Guest guest Posted July 28, 2005 Report Share Posted July 28, 2005 " HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch HSI e-Alert - 16,000 Tons and What Do You Get? Wed, 27 Jul 2005 06:59:00 -0400 HSI e-Alert - 16,000 Tons and What Do You Get? Health Sciences Institute e-Alert **************************************************** July 27, 2005 Dear Reader, Imagine 16,000 tons of powder. The weight of 10,600 cars approximately equals 16,000 tons, so we're talking about a LOT of powder. But not just any powder. About 16,000 tons of aspartame is produced for worldwide consumption each year. In other words, people are consuming enormous quantities of this artificial sweetener, which is better known by its commercial names, such as NutraSweet and Equal. The day may come when our grandchildren, or perhaps their grandchildren, look back on the decades around the turn of the century and wonder how so many people, year after year, could ingest such huge quantities of something that appeared to be such an obvious enemy of good health. And what may be most baffling to our heirs: The warning signs are numerous. And they just keep coming. ----------- Daily intake...acceptable? ----------- The most recent aspartame findings come from a large animal study conducted by Italian researchers at the Ramazzini Foundation, which specializes in oncology and environmental sciences. For more than three decades, researchers simulated daily human intake of aspartame on 1800 rats (equal amounts of males and females). Each rat was assigned to one of eight dosage levels: zero mg per kilogram of body weight, 4 mg/Kg, 20 mg/Kg, 100 mg/Kg, 500 mg/Kg, 2,500 mg/Kg, or 5,000 mg/Kg. Rats began receiving aspartame at eight weeks of age, continuing throughout their lives. The results (reported in a recent issue of the European Journal of Oncology) showed a " statistically significant " increase in leukemias and lymphomas among female rats who received as little as 20 mg/Kg per day. Current European regulations place an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame at 40 to 50 mg/Kg of body weight. That ADI is for humans, of course, not rats. But the research doesn't end there. The Ramazzini data, with full pathology reports, have been submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Union's counterpart to our FDA. A panel of experts (oh brother!) will then evaluate the findings " in the context of the previous extensive safety data available on aspartame. " In other words: Expect absolutely nothing to happen. Because the EFSA so far has done exactly what the FDA has done with the current available safety data: Nothing. But that's fine. You and I and other concerned citizens will take it from here with a little Water Cooler Regulation. ----------- 61 revisited ----------- In the world of harmful food additives, aspartame may turn out to be the most notoriously harmful of them all. Research shows that aspartame may mimic or worsen diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and depression. In 1994 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a list of 61 reported adverse reactions to aspartame, including: chest pains, asthma, arthritis, migraine headaches, insomnia, seizures, tremors, vertigo, and weight gain. The surprising item on that list is " weight gain, " given the fact that aspartame is the sweetener used in most diet sodas. In fact, according to one study, aspartame may actually STIMULATE appetite, prompting cravings for calorie-rich carbohydrates. But weight gain is nothing compared to some of the horror stories out there. Aspertame is made by combining two amino acids with methanol. According to an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, methanol is the probable trigger for most of the adverse reactions associated with aspartame. When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a potent neurotoxin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol to be a " cumulative poison " and recommends a safe consumption of no more than 7.8 mg per day. If you drink a one-liter beverage containing aspartame, you body creates seven times that amount - about 56 mg of methanol. But it gets even worse. Because if the product containing aspartame is heated to a temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, " free methanol " is created, speeding up the absorption of methanol, and magnifying the effects of the neurotoxins. Nevertheless, in 1993 the FDA approved the use of aspartame in food items such as gelatin desserts that require heating well over the 86-degree range. The result? People are hurting. According to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System, approximately 75 percent of all complaints received about food additives are aspartame-related: 3 out of every 4! And yet the FDA still refuses to acknowledge the evidence that aspartame could be endangering public health. ----------- Hold the toxin ----------- In spite of the clear dangers of aspartame, FDA officials have ignored calls for a ban and have resisted efforts to establish a warning label for aspartame, stating (completely contrary to all the evidence) that complaints against the sweetener aren't sufficient to warrant such a warning. But really, what good would a warning label do? Does the average consumer actually read the fine print on his can of diet Mountain Dew? What's needed here is not an FDA regulation, but rather some Water Cooler Regulation. Tell your friends and family about the potential dangers of aspartame. Spread the word. And as always, feel free to share this e-Alert with them. **************************************************** ....and another thing If you have a migraine, what should you do? You could start by going online. An HSI member named Cindy writes: " I suffer from terrible migraines. I would like to hear your advice on how to handle it. " In many e-Alerts I've looked at different ways to treat or minimize migraine headaches without the use of drugs or conventional painkillers. Here are a few examples: * In " The Best Offense... " (9/29/04) I told you about a study that shows how riboflavin (also known as vitamin B-2) may provide substantial help in reducing the frequency of migraines. * In " Power to the Powerhouses " (6/28/04) I told you how coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) may help prevent migraines by promoting proper respiration in the mitochondria powerhouses of the cell. * In " Downhill From Here " (3/10/05) an HSI member named Menken was quoted from a posting on the HSI Healthier Talk community forums: " I have discovered a cure that starts within 30 minutes for migraine headaches. I juice up a bunch of celery and take 2 oz. of juice whenever I feel a migraine coming on. Then I lay down and within 30 minutes my migraine starts going away most of the time. " * In " Like Buttah " (1/19/05) I told you about a study in which a group of migraine patients took 75 mg of butterbur root extract daily and cut migraine frequency by nearly half. * In " How do You Spell Respect? " (11/5/02) I told you about the herbal anti-inflammatory called feverfew that helps some patients reduce migraine pain. Finding the full text of all these e-Alerts couldn't be easier. When you go to our web site at hsibaltimore.com you'll see this prompt at the center of the page: " Go to the HSI e-Alert archives. " With one click you'll be directed to the e-Alert search feature. Just type in " migraine " and you'll instantly have a list of e-Alerts (including the ones mentioned above) to choose from. If you don't have migraine problems but you want info about diabetes, enter the word " diabetes " and you'll get a multitude of responses. Or if you want to read up on age-related macular degeneration, just enter the whole phrase and choose the " find exact phrase " option. A wealth of health information is available to everyone, 24/7/365, at hsibaltimore.com. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson **************************************************** Sources: " EFSA Scientists to Review Aspartame Study " FoodNavigator-USA.com, 7/18/05, foodnavigator-usa.com " Reported Aspartame Toxicity Effects " Holistic Healing Web Page, holisticmed.com " Aspartame - Avoid It " Dr. Joseph Mercola, mercola.com " Menthanol - AKA Wood Alcohol or Poison - 10% of Aspartame " Dr. Joseph Mercola, mercola.com *********************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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