Aspartame

[Minaret]

I thought I would start this thread on this sweetner, even though it has been posted under 'tea & coffee addicts', as I felt it deserved some discussion on its own due to its widespread use in our diets.

what do the following got have in common?

eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision,

Ears:tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound, severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

*********they are all symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity**********

Aspartame can also trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

What can you do?
Remove all sugar-free products with aspartame from your diet!
Tell your doctor about the scientific research available proving the negative side effects of aspartame.

http://www.i-see.org/nutra.html
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-information.html

[Minaret]

I know most of you suffering cfs are trying to establish a good diet regime so this might be of interest.

This is a surprising list of products that contain aspartame:

*Breath Mints

*Carbonated Soft Drinks

*Cereals

*Chewing Gum

*Flavored Syrups for Coffee

*Flavored Water Products

*Frozen Ice

*Frozen Ice Cream Novelties

*Fruit Spreads

*Gelatin, Sugar Free

*Ice cream Toppings

*Ice Creams, No Sugar Added or Sugar Free

*Iced Tea, Powder

*Iced Tea, Ready to Drink

*Instant Cocoa Mix

*Jams & Jellies

*Juice Blends

*Juice Drinks

*Maple Syrups

*Meal Replacements

*Mousse

*No Sugar Added Pies

*Non-Carbonated Diet Soft drinks

*Nutritional Bars

*Powdered Soft Drinks

*Protein Nutritional Drinks

*Packaged Puddings

*Soft Candy Chews

*Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup

*Sugar Free Cookies

· Sugar Free Ketchup

*Table Top Sweeteners

*Vegetable Drinks

*Yogurt, Drinkable

*Yogurt, Fat Free

*Yogurt, Sugar Free

[Minaret]

Aspartame is made of 3 components, 50% phenylalanine, 40% aspartic acid and 10% methanol (wood alcohol). In the body methanol breaks down into formaldehyde (embalming fluid) and formic acid.

[lili2701]

yes it's very toxic! I never use it but years ago, I would drink at least two diet coke cans a day or other light sodas full of it. I still drink a diet coke sometimes but very rarily.

Also, there was an Irish woman who carried out a study in a university in Dublin with diet coke and according to the results, the students who drank diet coke, ate much more during the day and she explained it's because sweeteners make you eat more than actual sugar and then in the end it's worse, although regular cokes are almost as bad as diet cokes for one's health.

Sugar is also known to be the cause of many illnesses. To produce a single piece of sugar, you need meters of sugar canes and humans are not made to take in such huge amounts of sugar, which besides is refined which is worse cos it doesn't have any nutrients in it, it's just "poison". but it's hard to realise this when you've known that since ur birth! I mean I remember when i was a child, my mum would pack the cupboard with biscuits and chocolates, we would eat sugar all day! at breakie with refined cereals and milk, then at school we would eat biscuits and chocolate and again after school, I mean it was natural for us cos it's what we'd always known then u're ill and you start to get interested in things and people tell u this and that is bad for ur health and that's when u realise they're right. Unfortunately sugar means money! they have to promote it, it's the same for sweeteners, if they were to say it's so bad for one's health they would lose money, same for dairies really, most people can't tolerate them because they've been manipulated, the cows producing milk are badly treated, they are being injected antibiotics and other medication which obviously pass into the milk and this milk is so manipulated there is nothing good in it anymore! so no wonder why so many people have become allergic!
I was allergic but since i eat raw milk from the farm my body has been ok with it. We need to understand our body needs the food which is closest to nature and not manipulated.

Anyway that's my point of view! there is so much more to say about food and intensive agriculture and climate-related issues..

[Minaret]

If you are looking to exclude Aspartame in your diet, you may not see the word in the list of ingredients on the backs of packets etc. But it is also known (in Europe) as E951.

[Jj85]

I don't mean to start any arguments on this board, but I should point out that there's no scientific evidence pointing to aspartame as the cause of any health issue (a simple Google search confirms this).

THAT SAID, I am going to remove aspartame from my diet, for two reasons. One is that most of these drinks have caffeine, which isn't good for any of us, I don't think. The second is that aspartame might in fact be bad for select people even if large studies don't pick up on the effect. In other words, if 1 in every 200 people has a negative reaction to high levels of aspartame, a study won't find this out. But, it is nevertheless possible that 1 in every 200 has this reaction.

I've read anecdotes of people with lupus-like symptoms getting better miraculously once going off diet soda. These stories don't mean much to me, but I figure it's still worth trying. Right now, I'm a pretty brutal abuser of diet soda (probably around 5 per day), but I've been off it cold turkey for 2 days now. Also trying to get more into the fruits and veggies. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

[Minaret]

This is what finally made me give up any aspartame in my diet:

On Monday, April 23, 2007, the European Ramazzini Foundation presented new data on the carcinogenicity of the artificial sweetener aspartame. These data were presented in the context of a scientific lecture delivered by Scientific Director Dr. Morando Soffritti at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, on occasion of his receipt of the Irving J. Selikoff Award. Several US News agencies reported on the event and the European Ramazzini Foundation welcomes comments from the viewers.

For the text of these news stories and the official Ramazzini press release, visit the Ramazzini press room.

Video clips may be viewed at the following websites:

CBS News Early Show
Aspartame's Safety Questioned Again
24 April 2007
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/ ... 1195.shtml

Empowered Doctor CW11 WPIX New York
Aspartame: Is BLUE...bad for you?
23 April 2007
http://cw11.empowereddoctor.com/story_1161.html#

[java]

re: the safety of artificial sweeteners. About every 10 years or so, a new artificial sweetener is introduced, mainly because they have to replace the last "safe" one. (remember cyclamates and saccarin ?) Artificial is not good. The effects can take years to cause health problems, so some studies can be manipulated to make it appear to be safe. ( cigarettes were "safe" for decades, right?) Even the World Health Organization may try to tell you about safe artificial sweeteners, but since the W.H.O. is in bed with big business and the pharmaceutical companies, telling you the facts is not in their best interest. Don't forget, they were the ones who made billions on the fake swine flu epidemic. Eating natural foods is the only safe route. If you want to add a sugar substitute to your own food, try "stevia". It's completely natural and won't cause tooth decay. Best wishes to everyone.

[Minaret]

Isn't stevia banned in Europe and America?

For natural sweeteners see:

http://www.livrite.com/sweeten.htm

[java]

In the States, the FDA banned it in the 1990's unless labeled as a supplement, then approved an extract of it in 2008 as a food additive. In other words, it's a natural product that pharmaceutical giants want to sabotage. In Canada, it's readily available. The chemical and pharma companies have been trying to ban all natural products for years because there is no money in it for them, and it's competition for their chemical food patents. Sad but true.