Aspartame, the artificial sweetener linked to cancer, heart palpitations, seizures, weight gain and other severe medical issues, is now going by the name AminoSweet. The toxic sweetener, Aspartame, has been around over 25 years after it was accidentally discovered by chemist, James Schlatter while working for the drug company G.D. Searle & Company. It was created as an anti-ulcer pharmaceutical drug, but the chemist discovered it had a sweet taste, so the drug company switched its application to the FDA from a drug to a food. It was none other than Donald Rumsfeld, who was the CEO of Searle who pushed for Aspartame to be sold on the market in 1985. If that name sounds familiar, your right, he is the same Donald Rumsfeld, former U.S. Secretary of Defense who served under George W. Bush. He is a perfect example of someone taking advantage of the “revolving door” between our government and corporations.
AminoSweet is Aspartame, it changed its name to fool the public, and I am guessing it did so because consumers figured out that their product made them sick. Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. The book Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James and Phyllis Balch lists aspartame under the category of “chemical poison.”
WARNING! Read labels before buying foods with the name Phenylalanine. I will go one step further — if you need to bring along a chemistry book to the store in order to understand the ingredients on the labels — DO NOT BUY IT!
Ten percent of this sweetener contains methanol. When it is absorbed by our intestines, it breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin that causes cancer, retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects.
I went to the AminoSweet website to see what kind of “spin” they are putting on their repackaged product to entice shoppers to buy their so-called “natural” sweetener and here is their selling point:
Makers of this artificial sweetener claim it is made from protein found “naturally” in many everyday foods. So what is the meaning of ‘natural’ when it comes to the labeling of food? The FDA’s website writes:
The word ‘natural’ is being thrown around to describe all sorts of genetically modified foods and AminoSweet is genetically modified. There is nothing natural about it. Why do you think these drug companies buy patents? They create them in a lab and they own it. And they know exactly what they are doing and choose to fool consumers into thinking their foods are safe when science proves differently.
In June 2013 Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream and Campbell’s Soup became defendants in class action lawsuits that allege they misrepresented the nature of the ingredients on their product labels. The Campbell’s Soup Company is currently being sued by Florida residents for misrepresenting the genetically modified (GMO) corn in its soup as “natural.” Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop using genetically modified ingredients as a result of their suit.
Ben & Jerry’s used to be known for their healthy ‘natural’ ice creams, but I guess when they sold out to British-Dutch conglomerate Unilever, they sold their souls along with it. It looks like they haven’t updated their website since the sale either, even though Unilever has owned them since 2001. They portray themselves as another American success story — but according to the lawsuit, they are just another corporation choosing to deceive the public — much like another American success story — Monsanto who purchased Searle & Company in 1985– who make Aspartame now called AminoSweet.
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*All GMO products in Europe are labeled as such, with a warning! Enough said? Monsanto was founded in 1901 is one of the pillars of America. They invented and used the following for years….DDT…..and PCB’s….until they were banned by law in
1976. That’s when they went into the GMO plant and feed grain business.
with the help of our dear friend Mitt Romney
So much for junk science. Here’s some real science:
Council on Scientific Affairs. Aspartame: review of safety issues. JAMA. 1985;254:400-402.
European Food Safety Authority. Opinion on a request from the European Commission related to the 2nd ERF carcinogenicity study on aspartame. 2009. Accessed at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/scdocs/scdoc/945.htm on April 13, 2010.
Food and Drug Administration. FDA Statement on European Aspartame Study. April 20, 2007.
Gallus S, Scotti L, Negri E, et al. Artificial sweeteners and cancer risk in a network of case-control studies. Ann Oncol. 2007;18:40-44.
Gurney JG, Pogoda JM, Holly EA, et al. Aspartame consumption in relation to childhood brain tumor risk: results from a case-control study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1997;89:1072-1074.
Lim U, Subar AF, Mouw T, et al. Consumption of aspartame-containing beverages and incidence of hematopoietic and brain malignancies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006;15:1654–1659.
National Cancer Institute. Artificial sweeteners and cancer. 2009. Accessed at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners on April 14, 2010.
National Cancer Institute. Aspartame and cancer. 2006. Accessed at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/aspartame on April 14, 2010.
Olney JW. Farber NB, Spitznagel E, Robins LN. Increasing brain cancer rates: is there a link to aspartame? J Neuropathol Experimental Neurol. 1996:55:1115-1123.
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Tibaldi E, et al. Life-span exposure to low doses of aspartame beginning during prenatal life increases cancer effects in rats. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115:1293-1297.
Yost D. Clinical safety of aspartame. Am Fam Physician. 1989;39:201-206.
Anita…you are free to ingest as much Aspartame as you like. I think we differ in what we believe is REAL science. You may call my findings junk science and I call scientists who sell out Americans WHORES!
*Anita, you are great…..love your due diligence. Now go back and see how much Monsanto paid each one of these folks to write their opinion. In case you haven’t noticed – in every law suit they have “Expert Witnesses”….on both sides. We are with Inge……no Aspartme….if you are not hooked on Diet Coke you should do that too! Don’t worry about ingesting too much vicodin or oxcycotin……you won’t get hooked….Hey, junk science…….it is truly a nice “Cottage Industry”…..just find out how many write for Scientific American OK – then make your assessments.
Inge, Ron, and Anna: “Scientists who sell out Americans.” Who would these scientists be, exactly? Name some names. “How much Monsanto paid each one of these folks.” I don’t know that Monsanto paid them anything. If you know different, let’s see some evidence. The conclusion, from the best scientists we have, says aspartame in low doses is harmless. And when I confront you with the facts, you claim some loony conspiracy of nameless scientists bought off by corporations. Facts trump horseshit every time.
Anita, clearly you are too lazy or just too busy eating all the gmo laced crap that your heart desires…or maybe YOU are a paid shill to look up this information yourself??? Do you know how to Google information? I will do the work for you this time but in the future do it yourself AND frankly I could give a rats ass if you choose to be a nitwit and eat all that crap! Just remember these 4 words when your doctor tells you, you have cancer “I Told You So”.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/02/19/838659/-Monsanto-Submitted-Fake-Scientific-Data-Says-Former-Exec
http://www.nationofchange.org/monsanto-s-roundup-causing-dna-damage-1333122312
http://www.cspinet.org/new/200706251.html
Inge: That’s a nice tactic. Name calling. Sure to boost your credibility among the internet gasbags. The first article you provided says nothing about aspartame. Isn’t that what we’re discussing? The second relies on the wholly credulous ISS, the fabulists who swear by pseudoscience (they love the homeopathic stuff!). The third cites ONLY the crackpot Ramazzini lunkheads who conducted ONE highly flawed study. Our own FDA and the European EFSA give aspartame a clean bill of health. Give me a list of peer-reviewed studies published in the journals of REAL scientific organizations. Opinions from crackpots don’t count.
Anita…I am sure you think the FDA is all about making you safe…right? You are not alone in your naiveté. Americans LOVE to keep their head in the sand…hoping bad stuff will never happen to them.
Monsanto’s patents do not allow studies to be done inside the United States…if they are those doing the studies are sued. I am guessing you also believe everything your doctor tells you. You WANT to continue drinking your diet sodas. You WANT to continue eating processed foods BECAUSE you LIKE them. Please, be my guest…continue to ENJOY them. You don’t want to hear anything that might shatter everything you think about your government. Its a free country and you are free to either open your mind OR not. No one is stopping you from drinking/eating foods with Aspartame/AminoSweet. You started this dog fight claiming my research is based on junk science. Its YOUR job to research this stuff OR believe everything your told by Monsanto and our government.
Tell me, Anita…do you question articles written by scientists from Monsanto or do you believe them because it makes you feel better?
…..you give yourself a bad name by defending corporate poison peddlers. You remind of another troll I met recently who is spinning nuclear radiation from the fukushima power plant as harmless and virtually non existent. He is as full of fecal matter as you are.
Corporations like monsanto are consciously and with intent, peddling poisons as being good for food production. How could anybody with a social conscience that wasn’t getting paid off by some corporate bagman defend these people? It has been proven numerous times that the *scientific studies* provided by corporations to defend their spurious products has been doctored to make poison look harmless or not harmful in the recommended doses.
The FDA is owned by the corporatocracy as is any similar agency in Europe. Trying to convince a thinking public otherwise is not going to work. You can spit out all the doctored science you want. The only people who will believe it will be those that think that corporations are our friends and that Obama has never told a lie.
I recommend that they, along with you and the rest of the disinformation crews, drink a liter or two of Roundup with lots of aspertame in it.
Hmmm, yes. I see your strategy now. Unsubstantiated assertions, then name calling, then an emotional fact-free lecture. My doctor is a scientist, so I believe what he says. Everything. Your research? An internet search? Yes, very persuasive. Your “research” is pretty much the same as the antivaccination and anti-fluoridation dimwits. You made the claims. And have offered nothing to substantiate them. Screaming at me doesn’t help your case.
I have been giving my exchange of fiery words with Anita a great deal of thought. I tried putting myself in her shoes and I think I understand her. I was Anita at one time. It wasn’t until I got cancer that I saw the world differently. I do not know this woman but I think she comes from a place where she believes that science and our government are always looking out for her best interests. I believed that at one time as well. Now I feel betrayed.
Its an awful feeling finding out that the ones you think are there to protect you, aren’t there for you at all, but instead look out for their own best interests and line their pockets with greed. I used to be Anita. I bought foods that I thought were healthy. I was vegetarian. I ate a steady diet of dairy, corn and soy. I thought I did everything right — until I researched…yes, Anita…I used the Internet to figure out why I got sick and nearly died…the Internet is a valuable resource and it helped save my life.
The foods I was eating on a daily basis contained rBGH (dairy) and recent studies conclude that it causes colon cancers among others; I found out that the corn and soy I ate every meal were genetically modified, a term I never heard of before. The 2012 study in France concluded that Bt corn causes cancer in rats.
The FDA allows Monsanto and their buddies to conduct experiments themselves without any oversight…its the classic fox watching over the hen house. Monsanto brought us Agent Orange, DDT and now claims to want to feed the world.
Aspartame/AminoSweet is one of many toxic chemicals on the market today. They are addicting and made that way because the companies want to sell more. They don’t care what effects they have on our health…they care about their bottom line.
I will not link studies to what I am asserting because I feel its up to each of us to care enough to find out what’s going on. The answers are there, if one takes the time to look. We have to be responsible consumers. However, when foods are not labeled, we can’t make responsible choices. If I knew the foods I was eating contained gmos and rBGH, then I could have decided for myself if I wanted to eat them…just like smoking cigarettes. There are warning labels on the packs. There are those who still choose to smoke, but at least they understand the risks. I was not given that choice and almost lost my life.
If Monsanto is such a great company, why do they insist on operating in the shadows? Why do they sue farmers whose crops are contaminated with their gmo seeds? Why do they refuse to allow consumers the right to know what they are eating? Why did they get Obama to sign a “Monsanto Protection Act?” If their foods are natural, why do they get a patent? Its not just Monsanto… there are others, but Monsanto seems to have the most power…the power to buy off our politicians and get themselves in decision making positions, like heading the FDA.
I apologize for lashing out at Anita. I was frustrated with her response because I don’t want her to suffer like I did. I don’t want her to end up shitting in a bag for the rest of her life, like I will. I want her to be able to make informed choices about what she puts in her body. Ultimately, its her decision as to what she eats, drinks, chooses to vaccinate…I want her to be able to know all the risks and then she can make an informed decision that she feels is best for her.
Right now, we don’t have the right to know what we are ingesting in our bodies (according to our government) and it will just get worse, so I will continue sounding the alarm and I don’t care what anyone thinks about me. Its not about me…its about doing the right thing.
Well said, Inge. Your writing is always heartfelt and you have shown us why.
To me, it’s less that the case against aspartame is proven as that the proving of the case against it has been blocked. The same goes for many other substances. Make the process fair and I’ll respect the results. Don’t make the process fair and I simply can’t.
OK, I’ll bite. Who blocked the case against aspartame? The Jewish World Banking Conspiracy? The Illuminati? Shooters on the grassy knoll? Want to find out what the ugly purple thing is in your armpit? Don’t bother with doctors; what do they know with all that science crap they studied in medical school? Go to the internet! It’s so simple! It must be true! And Inge’s last factless rant is typical of conspiracy theorists. Believe them, or they’ll call you a clueless sap. Sure, go ahead. Eat all the GMOs and aspartame you want and then die. See if I care! That’s her entire argument. That’s the argument of any conspiracy lunkhead. No facts. Just the outrage of the true believer. I’ll take science.
Science changes. Here are some examples how scientific belief systems evolve over time.
Alchemy was believed to be scientific fact. Have you cooked up any gold lately?
Geocentricity was the belief that the earth was the center of the universe, with the sun and moon revolving around it. Of course it was true, because the earth wasn’t moving. There were flatlanders too. All very scientific in it’s day.
Spontaneous generation…. you know, like maggots grew from raw meat. Debunked when the microscope was invented.
Blood letting. People were sick from having bad blood, so get out the leeches. Popular scientific beliefs in their day.
The four elements: earth, air, water and fire. Those were scientific elements of which everything was made. Have you seen a Periodic Table of Elements.
Science evolves.
Maybe Anita will too.
One more….cigarettes were physician tested and promoted. They had the science to prove it !
Check out the old Lucky Strike ads…..doctor recommended.
In the humoral theory, dating to Empedocles in ancient Greece, “bad blood” wasn’t a disease. But an imbalance of the four humors — with absolutely no evidence — was. Hence, bloodletting to return the humors to their correct balance. Lasted into the 19 century before scientists said bullshit. But no matter. Scientific theory does change, and that’s the beauty of science. When new evidence arises, theory changes. (Science, unlike fabulism, is humble that way.) But you have to have evidence to overthrow any scientific paradigm. Tons of evidence. Tons of repeatable evidence (and the math) from many, many scientists. The problem with aspartame and GMOs is that the conspiracy theorists have NO evidence. And don’t tell me that the citations from Inge constitute evidence. They do not. Like I said, you need tons of evidence, with the study replicated by tons of scientists. (Science is rigorous that way). So, to adopt a tactic favored by the conspiracy dimbulbs, if you want to believe pseudoscience and the consummate bullshit from charlatans and grifters, go ahead. I’ll take science. It’s not perfect — never will be — but it’s the most powerful epistemology we have. I invite you, sir, to name any more powerful.
This is why the world is so messed up… We are so freaking self righteous, we think we can do it better than nature intended… Faster, bigger, stronger… Most people have no connection to their earth, its sad. We think we know it all, but we have so much to (re)learn.
I eat sugar and salt and bacon and really whatever else I want and as much as I want. I am the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been! I used to count calories and eat diet foods, I was always hungry and never felt good. Now I eat real food. I strive for organic, well grown food whenever possible.
The problem for most, is it cost more. If we can make it more affordable for the masses, I fully believe we can have a healthier country. I know it’s possible because I have my own organic garden.
Maybe if government would stop wasting money on pretty green lawns they would be able to use OUR hard earned money towards something that really matters.
Anita, I don’t mean to pick on you, but do you really like that junk? Even Mr. Pres eats from his own organic garden. What’s your beef with real food? Have you ever tried it?
Anita, you won’t consider anything outside of established science?
You want “tons” of science to sway you to change your mind, but that change starts out with one guy bucking the accepted theory, and that proof trickles in. You don’t get tons of science all at once.
Keeping an open mind is a sign of intelligence.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/07/1062601/-What-Can-You-Do-To-Avoid-Monsanto-s-New-Deadlier-Neurotoxic-Sweetener-Very-Little
http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-foods/dark-history-monsanto/
***** http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/Jan03/012203/02P-0317_emc-000202.txt
Process for producing aspartame.
European Patent Application EP0036258
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP0036258.html
must see video…
Aspartame and MSG exposed by Dr. Russell Blaylock
http://youtu.be/W6WBFb-OAYQ