Sunday, December 21, 2008

Sweet Poison

Lawmaker wants artificial sweeteners banned

A bill that seeks to ban from the local market the artificial sweeteners that contain food additive aspartame, reportedly dangerous to health has been filed. Rep. Narciso D. Santiago III (Partylist, ARC) said the Nutrasweet, Spoonful and Equal brands are some of the sugar substitutes or sweeteners that contain the food additive aspartame. House Bill 4747 seeks to ban the use of aspartame on food, beverages and drugs such as instant breakfasts, cereals, frozen dessert, gelatin dessert, yogurt, milk drinks, shake mixes, cocoa mixes, beverages such as coffee, tea and juice, soft drinks, table top sweeteners, topping mixes, wine coolers, breath mints, sugar-free chewing gum, multivitamins as well as pharmaceuticals and supplements.


The neophyte legislator, son of Senator Santiago has plenty of concurrence abroad.

Aspartame-Induced Hypertension

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener made of two aminoacids and a methanol molecule that binds them together. The effects of these substances on the human organism are not all positive. The metabolic fate of the constituents of aspartame has been brushed off in the approval process.
Problems are getting more and more serious, with numerous studies finding an increased incidence of cancers and other illness after ingestion of aspartame. So much so that the big soft drink manufacturers are gearing up to getting approval for and using stevia, a plant extract, instead of aspartame.
Another finding: Aspartame seems to be the cause of high blood pressure or hypertension in many of those using it. Written up as a letter to the editor, by Dr H. J. Roberts:
To the Editor: As a constructive comment on the excellent article by Trewet, C. L. and Ernst, [1] on "resistant hypertension", allow me to mention an important factor contributing to hypertension that continues to be overlooked: "diet" products containing aspartame which are being consumed by an estimated two-thirds of the population.
I reported earlier on hypertension in 64 aspartame reactors who were not known to have had an elevated blood pressure prior to using this chemical. [2] Its severity was impressive - e.g., a registered nurse with readings as high as 280/160. The blood pressure in another nurse rose to 240/150. Several patients were studies to rule out pheochromocytoma. The causative role of aspartame products was indicted by 1) the striking improvement or normalization of blood pressure after stopping aspartame, and 2) the prompt recurrence of hypertension following aspartame resumption.
The association of hypertension with the consumption of cola beverages (Diet Coke (TM)) has been confirmed by Winkelmayer et al in a large prospective study of female nurses - but NOT with caffeine consumption. They speculated that "perhaps some other compound contained in soda-type soft drinks .... may be responsible for the increased risk of hypertension."
I have reviewed the likely pharmacologic basis, especially the conversion of phenylalanine (comprising half of the aspartame molecule) to dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine ... all pressor substances. [2] Other aspartame reactors have evidenced peripheral vasomotor features (including the Raynaud phenomenon, [2] and probable pulmonary hypertension. [4]
At the very least, persons with hypertension that resist conventional therapy ought to avoid aspartame products.
H. J. Roberts, MD, FACP, FCCP
Palm Beach Institute for Medical Research, Inc.
West Palm Beach, Florida

References
1. Trewet CL, Ernest ME. Resistant hypertension; identifying causes and optimizing treatment regimens. South Med J 2008; 101-166-173
2. Robert HJ Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic West Palm Beach, Sunshine Sentinel Press, 2001
3. Roberts HJ Aspartame induced dyspnea and pulmonary hypertension. Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients 2003: 54-55.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008 by: Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D.
(NaturalNews) Aspartame, more commonly known as NutraSweet or Equal, is one of the most toxic substances being consumed today. The artificial sweetener, currently used in over 4,000 products worldwide, entertains a sordid past and has been one of the most tested and debated food additives in the history of the FDA. While the manufacturer maintains that aspartame is not a danger to your health, the scientific studies don’t necessarily agree. The FDA has approved the product for mass consumption, in spite of overwhelming evidence that aspartame can have neurotoxic, metabolic, allergenic, fetal and carcinogenic effects. When you question how such a substance has not been banned, one simply needs to look at the billions of dollars generated by the sale of aspartame each year. In light of the staggering number of dollar signs involved, it’s easy to see that the artificial sweetener industry has reached Big Tobacco status. With so much money at stake, the truth suffers almost as much as the health of the consumers, while the shareholders' wealth continues to grow exponentially.

In 1965, James Schlatter, a chemist for G.D. Searle, was developing an anti-ulcer drug when he accidentally stumbled upon aspartame. Made up of aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%), aspartame is 200 times sweeter than natural sugar.

* Aspartic Acid

Aspartate is a neurotransmitter in the brain, facilitating information from one neuron to another. Too much aspartate allows an influx of calcium into the brain cells, triggering an excessive amount of free radicals which kill the cells. Aspartate is referred to as an “excitotoxin” because of the nerve cell damage that it causes. Many chronic illnesses have been attributed to long term excitotoxin exposure, including multiple sclerosis, ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, hypoglycemia, dementia, brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders.

In 1971, Dr. John Olney, neuroscientist and one of the world’s foremost experts on excitotoxins, informed G.D. Searle that his research had revealed that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice. Searle did not inform the FDA of these findings until after aspartame's approval in 1981. This would prove to be one event in a startling pattern of lies and deception.

* Phenylalanine
Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Human testing has shown phenylalanine levels in the blood are increased significantly in those who chronically use aspartame. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin to decrease, which can lead to depression, schizophrenia and make one more susceptible to seizures.
Studies conducted on rats by G.D. Searle found phenylalanine to be safe for humans. However, Louis J. Elsas, II, M.D., Director of Medical Genetics and Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine told the U.S. Senate in 1987 that, “Normal humans do not metabolize phenylalanine as efficiently as do lower species such as rodents and thus most of the previous studies on aspartame effects on rodents are irrelevant.” Unfortunately, this fell on deaf ears and failed to garner additional testing.

* Methanol
By far, the most controversial ingredient in aspartame is methanol (aka wood alcohol). An EPA assessment of methanol states that it is “considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidated to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic.” This oxidation occurs when methanol reaches 86 degrees F (30 degrees C).

* Formaldehyde
A product broken down from aspartate is a known carcinogen and causes retinal damage, birth defects and interferes with DNA replications.
The EPA recommends a consumption limit of 7.8 mg/day. A 1 Liter aspartame sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol, seven times the EPA limit.
The most common maladies related to methanol poisoning are vision problems including misty vision, progressive contraction of visual fields, blurring of vision, obscuration of vision, retinal damage and blindness.
The History of Aspartame

In 1973, G.D. Searle submitted aspartame to the FDA for approval as a sweetening agent. Approval was granted in July of 1974 but pulled in December after objections to its safety were filed by neuroscience researcher, John Olney, and consumer attorney, James Turner. Questions regarding G.D. Searle’s research practices were subsequently raised and an FDA investigation was launched.
It is important to note that of the 164 studies that were conducted, 74 of them had industry related sponsorship and 90 were funded without any industry money. Of the 90 non-industry sponsored studies, 83 (92%) identified one of more problems with aspartame.
In 1976, an FDA task force investigation revealed numerous faults in G.D. Searle’s studies. FDA Toxicologist and Task Force member, Dr. Adrian Gross stated, “They [G.D. Searle] lied and they didn’t submit the real nature of their observations because, had they done that, it is more likely that a great number of these studies would have been rejected for adequacy. What Searle did, they took great pains to camouflage these shortcomings of the study... For instance, animals would develop tumors while they were under study. Well, they would remove these tumors from the animals.” In July 1976 the FDA created another task force, headed by Jerome Bressler, to investigate the discrepancies in three studies in particular.
In 1977, a Grand Jury investigation into Searle’s violation of the law was launched, headed by U.S. Attorney William Conlon. Conlon failed to follow through and the statute of limitations ran out. 15 months later, Conlon accepted a job with the law firm representing G.D. Searle in the investigation.
In August of 1977, the Bressler Report was released, citing a myriad of lies and inconsistencies with Searle’s studies. Senior Scientist on the FDA's task force, Jacqueline Verrett, testified in front of the U.S. Senate, “It would appear that the safety of aspartame and its breakdown products has still not been satisfactorily determines, since the flaws cited in these three studies were also present in all of the other studies submitted by Searle.” Due to these findings, a Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) was launched.
In 1980, the PBOI voted unanimously to reject the use of aspartame until additional studies on its potential to cause brain tumors could be done.
In January of 1981, G.D. Searle reapplied for approval, submitting new studies with its application. In March, a 5 member FDA panel of scientists reviewed the PBOI’s findings. The panel referred to the brain tumor data as “worrisome” and could not recommend approval. In July of 1981, FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. overruled the PBOI and approved aspartame for dry foods use, ignoring the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348) which states that a food additive should not be approved if tests are inconclusive.
In October 1982, Searle petitioned the FDA for approval to use aspartame in soft drinks and children’s vitamins. The FDA approved the use in soft drinks in 1983. Shortly after approval, Commissioner Hayes left the FDA under charges of improprieties and was hired as a consultant for G.D. Searle’s PR Firm, Burson Marstellar.

In July of 1983, both Woodrow Monte, Director of the Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University and James Turner, Esq. filed petitions objecting to the approval of aspartame based on possible serious adverse side effects from chronic intake of aspartame. In November, the FDA denied the petitions “because public interest did not require it.”
In 1985, G.D. Searle was bought out by Monsanto, creating the NutraSweet Company as a separate subsidiary from G.D. Searle. 14,400,000 lbs. of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. that same year.
In 1996, the FDA removed all restrictions on aspartame and authorized its use in all products, including heated and baked goods. This was done in spite of the fact that aspartame breaks down into formaldehyde above 86 degrees F.
Today, aspartame accounts for over 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. How sweet it is? A few of the 90 different documented symptoms include: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss and joint pain. Which one are you ready for?

For more information on the history of aspartame, check out (www.dorway.com/enclosur.html) .
More than ever, people are consuming large amounts of sugar as part of their daily diet. But in excess, sugar can take its toll. Eating large amounts of sugar adds extra calories, which can cause weight gain. So many people opt for artificial sweeteners — also referred to as sugar substitutes or low-calorie sweeteners — as a way to enjoy their favorite foods without as many calories.
What are artificial sweeteners?
Artificial sweeteners are chemicals or natural compounds that offer the sweetness of sugar without as many calories. Because the substitutes are much sweeter than sugar, it takes a much smaller quantity to create the same sweetness. Products made with artificial sweeteners have a much lower calorie count than do those made with sugar. Artificial sweeteners are often used as part of a weight-loss plan or as a means to control weight gain.
People with diabetes may use artificial sweeteners because they make food taste sweet without raising blood sugar levels. But keep in mind that if you do have diabetes, some foods containing artificial sweeteners, such as sugar-free yogurt, can still affect your blood sugar level due to other carbohydrates or proteins in the food. Some foods labeled "sugar-free" — such as sugar-free cookies and chocolates — may contain sweeteners, such as sorbitol or mannitol, which contain calories and can affect your blood sugar level. Some sugar-free products may also contain flour, which will raise blood sugar levels. Also, remember that foods containing sugar substitutes may also contain calories that may undermine your ability to lose weight and control blood sugar.
MORE ON THIS TOPIC
An article in Mayoclinic “Artificial sweeteners: A safe alternative to sugar?”
advises Find out the benefits and potential pitfalls of using artificial sweeteners.




Betty Martini comments to the BBC upon an article titled "Drug firms 'inventing diseases":
Perhaps the best way to say this is pharmaceutical and chemical firms are causing more diseases, and then making drugs to treat the problems they caused, which then interact. Searle was the original manufacturer of aspartame. The phenylalanine in aspartame lowers the seizure threshold and depletes serotonin. Lowered serotonin triggers psychiatric and behavioral problems and insomnia. So Searle made a drug for sleep.
Aspartame hardens the synovial fluids and along with the toxic breakdown of the poison causes agonizing joint pain many times called fibromyalgia. Dr. H. J. Roberts calls fibromyalgia a diagnostic junk bucket. So Searle made Celebrex, a horrible drug, for joint pain, which interacts with aspartame. Aspartame damages the mitochondria and therefore interacts with all drugs, the reason so many die from drug interaction no doubt.
Aspartame also is notorious in triggering restless leg. As to menopause, it is of interest that for years women took Premarin to be more vibrant. All of a sudden articles wrote that women were complaining that now they were experiencing chronic fatigue syndrome from the drug. Aspartame destroys the immune system and causes chronic fatigue, and it interacts with hormones big time. A University of Florida study years ago showed that if you omitted aspartame chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia disappeared.
Aspartame can trigger irritable bowel syndrome as well. Just look at the medical text: Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, www.sunsentpress.com by H. J. Roberts, M.D. It's all there, all of these diseases and the mechanism by which aspartame can trigger them.
So yes I would turn this around and say that pharmaceutical firms are causing these diseases and then making drugs to treat them. And that doesn't work with aspartame victims because the drugs interact and aggravate the problem.
As an example, aspartame is pushed on diabetics by the professional organizations and front groups who are funded by the manufacturers. Yet, aspartame can precipitate diabetes, aggravates and simulates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy and destroys the optic nerve. It also interacts with insulin. So we have an epidemic of diabetes. The free methyl alcohol in aspartame converts to formaldehyde and formic acid and destroys the optic nerve, so look at all the laser surgery to treat the eye problems aspartame triggers.
After being on the market for over two decades research into scientific peer reviewed studies and funding reveals that 92 per cent of independent studies show the problems that aspartame can cause. Only studies funded and controlled by industry ever said it was safe. Searle originally did all sorts of things to try and prove a deadly excitoneurotoxic carcinogenic drug showed safety, and got caught. As the FDA audit shows they were even excising brain tumors from rats and then putting them back in the study. When they died they would resurrect them on paper. So the FDA asked for the indictment of Searle under Title 18, Section 1001, fraud. But the pharmaceutical industry is very powerful with bottomless checkbooks, and they bought the U.S. Prosecutors because they knew it was an open and shut case. Prosecutors Skinner and Conlon hired on with Searle's defense team and the statute of limitations expired. But still the FDA would not approve this poison so Don Rumsfeld said he would call in his markers and get it approved regardless of their refusal and regardless of the fact that it is a deadly poison. Here James Turner, Washington DC Attorney who tried along with Dr. John Olney to prevent approval, explains how Rumsfeld did this deadly deed: A clip from Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World (www.amazon.com) : Here is a promo to the film.
Now that the Ramazzini Study in Italy, peer reviewed by 7 world experts, has proven beyond any shadow of a doubt the same thing the FDA found, that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogen, efforts have been made to fabricate a study to rebut it. A multifood form 16 pages long with 56 questions completed a decade ago, was claimed to be an aspartame cancer study. Aspartame was only mentioned once when asked if you drank coffee and tea, and if not to skip to number 27 and tell us if you use vitamins. The aspartame manufacturers admit to this toxin being in 6000 products, yet on this form there were no questions about whether you used any of them or whether you took them for years, since only 12 months was the time limit. As Dr. Ralph Walton said, if you did a 12 month study on whether smoking caused cancer you would conclude that smoking does not cause cancer. If these elderly people who filled out the form, and even could remember what they took in the last 12 months, checked they used regular soda pop again they would not be counted as using aspartame. Yet in l995 they could have been using Fresca or Tab, both with aspartame.
Then front groups like the Calorie Control Council tout this as showing aspartame is safe. The American Dietetics Assn is just as bad, often called Monsanto's media flacks. The experts, of course, immediately exposed this bogus study. You will note that Dr. Russell Blaylock comments on the Ramazzini Study as well as this new bogus study. And Dr. Roberts not only comments, but his peer reviewed journal article about 15 years ago exposed the aspartame lymphoma link. The Ramazzini study showed aspartame causes lymphoma, leukemia, kidney cancer and cancer of the cranial peripheral nerves.
Today, the FDA is simply an extension of industry and has given their complete loyalty to the pharmaceutical and cancer industry. They find employment at the FDA to be a bureaucrat so they can become a plutocrat. They have absolutely no interest in safe food and drugs and are responsible for approving poisons. As proof of this, while their own records show aspartame to be a chemical poison, and they themselves originally wanted the company indicted, they lie to the public and protect the pharmaceutical and chemical industry. There is a law that says if someone files a Citizens Petition they must answer in 180 days, and not to do so means they have committed a crime. I filed a Citizens Petition to ban aspartame 4 years ago in June, and they refuse to answer saying they have more important things to do. Here is the petition.
The FDA not only protects the pharmaceutical industry but tries to help them take over our vitamins and herbs. The FDA knows without a shadow of a doubt that aspartame damages the cardiac conduction system and causes death. The FDA has this report and others but when the athletes started dropping dead they used ephedra as the cause and banned it. Dr. John Olney is on the Ephedra Council and reviewed the complaints at the FDA. What they had was a comedy to read. In one case a man left his wife and didn't go to church and the cause was given as ephedra. There were some problems, not with natural Ma-Haung, but with the pharmaceutical kind where they synthesized it. Showing you it doesn't matter what the pharmaceutical companies do they left the synthesized drug version on the market and took off the safe Ma-Haung. They removed ephedra because of an athlete who dropped dead in West Palm Beach. An investigation into his diet habits found that he was worried about his fluctuating weight and was going without food for a couple of days and then using nothing but Diet Coke all day sweetened with aspartame. The athlete no doubt was just another aspartame murder. And when Ephedra was put back on the market they only allowed a small amount, so there would be little necessity to use it since the dose would be too low. Recently the FDA bragged on their web site that they had found someone here in Georgia who was selling a little more, and how happy they were to protect the people from this harmless and useful product being used for thousands of years.
In the meantime, millions of people all over the world are dying from neurodegenerative diseases, drug interactions, cancers and birth defects for starters. As I have heard Doctors Roberts and Blaylock say a lot of people in mental hospitals today are simply aspartame victims.
Talking about aspartame murders, Charles Fleming, a basketball playing athlete and body builder, who used aspartame pop and other products with this toxin, died. On the autopsy it showed death from methanol poisoning. It also showed chronic methanol poisoning which showed he had been using it for years. You saw the usual things you would see in an aspartame victim, the fatty liver, pulmonary edema, and cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), and metabolic acidosis. The doctor in the case not knowing what caused the methanol poisoning, and completely unaware that aspartame liberates free methyl alcohol, told his wife Diane to call the police. She did and also took a polygraph test. The police report says the polygraph showed she was truthful. So the police knew Diane had nothing to do with it, and the detective on the case told me personally he would have never allowed her to be indicted but all of a sudden he was promoted and taken off the case. Diane Fleming, a sweet Sunday School teacher lost not only her husband to the aspartame murderers but also her children, her home and her freedom. She was sentenced to 30 and 20 years and now resides in a Virginia prison.
Doctors looking at the autopsy report and realizing Fleming died from aspartame wrote affidavits. The medical examiner, Dr. Marcella Fierro, agreed to talk to Dr. H. J. Roberts about it but cancelled appointments. Then she said she would have a phone conference on a certain date during a meeting for that purpose. At that time she said she wouldn't talk to him because there was no peer reviewed journal article on aspartame and methanol. She said this while holding in her hand the peer reviewed journal article, Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health by Dr. Woodrow Monte: So we decided to investigate Dr. Fierro and found other cases she had been involved in including the Vince Foster case. The Artificially Sweetened Times published by the Idaho Observer (www.idaho-observer.com) which are distributed to warn the public about aspartame carried the story: "Fleming's chances for post-conviction relief dashed by medical examiner capable of moving bullet wounds for political reasons". She was reported to the Virginia Medical Board, Grievance Committee, by myself and Dr. H. J. Roberts, and they reviewed the case for a long time but allowed Fierro not to be punished. More investigation is needed for Fierro's other links to people like Senator Orrin Hatch who was paid by Monsanto and who prevented aspartame congressional hearings for so long. There were many errors in the two day trial so a powerful habeas was written and for some strange reason was turned down. Now we are asking for help to get this Sunday School teacher and mother of three out of prison, for as the detective on the case said, "Diane Fleming is an innocent woman and never should have been indicted."
As Dr. James Bowen wrote the FDA years ago, the people responsible for putting aspartame on the market and those working to keep it on the market should be criminally prosecuted.
The pharmaceutical industry has lots of influence and power, and they have to have endless checkbooks to keep it. No wonder drugs are so expensive. As one man said, his insurance company would not pay for the second month's of pills because they would cost $2800.00 - 30 pills. The elderly try to get their medication in Canada because living on a set income they can't afford the pharmaceutical company's outrageous fees. So the FDA, industry's handmaiden has worked to prevent consumers from getting them cheaper in Canada. The same pharmaceutical drugs purchased in the US are sent to Canada, and they are sealed, but FDA's excuse is that they are not safe. A burglar would have a better alibi.
So perhaps this title should be turned around to show the real problem. Many of these diseases are created by the aspartame manufacturers using a deadly excitoneurotoxic carcinogen drug that interacts with all drugs and vaccines. Shame on the FDA who has given them their loyalty and sold out the people. As Mr. Horton, Editor of the Lancet said years ago, the FDA endangers the lives of the people by taking money from industry.
When those responsible to solve the problem ARE the problem they should be removed from office and prosecuted like they prosecute innocent health food people selling a little bit of a healthful drug. To show you how industry cares not for the lives of the people when they got ahold of the vitamins in England they added aspartame, even though you swallow them. Then they can sell more of these drugs that interact with the poison. However, you look at it the pharmaceutical and chemical industry - they are guilty. They not only invent disease but create it.
Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum
Mission Possible International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770 242-2599
Posted by: Betty Martini on April 16, 2006
Aspartame Consumption Again Linked to Degeneration of Brain Neurons states the article in http://www.naturalnews.com/024316.html, Thursday, September 25, 2008 by: David Gutierrez.
(NaturalNews) High intake of the artificial sweetener aspartame may lead to the degeneration of brain cells and various mental disorders, according to a research review conducted by South African scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo and published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
"We propose that excessive aspartame ingestion might be involved in the pathogenesis of certain mental disorders, and also in compromised learning and emotional functioning," the researchers concluded.
The review of prior research found that aspartame, marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, Canderal and Tropicana Slim, leads to both direct and indirect changes in the brain when consumed in high quantities. Among these effects, the chemical can disrupt amino acid metabolism and structure, degrade nucleic acids, and interfere with the function of nerve cells and hormonal systems. It also appears to change the concentration of certain neurotransmitters in the brain.

The researchers also noted that aspartame appears to cause excessive signaling of nerve cells, and nerve cell damage or even death. By disrupting the functioning of the cells' mitochondria, or energy source, aspartame leads to a cascade of effects on the whole system.
In another article, Dr. Woodrow Monte. Ph.D with a 26 year career as Professor at Arizona State University devoted to research and teaching of the composition and safety of foods says: For 25 years I have had serious concerns about the consequences of the consumption of Aspartame. In 1983, I filed the first petition to the US Food and Drug Administration seeking Aspartame’s removal from foods. My 287 page petition, containing copious documentation of published research, was denied without explanation. In 1984, I wrote the first scientific article warning of the methanol produced when Aspartame is consumed. He continues:
“This issue of aspartame safety is embedded in a quagmire of politics. Aspartame’s approval by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was championed, by the former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. At the time of Aspartame’s FDA approval, he was president of the company that invented it and which stood to make considerable financial gain from its manufacture and sales
Fresh fruits and vegetables contain small traces of methanol, but their consumption is not problematic, in that, during fermentation in the gut, they produce a natural substance that stops the conversion of methanol to formaldehyde. In fact, before Aspartame, methanol in the normal human diet came primarily from heat processed plant foods such as canned fruit and vegetables and their juices. While there are unusually high levels of methanol in black currant and tomato juices, these foods are included only occasionally in most diets and, thus, would have little impact on an average person’s methanol intake.
Methanol is only found in natural foods that contain pectin, the glue that holds certain plants together. Fortunately, the bond that holds the methanol to pectin is so strong that it rarely breaks, or breaks only under certain conditions that include fermentation or the high temperatures of the food canning process. Even under these conditions only a small percentage of pectin’s methanol is released. (It is interesting to note that multiple schlerosis (MS) was first documented as a disease at about the time that canning began to flourish in Europe. Further, humans have no enzymes for pectin digestion, thus making pectin consumption rather unlikely to yield much methanol. In contrast, aspartame consumption yields methanol always and readily
See the 1984 article in TheTruthAboutStuff.com for a full discussion of this issue and references for this article.”

WOW! The House is hell-bent railroading CHA-CHA and dragging their feet on the selling of poison?

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