Mary Nash Stoddard's Blog, page 15

RIP BELOVED ACTOR LARRY HAGMAN (J.R. EWING) - WORLD'S FAV...

RIP BELOVED ACTOR LARRY HAGMAN (J.R. EWING) - WORLD'S FAVORITE TV VILLAIN

Mary Nash Stoddard
Nov. 24, 2012

Remembering Mr. Larry Hagman, phenomenal actor, and equally phenomenal humanitarian and friend. Those of us who knew and loved him miss him very much - along with the remainder of the entire world! 

I will be telling my stories about my time spent on-the-set of both DALLAS TV Series, (Old & New), as well as campaigning together for one of our favorite Texas Legislators, Sen. Bob Krueger. 

Since 1993, Hagman gave moral support to the work of Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline, an all-volunteer organization I began, in 1987, to help save lives of victims around the planet. Larry truly cared about his fellow human beings, both in and out of the business.

Larry cared about the safety of our Food Supply and toward the end of his life, he became a vegetarian. We had lunch together fairly recently, on the SET of the New DALLAS Series (we were both in Scenes to be Shot that day, and Larry was dutifully dining on all-veggie dishes and salad.) 

I'd introduced Larry to the Stevita Stevia products made by my dear friend, Oscar Rodes, at the local Arlington Texas company I represented, as public relations director, for a number of years. I gave he and wife, Maj, our information Fact Sheet on Aspartame Sweeteners at a Reception/Fund Raiser for Sen. Krueger, Feb. 28th 1993, at Southland Center Hotel. He looked over the Fact Sheet with everyone gathered around, and asked, "What do you recommend we use instead?" That's when I told him about the Stevita Stevia alternative. When he shared my info with his friends, he would refer to me as the "Aspartame Lady from Dallas." This was just prior to his receiving a Liver Transplant. 

A few years later, I was interviewed for a film documentary on Aspartame, as the Pioneer Campaigner since the mid-eighties, and I mentioned in passing Larry Hagman's being one of our friend/supporters, so the producer, Cori Brackett, contacted him for an interview, which he granted. He was then contacted by other Aspartame webmasters on the Internet, after they learned of his involvement with ACSN. 

In 2012, we reconnected on the DALLAS SET, where we were both working. We had a 'running schtick' the last few months, about the beautiful gold watch he designed and wore. He was mischievous and fun-loving wherever he went. It was obvious he loved his work! And, everyone loved Larry!

Thank you, Larry Hagman for being that generous, talented person who gave us countless joyous hours of entertainment, along with motivating us to get actively involved in saving the planet and the people on it. We will be forever grateful to have known and worked with one of the TV and Film Industry Giants. Truly a National Treasure! Having the added benefit of his friendship was 'frosting' on the proverbial cake!

RIP, J.R., Sir. You will be missed!
Mary Nash Stoddard Founder
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline (since 1987)

(I am saving a wonderful story about a hysterical interaction between Larry, my teenage daughter and me when we were Guests on the SET for Lunch and an entire day spent with the Cast on Southfork Ranch. It happened in the early/mid-eighties and when reminded of it years later ... Larry remembered and had a good laugh. I'll be sure to include it in a Stoddard's POV Blog later.) 

STATEMENT TO COMMITTEE ON IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE TREATMENT...

STATEMENT TO COMMITTEE ON IDENTIFYING EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS FOR GULF WAR VETERAN’S HEALTH PROBLEMSInstitute of Medicine – National Academy of Sciences  [FO3030B]
2101 Constitution Avenue N.W.
Washington D.C. 20418STATEMENTTO COMMITTEE ON IDENTIFYING
EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS
FOR GULF WAR VETERAN’S HEALTH PROBLEMSThank you for this opportunity to share our research with the Committee today. For over half a decade, our organization has been concerned about the far reaching effects of Gulf War Syndrome touching the lives of the brave men and women who served so valiantly in the Persian Gulf.Last year, as the invited guest of the Desert Storm Justice Foundation, I attended the Gulf War Veteran’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas to observe and gather more evidence to support our allegations that aspartame ingestion may be partially responsible for many of the very real symptoms suffered by a large number of those who served in Desert Storm. In talking with various attendees, I learned that most had been exposed to the toxic breakdown products of aspartame: methanol, formaldehyde, diketopiperazine and formic acid during their tour of duty.The fact that ingestion of degraded, toxic substances due to breakdown of aspartame in desert heat [sugarfree sodas, kool aids, MREs] can not be disputed. What is important now is that further damage is not done by ingesting more aspartame.Those unfortunate individuals suffering the devastating effects of Gulf War Syndrome – from whatever the cause of their initial illness – must now know that GWS is exacerbated by further use of any product containing aspartame. The risk of greater neurological damage is a very real threat. Aspartame may commonly be found in the following items: chewing gums, breath mints, diet sodas, instant coffees, teas, kool aids, protein drinks, yogurts, puddings, toppings, tabletop sweeteners, cereals, fiber drinks, Tums, Alka Seltzer formulas, etc.Therefore, I submit that all treatment of Gulf War illnesses must include a warning to avoid all products containing aspartame. Avoidance of further toxic assaults on the immune system is a very important part of the healing process and should not be ignored by those who remain ill and health care providers entrusted with their treatment. Beyond that, we’ve found the normal attempts to observe the principals of a healthy lifestyle – proper rest, exercise, Re hydration with pure water and eating real fruits, vegetables, grains and unprocessed foods allows the body to attempt to heal itself. Obviously, those who have suffered the most severe physical damage will need to work with health care providers to find the best therapies and medications for their particular needs and symptoms.Thank you for allowing us to enter our data into the public records. Please feel free to call upon me if you have further questions. I have enclosed [in triplicate] copies of articles from the U.S.A.F. Flying Safety magazine; Hazards International, [a scientific journal in the U.K.]; The Plano Star Courier [article on GWS] and a press release from the Las Vegas Gulf War Veteran’s Conference.Respectfully,Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and PresidentHomeACSN Pilot HotlineFoundersFAQPress ReleasesArticlesInterviewsLecturesDeadly DeceptionAction AgendaPhoto GalleryContactEn ESPAÑOLQuestionnaire

#Aspartame Awareness Campaign Founder, Mary Nash Stoddard...

#Aspartame Awareness Campaign Founder, Mary Nash Stoddard, (1988) overwhelmed by Mountain of #NutraSweet #Equal products containing the #Neuro-Toxic #Artificial #Sweetener. http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/me...

I introduced my friend, Larry Hagman, to Stevia, when I g...

I introduced my friend, Larry Hagman, to Stevia, when I gave him the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Fact Sheet Information, at a Reception in Dallas TX, Feb. 28th, 1993, and he asked about alternatives. He stopped using Aspartame and switched to Stevia at that point. Larry, in his later years, worked hard at eating right. Mostly vegetarian and free of chemicals. I loved working with him and having him tell his friends about the Aspartame Lady in Dallas he got his info from! I miss Larry Hagman lots already. RIP, J.R. Ewing. You're our Hero!
Stevia – Best No-Cal SweeteneerSTEVIA – NATURAL CONTENDER FOR TITLE OF WORLD’S BEST NO-CAL SWEETENERWho will win the sweetener wars? At stake are billions of dollars shelled out by weight conscious and health conscious consumers world wide.  Key players in this bitter battle for mega profits are: stevia [natural, sweet tasting herb] and the chemical sweeteners, aspartame [aka NutraSweet and Equal] and neotame.Is stevia really the forbidden natural alternative to aspartame? Stevia [Stevia rebaudiana Bertoli] has been used for centuries in the rest of the world as a  low-calorie, no-adverse-reactions-reported, sweet herb. It can be purchased as crushed leaves, a dark liquid, a clear liquid or a fluffy white powder. Anyone can grow it. It’s the sweetener that can’t be called a sweetener in the U.S.!Shoved illogically into the “Dietary Supplement” category by the FDA in 1994 when DSHEA [Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act]  went into effect, stevia remains in limbo, in a sort of “halfway house,” while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] struggles to keep it off the market as a legally approved sweetener.Unlike aspartame and neotame [NutraSweet Company's potent, new sweetener], stevia is unquestionably safe to cook with. But, without guidance on ratios and conversions – the average consumer is at a loss to know how to use it. Stevia is much less expensive to use than its synthetic counterparts. By the way, aspartame, by law, has to appear on a product’s ingredient label. NutraSweet Company’s Neotame, on the other hand, may hide in a product, without its name appearing on the ingredient label. Some FDA watchers are baffled by this action.More and more consumers are rejecting the pharmaceutical versions of sugar such as: saccharin, acesulfame K, sucralose, aspartame and neotame, and are searching for the ideal “healthy” sweetener. This makes stevia, the natural choice [no pun intended], a very real threat to aspartame, neotame and the others.In July 2005, a study was published, showing aspartame created at least two forms of cancers [leukemia and lymphoma] in lab animals fed aspartame. The study was conducted by researchers from the European Ramazzini Foundation, an independent group located in Bologna, Italy.FDA points to only two questionable studies as their absolute proof that stevia is not safe. The first, ineptly done, by a graduate student in South America,  says it may have [are you ready for this?] a mild contraceptive property. The other, published in 1988 in a Brazilian pharmacological journal, was extremely sloppy science and no one but the FDA gives it any credence whatsoever. On the off chance the public does not share FDA’s concern about stevia’s possible contraceptive qualities, they have come up with some strictly hearsay evidence, which they’ve never seen, through the South American “grapevine” that stevia might be unsafe for having a hypothetical hypoglycemic effect on some individuals. These are extremely flimsy straws the FDA is grasping at to support their ban on stevia as a sweetener.FDA claims no petitions have been filed by product manufacturers seeking to use stevia as a Generally Recognized as Safe [or GRAS] ingredient in their product.What they really mean is the FDA has never accepted a petition filed by a food or beverage manufacturer seeking to use stevia as a sweetener in their product. Several, including Lipton have filed petitions only to be denied acceptance for some FDA-invented technical error.FDA ignores the overwhelming evidence of stevia’s benign and beneficial character. Usage in the rest of the world for centuries with no reported ill affects, counts for nothing in the closed regulatory mind.FDA even went so far as to attack one importer and distributor of stevia for perceived “violations” of the rules and regulations governing dietary supplements. The crime? Three books were being distributed by Stevita Co. of Arlington, Texas [owners of the Brazilian patent on stevia manufacturing] which described the history and usage of the sweet herb, stevia.Not only was the business-owner ordered to destroy his inventory of books – he was also forced to remove all links to other sites on his internet web site. A clear violation of First Amendment rights by the FDA? Could this controversy over stevia be related to FDA’s defensive attitude over aspartame? [aka NutraSweet/Equal/Natrataste/Canderel, etc.FDA continues to fiercely support the artificial sweetener aspartame [aka NutraSweet/Equal] based solely on industry-sponsored tests showing safety. [Monsanto, a former patent-holder on aspartame, has bought up and put on hold the U.S. patent on stevia manufacturing].FDA’s official position? Absolutely nothing is wrong or harmful about aspartame, despite the undisputed fact that approximately 80% of all adverse reaction complaints to FDA are aspartame related. Unlike pharmaceuticals – serious adverse reactions to a food additive are not required by law to be reported by physicians. FDA lists over 92 symptoms consumers have tied to aspartame consumption – including deaths. Reports show that when individuals cease ingesting aspartame, their symptoms usually go away.“Junk Science” or worse was  used by G.D. Searle to gain approval for aspartame in the first place as a tabletop sweetener in 1981 and in 1983 for aqueous solution [soft drinks]. Some concerned FDA toxicologists even went as far as to show the tests were “falsified” to get aspartame approved in the first place. Aspartame was first FDA-approved in 1974, but that approval was rescinded before it could get to market because of serious questions about one of the breakdown products, DKP , which caused brain tumors in the laboratory animals. At a Washington D.C. News Conference, November 1997, John Olney, M.D., noted brain researcher, presented his  compelling findings of a 10% increase in brain tumors since the advent of aspartame on the market.Further troubling to many independent scientists is the fact that virtually all the studies showing harm are “corporate neutral” as one aspartame researcher put it. Many studies are available to show harm caused by aspartame’s phenylalanine, aspartic acid and toxic breakdown products: methanol – formaldehyde – formic acid and diketopiperazine. Tens of thousands of consumers and others have reported serious adverse reactions to the FDA and consumer advocacy  organizations collecting reports, such as the international Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline.Woodrow Monte, R.D., Ph.D., a former director of the Arizona State University Food Sciences and Nutrition Laboratory, is uncomfortable with the methanol content of aspartame. In an 1986 interview, Monte called aspartame “a crime against humanity.” “Humans are 100 times more sensitive to methanol than animals. When you ingest aspartame, it breaks down into methanol within one hour of ingestion. Methanol forms as soon as aspartame goes into solution and increases the longer it is in solution.” according to Monte. Because heat speeds the breakdown of aspartame into methanol. This raises serious concern about aspartame’s 1993 approval for use in baked goods and other heated products, like hot cocoa and tea. Although aspartame came about as the result of a search for a drug, and its compounds were the basis for a potential prescription medication, the petition for approval of NutraSweet was based on the premise that it was a food additive. The FDA followed its precedent of permitting manufacturers to conduct their own product safety research.Monte feels that aspartame was mislabeled from the beginning. “aspartame is a drug, not a food additive,” he said. “One hundred million people, from little babies to the elderly, are consuming this stuff in megadoses, more than they ever would if it were labeled a drug.” [Informed Consent May/June ‘94]Outspoken critics are suggesting – not that we rid ourselves of a Food and Drug Administration – only that we rid ourselves of the present “corrupted” Food and Drug Administration thus changing the current FDA focus of protecting the profits of the giants of industry to one of protecting the American public, which it is charged to serve.The FDA seems to have everything “backwards” in its regulatory thinking. The herbal sweetener with centuries of no adverse reactions to its credit versus the artificial sweetener which has been surrounded by a storm of controversy since its flawed approval twenty four years ago. Follow the Money and Political Trail.Conclusion: FDA’s ability to evaluate any substance objectively has been called into question by consumers and independent researchers alike. Senator Metzenbaum called FDA officials mere “Handmaidens to Industry” in the 1987 Senate Hearings on the Safety of aspartame. Corporate megabucks influence and  determine the actions of that government agency created to protect the consumer from harm. In an unfortunate ripple effect, FDA’s seal of approval is the standard used by agencies around the world to allow food additives into their countries, without doing their own investigations. Corporations routinely cover themselves by donating millions to organizations such as: American Dietetic Association, American Diabetic Foundation and others.  FDA officials routinely hop with jumping-bean-like ease from government to private industry and back.Who will win the Sweetener Wars? Greed versus health, which will win? It’s up to us, the consuming public. One person can and must work to make a difference in the way the world looks at sweeteners.ACTION AGENDA:Tell everyone you know about this issue.Work with those organizations lobbying to get stevia legally approved as a safe and natural sweetener.Let your grocer know you want a naturally healthy choice when it comes to sweeteners.Take aspartame-sweetened items back to the store to exchange for something healthy.Try the sweet taste of stevia – many say it’s the beneficial, safe alternative to all of the unhealthy, chemical sweeteners.
______________________________________Books available on Stevia:The Stevia Story  - A tale of incredible sweetness & intrigue -  Linda and Bill Bonvie and Donna GatesSugar-Free Cooking With Stevia  - James and Tanya KirklandBooks on Aspartame:Deadly Deception – Story of Aspartame  - Mary Nash StoddardDeadly Deception – Story of Aspartame  [One Hour Video Lecture at Science Symposium]Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills  - Russell Blaylock, M.D.Available from ACSN – P.O. Box 2001 – Frisco, TX 75034 – U.S.
Phone: 214.387.4001
http://www.aspartamesafety.com______________________________________
INCREDIBLE CASE HISTORY OF ONE COURAGEOUS STEVIA DISTRIBUTORStevita Co. – Arlington Texas“Freedom of the Press embraces the circulation of books as well as their publication.”- from Judge’s ruling in Bantam Books v Sullivan [1963]CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTSSummer 1996
Stevita Company imported the first shipment of Stevia spoonful (blend of stevioside and maltodextrin) with registered trade name of STEVIASWEET. FDA office in Dallas detained the shipment of approximately 3,000 jars, saying Stevita Co. could not use the trade name STEVIASWEET because the word ‘Sweet’ on the name implied that stevia could be used as a sugar substitute. So, Mr. Rodes changed the labels (at American Airlines warehouse) to STEVITA brand. Products with new labels were then released.Early 1997
Stevita Co. started importing Stevita chocolate flavored and Stevita cappuccino flavored products. First shipments passed through customs with no problems.October, 1997
A shipment of Stevita cappuccino flavored product was detained by FDA. They claimed Stevita Co. was selling coffee instead of Stevia. Mr. Rodes then submitted a new label (MAGIC) that removed the word coffee. After changing all the labels (about 5,000) the shipment was released. November 12, 1997
FDA inspectors, Martha Baldwin and Pauline Logan inspected Stevita facilities and took samples of the books and some scientific literature.March 6, 1998
Stevita Co. received a warning letter from FDA saying the presence of literature, including the information on Stevita’s web site, was rendering the stevia products “adulterated.” Stevita Co. was given 5 days to reply. James Turner’s office (Swankin & Turner Washington D.C. law firm) then requested a 15 day extension.March 26, 1998
James Turner’s office submitted an answer to the Warning Letter from FDA, agreeing with all the requests, with the exception of the destruction of the books and cessation of Stevita product sales.April 1, 1998
Two shipments that had been detained by FDA had labels approved by FDA in Washington D.C.. However, Mr. James R. LaHar of the Dallas District office orders the shipments to continue being put on hold, because in his opinion, Mr. Oscar Rodes’ Stevita Company’s product is now contaminated by current literature – already in circulation.April 27, 1998
FDA Inspector, Martha Baldwin inspected Stevita Company’s facilities and collected labels and documents. She also took an inventory of Stevita Company’s products. In desperation to get the shipments released by FDA, Oscar Rodes told Stevita Co. attorney, James Turner to inform FDA that as of May 13, Stevita Company is ceasing distribution of all the books.May 19, 1998
A fax was received from James R. LaHar, Compliance Officer in the Dallas District Office of FDA, stating that investigators from his office were coming to Stevita’s facilities to witness destruction of the literature and books.May 19, 1998 (11:30 AM)
FDA inspectors, Pauline Logan and Margarito Uribe walked into the office. They proceeded to take inventory of all products and literature. Oscar Rodes believed they were sent by Mr. LaHar to witness destruction of all the books. Stevita Co. employees videotaped most of the so-called inspection – including the part when one of the inspectors is marking the cookbooks (Cooking With Stevia by James Kirkland) for destruction. FDA Compliance Officer, James R. Lahar faxed a letter to Stevita Co. addressing the destruction of 2,500 books he deemed “offending,” at a cost to the company well in excess of $10,000. The letter threatens that investigators will conduct a current inventory and “witness the destruction of the cookbooks, literature, and other publications for the purpose of verifying compliance” upon visiting Stevita Co. for a fourth time in one year.May 20, 1998
Both inspectors return to Stevita’s facilities for more inspection and counting of inventory.May 22, 1998
The same two inspectors arrive again at Stevita Co. at 3:30 PM – asking company owner, Oscar Rodes to sign some typewritten affidavits. Rodes said, “They also told me they wanted to look around.”June 6, 1998
Banned cookbook author, James Kirkland made a shocking presentation at a Town Hall meeting, convened by Congressman Joe Barton, by holding up The Anarchist’s Cookbook, a book that talks about how to construct killer “homemade bombs,” a popular hard-core porn magazine and a copy of  his book – telling how to cook with an herb.  “Which of these publications is illegal?” he asked. Congressman Barton shrugged. The author then pointed to his cookbook on how to cook with stevia. “This isn’t right.” Kirkland added to thunderous audience applause.  He then went on to elaborate. Kirkland’s book, Cooking With Stevia, published by Morris Press of Kearney Nebraska has been “marked” by FDA  for immediate destruction and recall. FDA is also attempting to “regulate” web sites on the Internet by telling Stevita Co. to delete their web site links to other pages. Congressman Barton is Chairman of the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee in Washington, which oversees the Food and Drug Administration.Media covered the Town Hall event and that evening, the CBS TV News affiliate in Dallas aired a story showing the “banned books” and telling the Stevita Co. story of harassment by FDA. This news segment was picked up by other CBS affiliates and aired around the U.S. The Aftermath:
In a blatant move to intimidate valued customers of Texas-based Stevita Co., importers of the sweet-tasting herbal dietary supplement stevia and distributors of three “banned” books about the herb, FDA raiders began
relentlessly searching for their version of “the offensive literature” - according to a horrified eyewitness shopper at an Arlington, Texas Health Food Store. When called by a national cable television network news reporter, a Dallas District FDA spokesperson said they would neither confirm nor deny the allegation of literature search or seizure at health food stores, because it was part of an “ongoing investigation.” FDA Spokesperson in Washington D.C., Monica Ravel in her misleading statement late Wednesday, told another local network news reporter on tape, “We have not banned any books.” Stevita Co. has an FDA letter dated May 19,1998 signed by FDA’s James R. LaHar clearly stating they have.These published books and literature offer the consumer information on the history, usage and scientific studies showing the safety of the legal herb stevia [aka stevia rebaudiana or stevioside]. One of three books in question is The Stevia Story  – A tale of incredible sweetness & intrigue, by Linda Bonvie, Bill Bonvie and Donna Gates with Foreword by James S. Turner, author of The Chemical Feast.  Ironically, Chapter Four of the book the FDA wants to destroy is titled: “What’s wrong with the FDA?” The other books are: Nature’s Sweet Secret – Stevia by David Richards and Cooking with Stevia by James Kirkland.In the course of the following months, the FDA seized all of Stevita’s inventory, in an effort to force the company to comply with the recall and destruction order.  This action, according to author, James Kirkland, “nearly put Stevita Company out of business.” Only after lengthy, costly litigation was the company allowed to resume distribution of some publications, but not Cooking With Stevia.The following was taken from the Internet website of Linda and Bill Bonvie, authors of The Stevia Story, A Tale of Incredible Sweetness And Intrigue:“Given stevia’s record as a completely safe and beneficial herbal product, and given that it now may be purchased legally in the U.S., just what is the FDA afraid of? That Americans will learn about stevia – that it is actually both sweet and non-caloric? Try it? Want to use it? The FDA’s prior attempts to control stevia as if it were a dangerous drug had the appearance to many of being a restraint of trade; now that it can be legally sold and used, the agency has gone further and is apparently trying to restrain ideas, information and criticism of its own behavior – trying, in essence, to act as a sort of ‘thought police.’ This is a very important issue which should be carefully followed by everyone – whether you like stevia or not – even if you’ve never tasted it.”References:SoffrittiM., et al. Environ. Health Perspect, doi: 10.1289/eh.8711 (2005).Sugar-Free Cooking Wtih Stevia The Naturally Sweet & Calorie-Free Herb, 1998; Crystal Health Publishing, Arlington, TexasThe Stevia Story – A Tale of Incredible Sweetness and Intrigue, Linda Bonvie, Bill Bonvie and Donna Gates, Atlanta: B.E.D. Publications, 1997.Deadly Deception – Story of Aspartame – Mary Nash Stoddard, Odenwald Press 1998.Nutrition and Healing, June 1998, Sweeteners Inspire Bitter Political Battle Between Feds and Consumers, Mary Nash Stoddard.The Mary Stoddard Show, Interview with authors, Tanya and James Kirkland on Real Talk Network, 2001.

Stoddard POVÉdulcorant artificiel [L'aspartame, néotame e...

Stoddard POVÉdulcorant artificiel [L'aspartame, néotame et AminoSweet], les informations à partir des fichiers de Réseau Mary Nash Stoddard aspartame sécurité des consommateurs - basé à Dallas depuis 1987. Comprend la recherche scientifique et d'autres documents montrant les facteurs de risque signalés associés à l'utilisation de l'aspartame édulcorants à base chez l'homme.
«C'était un document très intéressant, qui montre comment la formation de formaldéhyde à l'ingestion d'aspartame est très fréquente et ne fait s'accumuler à l'intérieur de la cellule, réagissant avec les protéines cellulaires (principalement des enzymes) et l'ADN (mitochondrial et nucléaire à la fois). Le fait qu'il s'accumule avec chaque dose, indique de graves conséquences chez les personnes qui consomment des boissons diététiques et des denrées alimentaires sur une base quotidienne. "(Blaylock 1998)Méthanol de l'aspartame est libéré dans l'intestin grêle quand le groupe méthyle de l'aspartame rencontre l'enzyme chymotrypsine (Stegink 1984, page 143). Une quantité relativement faible de l'aspartame (par exemple, une canette de soda ingérée par un enfant) peut augmenter de manière significative les niveaux plasmatiques de méthanol (Davoli, 1986a).Cliniquement, chronique de faible niveau d'exposition au méthanol a été vu à causer des maux de tête, des étourdissements, des nausées, bourdonnement d'oreille, des troubles gastro-intestinaux, faiblesse, vertiges, frissons, trous de mémoire, engourdissement et douleurs de tir, troubles du comportement, de la névrite, la vision brumeuse, la vision tunnel, vision trouble, conjonctivite, insomnie, perte de la vision, des problèmes cardiaques, la dépression (y compris la maladie d' l'inflammation du muscle cardiaque) et du pancréas (Kavet 1990, Monte 1984, Posner 1975).L'méthanol de l'aspartame se transforme en formaldéhyde puis l'acide formique (DHHS 1993, Liesivuori 1991), bien qu'une partie du formaldéhyde semble s'accumuler dans l'organisme tel que discuté ci-dessus. Exposition prolongée au formaldéhyde à 



très  faibles doses a été démontré qu'il cause le système immunitaire et des changements du système nerveux et des dommages ainsi que des maux de tête, la mauvaise santé générale, des dommages irréversibles génétique, et un certain nombre d'autres problèmes de santé graves (Fujimaki 1992, il 1998, John 1994 , Liu 1993, principal 1983, Molhave 1986, Conseil national de recherches 1981, Shaham 1996, Srivastava 1992, Vojdani 1992, Wantke 1996). Une expérience (Wantke 1996) ont montré que l'exposition chronique au formaldéhyde a causé des problèmes de santé systémiques (p. ex, la mauvaise santé) chez les enfants à une concentration dans l'air de seulement 0,043 - 0,070 parties par millionÉvidemment, l'exposition chronique à une quantité extrêmement faible de formaldéhyde est de être évitée. Même si adduits de formaldéhyde ne s'accumule pas dans le corps de l'utilisation d'aspartame, l'exposition régulière à des niveaux excessifs de formaldéhyde serait encore une préoccupation majeure pour les scientifiques indépendants et les médecins qui connaissent bien le problème de toxicité aspartame. En plus de l'intoxication chronique de formaldéhyde, le excitotoxique acide aminé dérivé de l'aspartame sera presque certainement aggraver les dommages causés par le formladehyde. Les effets synergiques de métabolites aspartame sont rarement, voire jamais, mentionné par le fabricant. L'aspartame se décompose en une forme libre (non liée aux protéines) excitotoxique acide aminé qui est rapidement absorbé (tant que ce n'est pas donné à dissolution lente capsules) et peut soulever les niveaux de plasma sanguin de cette excitotoxine (Stegink 1987). Il est bien connu que de forme libre excitotoxines peut causer des dommages irréversibles aux cellules du cerveau (dans des domaines tels que la rétine, l'hypothalamus, etc) chez les rongeurs et les primates (Olney 1972, Olney 1980, Blaylock 1994, Lipton, 1994). Afin d'enlever l'excès, détruire des cellules excitotoxiques acides aminés provenant de l'espace extracellulaire, les cellules gliales entourent les neurones et leur fournir de l'énergie (Blaylock 1994, page 39, Lipton, 1994).Cela prend de grandes quantités d'ATP. Toutefois, le formiate, un métabolite formaldéhyde, est un inhibiteur d'ATP (Liesivuori 1991). Eells (1996b) souligne que la toxicité d'acides aminés excitateurs peuvent être des «médiateurs de lésions rétiniennes secondaires en formiate épuisement de l'énergie induite dans le méthanol-intoxication». Les effets synergiques de la combinaison d'une exposition prolongée au formaldéhyde de l'aspartame avec un acide de forme libre excitotoxique aminé est extrêmement inquiétant.Il semble que le méthanol est converti en formate dans l'œil (Eells 1996a, Garner 1995, Kini, 1961). Eells (1996a) a montré que chronique, l'exposition méthanol bas niveau chez les rats ont conduit à l'accumulation de formiate dans la rétine de l'œil. Plus de détails sur chronique méthanol / formaldéhyde empoisonnement par l'aspartame peut être trouvé sur l'Internet à   

DEATH BY DIET POP

Death by Diet Pop

 

DECK:How Donald Rumsfeld Slipped Poison into Almost Everything You Eat and Drink

 

By Harvey Wasserman 

 

The cargo of diet soda sat on the blistering tarmac as Operation Desert Storm raged all around. With temperatures soaring in the blazing Persian Gulf sun, the three chemical components of the pop's key ingredient—the bitterly controversial no-cal sweetener aspartame—turned poisonous.

 

At 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the wood alcohol/methanol (a deadly toxin) in aspartame began to convert to, among other things, formaldehyde and formic acid. Most of the cans would be re-refrigerated, but when our thirsty troops drank the chemical brew it would join with other toxins to help create, some believe, Gulf War Syndrome.

 

At that point, the four-day Gulf War had apparently killed precious few Americans. But in the years since,  hundreds of thousands of Gulf War veterans have been crippled by a horrifying range of toxic ailments. Under brand names like NutraSweet and Equal, the same aspartame that may have harmed them is now embedded in over 6,000 food and drink products consumed by hundreds of millions of humans in more than 90 countries.

 

Fittingly, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense under Gerald Ford and George W. Bush, was the former CEO of G.D. Searle & Company, a worldwide pharmaceutical company, and original owner of the aspartame patent. After he helped legalize the mass use of aspartame, Rumsfeld pocketed at least $12 million when Searle was absorbed by Monsanto Company, while the veterans of the Gulf War—and the rest of us—still pay dearly.

 

Aspartame took Rumsfeld's Searle Company out of the financial trash heap. The many companies that now sell it make billions in profits from the white powder that is believed to have spawned a devil's headstone of diseases.  These include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, lupus, multiple sclerosis, cancer, brain tumors, blurred vision and blindness, dementia, epilepsy, grand mal seizures, migraines, autism, in utero brain damage, diabetes, and—surprise!—obesity.

 

Today aspartame is produced and distributed by hundreds of companies worldwide.   It's in almost every wrapped or bottled substance you eat or drink. It may be the source of a rampant, hugely expensive public health epidemic that's crippling America and other nations around the globe.

 

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by a chemist named James M. Schlatter who was looking for an anti-ulcer drug for G.D. Searle & Company . When Schlatter accidentally licked his finger, he tasted a substance almost 200 times sweeter than sugar, but with no calories. Teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Searle knew what it had. America wanted to be slim and slender at the same time it consumed the mountains of sugar that were pouring into soft drinks and packaged food. Aspartame was looking like a cash bonanza. Nevermind that the substance is comprised of three excitotoxins that put holes in baby mouse brains and is suspected of seriously damaging human nervous systems.

 

For years Searle chiseled away at the Food and Drug Administration, demanding Schlatter's miracle powder be approved for general use.  But aspartame's brew of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol had deadly side effects.   In 1967 a Searle scientist fed seven monkeys aspartame in milk: One died, five had grand mal  seizures. In 1971 Washington University neuroscientist Dr. John W. Olney warned Searle that aspartic acid can perforate the brains of lab animals.

 

The phenylalanine had serious impacts of its own but the methanol (a/k/a wood alcohol) was worse. When heated it turned into formaldehyde, which is used to embalm dead bodies, and then to formic acid, the same toxin found in the venom of bee and ant stings. Both can poison a wide range of animals, including human beings; leave an opened can of diet soda at room temperature for more than ten days, and that's what you'll get.

 

In 1974, over widespread scientific objections, the FDA approved aspartame's limited use in dry products. Official investigators reported they "had never seen anything as bad as Searle's testing." The FDA asked the US Attorney to convene a grand jury.

 

In 1977, as proceedings began, chief investigator Samuel Skinner left the government and joined Searle's own law firm. The company then recruited Rumsfeld as its new CEO. Dubbed a "ruthless little bastard" by his mentor, Richard Nixon, Rumsfeld ran Gerald Ford's White House, and then, as part of the Reagan transition team (and while still CEO of Searle) he pushed aspartame through the FDA.

 

But the flood of warnings continued. Lab tests showed a 25% increase in tumors and brain damage in monkeys, according to Olney. Mississippi-based health researcher Dr. Russell Blaylock descried Searle's methods and findings as "bizarre," and warned that humans may be far more sensitive to damage from aspartame than mice and monkeys.

 

Searle's "scientific" methods were called "sloppy" by the head of the FDA at the time. He said their "research" was filled with "clerical errors, mixed-up animals, animals not getting the drugs they were supposed to get, pathological specimens lost because of improper handling, and a variety of other errors, [which] even if innocent, all conspire to obscure positive findings and produce falsely negative results."   A 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry found that aspartame "might induce brain tumors" in violation of the Delaney Clause, passed in 1958, which requires that any product shown to cause cancer in lab animals must be taken off the market.

 

Aspartame's defenders now call it one of the "most studied products in history." But nearly all the studies with independent funding show the product to be deadly.

 

Such findings didn't stop Rumsfeld. When Ronald Reagan took the presidency in 1980, Rumsfeld used his stronghold on the transition team to dump the head of the FDA. He installed Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes, whose very first official act was to rig an advisory team and approve aspartame—now called NutraSweet™—for mass use in dry products. Two years later, while being shoved out the door for ethical violations, Hayes's last act as FDA Commissioner was to approve it for use in soft drinks. The certification came despite objections from the National Soft Drink Association, which warned aspartame's safety had not been proven.

 

Hayes landed at  Burson Marsteller. They were the prime PR firm for Searle and for Monsanto, which bought Searle in 1985 for $2.7 billion. Reagan mainstay Rumsfeld personally netted some $12 million.

 

As aspartame poured into America's food and drink, over 10,000 health complaints poured into the FDA. America had become a test lab filled with human subjects and no pretense of science. Amidst the uproar, the late Senator Howard Metzenbaum (D-OH) held high profile hearings. "By ignoring the safety concerns which have been raised," he warned, "we are potentially jeopardizing the health and safety of over 100 million Americans who are ingesting NutraSweet in everything from soft drinks to pudding to children's cold remedies."

 

Metzenbaum then sponsored S 1557, which  required independent studies of aspartame's impacts on brain chemistry, fetuses and pregnant women, seizures, interactions with other drugs, and neurological effects.

 

Monsanto had the bill killed in committee.  In 2005 the FDA ceased collecting reaction reports or monitoring studies on aspartame .Monsanto was selling the stuff by the hundreds of tons per year. Its Searle division became hugely profitable. Overall sales jumped from 220 tons in 1982 to 10,200 tons in 1995. A good part of that huge jump occurred in 1992 when, the patent having expired, dozens of companies added aspartame into their products. 

 

In 1996 Dr. Ralph Walton of Northeastern Ohio Universities gave CBS-TV's 60 Minutes a survey of 165 studies on aspartame. All 74 sponsored by the industry showed zero health effects. But 84 of 91 funded from non-industry sources showed serious impacts. Six of the other seven came from the revolving-door FDA.

 

Research on toxic chemicals is generally done in laboratories, on rats, monkeys and other animals. But today's "experiment" with aspartame is being conducted on hundreds of millions of consumers all over the world. As much as half of the American population consumes something with aspartame in it every day.

 

Today's most vital aspartame research comes from medical doctors like Hyman Roberts. Ironically, and almost without exception, when people stop consuming "diet drinks," they lose weight.

 

The link to Gulf War Syndrome remains a nagging but instructive mystery. Bad vaccinations, desert fleas, chemical warfare, traumatic stress: Many other agents could have joined degenerated diet sodas in causing this wide range of symptoms that have debilitated a quarter-million veterans of a four-day war in which very few Americans died in actual combat.

 

Since Rumsfeld rammed aspartame through the FDA, human brain tumor incidence in the overall population has soared. So has a terrifying plague of devastating diseases that doctors like Roberts and Blaylock say consistently disappear as soon as the victims dump their diet drinks.   Historians sometimes blame the fall of Rome on lead that leached into drinking water from the city's elaborate piping system. Since the 1970s, aspartame may have been doing the same to the American brain.

 

Legislators in Hawaii and New Mexico have tried to ban the stuff altogether. The U.S. as a whole needs to do just that, before our minds and bodies---and those of our children---are utterly destroyed by corporate America's sweetest, most profitable poison.

 

SIDEBARS

 

FLYING BLINDThere is substantial controversy in the airline pilot community about diet drinks and chewing gum (which is used by pilots to stabilize air pressure in their heads). Seizures and other perceptual problems suffered by pilots while flying may be related to aspartame, according to a number of mainstream airline industry magazines here and in Europe & Australia.

 

The most dangerous entry point for aspartame into your body may be chewing gum. FoodEssentials.com lists dozens of brands that contain it. "Taken in via the digestive tract, [aspartame] is made into at least six other toxic substances," says Mary Nash Stoddard of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline.

 

The problem, she warns, is that "the nerves that serve this area get their vascular supply directly from the brain," meaning the aspartame bypasses the spinal cord and blood brain barrier. It therefore can go directly into the brain and begin damaging cells. Virtually all gums sold today have aspartame or neotame in them.  Some have been traced to seizures by those who chew them.

 

There is no formal study or ban.

 

OUTFOXEDMichael J. Fox, who developed Parkinson's at a very young age, has been a long-time spokesman for Diet Pepsi and apparently consumed (and may still consume) prodigious quantities of the stuff. 
DRAFT SIDEBAR #3: Aspartame on SteroidsNeotame is a souped-up version of aspartame, and "the most potent chemical sweetener marketed today," according to the co-founder of the anti-aspartame Social Movement, Mary Nash Stoddard. Approved by the FDA in 2002, there are no labeling requirements for Neotame. "This is a new, potentially toxic form of aspartame," warns Mary Nash Stoddard of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network (AspartameSafety.com).  "It will be ubiquitous in the food supply," she states, having been approved for unlabeled use throughout Europe, China, Australia and elsewhere.Neotame can be 7,000 to 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. Stoddard adds that "the new ingredient they added to aspartame to make Neotame—3.3-dimethylbutyl—was on the Environmental Protection Agency's list of 'Most Hazardous Chemicals' in 1998." Blaylock and Stoddard agree that Neotame's unlabeled presence in chewing gum, soft drinks, pudding, yogurt-type products, baked goods and more make it a leading threat to global health.

Shocking Adverse Reactions To A Sweetener

Date: August 2, 2004 6:04:20 PM CDTTo: <marystod@airmail.net>Subject: Aspartame questionnaire 
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Questionnaire

 

Please fill in and return to ACSN EMAIL to ACSN Founder: marystod@airmail.net 

 

Name:  R S Jr.Age_32__ Sex: MaleNew Jersey

 

Medical problems that you believe are caused from using aspartame:Irregular Heart Beat, Anxiety / Panic Attacks, Joint Pain, Muscle weakness, especially in the legs, lack of muscular endurance, weight gain, headache, Pain in neck and shoulders, Mental confusion and "fog", loss of concentration, decreased sex-drive, upset stomach.

 

Why do you believe aspartame caused these problems?The problems began gradually about the time I started to use aspartame products on a regular basis, and increased dramatically as my use of these products increased.

 

Did the symptoms go away when you stopped using the products? I have been off of aspartame for 2 weeks, and the vast majority of my symptoms are gone or improving greatly, including chronic problems I had for years.

 

Did you see a Doctor about symptoms?Yes, especially when I began having panic attacks and irregular heart beat.

 

Did Doctor think it related to aspartame?No, he diagnosed me with severe stress and depression.  My panic attacks ceased when I quit using aspartame.

 

Did you report your symptoms to the FDA (Food & Drug Admin.) or any othergroup?Not yet, but I am planning to contact the FDA 
What specific products(s) containing aspartame were you consuming when youexperienced these symptoms?Diet sodas, flavored waters, and a variety of "low carb" products and sugar-free products.

 

On the average, what quantity were you consuming (how often, how much eachtime, etc.)I began only having aspartame once in awhile.  As I started a "low carb" diet, I used Diet drinks and sugar free foods much more often.  Maybe 2 sodas a day, and 2 or 3 diet products.

 

How long had you been consuming these products before you experienced thesymptoms?Some symptoms, such as weight gain, joint pain, mental "fog", etc have been with me for a few years.  The severe panic attacks and heart problems began after I increased the amount of products I was consuming.

 

FOR THOSE CONCERNED ABOUT WEIGHT:   Did you begin using products with aspartame when you began a restrictedcalorie diet?I had been using aspartame products sparingly before that, such as a diet soda here and there.  However, I GREATLY increased my intake of aspartame while dieting.

 

Did you use aspartame products only for some of your meals to save calories?I would use aspartame products such as diet bars, snacks, etc more to avoid sugar than to save calories.

 

Did aspartame seem to help you lose weight at first?No, never.  I have gained a significant amount of weight after using aspartame products.

 

What were the long term weight loss effects of using aspartame.35 lb weight gain over 2 years
THANK YOU, R.S. for taking time to send this. Now, readers. Have you had any of these Aspartame Symptoms? Send me YOUR story ASAP. I'll protect your name & contact info. 

 

 

PREVENTION IS THE CURE - ASPARTAME OFTEN THE CAUSE

From the Townsend Letter
June 2011

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Detecting Allergens
Doris J. Rapp, MD, has recently completed an 11-page booklet called Allergies: The Answers You Need Are Here. Rapp, one of the pioneers in identifying and treating environmental illness, is board certified in pediatrics and allergy and environmental medicine. This practical booklet explains how to recognize common and uncommon allergies and sensitivities. Most of us think that allergies manifest as itchy eyes and runny noses during pollen seasons, digestive and intestinal upsets when eating something that doesn't agree with us, or hives from a food. But allergies also cause many, many other symptoms. Young children can display hyperactivity, reluctance to keep clothes on, aversion to being touched, tics, twitches, seizures, and fatigue when exposed to allergens. Fatigue is also a symptom of allergy in older people. Other signs of allergen exposure in adults and older children include daily headaches, unexplained aggression or anxiety, sleep problems, fuzzy thinking, sudden mood changes, and sudden severe body odor (not eliminated by washing). Exposure to allergens (and toxic chemicals) can also produce a sudden difficulty with tasks that require motor coordination (writing, drawing, speaking, or walking). Most people do not realize the diverse and sometimes bizarre reactions that can arise when a sensitive person is exposed to an allergen or environmental trigger.

As Rapp explains in her new booklet, the first step in tracking down triggers is to keep a record or log of foods, other exposures, symptoms, and locations where symptoms occur. In particular, she says to be on the lookout for the following sudden changes: abnormally red earlobes or cheeks; dark eye circles; bags under the eyes; a spaced out, frightening or "demonic" look to the eyes; wiggly legs; or sudden shifts in emotions, behavior, and/or movement. In addition, blood pressure can rise and the pulse rate increase to 100 at rest. 

Becoming aware of these changes and then continuously asking questions is the key to finding the environmental trigger: What is different? Where was I when my ability to breathe well decreased or increased? Why did this happen? What did I eat, touch or smell? Allergies: The Answers You Need Are Here offers ways to track down exposures that cause symptoms. It also explains how to identify problem foods by using a one-week multiple food allergy elimination diet. The booklet costs just $5 and is available at www.dorisrappmd.com.

Leaky Gut, Autoimmunity, and Celiac Disease 
Though it is often undetected, an estimated 1 person in 133 in North America has celiac disease (CD). This autoimmune disease is characterized by inherited hypersensitivity to gluten, a difficult-to-digest protein found in grains. Bacteria living in the gastrointestinal appear to influence genetic expression. Dr. Alessio Fasano says in an article for Scientific American, "… a person whose immune system has managed to tolerate gluten for many years might suddenly lose tolerance if the microbiome [gut flora] changes in a way that causes formerly quiet susceptibility genes to become active." Stress and other factors may also turn on the susceptibility genes.

At this time, celiac disease is the only autoimmune disease whose environmental trigger (gluten) has been identified. In people with celiac disease, gluten protein fragments (peptides) stimulate the immune system to attack the gut, producing chronic inflammation and damaging the villi. (The villi in the small intestine transport nutrients across the gut wall to the bloodstream.) Impaired nutrient absorption produces a numerous and often unrecognized effects. "By robbing the body of particular nutrients," Fasano explains, "CD can thus produce such symptoms as osteoporosis, joint pain, [anemia, neurological problems,] chronic fatigue, short stature, skin lesions, epilepsy, dementia, schizophrenia, and seizure." Diarrhea, pain, and persistent indigestion are the most recognized symptoms. Staying on a gluten-free diet is the treatment for celiac disease and lets the small intestine heal.

In addition to a heightened immune response, people with acute or active celiac disease have elevated levels of the protein zonulin. Zonulin regulates permeability, which allows fluids and the substances that they carry to move from the gut to the bloodstream and from the blood into the brain. Increased gut permeability, also called leaky gut, characterizes many autoimmune diseases including celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Fasano, whose team discovered zonulin, helped set up Alba Therapeutics to investigate the therapeutic possibilities of a zonulin inhibitor called Larazotide. Larazotide has decreased permeability, inflammation, and gastrointestinal symptoms in celiac patients in two placebo-controlled studies as of 2009. The US Food and Drug Administration has approved studies that explore Larazotide's use in type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease. 

Fasano A. Celiac disease insights: clues to solving autoimmunity. Sci Am. July 27, 2009. Available at: www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=celiac-disease-insights. Accessed March 16, 2011.
Levin EB. Researchers find increased zonulin levels among celiac disease patients [online press release]. University of Maryland Medical Center. March 21, 2008.www.umm.edu/news/releases/zonulin.htm. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Heavy Metals, Mercury Amalgams, and Autoimmunity
Heavy metals are among the environmental factors that trigger autoimmune disease in genetically susceptible people. While nickel, colloidal gold, and metals used occupationally have been linked to autoimmune disease, most research has focused on mercury, particularly mercury amalgams. Air pollution and contaminated seafood are other common sources of mercury exposure. Mercury, whose toxicity particularly affects nerves and kidneys, tends to accumulate in the body with chronic exposure. As with other autoimmune triggers (such as gluten), the severity of an individual's reaction depends on inherited sensitivity and the body's ability to deal with toxins. 

Several clinical studies have linked mercury amalgam fillings to autoimmune diseases. In 1994, R. L. Siblerud and E. Kienholz compared blood tests from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who had amalgams with texts from those who had had their amalgam fillings removed. Those with amalgam fillings had significantly lower levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrit, thyroxine, total T-cells, and CD8+ suppressor cells. In addition, MS patients with amalgams had 33.7% more exacerbations during the previous 12 months than the group without amalgams. 

Patients who show sensitivity to mercury, using MELISA lymphocyte stimulation tests, tend to improve when amalgams are removed, according to Czech research. In a 2004 study, 25 out of 35 autoimmune patients who had amalgams removed reported improved health and significantly decreased lymphocyte reactivity to inorganic mercury, silver, organic mercury, and lead with MELISA testing. Those who improved tended to show high reactivity to mercury at baseline. Amalgam removal also improved health in about 70% of patients with autoimmune thyroiditis in a 2010 Czech study. Mercury-specific lymphocyte responses in vitro and antithyroid autoantibodies normalized as well. As in the 2004 study, the patients who improved were those who initially showed lymphocyte reactivity to mercury. Apparently, individual sensitivity plays a greater role than does exposure. In a metal-sensitive person, even a small exposure causes systemic reactions. Studies that have sought to connect the number and size of amalgams to the severity of symptoms have usually found no correlation. 

In addition to genetic predisposition, nutrition, stress, and pathogens can increase a person's sensitivity to environmental triggers like heavy metals. "Considering the complexity of the immune system and its interaction with the nervous and endocrine systems," Stejskal and Stejskal write, "it is obvious that a combination of mechanisms is responsible for the induction of auto-immunity."

Aminzadeh KK, Etminan M. Dental amalgam and multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis [abstract]. J Public Health Dent. Winter 2007;67(1):64–66. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17436982. Accessed March 24, 2011.
Hybenova M, Hrda P, Procházková J, Stejskal V, Sterzl I. The role of environmental factors in autoimmune thyroiditis [abstract]. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2010;31(3): 283–289. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20588228. Accessed March 21, 2011.
Procházková J, Sterzl I, Kucerova H, Bartova J, Stejskal VD. The beneficial effect of amalgam replacement on health in patients with autoimmunity [abstract]. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. June 2004; 25(3):211–218. Available at:www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed. Accessed March 24, 2011.
Schiraldi M, Monestier M. How can a chemical element elicit complex immunopathology? Lessons from mercury-induced autoimmunity. Trends Immunol.2009. Available at www.toxcenter.de/artikel/Quecksilber-crasht-Autoimmunitaet.pdf. Accessed March 18, 2011.
Siblerud RL, Kienholz E. Evidence that mercury from silver dental filings may be an etiological factor in multiple sclerosis [abstract]. Sci Total Environ. March 15, 1994;142(3):191–205. Available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8191275. Accessed April 12, 2011.
Stejskal J, Stejskal VDM. The role of metals in autoimmunity and the link to neuroendocrinology. Neuroendocrinol Lett. 1999:20;351–364. Available at: www.i-gap.info/app/dokumente/Autoimmunity%20and%20metals.pdf. Accessed March 17, 2011.

Methanol and Multiple Sclerosis
What do canned fruits and vegetables, cigarette smoke, and aspartame have in common? All are sources of methanol (wood alcohol), a known toxin that produces symptoms identical to those of multiple sclerosis (MS). In an heavily referenced 2007 article, retired food science professor Woodrow C. Monte, PhD, presents a convincing argument that links methanol consumption to the growing rate of multiple sclerosis worldwide. "The symptoms of multiple sclerosis, chronic and acute methanol poisoning, and Aspartame toxicity are in all ways identical," Monte writes. Headaches, memory loss, nervousness, depression, tingling sensations, pain in the extremities, optic neuritis, bright lights in the visual field, seizures, and inability to urinate or to keep from urinating characterize all three conditions. 

French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot presented the first documented case of multiple sclerosis during a lecture in 1868. Although the disease was rare, Monte says that incidence rose as access to canned fruits and vegetables increased. The first food cannery, devoted primarily to canning meats at first, opened in England around 1813. Gradually, the canning industry grew and began to process fruits and vegetables as well. As canned foods became more common, prices declined; and more people began using them. Monte says, "… when the fruits and vegetables and their naturally occurring pectin is placed in a sealed container (as in canning) that is then sterilized, heated or even just stored at room temperature for months, the normally unavailable, chemically bound methanol is released from the pectin. The methanol slowly builds up, trapped in the container, to hundreds of times more than when fresh. Very simply it is canned fruits and vegetables that were (before aspartame) the major source of free methanol in the human diet." Canned and bottled fruit juices and also tomatoes (fresh and canned) have high methanol levels. Fresh juice, made and consumed within minutes, has little or no free methanol. Depending upon the fruit, methanol levels in fresh juice rise within 30 minutes of storage. Tobacco leaves also have pectin-bound methanol. Fermentation of tobacco leaves, part of the manufacturing process, separates the plant's methanol from its pectin. Cigarette smoking is known to trigger MS relapses. 

In addition to pectin, unprocessed fruits and vegetables have another safeguard against methanol's toxic effects: ethanol. Ethanol is a "natural outcome of digesting plant material in the gut," Monte explains. Both ethanol and methanol are broken down by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), an enzyme found throughout the body. ADH prefers to metabolize ethanol, which becomes acetylaldehyde and acetic acid. When ethanol isn't available or when the methanol level is 10 times greater than ethanol's, ADH turns its attention to methanol. Here is the source of methanol's toxicity. ADH breaks methanol down into formaldehyde and then into formal hydrate (formic acid). Formaldehyde causes cancer and birth defects. Formal hydrate, an extremely acidic and powerful esterifying agent, readily reacts with proteins, including the proteins in myelin, the insulation that protects nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Monte says: "… the location of ADH in our bodily tissue seems to vary with our genetic makeup. ADH might, for reasons not fully understood, be found in the liver, gut, brain, eye, skin and sinew. These hereditary differences are most likely responsible for the varied manifestations of autoimmunity. Higher enzyme representation in the brain might predispose the individual to develop MS while its presence in the skin would be required for the evolution of lupus." The chemical sweetener aspartame breaks down into two amino acids (phenylalanine and aspartic acid) and methanol (wood alcohol). Unlike plants, aspartame has neither pectin nor ethanol to mitigate the damage produced by methanol.

For decades, MS has been more prevalent in cooler latitudes. While people in tropical climates are exposed to more sunshine (and vitamin D), they also have access to an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables and lower consumption of canned foods. The exceptions have been Australia and New Zealand, where canned foods are inexpensive and common and MS rates have been high. In contrast, Japan, which lies at a cooler latitude, has had a low incidence of MS. The Japanese tend to eat fresh produce in season rather than rely on canned foods. In recent years, both Japan and countries with warmer climates are reporting higher MS rates and increased MS relapse rates during the summer – when aspartame-containing sodas, juices, and "thirst quenchers are most frequently consumed," Monte says.

"Viewing methanol toxicity as the ethnologic cause of MS seems to answer all of the nagging questions and unexplained anomalies that have stalled the cure for this increasingly persistent disease," Monte states. What if methanol triggers multiple sclerosis just as gluten triggers celiac disease?

Hou C-Y, Lin Y-S, Wang YT, Jiang C-M, Wu M-C. Effect of storage conditions on methanol content of fruit and vegetable juices [abstract] J Food Composit Anal. August 2008;21(5):410–415. Available at: www.sciencedirect.com. Accessed March 27, 2011.
Monte WC. A Deadly Experiment. Fitness Life. December 2007;34:38–42. Available at: http://thetruthaboutstuff.com/review2.html. Accessed March 19, 2011.
Monte WC. Methanol: Where is it found? How can it be avoided? [online article]. TheTruthAboutStuff.com.http://thetruthaboutstuff.com/published/Monte%20Diet.pdf. Accessed March 19, 2011.
Monte WC. Aspartame: methanol and the public health. J Appl Nutr. 1984;36(1). .

Managing Autoimmune Disease
Conventional medicine tends to view autoimmune illness as the result of an overstimulated immune system that attacks organs and tissues as if they were foreign invaders. "Immune suppression, the mainstream medical treatment of choice for auto-immune disorders, completely overlooks the upstream cause, toxic overload, and the downstream detoxification deficiency that leads to the immune system's confusion in distinguishing self from invader," write Jodi Friedlander, MS, and Ed Bauman, MEd, PhD. Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), Addison's disease, and Crohn's disease affect 5% to 8% of the US population. It is the third most prevalent type of illness after heart disease and cancer. According to the molecular mimicry hypothesis, amino acid sequencing (peptides) in pathogens and some body tissues are similar enough so that lymphocytes (particularly Th-1 cells from the thymus) attack invader and self. Normally, the body has regulating mechanisms that keep Th-1 and Th-2, which produce an allergic response, in balance. In autoimmune diseases, Th-1 dominates. Th-1 cells emit cytokines that produce inflammation.

While molecular mimicry appears to have a role in disease progression, it does not explain why the immune response becomes so imbalanced in the first place. Genetic variations that affect detoxification processes, sensitivity to specific antigens (e.g., the protein gluten), and/or immune reactivity make some people more prone to autoimmune diseases than others. As with many other diseases, genetics alone does not determine the presence and/or severity of autoimmune disease. 

Friedlander and Bauman state that when a body becomes overwhelmed and is unable to eliminate foreign molecules (antigens), the antigens "can form complexes with antibodies and becomes part of our joints, nerves, and endocrine tissue." Agricultural and household chemicals, heavy metals, petrochemicals, prescription drugs, organic solvents, and silica have triggered autoimmune disease in genetically susceptible people. Stress is another trigger. "High levels of [the stress hormone] cortisol suppress the immune system," Friedlander and Bauman explain, "by reducing the amount of secretory IgA, the main mucosal antibody responsible for eliminating pathogens from the intestinal tract and in other mucus membranes [e.g., lungs]." With prolonged stress, the adrenals eventually produce less cortisol. Without cortisol to keep IgA in check, IgA reactions will produce inflammation in the GI lining and the lungs. Over time, inflammation will damage the mucosa, producing leaky gut syndrome. This increased permeability allows more foreign antigens into the bloodstream, perpetuating the inflammation response. Increased gut permeability is a common factor in autoimmunity. Bacterial imbalance in the GI tract can also promote inflammation that contributes to autoimmune disease, according to research by Tlaskalová-Hogenová et al. (Immunology Letters. May 15, 2004;93[2–3]:97–108).

A multifaceted treatment approach that addresses the many contributors to autoimmune disease is more likely to reduce damage and symptoms than a conventional drug approach. Friedlander and Bauman offer supportive dietary and supplement suggestions in their article "Self Destructive Tendencies: Natural Strategies for Managing Autoimmunity." Avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugar (especially fructose and high-fructose corn syrup) is perhaps one of the best dietary measures a person can take to stem the inflammatory-autoimmunity cycle. Processed, sugary foods disturb gut bacteria balance and contribute to inflammation. Friedlander and Bauman suggest numerous supplements, herbs, and foods that have anti-inflammatory effects, including olive oil (extra virgin), sesame oil, green tea (epigallocatechin gallate), and spices and herbs (ginger, turmeric/curcumin, rosemary, oregano). Short fasts using fresh vegetable and fruit juices, vegetable broths, and herbal teas also calm inflammation. People with an autoimmune diagnosis should be supervised by a knowledgeable practitioner during fasting.

Friedlander J, Bauman E. Self destructive tendencies: natural strategies for managing autoimmunity. Bauman College. 2008. Available at:www.nanp.org/downloads/NANP_Newsletters/BCArticle.Autoimmunity.pdf. Accessed March 27, 2011.

Gastrointestinal Microbes and Rheumatoid Arthritis
What effect do toxic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract have on autoimmune disease? Laboratory rodent studies indicate that GI bacteria and their toxins (e.g., gram-negative bacteria cell wall components) contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases. Absorption of these toxins from the GI tract stimulates inflammatory and immune responses. J. Vaahtovuo et al.reported significant difference in the GI bacterial makeup in people with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with controls in their 2008 study (J Rheumatol 2008;35:1500–1505). Is it possible to relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis by reducing toxic bacteria in the GI tract? 

Kou Katayama and Japanese colleagues recently performed a small study to investigate this question. Their 2011 study involved 20 people with RA who either did not respond or were unable to take conventional medicines used to control the illness. (Eighteen completed the study). Another 18 background-matched RA patients acted as controls. Recognizing that antibiotics would contribute to further imbalance between pathogenic and nonpathogenic GI bacteria, the researchers decided to test the effect of a proprietary whey protein product containing natural milk antibodies called Bonyuno Chikara (Asama Chemicals Inc.). This whey protein concentrate contains immunoglobulins that function as antibodies against "at least 33 strains of pathogenic bacteria," according to laboratory tests. Tests with elderly volunteers indicate that the product reduces pathogenic bacteria like E. coli and Clostridium perfringens in feces and increases Lactobacilli.

Eight of the 18 receiving the whey product for three months experienced relief from GI problems and statistically significant reduction in RA symptoms. Two showed some improvement, and the remaining 8 did not respond. C-reactive protein levels and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate significantly decreased in those who responded and remained low one month after they stopped taking the product. Symptoms did eventually return, but those who had initially responded to the product improved again when it was reintroduced. When trying to determine why some patients responded and others did not, the researchers found that responders had higher serum anti-type II collagen antibody levels and higher serum IgG and IgA anti-lipopolysaccharides (from E. coli) antibody levels than the nonresponders. They suggest that these higher levels may indicate greater intestinal permeability. The researchers also found genetic differences between the two groups. 

Katayama K, Matsuno T, Waritani T, Terato K, Shionoya H. Supplemental treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with natural milk antibodies against enteromicrobes and their toxins: results of an open-labeled pilot study. Nutr J. 2011:10(2). Available at: www.nutritionj.com/content/10/1/2. Accessed March 24, 2011.

Petroleum Chemicals, Mercury, and SLE
Systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE, or lupus), like other autoimmune illnesses, occurs when genetically susceptible people are exposed to environmental toxins that disrupt the immune system. In the case of lupus, antibodies react with cell nuclear material, producing inflammation and damage in organs and joints. Lacking a definitive laboratory test, doctors rely on patient symptoms to diagnose lupus. The presence of 4 or more of the "11 criteria of lupus" indicates the disease, according to the American College of Rheumatology. (See www.rheumatology.org.) People living near industrial pollution or contamination sites have a higher incidence of lupus and other autoimmune diseases, but researchers are just beginning to track down specific contaminants that trigger or worsen these illnesses.

Pristane, a component of crude oil, and mercury, which is released during oil drilling, have each caused SLE-like symptoms and autoimmunity in laboratory mice. Mercury is known to disrupt immune function in both animals and humans. While case reports and epidemiological studies indicate that mercury can trigger SLE, the evidence linking oil components to autoimmune disease is more limited. A 2007 study, initiated at residents' request, found an unusually high incidence of SLE in a six-square-block area in Hobbs, New Mexico. From 1927 until the late 1960s, the neighborhood had been the site of an active oil field. Some homes had been built over an oil field waste pit. Ninety adults who had lived in the neighborhood for at least two years enrolled in the study. The California research team used 129 volunteers from a similar Southwestern town without a history of chemical exposure as a control. Researchers collected indoor and outdoor dust samples and air samples from some exposed homes and controls. They looked for the oil components pristane and phytane in the dust samples and measured mercury (which is more volatile) in the air. Blood and urine samples were also taken from some volunteers in each group. 

"We found higher levels of air mercury and house dust pristine/phytane in the affected neighborhood compared to other areas of Hobbs and the control town," James Dahlgren and colleagues write. In addition, 5 of 20 volunteers living in the exposed area and 1 of 25 controls had detectable pristane, phytane, and/or pristanic acid in their blood. All 6 had a diagnosis of lupus or symptoms associated with immune dysfunction. In addition, lymphocyte population in all exposed volunteer blood samples was abnormal, with significantly lower natural killer cells and significantly higher B-lymphocytes compared with controls. The incidence of lupus was extremely high in the exposed neighborhood: 13 cases out of an estimated 1490 inhabitants, which translates to 872/100,000. Medical literature indicates that SLE incidence "varies from 14.6 to 50.8 cases/100,000." Volunteers living in the oil-exposed area were also 10 times more likely to have rheumatic disease. In addition to other signs of immune dysfunction (e.g., mouth sores, numbness, rash), exposed volunteers were more likely to report cardiovascular, respiratory, and/or gastrointestinal problems. This study is reportedly the first one to link crude oil components to autoimmune disease.

Will oil components be linked to an increase in autoimmune disease among clean-up workers of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill? On February 28, 2011, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences announced a 10-year study involving oil spill clean-up workers. The NIH scientists hope to recruit 55,000 of the estimated 100,000 workers. The study is open to people aged at least 21 who did oil spill cleanup work for at least one day or who completed oil spill worker training. Only eight oil spills have been investigated for health effects on clean-up crews, and even fewer for long-term effects. This NIH study may help clarify the relationship between petroleum and autoimmune disease, particularly SLE.

Dahlgren J, Takhar M, Anderson-Mahoney P, Kotlerman J, Tarr J, Warshaw R. Cluster of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with an oil field waste site: a cross sectional study. Environ Health. 2007;6(15). Available at:www.ehjournal.net/content/6/1/8. Accessed March 21, 2011.
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. NIH launches largest oil spill health study [press release]. February 28, 2011. Available at:www.niehs.nih.gov/news/releases/2011/gulfstudyfinal. Accessed March 24, 2011.

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ASPARTAME ADVERSE REACTION QUESTIONNAIRE - HEART/PAD/MUSCLE-JOINT PAIN/GASTROINTESTINAL

Over a 27 year period, ACSN has collected thousands of Adverse Reaction Reports such as this one. If you feel you have had a reaction to your Artificial Sweetener Aspartame or Neotame please email: marystod@airmail.net or go to: <http://aspartamesafety.com/web/questionnaire/>
ASPARTAME CONSUMER SAFETY NETWORK QUESTIONNAIRE

 

Name:  R.S. Jr.Age_32__ Sex: MaleAddress: xxx xxxxxCity:  xxxxxx New Jersey

 

Medical problems that you believe are caused from using aspartame:Irregular Heart Beat, Anxiety / Panic Attacks, Joint Pain, Muscle weakness, especially in the legs, lack of muscular endurance, weight gain, headache, Pain in neck and shoulders, Mental confusion and "fog", loss of concentration, decreased sex-drive, upset stomach.

 

Why do you believe aspartame caused these problems?The problems began gradually about the time I started to use aspartame products on a regular basis, and increased dramatically as my use of these products increased.

 

Did the symptoms go away when you stopped using the products? I have been off of aspartame for 2 weeks, and the vast majority of my symptoms are gone or improving greatly, including chronic problems I had for years.

 

Did you see a Doctor about symptoms?Yes, especially when I began having panic attacks and irregular heart beat.

 

Did Doctor think it related to aspartame?No, he diagnosed me with severe stress and depression.  My panic attacks ceased when I quit using aspartame.

 

Did you report your symptoms to the FDA (Food & Drug Admin.) or any othergroup?Not yet, but I am planning to contact the FDA.

 

What specific products(s) containing aspartame were you consuming when youexperienced these symptoms?Diet sodas, flavored waters, and a variety of "low carb" products and sugar-free products.

 

On the average, what quantity were you consuming (how often, how much eachtime, etc.)I began only having aspartame once in awhile.  As I started a "low carb" diet, I used Diet drinks and sugar free foods much more often.  Maybe 2 sodas a day, and 2 or 3 diet products.

 

How long had you been consuming these products before you experienced thesymptoms?Some symptoms, such as weight gain, joint pain, mental "fog", etc have been with me for a few years.  The severe panic attacks and heart problems began after I increased the amount of products I was consuming.

 

FOR THOSE CONCERNED ABOUT WEIGHT:   Did you begin using products with aspartame when you began a restrictedcalorie diet?I had been using aspartame products sparingly before that, such as a diet soda here and there.  However, I GREATLY increased my intake of aspartame while dieting.

 

Did you use aspartame products only for some of your meals to save calories?I would use aspartame products such as diet bars, snacks, etc more to avoid sugar than to save calories.

 

Did aspartame seem to help you lose weight at first?No, never.  I have gained a significant amount of weight after using aspartame products. 
What were the long term weight loss effects of using aspartame.35 lb weight gain over 2 years. (ed.: Asparbesity?)

 

Date: August 2, 2004 6:04:20 PM CDTTo: <marystod@airmail.net>

Subject: Aspartame questionnaire  

 

Taken From History of Media Intimidation Cases Resulting ...

Taken From History of Media Intimidation Cases Resulting in Last Minute Cancellation of BREAKING SWEETENER NEWS STORY


FOX PULLS PLUG ON DISCUSSIONOF ANOTHER MONSANTO PRODUCTBy STEVE WILSONTAMPA (September 8, 1998)--The same Fox Television station under fire for it's handling of investigative reports about Monsanto's bovine growth hormone has abruptly cancelled another planned broadcast producers feared would be critical of the giant chemical company.
Mary Nash Stoddard, a leading critic of aspartame chemical sweeteners such as Monsanto-made NutraSweet, was informed less than two hours before her scheduled appearance on WTVT that the discussion had been cancelled on orders of station lawyers and management.
Apparently, while viewers who called the station were being told the promoted segment was cancelled "for technical reasons," Stoddard says producer Angela Schultz actually gave her a much different reason.
Stoddard says she was told Fox legal people got involved "because Fox was having problems with Monsanto." She quotes the apologetic producer as telling her that the station "tried to do a story about BGH, another Monsanto product, and we had problems we don't want any more problems with Monsanto."
The BGH Bulletin  has independently confirmed Stoddard's account with sources close to the situation on the condition they not be identified. A Fox producer and attorney have denied Stoddard's account and claim the long-scheduled segment was cancelled only because the station had not arranged anyone to present an opposing view on the same broadcast.
This reporter, one of the plaintiffs in a pending civil suit against Fox, instructed his attorneys to prepare and serve subpoenas on Fox personnel involved in the incident, saying "We believe the testimony will show this same broadcasting company which ordered us to slant the news and even lie on television, frequently selects stories and shapes its broadcasts based on its own interests and not the public interests as viewers as a right to expect."
The sweetener discussion was booked and confirmed by Fox weeks earlier. It was to be aired live September 8 on the station's mid-day news broadcast as part of anchorwoman Kathy Fountain's regular Your Turn feature. It had been promoted to viewers and it was not until the day of air that there was any sign of trouble.
Realizing the likelihood that Stoddard's comments would include troubling long-term, human health questions which have not been resolved in years since Monsanto's NutraSweet was approved, Fox officials decided to pull the plug.
Stoddard is head of the Dallas-based Aspartame Consumer Safety Network. She has written a book about serious human health problems allegedly caused by NutraSweet and other chemical sweeteners. She cites scientists and critics of the product who have linked it to seizures, including blackouts by pilots in the cockpits of commercial jetliners.
The activist says she was told by the producer who called her that newsroom colleagues argued for nearly an hour to get approval to air the interview because it concerns an important public health issue but station officials refused to allow the segment to proceed after Monsanto's involvement was discovered.
Fountain's Your Turn segments are not formatted as a debate. Guests are usually invited to express their views without another guest appearing on the same show to defend a company or express and opposing view. Stoddard says producers never mentioned any concern about a lack of balance, nor did they mention anything about any desire to re-schedule her appearance for a future date.
WTVT and its owner, Fox Television, are currently fighting a lawsuit filed earlier this year by this reporter and reporter Jane Akre who charge they were fired by Fox for refusing orders to broadcast false and misleading stories about Monsanto's synthetic bovine growth hormone, a product which has been linked to cancer.
According to the complaint filed by the veteran journalists, their investigative reports about BGH had been well promoted and also scheduled to air until Fox News chief Roger Ailes received a letter from a Monsanto attorney and the story was pulled on the virtual eve of the broadcast.
What followed, the suit alleges, was a nearly year-long battle between Fox lawyers and management and the reporters who say they were ethically obligated to refused orders to broadcast information they knew and documented to be false and misleading.
After at least 73 re-writes of the BGH scripts, a period of suspension, being locked out of the station and its computers where the reporters kept some of their BGH research, Fox fired both its WTVT investigative journalists December 2, 1997. They responded with their suit April 2, 1998. Fox has categorically denied the allegations and a February 22, 1999 trial date has been set in Florida state court in Tampa.foxBGHsuit.com UPDATE directory