Crystal Lite HIGH

[Guest guest]

Dr. Janet Starr Hull:

 

Can you imagine discovering that your 12-year-old

child is using dry, powdered forms of aspartame to get

high? I recently received an email from a woman who

discovered her daughter had been eating dry aspartame

to get " high. "

 

" I learned months ago, " she wrote, " that a friend of

my 12-year-old daughter had turned her on to ingesting

Crystal Lite® (with aspartame) without water to get

" hyper. " I consulted with our doctors, called Poison

Control, and met with school administrators to see if

they were aware of this.

 

" The message I received, " she continued, " was 'Crystal

Lite is perfectly safe and the problem was most likely

in their heads.' "

 

As a concerned parent, this mother has been

researching aspartame ever since. " With the listed

symptoms/side affects of aspartame on your website, "

she continued, " it is apparent to me that the children

are getting some type of 'altered' sensation. I know

my daughter experiences a rapid heart beat, dizziness,

headaches and nausea, to name a few reactions she has

described to me. "

 

A typical response from the marketers and

manufacturers of aspartame is " there is no scientific

evidence or research showing this type of reaction to

aspartame is possible. " Here's another common

corporate reply: " the FDA approved aspartame, so it is

safe. " And how many times have you heard this one:

" our research shows aspartame to be perfectly safe for

children and during pregnancy. It is the most

researched food additive in American FDA history. "

 

Well, now consumers can add: children are taking

Crystal Lite straight out of the can and eating it in

powdered form to get " high. "

 

Record numbers of disease syndromes, obesity,

depression, and anxiety currently plague our youth - a

problem turned epidemic AFTER aspartame and the diet

sweetener craze flooded the market and dominated

modern foods over 25 years ago. Many research

scientists and nutritionists predicted such problems

would result.

 

So Go Ahead and Snoop Around...

After I received this very disturbing email, I decided

to snoop around to find out if children in my area had

heard of using Crystal Lite to get high. Well, I

wouldn't be writing this article if the answer was " no

- never. " Children, indeed, have discovered eating the

raw, powdered forms of aspartame gives them a rush

they compare to taking too much Aderol®, an ADHD

medication abused by non-ADHD kids to get high. I even

spoke to a 13 year old who " knew someone who knew

someone " who snorted Crystal Lite.

 

" The first couple of times he did it, " the child

disclosed, " his nose burned and he got a nosebleed.

But once he got used to it, he said it was a good

high, mostly because it was free. He just goes in his

mom's pantry and grabs a scoop of her Crystal Lite,

puts it in a baggie, and brings it to school. Someone

always has some, and after school, we get a buzz. "

 

" Ha, " he sniggered, " if we're in class and one of our

bros gets a nosebleed, we know he snorted some in the

bathroom before class. Been a lot of nosebleeds

lately; the teachers don't know a thing. Hey, we get

to miss class and go to the nurse's office. "

 

Americans have been more concerned about children

using illegal drugs, alcohol, and smoking, while

addictive and harmful chemicals in the food supply

have gone unnoticed. We campaign against underage drug

abuse using school awareness programs and implementing

stricter laws for drug possession, but we allow

children to have access to pharmaceutical drugs and

dangerous food chemicals proven to be harmful to human

health. Actually, diet sweeteners can be more

dangerous to a child in multiple ways because these

chemicals can be when used daily with no limits and

easy access.

 

And, these dangerous chemicals are in the public

schools. A child today can abuse ADHD drugs while

swallowing them down with a diet cola. And we wonder

why children have shorter attention spans, dangerous

mood swings, and debilitating apathy!

 

Okay. Prove It!

Over the years of working with aspartame victims, I

have documented many case histories of adverse

reactions to the powdered form of aspartame found in

Equal® and Crystal Lite. These reactions are more

intensified compared to diluted forms of aspartame

found in colas, liquid medicines, yogurts, etc. In my

book Sweet Poison, I include case histories of

seizures and blindness from regularly consuming

powdered forms of aspartame.

 

The Department of Experimental Physiology, Medical

School at the University of Athens, Greece, Institute

of Child Health, Research Center, concluded in 2005

that high levels and cumulative toxic concentrations

of aspartame metabolites decreased the membrane AChE

activity, resulting in memory loss. Additionally,

neurological symptoms, including learning and memory

processes, appeared in the study to be related to the

high or toxic concentrations of the sweetener

metabolites.

 

At present, the only known treatments for increasing

lack of memory, such as Alzheimer's Disease, are

either NMDA receptor antagonists or

acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, such as the

pharmaceutical Aricept®. The Greek study shows that

overuse of aspartame, as well as the long-term effects

of aspartame, impair memory.

 

Because low doses of aspartame are shown to inhibit

acetylchoinesterase, just like pharmaceutical

treatments for people with memory loss, when a healthy

individual with normal cholinergic functioning, such

as a young child for example, starts administering a

cholinesterase inhibitor when no memory loss has

occurred, aspartame ingestion (according to the study)

will eventually lead to down-regulation of post

synaptic ACH receptors, and ultimately disrupt memory

and learning. In other words, a healthy child that

snorts or eats concentrated powdered aspartame can

impair their memory.

 

Yes, indeed, there is a new " high " sourced to the

chemicals found in sugar-free foods with aspartame.

 

" Please help, " writes this concerned mother. " What do

you suggest I do to inform the doctors and schools,

and what studies back up the facts? "

 

The concept of using aspartame for a high is a

shocking and new reality check; a concept many people

do not want to admit exists. It has taken decades for

underage alcohol consumption and smoking to become a

publicized issue, so snorting aspartame may fall in

line behind years of very slow progress in this

awareness arena. But, at least the cat is out of the

bag, creating a new awareness that this type of

aspartame abuse is, indeed, a reality. Hopefully

through this new awareness, parents can help their

children.

 

My best suggestion: remove ALL diet sweeteners and

food chemicals from your home, and return to a natural

diet with a history of little to no harm to your

child's health and safety. Also, insist that ALL diet

soft drinks and flavored waters be removed from the

public schools K-12. Talk to your children, and teach

them which foods are real and healthy for them, and

which foods are manmade, phony replicas of nutrition,

resulting in damage to their growth and maturity.

 

To your health!

 

http://www.janethull.com/

© 2005 Dr. Janet Starr Hull