Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic

[Guest guest]

 You are right , the bacterial contamination L-tryptotophan was just an excuse

the FDA needed to oppress our choice of natural supplements.You can still get it

from a doctor with a prescription.

 

Instead of increasing quailty control in checking for contamination ,theFDA

chosed to ban it with out a prescription.

 

 There were more deaths from contaminated hamburg at Jack in the Box ;so why

wasn't hamburg ban except with a prescription.

 

--- On Wed, 5/13/09, bestsurprise2002 <bestsurprise2002

wrote:

 

 

bestsurprise2002 <bestsurprise2002

<< >> Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on

a Mysterious Epidemic

MCS-Canada

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 10:24 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 8 chapters altogether, plus a section on Acknowledgments and

another on Comments by Scientists and Others. On the left hand side of the

webpages are links to all the chapters/sections. There are aslo several links

in each chapter - I have not put in the urls so please go to the websites.

 

I have wondered for years what happened to L-tryptophan. It seems it would

be very helpful to many of those with pain, sleep difficulties,

Fibromyalgia, and many other conditions. Well, I guess now I know........

..except why

is it still not available? or was this just an excuse for the FDA and

Health Canada as they collaborate with Codex....... is this what the future

holds

for Canada and the USA? best wishes, Shan

(http://www.papercut .biz/emailStripp er.htm)

 

Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ index.cfm)

by William E.Crist

 

Preface by Jeffrey Smith

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ PrefacebyJeffrey

Smith/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ PrefacebyJeffrey

Smith/index. cfm) In

chapter 4 of my book Seeds of Deception, I present the story of a deadly

epidemic in 1989 that was linked to an L-tryptophan food supplement produced by

genetically engineered bacterium. Much of the material was based on the

research of William Crist, whose work is reproduced here.

 

Introduction: Was Genetic Engineering the Cause of Contaminated

L-tryptophan and the EMS Epidemic?

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 1Introduction/

index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 1Introduction/

index.cfm) Knowing my long-standing interest in food

purity issues, a friend in California suggested in 1996 that I look into the

cause of the tragic eosinophilia- myalgia syndrome (EMS) epidemic that had

struck seven years earlier. The outbreak was traced to consumption of

L-tryptophan food supplements produced by a Japanese company using genetically

engineered (GE) bacteria. Exactly what role biotechnology played in the

contamination of the supplement was hotly debated. After thousands of hours of

self-sponsored research, I believe I can shed some light on that issue.

 

Background Information: The EMS Epidemic, Initial Research Studies and

News of Biotech Link

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 2BackgroundInfor

mation/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 2BackgroundInfor

mation/index. cfm)

During the summer

and autumn of 1989, an outbreak of a tragic and mysterious disease swept

across the U.S. First scores, then hundreds of people fell seriously ill with

a rare blood and muscle disorder. Doctors and hospital staffs were baffled

by the unusual cluster of symptoms and were largely ineffective in

treating the victims.

 

The Pre-epidemic Cases: A Key to the EMS Puzzle?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 3Pre-epidemicCas

es-KeytoEMSPuzzl e/index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 3Pre-epidemicCas

es-KeytoEMS

Puzzle/index. cfm)

**The existence of cases

prior to those that constituted the great bulk of the epidemic is one of the

most peculiar and interesting aspects of the EMS outbreak.**

— Edwin M. Kilbourne,1 epidemiologist, Center for Disease

Control

For more than a decade now, researchers have been puzzled by cases of EMS

that occurred for several years prior to the epidemic.

 

Where Did the Contaminants Come From?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 4WhereDidtheCont

aminant

sComeFrom/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 4WhereDidtheCont

aminantsComeFrom /index.cfm)

**Although the [20kg/batch] powdered carbon may have contributed to the

removal of the etiological [causal] agent, it does not explain how the agent

was introduced into the product.**

—Edward Belongia, M.D., et al., The New England Journal of Medicine 1

It*s been more than a decade since Belongia and his colleagues raised this

salient point about what created the contaminants that caused EMS.

Surprisingly, few researchers have addressed it.

 

Problems with Identifying and Testing for Trace Contaminants

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 5ProblemswithIde

ntificationTesti ng/in

dex.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 5ProblemswithIde

ntificationTesti ng/index. cfm)

**I must emphasize that the presence of the contaminants

in the [showa Denko] L-tryptophan is astonishingly small and so you require

very sophisticated instrumentation and a lot of hard work to even come

close to determining the structures.* * —

Stephen Naylor, Mayo Clinic1

 

Government Agencies Disagree on Cause of EMS

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 6GovtAgenciesDis

agreeonEMSCause/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 6GovtAgenciesDis

agreeonEMSCause/ i

ndex.cfm) The FDA*s

finding that control L-tryptophan itself was a contributing factor to the

syndrome is surprising, because it is inconsistent with the epidemiological

evidence linking production lots of implicated L-TRP to cases of EMS. Earlier

studies by leading researchers, including those at the Center for Disease

Control (CDC), clearly suggested that L-tryptophan itself was not responsible

for EMS and that the disease was caused by contaminant( s) in a single

manufacturer’s L-TRP.1-3

 

Unanswered Letters to Government Officials

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 7UnansweredLette

rstoGovtOf

ficials/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 7UnansweredLette

rstoGovtOfficial s/index.cfm)

This section includes three letters sent to

government regulatory authorities and researchers concerning:

(1) key information and/or data that appears to have been concealed from

the public regarding L-tryptophan and the EMS epidemic, and

(2) discrepancies in the interpretation of research data and in the

procurement of samples of Showa Denko's (SDK) genetically engineered strains of

bacteria. After several months, and now years, no one from either the

National Centers for Disease Control or the Food and Drug Administration has

answered several key, material questions.

 

Conclusion: Who’s Responsible?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 8ConclusionWhosR

esponsib

le/index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 8ConclusionWhosR

esponsible/ index.cfm)

What created the biologically potent trace

contaminants in Showa Denko L-tryptophan that inflicted a seriously debilitating

disease at such low dosages of a food supplement?

Researchers still do not know. Some, like Gleich and Maryanski, have

stated that genetic engineering can’t be ruled out as a causal factor, though

they favor other scenarios, usually the manufacturer’s inadequate

purification system.

 

Acknowledgments

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ Acknowledgments/

index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ Acknowledgments/

index.cfm)

Addendum: Comments by Scientists and Other Professionals

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ CommentsbyScient

istsandOthers/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ CommentsbyScient

istsandOthers/ index.cfm)

(http://www.papercut .biz/emailStripp er.htm)

 

 

[Guest guest]

L-tryptophan can be purchased on line from most supplement dealers. It was

released about 2 years ago in the USA. 5-htp makes L-tryptophan in your

system. Some people favor 5-htp, I like L-tryptophan it works better for me.

I also take Vinpocetine and alpha-GPC, they help with sleep, pain, stress

and depression - works for me.

 

 

 

There was a bad form of L-tryptophan made in Japan that was contaminated

with an additive and several people died when it was band. I never buy off

brands of my supplements and I research extensively before I buy anything

new - it's all there on the net.

 

 

 

Bless,

 

 

 

>^..^< Delene

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-

 

_____

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You are right , the bacterial contamination L-tryptotophan was just an

excuse the FDA needed to oppress our choice of natural supplements.You can

still get it from a doctor with a prescription.

 

Instead of increasing quailty control in checking for contamination ,theFDA

chosed to ban it with out a prescription.

 

There were more deaths from contaminated hamburg at Jack in the Box ;so why

wasn't hamburg ban except with a prescription.

 

--- On Wed, 5/13/09, bestsurprise2002@ <bestsurprise2002%40>

<bestsurprise2002@ <bestsurprise2002%40>

> wrote:

 

bestsurprise2002@ <bestsurprise2002%40>

<bestsurprise2002@ <bestsurprise2002%40> >

<< >> Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light

on a Mysterious Epidemic

MCS-Canada@gro <MCS-Canada%40> ups.com

Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 10:24 PM

 

There are 8 chapters altogether, plus a section on Acknowledgments and

another on Comments by Scientists and Others. On the left hand side of the

webpages are links to all the chapters/sections. There are aslo several

links

in each chapter - I have not put in the urls so please go to the websites.

 

I have wondered for years what happened to L-tryptophan. It seems it would

be very helpful to many of those with pain, sleep difficulties,

Fibromyalgia, and many other conditions. Well, I guess now I know........

..except why

is it still not available? or was this just an excuse for the FDA and

Health Canada as they collaborate with Codex....... is this what the future

holds

for Canada and the USA? best wishes, Shan

(http://www.papercut .biz/emailStripp er.htm)

 

Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ index.cfm)

by William E.Crist

 

Preface by Jeffrey Smith

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ PrefacebyJeffrey

Smith/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ PrefacebyJeffrey

Smith/index. cfm) In

chapter 4 of my book Seeds of Deception, I present the story of a deadly

epidemic in 1989 that was linked to an L-tryptophan food supplement produced

by

genetically engineered bacterium. Much of the material was based on the

research of William Crist, whose work is reproduced here.

 

Introduction: Was Genetic Engineering the Cause of Contaminated

L-tryptophan and the EMS Epidemic?

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 1Introduction/

index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 1Introduction/

index.cfm) Knowing my long-standing interest in food

purity issues, a friend in California suggested in 1996 that I look into the

 

cause of the tragic eosinophilia- myalgia syndrome (EMS) epidemic that had

struck seven years earlier. The outbreak was traced to consumption of

L-tryptophan food supplements produced by a Japanese company using

genetically

engineered (GE) bacteria. Exactly what role biotechnology played in the

contamination of the supplement was hotly debated. After thousands of hours

of

self-sponsored research, I believe I can shed some light on that issue.

 

Background Information: The EMS Epidemic, Initial Research Studies and

News of Biotech Link

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 2BackgroundInfor

mation/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 2BackgroundInfor

mation/index. cfm)

During the summer

and autumn of 1989, an outbreak of a tragic and mysterious disease swept

across the U.S. First scores, then hundreds of people fell seriously ill

with

a rare blood and muscle disorder. Doctors and hospital staffs were baffled

by the unusual cluster of symptoms and were largely ineffective in

treating the victims.

 

The Pre-epidemic Cases: A Key to the EMS Puzzle?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 3Pre-epidemicCas

es-KeytoEMSPuzzl e/index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 3Pre-epidemicCas

es-KeytoEMS

Puzzle/index. cfm)

**The existence of cases

prior to those that constituted the great bulk of the epidemic is one of the

 

most peculiar and interesting aspects of the EMS outbreak.**

- Edwin M. Kilbourne,1 epidemiologist, Center for Disease

Control

For more than a decade now, researchers have been puzzled by cases of EMS

that occurred for several years prior to the epidemic.

 

Where Did the Contaminants Come From?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 4WhereDidtheCont

aminant

sComeFrom/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 4WhereDidtheCont

aminantsComeFrom /index.cfm)

**Although the [20kg/batch] powdered carbon may have contributed to the

removal of the etiological [causal] agent, it does not explain how the agent

 

was introduced into the product.**

-Edward Belongia, M.D., et al., The New England Journal of Medicine 1

It*s been more than a decade since Belongia and his colleagues raised this

salient point about what created the contaminants that caused EMS.

Surprisingly, few researchers have addressed it.

 

Problems with Identifying and Testing for Trace Contaminants

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 5ProblemswithIde

ntificationTesti ng/in

dex.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 5ProblemswithIde

ntificationTesti ng/index. cfm)

**I must emphasize that the presence of the contaminants

in the [showa Denko] L-tryptophan is astonishingly small and so you require

very sophisticated instrumentation and a lot of hard work to even come

close to determining the structures.* * -

Stephen Naylor, Mayo Clinic1

 

Government Agencies Disagree on Cause of EMS

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 6GovtAgenciesDis

agreeonEMSCause/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 6GovtAgenciesDis

agreeonEMSCause/ i

ndex.cfm) The FDA*s

finding that control L-tryptophan itself was a contributing factor to the

syndrome is surprising, because it is inconsistent with the epidemiological

evidence linking production lots of implicated L-TRP to cases of EMS.

Earlier

studies by leading researchers, including those at the Center for Disease

Control (CDC), clearly suggested that L-tryptophan itself was not

responsible

for EMS and that the disease was caused by contaminant( s) in a single

manufacturer's L-TRP.1-3

 

Unanswered Letters to Government Officials

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 7UnansweredLette

rstoGovtOf

ficials/index. cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 7UnansweredLette

rstoGovtOfficial s/index.cfm)

This section includes three letters sent to

government regulatory authorities and researchers concerning:

(1) key information and/or data that appears to have been concealed from

the public regarding L-tryptophan and the EMS epidemic, and

(2) discrepancies in the interpretation of research data and in the

procurement of samples of Showa Denko's (SDK) genetically engineered strains

of

bacteria. After several months, and now years, no one from either the

National Centers for Disease Control or the Food and Drug Administration has

 

answered several key, material questions.

 

Conclusion: Who's Responsible?

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 8ConclusionWhosR

esponsib

le/index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ 8ConclusionWhosR

esponsible/ index.cfm)

What created the biologically potent trace

contaminants in Showa Denko L-tryptophan that inflicted a seriously

debilitating

disease at such low dosages of a food supplement?

Researchers still do not know. Some, like Gleich and Maryanski, have

stated that genetic engineering can't be ruled out as a causal factor,

though

they favor other scenarios, usually the manufacturer's inadequate

purification system.

 

Acknowledgments

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ Acknowledgments/

index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ Acknowledgments/

index.cfm)

Addendum: Comments by Scientists and Other Professionals

 

_http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ CommentsbyScient

istsandOthers/ index.cfm_

(http://www.seedsofd eception. com/Public/ L-tryptophan/ CommentsbyScient

istsandOthers/ index.cfm)

(http://www.papercut .biz/emailStripp er.htm)

 

 

[Guest guest]

See snippets below from the article below on Life Extension

Foundation. Go to URL for full story. I just came upon it today &

had sent it to another list.

 

BTW, I get my daily dose of Tryptophan from drinking two doses of whey

protein isolate every day.

 

Alobar

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

The FDA Ban of L-Tryptophan: Politics, Profits and Prozac

©

Posted on LEF April 6 1998

 

By: Dean Wolfe Manders, Ph.D.

 

This article first appeared in " Social Policy " , Vol. 26, No. 2 Winter

1995. Dr. Manders has lectured and done extensive research on the

medical politics of L-Tryptophan. The article also appeared in

" Blazing Tattles " June 1996.

 

In the fall of 1989, the FDA recalled L-Tryptophan, an amino acid

nutritional supplement, stating that it caused a rare and deadly

flu-like condition (Eosinophilia-Myalgia Syndrome / EMS). On March 22,

1990, the FDA banned the public sale dietary of L-Tryptophan

completely. This ban continues today. On March 26, 1990, " Newsweek "

featured a lead article praising the virtues of the anti-depressant

drug Prozac. Its multi-color cover displayed a floating, gigantic

green and white capsule of Prozac with the caption: " Prozac: A

Breakthrough drug for Depression. "

 

The fact that the FDA ban of L-Tryptophan and the Newsweek Prozac

cover story occurred within four days of each other went unnoticed by

both the media and the public. Yet, to those who understand the

effective properties of L- Tryptophan and Prozac, the concurrence

seems " unbelievably coincidental. " The link here is the brain

neurotransmitter serotonin---a biochemical nerve signal conductor. The

action of Prozac and L-Tryptophan are both involved with serotonin,

but in totally different ways.

 

Elevated levels of serotonin in the body often result in the relief of

depression, as well as substantial reduction in pain sensitivity,

anxiety and stress. Prozac, as well as other new anti-depressant drugs

such as Paxil and Zoloft, attempt to enhance levels of serotonin by

working on whatever amounts of it already exists in the body (these

drugs are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors). None of

these drugs, however produce serotonin. In contrast, ingested

L-Tryptophan acts to produce serotonin, even in individuals who

generate little serotonin of their own. The most effective way to

elevate serotonin would be to use a serotonin producer rather than a

serotonin enhancer.

 

The continuing FDA public ban of L-Tryptophan prevents popular access

to this most effective serotonin producer. The millions of Americans

who for decades safely have relied upon L-Tryptophan to relieve

depression, anxiety and PMS, as well as to control pain and induce

natural sleep, have been forced elsewhere for solutions.

 

Routinely, such solutions are pharmaceutical in nature: people are

forced to use either often highly addictive, expensive, and sometimes

dangerous drugs like Xanax, Valium, Halcion, Dalmane, Codeine,

Anafranil, Prozac, and others, or simply suffer. Present FDA public

policy maintains that L-Tryptophan is an untested, unapproved and

hazardous drug. The analytical work done a few years ago by the

Centers for Disease Control and the Mayo Clinic, research which traced

the fall of the serious flu-like condition to contaminants found in

batches of L-Tryptophan made by the Japanese company Showa Denko, has

not convinced the FDA to allow L-Tryptophan back on the market. This

decision is based primarily on the research of FDA and NIMH scientists

who state that L- Tryptophan itself, irrespective of contaminants, is

a dangerous substance. Other university-based research scientists

disagree with these findings.

 

The public availability of L-Tryptophan is too important an issue only

to be argued and shrouded within scientific debate that remains,

ultimately, mystifying to the vast majority of Americans. There are

many obvious facts worthy of public attention, and concern.

 

For example, consider the following: On February 9, 1993, a United

States government patent (#5185157) was issued to use L-Tryptophan to

treat, and cure EMS, the very same deadly flu-like condition which

prompted the FDA to take L-Tryptophan off the market in 1989.

 

Notwithstanding its public ban and import alert on L-Tryptophan, the

FDA today allows Ajinomoto U.S.A. the right to import from Japan

human-use L- Tryptophan. Distributed from the Ajinomoto in Raleigh,

North Carolina, the L- Tryptophan is then sold to, and through, a

network of compounding pharmacies across the United States. Purchased

by individuals only under a physician's order, L-Tryptophan emerges

here as a new prescription drug in the serotonin marketplace; one

hundred 500 mg. capsules cost about $75.00, approximately five times

more than if they were sold as a dietary supplement.

 

Since the FDA holds the political mandate and power of a public

regulatory agency established ostensibly, to protect people from raw

corporate interests in drug production and distribution, the actions

of the FDA in concert with Ajinomoto U.S.A. are illuminating. By

publicly banning L-Tryptophan from its dietary supplement status and

price, while allowing L-Tryptophan to be sold as a high-priced

prescription drug, the naked duplicity of the FDA L-Tryptophan policy

is revealed.

 

During and after the 1989 EMS outbreak, the FDA did not totally ban

the use of L- Tryptophan in humans---then, as today, the FDA has

granted the pharmaceutical industry the protected right to use

L-Tryptophan in hospital settings. Manufactured by Abbott

Laboratories, the amino acid injectable solutions Aminosyn and

Aminosyn II contain as much as 200 mg. of L-Tryptophan. (Moreover,

L-Tryptophan has never been removed from baby food produced and sold

within the United States.) While the FDA has banned the public sale

and use of safe, non-contaminated, dietary supplements L-Tryptophan

for people, the United States Department of Agriculture still

sanctions the legal sale and use of non-contaminated L-Tryptophan for

animals. Today, as in the past, feed grade L-Tryptophan continues to

be used as a nutritional and bulk feed additive by the commercial hog

and chicken farming industry. Additionally, L- Tryptophan is now

available for use by veterinarians in caring for horses and pets.

 

Outside of the United States, in countries such as Canada, the

Netherlands, Germany, England, and others, L-Tryptophan is widely

used. Nowhere, have any serious or widespread health problems have

occurred.

 

At bottom, the FDA public ban of safe, non-contaminated L-Tryptophan

is uneven, expensive, and biased in favor of the pharmaceutical

industry. The FDA proscription effectively awards billions of dollars

in profits to pharmaceutical companies and their suppliers in the same

proportion as it adds billions of unnecessary dollars to the nation's

already bloated health care expenditures.

 

On June 15, 1993, the FDA Dietary Supplement Task Force published a

report on the work it had been doing in the area of developing FDA

policy around nutritional supplements. On page two, the report admits,

" The Task Force considered various issues in its deliberations,

including ... what steps are necessary to ensure that the existence of

dietary supplements on the market does not act as a disincentive for

drug development. "

 

In this case, the FDA has succeeded in carrying out its stated policy

goal. With competition from publicly available L-Tryptophan removed,

the rapidly expanding market in prescription serotonin drugs---now

among them L-Tryptophan itself---contains no major " disincentives " for

the massive accumulation of pharmaceutical industry profits.

 

It is now time for appropriate congressional committees to review

openly and aggressively the entire matter of L-Tryptophan. This will

provide a needed forum where political, corporate, and scientific

issues of the FDA L- Tryptophan regulatory policy may be addressed.

There exists ample precedent for such hearings: in the 1980's and

early 1990's, for example, such investigations uncovered favoritism in

the approval of generic drugs and the bribery of FDA officials.

 

The story of L-Tryptophan illustrates a sad perverse picture of the

politics and priorities of public health in America: A safe,

dietary-supplement serotonin producer is publicly unavailable to

people, while daily fed to animals by corporate agribusiness. A patent

is approved to use L-Tryptophan to cure the very condition the FDA

claims it caused. And, while publicly exclaiming that L-Tryptophan is

a dangerous and untested drug, the FDA more quietly, allows human-use

L-Tryptophan to be imported, and then marketed and sold by the

pharmaceutical industry.

To allow the FDA ban of L-Tryptophan to continue unreviewed and

univestigated condemns millions of Americans to unnecessary financial

expenditures and needless suffering.

 

http://www.lef.org/fda/fdaban95.html

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 9:24 PM, <bestsurprise2002 wrote:

> There are 8 chapters altogether, plus a  section on Acknowledgments and

> another on Comments by Scientists and Others. On  the left hand side of the

> webpages are links to all the chapters/sections. There  are aslo several links

> in each chapter - I have not put in the urls so please go  to the websites.

>

> I have wondered for years what happened  to L-tryptophan. It seems it would

> be very helpful to many of those with pain,  sleep difficulties,

> Fibromyalgia, and many other conditions. Well, I guess now I

 know.........except why

> is it still not available? or was this just an excuse  for the FDA and

> Health Canada as they collaborate with Codex.......is this what  the future

holds

> for Canada and the USA?  best wishes,  Shan

>  (http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm)

>

> Toxic L-tryptophan:  Shedding Light on a Mysterious Epidemic

> _http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/index.cfm_

> (http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/index.cfm)

> by William E.Crist

>

> Preface by Jeffrey  Smith

>

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/PrefacebyJeffreySmith/index\

..cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/PrefacebyJeffreySmith/index\

..cfm)      In

> chapter 4 of my book Seeds of Deception, I  present the story of a deadly

> epidemic in 1989 that was linked to an  L-tryptophan food supplement produced

by

> genetically engineered bacterium. Much  of the material was based on the

> research of William Crist, whose work is  reproduced here.

>

> Introduction: Was  Genetic Engineering the Cause of Contaminated

> L-tryptophan and the EMS  Epidemic?

>

> _http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/1Introduction/index.cfm_

> (http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/1Introduction/index.cfm)

             Knowing my long-standing interest in food

> purity issues, a friend in California  suggested in 1996 that I look into the

> cause of the tragic eosinophilia-myalgia  syndrome (EMS) epidemic that had

> struck seven years earlier. The outbreak was  traced to consumption of

> L-tryptophan food supplements produced by a Japanese  company using

genetically

> engineered (GE) bacteria. Exactly what role  biotechnology played in the

> contamination of the supplement was hotly debated.  After thousands of hours

of

> self-sponsored research, I believe I can shed some  light on that issue.

>

> Background Information:  The EMS Epidemic, Initial Research Studies and

> News of Biotech  Link

>

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/2BackgroundInformation/inde\

x.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/2BackgroundInformation/inde\

x.cfm)

>                                                         During the summer

> and autumn of 1989, an outbreak of a tragic and mysterious  disease swept

> across the U.S. First scores, then hundreds of people fell  seriously ill with

> a rare blood and muscle disorder. Doctors and hospital staffs  were baffled

> by the unusual cluster of symptoms and were largely ineffective in

> treating the victims.

>

> The Pre-epidemic Cases:  A Key to the EMS Puzzle?

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/3Pre-epidemicCases-KeytoEMS\

Puzzle/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/3Pre-epidemicCases-KeytoEMS

> Puzzle/index.cfm)

>                                               **The existence of cases

> prior to those that constituted the great bulk of the  epidemic is one of the

> most peculiar and interesting aspects of the EMS  outbreak.**

>                  — Edwin M. Kilbourne,1 epidemiologist, Center for Disease

> Control

> For more than a decade now,  researchers have been puzzled by cases of EMS

> that occurred for several years  prior to the epidemic.

>

> Where Did the  Contaminants Come From?

> _http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/4WhereDidtheContaminant

> sComeFrom/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/4WhereDidtheContaminantsCom\

eFrom/index.cfm)

> **Although the [20kg/batch] powdered carbon may have contributed to the

> removal of the etiological [causal] agent, it does not explain how the agent

> was  introduced into the  product.**

> —Edward Belongia,  M.D., et al., The New England Journal of Medicine 1

> It*s been more than a decade since  Belongia and his colleagues raised this

> salient point about what created the  contaminants that caused EMS.

> Surprisingly, few researchers have addressed  it.

>

> Problems with Identifying  and Testing for Trace Contaminants

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/5ProblemswithIdentification\

Testing/in

> dex.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/5ProblemswithIdentification\

Testing/index.cfm)

>                 **I must emphasize that the presence of the contaminants

> in the [showa Denko]  L-tryptophan is astonishingly small and so you require

> very sophisticated  instrumentation and a lot of hard work to even come

> close to determining the  structures.**                                    —

> Stephen Naylor, Mayo Clinic1

>

> Government Agencies  Disagree on Cause of EMS

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/6GovtAgenciesDisagreeonEMSC\

ause/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/6GovtAgenciesDisagreeonEMSC\

ause/i

> ndex.cfm)                                                  The FDA*s

> finding that control L-tryptophan itself was a contributing factor to  the

> syndrome is surprising, because it is inconsistent with the epidemiological

> evidence linking production lots of implicated L-TRP to cases of EMS. Earlier

> studies by leading researchers, including those at the Center for Disease

> Control (CDC), clearly suggested that L-tryptophan itself was not responsible

> for EMS and that the disease was caused by contaminant(s) in a single

> manufacturer’s L-TRP.1-3

>

> Unanswered Letters to  Government  Officials

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/7UnansweredLetterstoGovtOf

> ficials/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/7UnansweredLetterstoGovtOff\

icials/index.cfm)

>                               This section includes three letters sent to

> government regulatory authorities  and researchers concerning:

> (1) key information and/or data that appears to  have been concealed from

> the public regarding L-tryptophan and the EMS epidemic,  and

> (2) discrepancies in the interpretation of research data and in the

> procurement of samples of Showa Denko's (SDK) genetically engineered strains

of

> bacteria. After several months, and now years, no one from either the

> National  Centers for Disease Control or the Food and Drug Administration has

> answered  several key, material questions.

>

> Conclusion: Who’s  Responsible?

> _http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/8ConclusionWhosResponsib

> le/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/8ConclusionWhosResponsible/\

index.cfm)

>                      What created the biologically potent trace

> contaminants in Showa Denko  L-tryptophan that inflicted a seriously

debilitating

> disease at such low dosages  of a food supplement?

> Researchers still do not know.  Some, like Gleich and Maryanski, have

> stated that genetic engineering can’t be  ruled out as a causal factor, though

> they favor other scenarios, usually the  manufacturer’s inadequate

> purification system.

>

> Acknowledgments

>

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/Acknowledgments/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/Acknowledgments/index.cfm)

> Addendum: Comments by  Scientists and Other  Professionals

>

>

_http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/CommentsbyScientistsandOthe\

rs/index.cfm_

>

(http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/L-tryptophan/CommentsbyScientistsandOthe\

rs/index.cfm)

>  (http://www.papercut.biz/emailStripper.htm)

>

>

[Guest guest]

The " contaminated " tryptophan came from GM bacteria used to make the tryptophan.

 

See snippets below. URL at end.

 

Alobar

 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

GM Tryptophan- EMS-Killed 37 and Permanently Disabled 1500 People

 

The tryptophan disaster in the end of the 1980’s and beginning of

1990’s killed 37 and permanently disabled 1,500 people in the United

States in a disease called eosonophil myalgia syndrome (EMS).

 

It was caused by one or more extremely poisonous substances present in

a tryptophan food supplement, which was produced by genetically

engineered bacteria at the Japanese firm Showa Denko.

 

Showa Denko destroyed the evidence that could have been used to

determine the scientific cause of the problem. They destroyed the

genetically engineered bacterial stocks, along with any potentially

surviving specks that investigators might have recovered from the

walls or the equipment in their facilities.

 

Was the poison created by the bacteria?

 

* The biotech corporations stressed that eosonophil myalgia

syndrome (EMS) appeared after Showa Denko had changed the production

method, reducing the coal content in a carbon filter in December 1988.

It was maintained that this probably had reduced the protection

against chemical impurities appearing in the production process

(without any explanation how they could appear).

 

The filter story was widely disseminated to the press worldwide as the

cause of the epidemic.

 

But the attorney William Crist has demonstrated that this argument was

totally untenable, because he found that hundreds of cases of

eosonophil myalgia syndrome (EMS) occurred before reduced filtration

was introduced.

 

* Tryptophan has been produced by a large number of other

producers using natural bacteria (not genetically engineered) without

any similar complication in any case.

 

They have been using the same manufacturing methods, which are

standard for this kind of production. This makes it very unikely that

impurities from the production system were the culprit.

 

This is also what the technicians at Showa Denko argued themselves.

 

In addition, there is no reasonable explanation how a highly toxic

chemical could appear “out of the air” and this has never occurred

before in this kind of production. Tens of thousands of similar

manufacturing units have been producing millions of tons of medical

substances (penicillin being the most famous), since more than fifty

years without the appearance of any unwanted highly toxic chemical

impurity in any case.

 

This fact is in itself very strong evidence in favour of the

alternative that it was the bacteria that caused the emergence of the

poison and nothing else.

 

Only someone (like a lawyer of the biotech industry) who is completely

ignorant of this fact could even think of suggesting something else.

 

Could GE have caused the appearance of the poison?

 

* Unexpected appearance of poisons has been predicted by molecular

biologists because of the way genetic engineering can disturb normal

cellular functioning.

 

* Unexpected appearance of poisons has occurred in reality as

predicted in other cases.

 

* The risk for unexpected complications is greater the larger

number of genes that are inserted because it brings about a greater

instability in the genetic control of metabolic processes. In this

case, the bacterium had not undergone just one genetic modification

but FOUR different foreign genes had been introduced.

 

* The risk was especially great for disturbance of the natural

metabolic processes in this case and consequent appearance of

unexpected substances, because all the genes were directed at

modifying the same cellular “production line” (for producing

tryptophan).

 

* The most suspect impurity, “EBT” was closely similar to

tryptophan. It was the kind of substance that could appear due to

genetic engineering. But when reports came in about EBT, soon a

contradictory report appeared that indicated, absurdly enough, that

even tryptophan, a natural non-toxic substance in the body, could

produce EMS-like symptoms.

 

This confusing finding was not surprising, rather it was predictable.

 

As billion-dollar biotech interests were threatened, the corporations

had every reason to do whatever possible to confuse the issue.

 

If EBT would have been proven to be the cause of eosonophil myalgia

syndrome (EMS), it would have been evident that Genetic Engineering

was indeed the reason for the disaster.

 

This would have made it psychologically impossible to launch GMO foods

on the market without very expensive (billion dollar) testing which

would have wrecked the entire GE food project.

 

Facing this threat, it is very likely that the corporations

“encouraged” the fabrication of research reports that confused the

issue (this would not have been the first time science was misused in

a fraudulent way).

 

Moreover, later research has, as could be expected, not been able to

confirm that tryptophan itself is harmful and the US food agency, FDA,

now allows bacterially produced tryptophan to be used even in baby

food.

 

Conclusion

 

For the above reasons it is highly likely that it was genetic

engineering that caused a metabolic disturbance in the

tryptophan-producing bacteria, resulting in the production of the

deadly eosonophil myalgia syndrome (EMS) poison.

 

More on this subject:

# by William E. Crist: Toxic L-tryptophan: Shedding Light on a

Mysterious Epidemic

 

# by Professor Philip J. Regal, PhD, University of Minnesota: Deaths

and Cripplings from Genetically Engineered L-tryptophan

 

All GMO foods must be withdrawn from the market

 

This is not the only case where an unexpected poison has appeared, and

as the present safety testing methods are superficial and highly

insufficient, it is only a matter of time before another unexpected

substance occurs in a Genetically Modified food which in the worst

case will harm millions of people before the connection is even

discovered. No genetically modified food is even labeled in the United

States, and most of the food on the supermarket shelves today are

indeed genetically modified – over 70%.

 

The consequence of this is that all GE foods must be withdrawn and

subjected to careful and extensive safety testing. There is no

independent research of any genetically modified food item prior to it

reaching the supermarket shelves; prior to your family consuming them.

 

If, for some ethically unacceptable reason, this is not immediately

done, at least the Genetically Engineered foods must be immediately

labeled in order to provide families a choice to avoid them. Presently

the only way to do so in countries, including the United States, where

they are not labeled, is to eat only certified organically grown food.

 

http://todayyesterdayandtomorrow.wordpress.com/2007/06/09/gm-tryptophan-ems-kill\

ed-37-and-permanently-disabled-1500-people/

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 

On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 3:11 PM, Delene <aftech wrote:

> L-tryptophan can be purchased on line from most supplement dealers. It was

> released about 2 years ago in the USA. 5-htp makes L-tryptophan in your

> system. Some people favor 5-htp, I like L-tryptophan it works better for me.

> I also take Vinpocetine and alpha-GPC, they help with sleep, pain, stress

> and depression - works for me.

>

>

>

> There was a bad form of L-tryptophan made in Japan that was contaminated

> with an additive and several people died when it was band. I never buy off

> brands of my supplements and I research extensively before I buy anything

> new - it's all there on the net.

>

>

>

> Bless,

>

>

>

>>^..^< Delene

>