THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT ASPARTAME

UNEDITED SAMPLE SCIENCE AND HEALTH ARTICLE
By Rochene Jerusalem Relator
IV - Madame Marie Curie


Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-measure (also Canderel - ed.). Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr. John W. Olney and consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974, as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices, caused the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (5 December 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D.Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and the NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Aspartame is by far the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. Aspartame accounts for over 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death as recently disclosed in a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report (1).

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame 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, memory loss and joint pain.

Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins". They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death.

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. taken in its free form (unbound to proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.
The risks to infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with certain chronic health problems from excitotoxins are great. Even the Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology (FASEB) which usually understates problems and mimics the FDA party-line, recently stated in a review that:

"It is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children. The existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e. elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals which affective disorders."

Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid. The best thing to do is avoid all artificial and chemical sweetener substitutes. They have NO food value, trick the body into thinking it is eating something sweet, and they have by-products of harmful toxic side effects. And remember that aspartame was discovered as an ulcer drug, not a sweetener. Every diet drink you used to drink was a dose of medication