"The Lowdown on Sweet?" - On Aspartame - in the New York Times

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February 12, 2006
The Lowdown on Sweet?

By MELANIE WARNER
WHEN Dr. Morando Soffritti, a cancer researcher in Bologna, Italy, saw the results of his team's seven-year study on aspartame, he knew he was about to be injected into a bitter controversy over this sweetener, one of the most contentiously debated substances ever added to foods and beverages.

Aspartame is sold under the brand names Nutra-Sweet and Equal and is found in such popular products as Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Diet Snapple and Sugar Free Kool-Aid. Hundreds of millions of people consume it worldwide. And Dr. Soffritti's study concluded that aspartame may cause the dreaded "c" word: cancer.

The research found that the sweetener was associated with unusually high rates of lymphomas, leukemias and other cancers in rats that had been given doses of it starting at what would be equivalent to four to five 20-ounce bottles of diet soda a day for a 150-pound person. The study, which involved 1,900 laboratory rats and cost $1 million, was conducted at the European Ramazzini Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences, a nonprofit organization that studies cancer-causing substances; Dr. Soffritti is its scientific director.

The findings, first released last July, prompted a flurry of criticism from the Calorie Control Council, a trade group for makers of artificial sweeteners that has spent the last 25 years trying to quell fears about aspartame. It said Dr. Soffritti's study flew in the face of four earlier cancer studies that aspartame's creator, G. D. Searle & Company, had underwritten and used to persuade the Food and Drug Administration to approve it for human consumption. "Aspartame has been safely consumed for more than a quarter of a century and is one of the most thoroughly studied food additives," read one news release from the council.

At the same time, Dr. Soffritti's findings have energized a vociferous group of researchers, health advocates and others who say they are convinced that aspartame is a toxin associated with a variety of health troubles, including headaches, dizziness, blindness and seizures.... <more>

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/12/business/yourmoney/12sweet.html?_r=2&th=&oref=slogin&emc=th&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

[adarling]

1. I love the sweet taste of Aspartame

So sad it is bad because i am totally addicted to Diet Coke. Started from childhood, mom got me hooked :(. This is truly a sad day people, i might have to give up my drug of choice :(.

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4. My husband used to drink diet pops.

And so then my son did. I never got used to it - I never liked the idea. I used to get away with drinking sweetened pop occasionally. Now I don't drink any.

Pop is a lot easier to give up if you can avoid having it around.

I like Chai teas - lots of spices.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. My doctor says

that aspertame, instead of helping folks lose weight, can actually help you gain weight! I know if I eat any amount of the stuff I become suicidally depressed-again, my doc says that it can effect the brain. She recommended either Splenda or fructose for me. I use those two sweeteners and, with the help of a chrome supplement, my glucose levels stay balanced.

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3. "aspertame...can actually help you gain weight"

Most of the people I know who drink diet pop are overweight. So that does not surprise me. I'm sure they drink it thinking it helps - but I've wondered about that.

I don't use sweeteners - I like my tea plain - or water. And I've stopped drinking pop, as well.

[Trillo]

5. Approved under Reagan.

I read that the FDA approval process was at least partly scrapped, and orders given, that sorta thing. Rumsfeld. Cheney?

From OP's link:

Searle was headed by Donald H. Rumsfeld, who is now the secretary of defense; Searle was acquired by Monsanto in 1985. Monsanto later spun Searle's assets out into two companies: Merisant, which owns the brands Equal and Canderel, and NutraSweet, which is owned by J. W. Childs Equity Partners, an investment firm in Boston.

It's all about MONEY. It's not how you play the game, it's whether you win, according to how these freaks appear to operate.

Found this online, anyone know its status? Dated Sep 17, 2004
Aspartame: RICO Complaint Filed Against NutraSweet, ADA, Monsanto

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6. I know - it figures Rumsfeld would have something to do with it. n/t

[varkam]

7. Food for thought

For the folks saying aspartame might help people gain weight -
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=3190217&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11890951&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum

just a couple...

[Ciggies and coffee]

8. Stevia is a good choice and natural n/t

[RedOnce]

9. Yes, both Stevia and Xylitol.

Xylitol is a sweetener that occurs naturally. It can be found, for instance, in berries, fruit, vegetables and mushrooms. Chemically speaking, xylitol is not actually a sugar, but a sugar alcohol.

[Angry Girl]

10. Those are the only sweetners I trust too

Stevia mostly, because it's easier to find, but I've not baked with it yet.

Xylitol is harder to find and I always have to order it online (and only do so when it's time to make cheesecake - xylitol mixes well with the mixture so the crystals are dissolved nicely).

[philb]

11. There's been lots of documentation on the dangers of aspartame

Ailments caused by Aspartame Anecdotal evidence is compelling
http://www.health-report.co.uk/aspartame-ailments.html

Aspartame Toxic Effects Chilling in-depth report including many from airline and pilot organizations on the toxic effects of aspartame... mimics serious disease like MS and others http://www.health-report.co.uk/aspartame-toxic-effects.htm


Chronic Methanol/Formaldehyde Poisoning From Aspartame
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/methanol.faq

Not Just Another Scare: Toxin Additives in Your Food and Drink
Dr. Russell Blaylock, Board Certified Neurologist
http://www.aspartame.com/blayart1.htm

"Excitotoxins, The Taste That Kills. Dr. Russell Blaylock
http://www.aspartame.com/ram/mpr060398.ram


"Aspartame and Pilots" Dr. Russell Blaylock
http://www.aspartame.com/blalockpilot.htm

"Food Additives and Brain Damage" Dr. Russell Blaylock
http://www.aspartame.com/ram/blaylocknoha.ram

The Connection Between MS and Aspartame Russell L. Blaylock, MD Neurosurgeon
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/Blaylock-AspartameAndMultipleSclerosis-Neurosurgeon'sWarning.html


Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods Dr. Joseph Mercola
http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/dangers.htm

Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic H. J. ROBERTS, M.D. F.A.C.P., F.C.C.P. http://www.sunsentpress.com/


Aspartame... "Deadly Deception" The cover up of aspartame negative test results!
http://www.health-report.co.uk/aspartame_deadly_deception.html

Aspartame Caused Brain Seizures FDA pivotal safety study
http://www.health-report.co.uk/aspartame-toxic-chemical.htm

WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE USED ASPARTAME Dr. Russell Blaylock , Neruologist http://aspartametruth.com/blaylock/wtdaspartame.html