Sugar-Free Better For You? Food For Thought....

[jumperconway 0]

From Dr. WC Douglass

Dear Reader,

Imagine 16,000 tons of powder. The weight of 10,600 cars approximately equals 16,000 tons, so we're talking about a LOT of powder.

But not just any powder. About 16,000 tons of aspartame is produced for worldwide consumption each year. In other words, people are consuming enormous quantities of this artificial sweetener, which is better known by its commercial names, such as NutraSweet and Equal.

The day may come when our grandchildren, or perhaps their grandchildren, look back on the decades around the turn of the century and wonder how so many people, year after year, could ingest such huge quantities of something that appeared to be such an obvious enemy of good health.

And what may be most baffling to our heirs: The warning signs are numerous. And they just keep coming.

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Daily intake...acceptable?
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The most recent aspartame findings come from a large animal study conducted by Italian researchers at the Ramazzini Foundation, which specializes in oncology and environmental sciences.

For more than three decades, researchers simulated daily human intake of aspartame on 1800 rats (equal amounts of males and females). Each rat was assigned to one of eight dosage levels: zero mg per kilogram of body weight, 4 mg/Kg, 20 mg/Kg, 100 mg/Kg, 500 mg/Kg, 2,500 mg/Kg, or 5,000 mg/Kg. Rats began receiving aspartame at eight weeks of age, continuing throughout their lives.

The results (reported in a recent issue of the European Journal of Oncology) showed a "statistically significant" increase in leukemias and lymphomas among female rats who received as little as 20 mg/Kg per day. Current European regulations place an acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame at 40 to 50 mg/Kg of body weight. That ADI is for humans, of course, not rats.

But the research doesn't end there. The Ramazzini data, with full pathology reports, have been submitted to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Union's counterpart to our FDA. A panel of experts (oh brother!) will then evaluate the findings "in the context of the previous extensive safety data available on aspartame."

In other words: Expect absolutely nothing to happen. Because the EFSA so far has done exactly what the FDA has done with the current available safety data: Nothing. But that's fine. You and I and other concerned citizens will take it from here with a little Water Cooler Regulation.

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61 revisited
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In the world of harmful food additives, aspartame may turn out to be the most notoriously harmful of them all. Research shows that aspartame may mimic or worsen diseases such as Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and depression.

In 1994 the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a list of 61 reported adverse reactions to aspartame, including: chest pains, asthma, arthritis, migraine headaches, insomnia, seizures, tremors, vertigo, and weight gain. The surprising item on that list is "weight gain," given the fact that aspartame is the sweetener used in most diet sodas. In fact, according to one study, aspartame may actually STIMULATE appetite, prompting cravings for calorie-rich carbohydrates.

But weight gain is nothing compared to some of the horror stories out there.

Aspertame is made by combining two amino acids with methanol. According to an article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, methanol is the probable trigger for most of the adverse reactions associated with aspartame. When aspartame is combined with the enzyme chymotrypsin in the small intestine, methanol is released and breaks down into formaldehyde, a potent neurotoxin. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol to be a "cumulative poison" and recommends a safe consumption of no more than 7.8 mg per day. If you drink a one-liter beverage containing aspartame, you body creates seven times that amount - about 56 mg of methanol.

But it gets even worse. Because if the product containing aspartame is heated to a temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, "free methanol" is created, speeding up the absorption of methanol, and magnifying the effects of the neurotoxins. Nevertheless, in 1993 the FDA approved the use of aspartame in food items such as gelatin desserts that require heating well over the 86-degree range.

The result? People are hurting. According to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System, approximately 75 percent of all complaints received about food additives are aspartame-related: 3 out of every 4! And yet the FDA still refuses to acknowledge the evidence that aspartame could be endangering public health.

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Hold the toxin
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In spite of the clear dangers of aspartame, FDA officials have ignored calls for a ban and have resisted efforts to establish a warning label for aspartame, stating (completely contrary to all the evidence) that complaints against the sweetener aren't sufficient to warrant such a warning.

But really, what good would a warning label do? Does the average consumer actually read the fine print on his can of diet Mountain Dew?

What's needed here is not an FDA regulation, but rather some Water Cooler Regulation. Tell your friends and family about the potential dangers of aspartame. Spread the word. And as always, feel free to share this e-Alert with them.

[haymangonzo 0]

Aspartame has been a controversial product for a long time now. People should eat and drink whatever they want, but I for sure am staying far away from this product. PEOPLE, PLEASE WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! Do google searches about this stuff, there is just too much bad vibe about it! There are theories that it's the cause for the gulf war veterans getting sick when they returned.

It can't hurt not drinking the stuff.

***
Nice to meet you toot!

[tigra 0]

Most of this is actually old news. The only thing fairly recent is the link to cancer in lab animals. Funny, since the product was developed to replace saccarine (still used in many sugar free products) because that caused cancer in lab animals too!

Splenda seems to be the new zero calorie sweetener- maybe they did a little more R&D on it before they put it on the market. Doubtful. It won't be long before we start reading horror stories about it too! (Worst I've heard so far is that too much of it will give you the trots!)

Still, as most people will tell you, once you've made the transition to diet soda, going back to the regular stuff is darn near impossible! Its been over 20 years for me, and I can't touch a regular Coke or Pepsi!

[GeordieSkydiver 0]

Quote

(Worst I've heard so far is that too much of it will give you the trots!)

I can qualify that statement.

I bought a pound of sugar-free gummi bears in a motorway service station, by the time I got to where I was going, my insides were like a cappacino machine.

Worse thing was, I never knew what caused it. So on my return journey I did the same again. It was only when I found out that sugar-free stuff causes this that I realised.

I'm sticking to full sugar from now on.

Lee _______________________________

In a world full of people, only some want to fly, is that not crazy?
http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk

[mailin 0]

Quote

Splenda seems to be the new zero calorie sweetener- maybe they did a little more R&D on it before they put it on the market. Doubtful. It won't be long before we start reading horror stories about it too! (Worst I've heard so far is that too much of it will give you the trots!)

I think you're thinking of Olestra - which has been known to cause stomach upset.

Splenda is a no calorie sweetener that is made from sugar - the only ingredients in it are dextrose, maltodextrin and sucralose. It is proudly endoursed by the american diabetes association and me - I use it every day, 2 packets in my double spice chai tea around 10 AM

Try this experiment - take a packet of sweet n' low (saccarine) and a packet of Splenda - put a bit of each in your mouth. The SNL will make you gag - it tastes horrible. The splenda on the other hand tastes just like sugar - cause it is

Its a much better product that the other no calorie sweetners - HIGHLY endorsed by the medical community.

The issue with saccarine is also totally overblown - it caused cancer in lab rats that didn't have a chance to metabolize it, cause they injected them with 1500% their body weight. Well no shit, of course thats going to do bad stuff to you - didn't need to kill animals to tell me that.


Jen

Arianna Frances

[tigra 0]

Well, who told you to eat a pound of gummy bears in one sitting? Actually, some people are more sensitive to it than others! I know at least one person who can't tolerate it at all, but its never really bothered me.

[GeordieSkydiver 0]

Quote

Well, who told you to eat a pound of gummy bears in one sitting?

When I said a pound....I was being conservative.

It was a 8 hour drive after all........

Lee _______________________________

In a world full of people, only some want to fly, is that not crazy?
http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk

[tigra 0]

Nope, I'm thinking of Splenda. I like the stuff, but not everyone can tolerate it. I'm pretty sure its on the warning labels too. But generally, there are only problems if you eat mass quantities of the stuff, you know, like a pound of gummy bears?

I agree about saccarine.

I do remember Olestra- fake fat wasn't it? Even the label on a bag of chips made with it warned you about "anal leakage" or something? Never touched the stuff!

[GeordieSkydiver 0]

Man, what a tag line.

"may cause anal leakage"

haha

Lee _______________________________

In a world full of people, only some want to fly, is that not crazy?
http://www.ukskydiver.co.uk

[hungarianchick 0]

Splenda rocks!

"I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food."

[tigra 0]

That came out during the whole "low fat/ fat free" craze. Products loaded with sugar and other crap were suddenly good for you because they were low in fat! Right................!

[jumperconway 0]

Now what's sick is that natural sugar has been replaced with crap that's unfit for consumption like high fructose corn syrup. Go to store and see how many drinks or fruit juice cocktails you can find WITHOUT it. In Houston you can get bottled cokes imported from Mexico that are actually made with REAL cane sugar!

[Lindsey 0]

Nope, I'm thinking of Splenda. I like the stuff, but not everyone can tolerate it. I'm pretty sure its on the warning labels too. But generally, there are only problems if you eat mass quantities of the stuff, you know, like a pound of gummy bears?

kinda like if you eat mass quantities of grapes, plums, or just about any fruit. Some sugars are absorbed very slowly, and they cause your gut to react badly....

Peace~
linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[shropshire 0]

What's crazy is that people decry natural products like sugar and hype up chemical equivelants... how daft is that?




edit : whoops someone else already said this...sorry

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[tigra 0]

I could say that the government doesn't help matters by encouraging farmers to grow and produce certain products over others, but then this thread would end up in the speaker's corner and its scary over there!

[gremlin 0]

Surely the whole situation is the fault of the people eating the stuff in the first place. Too idle to do enough exercise to burn off their carbohydrate intake they look for the easiest option - low carbs. The food industry is merely responding to this demand and if you listed the side effects of all natural products you would end up with a similar length list to that of artificial ingredients - sugar may cause obesity, heart disease and the problems with peanuts are increasingly apparent.

A balanced diet with plenty of exercise is always the best option.

I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine....

[billvon 2,991]

>a "statistically significant" increase in leukemias and lymphomas
>among female rats who received as little as 20 mg/Kg per day . . .

So let's see. That would suggest that an 80kg guy (i.e. 180 lbs) who eats 1.6 grams of aspartame a day might be at risk. A liter bottle of soda contains about .5 grams of aspartame. So if you drink more than three liters of diet soda a day, evidence suggests there may be a risk.

Perhaps the solution is not drinking three liters of ANY sort of soda a day, rather than cutting all artificial sweeteners out.

About once a year there's a new scare - about eggs, aspartame, meat, fish, cereal, wine, whatever - and people panic. "Oh my god, we've gotta ban hamburgers!" Then about six months later someone else discovers that the hazard isn't really so bad if you use it in moderation. That doesn't sell papers so you never see the second report.

Drinking more than three liters of sugared soda a day is bad for you, and might even kill you faster than 1.5 grams of aspartame a day would. But a study that said "drinking a gallon of soda a day isn't such a good idea" just wouldn't make the news.

[Lindsey 0]

Seems like there's a recurring theme in life about moderation. I think there may be something to it....

I like a good steak, but eating one for every meal will certainly give me heart disease. Can I blame a scientist? Or an engineer? Or a doctor? I'm sure there's a way....

Peace~
linz

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[PLFXpert 0]

It's better to eat anything natural than the substitute--ie: sugar, butter, fats, oils, etc.

Smart Balance makes the best butter

Paint me in a corner, but my color comes back.

[jumprunner 0]

Birch sugar - a naturally occurring type of sugar that metabolizes slowly which prevents gaining weight from carbohydrates, its supposed to have enough nutrients in it to where if you eat it every day then there is no need to take multivitamins.

The downside - its expensive, but one can can go a long way.

[MarkM 0]

Quote

What's crazy is that people decry natural products like sugar and hype up chemical equivelants... how daft is that?

Nature is there to be improved upon

• Quote

[nathaniel 0]

Quote

It's better to eat anything natural than the substitute--ie: sugar, butter, fats, oils, etc.

If it were only that easy. "Natural" is one of those terms whose definition is impossible to pin down. Everybody knows what "natural" means, but nobody can explain it in such a way that makes sense & agrees with what everybody else says.

I once had a friend who was otherwise intelligent & thoughtful tell me straight faced & honestly that "natural" meant "endorsed in the Bible".

Nightshade is natural, hemlock is natural, licorice root is natural, digitalis is natural, ephedra is natural, sulphur is natural, table salt is natural, ergot fungus is natural. But imo they are all still nasty sh*t and they can screw you up to varying degrees.

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[gmittar 0]

I recently started drinking ice tea because sodas made me feel like such crap. Nothing in it to sweeten, just tea. After a day like that, I can't stand sweet tea, coffee followed suit.

We're just addicted to sweet, y'all. Same thing with salt(much harder for me to shake). Break it and you'll find that you don't really want it.

|>.<|
Seriously, W.T.F. mate?

[waltappel 1]

Quote

Man, what a tag line.

"may cause anal leakage"

haha

You mean like this?

Walt

[skydivermom 0]

Wow! I am so glad and relieved to see this post. I am reading a book by Kevin Trudeau called "Natural
Cures, What They Don't Want You to Know About". It is amazing. I've always stayed away from Aspartame but in his book he talks about people suffering from MS who approach him for advice. He tells them to cut out the Aspartame (and do a few other things) and without fail their symptoms disappear or get better within a few months! My mother-in-law died of cancer 9 years ago and also suffered with MS. She drank diet sodas daily.

Of course the FDA won't ban Aspartame. It causes too much disease and makes too much money for the pharmecuetical (sp) companies! That's what the FDA is about. Protecting the profits of the drug companies! I'm even thinking about giving up Splenda and going to all organic sugar. I have hypoglycemia and can't have any refined sugar.

Mrs. WaltAppel

All things work together for good to them that love God...Romans 8:28