Aspartame's impeccable Study proving cancer beyond any shadow of a doubt
- <http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/>http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/
Aspartame, the _controversial artificial sweetener_
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame)>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame)
that was approved when Donald _Rumsfeld_
(<http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/05/07/aspa>http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/05/07/aspa
rtame_gate_when_donald_rumsfeld_was_ceo_of_searle.htm) decided to
call in his political markers to override the FDA's
scientific doubts, seems to be nearing the end of its 'useful' life span. Not
only are consumers getting increasingly angry - once they find out
what causes
their ills and they get off the poison - but threatening black scientific
and legislative clouds are lining the horizon as well. Italian study A large
multi-year study of a private Italian health research foundation has acutely
confirmed what studies in the 1980s had already found: brain tumors and other
unsavory effects of aspartame consumption. The study, which used laboratory
animals to test the cancer hypothesis, has been published by Environmental
Health Perspectives (EHP), a monthly journal of peer-reviewed
research and news
on the impact of the environment on human health. The article is available on
the _EHP website_
(<http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html)>http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html)
.
The study's authors said that previous studies on aspartame were too short to
show the cancer causing potential of the substance: "In our opinion, previous
studies did not comply with today's basic requirements for testing the
carcinogenic potential of a physical or chemical agent,
in particular concerning
the number of rodents for each experimental group (40 - 86, compared to 100 -
150 in the current study) and the termination of previous studies at only 110
weeks of age of the animals." The study has made headline news, but most
countries are wary to take a first step - the FDA is held in high esteem,
although opinions might be changing after recent scandals involving
painkillers and
the effects of psychiatric drugs approved by the agency. Consumer complaints
Consumer complaints about aspartame were collected by the FDA and in a rare
slip, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in February of 1994
released a listing of adverse reactions. There are some 92, listing can be
found in _Aspartame... the BAD news!_
(<http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html)>http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html) .
Apparently aspartame accounted for more than 75% of all adverse reactions
reported to the FDA's Adverse Reaction Monitoring System. The FDA is
in a very
unenviable position. It has approved a neurotoxic carcinogen to be used as an
artificial sweetener and complaints are piling up to where they are
difficult to
hide. But once the sweetener was approved it became almost impossible for the
agency to admit wrongdoing, without unleashing a scandal the likes of which
has not been seen since the _thalidomide_
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide)>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalidomide)
disaster. New Mexico Against this background, there is now action in
the New Mexico legislature to hear evidence about aspartame's health
effects. Heaven forbid that there should be hearings, Ajinomoto, the
principal
manufacturer of aspartame, has hit the ceiling. Lawyers _hired by Ajinomoto_
(<http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=2331)>http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=2331)
descended on legislative
committees to argue why the FDA's approval should prevent any independent
hearings from taking place. The Calorie Control Council, a group close to
industry, was called in to help. They dutifully _attempted to demolish_
(<http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=12568)>http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=12568)
the Italian study
saying it did not follow the guidelines of the National Toxicology
Program, the
United States government toxicology initiative administered by the National
Institute of Environmental and HealthSciences. The people pressure against
aspartame comes from a network of former 'addicts' who have kicked
the diet habit
and from doctors who have seen the damage and halted or reversed it in their
patients. Books have been written (look at the Amazon ads in the side bar -
hint, hint) that condemn the sweetener and document its ill effects,
aspartame detoxification programs and aspartame help groups exist, a
video _Sweet
Misery: A Poisoned World_
(<http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-61637171248923/sweetmiserydvd.html)>http://store.yahoo.com/yhst-61637171248923/sweetmiserydvd.html)
documents some the history of aspartame's approval and some of its
egregious side effects. A tireless lady by the name of Betty Martini, who
founded _Mission Possible_
(<http://www.dorway.com/possible.html)>http://www.dorway.com/possible.html)
is arguably
the most well known among the aspartame opponents, although hers is not a
lonely crusade. Aspartame users (mostly ex, to be sure) and doctors
in some 30
countries are involved. They swear they won't rest until the poison has been
removed from the food supply and those responsible for overriding science and
covering up the side effects are brought to justice. It is _Betty Martini_
(<http://www.wnho.net/bio-bmartini.htm)>http://www.wnho.net/bio-bmartini.htm)
who wrote the following two letters, one
to the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and another, more recent
one, to the Governor and the Attorney General of New Mexico. While her tone
reflects her frustration of seeing official inaction in the face of
an obvious
catastrophe, we should not make light of what she has to say. The
comments and
documentation go well beyond the immediate issue of the New Mexico hearings.
Anyone serious about understanding what the aspartame controversy is all
about would do well to read her letters. That includes any health
officials who
might be reading this article - especially! I have added some links to the
references in the letters, to make it easier for those interested to
arrive at
the documents... (12/1/2005 9:50:11 PM)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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"Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead
you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about
how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world." - Linus Pauling
Getting well is done one step at a time, day by day, building health
and well being.
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