Announcement

This is Grace, the daughter of neo.nate. My family and I regret to inform you that my father passed away on April 19, 2010. Thank you for taking an interest in his blog and his writings - it was one of the things that kept him going during his retirement. We miss him very much. RIP Dad.

Food: Cheaper than Medicine

Medicine before WWII

The author-physician Lewis Thomas remarkably described in his 1983 book, The Youngest Science, the practice of medicine before the Second World War. There were only five effective medicines available: morphine for pain, quinine for malaria, insulin for diabetes, digitalis for heart disease and aspirin for inflammation and very little was known of their mode of action. For almost all other ailments, there was nothing available but nostrums and comforting words.

At that time, despite a well-founded science of physiology, we were still ignorant about the human body or the host–parasite relationship it had with other organisms. Wise physicians knew that letting nature take its course without intervention would often allow natural self-regulation to make the cure. They were not averse to claiming credit for their skill when this happened.

 An Editorial 25 Years Ago

Another clinical stimulus to basic research has been the growing realization that much of the world’s burden of illness is behavior-related. The Centers for Disease Control have estimated that about half the mortality from the ten leading causes of death in the United States is strongly linked to long-term patterns of behavior (life-style).Such known behavioral risk factors as cigarette smoking, excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages, use of illicit drugs, certain dietary habits, insufficient exercise, reckless driving, and maladaptive responses to stress are involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases and cancers as well as accidental disabilities and other disorders. Science Magazine Editorial, 2 December 1983

A doctor speaks on diet and cancer

The extensive research published in the last decade alone proves that what you eat can have a profound effect on your protection against cancer. It's a little-known fact that nutrition is barely taught in med schools, where the solution to most problems is a drug. And doctors don't trust patients to make lifestyle changes. I recall a conversation with a fellow physician at a conference after I spoke on the importance of a healthy diet in fighting disease. "You may be right, but people don't want to change," he said. "They just want to take a pill and forget about it."

I spent months researching the healing powers of food before I fully grasped my own natural cancer-fighting potential. I met with a variety of researchers, scoured medical databases, and combed scientific publications. I traveled all over the world and consulted experts from nearly every continent.

In my quest, I discovered that the list of anticancer foods is actually quite long. Some foods block natural bodily processes such as inflammation that fuels cancer growth. Others force cancer cells to die through a process that specialists call apoptosis. Still other foods assist the body in detoxifying cancer-causing toxins or protecting against free radicals. But most of them attack the disease on a variety of fronts. And they do it every day, three times a day, without provoking any side effects. To avoid the disease, it's essential to take advantage of this natural protection, and nurture it.

I've learned that the anticancer diet is the exact opposite of the typical American meal: mostly colorful vegetables and legumes, plus unsaturated fats (olive, canola, or flaxseed oils), garlic, herbs, and spices. Meat and eggs are optional. Through extensive research, I devised a list of the most promising cancer fighters, along with recommendations on how to make the most of their potential. Include at least one, and preferably two, at every meal, to maximize your protection.

Green tea is rich in compounds called polyphenols, including catechins (and particularly EGCG), which reduce the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors. It's also a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier (activating enzymes in the liver that eliminate toxins from the body), and it encourages cancer cell death. In the laboratory, it has even been shown to increase the effect of radiation on cancer cells.


The day is coming where Inventor Thomas Edison predicted: "The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."

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.

http://www.naturalnews.com/024225.html writes:

(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.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073

http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_turns_tissues_to_plastic.htm article

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2007/09/26/aspartame_triggers_psychiatric_disorders.htm

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?

Season's Greetings

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Bananas: food or medicine?

Guests invited to testify in Senate hearings are not always pampered with kindness. One such roughed-up individual was National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales who, sweating under intense grilling pulled out a banana from his clutch bag and started to eat and talk. It was not an act of discourtesy – he was taking his medicine to calm his nerves and lower his blood pressure.

Bananas are unique fruit with unique properties. It has a rare combination of energy value, tissue-building elements, vitamins and minerals, fiber and other essential nutrients. Its convenient natural packing is compact, healthy, easy to carry and use.

Some interesting facts about bananas:

• They are the only fruit that actually develop better color, texture, aroma, and sweetness when ripened after harvest. It’s the tiny seeds within the fruit that release a ripening hormone, a mixture of ethylene gas and carbon dioxide.
• Bananas are the most potassium-rich food that is available worldwide and year-round.
• Bananas make baby boys! Recently researchers confirmed the old wives’ tale that eating bananas is associated with having a boy.

·         A banana is undoubtedly a fruit containing the seeds of the plant though since commercially grown banana plants are sterile, the seeds are reduced to little specks. However, the banana plant, though it is called a 'banana-tree' in popular usage, is technically regarded as a herbaceous plant (or 'herb'), not a tree, because the stem does not contain true woody tissue.

• There are more than 300 varieties of bananas bred for cultivation
• The annual global banana output is 86 million tons
• Bananas are the fourth most important staple food in the developing world
• Bananas originated in Malaysia

Reduced risk of high blood pressure

Bananas are one of the best sources of potassium, an essential mineral for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. A medium-sized banana provides 350 mg of potassium. The effectiveness of potassium-rich foods in lowering blood pressure has been demonstrated by a number of studies. The US Food and Drug Administration has allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke. According to the FDA, “Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.” Plus, potassium helps your body maintain normal fluid and electrolyte balances in the cells.

Scientists report that natural compounds in bananas act in a manner similar to anti-hypertensive drugs. The team studied six popular banana varieties and found that all had ACE-inhibiting properties, though the ripened bananas had a stronger action than unripe ones. Researchers have reported that blood pressure fell by 10% in people who ate two bananas daily for a week.

Reduced risk of stroke

Scientists suggest that people with a low amount of potassium in their diet may have an increased risk of stroke. A study of 5,600 people aged over 65 found that those with the lowest intake of the potassium were 50% more likely to suffer a stroke. High-potassium foods, like bananas, may lower the risk of stroke, but researchers say that more studies are needed to confirm whether increasing potassium in the diet can prevent strokes.

Restore normal bowel activity

Because the banana is rich in nondigestible fibers (including cellulose, hemicellulose, and alpha-glucans) it can help restore normal bowel activity and help with both constipation and diarrhea. Bananas normalize the colon’s function to absorb large amounts of water for regular bowel movements. Their usefulness is due to their richness in pectin, which is water-absorbent and this gives them a bulk producing ability.

Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound called a prebiotic because it nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our ability to absorb nutrients, plus compounds that protect us against unfriendly microorganisms. When fructooligosaccharides are fermented by these friendly bacteria, not only do numbers of probiotic bacteria increase, but so does the body’s ability to absorb calcium. For this reason, ingesting antibiotics harm these beneficial bacteria.

Research published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences underscores just how much bananas can improve nutrient absorption. In this study, 57 babies (5-12 months) with persistent diarrhea of at least 14 days duration were given a week’s treatment with a rice-based diet containing either green banana, apple pectin or the rice diet alone. Treatment with both green banana and apple pectin resulted in a 50% reduction in stool weights, indicating that the babies were absorbing significantly more nutrients.

Protection from ulcers & Heartburn remedy

Bananas have long been recognized for their antacid effects that protect against stomach ulcers and ulcer damage. A flavonoid in the banana, leucocyanidin, has been found to significantly increase the thickness of the mucous membrane layer of the stomach. Since bananas help to neutralize acidity, they are also a great way to get rid of heartburn. In an animal study, a simple mixture of banana and milk significantly suppressed acid secretion.

Protection against neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s disease)

Researchers at Cornell University investigated the effects of apple, banana, and orange extracts on neuron cells and found that the phenolic phytochemicals of the fruits prevented neurotoxicity on the cells. Among the three fruits, apples contained the highest content of protective antioxidants, followed by bananas then oranges. These results suggest that fresh apples, banana, and orange in our daily diet along with other fruits may protect neuron cells against oxidative stress-induced neurotoxicity and may play an important role in reducing the risk of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Perfect Baby food

Bananas are the best solid food to introduce to infants. A mashed ripe banana is an extremely simple and healthy baby food. Potassium, Fiber, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Iron, Vitamins A, B2, B6, C, E, Niacin, Folate, and Pantothenic Acid. Furthermore, bananas are very easy to digest and rarely cause allergic reactions. Bananas are part of the BRAT diet, a diet many physicians recommend for children recovering from gastrointestinal problems, particularly diarrhea. Recent study found evidence that a higher consumption of bananas and apple juice from concentrate may protect against wheezing in children.

Cholesterol-lowering effect

Animal studies have shown that banana has the potential to lower cholesterol. It was suggested that the dietary fibre component in banana pulp was responsible for its cholesterol-lowering effect. The amount of dietary fibre in banana is relatively constant during banana ripening.

Kidney health

Bananas promote an overall improvement of the functional efficiency of kidneys. Benefits to the kidneys are again due to the high potassium content of bananas. A normal intake of potassium suppresses calcium excretion in the urine and minimizes the risk of kidney stones.

The results of the Swedish population based prospective study (13.4 years) of 61,000 women aged 40-76, show that women eating more than 75 servings of fruits and vegetables per month (which translates into 2.5 per day) cut their risk of kidney cancer 40%. Among the fruits, bananas were especially protective. Women eating bananas four to six times a week halved their risk of developing the disease compared to those who did not eat this fruit.

Hang-over

One of the fastest ways to cure hang-over is to make a dairy banana cocktail with milk and honey. Bananas are known to calm an upset stomach and help rehydrate your body. Bananas are rich in the important electrolytes, magnesium and potassium, which are severely depleted during heavy drinking. Banana with the honey builds up the depleted blood sugar levels, providing some energy.

Energy booster

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. Potassium is also essential for helping muscles to contract properly during exercise and reduces cramping up. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.

Immunity booster

Bananas contain 25 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin B6, necessary for producing antibodies and red blood cells as well as aiding in the metabolism of fat. In addition, vitamin B6 serves as an immunity booster. So, this fruit strengthens your armor against infectious diseases. With each average-sized banana, you ingest about 15 percent of the RDA for vitamin C, one of the strongest antioxidants.

Depression:

  According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS:  Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia:  High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Brain Power:  200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Mosquito bites:  Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD):  Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use:  Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:  Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Bananas are famous for containing potassium, an essential electrolyte that helps regulate blood chemistry (particularly Ph) and improves carbohydrate metabolism by helping the muscles act efficiently. Without potassium (and sodium) your muscles stop firing correctly. Severe loss of sodium can produce really nasty complications all the way up to shock and death. Potassium also prevents the blood’s Ph from becoming too acidic. Bananas are also rich in vitamin B6, which helps metabolize more than 60 proteins and assists in red blood cell production that transports oxygen to muscles and folate in bananas helps concentration and memory.
Two bananas a day (or one with every large meal) offers optimal GI effect (a slippery, soft stool with no mess). What you spend on bananas you will save on toilet paper.
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

PS:   Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! Want a quick shine on your shoes? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit.

Morning Banana Diet

A new diet born on the Internet in Japan

Japanese who are trying to lose weight gather together on internet forums and social networking sites to pick up diet tips and give each other support. Recently, in one of the most popular social networking sites in Japan, the diet musings of a member and contributions of others in the community produced a new and simple diet program that jumped into the mainstream Japanese media and resulted in three books and many magazine articles. This diet was dubbed the Banana Diet.
The diet is relatively simple. For breakfast, eat a raw banana (or bananas) and sip lukewarm water. Eat a normal lunch and dinner while drinking lukewarm water. It's OK to have a sweet midafternoon snack, but otherwise avoid dessert as well as dairy and alcohol. Eat dinner by 8 p.m., go to bed before midnight and exercise if you feel like it. Theories about bananas and weight loss mention the fruit's enzymes and fiber, which may speed digestion.
But nutrition experts are dismissing it as a "fad diet," arguing that if people have lost weight in the short term, it's probably because following the diet means consuming fewer calories.
Banana Market


The Japanese Market
Japan is the biggest market for banana in Asia with total import of 885,140 metric tons valued at US$435.7 million in 1997.  The Philippines is the major supplier capturing 73.8% of the Japanese market for bananas.  The Latin American country of Ecuador supplied 186,141 tons for a share of 21%. 
                           


            The Philippine Banana Industry

The Philippines produced 3.56 million tons of bananas in 1998, almost half in Southern Mindanao. Commercial plantings are located in Mindanao where there are about 28,000 hectares of Cavendish bananas being produced for export.  While the national average yield is only 10 tons per hectare, the average for Southern Mindanao is almost four times as much.

While in no danger of outright extinction, the most common edible banana cultivar 'Cavendish' (extremely popular in Europe and the Americas) could become unviable for large-scale cultivation in the next 10-20 years. Its predecessor 'Gros Michel' has already suffered this fate. Like almost all bananas, it lacks genetic diversity, which makes it vulnerable to diseases, which threaten both commercial cultivation and the small-scale subsistence farming.

The Philippines exported a total volume of 1.15 million tons of fresh bananas of the cavendish banana type, the variety required by the export market.  Another relevant export product processed from banana is the banana chips/crackers. Other export products processed from banana are banana sauce (catsup) and banana flour, meal and powder. 

      Different ways to eat your Banana:

• Breakfast:
   Add sliced bananas to cold cereal; make banana pancakes or banana muffins; make a banana and yogurt shake; add bananas to a bowl of mixed fruit; mix with low fat yogurt.
• Lunch:
   Eat a banana with your lunch; add sliced bananas to a fruit salad; make a banana and peanut butter sandwich.
• Snack:
   Eat a banana! Make a smoothie with a banana and an energy supplement.

·         Dessert:
 Top low fat yogurt or low fat ice cream with sliced bananas; make a low fat banana milk shake.

Senate hearing: If invited to the Senate, don’t forget to bring a hand of bananas.