aspartame poisoning

[shanti]

i got this in an email today...anyone heard about it?

> In October of 2001, my sister started getting very
> sick. She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard
> time getting around. Walking was a major chore. It
> took everything she had just to get out of bed; she
> was in so much pain.
>
> By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and
> muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription
> medications. The doctors could not determine what was
> wrong with her. She was in so much pain, and so
> sick...she just knew she was dying.
>
> She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance,
> etc., in her oldest daughters name, and made sure that
> her younger children were to be taken care of. She
> also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip to
> FL (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.
>
> On March 19th I called her to ask how her most recent
> tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on
> the test, but they believe she had MS.
>
> I recalled an article a friend of mine E-mailed to me
> and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda? She told
> me that she did. As a matter of fact, she was getting
> ready to crack one open that moment... I told her not
> to open it, and to stop drinking the diet soda !!! I
> E-mailed her the article my friend, a lawyer, had
> sent.
>
> My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone
> conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the
> diet soda AND she could walk!!!! The muscle spasms
> went away. She said she didn't feel 100% but she sure
> felt a lot better. She told me she was going to her
> doctor with this article and would call me when she
> got home.
>
> Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed!
> He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out
> if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind...
>
> In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame
> in the diet soda... and literally dying a slow and
> miserable death.
>
> When she got to FL March 22nd, all she had to take was
> one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame
> poisoning! She is well on her way to a complete
> recovery . and she is walking!!! No wheelchair!!!
>
> This article saved her life If it says "SUGAR FREE" on
> the label, DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!
>
> I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD
> ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on "ASPARTAME," marketed as
> 'NutraSweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful.'
>
> In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced
> that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic
> of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus. It was
> difficult to determine exactly what toxin was causing
> this to be rampant.
>
> I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on
> exactly that subject. I will explain why Aspartame is
> so dangerous: When the temperature of this sweetener
> exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME
> converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid,
> which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. Formic acid
> is the poison found in the sting of fire ants. The
> methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions,
> multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.
>
> Many people were being diagnosed in error. Although
> multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence.. methanol
> toxicity is!
>
> Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as
> multiple sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet
> Pepsi drinkers. The victim usually does not know that
> the Aspartame is the culprit. He or she continues its
> use; irritating the lupus to such a degree that it may
> become a life-threatening condition. We have seen
> patients with systemic lupus become asymptotic, once
> taken off diet sodas.
>
> In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis,
> (when in reality, the disease is methanol toxicity),
> most of the symptoms disappear. We've seen many cases
> where vision loss returned and hearing loss improved
> markedly.
>
> This also applies to cases of tinnitus and
> fibromyalgia.
>
> During a lecture, I said, "If you are using ASPARTAME
> (NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc.) and you suffer
> from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting, pains,
> numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo,
> dizziness,headaches, tinnitus, joint pain,
> unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred
> speech, blurred vision, or memory loss...you probably
> have ASPARTAME poisoning!"
>
> People were jumping up during the lecture saying, "I
> have some of these symptoms."
>
> Is it reversible?" Yes! Yes! Yes! STOP drinking diet
> sodas and be alert for Aspartame on food labels!
>
> Many products are fortified with it!!!
>
> This is a serious problem. Dr. Espart (one of my
> speakers) remarked that so many people seem to be
> symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a
> hospice; a nurse stated that six of her friends, who
> were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed
> with MS. This is beyond coincidence!
>
> Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically
> altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME
> containing product that actually makes you crave
> carbohydrates. It is far more likely to make you GAIN
> weight!
>
> These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores
> in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs.
> Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used
> primarily to preserve "tissue specimens."
>
> Many products we use every day contain this chemical
> but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!!!
>
> Dr. H. J. Roberts stated in his lectures that once
> free of the "diet products" and with no significant
> increase in exercise; his patients lost an average of
> 19 pounds over a trial period.
>
> So called "behavior modification prescription drugs"
> (Ritalin and others) are no longer needed. Truth be
> told, they were never NEEDED in the first place!
> Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics. We
> found that some physicians, who believed that they had
> a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms
> caused by Aspartame. The Aspartame drives the blood
> sugar out of control. Thus diabetics may suffer acute
> memory loss due to the fact that aspartic acid and
> phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the
> other amino acids necessary for a good balance.
> Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE. Especially
> with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the blood/brain
> barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the
> brain; causing various levels of brain damage,
> seizures, depression, manic depression, panic attacks,
> uncontrollable anger and rage. Consumption of
> Aspartame causes these same symptoms in
> non-diabetics, as well.
>
> Documentation and observation also reveal that
> thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and AHD have
> had complete turnarounds in their behavior when these
> chemicals have been removed from their diet.
>
> Most of these children were being "poisoned" on a
> daily basis with the very foods that were "better for
> them than sugar."
>
> It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands
> of pallets of diet Coke and diet Pepsi consumed by men
> and women fighting in the Gulf War, may be partially
> to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.
>
> Dr. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects,
> i.e., mental retardation, if taken at the time of
> conception and during early pregnancy. Children are
> especially at risk for neurological disorders and
> should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners. There are
> many different case histories to relate of children
> suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological
> disturbances due to the use of NutraSweet.
>
> Unfortunately, it is not always easy to convince
> people that Aspartame is to blame for their child's
> illness. Stevia, which is a sweet herb, NOT A
> MANUFACTURED ADDITIVE, helps in the metabolism of
> sugar, which would be ideal for diabetics. It has now
> been approved as a dietary supplement by the FDA. It
> is known that for many years the FDA outlawed this
> true sweet food," due to their loyalty to MONSANTO
> Chemical Company."
>
> Books on this subject are available:
>
> EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS written by Dr.
> Russell Blayblock (Health Press 1-800-643-2665) AND:
> DEFENSE AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE-written by DR H.
> J. Roberts, also a diabetic specialist.
>
> These two doctors will soon be posting a position
> paper with case histories on the deadly effects of
> Aspartame on the Internet. According to the Conference
> of the AmericanCollegeof Physicians, "We are talking
> about a plague of neurological diseases directly
> caused by the use of this deadly poison."
>
> Herein lies the problem: There were Congressional
> Hearings when Aspartame was included 100 different
> products and strong objection was made concerning it's
> use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two
> subsequent hearings and still, nothing has been done.
> The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep
> pockets. Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has
> EXPIRED!!
>
> There are now over 5,000 products on the market that
> contain this deadly chemical and there will be
> thousands more introduced.
>
> Everybody wants a "piece of the Aspartame pie." I
> assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame,
> knows how deadly it is. And isn't it ironic that
> MONSANTO funds, among others, the American Diabetes
> Association, the American Dietetic Association and the
> Conference of the AmericanCollegeof Physicians? This
> has been recently exposed in the New York Times. These
> cannot criticize any additives or convey their link to
> MONSANTO because they take money from the food
> industry and are required to endorse their products.
>
> Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill
> that would require label warnings on products
> containing Aspartame, especially regarding pregnant
> women, children and infants. The bill would also
> institute independent studies on the known dangers and
> the problems existing in the general population
> regarding seizures, changes in brain chemistry,
> neurological changes and behavioral symptoms. The bill
> was killed.
>
> It is known that the powerful drug and chemical
> lobbies are responsible for this, letting loose the
> hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting and
> uninformed public.
>
> Well, you're informed now!!!! YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO
> KNOW!!!!
>
> Please print this out and/or e-mail to your family and
> friends. They have a right to know.

[benburch]

1. Snopes says "False"

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp

[cynatnite]

2. Debunked

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp

[spinbaby]

3. When getting something like this in an email...

...always check snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp

[Epiphany4z]

4. I have seen a few e mails like this

I do believe most them are posted on urban legend web sites. As a diabetic I probably eat a little more of the sugar substitutes than most. While I am sure there are a few people who cannot tolerate the stuff...I think its mostly BS.

I don't like diet coke..brand name coke eats up my stomach but I do drink other diet sodas without a problem.

[Fridays Child]

7. Hi, Epiphany4z.

Welcome to DU. Glad to have you here! :hi:

[RobertSeattle]

5. Probably a hoax

Look it up before posting

Looks like an offshoot of this:

http://www.snopes.com/toxins/aspartame.asp

Claim: The artificial sweetener aspartame is responsible for an epidemic of cancer, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis.
Status: False.

Example:

[havocmom]

8. But getting it approved by the FDA sure made lots of $$ for Rumsfeld.

While not the horrible killer the OP email says it is, it might be bad news for many sensitive people.

Never been able to understand why people don't just drink water. But, there have been many deaths due to Dihydorgen Monoxide too ;)

[Verve]

6. Old internet rumor. Yet, scientific studies do not support this claim.nt

[bookman]

9. False...and checked beyond

I was concerned enough to check other sites such as the American Diabetes Assn.

This one has been around a while.

One thing I did find out is the recommendations:

Sweet 'n Low - 9 packs a day

Equal - 24 packs a day.

I think Splenda is even more. (not sure)

[MamaBear]

10. On the other hand...

Aspartame might not be completely benign, either. I suppose moderation is called for.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1581453,00.html

Sweetener manufacturer disputes validity of new health research

· Study links aspartame with cancers
· Ingredient used in more than 6,000 products

Felicity Lawrence
Friday September 30, 2005
The Guardian


Aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in more than 6,000 food and drink products around the world, is the subject of renewed controversy this week after the results of the latest research into whether it can cause cancer.

Scientists at the independent European Ramazzini Foundation for cancer research in Bologna presented new results from its long-term, large-scale study of the effect of aspartame on 1,800 rats, at its international conference on cancer and environmental sciences in Italy last week.

The research centre said analysis of its latest results showed aspartame caused cancer of the kidney, and of the peripheral nerves, mainly in the head. Earlier data from the same study published in July linked aspartame to an increased risk of leukaemias and lymphomas in female lab rats "at doses very close to the acceptable daily intake for humans".

Manufacturers of the sweetener have challenged the validity of the study. They say the research is "in total conflict with hundreds of credible studies that have been thoroughly reviewed by the regulatory authorities around the world" and that "the allegations are inconsistent with human epidemiological data". They question the record of the institute and say it is "criminal" for it to present its data publicly before it had made it all available to the regulatory authorities and before it had been fully reviewed

more ...

[obreaslan]

11. A general rule of thumb, forwarded emails....

especially emails that have the ">" in front of every line are false, or a hoax. I've never come across a situation where one is true.

[shanti]

12. ok, thanks everyone

i got the picture!

[davsand]

13. In spite of what Snopes says, Aspertame is bad stuff.

I used to drink Diet Coke in pretty large amounts. About a two liter bottle per day, in fact. After a period of time I developed a muscle spasm in my face. Half of my face was pulled up in a spasm 24/7 and it hurt like a mother. Muscle relaxants didn't help and finally, they sent me to a neurologist who wanted to shoot Botulism Toxin into my face. Her comment was that it was possibly a brain tumor or MS, but either way, they could at least ease the pain.

I realize that BoTox is all the rage for wrinkles, but I found it "troubling" to consider the idea that the only thing the Docs could do to help was to, essentially, paralyze the muscles in half my face.

I went to an oriental healer for acupressure and massage.

I walked in there with a Bottle of Diet coke in my hand, and he took one look and asked me if I really knew what it was doing to my body. He treated me, extracted a promise that I'd learn something about how Nutrasweet breaks down in the body, and I walked out feeling a bit better.

That night I did my reading and found out how many toxic chemicals Nutrasweet breaks down into--NEUROTOXINS, some of them--and I gave up Diet Coke.

Two days later my face was better.

Just to experiment with it, I allowed myself a Diet Coke on the third day, and the spasm was back in full force. Since then, I have not consumed Nutrasweet (knowingly) and I feel a LOT better. When I do get Nutrasweet these days--even in small amounts--I can feel the muscles start to spasm up.

I realize my story is not supported by any kind of "hard research" but I do believe it was my body reacting to the Nutrasweet that created the problems. I wish more people would take a hard look at the information that is out there about Nutrasweet and make their own decisions. I think a lot of people might find they are having negative reactions to sweeteners. I also think it has to be a personal call.

Just my two cents.




Laura

[teenagebambam]

15. Seconded.

Aspartame gives me panic attacks.

Splenda gives me migraines and diarrhea.

I've done enough trial-and-error testing on myself to know that the srtificial sweeteners are, indeed, the culprits.

I'd rather be fat!

[stevietheman]

21. It's the caffeine causing the spasms, not aspartame.

Believe me, it's the caffeine that will give you ticks and increase the likelihood of anxiety attacks.

The studies about Nutrasweet breaking down into other substances don't take into account how the amounts of said things are extremely minute even when you consume large quantities of diet soda.

Examine the caffeine... it's the real problem.

[bluedonkey]

35. My sister

had almost the same trouble,she stopped consuming artificial sweeteners and has never been better.

[garybeck]

14. I avoid aspertame and nutrisweet n/t

[KurtNYC]

16. But diet drinks ARE linked to weight gain

There are a variety of studies which link the consuption of diet drinks to weight gain. The exact mechanism is yet to be determined but it appears that the sweetness of a product with no actual sugars confuses the body's reaction to sweets in general. Eg. the body begins to treat sweet tasting foods as though they have fewer calories and you can eat more before feeling satiatied.

...diet-soda drinkers are more likely to become overweight or obese than those who choose full-calorie beverages, finds a new study from doctors at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

When the docs tracked the weight of 1,550 men and women, they found that 57% of those who drank two or more cans of diet soda a day had become overweight after 8 years, compared with 47% of those who sipped on regular drinks.

http://www.prevention.com/article/0,,s1-4-57-190-5684-1,00.html?trafficsource=PVSL_2005_09_14

[stevietheman]

20. Well, I lost 40+ pounds on a diet while drinking diet sodas.

And the weight came off steadily. Studies like this counteract my reality.

[TalkingDog]

17. From the Sept 2005 issue of the Ecologist

http://www.theecologist.org/archive_detail.asp?content_id=457
sign up required

Aspartame is the most controversial food additive in history. The most recent evidence, linking it to leukaemia and lymphoma, has added substantial fuel to the ongoing protests of doctors, scientists and consumer groups who allege that this artificial sweetener should never have been released onto the market and that allowing it to remain in the food chain is killing us by degrees.



Once upon a time, aspartame was listed by the Pentagon as a biochemical warfare agent. Today it's an integral part of the modern diet. Sold commercially under names like NutraSweet and Canderel, aspartame can be found in more than 5,000 foods, including fizzy drinks, chewing gum, table-top sweeteners, diet and diabetic foods, breakfast cereals, jams, sweets, vitamins, prescription and over-the-counter drugs. This means that there is a good chance that you and your family are among the two thirds of the adult population and 40 per cent of children who regularly ingest this artificial sweetener.

snip:

Concerns over aspartame's toxicity meant that for eight years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) denied it approval, effectively keeping it off the world market. This caution was based on compelling evidence, brought to light by numerous eminent scientists, litigators and consumer groups, that aspartame contributed to serious central nervous system damage and had been shown to cause cancer in animals. Eventually, however, political muscle, won out over scientific rigour, and aspartame was approved for use in 1981 (see timeline for details).


snip:
He (Dr HJ Roberts, director of the Palm Beach Institute for Medical Research) estimates: 'Hundreds of thousands of consumers, more likely millions, currently suffer major reactions to products containing aspartame. Today, every physician probably encounters aspartame disease in everyday practice, especially among patients with illnesses that are undiagnosed or difficult to treat.'

[pansypoo53219]

18. i don't care if these sweeteners are OK

i won't touch them. and no margarine either. better living without chemistry.

[stevietheman]

19. IMHO, there's an unfounded campaign against aspartame,

which is actually a very safe substance. Don't believe the nonsense.

I wouldn't be surprised if the backers of one of the alternative sweeteners are conducting a hoax campaign.

[SOS]

24. Or Rumsfeld conducted a hoax campaign 25 years ago?

by James Turner:

"In October 1980, based on its limited review, the (FDA) board blocked aspartame marketing until the tumor studies could be explained. Unless the commissioner overruled the board, the matter was closed.

In November 1980, however, the country elected Ronald Reagan President. Donald Rumsfeld (since January 1977 president of Searle) joined the Reagan transition team. A full court press against the board decision began.In January 1981 Rumsfeld told a sales meeting, according to one attendee, that he would call in his chips and get aspartame approved by the end of the year. On January 25th, the day the new president took office, the previous FDA commissioner's authority was suspended, and the next month, the commissioner's job went to Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes.

Transition records do not show why the administration chose Hayes, a professor and Defense Department contract researcher. In July Hayes, defying FDA advisors, approved aspartame for dry foods -- his first major decision. In November 1983 the FDA approved aspartame for soft drinks -- Hayes' last decision.

In November 1983 Hayes, under fire for accepting corporate gifts, left the agency and went to Searle's public-relations firm as senior medical advisor. Monsanto purchased Searle. Rumsfeld received a $12 million bonus.

From 1985 to 1995, researchers did about 400 aspartame studies. They were divided almost evenly between those that gave assurances and those that raised questions about the sweetener. Most instructively, Searle paid for 100% of those finding no problem. All studies paid for by non-industry sources raised questions."

[stevietheman]

25. So what? "raised questions" doesn't equal "unsafe"

Besides, I strongly believe that people confuse caffeine's effects with that of the sweetener. Lots of people overload on caffeine and then wonder why they are feeling like shit.

[SOS]

30. The CDC in 1985

substantiated a percentage of the complaints lodged against aspartame.

"In 1985, the FDA asked the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to review the first 650 complaints (there are now over 10,000). CDC found that the symptoms in approximately 25% of the complainants had stopped and then restarted, corresponding with their having stopped and then restarted aspartame consumption.
The CDC also identified several specific subjects whose symptoms stopped and started as they stopped and started consuming aspartame. The FDA discounted the report."

It effects a minority of users, similar to MSG. Some people can dump MSG on their food without a problem. Others get a terrible headache. Aspartame made me ill for years. Doctors suggested I carry my EKG in my wallet "just in case". Cardiac arrhythmia is the #2 complaint about aspartame after blurred vision. Within a week of stopping aspartame in my coffee and cutting out Diet Coke my symptoms disappeared. I continue to drink coffee with normal EKG results.

It effects people differently.

[qanda]

31. I certainly don't have any axe to grind with aspartame

But if I even get a taste of that stuff my head begins to hurt in a way that is unbearable.

[alittlelark]

34. Same here, aspartame makes me feel ill instantly.

I have a 'cast iron' stomache, but even an accidental sip of that stuff will make me feel horrible.

[chat_noir]

22. Google aspartame and Rumsfield

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=HPIC,HPIC:2005-21,HPIC:en&q=aspartame+Rumsfeld&spell=1

[gauguin57]

23. For some people, Aspertame is a trigger for irritable bowel syndrome,

however.

And I do think consuming too much of any processed, artificial food can't be good for you.

This was an obession of Pat Robertson's for a long time -- he was suggesting airline pilots shouldn't drink diet soda because the aspertame was making them loopy!

If aspertame makes you loopy, then Rev. Pat must be eating it by the pound.

[nickinSTL]

26. there's been little to no evidence for aspartame actually

being dangerous.

Of course, if an individual believes he/she has a bad reaction to it, they should avoid it, as with any food someone has a problem with.

The ONLY legitimate medical concern with aspartame, that I am aware of, is for people with PKU (you know, the "Phenylketonurics" of the warning labels).

Aspartame contains a significant amount of the amino acid phenylalanine, which people with PKU can't metabolize due to lacking an enzyme (or not producing enough of the enzyme in less severe cases).

Even those with PKU wouldn't likely have long-term effects from one soda with aspartame (though they might feel horrible after drinking it) - as long as they didn't drink it regularly.

[Kailassa]

27. It's disgusting stuff anyway. ;-)

Years back I looked into the way aspartame was legalised, and it did look pretty fishy to me.

Personally I don't see the point of artificial sweeteners. If, (like me,) you need to avoid sugar, just have non-sweet food. Plain mineral water with a dash of fruit-juice is far more refreshing than soft-drink or cola.

[noonwitch]

28. I drink Diet Coke and have no problems

I've been drinking it since it came out, originally with sacchrine as the sweetner, then they switched to nutri-sweet, which tastes much better.

Obviously, there are people who get sick from aspartame, just like some people are allergic to bees and some get rashes from some kinds of laundry detergent. If you are one of them, don't consume it. Just don't ruin it for the rest of us who don't have any problems with it, like peanut allergy people are trying to do and non-smokers have taken to extremities (I don't mean smoke-free work environments, I mean the attempt to ban all smoking, even in the outdoors).

Splenda is nasty-I tried the Diet Coke with it and it just didn't taste right.

[McCamy Taylor]

29. Aspartame triggers my migraine headaches--I never touch it.

[FlaGranny]

32. Well, as a person with MS

I can tell you that I had MS BEFORE there ever was such a thing as Tab, I had it all through diet Cokes and Pepsis. Stopped drinking all those diet drinks some years ago, and still have the same degree of MS. Never got much better and never got much worse. I'm lucky in that for all these years, I have been stable.

I assure you that my first symptoms were from a time when my diet was quite "pure," from a time long before diet foods. My diet back then was mostly food from local farms. I'm not sure what pesticides were in use back then or what fertilizers.

[McCamy Taylor]

33. Did a Med-search, Beware some studies financed by Aspartame.

There is a WHOLE lot of research out there, most of the stuff I couldnt read from my computer, some because it is from other countries in other languages, or because my school does not have the journals on-line etc. There are a number of citations that admit to having ties to the Aspartame industry, so beware when you do research. More recent studies are more likely to tell you whether or not they have accepted money from Aspartame, older studies are less likely to have bothered to tell about ethical violations like that, so believe more recent stuff praising aspartame more than older research which could be biased and not admit it.

Definite link between aspartame and migraine headaches, this is clearly accepted by the medical community. The link between aspartame and seizure increase not as well accepted, however migraines are thought to be a variant of a type of seizure so some seizure patients could be at risk from aspartame. There are also questions about aspartame and ADD and AHDD. Since ADD could be a mixed bag and some ADD could represent migraine headache disorder or a type of atypical seizure disorder, it is possible that aspartame could exacerbate some ADD on this basis. I personally would not give aspartame to a child, even though the American Academy of Pediatrics does not seem to mind it. Mainly, I am concerned that it is related to neurotransmitors, the stuff that your body uses to send neurologic signals, and that it might interfere with the development of the nervous system in kids and the regulation of the nervous system in people like me, who have bad migraine problems.

MS and lupus are auto-immune disease. They could actually have a neurologic component underlying the auto-immune component--i.e. there could be an imbalance of the autonomic nervous system which causes disruption of the vascular system which in turn causes the immune system to go haywire, so it is possible that something that is neurotransmitor like could interfere with these, but I would be more suspicious of foreign protein molecules (like vaccines) that stimulate allergic reactions in the body.