blatant propaganda article:

NutraSweet is a Neurotoxin

The Thalidomide of the 1990's is Aspartame -
otherwise known as EQUAL, NUTRASWEET or SPOONFUL.

"an imminent health hazard since it causes blindness, loss of memory, convulsions and Alzheimer's disease... Walk into any grocery store - it's almost impossible to find a food product that does not contain Aspartame ..."

Dr. H.J.Roberts, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.C.C.P. Author of Aspartame: Is it Safe? and Pulitzer Prize nominee. (New Scientist, 18 Feb. 1988).

What is Aspartame?

Aspartame is a molecule composed of three components: aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Once ingested, the methanol, which is wood alcohol that has killed or blinded thousands of skid row drunks, converts into formaldehyde and formic acid (Ant Sting Poison). Formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin, is a common embalming fluid and a Class A Carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). Phenylalanine is also neurotoxic when unaccompanied by the other amino acids in proteins.

Some suggest that the best way to think of NutraSweet is as a minute dose of nerve gas that eradicates brain and nerve functions. The large majority (75%) of neural cells in a particular area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic illness are noticed.

Because of their widespread presence in thousands of foods, Aspartame products are considered to be some of the most dangerous toxins in our society. We are dosed with millions of pounds every year.

There are 92 documented symptoms of Aspartame Disease including:

Headaches, Numbness, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Heart palpitations, Vertigo, Memory loss, Dizziness, Muscle spasms, Weight gain, Irritability, Anxiety attacks, Seizures, Rashes, Blindness, Tachycardia, Tinnitus (ringing in the ears), Insomnia, Joint pain, Nausea, Depression, Hearing loss, Slurred speech, Loss of taste...

There is more detail about some of these further below.

Some of the illness triggered by Aspartame Consumption:

Brain tumours and other cancers, Multiple sclerosis, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Graves Disease, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Epstein Barr, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, Diabetes, Mental retardation, Lymphoma, Birth defects, Systemic Lupus, Death!

F.D.A. - Food & Drug Administration, or Fatal Drugs Allowed?

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has received more than 10,000 consumer complaints on NutraSweet. That is 80% of all complaints about food additives, yet the FDA remains complacent and has done nothing to alert the public who assume that since Nutrasweet is so highly advertised, it must be as safe as mother's milk.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology surveyed 80 people who suffered brain seizures after eating or drinking products with Aspartame. According to the U.S. Community Nutrition Institute: "These 80 cases meets the FDA's own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market".

Perhaps FDA really stands for Fatal Drugs Allowed?

F.D.A. - The conflict of interests:

The NutraSweet Company and sister company G.D. Searle, whose chemists discovered Aspartame while testing an ulcer drug, are owned by the chemical giant Monsanto. Monsanto reaps $2 billion per year from the Aspartame bonanza. This can buy a lot of bureaucrats. For instance, in the early 1980s the head of the FDA, Arthur Hayes, overruled his own board of inquiry which had concluded that Aspartame was too dangerous to approve for marketing. After he overrode their decision and approved Aspartame, Mr. Hayes then went to work for the public relations firm of the company G.D. Searle. In a similar scenario, U.S. federal attorney Sam Skinner was assigned to prosecute G.D. Searle for fraudulent safety-tests. However, he switched sides and went to work for Searle's lawyers. The case against G.D. Searle died when the statute of limitations ran out.

Does the FDA work for industry or for citizens?

It is supposed to protect the public from dangerous products.

Aspartame and violence:

Phenylalanine in Aspartame lowers the seizure threshold in the brain and blocks the production of serotonin. The U.S. and other countries are swept by a rage of violence. Researchers attribute this in part to low serotonin levels in the brain, which produces depression, rage and paranoia. Instead of investigating and eliminating such chemical causes of violence, the U.S. Administration, Diet Coke in hand, programs billions of $$$ to buy prisons for the paranoid. Also consider that dangerous drugs such as Prozac (see Prozac leaflet) are prescribed to counter low brain serotonin levels. The chemical-pharmaceutical companies are laughing all the way to the bank. First, they make a mint out of Aspartame, and then, an extra fortune out of the drugs used to suppress the effects of Aspartame. Not to mention the other drugs and treatments used to suppress the adverse effects of those drugs.

Multiple Sclerosis:

If you are using Aspartame and have headaches, depression, slurred speech, loss of memory, fibromyalgia type symptoms, loss of sensation in lower legs or shooting pains, loss of equilibrium, vertigo, anxiety attacks, chronic fatigue, vision loss, floaters, retinal detachment, seizures, heart palpitations, etc. then you could have Aspartame DISEASE. Many physicians are diagnosing multiple sclerosis when in reality it is methanol toxicity which mimics MS. MS is not a death sentence, but methanol toxicity is. The first thing to do is stop consuming Aspartame right away.

Diabetes:

The American Diabetic Association, which receives megafunds from the manufacturers of NutraSweet, ignored a 1987 abstract submitted by Dr. H. J. Roberts (world expert on Aspartame and diabetic specialist) which summarised 58 diabetic Aspartame reactors. He says "I now advise ALL patients with diabetes and hypoglycemia to avoid Aspartame products." The Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock M.D., in his book Excitotoxins - the Taste that Kills, says Aspartame may trigger clinical diabetes. He also says that excitotoxins which can be found in such ingredients as NutraSweet literally stimulate neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees. Also, "What really concerns me about Aspartame is its association with brain tumors as well as pancreatic, uterine and ovarian tumors... and that so many develop an Alzheimer's-like syndrome with prolonged exposure." Numerous other 'independent' organisations such as the American Dietetic Association also receive large sums of money from the manufacturers of Aspartame. Is it any wonder that these so-called health authorities promote the use of Aspartame products?

Pregnancy risks:

The effects of Aspartame, even if consumed in very small doses, can be passed directly to the foetus. Foetal tissue cannot tolerate methanol. Dr. James Bowen has dubbed NutraSweet "instant birth control". The foetal placenta can concentrate phenylalanine and cause mental retardation.

Airline pilots & seizures:

Some people have suffered Aspartame related disorders with doses as small as that carried in a single stick of chewing gum. This could mean that airline pilots who drink diet sodas are more susceptible to flicker vertigo, or to flicker-induced epileptic activity. It also means that these pilots are potential victims of sudden memory loss, dizziness during instrument flight and gradual loss of vision. Some pilots have experienced grand-mal seizures in the cockpits of commercial airline flights and have lost medical certification to fly and with it their careers. How many aeroplane crashes have been due to the effects of Aspartame?

Gulf War Syndrome:

During the Gulf War Operation Desert Storm, truckloads of diet drinks cooked in the Arabian sun; at 86 degrees Aspartame liberates methanol in the can. Thousands of U.S. service men and women returned home with chronic fatigue syndrome and weird toxic symptoms - gulf war syndrome?

Diet Soda & Weight gain:

On July 28, 1983 the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) drafted a 30 page protest questioning the safety of Aspartame in soft drinks. However, when they found that weight-conscious Americans would drink soda all day if it was sugarless, the NSDA forgot their objections. They also forgot to tell the public that Aspartame makes you crave carbohydrates and thus leads to weight gain. The formaldehyde in Aspartame stores in fat cells, particularly on the hips and thighs.

Perhaps this warning should be on every Aspartame/ NutraSweet/ Equal/ Spoonful product:

CHEMICAL POISON: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF HUMANS.

SPREAD THE MESSAGE: For further information on Aspartame e-mail betty@pd.org and put as the Subject line "send me help".

The above leaflet was authored by J. Citizen of EYE in 1996. It is based upon a leaflet prepared by MISSION POSSIBLE, 5950-H State Bridge Rd. Suite 215 Duluth, GA 30155 USA.

Things you can do:

1. Take the 60-day No Aspartame Test and send Mission Impossible your case history.
2. Tell your doctor and all of your friends!
3. Return Asparcidal food to the store ie. anything with Monsanto's NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful or Benevia or NatraTaste.

Here's a link to an easy to read fully-referenced detailed article on the dangers of Aspartame and Nutrasweet at Nexus magazine.