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Aspartame and the Brain - new evidence

In the 1980s I knew several people who worked for G.D.Searle, the company that developed Aspartame. I wouldn't go near the stuff. There's been several reports in the Lancet and BMJ over the years, usually citing cases where people were drinking gallons of soft drinks containing "NutraSweet" which is one of the trade names. However, I remember the problems that G.D.Searle had trying to get FDA approval, my friends were telling me about it as it was happening, and the application was rejected several years running. A short synopsis follows:-
In 1985 Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame's clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it "might induce brain tumors."

The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (one time Secretary of Defense) vow to "call in his markers," to get it approved.

On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan's new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry's decision.

It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame's favor. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame.
Conspiracy? We'll probably never know. Everything written here is accurate as far as I can tell. Just a bit suspicious, no real evidence of conspiracy though.

As you can imagine, a sweetener as powerful as Aspartame was worth billions of dollars.
 
I remember reading this many years ago on the web after the good Doctors and Nurses of the diabetic community told me I should drink Diet Drinks and while I did, I was more depressed than ever, so I quit.

It is just nice to see that there is hard evidence which is imo indisputable that has finally shown to the public.
 
This reminds me of a Jeremy Vine programme many years ago; Clarissa Dixon-Wright, one of the "Two Fat Ladies" (of TV fame) was on the programme talking about food, etc. and she relayed a childhood experience: her Grandfather was someone high up in Unilever and he took her on a tour of one of their factories one day where margarine was being made. She said that she asked him what it was, to which he replied (and I paraphrase): 'This is margerine, don't ever eat it, you don't want to know what goes in it.'

Ever since that programme, I - like C D-W, have steered clear of all those 'healthy, low fat spreads'. In fact, my whole diet has been steadily moving away from just about anything processed/pre-packed.
 
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Well thanks for this video. I agree! Yes aspartame made my depression worse. It also made me gain weight through increasing my insulin resistance, which in turn made my depression even worse. I had awful shooting pains in my face, jaw and head. My GP said 'it was one of those things' My dentist agreed with me that it was probably the aspartame.

I'm glad I saw the video, but I also wished I hadn't. There is a link about sweeteners causing premature birth. My first son was born 10 weeks early. There is also a link about behavioural problems. He was borderline hyperactive (I managed to cope with him so that he didn't need special treatment, but boy was it difficult!) As a Mum I feel guilty about possibly causing these problems for my child (lol who is now 28!). I'm wondering if I may have caused my younger son's dyslexia too by sweeteners interfering with his brain development. The annoying thing is I gave up alcohol so that it wouldn't harm him and sweeteners may have been even worse. Oh well, you can't act on something when you don't know about it can you?
 
The video comes from the site that said that eggs can cause diabetes and we are all doomed if we eat them, that the OP posted.

For those with diabetes, eggs may then hasten our death. Eating one egg or more a day appears to shorten anyone’s lifespan, but may be even worse for those with diabetes, potentially doubling all-cause mortality, meaning egg-eating diabetics seem to live particularly short lives.
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/new-egg-research-for-diabetes-not-good-news.68112/

@zand ,I have a dyslexic son and have never drank diet drinks.
This article explains that you need a rare genetic component.

Amid the continuing disquiet, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted a comprehensive review of the evidence in 2013and concluded that aspartame was safe for human consumption, including pregnant women and children.

In digestion, aspartame is quickly and completely broken down in to by-products – including phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol – which then enter our system through normal routes. Hardly any aspartame enters the bloodstream.

However, the panel said the ADI did not apply to people with phenylketonuria (PKU) – a rare genetic disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine. People who have this condition need to closely monitor their phenylalanine intake.

The EFSA report stated that: "PKU mothers with poorly controlled phenylalanine intake in their diet during pregnancy may give birth to babies with congenital heart diseases, microcephalus and impaired neurological function."
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-aspartame.aspx
 
@catherinecherub Yes my father was dyslexic too, so that's obviously where the gene came from. I'm just in the frame of mind that 'everything is my fault' today, so I do value your post. Thank you.
 
catherinecherub said:
In digestion, aspartame is quickly and completely broken down in to by-products – including phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol – which then enter our system through normal routes. Hardly any aspartame enters the bloodstream.
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I'm not worried about aspartame so much as the methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. It might be the case that you'd have to consume loads and loads of aspartame to have too much methanol (used in paint strippers), or too much aspartic acid ( an excitotoxin, a deleterious substance that excites or over-stimulates nerve cells), or too much Phenylalanine (a neurotoxin that excites the neurons in the brain). Why consume any at all?

If you are interested in the 92 reported side effects that caused the FDA to refuse approval as a sweetener (it was used in dry goods) before the Reagan administration then Google "aspartame freedom of information". I've heard it referred to as a drug rather than an additive, which sounds more accurate, but I've nothing to prove, I knew several industrial chemists who worked at G.D.Searle, I remember quite clearly their surprise (and delight) at FDA approval after so many years of rejectionand decided to avoid it then, well before you could Google anything. At least that way there's no chance that I will have any of the reported side effects whether there's a conspiracy or not.

It's like so many things these days, you will always find umpteen different versions of the so called truth.
 
Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid, one of the 9 amino acids that our body requires and that cannot be synthesised in the body. We get it in the diet and use some directly but the body converts excess into another useful protein tyrosine(used for thyroid hormones ,adrenaline and dopamine ) .
PKU babies have a mutation which makes them unable to convert phenylalanine to tyrosine. The phenylalanine builds up and is converted into a toxic product phenyl-pyruvate.This is what leads to metal retardation and a musky odour caused by the build up in the body . Fortunately tyrosine can also be obtained from dietary sources so a PKU diet has to reduce phenylalanine in the diet ;not taking sweeteners is actually quite a minor part since most protein containing foods such as milk, nut, cheese, eggs, chicken , peanut butter and beef are all quite high sources of it!
pku diet

Children in most developed countries are tested at birth for it with a small drop of blood taken from the heel.
Because one normal copy of the gene is enough then, people who inherit the mutation from one parent would have no problems
 
zand said:
@catherinecherub Yes my father was dyslexic too, so that's obviously where the gene came from. I'm just in the frame of mind that 'everything is my fault' today, so I do value your post. Thank you.
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@zand as you know I have mild dyslexic and their is no such thing as blame in my mind. I say mild as it seem fair compared to other types.
If there was no spellcheck, this would be a mess.
However believe it or not I get by without any problems.
Personally I am not happy with aspartame, and I think your correct in what you say regarding that artificial sweetener.
To put it another way I trust you more than them and that's my choice.
 

@izzzi We didn't realise my father was dyslexic until my son was, and then I realised they had the same problems. Sadly my poor old Dad always believed he himself was 'thick'. I wondered about my son because he seemed quite bright but couldn't read anywhere near as well as his brother at the same age. I didn't say anything because he was happy in himself and I didn't want him to worry about having a label so young. Then when he was 7 he cried and said the words kept moving and he didn't know what the letters were doing, so I asked the school to test him. He passed the first test fine, but because I had flagged up a possible problem they did the 2nd one anyway. They said he was badly dyslexic in only one of the areas that they test for....ordering of letters.. He was fine in all the other criteria. They gave me some games to play with him. When I told him he was dyslexic he was delighted and said "So I'm not stupid after all"
 
Like your Dad I was not aware of my dyslexia until later in life. I sort of cheated my way along. I did not read books as it made quessy etc. and my darling twin sister used to tie my shoe laces etc; ( that is one of the tell tale test these days.)
I did have quite a important job before semi retirement, but one of my talents if that is the correct term was mental maths, (did not need a calculator).
I used that to my advantage
I bet your son has a hidden talent, trouble is he may not have come across it yet. if not he will.
 
I am sorry but I cannot agree with what you say catherinecherub. You seem to cherry pick your arguments quite well.

Just because you don't believe the evidence doesn't make it true. Aspartame back when I was a Diabetic already had 65 OFFICIAL side effects, which are now over 90 as graj0 points out.

You do realise it was the Sugar industry who persuaded the government and the people you seem to trust so much that Stevia was highly toxic and dangerous to your system. But has of 2 years ago that was reversed by independent research which finally broke the Sugar industries hold.

So now you tell me and other that Aspartame is fine, even though its made of the 2 most toxic ingredients and at about 38'C turns into formaldehyde inside your body.

Cigarettes are "safe" according to all research by people who made them. Even the government supported it until evidence finally massed up against it.

I think you should study the research far more and look into whose propaganda you are reading and who has things to gain. The Doctor I refer to isn't paid by anyone to put out false information. He studies hundreds and thousands of reports and gives the information as it is.

Also if you actually watched the video on Eggs, the Amercican Egg Board - WHO are there to promote egg sales - Cannot say they are healthy for you. But of course, your research comes from where? The entire Egg Board is to PROMOTE eggs, but they do have ethics which stops them lying directly to the public.

Most of our problems are now caused by the foods we consume because we don't know what they do to our food. There are many things, steroids, anti-biotics, poisons etc that are put in our food. For instance, did you know a chicken now take 41 days from hatch to dinner - and I think that it is not eating "whole grains" to get that big that quick.

Anyway, as I have always claimed, watch the videos, learn, and study the evidence yourself and don't let people tell you something is right or wrong, know the facts first and know the facts that are being with held.
 
I watched the video and lost count of how many "may", "maybe" and "appears to" and I am not prepared to get into a personal argument with you. Whilst we may not agree, the only link I have put up was to allay the fears of a mother who took your video on face value and was blaming herself for her son's condition. That needed addressing don't you think?

The response to his video on the dangers of eggs, when posted on the forum had a response in favour of eggs. Are all those posters wrong too?
There are lots of negative articles about this particular Dr. on the web.

If you are not prepared for any criticism to articles that you put on the Diabetes Discussions Board then I suggest you are in the wrong place. I did not attack you personally but rather the videos.

 
Criticism I can take, but you accused the video of eggs - different post which you brought into this discussion - of being doom, well its not, doesn't say that at all, so you added your opinion to a scientific study on what you believe, not what is actual fact.
Everyone as I have stated and always state - you can make your own conclusions from the evidence. But if people are not informed how can they make an informed opinion?
We as people rely on food information which is very very hard to come by because whenever an independent scientific study comes up, the corporations that control the products that are being put down will always have a counter argument.
For instance - Professor David Nutt, the government's chief drug adviser, has been sacked a day after claiming that ecstasy and LSD were less dangerous than alcohol. - The Guardian.
So because he went up against the "party" and their sponsors (being big pharma) he gets sacked, even if his argument is true and the evidence supports it, but if you ask Joe public, most will say these drugs are harmful.
I for one have never taken these substances because I choose not to, but all the latest research shows how Cannabis can cure and relieve symptoms of many chronic illnesses.

The doctor maybe a "quack" as you say, but any website that wants to say bad things about a person is easily done. For instance - President George W Bush - many websites love him, but there are websites that hate him. It's so easy to put people down, especially on a website and especially when it goes against the money making machines.

The Doctors love of health comes from Pritikin which saved his grand mother. For those who don't know what Pritikin does, its worth reading, they have helped thousands of people. Proven that what they do does work.

As for type 2 diabetes, which my father developed, I asked him to try juicing and a vegan style diet - to which he tried his best to adhere to paid off, because of the symptoms he was having from Type 2, disappeared when he had check ups later on. I did research, came to my own conclusions and it paid off for my Father.

Being type 1, I also have done the plant based diet and my blood sugars dropped substantially, but I still wanted to eat all the foods I had been eating most of my life. I am happy to say, while doing the plant based diet then changing it slightly to a very low intake of meat, I have reduced my insulin injections by 50%. I still avoid most dairy as I found that was more of a problem than actually eating meat.

I agree with you that Dyslexia didn't come from eating Aspartame but I thought the lady was just exaggerating her thoughts and didn't seriously believe that, since thousands of people suffer with dyslexia.

Anyway, I won't comment on this any more, as I think I have stated clearly what my beliefs are, to which I do extensive research and actually try the methods out, to know what works and what doesn't for me. All types of methods people have tried and failed, to which you have to keep trying and find what is causing problems for that individual and the most common thing we all have, is that we eat food, not knowing what has gone into making it, what has been fed to it and what kind if poisons and pesticides we are ingesting.

Aspartame caused me numerous depression bouts when I was younger because of the information the Diabetic doctors tell you to drink it, as its better than sugar, in fact they are wrong. Stevia is the way to go - no calories, no blood sugar spike and no extra insulin released.
 
Tons of conspiracy stuff about Aspartame on the net, when it was first introduced they tried to discredit it. Over 100 different tests were done on it and nobody could find fault and it was cleared for use. My Dad is 90 now, he has been diabetic for years and it is what we use so hey, I figure we will keep on using it. None of us drink litres of diet drinks, it is just used occasionally on cereals and by me in my coffee.

Ali
 
Brit90 said:
.

I agree with you that Dyslexia didn't come from eating Aspartame but I thought the lady was just exaggerating her thoughts and didn't seriously believe that, since thousands of people suffer with dyslexia.
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I am having counselling and am taking anti depressants at the moment as I have suffered depression for at least 18 years. I am not always in a place to think rationally when it comes to harm I may or may not have done to my children. Those were my thoughts at the time, no exaggerations.

It was very kind of Catherine to post and reassure me. I needed it.
 
How can anyone judge anything nowadays?

Moat people stuff themselves full of everything... They've been on low fat diets, low sugar(ie aspartame etc). I've ate what I thought was pretty healthy low carb for all my life with pretty much no fizzy drinks with aspartame but do drink high levels of caffeine and my meat and veg or salad isn't of the same vitamin and nutrition value of 100 years ago.

I don't think nowadays anybody can be sure what bad contributors we have had in our food chains as we've all had the corn products, transfats etc in some unknown ways as well. Even if its been just once...
 
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