Posted by Ame Sans Vie on January 1, 2004, at 12:05:27
Aspartame may be (in fact, in all likelihood *is*) greatly worsening, or even *causing*, your anxiety, panic, AD/HD, depression, mania, psychosis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, fatigue, insomnia, *weight gain*, irritability, heart troubles, vision/hearing degradation, breathing problems, and just about anything else you can think of. In fact, if you use aspartame, it's doing a lot worse than that -- it's killing you.
I'm sure there are some of you who are aware of the facts surrounding the dangerous nature of aspartame, but too many do not know, and this is a topic that must be addressed.
Let me just start with this: I've been struggling with fibromyalgia for some time now, at the age of 20. I am allergic to acetaminophen, salicylates, and all NSAIDs. Even the strongest narcotics (i.e. Duragesic, the fentanyl patch) provided only moderate relief. Commonly prescribed medications for FMS/CFS (amitriptyline, cyclobenzaprine, tizanidine, methocarbamal, gabapentin) were useless. Carisoprodol was the sole exception, but tolerance develops far too rapidly.
I began fluoxetine at 20mg daily several months ago, originally as a means to help me through the withdrawal caused by discontinuing my 400mg/day of tramadol (a mild narcotic/SNRI which I was prescribed for depression and, ironically enough, exacerbated my deep muscle pain). After a very brief period of time taking the fluoxetine and discontinuing tramadol, the pain subsided to a manageable, but still bothersome, level. Not being able to take OTC analgesics was awful, and I didn't want to begin what I figured would be a lifetime of narcotic pain management at only 20 years old. Raising the dose of fluoxetine led to undesirable side effects (sleeplessness, tremor, irritability -- but surprisingly enough, no sexual difficulties). So carisoprodol it was -- and the dosage kept increasing. At last count, I required SIX tablets *five times daily*. That's 10.5 *grams* total per day. My rheumatologist finally scared the living daylights out of me when she told me that she would no longer raise the dose. She began tapering me and started me on Avinza (a fairly new extended-release morphine formulation) at the same time.
Despite my very poor financial situation, I decided there was no choice but to seek help via other methods. Electroacupuncture/moxibustion and homeopathy were both met with semi-positive results (or was that just placebo effect?).
Then I decided to see a holistic health practitioner, and you're probably asking yourself by now, "where the hell does aspartame come into the picture?" lol, Sorry I've rambled for so long, but I felt it important that my entire history with the disorder be known (or at least an abridged version of it).
The doctor interviewed me in-depth on the first visit. During the interview, she specifically asked about my aspartame intake and, upon learning that I was drinking about a liter of diet soda per day (not to mention the Equal in my coffee, sugar-free Jell-O, etc), she asked me if I'd ever heard of "aspartame toxicity".
The things I learned that day and in the days since then through my own research will forever infuriate and bewilder me.
There is a lengthy list of side effects reported to the FDA associated with aspartame poisoning which I will place at the end of this post. Keep in mind though that the FDA estimates that fewer than 1% of consumers ever report undesirable effects to them; the FDA admits to over 10,000 aspartame-related complaints, making it the most complained about substance in the FDA's history. At one point, aspartame accounted for 85% of complaints. And taking into consideration both that it's likely few people reported their symptoms to the FDA due to it being a "safe" food-additive, and the estimated fewer than 1% complaint rate, in all likelihood we are practically an entire nation of victims.
Aspartame goes by many names -- Equal, Nutrasweet, and Spoonful are among the better known. Its chemical formula is "L-Aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester". It is composed of about 40% aspartic acid, 50% phenylalanine, and 10% methanol (aka wood alcohol).
I'll get to the first two ingredients in a moment, but the one that probably deserves the most attention is the methanol. Upon ingestion, methanol breaks down into *formaldehyde*. That's right -- embalming fluid. It is difficult for the body to eliminate formaldehyde, so much of it is combined with water and stored in fatty tissue (thus accumulating in our systems over time -- a silent killer). What it not stored in fat is converted to formic acid (ant poison). Formic acid slowly accumulates in the body as well, and has been shown to inhibit oxygen metabolism. The EPA states that methanol, "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic". They recommend a limited consumption of 7.8mg/day of methanol; one liter of Diet Coke contains about 56mg.
Methanol poisoning is well-known for causing vision problems; formaldehyde is a carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects. And though animal studies of aspartame have shown time and time again that it is undeniably unsafe, that doesn't even take into consideration that humans are many times more sensitive to the effects of methanol than animals due to the lack of several important enzymes.
Fruits and fruit juices contain methanol -- more than aspartame, in fact. But nature, in all her wisdom, also infused these fruits with ethanol (drinking alcohol), which is the antidote to methanol poisoning. Proponents of aspartame (i.e. the suits trying to defend these allegations, and failing miserably at it) cite this as propaganda for the safety of methanol ingestion. Conveniently failing to mention that aspartame contains no ethanol... but we can't hold them responsible for that -- loss of mental acuity is a known symptom of aspartame poisoning, after all.
Aspartame has a shelf-life of approximately 270 days. Unless stored at temperatures exceeding 85° F. At temperatures of 86° F and above, free methanol (which absorbs into the body more quickly) begins to form from aspartame. This is the reason aspartame loses its sweetness when used for baking. It was originally approved by the FDA in 1981, for use only in dry foods. Prior to this, the FDA refused to approve it for eight years because of seizures and brain tumors produced in lab animals exposed to the chemical. But when Reagan (a friend of G.D. Searle, the company behind the poison) took office, he fired the FDA Commissioner who wouldn't approve it. He appointed Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes as Commissioner, who would overrule a decision by a Board of Inquiry that stated, "Do not approve aspartame". Shortly thereafter, Hayes approved its use in carbonated beverages. Within months, he had resigned his position and begun working for a public relations firm representing NutraSweet.
During Operation Desert Storm (and more than likely during Operation Iraqi Freedom as well), diet beverages for the soldiers were exposed to temperatures well above 86°. Many returned home with sets of symptoms suggesting formaldehyde poisoning. Wonderful way to thank our troops -- with a hot, flat, non-nutritive, toxic treat.
In July, 1996, aspartame was approved for use in any and all food products. This, of course, includes foods which must be prepared well above the 86° cutoff point.
Phenylalanine, while we often discuss it here as a potential therapy, may also be a danger. I used to supplement with it myself, but now that I am more well-read on the subject, I do not take any amino acids on their own. Amino acids are meant to be ingested together; taking them individually is not natural. Aspartic acid is also an amino acid. Either of these aminos can be considered excitatory neurotoxins (like MSG) when taken in an unnatural manner such as this. Doctors have reported vast improvement in hyperactive children upon removing aspartame from their diets, and I suspect a similar improvement may be seen in some with bipolar disorders.
Phenylalanine breaks down into diketopiperazine, which is known to cause tumors. This fact was also a major obstacle in Searle's quest to gain FDA approval.
Here is as complete a list as I can find of the various breakdown products created by aspartame:
*Formaldehyde
*Formic acid
*Beta-aspartame
*Aspartylphenylalanine
*Aspartylphenylalanine amide
*Tyrosine
*L-Dopa
*Dopamine
*Norepinephrine
*Epinephrine
*Phenylethylamine
*Phenylpyruvate
*Phenylactic acid
*Phenylacetic acid
*Diketopiperazine (DKP)*** I stopped using aspartame and haven't had a single tinge of muscle pain since about a week after my last Diet Coke. My Avinza has now found a new home down the toilet, and I've completely tapered off of carisoprodol. ***
*** My mother stopped using aspartame when I informed her of this. Her panic attacks, joint pain, and a rash on her arms that she's had for as long as I've been alive are all gone. ***
Aspartame is quite possibly the biggest cause of health problems in the U.S. -- beating out even cigarette smoking. Check out the following list of adverse reactions reported to the FDA that I got from http://www.dorway.com (a site I very highly recommend you visit -- hundreds [thousands printed] of pages of info; this post just barely scratches the surface... for example, read about the mother now facing life-imprisonment for murdering her husband by poisoning him with methanol... a death now believed to have been caused by aspartame):
Abdominal Pain
Anxiety Attacks
Arthritis
Asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing Difficulties
Burning Eyes or Throat
Burning Urination
"Can't Think Straight"
Chest Pains
Chronic Cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
Fatigue
Feel Unreal
Flushing of Face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines/Dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart Palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Impotency and Sexual Problems
Inability to Concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
Laryngitis
"Like Thinking in a Fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory Loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle Spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Poor Memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight GainAspartame Disease Mimics Symptoms or Worsens the Following Diseases:
Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease
Lupus
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's Disease
Birth Defects
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lymphoma
Lyme Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Panic Disorder
Depression and Other Psychological DisordersAgain, visit http://www.dorway.com or any of the other numerous aspartame truth sites on the web.
~~Michael
poster:Ame Sans Vie
thread:295365
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20031218/msgs/295365.html