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“After reviewing scientific studies, FDA determined in 1981 that aspartame was safe for use in foods. In 1987, the General Accounting Office investigated the process surrounding FDA's approval of aspartame and confirmed the agency had acted properly. However, FDA has continued to review complaints alleging adverse reactions to products containing aspartame. To date, FDA has not determined any consistent pattern of symptoms that can be attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems.
Carefully controlled clinical studies show that aspartame is not an allergen. However, certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine.”
“ Sir - Patients at our diabetes clinic have raised concerns about information on the internet about a link between the artificial sweetener aspartame and various diseases. Our research revealed over 6000 web sites that mention aspartame, with many hundreds alleging aspartame to be the cause of multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosis, Gulf War Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumors, and diabetes mellitus, among many others. Virtually all of the information offered is anecdotal, from anonymous sources and is scientifically implausible.
Aspartame, a dipeptide composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid linked by a methyl ester bond, is not absorbed, and is completely hydrolysed in the intestine to yield the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents of aspartame suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol so released are dangerous. In particular, they assert that methanol can be converted to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, and thus cause metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity.
Although a 330 ml can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink will yield about 20 mg methanol, an equivalent volume of fruit juice produces 40 mg methanol, and an alcoholic beverage about 60-100 mg. The yield of phenylalanine is about 100 mg for a can of diet soft drink, compared with 300 mg for an egg, 500 mg for a glass of milk, and 900 mg for a large hamburger (1). Thus, the amount of phenylalanine or methanol ingested from consumption of aspartame is trivial, compared with other dietary sources. Clinical studies have shown no evidence of toxic effects and no increase in plasma concentrations of methanol, formic acid, or phenylalanine with daily consumption of 50 mg/kg aspartame (equivalent to 17 cans of diet soft drink daily for a 70 kg adult) (1, 2).
The anti aspartame campaign purports to offer an explanation for illnesses that are prominent in the public eye. By targeting a manufactured chemical agent, and combining this with pseudo-science and selective reporting, the campaign makes complex issues deceptively simple.”
From American Council on Science and Heatlh:
“The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) is now receiving daily inquiries regarding one such health hoax about aspartame (see below).The hoax links the sweetener to multiple sclerosis-like symptoms and systemic lupus using quasi-medical jargon. Like most of its kind, this Web scare appears to be credible, pointing to impressive-sounding names like the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, the "World Environmental Conference" and the mysterious "Dr. Espisto." Also like its compadres, this article is packed with misinformation that could frighten those, such as diabetics, who rely on aspartame.
In fact, aspartame, known as "NutraSweet" and "Equal," is safe. Aspartame is one of the most thoroughly tested substances in the U.S. food supply. Numerous authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the FAO/WHO, the European Community, and the American Medical Association have concluded that aspartame is a safe product, except in the rare cases of phenylketonuria. For more information on aspartame, please refer to ACSH's peer-reviewed booklet Low Calorie Sweeteners. And beware of Internet health hoaxes.”
From MIT (Massachessets Institute of Technology):
“Even daily large doses of the high-intensity sweetener aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, had no adverse effect on study subjects' health and well-being, a visiting scientist at MIT reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last week.
"We conclude that aspartame is safe for the general population," said Paul A. Spiers, visiting scientist in the Clinical Research Center (CRC).
Mood, aggression and selected cognitive functions were tested during a study in which some of the subjects consumed doses of aspartame nearly 20 times the daily amount taken by the vast majority of the general population.
During a four-month period, subjects received either aspartame, sugar or a placebo and underwent physical and psychological testing. Some subjects were given doses of up to 45 milligrams per kilogram of body weight--the equivalent of 17 to 24 12-ounce diet beverages for males and 14 to 19 12-ounce drinks for females. In the general population, most Americans who consume aspartame take in 3 milligrams per kilogram of body weight a day, the equivalent of one or less 12-ounce diet beverage.
Despite the high consumption of aspartame, the 48 normal subjects showed no changes in mood, memory, behavior, electroencephalograms (which record the electrical signals of the brain) or physiology that could be tied to aspartame, Dr. Spiers found. Although some subjects reported headaches, fatigue, nausea and acne, the same number of incidences were reported by subjects taking placebo and sugar as those taking aspartame.”
2007 Review
“……Acute, sub-acute and chronic toxicity studies with aspartame, and its decomposition products, conducted in mice, rats, hamsters and dogs have consistently found no adverse effect of aspartame with doses up to at least 4000 mg/kg bw/day. Critical review of all carcinogenicity studies conducted on aspartame found no credible evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic. The data from the extensive investigations into the possibility of neurotoxic effects of aspartame, in general, do not support the hypothesis that aspartame in the human diet will affect nervous system function, learning or behavior. Epidemiological studies on aspartame include several case-control studies and one well-conducted prospective epidemiological study with a large cohort, in which the consumption of aspartame was measured. The studies provide no evidence to support an association between aspartame and cancer in any tissue. The weight of existing evidence is that aspartame is safe at current levels of consumption as a nonnutritive sweetener ( Magnuson et. al. 2007).” They couldn’t find any association much less causation. My advice try not to drink over 17 cans of aspartame containing drinks per day.
MR Weihrauch (2004) stated “..despite some rather unscientific assumptions, there is no evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic”
Anything consumed in extreme excess can be detrimental. Just as individual responses can vary their can always be exceptions.
I've always heard the aspartame stories, but thought that was just what they were, stories, till it started hitting me.
I started drinking that Crystal Light stuff my girlfriend had in the fridge. Tasted like lemonade, so be it. Sure enough I never related the migraine headaches which started about the same time. Went to the doc and got the little 2 hour pills and everything they started getting so intense. (Try picturing a 270lb man curled on the floor with no control over himself or anything else.) After a couple weeks of these things I came across one of these articles which said stuff about the aspartame in kids drinks being linked to hyperactivity and behavior. Something about it messing with their heads. Sure enough I put two and two together and stopped the sugar free drinks. Within a week I stopped having the migraines and was sleeping better at night. Mind you my girlfriend never had an issue with the stuff, and still drinks it even though I’ve requested her not to.
All in all, I tell my family to stay away from the artificial stuff and don't even allow sugar free stuff in my house. Even headaches I would get before I've found out where due to sugar free gums I was addicted to. To each his own, but I'm not touching it again!!
Aspartame is an excito-toxin just like MSG(Mono Sodium Glutamate) both stem from an aminoacid. You'll notice that all adverse affects of Aspartame are neurological this is because the excitotoxin actually excites your braincells to death. Glutamate and Aspartate are neuro transmitters in the brain and spinal cord. Even though they are the most common transmitter chemicals in the brain when their concentrations rise above critical level they can become deadly toxins to the neurons containing glutamate receptors. It will not only kill any neuronsh that uses it but all the neurons connected to it even if it uses a different type of receptor. These little synapses in your brain actually swell up and explode. If your interested in learning more about how this affects your brain and such theres an extremely detailed book by Dr. Russel L. Blaylock. He's seinor neurosugen and the book is titled, "Excitotoxins, The Taste that Kills."
I drink at least 3-4, sometimes as many as 6, 12oz servings of aspartame sweetened drinks per day. I will let you know when all of my brain cells have exploded.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
The effects of aspartame are long-term and some are short term. take the story above my first post his migraines were no coicidense its the most common side effect of aspartame.
Heres some fun facts for Smart Mark57
The US Military warns its pilots not to ingest aspartame because it can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. As published in Air Force's "Flying Safty" and the "Navy Phisiology". Articles have also appeared in 20 other aviation articles.
The FDA has recieved over 10,000 complaints from people who have had adverse reaction to Aspartame. By the FDA's own admission less than 1 percent of those who experience a reaction from any product ever report it.
11 our of 12 monkeys that were tested with aspartame died of grand mal seizures.
Studies of aspartame by the FDA are funded by....Nutra Sweet the company that produces it. Which leads to the next fact.
FDA is not Goverment funded. This ofcourse provokes the idea of conflict of intrest.
News Title: Aspartame Safety Data Seriously Flawed-and causes first ever FDA-Intiated Criminal Investigation.
While I'm at it for you chemical lovin' Smarties, heres a list of complaints filed against aspartame to the FDA in order of frequency of report.
Headaches and migraines, dizziness or balance issues, change in mood quality or level, vomiting and nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, change in vision, diarrhea, seizures and convulsions, memory loss, fatigue, weakness, other neuroloical problems, rash, sleep problems, hives, change in heart rate, itching, numbness or tingling, grand mal seizures, local swelling, change in activity level, difficulty breathing, oral sensory changes, change in menstual pattern, other skin problems, localized pain and tenderness, other urogenital problems, change in body temperture, difficulty swallowing, other metabolic problems, joint and bone pain, speech impairment, othr gastrointestinal problems, chest pain, other musculoskeletal problems, fainting, other cardiovascular problems, change in taste, difficulty with urination, other respiratory problems, edema, change in hearing, abdominal swelling, change in salivea output, change in urine volume, change in persperation pattern, eye irratation, muscle tremors, petit mal seizures, change in apetite, change in body weight, change in thirst or water intake, unconsciousness and coma, wheezing, constipation, other extremity pain, problems with bleeding, unsteady gait, coughing, blood glucose disorders, blood pressure changes, change in skin and nail coloration, change in hair or nails, excessive phlegm production, sinus problems, simple partial seizures, hallucinations, shortness of breath from exertion, blood in stool or vomit, dysmenorrhea, dental problems, change in smell, death, other blood or lymphatic problems, eczema, swollen lypmh nodes, hematuria, shortness of breat from position, difficulties with pregnancy, developmental retardation in children, change in breast size or tenderness, anemia, change in sexual function, shock, conjuntivitis, dilated eyes, fever.
I used to take a protein shake with aspartame loaded in it, everytime I drank it I became weak and fatigued to the point where I would pass out for an hour. I switched to a stevia sweetened protein drink and never had any affects of that kind.
If you want to learn more about what i just wrote check out "Sweet Deception, Why splenda, Nutrasweet, and the FDA May be Hazardous to Your Health."
Tell you what jr, I promise that if I ever have any adverse effects from aspartame I will stop using it and will not fly any military aircraft. I also swear to never give it to my monkeys.
Or, we could just suggest that the small percentage of people who have adverse effects shouldn't use it, instead of banning it for the hundreds of millions who don't.
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
The US Military warns its pilots not to ingest aspartame because it can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. As published in Air Force's "Flying Safty" and the "Navy Phisiology". Articles have also appeared in 20 other aviation articles.
The FDA has recieved over 10,000 complaints from people who have had adverse reaction to Aspartame.
I would almost like to think aspertame does cause problems; then I'd stop ingesting it and feel good about it.
However, on what is the assessments you note above based? Anecdotal evidence? Controlled studies on pilots?
Also, are aspartame and splenda so chemically similar they would cause similar effects? If they are very dissimilar, then I would wonder about suspected effects occurring because people are looking for them/expecting them.
I think pilots also get to take bennies, reds, uppers, provigil, etc. Maybe they just need to check with their pharmacist to make sure there are no drug interactions?
Aspartame is an excito-toxin just like MSG(Mono Sodium Glutamate) both stem from an aminoacid. You'll notice that all adverse affects of Aspartame are neurological this is because the excitotoxin actually excites your braincells to death. Glutamate and Aspartate are neuro transmitters in the brain and spinal cord. Even though they are the most common transmitter chemicals in the brain when their concentrations rise above critical level they can become deadly toxins to the neurons containing glutamate receptors. It will not only kill any neuronsh that uses it but all the neurons connected to it even if it uses a different type of receptor. These little synapses in your brain actually swell up and explode. If your interested in learning more about how this affects your brain and such theres an extremely detailed book by Dr. Russel L. Blaylock. He's seinor neurosugen and the book is titled, "Excitotoxins, The Taste that Kills."
Interesting. Ive read some stuff about MSG being potentially more dangerous in older people as some sort of threshold is weakened over time. Wonder if this could be the case with aspartame.
Ive never had any problems with it when ive had it. But, I just dont see any benefit to having it for me. ie - nothing about it is good, and there are possible negative effects.
Interesting. Ive read some stuff about MSG being potentially more dangerous in older people as some sort of threshold is weakened over time. Wonder if this could be the case with aspartame.
Ive never had any problems with it when ive had it. But, I just dont see any benefit to having it for me. ie - nothing about it is good, and there are possible negative effects.
On that note. This is interesting. MSG is not really gone, it's just been renamed or hidden...
__________________ 2009: No races, No times. Slow year. So, now you're 96 cals short. You're now in starvation mode. Doomed. - LostDog
Blog entry: November 1, 2009, Pancakes LiveSTRONG daily plate log
Wow, you guys are sure are bad ass. I don't care if you do drink it, and announcing it online makes you that much more internet cool.
With sarcastic prowess like that how do you manage all that coolness that dwells within? Lame.
Splenda really has very different side effects and really isn't similar to aspartame at all other then it tastes sweet. Its discussed in this post Late night snack idea. If you want to view the studies based on it check out either of the two books I recommended the packed with them. The Pilots was just trivial collection of the wide spread recognition to its possible dangers. Such as Inverted vision, there was man who was driving to work down the highway when his vision flipped 180 degrees and had somehow pull off to the side of the road to call an ambulance. The doctor asked him if he had been drinking any diet soda. to which he replied I drink two diet pepsi's every day for 2 years. while I'm sure it wouldn't be very high interest to have airline pilots suddenly having to deal with inverted vision while flying even if it is a rare side effect. The side effects are real, some people can't handle bad news about something they need so they reject it. I see it all the time.
Here's something better. You're the cool dude coming in here spouting shit. Why don't you show us some scientific studies supporting your claims. Thus far it's been nothing but anecdotal claims. Cite a real study. Go ahead.
__________________
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Here's something better. You're the cool dude coming in here spouting shit. Why don't you show us some scientific studies supporting your claims. Thus far it's been nothing but anecdotal claims. Cite a real study. Go ahead.
Here's something better. You're the cool dude coming in here spouting shit. Why don't you show us some scientific studies supporting your claims. Thus far it's been nothing but anecdotal claims. Cite a real study. Go ahead.
They're in the books I mentioned in the first two posts, your capable of picking one of those up yourself. Your not going to do that though. So just keep complaining its a lot easier.
They're in the books I mentioned in the first two posts, your capable of picking one of those up yourself. Your not going to do that though. So just keep complaining its a lot easier.
Why is such important information available only to those who pay for it? Certainly if he's citing valid research, those research reports would be available to the public, no?
Why are they in a book for sale and no where else?
Why is such important information available only to those who pay for it? Certainly if he's citing valid research, those research reports would be available to the public, no?
Why are they in a book for sale and no where else?
That is a good question.
Like I said earlier, I'm looking for solid, verified reasons to not drink it, just in case. I keep wondering if it's affecting me in any ways. But I can't identify any such reasons, research or proof. Only anecdotal stuff that's not more scientific than saying "I woke up and it was raining the morning after I drank diet soda, so diet soda caused the rain."
They're in the books I mentioned in the first two posts, your capable of picking one of those up yourself. Your not going to do that though.
Maybe aspartame impairs your ability to use proper grammar.
__________________
Audentes Fortunas Juvat
"Focus on making the 5 lifts stronger and getting enough food. There will be plenty of time to worry about glycemic indexes, PERs, and Bulgarian Split squats later. Much later."-Mark Rippetoe
They're in the books I mentioned in the first two posts, your capable of picking one of those up yourself. Your not going to do that though. So just keep complaining its a lot easier.
Just as I thought. You have nothing.
__________________
"A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have."
Maybe aspartame impairs your ability to use proper grammar.
No, that must be the Stevia. He doesn't touch aspartame, that stuff like, rots you're [sic] brain, dude. Sweet tasting plants from South America that haven't been tested or FDA approved are, like, cool. dude. And they make you like, more smarter too, dude.
Sorry, jr, I don't want to pick on you. I use aspartame on a daily basis and if there is evidence that it's harmful to me in any way I'd be very very interested in reading it. But I'm not going to buy a book to discover those unpublished "secrets".
__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin, 1759
Effects of acute aspartame and acute alcohol ingestion upon the cognitive performance of pilots.
Stokes AF, Belger A, Banich MT, Taylor H.
University of Illinois, Institute of Aviation, Savoy 61874.
Anecdotal evidence has associated the artificial sweetener aspartame with a number of symptoms of central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. There are, however, little scientific data concerning the effect of aspartame upon complex mental operations such as those necessary for flying an aircraft. Thirteen pilots were tested in a double-blind study using the SPARTANS cognitive test battery of aviation-relevant information-processing tasks. These tasks relate to perceptual-motor abilities, spatial abilities, working memory, attentional performance, risk taking, processing flexibility, planning and sequencing ability. Subjects were tested over five sessions consisting of pretest and posttest controls and three randomly ordered treatment sessions. The treatment conditions involved an aspartame dose of 50 mg/kg body weight, a placebo condition, and an ethyl alcohol (0.1% BAL) condition as the positive control. No detectable performance decrements were associated with the aspartame condition, although decrements in psychomotor and spatial abilities were detected in the ethanol condition. Results were found to be consistent with prior flight-simulator studies of alcohol, but do not appear to support the concerns expressed in anecdotal testimony regarding the deleterious effects of aspartame upon cognitive performance.
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Kind of blows your pilot anecdotals out of the water with a harpoon missile, eh Jr?
Quote:
Tell you what jr, I promise that if I ever have any adverse effects from aspartame I will stop using it and will not fly any military aircraft. I also swear to never give it to my monkeys.
Mark, you are cleared for take off, even if it's only RC WWII aircraft.
However, if your monkey is getting at your diet soda without your permission, you may want to take corrective action in the form of corporal punishment. You might be able to ask Jr how to spank your monkey.
Also, this, but this looks to be a proposal for a research grant, rather than the actual research, because it has no conclusion, only an hypothesis:
Direct and indirect cellular effects of aspartame on the brain.
Humphries P, Pretorius E, Naudé H.
[1] 1Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa [2] 2Department of Anatomy, University of the Limpopo, South Africa.
The use of the artificial sweetener, aspartame, has long been contemplated and studied by various researchers, and people are concerned about its negative effects. Aspartame is composed of phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%) and methanol (10%). Phenylalanine plays an important role in neurotransmitter regulation, whereas aspartic acid is also thought to play a role as an excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Glutamate, asparagines and glutamine are formed from their precursor, aspartic acid. Methanol, which forms 10% of the broken down product, is converted in the body to formate, which can either be excreted or can give rise to formaldehyde, diketopiperazine (a carcinogen) and a number of other highly toxic derivatives. Previously, it has been reported that consumption of aspartame could cause neurological and behavioural disturbances in sensitive individuals. Headaches, insomnia and seizures are also some of the neurological effects that have been encountered, and these may be accredited to changes in regional brain concentrations of catecholamines, which include norepinephrine, epinephrine and dopamine. The aim of this study was to discuss the direct and indirect cellular effects of aspartame on the brain, and we propose that excessive aspartame ingestion might be involved in the pathogenesis of certain mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR 2000) and also in compromised learning and emotional functioning.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition advance online publication, 8 August 2007; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602866.
Aspartame=Bad! Nutritionally and morally! It has been proven to cause disease - and was originally denied approval from the FDA until Reagan got in to office and decided to help his friends out and pass it, hiring a head of the FDA that would get it done!
Your better off putting sugar in your body than that crap...
Check this out: How Aspartame Became Legal - The Timeline
Apartame deadly: Really?
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