Aspartame Expose
By Lori Deutsch, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl OM
Once upon a time, aspartame was listed by the Pentagon as a prospective biochemical-warfare agent. Today, it’s sold as NutraSweet, Equal, Equal-Measure, Spoonful, Canderel and Benevia, and is used in more than 5,000 processed foods including soda, tabletop sweeteners and breakfast cereals, as well as vitamins and drugs, adding up to $1 billion per year in sales.
Aspartame consists of 40% Aspartic acid, 50% Phenylalanine, and 10% Methanol (aka wood alcohol/poison). According to neurosurgeon Russel Blaylock, excess free excitatory amino acids like Aspartic acid (aka aspartate) cause serious neurological disorders and other acute symptoms. In other words, too much aspartate in the brain produces free radicals, which are unstable molecules that damage and kill brain cells. Some chronic illnesses associated with excitatory amino acid damage are MS (Multiple Sclerosis), ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), memory loss, hormonal problems, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, hypoglycemia and dementia.
Ingesting aspartame can also lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in the brain. This can cause serotonin levels to decrease, leading to depression. It can also contribute to schizophrenia and seizures. My friend Diane has a cousin who developed seizures at the age of 33. Her doctor asked what she’d been doing differently. In the last 2 months, she had been drinking 4-5 glasses of aspartame-sweetened Crystal Light a day. She immediately stopped drinking Crystal Light, and for 9 years now has never had another seizure.
When aspartame enters the small intestine, methanol is released. Absorption of methanol speeds up when aspartame is heated above 86º Fahrenheit. Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Both are very toxic. The EPA considers methanol a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once absorbed, so even small amounts of aspartame-containing foods can create a build up of methanol over time. The EPA recommends limiting intake of methanol to 7.8 mg/day. One-liter of aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Symptoms of methanol poisoning include headache, dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal problems, memory loss, and numbness and pain in the extremities. Methanol poisoning is most known for vision problems, from blurry vision to blindness. Formaldehyde is also a known carcinogen. It interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects.
Aspartame users also have Diketipiperazine (DKP) to contend with. DKP is a by-product of aspartame metabolism that has been implicated in the occurrence of brain tumors, uterine polyps and changes in cholesterol.
Ironically, because Aspartame decreases serotonin levels, it can result in carbohydrate craving, and therefore weight gain, as opposed to weight loss.
How did this chemical ever get FDA approval? The story reads like a John Grisham novel, full of lies, deception and greed.
In 1965, a chemist at the pharmaceutical company GD Searle accidentally discovered aspartame, a substance 180 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories. In 1967, in order to get FDA approval for their new product, Searle began safety testing. In one study, seven monkeys were fed aspartame mixed with milk. The results? One died and 5 others had grand mal seizures. The story jumps to 1971 when research on MSG (a chemical cousin of Aspartame) showed that Aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of infant mice. As a result, MSG was removed from baby food. Searle replicated the study with Aspartame and found similar results. Nevertheless, in 1973, Searle applied for FDA approval, submitting over 100 studies that claimed aspartame was safe. Oddly enough, they forgot to mention the dead monkey and the mice with holes in their brains. The FDA denied approval anyway, criticizing the data as inadequate.
In 1974, the FDA commissioner granted aspartame approval as a “food additive” for restricted use in dry foods, despite the fact that his own scientists found serious flaws in the data. But consumer advocates filed a formal objection, citing evidence that it could cause brain damage, particularly in children, so the FDA appointed a task force to investigate Searle’s testing procedures. Two years later, citing faulty and fraudulent product testing, the FDA accused the company of “incredibly sloppy science.”
In 1977, the FDA’s chief attorney formally requested grand jury proceedings to investigate Searle for misrepresenting findings and “concealing material facts and making false statements.” This was the first time in history that the FDA requested a criminal investigation of a manufacturer. The investigation began, but Searle had a brilliant defense tactic: they hired the prosecutor. His replacement stalled the proceedings until the statute of limitations expired. Later he went to work for Searle. Around the same time, Searle hired a new CEO: Donald Rumsfeld.
In 1980, the FDA voted unanimously against aspartame's approval, pending further investigation of brain tumors in animals. Rumsfeld declared that he would use political rather than scientific means to convince the FDA. Ronald Reagan was then sworn in as president. His transition team included Rumsfeld, who nominated Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes to be the new FDA commissioner. The next day, Searle re-applied for FDA approval. Hayes appointed a commission to review the records. Three of the 5 FDA scientists advised against approval. Hayes then installed a sixth member, and the vote was deadlocked. On July 15, 1981: Hayes ignored the advice of his team and gave approval for aspartame to be used in dry products. Later that year, it was approved as a tabletop sweetener and for use in breakfast cereals, chewing gum, and other processed foods. Carbonated beverages and syrup bases were added to the list in 1983. Later that year, Hayes resigned for taking unauthorized rides on a General Foods jet. General Foods was a major purchaser of aspartame. Hayes then went to work at Searle’s public relations firm.
In 1984, public complaints about the adverse effects of aspartame began to roll in. The CDC listed the adverse symptoms that people consistently complained about each time they ingested aspartame: hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, disorientation, numbness, excitability, memory loss, liver impairment, seizures, suicidal tendencies, severe mood swings, and even cardiac arrest. However, the CDC concluded that aspartame was safe to ingest.
In 1985, Monsanto purchased Searle for $2.7 billion. In 1986, the US Supreme Court refused to consider arguments from consumer groups that the FDA had not followed proper procedures in approving aspartame. It might be relevant that Justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto attorney. Meanwhile, the approved product list continued to grow, even including baked goods, despite evidence that high temperatures turn aspartame into poisonous methanol.
In 1995, Betty Martini, a consumer activist and founder of the anti-aspartame group Mission Possible, used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the FDA’s list of adverse effects associated with aspartame use. The 10,000 consumer complaints included 4 deaths and more than 90 unique symptoms. The majority of symptoms were connected to impaired neurological function. That June, the FDA announced that it had no further plans to collect adverse reaction reports or to monitor research on aspartame. In 1996, all restrictions were removed, and aspartame was approved as a general-purpose sweetener – meaning it could be used in anything.
In 1996, 60 Minutes exposed the aspartame-safety studies. Out of 165 studies in peer-reviewed medical journals, 74 were industry-funded. Those 74 studies all found aspartame to be safe. Of the 91 non-industry funded studies, 84 identified adverse health effects. To this day, the industry-funded studies are the ones cited in official rebuttals to aspartame critics.
In 1998, independent scientists from the University of Barcelona published a landmark study showing that aspartame transforms into formaldehyde in the bodies of living specimens (in this case rats), and that the formaldehyde spreads throughout the rat’s vital organs, including the liver, kidneys, eyes and brain. This contradicted the manufacturer’s claims that aspartame doesn’t break down into formaldehyde in the body.
In July 2005, The Ramizzini Institute in Bologna, Italy, a non-profit institution headed by famous Italian scientists, reported a large, three-year study proving that aspartame causes malignant brain tumors, lymphoma and leukemia. They later added kidney cancer and cancer of the cranial peripheral nerves. According to Dr. Blaylock, both lymphoma and leukemia have increased significantly in the US since the widespread use of aspartame.
In 2005, when I first wrote this article, I thought that the Italian study might finally blow the lid off aspartame. But the story did not end there, and aspartame is still fully entrenched in our food system. Even if aspartame exits stage left, another dangerous additive might enter stage right. Case in point: Splenda (aka sucralose). Please go to www.mercola.com to find articles on the dangers of Splenda.
Another problem to watch out for is incomplete labeling. In the UK, several leading companies were caught using aspartame in beverages without labeling it as such. Their reason: Aspartame is three times cheaper than ordinary sugar. And don’t expect non-profit companies to necessarily watch out for the consumer either. According to Betty Martini, physicians had written the MS Society for years to alert them to aspartame. They refused to answer letters or warn the public for fear of losing their industry funding. At one MS Society walk-a-thon, they gave out Diet Cokes while trying to prevent Martini’s activists from giving the walkers information that could benefit their health.
The bottom line is that we must all become more knowledgeable about our food sources and take responsibility for our own health. Awareness is key, and spreading that awareness is critical.
References:
Blaylock, Russell L., M.D, Connection Between MS and Aspartame, 2004. http://www.blaylockreport.com, http://www.russellblaylockmd.com
http://www.soundandfuryproductions.com
Martini, Betty, D. Hum, Aspartame Makers in a Tizzy, October, 2005. http://www.dorway.com, http://www.dorway.com/environ.html
Mercola, Joseph, Aspartame: What You Don’t Know Can’t Hurt You. http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm
Thomas, Pat, Aspartame: The Shocking Story of the World's Best-selling Sweetener, The Ecologist, September, 2005. http://www.wnho.net/the_ecologist_aspartame_report.htm
Ullyett, Joan, BA, RHN, Sweet Lowdown: History of Sweeteners and Brain Tumor Research, 2005. http://www.commonground.ca/iss/0506167/cg167_aspartame.shtml
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