Although our attention may currently be more
focused on the possibility of
becoming infected with anthrax or smallpox, I was
recently given a forceful
reminder about the consequences of the
widespread dissemination of another
toxic substance throughout our public domain.
A woman we’ll call Sherry had come to see me for
chronic back and hip pain
that was becoming increasingly disabling. A
cheerful, active person, Sherry
was a successful businesswoman determined to
overcome her condition. Our
work together began with a homeopathic
consultation and prescription, and a
month or two later a course of acupuncture was
begun.
Sherry’s condition improved to a certain extent,
but there still was a
considerable amount of pain. More, significantly,
by taking her pulses, it
was clear that her energy was chaotic and that
her system was much weaker
than she appeared superficially.
Then, she came to an appointment and
announced that her pain, though not
absolutely gone, had improved dramatically. Her
pulses were also much
stronger and more orderly. Just as I was about to
give myself a pat on the
back for an apparently successful development in
her treatment, Sherry
mentioned that the reduction in pain coincided
with her decision to stop all
diet soft drinks. She had been taking several a
day, and thought perhaps
that somehow was a factor in her condition.
How right she was... Although I have written
about it before, it is
appropriate to revisit the topic.
Sold under the well known brand names
Nutrasweet and Equal, Aspartame is
an artificial sweetener created by combing two
amino acids. It stimulates
the sense of sweetness in our mouth and fools us
into feeling that we have
ingested the "real thing".
Not only is aspartame used as a replacement for
table sugar, it is also
found in an ever increasing number of foods and
drinks, especially “diet
products”. Americans are consuming it in ever
increasing amounts as they
try to avoid the unwanted consequences of sugar
consumption while also
gratifying the urge for sweetness.
But despite its widespread acceptance and mass
consumption, despite the fact
that the Federal Drug Administration has deemed
aspartame a non-harmful
substance and has bestowed upon it an official
seal of approval, there still
remain questions as to how safe it really is.
Feeding the fires of this controversy is conflicting
research and evidence
surrounding the side-effects of aspartame
consumption. On the one hand is
industry sponsored research that claims that it is
safe. On the other is a
group of private researchers and other individuals
who personally
experienced, heard testimony about or collected
statistical evidence about
its negative side-effects.
This latter group maintains that after ingestion
aspartame breaks down into
substances that often induce adverse reactions.
They assert that the
results can range from the disruption of digestive
processes to neurological
and behavioral problems. Interestingly enough,
their research has also
shown that aspartame consumption will set off a
biochemical reaction which
results in an increase in sugar and starch
cravings. That is, the more you
take of it, the more you may want it.
What specifically are the problems associated
with aspartame?
For starters, it should be noted that as of the mid-
1990’s, over 3/4 of all
complaints registered with the FDA pertain to
aspartame.1 The following is
a list of the complaints:
Headaches/Migraines, Dizziness, Joint Pain,
Nausea, Numbness, Muscle spasms,
Weight gain, Rashes, Depression, Fatigue,
Irritability, Tachycardia,
Insomnia, Vision Loss, Hearing Loss, Heart
palpitations, Breathing
difficulties, Anxiety attacks, Slurred Speech, Loss
of taste, Tinnitus,
Vertigo, Memory loss.
And the United states military too is very
concerned about the effects of
aspartame on its personnel. Searching the
Internet one evening, I found the
following information:
"Both the U.S. Air Force’s magazine “Flying
Safety” and the U.S. Navy’s
magazine, “Navy Physiology” published articles
warning about the many
dangers of aspartame including the cumlative
deliterious effects of methanol
and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The
articles note that the
ingestion of aspartame may make pilots more
susceptible to seizures and
vertigo (US Air Force 1992)."
"Recently, a hotline was set up for pilots suffering
from acute reactions to
aspartame ingestion. Nearly 1,000 pilots have
reported symptoms including
some who have reported suffering grand mal
seizures in the cockpit due to
aspartame (Stoddard 1995b). The danger to pilots
of tunnel vision, blurred
vision, seizures, vertigo and other serious
adverse reactions, who may
ingest large amounts of aspartame products
during flight, are so great that
articles and letters warning about aspartame have
appeared in many
aviation-related journals... “
With all this information about the negative side
effects of aspartame, one
can only wonder why it is not banned from the
market. The answer appears to
involve political machinations and influence
peddling that typically occur
when large corporate profits are involved.
Aspartame is a product developed by the G.D.
Searle company, a subsidiary of
Monsanto. Mary Nash Stoddard, a consumer
advocate who has written
extensively on the "aspartame coverup" maintains
that Searle actually tried
to hide unfavorable research from the FDA. Of
the animal tests where
tumors developed, she claims that the tumors
were cut out of the animals
without being reported to the FDA.2
She also produced evidence that the FDA was
itself aware that the Searle
research was defective as far back as 1977. FDA
documents site "serious
deficiencies in Searle's integrity" and "conduct
which compromises the
scientific integrity of the (aspartame) studies".3
But effective lobbying efforts tby formerly high
placed goverment officials
seemed to have prevailed in gaining FDA
approval. A most telling incident
occurred as far back as1983 when the
Commissioner of the FDA gave approval
for aspartame to be used in soft drinks a few
months before leaving office.
"Two to three months later, he accepted a position
as Senior Medical Advisor
to Searle's public relations firm... He was paid
$1000 per day as a
consultant."
So, be advised...
1. "Exclusive Interview: Consumer Information On
Aspartame — Mary Nash
Stoddard", pg. 5 Nutrition & Healing, November
1995, Vol. 2, Issue 11
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
