---------- From: Betty Martini <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 00:02:15 -0400 To: Mark Graffis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Fwd: Metroactive Aspartame Story >User-Agent: Microsoft Outlook Express Macintosh Edition - 5.01 (1630) >Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2000 12:28:16 -0700 >Subject: Metroactive Aspartame Story >From: Alex Constantine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: Betty <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >CC: Rich Murray <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by >smv696-leg.iname.net id PAA18364 > > Don't know if you-all have seen this one, so I'm sending it along just >in case. ‹ Alex > >MetroActive Central > >Killing Me Sweetly > >Is aspartame really a safe sugar substitute? If not, why is the FDA blocking >the release of a better alternative? > >By Bill Strubbe > >EVELYN BLAKE'S downhill spiral began in 1994 when she decided to lose >weight: she switched to diet sodas and began using Equal as a sugar >substitute. "After about four months I began feeling nervous and uneasy," >Blake recalls. "My heart was beating so irregularly that I wondered if I was >having a heart attack! Then one night I woke with this very strange feeling, >like I was in a zombie state. I felt as if my tongue was swelling, my teeth >clenched tight." >Blake began to shiver, and by the time she reached her son's room her body >shook uncontrollably and she couldn't talk. The frightening incident >eventually subsided, and they decided against visiting the emergency room. >"Not making any connection, I continued to use Equal in everything--coffee, >bread, cereal, salad--and the seizures got worse." >Though millions of people sip diet sodas, ingest yogurt lite, and stir the >contents of those little blue packets into their coffee without noticeable >side effect, Blake's ordeal is only one of thousands of alleged >aspartame-poisoning complaints registered over the last two decades. By the >federal Food and Drug Administration's own admission, 73 percent of all food >complaints are aspartame-related--most commonly headaches, memory loss, >depression, heart palpitations, and vision problems. Some contend that >prolonged use of aspartame is the root cause of their permanent nerve >damage, their brain lesions and tumors, and even the untimely deaths of >family members. >"Since many consumers may never make the connection between their maladies >and aspartame intake, conceivably those complaints are only the tip of the >iceberg," says Betty Martini, who heads Mission Possible International, >which attempts to educate the public about the dangers of aspartame. >Industry and FDA spokespersons point out that these accounts are "merely >anecdotal" and "unscientific," but the sheer volume of accusations in itself >should raise questions about aspartame's approval process--the independence >of industry-funded research, the ethics of the revolving door relationships >between FDA officials and industry--and call for the re-examination of this >chemical that is now commonly found in grocery stores, on kitchen shelves, >and in children's lunchboxes. > >Sweet Nothing: Proponants of stevia, a natural sweetener, do battle with >NutraSweet. > >NUTRASWEET--along with Equal, Spoonful, Indulge, Equal-Measure, etc.--is a >brand name for aspartame, discovered by accident in 1965 when a chemist with >G. D. Searle pharmaceuticals was testing an anti-ulcer drug: he happened to >lick his hand, and the rest is history. Originally approved for use in dry >foods in July 1974, aspartame was put on hold several months later owing to >objections filed by neuroscience researchers and consumer attorneys. >When ingested, NutraSweet breaks down into aspartic acid, a chemical found >in the brain; phenylalanine, an amino acid; and methanol (wood alcohol), >which converts to formaldehyde, which at high levels can cause brain damage >and blindness. Monsanto--the former manufacturer of NutraSweet--and the FDA >argue that methanol is present in such a small amount that it poses no >health risks and is harmlessly passed from the body. >They also insist that except for people with the rare disease >phenylketonuria, aspartame is safe. (G. D. Searle, the original makers of >NutraSweet, was bought by Monsanto in the 1980s. This past year, Monsanto >sold NutraSweet to J. W. Childs and divested itself of Equal, which is now a >registered trademark of Merisant Co.) >Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, professor of neurosurgery at the University of >Mississippi's medical center, explains in his book Excitotoxins: The Taste >That Kills that though aspartate (and glutamate in the chemically related >substance MSG) is a neurotransmitter normally found in the brain and spinal >cord, when aspartate reaches certain levels it causes the death of brain >neurons. >The risks to infants, children, and pregnant women are higher because the >blood/brain barrier, which normally protects the brain, is not fully >developed until adulthood. Dr. Blaylock and numerous other experts believe >that long-term exposure to excitotoxins may play a part in diseases such as >early-onset Alzheimer's, Parkinson's (Michael Fox, coincidentally the former >spokesperson for Diet Pepsi, may be an example), lupus, brain lesions and >tumors, epilepsy, memory loss, multiple sclerosis, and some hearing >problems. >Dr. John Olney, a neuroscientist at Washington University Medical Center in >St. Louis, who has demonstrated the harmful effects of excitotoxins and >testified before Congress, believes that both glutamate and aspartate damage >areas of the brain controlling endocrine functions leading to obesity. >He posits that the 30 percent increase in obesity in America in the past >decade might be related to the increased use of aspartame. >"While there were a few inaccuracies [in the original safety tests], there >was nothing convincing to keep aspartame off the market," insists David >Hattan, Ph.D., acting director of the FDA's Division of Health Effects >Evaluation. "The large body of animal and clinical research carried out in a >controlled environment convinces me that aspartame is safe." >But a number of his colleagues have disagreed. During a congressional >investigation in 1985 to scrutinize Searle's aspartame safety tests, Dr. >Jacqueline Verrett, a former FDA toxicologist and FDA task force member, >testified that the tests were a "disaster" and should have been "thrown >out." Dr. Marvin Legator, professor of environmental toxicology at the >University of Texas, characterized them as "scientifically irresponsible and >disgraceful" and said, "I've never seen anything as bad as Searle's." >Because of FDA budget limitations, it is standard procedure for the bulk of >initial safety tests to be financed, designed, and carried out by the >company with a vested interest in the product. The reliability of their >results is called into question when 74 out of 74 industry-sponsored >articles attested to aspartame's safety, while 84 out of 91 of the >nonindustry-sponsored articles identified problems with the chemical. >"I'll admit there's validity to these concerns, but it's not unusual for >industry to fund studies, because they're expensive--and who else will?" >counters a spokeswoman at Merisant Co. "It's a disservice to the fine >scientists involved whose reputations are besmirched by aspartame >detractors." >AND WHAT'S to keep adverse industry test results from disappearing >altogether? According to a reliable source, who chose to remain unnamed but >has signed a sworn affidavit, Searle in the early 1980s conducted aspartame >research in five communities in Central and South America; the groups were >told they were ingesting a papaya extract. >By the end of these 18-month studies, the source recalls from translating >the reports from Spanish into English that many subjects experienced grand >mal seizures and damage to the central nervous system, causing muscular and >neural instability, hemorrhaging, brain tumors, and other maladies. >"When I finished the project, I was told to destroy all my records and >copies. If those studies had reached the FDA, there's no way they could have >approved aspartame," the source says. >"Imagine my surprise when I found out soon after that aspartame is being >consumed en masse! I urged my family and everyone I knew not to use anything >containing aspartame because, as I said, 'it would make their brains into >mush.' " >The late Dr. M. Adrian Gross, former senior FDA toxicologist, stated in his >testimony before Congress, "Beyond a shadow of a doubt, aspartame triggers >brain tumors," and "therefore by allowing aspartame to be placed on the >market, the FDA has violated the Delaney Amendment," which makes it illegal >to allow any residues of cancer-causing chemicals in foods. His last words >to Congress were: "And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is >left to protect the health of the public?" >The cancer-causing agent referred to above is diketopiperazine, or DKP. So >concerned was Searle about toxic DKP that it's mentioned several times in an >early 1970 internal memo distributed by Herbert Helling: "My prime concern >at this time is with the production of DKP and our lack of complete >toxicological data on DKP if [aspartame's chemical code broke down] >completely to DKP. We then must consider how much DKP could be formed from >the time the system is converted to a wet system to the time of consumption >allowing for maximum likely abuse." >"SOUNDS LIKE the tobacco fraud all over again. But this time it's the drug >industry, and it's big," says former U.S. Department of Justice attorney Ed >Johnson, who for the last 10 years has served as president and CEO of a >large law firm in San Antonio. Several years ago, he was diagnosed with a >pituitary adenoma and underwent two life-threatening surgeries to remove the >tumor, which he believes was caused by his heavy ingestion of Diet Coke and >NutraSweet. >"When the class actions [lawsuits] hit, and they will, I predict that >they'll rival the tobacco litigation we have seen in the past few years." >Aspartame tests in the United States continued until July 18, 1981 when FDA >Commissioner Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. disregarded the Food Drug and >Cosmetic Act, which states that a food additive should not be approved if >tests are inconclusive, overruling six of the nine scientists on two agency >review panels who thought the studies of brain tumors in rats had been >inadequate. >Applying an "acceptable daily intake" measure, the FDA approved the chemical >for use in dry products and then raised the ADI in 1983 to enable the >introduction of aspartame into beverages. >In subsequent years, $30 million to $40 million annually was pumped into >advertising by NutraSweet Co. alone, and ads--featuring the likes of Bill >Cosby, Raquel Welch, Joe Montana, and Geraldine Ferraro--by diet soft-drink >manufacturers and other companies employing the chemical pushed that figure >past $100 million a year, quickly making NutraSweet a household word. >Soon after, complaints to the FDA began rolling in: headaches, dizziness, >anxiety, depression, memory loss, joint pain, vomiting, heart palpitations, >slurred speech, seizures, brain tumors, comas, and even deaths attributed to >aspartame. >The FDA took "some of these early reports quite seriously," and Monsanto >performed follow-up studies. But, according to the principles of science, >"if test results cannot be reproduced in a controlled setting, then you >cannot preclude other factors that might have caused seizure expressions," >explains Hattan at the FDA, who declares that he consumes copious amounts of >aspartame with no ill effects. >"I think that many of the symptoms attributed to aspartame are actually >caused by something else in the individual's environment." >EVELYN BLAKE'S seizures got worse, racking her body on a regular basis, >sometimes twice a day. She recalls entering into a "zombie stare . . . >looking but not seeing," and feeling as if her body "were attached to an >electrical current," her heart racing. >More EKGs, EEGs, and blood tests followed, but the doctor could determine >only low blood pressure and a slight thyroid problem. Meanwhile, she says, >her hair started falling out by "the handful." Temporary relief finally >arrived when she visited her brother in Georgia and she skipped her "diet," >which included the use of Equal. For three weeks, she began to recover. >Upon returning home--and back to her use of Equal--the nightmare revved up >again. >"I thought it might be stress from the house remodeling and other duties," >she says. "My memory was getting so bad I couldn't remember where I was >going when I got into my car. My eyesight suddenly got worse. I was afraid >of being alone, never knowing when the next seizure would hit! The doctors >could find nothing wrong with me." >WITHIN SEVERAL years of aspartame's appearance on the market, a number of >FDA and government officials left their posts and took jobs closely linked >to the food, beverage, and NutraSweet industries. Shortly after pushing >aspartame's approval, Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes left the FDA under a shadow of >improprieties and became a consultant--at $1,000 a day--with >Burston-Marsteller, Searle's public relations firm. Wayne Pines, Hayes' >former top spokesman, previously had joined the firm. >In July 1986, Anthony Brunetti, an FDA consumer product officer who drafted >the 1983 notice approving NutraSweet's use in soft drinks, joined the Soft >Drink Association as a science adviser. >In the late 1970s, Samuel Skinner and William Conlon, two senior Justice >Department prosecutors investigating criminal allegations against G. D. >Searle & Co. for falsifying NutraSweet safety-test results, later joined the >law firm of Sidley & Austin, which represented Searle during the lengthy >investigation. Skinner, who knew of the statute-of-limitations deadline, >delayed pursuing prosecution, thus placing Searle out of reach. He >subsequently defected to Sidley & Austin in July 1977. >"The aspartame manufacturer has a lot of political influence, and when the >FDA director refused to allow aspartame on the market, he was replaced by >one who would, and did," says attorney Ed Johnson, former assistant U.S. >attorney under William S. Sessions (who went on to become the head of the >FBI). >"Though it's against ethics laws for an FDA official to sit in on any action >regarding a firm with which they had any prior relationship," explains >former FDA investigator Arthur Evangelista, "there is nothing to stop >federal officials from being influenced with promises of a position in a >firm they are meant to be regulating." >Evangelista believes that influence-peddling is rife throughout the FDA, >both directly and indirectly, via government PAC monies influencing >politicians, who in turn use their influence on regulatory agencies. >And the revolving door continues to spin. In 1999, Dr. Virginia Weldon, vice >president for public policy at Monsanto (the former parent corporation of >NutraSweet), was considered for the FDA's commissioner post. On June 14, >1999, retiring FDA Commissioner Michael Friedman became the senior vice >president for clinical affairs at Searle's drug unit. >How can the FDA effectively safeguard the public's health while being >influenced by the corporations it is meant to regulate? >For two decades the aspartame controversy has continued to simmer, leaving >respectable organizations with opposing verdicts. The American Diabetes >Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical >Association, and the Epilepsy Institute endorse aspartame as safe (though it >is a matter of record that several of these organizations have received >donations from NutraSweet). >But hundreds of airline pilots reporting adverse effects from aspartame, >including grand mal seizures while in the cockpit, led a dozen aviation >publications, including Navy Physiology, Planes & Pilot, Canadian General >Aviation News, and Flying Safety, to warn pilots not to consume aspartame >before or while flying. >"I am not denying these people's symptoms," says Hattan at the FDA, "but it >is entirely possible that when patients stopped using aspartame they might >also coincidentally have had remission of their symptoms." >Both the FDA's and NutraSweet's categorical dismissal of the thousands of >aspartame consumer complaints as coincidental, anecdotal, or unscientific >has not diminished the convictions of thousands of unpaid volunteers at >Aspartame Victims and Their Friends; the Aspartame Detoxification Center in >Atlanta; and chapters in dozens of countries of Mission Possible >International that compile aspartame-related articles and personal accounts. >As of 1987, the last year that NutraSweet publicized records, Americans >consumed about 17.l million pounds of aspartame, and the number is now >estimated to top 25 million pounds. Since the chemical additive is now sold >in dozens of other countries, aspartame-poisoning complaints now are fielded >from around the world. Those who suspect that they have any symptoms of >aspartame poisoning, nutritionists say, should take the aspartame test: For >one month stop using aspartame-containing products and see if your symptoms >subside. >Evelyn Blake decided to try eliminating, one by one, everything she was >eating, but the seizures continued. >"When I finally eliminated Equal, I never had any more attacks or seizures! >Since I stopped Equal on Sept. 13, 1997, my health has slowly improved: my >eyesight and memory returned, my hair quit falling out, my blood pressure is >good. My heart continues with an irregular beat, which my cardiologist says >only a pacemaker can correct," Blake says. >"Because of Equal, my life for four years was one living hell. Can't someone >do something about this unregulated chemically engineered drug called >Equal/aspartame that has affected thousands?" >Blacklist >BEWARE of any food product that contains the words "lite," "diet," >"low-calorie," or "no calorie." >Among these are: >diet iced teas >diet soft drinks >Crystal Light >yogurt lite >Diet Jell-O >some cereals >some children's vitamins. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Bill Strubbe is a California-based freelance writer who confesses to having >once been addicted to SweetTarts. >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >[ Sonoma County | MetroActive Central | Archives ] > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >From the September 28-October 4, 2000 issue of the Sonoma County >Independent. >Copyright © Metro Publishing Inc. Maintained by Boulevards New Media. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >
