Weight Loss Forum / General Topics / May 2004
Coke
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susanjoneslewis - 25 May 2004 00:06 GMT Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework and such.. I go to the fridge and grrr, no diet soda.. not water or tea..I really wanted one. I spied a Coke in the back of the fridge. So I drank it. It was SO sweet I didn't finish it. Now this is coming from a woman who drank on average 6-8 Cokes a DAY about a year ago before I made my WOE changes.. I am truly sick. Bleh. I had to go lay down for a little while. I feel/felt very lethargic and just bleh. Never again! Do you ever think back on how you used to eat/drink and just say to yourself, "wow, it's a wonder I'm not dead."
Glad that little experiment is over.. ick.
Susan 260/192/140
JMA - 25 May 2004 00:27 GMT > Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework > and such.. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Susan > 260/192/140 Yes, I do think back and wonder how I did it. We were at a party yesterday, one of the first since beginning maintenance. I avoided a lot of these gatherings when I was in full diet mode. Anyway, I found that I spent most of my time away from the kitchen where the food table was. There once was a time when I'd hover around that food table and eat the chips and everything else. I went in a few times, once to get a plate for supper, but mostly to keep filling my water glass. I tried one of the chips, and it was gross (greasy). I also couldn't eat the sandwich roll - I find white bread particularly icky these days.
At the same party, there was a woman who had been on the same diet as I was. She was constantly picking at the food. I felt bad for her.
Hope you get over the coke soon :)
Jenn
Perple Gyrl - 25 May 2004 05:29 GMT > At the same party, there was a woman who had been on the same diet as I was. > She was constantly picking at the food. I felt bad for her. Has she gained some of her weight back?
> Jenn JMA - 26 May 2004 01:25 GMT > > At the same party, there was a woman who had been on the same diet as I > was. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > > > Jenn Yes, and she also doesn't do much exercise. Oh well.
Perple Gyrl - 26 May 2004 03:28 GMT "JMA" <bjenniferb@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> Yes, and she also doesn't do much exercise. Oh well. That is sad... I hope she wakes up and stops gaining it back.... :(
Patricia Heil - 25 May 2004 00:44 GMT Way cool. Now as long as you're getting your calcium and doing resistance exercise, the osteoporosis should be reversing itself.
> Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework > and such.. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Susan > 260/192/140 susanjoneslewis - 25 May 2004 00:49 GMT Huh? Who has osteoporosis?
Susan 260/192/140
> Way cool. Now as long as you're getting your > calcium and doing resistance exercise, the [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > > Susan > > 260/192/140 Steve - 25 May 2004 01:03 GMT > Huh? > Who has osteoporosis? In addition to packing on the weight, causing blood sugar issues, and tooth decay commerical cola soda also contributes to osteoporisis.
Its the phosphoric acid.
In grad school I had a coworker who was a recovering anorexic.
Her psychologist told her to get over hangups about food ( the discipline/reward/denial thing ) by eating whatever hit her fancy.
This woman always had a litre bottle of coke glued to her hand.
One day, she came into work on crutches. Her foot was broken. She broke in her sleep when she kicked out into the wall. A bone scan revealed osteoporosis ( she was in her early 20's at the time ).
Her doctor was good, he found out about her coke habit and got her off of it.
Steve
Nancy 8 03 - 25 May 2004 04:02 GMT I've drank diet Pepsi for years even when I wasn't dieting. After drinking diet for awhile I couldn't go back to regular drinks. I know sometimes in the past waitresses wondered why I was drinking a diet drink and some fatting dessert.
SnugBear - 25 May 2004 14:22 GMT Nancy wrote:
> I've drank diet Pepsi for years even when I wasn't dieting. After > drinking diet for awhile I couldn't go back to regular drinks. I know > sometimes in the past waitresses wondered why I was drinking a diet > drink and some fatting dessert. I never drank any kind of cola until they invented Diet Pepsi. I just figured any calories I saved could be spent elsewhere :-/
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
determined - 25 May 2004 00:57 GMT > Way cool. Now as long as you're getting your > calcium and doing resistance exercise, the > osteoporosis should be reversing itself. Why, I didn't realize that Susan had osteoporosis...
susanjoneslewis - 25 May 2004 03:10 GMT LOL, news to me too det..
Susan 260/192/140
> > Way cool. Now as long as you're getting your > > calcium and doing resistance exercise, the > > osteoporosis should be reversing itself. > > Why, I didn't realize that Susan had osteoporosis... determined - 25 May 2004 00:58 GMT I have definitely noticed that - things that I used to eat and enjoy are too sweet, to salty, too greasy.... I'm glad that this stuff doesn't appeal to me anymore!
det
> Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework > and such.. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Susan > 260/192/140 SnugBear - 25 May 2004 02:02 GMT "determined" wrote:
> I have definitely noticed that - things that I used to eat and enjoy > are too sweet, to salty, too greasy.... I'm glad that this stuff > doesn't appeal to me anymore! I wouldn't mind a little more of that. I still love potato chips *because* they are salty & greasy. I remember rejecting a box of Wheat Thins because they weren't salty enough! otoh, the deep fried Monte Cristo sandwich I used to love in Kingston, NY will never cross my lips again, thank God. It's progress. lol
(Grocery store cakes with crisco frosting always disgusted me)
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
determined - 25 May 2004 03:40 GMT > > I have definitely noticed that - things that I used to eat and enjoy > > are too sweet, to salty, too greasy.... I'm glad that this stuff [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Cristo sandwich I used to love in Kingston, NY will never cross my lips > again, thank God. It's progress. lol I LOVE kettle cooked potato chips. But only rarely, like during picnics and bbq's... I had a Mrs. Field's cookie from the mall the other day, it was still warm. A co-worker offered it to me, and fresh baked goodies are still a major weakness of mine. But the cookie was total grease and sugar. They don't taste like the cookies that I make! I guess at this point, if I'm going to splurge on calories and fat, it better taste damned good! I still love my extra dark Lindt chocolate bars!
det
Chris Braun - 25 May 2004 05:25 GMT >I LOVE kettle cooked potato chips. But only rarely, like during picnics and >bbq's... I had a Mrs. Field's cookie from the mall the other day, it was [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >going to splurge on calories and fat, it better taste damned good! I still >love my extra dark Lindt chocolate bars! I've never much liked the mall cookies, even when I was fat and eating everything. They are so rich and greasy that I had trouble digesting them. I do still like sweets -- and eat them occasionally -- but not those!
Chris
SnugBear - 25 May 2004 14:19 GMT > I've never much liked the mall cookies, even when I was fat and eating > everything. They are so rich and greasy that I had trouble digesting > them. I do still like sweets -- and eat them occasionally -- but not > those! You've got me wondering if I'd still even like the Cinnabon's I used crave. I saw them at the mall recently and just shook my head in disbelief at the huge size. I just found some nutrition info online that says the Pecanbon has 1100 calories and 56g of fat!!!! Oy vey.
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
Beverly - 25 May 2004 13:58 GMT > > > I have definitely noticed that - things that I used to eat and enjoy > > > are too sweet, to salty, too greasy.... I'm glad that this stuff [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > det My granddaughter and I stopped at Wendy's after a bike ride recently for something to drink. They had some cookies so I bought a couple. We both took one bite and decided it was just too sweet for us. Before I would have woofed that thing down with no problem. Guess my taste is changing.
Beverly
SnugBear - 25 May 2004 14:08 GMT "determined" wrote:
> I LOVE kettle cooked potato chips. But only rarely, like during > picnics and bbq's... Other than my recent *eat 10 Lays dill pickle chips and give the rest to my husband*, I pretty much allow myself a small bag during the Superbowl and another over a weekend while on vacation. There used to be some yummy ones sold at my local grocery store that were 250 calories for the whole bag which seemed like a reasonable treat. They quit selling that size and I wouldn't buy a bigger bag. Solved that temptation.
> I had a Mrs. Field's cookie from the mall the > other day, it was still warm. A co-worker offered it to me, and fresh > baked goodies are still a major weakness of mine. But the cookie was > total grease and sugar. They don't taste like the cookies that I > make! I agree. That's why I make my own Death by Chocolate cookie dough, scoop and freeze it. I can bake one or two VERY worth-it, yummy cookies and know exactly what I'm getting.
> I guess at this point, if I'm going to splurge on calories and > fat, it better taste damned good! I still love my extra dark Lindt > chocolate bars! mmmmmmmmmmm, chocolate!
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
J.J. Marie - 25 May 2004 19:26 GMT Hark! I heard SnugBear <snugNObear@midmaine.com> say:
> "determined" wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Cristo sandwich I used to love in Kingston, NY will never cross my lips > again, thank God. It's progress. lol I haven't had one of those for 20 years! There was a Chinese restaurant in my town that made them; they closed down and I haven't seen a deep fried Monte Cristo since. That's probably a good thing, because remember loving them and I have enough carvings to fight. ;-)
> (Grocery store cakes with crisco frosting always disgusted me) Same here -- I love cake, but only home made, so it's easy to avoid...
 Signature J.J. in WA State - 251/234/150 (Change COLD to HOT for e-mail)
SnugBear - 26 May 2004 01:47 GMT > I haven't had one of those for 20 years! There was a Chinese restaurant > in my town that made them; they closed down and I haven't seen a deep > fried Monte Cristo since. That's probably a good thing, because remember > loving them and I have enough carvings to fight. ;-) This place served it with raspberry sauce <g>
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
Perple Gyrl - 26 May 2004 03:29 GMT > > I haven't had one of those for 20 years! There was a Chinese restaurant > > in my town that made them; they closed down and I haven't seen a deep [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > 207/110 60 inches of attitude! > Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03 I used to love Monte Christos too. Kinda nauseates me thinking about it.
Steve - 25 May 2004 01:23 GMT > down for a little while. I feel/felt very lethargic and just bleh. Never > again! Do you ever think back on how you used to eat/drink and just say > to yourself, "wow, it's a wonder I'm not dead." Not quite.
However since I have started measuring calories I have been very impressed with how much I must have eaten when I was younger, exercising a lot, and always unable to get rid of that "last little bit" of fat.
I would eat bags of bagles at a sitting. Heaping plates of pasta.
I learned a few months that most bagels are 300 calories! That is like half a meal on my current, measured regime.......for a lousy hunk of white bread.
Pasta was also a shock.
One day I decided to measure out "one serving".....about 280 calories......again, about half of one of my meals.
The serving was 2oz dry and I was AMAZED at how little it was.
It was just like the dieticians have been saying. You shouldn't eat more pasta then what would fit in the surface area of your fist.
Its one thing reading that, it is another thing measuring it out for yourself and seeing how little food that is.
If I knew then about what I now about portions/calories I would have been *ripped*.......okay, maybe not ripped, but a whole lot leaner on top of the good shape I was already in.
Steve
Chris Braun - 25 May 2004 01:40 GMT >Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework >and such.. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >again! Do you ever think back on how you used to eat/drink and just say >to yourself, "wow, it's a wonder I'm not dead." Actually, I still like pretty much the same things I always did. I just can't imagine eating nearly the quantity I used to eat. I do find, though, that things that used to really tempt me don't particularly do so anymore unless I'm way over-hungry.
I don't feel a lot of guilt about occasionally indulging in a "treat" food, though, as long as I get back on track -- and that hasn't been a problem for me.
I drank a small regular coke the morning of my bench meet and liked it okay. I did have ice in it; otherwise I think it may have been too cloying. And it was a fountain coke at McDonald's: I think sometimes they're less sweet.
Chris 262/149/ (145-150)
J.J. Marie - 25 May 2004 02:58 GMT Hark! I heard "susanjoneslewis" <susanjoneslewis@sbcglobal.net> say:
> Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework > and such.. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > down for a little while. I feel/felt very lethargic and just bleh. Never > again! I used to be a regular Coke drinker too, but I haven't had one since I made the switch to diet Coke in February. Sometimes I wonder what it would taste like, but not enough to take the chance, especially after reading a post like this. Thanks for the warning!
> Do you ever think back on how you used to eat/drink and just say > to yourself, "wow, it's a wonder I'm not dead." Definitely! I do still eat some of those bad old foods, but the quanitity is severely reduced. (I don't think I'll ever give up chocolate completely.) But the idea of putting away as much crap in one sitting as I used to is just nauseating...
 Signature J.J. in WA State - 251/234/150 (Change COLD to HOT for e-mail)
Heywood Mogroot - 25 May 2004 07:37 GMT > Hark! I heard "susanjoneslewis" <susanjoneslewis@sbcglobal.net> say: > > I used to be a regular Coke drinker too, but I haven't had one since > I made the switch to diet Coke in February. Sometimes I wonder what > it would taste like, but not enough to take the chance, especially > after reading a post like this. Thanks for the warning! I realize people have different tastes, but may I recommend cutting THAT out too?
I had a rather large Mt Dew addiction 2000-2003 (drinking 30-40oz of the bottled stuff per day easily). A year ago I decided it was ruining my health and just cut the bottled stuff out cold turkey. I still ordered it at fast food places (since it is a lot more watered down).
Now for the past 3 months I've been living on gallon jugs of room-temperature "spring" water from WalMart (50c/each). I never liked the chilled water from dispensers, too hard to drink, but the room-temperature stuff is surprisingly tasty and goes great with my food. I truly don't miss my soda pop any more (I was also a Coke fiend to a lesser extent).
Beverly - 25 May 2004 14:02 GMT > Now for the past 3 months I've been living on gallon jugs of > room-temperature "spring" water from WalMart (50c/each). I never liked > the chilled water from dispensers, too hard to drink, but the > room-temperature stuff is surprisingly tasty and goes great with my > food. I truly don't miss my soda pop any more (I was also a Coke fiend > to a lesser extent). I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes my water at room temperature. I'm not sure if it's the taste or simply because I have very sensitive teeth. Ice water can be very painful.
Beverly
Perple Gyrl - 25 May 2004 13:49 GMT I dislike ice water too! I always drink it at room temperture. When I go to restaurants, I drink it with ice because it is too much of a pain to keep reminding them I want it room temp during refills.
> I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who likes my water at room > temperature. I'm not sure if it's the taste or simply because I have very > sensitive teeth. Ice water can be very painful. > > Beverly J.J. Marie - 25 May 2004 19:32 GMT Hark! I heard imouttahere@mac.com (Heywood Mogroot) say:
> > Hark! I heard "susanjoneslewis" <susanjoneslewis@sbcglobal.net> say:
> > I used to be a regular Coke drinker too, but I haven't had one since > > I made the switch to diet Coke in February. Sometimes I wonder what [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > I realize people have different tastes, but may I recommend cutting > THAT out too? Certainly, I'll listen to and consider any reasonable suggestion.
> I had a rather large Mt Dew addiction 2000-2003 (drinking 30-40oz of > the bottled stuff per day easily). A year ago I decided it was ruining > my health and just cut the bottled stuff out cold turkey. I still > ordered it at fast food places (since it is a lot more watered down). Wow, that's a lot of caffiene! But I don't drink that much Diet Coke; I buy the 8 ounce cans and only average 5-6 per week. I hate to give it up completely, because some things (like a burger) just beg for a soda to go with it.
> Now for the past 3 months I've been living on gallon jugs of > room-temperature "spring" water from WalMart (50c/each). I never liked > the chilled water from dispensers, too hard to drink, but the > room-temperature stuff is surprisingly tasty and goes great with my > food. I truly don't miss my soda pop any more (I was also a Coke fiend > to a lesser extent). I drink a lot of water, but I like mine cold -- I have two 2.5 gallon spigot jugs that I keep in the refrigerator (we have really nice well water, luckily). That also encourages the whole family to drink more too; Small Child (age 6) *loves* cold water... :-)
 Signature J.J. in WA State - 251/234/150 (Change COLD to HOT for e-mail)
Heywood Mogroot - 26 May 2004 01:38 GMT > Hark! I heard imouttahere@mac.com (Heywood Mogroot) say: > Wow, that's a lot of caffiene! But I don't drink that much Diet Coke; > I buy the 8 ounce cans and only average 5-6 per week. I hate to give > it up completely, because some things (like a burger) just beg for a > soda to go with it. Probably one can a day isn't going to kill you, even with the aspartame.
There's been mostly anecdotal evidence that the other crap in diet sodas (eg citric acid) interferes with weight loss.
On my regimen, I'm generally trying to avoid extraneous stuff that slows down loss, if the healthy substitute is palatable enough.
It's a relative thing, not saying plain water tastes *better* with food, but I've found room-temperature "spring" (I put it in quotes since I don't know what kind of spring Walmart gets it from) water isn't half as bad as I thought. Surprisingly tasty is what I said -- not as nice as a real coke perhaps, but palatable enough.
Since I got fat drinking soda, that's part of my aversion to it now. Plus sodas at restuarants are such a rip-off, nice getting acclimated to the free water and avoiding the ripoff altogether,
Chris Braun - 26 May 2004 02:17 GMT >There's been mostly anecdotal evidence that the other crap in diet >sodas (eg citric acid) interferes with weight loss. Dunno. Midway along the course of losing 113 lbs., I changed from drinking almost no soda to being a Diet Pepsi addict (a state I'm still in :-) ). I didn't notice any change in my weight loss rate as a result of this.
Chris 262/149/ (145-150)
Heywood Mogroot - 26 May 2004 07:03 GMT > >There's been mostly anecdotal evidence that the other crap in diet > >sodas (eg citric acid) interferes with weight loss. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > still in :-) ). I didn't notice any change in my weight loss rate as > a result of this. ah doing more reading I see citric acid is allegedly supposed to interfere with ketosis.
Chris Braun - 26 May 2004 11:04 GMT >> >There's been mostly anecdotal evidence that the other crap in diet >> >sodas (eg citric acid) interferes with weight loss. [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >ah doing more reading I see citric acid is allegedly supposed to >interfere with ketosis. I see. Since I'm not doing an Atkins sort of eating plan, that wouldn't be an issue for me.
Chris 262/149/ (145-150)
SnugBear - 26 May 2004 01:50 GMT > I drink a lot of water, but I like mine cold -- I have two 2.5 gallon > spigot jugs that I keep in the refrigerator (we have really nice well > water, luckily). That also encourages the whole family to drink more > too; Small Child (age 6) *loves* cold water... :-) Our well water is wonderful too! And cold from the tap all but maybe 3 weeks a year. In winter, it's icy <s>
 Signature Walking on . . . Laurie in Maine 207/110 60 inches of attitude! Start: 2/02 Maintained since 2/03
byakee - 26 May 2004 05:52 GMT >> I drink a lot of water, but I like mine cold -- I have two 2.5 gallon >> spigot jugs that I keep in the refrigerator (we have really nice well [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Our well water is wonderful too! And cold from the tap all but maybe 3 > weeks a year. In winter, it's icy <s> In Maine? I'll bet! <g> Dang, this thread is making me thirsty...
 Signature J.J. in WA State (Change COLD to HOT for e-mail)
Start of diet : 251 Current Weight : 234 Original Weight: 275 Goal Weight : 150
Perple Gyrl - 25 May 2004 05:28 GMT "susanjoneslewis" <susanjoneslewis@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message news:2evsc.212
Do you ever think back on how you used to eat/drink and just say
> to yourself, "wow, it's a wonder I'm not dead." Yup, all the time. I can't believe what I used to shove in my face. I never did get into soda much. I drink maybe 1-2 diet sodas a week now..... the type with splenda (diet rc or diet rite). I like the diet rite white grape. It is a nice change from water. Water is usually the only thing I drink, with a slice of lemon.
> Glad that little experiment is over.. > ick. > > Susan > 260/192/140 Congrats on another pound lost!
A Ross - 25 May 2004 12:25 GMT In article <2evsc.212$aj2.79@newssvr23.news.prodigy.com>, "susanjoneslewis" <susanjoneslewis@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on > doing some housework [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Susan > 260/192/140 I know what you mean. Took a sip of DH's drive-through coke and wanted to spit it out. It's been so long since I've had a "regular" soda that it was like downing pure sugar. Blech.
Amy
Angie - 25 May 2004 13:53 GMT i do i was talking with a guy that i work with about that the other day. I used to eat potatoe chips all the time and chocalate bars. one of my fav things when i worked at a gas station was i'd have a bottle (591ml size) of coke and then a reese peanut butter cup with it. I couldn't eat the peanut butter cups without drinking a thing of coke. i think i must of thught that they tasted even better with the coke then withput. i drank about 6 -7 of those a day 7 days a week. Now when I think back that was alot. I switched to diet pop. But now I drink that much sometimes of it in a day. I worked mid nights and because i don't drink coffee i drank diet coke to keep me awake, and I had 5 of them i was wired for sound by the time the first day staff came in. They thought it was great but i wasn't able to sleep that day until 11 in the morning, anyway, i stopped drinking coke and haven't had any in god must be going on 6 yrs now. I did have one about a month ago and I didn't like the taste and it made me very hyper so no more., i am trying to stop drinking as much diet pop as i do but i am finding it hard to. i guess thats something i will have to work on.
Angie
> In article > <2evsc.212$aj2.79@newssvr23.news.prodigy.com>, [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Amy Beverly - 25 May 2004 18:24 GMT > Came in from work this afternoon and had planned on doing some housework > and such.. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Susan > 260/192/140 I haven't had a regular coke since the diet version was introduced back in the early '80's. I've tasted the regular a few times and find it's just too sweet for my taste. I've heard people say the diet leaves a funny taste in their mouth but I've never noticed. I'd rather have a funny taste in my mouth that extra weight on my hips<g>
Beverly
Rich Murray - 28 May 2004 03:51 GMT **************************************************************
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1071 research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray 2004.05.27 rmforall
Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@comcast.net 1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-501-2298
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/927 Donald Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval: Turner: Murray 2002.12.23 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1039 three-page review: aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) toxicity: Murray 2003.11.22 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1026 brief aspartame review: formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 2003.09.11 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1025 aspartame & formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 2003.09.09 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1067 eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 2004.03.30 rmforall [ 150 KB ]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1070 critique of aspartame review, French Food Safety Agency AFSSA 2002.05.07 aspartamgb.pdf (18 pages, in English), Martin Hirsch: Murray 2004.04.13
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957 safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF: Murray 2003.01.12 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045 http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific Committee on Food re aspartame ( 2002.12.04 ): 59 pages, 230 references
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/989 On 2003.04.10 the European Union Parliament voted 440 to 20 to approve sucralose, limit cyclamates & reevaluate aspartame & stevia: Murray 2003.04.12 rmforall There is an astonishing amount of positive research about stevia, banned in the EU, and not allowed to be claimed as a sweetener in the USA:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1084 26 stevia safety abstracts since 1993: aspartame vs stevia debate on alt.support.diabetes, George Schmidt, OD: Murray 2004.05.17
http://www.eatright.org/Nutritive(1).pdf J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Feb; 104(2): 255-75. Position of the American Dietetic Association: use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. American Dietetic Association.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1068 critique of aspartame review by American Dietetic Association Feb 2004, Valerie B. Duffy & Madeleine J. Sigman-Grant: Murray 2004.05.14 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages 115 members, 1085 posts in a public searchable archive
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/messages 791 members, 16,921 posts in a public, searchable archive
It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid toxicity.
Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol-- 1,120 mg aspartame in 2 L diet soda, almost six 12-oz cans, gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol). The methanol is immediately released into the body after drinking-- unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in complex molecules inside many fruits and vegetables. Within hours, the liver turns much of the methanol into formaldehyde, and then much of that into formic acid, both of which in time are partially eliminated as carbon dioxide and water.
However, about 30% of the methanol remains in the body as cumulative durable toxic metabolites of formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily, a gram every month, accumulating in and affecting every tissue.
If only 10% of the methanol is retained daily as formaldehyde, that would give 12 mg daily formaldehyde accumulation-- about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in drinking water.
Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in drinking water is 1 ppm, or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835 ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999: Murray 2002.05.30 rmforall
This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical patterns of increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with headache, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, memory loss, rashes, and leading to vision and eye problems, and even seizures. In many cases there is addiction. Probably there are immune system disorders, with a hypersensitivity to these toxins and other chemicals.
J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459. Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys. Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE. Dept. of Biochemistry, Searle Laboratories, Division of G.D. Searle and Co. Box 5110, Chicago, IL 60680 They found that about 70% of the radioactive methanol in aspartame put into the stomachs of 3 to 7 kg monkeys was eliminated within 8 hours, with little additional elimination, as carbon dioxide in exhaled air and as water in the urine. They did not mention that this meant that about 30% of the methanol must transform into formaldehyde and then into formic acid, both of which must remain as toxic products in all parts of the body. They did not report any studies on the distribution of radioactivity in body tissues, except that blood plasma proteins after 4 days held 4% of the initial methanol. This study did not monitor long-term use of aspartame.
The low oral dose of aspartame and for methanol was 0.068 mmol/kg, about 1 part per million [ppm] of the acute toxicity level of 2,000 mg/kg, 67,000 mmol/kg, used by McMartin (1979). Two L daily use of diet soda provides 123 mg methanol, 2 mg/kg for a 60 kg person, a dose of 67 mmole/kg, a thousand times more than the dose in this study. By eight hours excretion of the dose in air and urine had leveled off at 67.1 +-2.1% as CO2 in the exhaled air and 1.57+-0.32% in the urine, so 68.7 % was excreted, and 31.3% was retained. This data is the average of 4 monkeys. "...the 14C in the feces was negligible."
"That fraction not so excreted (about 31%) was converted to body constituents through the one-carbon metabolic pool." "All radioactivity measurements were counted to +-1% accuracy..." This indicates that the results could not be claimed to have a precision of a tenth of a percent. OK, so this is a nit-pick-- but I believe espousing spurious accuracy is a sign of scientific insecurity.
The abstract ends, "It was concluded that aspartame was digested to its three constituents that were then absorbed as natural constituents of the diet." Thus, the concept is very subtly insinuated that methanol, as a constituent of aspartame, is absorbed as a natural constituent of the diet. "Dietary methanol is derived in large part from fresh fruits and vegetables." This is a serious error, since the large amounts of methanol in fresh fruits and vegetables are not readily released by human digestion. (W. C. Monte, 1984) Nowhere in this report are mentioned the dread words, "formaldehyde" and "formic acid".
Of course, methanol and formaldehyde toxicity studies are highly relevant to the issue of aspartame toxicity. [ Aspartame has to be turned into its toxic products, formaldehyde and formic acid, in the body, before it is toxic, so some pro-aspartame reseach studies test aspartame outside the body, and then proclaim that they have proved that it is not toxic. ]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/915 formaldehyde toxicity: Thrasher & Kilburn: Shaham: EPA: Gold: Wilson: CIIN: Murray 2002.12.12 rmforall
Thrasher (2001): "The major difference is that the Japanese demonstrated the incorporation of FA and its metabolites into the placenta and fetus. The quantity of radioactivity remaining in maternal and fetal tissues at 48 hours was 26.9% of the administered dose." [ Ref. 14-16 ]
Arch Environ Health 2001 Jul-Aug; 56(4): 300-11. Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde. [100 references] Thrasher JD, Kilburn KH. toxicology@drthrasher.org Sam-1 Trust, Alto, New Mexico, USA. http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_embryo_toxicity.html full text
http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne Thrasher, Alan Broughton, Roberta Madison. Immune activation and autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde. Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. "Immune activation, autoantibodies, and anti-HCHO-HSA antibodies are associated with long-term formaldehyde inhalation." PMID: 2400243
Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002): http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909 testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide & peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame: Martin L. Pall: Murray: 2002.12.09 rmforall
Environ Health Perspect. 2003 Sep; 111(12): 1461-4. Elevated nitric oxide/peroxynitrite theory of multiple chemical sensitivity: central role of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the sensitivity mechanism. Pall ML. School of Molecular Biosciences, 301 Abelson Hall, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA. martin_pall@wsu.edu
The elevated nitric oxide/peroxynitrite and the neural sensitization theories of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are extended here to propose a central mechanism for the exquisite sensitivity to organic solvents apparently induced by previous chemical exposure in MCS. This mechanism is centered on the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors by organic solvents producing elevated nitric oxide and peroxynitrite, leading in turn to increased stimulating of and hypersensitivity of NMDA receptors. In this way, organic solvent exposure may produce progressive sensitivity to organic solvents. Pesticides such as organophosphates and carbamates may act via muscarinic stimulation to produce a similar biochemical and sensitivity response.
Accessory mechanisms of sensitivity may involve both increased blood-brain barrier permeability, induced by peroxynitrite, and cytochrome P450 inhibition by nitric oxide. The NMDA hyperactivity/hypersensitivity and excessive nitric oxide/peroxynitrite view of MCS provides answers to many of the most puzzling aspects of MCS while building on previous studies and views of this condition. PMID: 12948884
Prof. Pall describes processes by which an initial trigger exposure, such as carbon monoxide or formaldehyde, can generate hypersensitivity to many substances. He himself had recovered from a sudden, debilitating attack of multiple chemical sensitity in June/July 1997.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1055 hormesis: possible benefits of low-level aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) use: Calabrese: Soffritti: Murray 2004.03.11 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1056 disorders of NMDA glutamate receptors in brain range from high activity (MCS, CF, PTSD, FM, from carbon monoxide or formaldehyde (methanol, aspartame)-- Pall) to low activity (schizophrenia-- Coyle, Goff, Javitts): Murray 2004.03.13 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/946 Functional Therapeutics in Neurodegenerative Disease Part 1/2: Perlmutter 1999.07.15: Murray 2003.01.10 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/97 Lancet website aspartame letter 1999.07.29: Excitotoxins 1999 Part 1/3 Blaylock: Murray 2000.01.14 rmforall The Medical Sentinel Journal 1999 Fall; (95 references) http://www.dorway.com/blayenn.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1034 Brain cell damage from amino acid isolates (aspartame releases phenylalanine, aspartate, methanol [formaldehyde, formic acid] Bowen & Evangelista May 6 2002: Murray 2003.11.10 rmforall
http://www.aspartame.ca/Brain%20Cell%20Damage.pdf Brain cell damage from amino acid isolates 5.6.2 41 references detailed 22 page review by James D. Bowen, MD and Arthur M. Evangelista, former FDA Investigator orwilly@msn.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/628 Professional House Doctors: Singer: EPA: CPSC: formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 2001.06.10 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1047 Avoiding Hangover Hell 2003.12.31 Mark Sherman, AP writer: Robert Swift, MD [ formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame ]: Murray 2004.01.16 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1048 hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?): Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 2004.01.18
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1052 DMDC: Dimethyl dicarbonate 200mg/L in drinks adds methanol 98 mg/L ( becomes formaldehyde in body ): EU Scientific Committee on Foods 2001.07.12: Murray 2004.01.22 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/782 RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums: full text: aspartame, MSG, fibromyalgia 2002.01.17 rmforall Jerry D Smith, Chris M Terpening, Siegfried OF Schmidt, and John G Gums Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following Discontinuation of Dietary Excitotoxins. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2001; 35(6): 702-706. Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA. BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disorder that is often difficult to treat effectively. CASE SUMMARY: Four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome for two to 17 years are described. All had undergone multiple treatment modalities with limited success. All had complete, or nearly complete, resolution of their symptoms within months after eliminating monosodium glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame from their diet. All patients were women with multiple comorbidities prior to elimination of MSG. All have had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is ingested.
Siegfried O. Schmidt, MD Asst. Clinical Prof. siggy@shands.ufl.edu Community Health and Family Medicine, U. Florida, Gainesville, FL Shands Hospital West Oak Clinic Gainesville, FL 32608-3629 352-376-5071
Debbie J. Hypes painfreeliving@aol.com 304-872-4141 (Case # 1 of 4) P.O Box 25 Lookout, WV 25868-0025 She has about 1,000 on her local mailing list, and has been a volunteer activist since 1997. Her guide first came out in 1997: http://www.Pain-Free-Living.net "The Food Plan: How To Do It" $ 5 by mail, free by email. Her sister Darlene, now 47, cured her own severe fibromyalgia in 1995 by using an elimination diet, and then Debbie also cured herself by 1997. Their doctor, Siegfried Schmidt, paying attention, tried it on two more patients, who got well, and are his third and fourth cases.
http://www.perque.org/Fibromyalgia.pdf A Novel Treatment for Fibromyalgia Imrpoves Clinical Outcomes in a Community-Based Study. Patricia A. Deuster, Russell M. Jaffe. RJaffe@perque.com Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain. 1998; Vol. 6(2): 133-149.
http://www.perque.com/ info@perque.com 800-525-7372
Using blood tests, the researchers ran a panel of 350 antigens including environmental chemicals, food additives and preservatives, crustaceans, diary products, fish, fruits, grains, meats, mollusks, and oils.
Normal, healthy people react to only two or less of this panel. The greatest offenders were:
MSG 42.5 % (17 out of 40 patients) Candida albicans 37.5 Caffeine 37 Chocolate/cocoa 37 Food colorings 37 Cola beverages 37 Cow Dairy Products 25 Sulfite/metabisulfite 22.5 Xylene 22.5 Yogurt 22.5 Aspartame 20 BHA 20 Cadmium 20 Lead 20 Tylenol 20 Yeast 20 Sodium benzoate 20 Orange 20
C. Trocho (1998): "In all, the rats retained, 6 hours after administration, about 5% of the label, half of it in the liver."
They used a very low level of aspartame ingestion, 10 mg/kg, for rats, which have a much greater tolerance for aspartame than humans. So, the corresponding level for humans would be about 1 or 2 mg/kg. Many headache studies in humans used doses of about 30 mg/kg daily.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/925 aspartame puts formaldehyde adducts into tissues, Part 1/2 full text, Trocho & Alemany 1998.06.26: Murray 2002.12.22 rmforall
http://ww.presidiotex.com/barcelona/index.html full text Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue components in vivo. Life Sci June 26 1998; 63(5): 337-49. Departament de Bioquimica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Spain. http://www.bq.ub.es/cindex.html Línies de Recerca: Toxicitat de l'aspartame http://www.bq.ub.es/grupno/grup-no.html Sra. Carme Trocho, Sra. Rosario Pardo, Dra. Immaculada Rafecas, Sr. Jordi Virgili, Dr. Xavier Remesar, Dr. Jose Antonio Fernandez-Lopez, Dr. Marià Alemany [male] Fac. Biologia Tel.: (93)4021521, FAX: (93)4021559 Sra. Carme Trocho "Trok-ho" Fac. Biologia Tel.: (93)4021544, FAX: (93)4021559 alemany@porthos.bio.ub.es bioq@sun.bq.ub.es josefer@porthos.bio.ub.es rafecas@porthos.bio.ub.es remesar@porthos.bio.ub.es
Abstract: Adult male rats were given an oral dose of 10 mg/kg aspartame, 14C-labeled in the methanol carbon. At timed intervals of up to 6 hours, the radioactivity in plasma and several organs was investigated. Most of the radioactivity found (>98% in plasma, >75% in liver) was bound to protein. Label present in liver, plasma and kidney was in the range of 1-2% of total radioactivity administered per g or mL, changing little with time. Other organs (brown and white adipose tissues, muscle, brain, cornea and retina) contained levels of label in the range of 1/12th to 1/10th of that of liver. In all, the rats retained, 6 hours after administration, about 5% of the label, half of it in the liver.
The specific radioactivity of tissue protein, RNA and DNA was quite uniform. The protein label was concentrated in amino acids, different from methionine, and largely coincident with the result of protein exposure to labeled formaldehyde. DNA radioactivity was essentially in a single different adduct base, different from the normal bases present in DNA. The nature of the tissue label accumulated was, thus, a direct consequence of formaldehyde binding to tissue structures.
The administration of labeled aspartame to a group of cirrhotic rats resulted in comparable label retention by tissue components, which suggests that liver function (or its defect) has little effect on formaldehyde formation from aspartame and binding to biological components.
The chronic treatment of a series of rats with 200 mg/kg of non-labeled aspartame during 10 days results in the accumulation of even more label when given the radioactive bolus, suggesting that the amount of formaldehyde adducts coming from aspartame in tissue proteins and nucleic acids may be cumulative.
It is concluded that aspartame consumption may constitute a hazard because of its contribution to the formation of formaldehyde adducts. PMID: 9714421
[ Extracts ] "The high label presence in plasma and liver is in agreement with the carriage of the label from the intestine to the liver via the portal vein. The high label levels in kidney and, to a minor extent, in brown adipose tissue and brain are probably a consequence of their high blood flows (45). Even in white adipose tissue, the levels of radioactivity found 6 hours after oral administration were 1/25th those of liver. Cornea and retina, both tissues known to metabolize actively methanol (21,28) showed low levels of retained label. In any case, the binding of methanol-derived carbon to tissue proteins was widespread, affecting all systems, fully reaching even sensitive targets such as the brain and retina....
The amount of label recovered in tissue components was quite high in all the groups, but especially in the NA rats. In them, the liver alone retained, for a long time, more than 2 % of the methanol carbon given in a single oral dose of aspartame, and the rest of the body stored an additional 2 % or more. These are indeed extremely high levels for adducts of formaldehyde, a substance responsible of chronic deleterious effects (33), that has also been considered carcinogenic (34,47). The repeated occurrence of claims that aspartame produces headache and other neurological and psychological secondary effects-- more often than not challenged by careful analysis-- (5, 9, 10, 15, 48) may eventually find at least a partial explanation in the permanence of the formaldehyde label, since formaldehyde intoxication can induce similar effects (49).
The cumulative effects derived from the incorporation of label in the chronic administration model suggests that regular intake of aspartame may result in the progressive accumulation of formaldehyde adducts. It may be further speculated that the formation of adducts can help to explain the chronic effects aspartame consumption may induce on sensitive tissues such as brain (6, 9, 19, 50). In any case, the possible negative effects that the accumulation of formaldehyde adducts can induce is, obviously, long-term. The alteration of protein integrity and function may needs some time to induce substantial effects. The damage to nucleic acids, mainly to DNA, may eventually induce cell death and/or mutations. The results presented suggest that the conversion of aspartame methanol into formaldehyde adducts in significant amounts in vivo should to be taken into account because of the widespread utilization of this sweetener. Further epidemiological and long-term studies are needed to determine the extent of the hazard that aspartame consumption poses for humans."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/864 Butchko, Tephly, McMartin: Alemany: aspartame formaldehyde adducts in rats: Murray 2002.09.08 rmforall Prof. Alemany vigorously affirms the validity of the Trocho study against criticism: Butchko, HH et al [24 authors], Aspartame: review of safety. Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2002 April 1; 35 (2 Pt 2): S1-93, review available for $35, [an industry paid organ]. Butchko: "When all the research on aspartame, including evaluations in both the premarketing and postmarketing periods, is examined as a whole, it is clear that aspartame is safe, and there are no unresolved questions regarding its safety under conditions of intended use." [ They repeatedly pass on the ageless industry deceit that the methanol in fruits and vegetables is as as biochemically available as that in aspartame-- see the 1984 rebuttal by W.C. Monte. ] In the same report, Schiffman concludes on page S49, not citing any research after 1997, "Thus, the weight of the scientific evidence indicates that aspartame does not cause headache." Dr. Susan S. Schiffman, Dept. of Psychiatry, Duke University sss@acpub.duke.edu 919-684-3303, 660-5657
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/911 RTP ties to industry criticized by CSPI: Murray: 2002.12.09 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/846 aspartame in Merck Maxalt-MLT worsens migraine, AstraZeneca Zomig, Eli Lilly Zyprexa, J&J Merck Pepcid AC (Famotidine 10mg) Chewable Tab, Pfizer Cool Mint Listerine Pocketpaks: Murray 2002.07.16 rmforall
Migraine MLT-Down: an unusual presentation of migraine in patients with aspartame-triggered headaches. Newman LC, Lipton RB Headache 2001 Oct; 41(9): 899-901. [ Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 3.75 mg aspartame, while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg. ] Headache Institute, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY Department of Neurology newmanache@aol.com Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY Innovative Medical Research RLipton@IMRInc.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/855 Blumenthall & Vance: aspartame chewing gum headaches Nov 1997: Murray 2002.07.28 rmforall
Harvey J. Blumenthal, MD, Dwight A Vance, RPh Chewing Gum Headaches. Headache 1997 Nov-Dec; 37(10): 665-6. Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa, USA. neurotulsa@aol.com Aspartame, a popular dietetic sweetener, may provoke headache in some susceptible individuals. Herein, we describe three cases of young women with migraine who reported their headaches could be provoked by chewing gum sweetened with aspartame. [ 6-8 mg aspartame per stick chewing gum ]
Subject: Re: Murray: Butchko:
Tephly: critique of Trocho report Apr 2002 8.29.2 Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 09:49:56 +0200 From: Marià Alemany <alemany@bio.ub.es> To: "Rich Murray" <rmforall@att.net> References: 1
Dear Rich,
Thank you for the opportunity to say something about the "paper" by Tephly that followed our study on the incorporation of aspartame-derived methanol label into DNA and protein of rats. I don't know if responding to that publication is worth the effort.
Surprisingly, a serious journal, such as Life Sciences published a rebuttal of our previous paper as a normal "research paper", but including no new information neither experimental work. This is only a sample of the "scientific" power of the advocates of aspartame.
Anybody can extract conclusions from this anomaly, but it seems to me that there was nothing new in that pamphlet that may add information to what we already explained in our paper. The responses to the questions raised by Tephly are already in our paper, which means that either that it was not read or, worst, it was misread.
The presence of aspartame-derived label in DNA and protein adducts is unquestionable and unquestioned, and agrees with previous studies. Then, what importance has the mechanism of incorporation? There were adducts, and they represent loss of function and mutation. That was our thesis.
The reference to previous studies showing very low levels of formaldehyde in blood do not refute our data. First of all, measuring formaldehyde is tricky, and in any case, the circulating levels would be below the current limit of detection for most of the methods used. That is the current explanation for the low levels of methanol in plasma after aspartame loading: they are zero, using most of the methods available for methanol, since the expected levels are currently below the limit of detection...
In addition, it is not logical to expect to find measurable levels of formaldehyde in a medium (blood) containing a huge amount of protein. Formaldehyde reacts immediately with proteins because it is highly reactive: that is the reason why we have found it in cell protein and DNA. It is absurd to expect it to forfeit binding with cell proteins and go all the way into the bloodstream! Remember that formaldehyde is used to preserve corpses precisely because it binds protein (including those of putrefactive bacteria) and prevents its degradation.
The "alternative" point expressed by Tephly, suggesting that aspartame methanol-label goes all the way into formic acid and the C1 pathway was thoroughly refuted by us, using experimental data. There was no labelled methionine nor thymine in protein and DNA respectively in the rat protein we recovered from rats treated with aspartame. This means--unequivocally-- that the label present in DNA and protein adducts was NOT incorporated into amino acids or nucleic acid bases.
The only explanation for our data was that the label was in the form of formaldehyde adducts.
If this explanation does not satisfy other scientists, they are free to repeat the experiment and show where we went wrong, or to probe and prove experimentally their hypotheses. Otherwise, our results stand unchecked and, consequently, should be deemed true.
I hope that this information will help any attentive reader understand why we have left for good this field of study.
Best regards. ------------------------------ Prof.Dr. Marià Alemany Grup de Recerca Nitrogen-Obesitat Departament de Nutrició i Bromatologia Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona Av. Diagonal, 645; 08028 Barcelona Espanya/España/Spain tel. +34 93 403 4606; fax: +34 93 403 7064; E-mail: alemany@bio.ub.es
Life Sci 1999; 65(13): PL157-60. [ letter, usually not peer reviewed ] Comments on the purported generation of formaldehyde and adduct formation from the sweetener aspartame.
Tephly TR Thomas R. Tephly 319-335-7979 thomas-tephly@uiowa.edu ttephly@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu Department of Pharmacology The University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242, USA.
A recent paper by Trocho et al. (1) describes experiments meant to show that formaldehyde adducts are formed when rats are administered the sweetener aspartame. These authors assume that the methanol carbon of aspartame generates formaldehyde which then forms adducts with protein, DNA, and RNA. Doses employed range widely. In this letter, studies which have been published previously and which were not cited by these authors are reviewed in order to put into perspective the disposition of methanol and formaldehyde in monkeys and humans, species relevant to the toxicity of methanol and its toxic metabolite, formic acid. PMID: 10503962, UI: 99431287
[ A number of pro-aspartame studies by Tephly and associates, invariably funded by the aspartame industry (Monsanto, NutraSweet) are criticized in detail at:
http://www.HolisticMed.com/aspartame mgold@holisticmed.com Aspartame Toxicity Information Center Mark D. Gold 12 East Side Drive #2-18 Concord, NH 03301 603-225-2100 http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html "Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research"
Gold points out that industry methanol assays were too insensitive to properly measure blood methanol levels. ]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1016 President Bush & formaldehyde (aspartame) toxicity: Ramazzini Foundation carcinogenicity results Dec 2002: Soffritti: Murray 2003.08.03 rmforall
p. 88 "The sweetening agent aspartame hydrolyzes in the gastrointestinal tract to become free methyl alcohol, which is metabolized in the liver to formaldehyde, formic acid, and CO2. (11)" Medinsky MA & Dorman DC. 1994; Assessing risks of low-level methanol exposure. CIIT Act. 14: 1-7.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 87-105. Results of long-term experimental studies on the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in rats. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Lambertin L, Lauriola M, Padovani M, Maltoni C. Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@tin.it
Formaldehyde was administered for 104 weeks in drinking water supplied ad libitum at concentrations of 1500, 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, or 0 mg/L to groups of 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley rats beginning at seven weeks of age. Control animals (100 males and 100 females) received tap water only. Acetaldehyde was administered to 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley rats beginning at six weeks of age at concentrations of 2,500, 1,500, 500, 250, 50, or 0 mg/L. Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death. Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were found to produce an increase in total malignant tumors in the treated groups and showed specific carcinogenic effects on various organs and tissues. PMID: 12562630
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 46-69.
Results of long-term experimental studies on the carcinogenicity of methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol in rats. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Cevolani D, Guarino M, Padovani M, Maltoni C. Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@tin.it
Methyl alcohol was administered in drinking water supplied ad libitum at doses of 20,000, 5,000, 500, or 0 ppm to groups of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats 8 weeks old at the start of the experiment. Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death. Ethyl alcohol was administered by ingestion in drinking water at a concentration of 10% or 0% supplied ad libitum to groups of male and female Sprague-Dawley rats; breeders and offspring were included in the experiment. Treatment started at 39 weeks of age (breeders), 7 days before mating, or from embryo life (offspring) and lasted until their spontaneous death. Under tested experimental conditions, methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol were demonstrated to be carcinogenic for various organs and tissues. They must also be considered multipotential carcinogenic agents. In addition to causing other tumors, ethyl alcohol induced malignant tumors of the oral cavity, tongue, and lips. These sites have been shown to be target organs in man by epidemiologic studies. Publication Types: Review Review, Tutorial PMID: 12562628
Surely the authors deliberately emphasized that aspartame is well-known to be a source of formaldehyde, which is an extremely potent, cumulative toxin, with complex, multiple effects on all tissues and organs.
This is even more significant, considering that they have already tested aspartame, but not yet released the results:
p. 29-32 Table 1: The Ramazzinni Foundation Cancer Program Project of [200] Long-Term Carcinogenicity Bioassays: Agents Studied
No. No. of Bioassays Species No. Route of Exposure 108. "Coca-Cola" 4 Rat 1,999 Ingestion, Transplantal Route
109. "Pepsi-Cola" 1 Rat 400 Ingestion 110. Sucrose 1 Rat 400 Ingestion 111. Caffeine 1 Rat 800 Ingestion 112. Aspartame 1 Rat 1,800 Ingestion
http://members.nyas.org/events/conference/conf_02_0429.html Soffritti said that Coca-Cola showed no carcinogenicity.
It may be time to disclose these important aspartame results.
Finally, an intripid and much published team in Japan has found DNA damage in 8 tissues from single non-lethal doses of aspartame (near-significant high levels of DNA damage in 5 tissues) and many other additives in groups of just 4 mice:
Mutat Res 2002 Aug 26; 519(1-2): 103-19 The comet assay with 8 mouse organs: results with 39 currently used food additives. Sasaki YF, Kawaguchi S, Kamaya A, Ohshita M, Kabasawa K, Iwama K, Taniguchi K, Tsuda S. Laboratory of Genotoxicity, Faculty of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Hachinohe National College of Technology, Tamonoki Uwanotai 16-1, Aomori 039-1192, Japan. yfsasaki-c@hachinohe-ct.ac.jp s.tsuda@iwate-u.ac.jp
We determined the genotoxicity of 39 chemicals currently in use as food additives. They fell into six categories-dyes, color fixatives and preservatives, preservatives, antioxidants, fungicides, and sweeteners.
We tested groups of four male ddY mice once orally with each additive at up to 0.5xLD(50) or the limit dose (2000 mg/kg) and performed the comet assay on the glandular stomach, colon, liver, kidney, urinary bladder, lung, brain, and bone marrow 3 and 24 h after treatment.
Of all the additives, dyes were the most genotoxic. Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, Tartrazine, Erythrosine, Phloxine, and Rose Bengal induced dose-related DNA damage in the glandular stomach, colon, and/or urinary bladder. All seven dyes induced DNA damage in the gastrointestinal organs at a low dose (10 or 100 mg/kg).
Among them, Amaranth, Allura Red, New Coccine, and Tartrazine induced DNA damage in the colon at close to the acceptable daily intakes (ADIs).
Two antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)), three fungicides (biphenyl, sodium o-phenylphenol, and thiabendazole), and four sweeteners (sodium cyclamate, saccharin, sodium saccharin, and sucralose) also induced DNA damage in gastrointestinal organs.
Based on these results, we believe that more extensive assessment of food additives in current use is warranted. PMID: 12160896
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/934 24 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] reports: Murray 2002.12.31 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/935 Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.01 rmforall [ Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives, using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon, liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame-- a very high dose. Methanol is the only component of aspartame that can lead to DNA damage. ]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/961 genotoxins, Comet assay in mice: Ace-K, stevia fine; aspartame poor; sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin bad: Y.F. Sasaki Aug 2002: Murray 2003.01.27 rmforall [A detailed look at the data] ]
J Toxicol Sci. 2002 Dec; 27 Suppl 1: 1-8. [Genotoxicity studies of stevia extract and steviol by the comet assay] [Article in Japanese] Sekihashi K, Saitoh H, Sasaki Y. yfsasaki-c@hachinohe-ct.ac.jp Safety Research Institute for Chemical Compounds Co., Ltd., 363-24 Shin-ei, Kiyota-ku, Sapporo 004-0839, Japan.
The genotoxicity of steviol, a metabolite of stevia extract, was evaluated for its genotoxic potential using the comet assay. In an in vitro study, steviol at 62.5, 125, 250, and 500 micrograms/ml did not damage the nuclear DNA of TK6 and WTK1 cells in the presence and absence of S9 mix. In vivo studies of steviol were conducted by two independent organizations. Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after one oral administration of steviol at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg. DNA damage in multiple mouse organs was measured by the comet assay as modified by us. After oral treatment, stomach, colon, liver, kidney and testis DNA were not damaged. The in vivo genotoxicity of stevia extract was also evaluated for its genotoxic potential using the comet assay. Mice were sacrificed 3 and 24 hr after oral administration of stevia extract at 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg. Stomach, colon and liver DNA were not damaged. As all studies showed negative responses, stevia extract and steviol are concluded to not have DNA-damaging activity in cultured cells and mouse organs. PMID: 12533916
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1018 aspartame toxicity coverup increases danger of corporate meltdown: Michael C. Carakostas of Coca-Cola: Murray 2003.08.11 rmforall http://www.isrtp.org/new_members/members1.htm The International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology Carakostas, Michael C., DVM, PhD Director/Scientific & Regulatory Affairs The Coca-Cola Company PO Drawer 1734 Atlanta, GA 30301 T. 404/676-4234 F. 404/676-7166 E-mail: mcarakostas@na.ko.com http://www2.coca-cola.com/ourcompany/columns_aspartame.html [photo] Aspartame: The world agrees it's safe By Michael Carakostas, DVM, PhD Director, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Coca-Cola
It is commendable that Carakostas mentions the core problem, albeit disparagingly, and overlaid with multiple untruths: "During digestion, aspartame yields a very small amount of methanol-- as do many other food substances. The body converts this methanol to formaldehyde, which is instantly converted to formate. Formate is quickly eliminated as carbon dioxide and water."
Carakostas deceptively make claims, unsupported by research, that the amount of methanol from aspartame is "very small", that many foods release as much, and that little of the inevitable formaldehyde or formic acid toxic products accumulate in body tissues. This executive, with a PhD in veterinary science, is deceiving people about very serious multiple toxicities.
Thus, there is evidence here cited from 1973 to 2004 that research and reviews by immense vested interests about aspartame must be scrutinized with the greatest skepticism. The greatest Internet myth about aspartame is this: "Aspartame is the most thoroughly tested food additive in history."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/857 www.dorway.com: original documents and long reviews of flaws in aspartame toxicity research: Murray 2002.07.31 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/858 Samuels: Strong: Roberts: Gold: flaws in double-blind studies re aspartame and MSG toxicity: Murray 2002.08.01 rmforall
"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding sources," 1998, unpublished: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed medical literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety. The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%) identified a problem. Six of the seven non-industry funded studies that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias. Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown, OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown, OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@aol.com http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/622 Gold: Koehler: Walton: Van Den Eeden: Leon: aspartame toxicity: Murray 2001.06.04 rmforall four double-blind studies
Headache 1988 Feb; 28(1): 10-4 The effect of aspartame on migraine headache. Koehler SM, Glaros A PMID: 3277925, UI: 88138777 Shirley M. Koehler, PhD 904-858-7651 skoehler@brookshealth.org http://www.med.umich.edu/abcn/alpha/alpha-K.html#Koehler Alan Glaros glarosa@umkc.edu 816-235-2074
They conducted a double-blind study of patients, ages 18-55, who had a medical diagnosis of classical migraines (normally having 1-3 migraines in 4-weeks), who were not on medications (other than analgesics), and who suspected that aspartame had a negative effect on their migraine headaches. The subjects were given 1200 mg daily, aspartame or placebo, for four weeks, about 17 mg/kg. The placebo group had no increase in headaches. Approximately half of the subjects (5 of 11) who took aspartame had a large, statistically significant (p = 0.02), increase in migraine headache frequency, but not in intensity or duration, compared to baseline or placebo. Only 11 of 25 subjects completed the program: 8 dropped out, 4 began new medications, 2 had incomplete records. They were at home. Since 1/3 of the subjects dropped out, they may have been choosing to avoid headaches-- were they unpaid? To achieve statistical signifance with only 11 subjects hints that the incidence rate from aspartame is very high, about 1/2, for migraine cases who believe that they are hurt by aspartame.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1077 eight depressed people react strongly to aspartame, Prof. Ralph G. Walton, MD, 1993 double-blind study, full text: Murray 2004.04.26 rmforall
Walton, RG, "Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in patients from a vulnerable population," 1993, with Robert Hudak and Ruth J. Green-Waite, Biological Psychiatry, 34 (1), 13-17. Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown, OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine, Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown, OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@aol.com http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm
Eight depressed patients, ages 24-60, and five non-depressed controls, ages 24-56, employed at the hospital, were given for 7 days either aspartame or a placebo, and then after a 3 day break, given the opposite. Each got 2100 mg aspartame daily, 30 mg/kg bodyweight, equal to 10-12 cans of diet soda daily, about a gallon. Despite the very small number of subjects, the results were dramatic and statistically significant. The eight depressed patients reported with aspartame, compared to placebo, much higher levels of nervousness, trouble remembering, nausea, depression, temper, and malaise. (For each symptom, p<0.01) The five normals did not report strong enough differences between aspartame and placebo to be significant. Initially, the study was to be on a group of 40, but was halted by the Institutional Review Board because of severe reactions among 3 of the depressed patients.
Again, statistical significance with only 8 depressed patients: "In this study, patients most often began to report significant symptoms after day 2 or 3." The incidence rate is very high, indeed, about 1/3. The most common symptoms are entirely typical of thousands of case histories.
Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, T.D. Koepsell, W.T. Longstreth, Jr, G. van Belle, J.R. Daling, B. McKnight, "Aspartame ingestion and headaches: a randomized crossover trial," 1994, Neurology, 44, 1787-93 Steven K. Van Den Eeden,PhD 550-450-2202 skv@dor.kaiser.org Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program 3505 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611-5714 http://www.dor.kaiser.org/dorhtml/investigators/Stephen_Van_Den_Eeden.html
In their introduction, they comment:
"In addition, the FDA had received over 5,000 complaints as of July, 1991 in a passive surveillance system to monitor adverse side effects. (17) Neurologic problems constitute the primary complaints in these and several other case series, with headaches accounting for 18 to 45 %,depending on the case series reported. (17-19)"
Subjects, ages 18-57, were recruited who believed they got headaches from aspartame, but were otherwise mentally and physically healthy. They were paid $ 15 total, and were at home. Of the 44 subjects, 32 contributed data to the 38-day trials: a week of inert placebo, a week of either aspartame or placebo, followed by a week of the opposite, and then this two-week cycle repeated. The daily dose was about 30 mg/kg. "The proportion of days subjects reported having a headache was higher during aspartame treatment compared with placebo treatment (aspartame = 0.33, placebo = 0.24; p = 0.04) (table 5)". Of the 12 subjects not included in the data, 7 reported adverse symptoms before withdrawing.
Again, statistical significance with a moderate number of healthy subjects, willing to be recruited by a newspaper ad, who believed aspartame hurt them. The number of headaches for each subject for each treatment week are given: it appears that 4 subjects had the strongest increase in headaches from the run-in week or placebo week to their first week on aspartame, jumping from 0 to 5, 1 to 6, 1 to 4, 0 to 5 headaches per week. So, about 4 of the 44 healthy people recruited for the study, who believed aspartame hurt them, had a stong increase in headaches from the first week of daily asparame exposure, while 7 reported adverse symptoms before leaving, a total of 11 out of 44, an incidence ratio of 1/4.
This is sky high, if we consider that, if the incidence ratio for the about two hundred million users in the USA is 1 of 100, that is 2 million cases. It is plausible that the incidence ratio lies between 1 and 10 out of 100 for continuous daily exposure. These three flames should have set off alarm bells, with extensive follow-up studies and much more careful study of thousands of case histories. But these little flares were adroitly smothered by thick blankets of industry funded fluff:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/623 Simmons: Gold: Schiffman: Spiers: aspartame toxicity: Murray 2001.06.04 rmforall two double-blind studies
http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html 5-page review Roberts HJ Aspartame (NutraSweet) addiction. Townsend Letter 2000 Jan; HJRobertsMD@aol.com http://www.sunsentpress.com/ sunsentpress@aol.com Sunshine Sentinel Press P.O.Box 17799 West Palm Beach, FL 33416 800-814-9800 561-588-7628 561-547-8008 fax
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/669 1038-page medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" published May 30 2001 $ 60.00 postpaid data from 1200 cases available at http://www.amazon.com over 600 references from standard medical research
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/790 Moseley: review Roberts "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic": Murray 2002.02.07 rmforall
Roberts, Hyman J., 1924- , Useful insights for diagnosis, treatment and public heath: an updated anthology of original research, 2002, 798 pages, aspartame disease, pages 627-685, 778-780
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/859 Roberts: the life work of a brilliant clinician: aspartame toxicity: Murray 2002.08.02 rmforall
http://www.dorway.com ( David O. Rietz, died 2003 ) over 12,000 print pages Mission-Possible-USA Betty Martini 770-242-2599 Bettym19@mindspring.com dorietz@awod.com http://www.dorway.com/asprlink.html many links http://www.dorway.com/nslawsuit.txt Jeff Martin, Attorney http://www.dorway.com/doctors.txt What many informed doctors are saying/have said about aspartame
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline Mary Nash Stoddard P.O. Box 780634 Dallas, TX 75378 214-352-4268 marystod@ai(rmail.net http://web2.airmail.net/marystod/index.html http://web2.airmail.net/marystod/espanol.htm Toxicology Sourcebook: "Deadly Deception: Story of Aspartame"
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/802 700.club.com: CBN: Totheroh & Robertson: aspartame expose : Murray 2002.02.13 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/805 Ive: UK Daily Mirror Magazine: aspartame toxicity: Murray 2002.02.18 rmforall
http://www.dorway.com/upipart1.txt http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/262 aspartame expose 96K Oct 1987 Part 1/3: Gregory Gordon, UPI reporter: Murray 2000.07.10 rmforall
http://www.dorway.com/enclosur.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/53 aspartame history Part 1/4 1964-1976: Gold: Murray 1999.11.06 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/928 revolving door, Monsanto, FDA, EPA: NGIN: Murray 2002.12.23 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/841 RTM: Merisant Co., MSD Capital, Dell Computer Corp., NutraSweet Co., JW Childs Assc.: aspartame-neotame toxicity 2002.07.10 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/876 hyperthyroidism (Graves disease) in George and Barbara Bush, 1991-- aspartame toxicity? Roberts 1997: Murray 2002.10.09 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/874 re "dry drunk": Bisbort: danger to President Bush from aspartame toxicity: Murray: 2002.02.24 2002.09.29 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1065 politicians and celebrities hooked on diet sodas (aspartame): Murray 2004.03.24 rmforall
http://google.com gives 239,000 websites for "aspartame" , with the top 9 of 10 listings being anti-aspartame, while http://groups.google.com finds on 700 MB of posts from 20 years of Usenet groups, 89,600 posts, the top 10 being anti-aspartame. http://news.google.com 33 recent aspartame items from 4500 sources. http://www.AllTheWeb.com gives 43,913, the top 8 of 10 anti. http://teoma.com/index.asp gives 78,200 websites, top 8 of 10 anti. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed lists 756 aspartame items.
Many scientific studies and case histories report: * headaches * many body and joint pains (or burning, tingling, tremors, twitching, spasms, cramps, stiffness, numbness, difficulty swallowing) * fever, fatigue, swollen glands * "mind fog", "feel unreal", poor memory, confusion, anxiety, irritability, depression, mania, insomnia, dizziness, slurred speech, sexual problems, poor vision, hearing (deafness, tinnitus), or taste * red face, itching, rashes, allergic dermatitis, hair loss, burning eyes or throat, dry eyes or mouth, mouth sores, burning tongue * obesity, bloating, edema, anorexia, poor appetite or excessive hunger or thirst * breathing problems, shortness of breath * nausea, diarrhea or constipation * coldness * sweating * racing heart, low or high blood pressure, erratic blood sugar levels * hypothryroidism or hyperthyroidism * seizures * birth defects * brain cancers * addiction * aggrivates diabetes, autism, allergies, lupus, ADHD, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity, multiple sclerosis, pseudotumor cerebri and interstitial cystitis (bladder pain). ***********************************************************
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/870 Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Interest 1984: Monte: Murray 2002.09.23 rmforall
Dr. Woodrow C. Monte Aspartame: methanol, and the public health. Journal of Applied Nutrition 1984; 36 (1): 42-54. (62 references) Professsor of Food Science [retired 1992] Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 woodymonte@xtra.co.nz The methanol from 2 L of diet soda, 5.6 12-oz cans, 20 mg/can, is 112 mg, 10% of the aspartame. The EPA limit for water is 7.8 mg daily for methanol (wood alcohol), a deadly cumulative poison. Many users drink 1-2 L daily. The reported symptoms are entirely consistent with chronic methanol toxicity. (Fresh orange juice has 34 mg/L, but, like all juices, has 16 times more ethanol, which strongly protects against methanol.)
"Fruit and vegetables contain pectin with variable methyl ester content. However, the human has no digestive enzymes for pectin (6, 25) particularly the pectin esterase required for its hydrolysis to methanol (26).
Fermentation in the gut may cause disappearance of pectin (6) but the production of free methanol is not guaranteed by fermentation (3). In fact, bacteria in the colon probably reduce methanol directly to formic acid or carbon dioxide (6) (aspartame is completely absorbed before reaching the colon). Heating of pectins has been shown to cause virtually no demethoxylation; even temperatures of 120 deg C produced only traces of methanol (3). Methanol evolved during cooking of high pectin foods (7) has been accounted for in the volatile fraction during boiling and is quickly lost to the atmosphere (49). Entrapment of these volatiles probably accounts for the elevation in methanol levels of certain fruits and vegetable products during canning (31, 33)."
Recent research [see links at end of post] supports his focus on the methanol to formaldehyde toxic process:
"The United States Environmental Protection Agency in their Multimedia Environmental Goals for Environmental Assessment recommends a minimum acute toxicity concentration of methanol in drinking water at 3.9 parts per million, with a recommended limit of consumption below 7.8 mg/day (8). This report clearly indicates that methanol:
"...is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." (8)...
Recently the toxic role of formaldehyde (in methanol toxicity) has been questioned (34). No skeptic can overlook the fact that, metabolically, formaldehyde must be formed as an intermediate to formic acid production (54).
Formaldehyde has a high reactivity which may be why it has not been found in humans or other primates during methanol posisioning (59)....
If formaldehyde is produced from methanol and does have a reasonable half life within certain cells in the poisoned organism the chronic toxicological ramifications could be grave.
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (57) producing squanous-cell carcinomas by inhalation exposure in experimental animals (22). The available epidemiological studies do not provide adequate data for assessing the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde in man (22, 24, 57).
However, reaction of formaldehyde with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has resulted in irreversible denaturation that could interfere with DNA replication and result in mutation (37)..."
http://www.dorway.com/barua.html Dr. J. Barua (ophthalmic surgeon), Dr. Arun Bal (surgeon) Emerging facts about aspartame. Journal Of The Diabetic Association Of India 1995; 35 (4): (79 references) barua@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in "...the total amount of methanol absorbed will be approximately 10% of aspartame ingested. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol, 'is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. The absorbed methanol is then slowly converted to formaldehyde...'" "Reaction of formaldehyde with DNA has been observed, by spectrophotometry and electron microscopy, to result in irreversible denaturation." "DKP [from aspartame] has been implicated in the occurence of brain tumors." **************************************************************
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/939 aspartame (aspartic acid, phenylalanine) binding to DNA: Karikas July 1998: Murray 2003.01.05 rmforall Karikas GA, Schulpis KH, Reclos GJ, Kokotos G Measurement of molecular interaction of aspartame and its metabolites with DNA. Clin Biochem 1998 Jul; 31(5): 405-7. Dept. of Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece http://www.chem.uoa.gr gkokotos@atlas.uoa.gr "K.H. Schulpis" <inchildh@otenet.gr> "G.J. Reclos" reklos@otenet.gr
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/960 aspartame & MSG: possible role in autoimmune hepatitis: Prandota Jan 2003: Murray 2003.01.15 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/938 aspartame harms mice brain cells: Hetle & Eltervaag: 2001 thesis abstract: Sonnewald 1995 study, full text: Murray 2003.01.05 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/346 WebMD: Barclay: Barth: survey shows aspartame hurts memory in students 2000.11.09 http://www.psy.tcu.edu/psy/barth.htm Timothy M. Barth Department of Psychology t.barth@tcu.edu Texas Christian University TCU Box 298920 Fort Worth, TX 76129 Chairman, Physiological Psychology 817-921-7410
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/760 Kovatsi L, Tsouggas M The effect of oral aspartame administration on the balance of magnesium in the rat. Magnes Res 2001 Sep;14(3): 189-94. Laboratory of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece kovatsi@med.auth.gr
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/943 aspartame, cell phones, brain cancer July 1999 Hardell: Murray 2003.01.09 rmforall http://www.medscape.com/MedGenMed/braintumors Lennart Hardell, M.D., PhD, in 1999 reported in Sweden that both cell phone use and heavy aspartame use correlate with increased brain cancers lennart.hardell@orebroll.se +46 19 602 15 46
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/31 Wurtman: aspartame & seizures 1985.11.09: Murray 1999.10.30 Wurtman RJ Aspartame: possible effect on seizure susceptibility. Lancet 1985 Nov 9; 2(8463): 1060. Richard J. Wurtman, Ph.D. dick@mit.edu 617-253-3091 Professor of Neuroscience Prof. of Health Sciences and Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy Cambridge, Mass. 02139
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/32 Murray: Drake: aspartame & panic attacks 1986.09.13 1999.10.30 rmforall Miles E. Drake, MD
Panic attacks and excessive aspartame ingestion. Lancet 1986 Sep 13; 2(8507): 631. Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
http://www.truthinlabeling.org/ Truth in Labeling Campaign [MSG] Adrienne Samuels, PhD The toxicity/safety of processed free glutamic acid (MSG): a study in suppression of information. Accountability in Research 1999; 6: 259-310. 52-page review P.O. Box 2532 Darien, Illinois 60561 858-481-9333 adandjack@aol.com
Russell L. Blaylock, MD 601-982-1175 Madison, Mississippi "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills", 1977, 298 p., 493 references. "Health and Nutrition Secrets that can save your life", 2002, 459 p., 558 + 30 references, $ 30 http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/
George R. Schwartz, MD "In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome", 1988 http://www.healthpress.com/ goodbooks@healthpress.com PO Box 37470 Albuquerque, NM 87176 505-888-1394 Kathleen Frazier, Publisher **************************************************************
http://www.readthelabel.org.uk/ Additives Survivors' Network (UK) Geoff Brewer <geoffbrewer@eurobell.co.uk> http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/aspartame/aspartame.html http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2000/srogers/sarah.html Sarah Rogers <sr8442@bristol.ac.uk> http://www.react.ie/Health/Nutrition/Aspartame.htm Ireland http://members.tripod.com/~mission_possible/scotland_branch.html http://www.aspartame.ca/indexa.html John T. Linnell <admin@aspartame.ca> http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/AspartaMalcache.htm http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ Australia FAILSAFE diet http://www.bradymax.com/nzaa/ New Zealand http://www.reseauproteus.net/therapies/nutritio/aspartame.htm France http://ww2.grn.es/avalls/aspa1.htm Spain http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Falls/8669/ Brazil http://www.phd.com.br/aspartame.htm http://hem.passagen.se/mission.possible.sweden/ http://home.online.no/~dusan/foods/aspartame.html Norway http://www.ostara.org/aspartam/#menue Germany http://www.aspartaam.nl/info/product.html Holland, in Dutch http://www.laleva.org/ <archimede@laleva.cc> Italy 9 languages http://www.laleva.cc/alimenti/alimenti.html aspartame vs stevia 4.17.03 http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/aspartame.htm Greece http://www.cseindia.org/html/cola-indepth/index.htm India **************************************************************
http://www.vegsource.com extensive vegan information
htttp://www.drmcdougall.com practical, delicious healthy diet guidance
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/kradjian_milk.htm Robert Kradjian MD Discusses Milk
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/971 Joel Fuhrman critique of Atkins diet in "Eat To Live": Murray 2003.03.01 rmforall
Substitute stevia (at health food stores). Avoid all products with aspartame and MSG. Gradually reduce alcohol, sugar,
caffeine (coffee, cocoa, and teas), meat, fish, eggs, milk, butter, and cheese, food additives and colors, fluoride, city water. Enjoy organic rice, beans, nuts, almond butter, vegetables, fruits, with modest use of soy products and sprouted grain breads, flax seed and olive oils, vitamins and minerals, 4-8 1,000 mg fish oil capsules, and fill your jugs with deionized water. **************************************************************
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