LD50.
Posted on 08/27/2009 12:32:00 PM PDT by kaizen
Then we have our nursing staff running to DQ for ice cream and bringing in donuts that the providers won't touch.
I think this guy's brain cells are the ones that are killed.
And a perfect example of a variant of the logical fallacy called an ad hominem attack.
Sheesh! On display for all to see: how high school freshmen (and Liberals) construct arguments.
You should be embarrassed for posting this, regardless of its merit.
Aspartame does kill brain cells and has been linked along with MSG as a cause of alsheimers! There is a lot of research on it. Dr. Blaylock has articles on it. Aspartame was originally ant poison, but was later marketed as a sweetener because they could make a lot more money on it. Just because you can tolerate it in small amounts doesn’t mean it is good for you!
A bit overboard and off track on the diatribe. I know several physicians and work with a few and they take supplements and exercise regularly. The goal of those industries mentioned is not to enslave people but to produce and market products. The processors of Ag products often market to a public seeking flavor, not nutrition—if it sells, they will sell it. Some people actually go to a store to buy mostly fresh fruits and vegetables. I like to grow my own beef, fruits and vegetables—I am a professional but don’t have a 168 IQ. I do take care of my family and place great value on nutrition. My Dad always said, if it comes in a bag or a box, don’t eat it. Finally, there are those in the supplement industry who market products with many unsupportable claims, but there are some valid claims too.
I think it likely that many people simply eat the processed foods for the convenience factors.
Really? Do you know the three components of aspartame? Why do they kill brain cells when bound together but not when consumed individually? Did you know you consume about 10 times more glutamate from naturally occurring sources as you do from added sources? Did you know that the average adult has about 4 lbs. of glutamate in their body at any given time? Did you know that your body couldn't function properly without glutamate?
There is a lot of research on it.
Have any of those researchers ever heard of the blood brain barrier?
Dr. Blaylock has articles on it.
Blaylock also believes that carrots and beets are toxic. If you want to be taken seriously by people who understand food science and nutrition, you should probably refrain from citing Blaylock.
Aspartame was originally ant poison, but was later marketed as a sweetener because they could make a lot more money on it.
Where do you get your information, Center for Science in the Public Interest? Aspartame was discovered by accident by a scientist researching treatments for ulcers. They made money on it because diabetics, and those looking to reduce caloric consumption, now had a high quality sweetener they could use.
Just because you can tolerate it in small amounts doesn’t mean it is good for you!
Most things can be bad for you in large quantities. Even water has an LD 50.
I seriously doubt that the onject of your rational post would even know what an LD50 is.
LD50.
Well, if you ‘huffr’ that, I’d say the LD50 is very low.
I agree, but I threw it out there just in case. I didn’t bother to read the article before my comment and now that I’ve had the chance I wonder where the barf alert is. The chemicalphobes and toxic terrorists are active and it is amazing how many foolish people are buying the crap they’re selling.
Where do you get your information? Snopes? Some people can tolerate a lot of toxins. Some of us can’t. That doesn’t make us nuts! The FDA is in bed with business and is not protecting us.
Aspartame’s Hidden Dangers
If a product is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and composed of natural ingredients, would you assume it is safe to consume?
If the same product is an artificial sweetener, would you assume it helps control your weight?
Millions of people use aspartame, the artificial sweetener known as NutraSweet™, with these assumptions in mind.
Aspartame can be found in thousands of products such as:
•instant breakfasts
•breath mints
•cereals
•sugar-free chewing gum
•cocoa mixes
•coffee beverages
•frozen desserts
•gelatin desserts
•juice beverages
•laxatives
•multivitamins
•milk drinks
•pharmaceuticals and supplements, including over-the-counter medicines
•shake mixes
•soft drinks
•tabletop sweeteners
•tea beverages
•instant teas and coffees
•topping mixes
•wine coolers
•yogurt
However, aspartame’s tainted history of approval and potentially toxic ingredients cast serious doubt on the safety of this sugar substitute. Furthermore, aspartame may actually increase your appetite (Farber 52).
While the FDA approval may signal the green light for safe consumption, 85 percent of all complaints registered with the FDA are for adverse reactions to aspartame, including five reported deaths. A closer look at the unscientific studies, suspicious approval methods, and its harmful ingredients, reveal the hidden dangers of this artificial sweetener. In reality, aspartame poses a public health threat.
Ailments Resulting From Aspartame
The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually while others are immediate, acute reactions.
A few of the many disorders associated with aspartame include the following:
•Birth Defects
A study funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by consuming aspartame was cut off after preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame. Additionally, in the book, While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, it is stated that aspartame is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A fetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with problems ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to mental retardation.
•Cancer (Brain Cancer)
In 1981, an FDA statistician stated that the brain tumor data on aspartame was so “worrisome” that he could not recommend approval of NutraSweet.(14)
In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, twelve of 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumors while none of the control rats developed tumors, and five of the twelve tumors were in rats given a low dose of aspartame.(15)
The approval of aspartame was a violation of the Delaney Amendment, which was supposed to prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehye) and DKP from entering our food supply. A late FDA toxicologist testified before the U.S. Congress that aspartame was capable of producing brain tumors. This made it illegal for the FDA to set an allowable daily intake at any level. He stated in his testimony that Searle’s studies were “to a large extent unreliable” and that “at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals ... “ He concluded his testimony by asking, “What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act? ... And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?”(16)
In the mid-1970s it was discovered that the manufacturer of aspartame falsified studies in several ways. One of the techniques used was to cut tumors out of test animals and put them back in the study. Another technique used to falsify the studies was to list animals that had actually died as surviving the study. Thus, the data on brain tumors was likely worse than discussed above. In addition, a former employee of the manufacturer of aspartame told the FDA on July 13, 1977 that the particles of DKP were so large that the rats could discriminate between the DKP and their normal diet.(12)
•Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending this chemical poison to persons with diabetes, but according to research conducted by a diabetes specialist, aspartame: 1) Leads to the precipitation of clinical diabetes. 2) Causes poorer diabetic control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs. 3) Leads to the aggravation of diabetic complications such as retinopathy, cataracts, neuropathy and gastroparesis. 4) Causes convulsions.
In a statement concerning the use of products containing aspartame by persons with diabetes and hypoglycemia, the researchers says:
“Unfortunately, many patients in my practice, and others seen in consultation, developed serious metabolic, neurologic and other complications that could be specifically attributed to using aspartame products. This was evidenced by the loss of diabetic control, the intensification of hypoglycemia, the occurrence of presumed ‘insulin reactions’ (including convulsions) that proved to be aspartame reactions, and the precipitation, aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications (especially impaired vision and neuropathy) while using these products ... Dramatic improvement of such features after avoiding aspartame, and the prompt predictable recurrence of these problems when the patient resumed aspartame products, knowingly or inadvertently.”
Another researcher stated that excitotoxins such as those found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease.(5)
•Emotional Disorders
In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons with mood disorders, findings showed a large increase in serious symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop the study. Three of the participants had said that they had been “poisoned” by aspartame. Researchers concluded that “individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population should be discouraged.”(18) One researcher stated about aspartame, “I know it causes seizures. I’m convinced also that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I’m very angry that this substance is on the market. I personally question the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company.”(19)
Additionally, there are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.
•Epilepsy/Seizures
With the large and growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the “safety” of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed. Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the survey:
“These 80 cases meet the FDA’s own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market.”
Both the Air Force’s magazine, Flying Safety, and the Navy’s magazine, Navy Physiology, published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including the cumulative delirious effects of methanol and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News (1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane & Pilot (1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).
A hotline was even set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported symptoms including some who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit due to aspartame.(21)
Why don’t we hear about these things?
The reason many people do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold: 1) Lack of awareness by the general population. Aspartame-caused diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes. This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands of different locations across the United States. 2) Most people do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame. For the people who have killed a significant percentage of their brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, there is no way that they would normally associate such an illness with aspartame consumption.
How aspartame was approved is a lesson in how chemical and pharmaceutical companies can manipulate government agencies such as the FDA, “bribe” organizations such as the American Dietetic Association, and flood the scientific community with flawed and fraudulent industry-sponsored studies funded by the makers of aspartame.
Erik Millstone, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit of Sussex University has compiled thousands of pages of evidence, some of which have been obtained using the freedom of information act 23, showing: 1. Laboratory tests were faked and dangers were concealed. 2. Tumors were removed from animals and animals that had died were “restored to life” in laboratory records. 3. False and misleading statements were made to the FDA. 4. The two US Attorneys given the task of bringing fraud charges against the aspartame manufacturer took positions with the manufacturer’s law firm, letting the statute of limitations run out. 5. The Commissioner of the FDA overruled the objections of the FDA’s own scientific board of inquiry. Shortly after that decision, he took a position with Burson-Marsteller, the firm in charge of public relations for G.D. Searle.
A Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) was conducted in 1980. There were three scientists who reviewed the objections of Olney and Turner to the approval of aspartame. They voted unanimously against aspartame’s approval. The FDA Commissioner, Dr Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then created a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the PBOI findings. After it became clear that the Commission would uphold the PBOI’s decision by a vote of 3 to 2, another person was added to the Commission, creating a deadlocked vote. This allowed the FDA Commissioner to break the deadlock and approve aspartame for dry goods in 1981. Dr Jacqueline Verrett, the Senior Scientist in an FDA Bureau of Foods review team created in August 1977 to review the Bressler Report (a report that detailed G.D. Searle’s abuses during the pre-approval testing) said: “It was pretty obvious that somewhere along the line, the bureau officials were working up to a whitewash.” In 1987, Verrett testified before the US Senate stating that the experiments conducted by Searle were a “disaster.” She stated that her team was instructed not to comment on or be concerned with the overall validity of the studies. She stated that questions about birth defects have not been answered. She continued her testimony by discussing the fact that DKP has been shown to increase uterine polyps and change blood cholesterol and that increasing the temperature of the product leads to an increase in production of DKP.(13)
Revolving Doors
The FDA and the manufacturers of aspartame have had a revolving door of employment for many years. In addition to the FDA Commissioner and two US Attorneys leaving to take positions with companies connected with G.D. Searle, four other FDA officials connected with the approval of aspartame took positions connected with the NutraSweet industry between 1979 and 1982 including the Deputy FDA Commissioner, the Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, the Associate Director of the Bureau of Foods and Toxicology and the Attorney involved with the Public Board of Inquiry.(24)
It is important to realize that this type of revolving-door activity has been going on for decades. The Townsend Letter for Doctors (11/92) reported on a study revealing that 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left the FDA took positions with companies they had regulated. They also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug companies they were assigned to manage. Many organizations and universities receive large sums of money from companies connected to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting the use of aspartame. In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association received a US$75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company. The American Dietetic Association has stated that the NutraSweet Company writes their “Facts” sheets.(25)
What is the FDA doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Less than nothing.
In 1992, the FDA approved aspartame for use in malt beverages, breakfast cereals, and refrigerated puddings and fillings. In 1993 the FDA approved aspartame for use in hard and soft candies, non-alcoholic favored beverages, tea beverages, fruit juices and concentrates, baked goods and baking mixes, and frostings, toppings and fillings for baked goods.
In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia. The powder of this leaf has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used widely in Japan with no adverse effects. Scientists involved in reviewing stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption—something that has been well known in many parts of the world where it is not banned. Some people believe that stevia was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the United States and cutting into sales of aspartame.(26)
What is the U.S. Congress doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
What is the U.S. Administration (President) doing to protect the consumer from the dangers of aspartame?
Nothing.
Aspartame consumption is not only a problem in the United States—it is being sold in over 70 countries throughout the world.
Oh, good grief. You chemicalphobes are all the same. While guys like me were suffering through grad courses in biochemistry, physiology and nutrition, and then slaving away in private industry as an R&D scientist for a global food ingredient supplier, you were buying any bogus piece of information the food Nazis and toxic terrorists would publish.
The FDA is in bed with business and is not protecting us.
I spent a lot of years shepherding products through the regulatory nightmare that is the FDA. Anyone who thinks the FDA exists to protect industry and that the relationship isn't highly adversarial has no clue how industry or the FDA operates. The FDA gains nothing from cooperating with industry.
Let's ignore the data dump you copied and pasted from god knows where and ask you to answer a simple question in your own words. But first, let me provide some factual background. We know for a fact that aspartame is made up of phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. Phenylalanine is one of the essential amino acids that is common in proteins. Aspartic acid is also an amino acid found in dairy and meats. Methanol is found naturally in fermented foods and beverages as well as fruits and vegetables.
For anyone not suffering from PKU, how can aspartame be bad for you when you consume these three components bound together but not bad for you when consumed separately? To believe what you're saying you'd have to believe that you're poisoning yourself when you eat a steak with baked potato, green beans and have a glass of red wine. How many rational people believe that the foods we eat every day are going to cause the ridiculous list of maladies you've cited in your post? You get three times more methanol from a glass of apple juice than you do from a diet coke. Some fools believe that when you consume amino acids individually they all of a sudden become dangerous. What these ignorant people don't understand is that your gut breaks down chains of amino acids into individual amino acids (except for a few small peptides) before being cleared by the liver. Ignorant people make ignorant claims and ignorant people, not having taken the time to educate themselves on the topic, believe what they're told.
So, this doesn't make sense, does it? Aspartame, along with sucralose and olestra are the three most tested ingredients in the history of food. If all these afflictions you suggest were caused by aspartame where are all the sick people from 25 years of consumption? Yeah, right.
Now, answer the question: why does aspartame cause birth defects, brain damage, central nervous system disorders, cancer, diabetes and global warming when the three components are bound together but not when they're consumed individually, many times in much higher quantities?
Feel free to be as technical as you'd like. Standing by.
In the meantime:
“Even daily large doses of the high-intensity sweetener aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, had no adverse effect on study subjects' health and well-being, a visiting scientist at MIT reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last week.
"We conclude that aspartame is safe for the general population," said Paul A. Spiers, visiting scientist in the Clinical Research Center (CRC). Mood, aggression and selected cognitive functions were tested during a study in which some of the subjects consumed doses of aspartame nearly 20 times the daily amount taken by the vast majority of the general population.
During a four-month period, subjects received either aspartame, sugar or a placebo and underwent physical and psychological testing. Some subjects were given doses of up to 45 milligrams per kilogram of body weight--the equivalent of 17 to 24 12-ounce diet beverages for males and 14 to 19 12-ounce drinks for females. In the general population, most Americans who consume aspartame take in 3 milligrams per kilogram of body weight a day, the equivalent of one or less 12-ounce diet beverage.
Despite the high consumption of aspartame, the 48 normal subjects showed no changes in mood, memory, behavior, electroencephalograms (which record the electrical signals of the brain) or physiology that could be tied to aspartame, Dr. Spiers found. Although some subjects reported headaches, fatigue, nausea and acne, the same number of incidences were reported by subjects taking placebo and sugar as those taking aspartame.”
Calling names.....chemicalphobes? Attack the person instead of the info they provide. Sounds like something a liberal would do. Write it off as from who knows where? I think “SLAVING AWAY IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY AS AN R&D SCIENTIST FOR A GLOBAL FOOD INGREDIENT SUPPLIER” says it all. You are on the side that believes that making money poisoning people is OK, as long as we only poison them a little. Afer all you are smarter than the rest of us. You eat this crap. I will stick to my organic foods and natural remedies. God bless you!
You know nothing about toxins, how the body manages them and the many, many sources of them that occur in your foods naturally and that you consume every day. I took the time and made the effort to learn about these things which is why you have to react the way you do instead of debating the facts. If you understood the topic like you want us to believe you do you'd be able to answer the simple question I posed. Instead, emotion prevails. But that's exactly what your argument was based on to begin with. You emotionally believe these things are bad for you and emotion leads you to believe the fallacy that organic food is somehow better for you and that natural remedies are more efficacious than proven science. Since when do conservatives base their beliefs on emotion rather than facts?
And, just so you know, aspartame is organic. Thanks for proving yet again that the two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and ignorance.
I don’t have delicate delicate sensibilities.
Just for the record, I didn’t attack you, I only spoke the truth......
You did not debate my information, you just wrote it off as “from who knows where”.
Had you ever taken the time to learn anything about chemistry, biology, nutrition or physiology you wouldn’t believe the nonsense you’ve offered on this thread...........
I happen to know a lot about all of these things. If you really know chemistry like you claim to then you know that 3 chenicals combined making a 4th chemical are not the same and will not act the same in the body as the 3 original chamicals. Very basic organic chemistry.
You know nothing about toxins, how the body manages them and the many, many sources of them that occur in your foods naturally and that you consume every day. I took the time and made the effort to learn about these things which is why you have to react the way you do instead of debating the facts. If you understood the topic like you want us to believe you do you’d be able to answer the simple question I posed. Instead, emotion prevails. But that’s exactly what your argument was based on to begin with. You emotionally believe these things are bad for you and emotion leads you to believe the fallacy that organic food is somehow better for you and that natural remedies are more efficacious than proven science. Since when do conservatives base their beliefs on emotion rather than facts?
How arrogant. Again you write off my opinion as emotion this time. Afer all you are smarter than the rest of us? It is possible to study science, do a lot of reading and research and come to different conclusions than you did. I don’t just drink industry cool aide like you apparently do. I admit that some of the information in the original posting is a little facetious. Thought it might spark and interisting converstaion. Didn’t expect it to develop into you needing to prove that you are smarter than everyone else. You didn’t exactly refute my points. Who financed the MIT study?
Your source is unknown. You never provided a link. There are no sources. It's just baseless opinion and nonsense. You can find just about anything you want on the internet but using Google as a replacement for an education in science doesn't work.
I happen to know a lot about all of these things
LOL! If you did you would never have posted this ridiculous article in the first place.
. If you really know chemistry like you claim to then you know that 3 chenicals combined making a 4th chemical are not the same and will not act the same in the body as the 3 original chamicals
Oh, please. Your gut breaks down aspartame into the individual components before clearing them just like if you consumed them individually from various sources. That's why you can't answer my question and is one of the many reasons why your claims about aspartame are nonsense.
How arrogant.
Arrogant? Maybe you need to look up the definition for that word. You fear toxins in food without realizing that foods you eat every day contain many deadly toxins. Orange juice contains limonene (it gives orange juice it's flavor) which is also used as paint stripper. Potatoes contain arsenic. Lima beans contain cyanide. Strawberries contain all sorts of toxic compounds. Roasting coffee beans and beef creates some of the most powerful carcinogens known to man. Apples and peanuts have aflatoxins. Benzene is found in fruits, vegetables and dairy. Apple juice, cider and red wine contain methanol. Fortunately, the amounts are so small that your liver easily clears them without harming you. You fear these things because you're a chemicalphobe. You fear MSG even though your body needs glutamate to survive. You get ten times more glutamate from naturally occurring sources than you do from added sources. But here you are telling us that glutamate kills brain cells and causes Alzheimer's. What a bunch of crap.
Again you write off my opinion as emotion this time
Your opinion is based on junk science that appeals to emotion. The people offering this garbage up are either just plain ignorant, looking for grant money from the government or they're charlatans looking to sell you something. When the facts don't support you, your only option is to appeal to emotions.
Afer all you are smarter than the rest of us?
Us? You're the only one here trying to support the foolishness in this article. Everyone else called this what it was and moved on. They're actually smarter than I am because they knew better than to argue with someone that has no idea what he's talking about.
It is possible to study science, do a lot of reading and research and come to different conclusions than you did.
That's true, but in your case you've never studied the subject or done any legitimate research and we already know your "resources" are bogus.
I don’t just drink industry cool aide like you apparently do.
Industry cool aid vs. ignorance Kool-Aid? I'll take the one based on knowledge and facts every time.
I admit that some of the information in the original posting is a little facetious.
A little? You're being far too kind to yourself.
Thought it might spark and interisting converstaion
All it really did was make clear that you and the author don't have any idea what you're talking about.
Didn’t expect it to develop into you needing to prove that you are smarter than everyone else.
If you post lies and nonsense I'm going to point it out. That doesn't make me smarter than everyone else, it only means that I can prove what you've posted is lies and nonsense.
You didn’t exactly refute my points.
You didn't make any points. You simply copied and pasted a bunch of gibberish from God knows where indicting a food ingredient without any proof. There's nothing here to refute.
Who financed the MIT study?
Does it really matter? Aspartame is probably the most tested and studied food ingredient in history. The people who created it and those who manufacture it feed it to their families. Do you think they're willfully poisoning the most important people in their lives to build the bottom line of the company they work for? Do you think the FDA is in the back pocket of industry and is just standing by silently while these merchants of death poison society? You know nothing. The real mystery is why you persist in reinforcing that fact on this forum
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