are under functioning. The problem

is that we can not raise the Yang without suffecient Yin to support

it (sound familiar?). So we can see the inherant problem in taking

phenylalanine for stimulation. Many life extension people have

gotten into bad trouble taking phenylalanine and or tyrosine to

stimulate the brain and improve intelligence. At one time it was a

fad to take these substances to improve brain functioning (as well

as stimulate growth hormone release)- but because of the problems

that cropped up this fad has faded. Using these substances for these

purposes needs a lot of knowledge.

 

Dopamine is much more stimulating than CNS stimulants like cafeeine

or nicotine - this is why they have a powerful addicting quality.

The headaches that are associated with phenyalanine have two

sources - one is that they are a withdrawal symptom the other is

that stimulants with insuffecient yin to support it can cause

various types of constriction of the small blood vessels - high

blood pressure (caused by these constrictions) may be a factor in

these headaches. Stimulation without suffecient Yin to support it of

course further stresses and depletes the Yin.

 

It isn't that phenylalanine is curing headaches - it is the cause of

the headache - a withdrawal symptom - and taking another 'dose' will

stop the headache - many stimulants have this profile - many

addicted to caffeine from coffee have headaches when they miss their

coffee fix. Many researchers have noted that aspartame can cause

permenant damage to dopamine functions if it is taken in large doses

over a long period of time - it permamnently alters the dopamine

chemical pathway which can not be corrected.

 

Aspartame has been known for many years to interfere with memory

functions - in fact this was one of the first side effects noted

when it first came on the market.

 

But these problems I have been mentioning are only the beginning of

the aspartame picture. The most serious problem in my opinion is the

methanol issue - without going into the chemical issues involved (I

will give some links at the end of this - the wikipedia link goes

into this issue somewhat) - but suffice it to say that the methanol

(a powerful excitotoxin) link is the one responsible for many

studies which draw a link between Aspartame (phenylalanine plus

aspartic acid) and brain tumors and brain cancers.

 

Aspartame is a highly dangerous substance that many take daily. The

many issues involved should be the clue that there is something

wrong here - the very fact that many can not stop taking it without

withdrawal symptoms is a clear cut warning sign. Do not take

substances of any sort that cause withdrawal symptoms of any kind -

this simply means the body has some problem with this substance and

it has caused an artificial dependancy. Stop it as soon as possible.

All of the addictive substances are either sedatives or stimulants.

 

Here are links to aspartame related sites. The wikipedia page is

fairly comprehensive without being overly technical - it has both

pro and con arguments and links - remember that all of the pro sites

are either supported by aspartame manufacturers or by those addicted

to aspartame - this is similar to those nicotine addicts that think

it is their God given right to be addicted to tobacco no matter what

harm it does. Dr. Hull is someone who has been fighting against

artificial sweeteners of all types for years. All of her work is

maticulously researched.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame

 

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

 

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

 

http://www.sweetpoison.com/phenylalanine.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

> The cravings have been pretty intense and now I am wondering if

there is

> some truth to the stuff that's posted around the Internet about

> aspartame being addictive. I've always thought it was the

caffeine in

> the past, but this craving is so specific to Diet Coke. If you

offered

> me a regular Coke right now I'd turn it down. I also have had

problems

> with sweet cravings and blood sugar control (I'm insulin

resistant).

> There are those who blame these things on aspartame. It's so hard

to

> know what is what because there's nobody in the mainstream

admitting to

> it. I plan to stay off the Diet Coke to see what happens. I've

got to

> admit, it's a lucky thing I don't have any in the house right now

> because talking about it making me want one. There's this little

voice

> saying, " Just one to make sure you don't get a headache. "

>

> Nancy S+13

>

> zenisis7 wrote:

>

> > Diet Cokes or caffeinated colas in general can indeed be a hard

habit

> > to break. They seem to increase my cravings for sweets in

general as

> > does wheat which may lead to a craving for ice cream and so

forth and

> > so on. Best to go cold turkey from all of the above.

> >

> > --------------------------------

-------

> >

>