Free Republic

The non-sugar, low-calorie sweetener aspartame — which is found in many sugar-free or “diet” foods and drinks — has been linked to potential problems with memory and learning, according to a study from the Florida State University (FSU) College of Medicine. In the study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, male mice that consumed aspartame — even at levels deemed safe by the FDA — had offspring that “demonstrated spatial learning and memory deficits,” a press release from FSU stated. Over a 16-week period, the researchers studied three groups of mice. One group consumed 15% of the FDA’s...

The artificial sweetener aspartame might soon be declared a “possible carcinogen,” or cancer-causing agent, according to a leaked report from the World Health Organization. Aspartame is used in Diet Coke, Coke Zero, chewing gum, diet Snapple, breakfast cereals, ice cream and many other common food and drinks. It’s also sold as NutraSweet, Equal and Sugar Twin. The news about the possible move by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, first reported on Reuters, met with quick resistance from the food industry. “… [T]his leaked opinion contradicts decades of high-quality scientific evidence,” International Council of Beverages Associations executive director...

Researchers have linked aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 diet foods and drinks, to anxiety-like behavior in mice. "This study is showing we need to look back at the environmental factors," said Pradeep Bhide. Along with producing anxiety in the mice who consumed aspartame, the effects extended up to two generations from the males exposed to the sweetener. The study came about because of previous research from the Bhide Lab on the transgenerational effects of nicotine on mice. The research showed temporary—or epigenetic—changes in mice sperm cells. Unlike genetic changes (mutations), epigenetic changes are reversible and don't change...

Neotame Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 – 2016 and Opportunity Assessment; 2017 – 2027 Neotame is an artificial sweetener with off-white to white powder and an intensely sweet taste. Neotame is manufactured from 3,3 –dimethylbutyraldehyde and aspartame. Neotame purification and isolation is carried out by distillation of a portion of the methanol followed by addition of water. Neotame comes in the second generation of artificial sweetener followed by sucralose. Neotame delivers great taste and enhances flavors when used as a sweetener. However, neotame clean, sweet taste like sugar is used in small amount to sweeten foods and beverage. This is...

Just as you were starting to feel virtuous for having switched from sugary sodas to low- or no-calorie substitutes, a new study comes along suggesting that diet sodas might be bad for your head and your heart. The study, which followed more than 2,500 New Yorkers for nine or more years, found that people who drank diet soda every day had a 61 percent higher risk of vascular events, including stroke and heart attack, than those who completely eschewed the diet drinks, according to researchers who presented their results today at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los...

More than ever, people are consuming large amounts of sugar as part of their daily diet according to the Mayo Clinic. But in excess, sugar can take its toll. Eating large amounts of sugar adds extra calories, which can cause weight gain. So many people opt for artificial sweeteners — also referred to as sugar substitutes or low-calorie sweeteners — as a way to enjoy their favorite foods without as many calories. According to eDocAmerica, Saccharin (Sweet 'N Low) was the first, and is perhaps the most controversial of the artificial sweeteners.

You drink diet soda, so you must be healthier. Right? That's what New York Gov. David Paterson is talking about with his proposal for an "obesity tax" — a 15 percent slap on non-diet sugary soft drinks. Think $1 for a Diet Coke, $1.15 for a Coke. There's just one problem: Studies have found links between drinking diet sodas and obesity and diabetes. A 2005 study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, and separate studies released in 2007 at the University of Alberta in Canada and the University of Massachusetts found that diet soda drinkers were...

A U.S. consumer group called for an urgent Food and Drug Administration review of the safety of aspartame on Monday, but the FDA said there was no immediate need to do so despite a new study showing the sweetener may cause cancer.  Italian researchers published a new study last week that showed aspartame -- widely used in soft drinks -- might cause leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer in rats.   "This is the second study by the same lab showing that aspartame causes cancer in rats," Center for Science in the Public Interest executive director Michael Jacobson said in a telephone...

WHEN Dr. Morando Soffritti, a cancer researcher in Bologna, Italy, saw the results of his team's seven-year study on aspartame, he knew he was about to be injected into a bitter controversy over this sweetener, one of the most contentiously debated substances ever added to foods and beverages. Aspartame is sold under the brand names Nutra-Sweet and Equal and is found in such popular products as Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, Diet Snapple and Sugar Free Kool-Aid. Hundreds of millions of people consume it worldwide. And Dr. Soffritti's study concluded that aspartame may cause the dreaded "c" word: cancer. The research...

Racketeering (RICO) Charges Filed Against NutraSweet, Dr. Robert Moser of NS, American Diabetes Assoc and Monsanto - Press Conference, Sacramento, 9/16 A RACKETEER INFLUENCED & CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS [RICO complaint has been filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The suit charges the defendants with manufacturing and marketing a deadly neurotoxin unfit for human consumption, while they assured the pubic that aspartame (also known as NutraSweet/Equal) contaminated products are safe and healthful, even for children and pregnant women. San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) September 16, 2004 -- A RACKETEER INFLUENCED & CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS [RICO complaint has been filed...

NutraSweet: The NutraPoison by Alex Constantine "I recognized my two selves: a crusading idealist and a cold, granitic believer in the law of the jungle." Edgar Monsanto Queeny, Monsanto chairman, 1943-63, The Spirit of Enterprise, 1934. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FDA is ever mindful to refer to aspartame, widely known as NutraSweet, as a "food additive"-never a "drug." A "drug" on the label of a Diet Coke might discourage the consumer. And because aspartame is classified a food additive, adverse reactions are not reported to a federal agency, nor is continued safety monitoring required by law.1 NutraSweet is a non-nutritive sweetener. The...