Recently I posted recipes that people cooking for diabetics could use for the holidays. Mama Echo replied with an interesting observation and I shall post it below. I e-mailed her for some confirmation, as I had not heard about it, and she sent me an interesting article which I shall also post below. Has anyone had similar experiences with this? Sibyl
Mama Echo's original post:
Mama Echo
Moderator posted January 10, 2000 07:33
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Running So Late,
Your recipes are wonderful for those who are not only diabetic, but also want to loose weight and need to cut their sugar....
I only have one problem with a particular sweetener - Equal and any derivatives of it. Do you know WHY you cannot cook with it? Very simple, it turns into formaldahyde past 86 degrees... not a very pleasant thought is it. So, please be careful with foods you eat that may be outside and especially canned sodas, tea, etc. that contain this stuff.
Another is that I & hubby for one, have developed allergies because of it. Allergies that never went away or that we had prior to its use.
I read my labels very carefully now and will NOT purchase ANYTHING that has aspartame in it.
Otherwise, we use the good old Sweet & Low...
Kat
Then, this is the documentation she sent me that I asked for:
From: "Carole Bradford"
Subject: Interesting information about aspartame
Date: Wed, 20 Jan, 1999
WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE and the MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS FOUNDATION F.D.A.
ISSUING FOR COLLUSION WITH MONSANTO Article written by Nancy Marks (1120197)
I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on
ASPARTAME marketed as "NutraSweet", Equal", and "Spoonful". In the keynote
address by the EPA, they announced that there was an epidemic of multiple
sclerosis and systemic lupus, and they did not understand what toxin was
causing this to be rampant across the United States. I explained that I was
there to lecture on exactly that subject.
When the temperature of Aspartame exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in
ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which in turn
causes metabolic acidosis. (Formic acid is the poison found in the sting of
fire ants). The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis; thus people
were being diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis in error. The multiple
sclerosis is not a death sentence, where methanol toxicity is.
In the case of systemic lupus, we are finding it has become almost as rampant
as multiple sclerosis, especially in Diet Coke and diet Pepsi drinkers.
Also, with methanol toxicity, the victims usually drink three to four 12 oz.
Cans of them per day, some even more. In the cases of systemic lupus, which
is triggered by ASPARTAME, the victim usually does not know that the
aspartame is the culprit. The victim continues its use aggravating the lupus
to such a degree, that sometimes it becomes life threatening.
When we get people off aspartame, those with systemic lupus usually become
asymptomatic. Unfortunately, we can not reverse this disease. On the other
hand, in the case of those diagnosed with multiple Sclerosis (when in
reality, the disease is methanol toxicity), most of the symptoms disappear.
We have seen cases where their vision has returned and even their hearing has
returned. This also applies to cases of tinnitus (ringing of the ears).
During a lecture I said, "If you are using ASPARTAME (NutraSweet, Equal,
Spoonful, etc.) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting
pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches,
tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred
vision, or memory loss - you probably has ASPARTAME DISEASE!" People were
jumping up during the lecture saying, "I've got this, is it reversible?"
It is rampant. Some of the speakers at my lecture even were suffering from
these symptoms. In one lecture attended by the Ambassador of Uganda, he told
us that their sugar industry is adding aspartame! He continued by saying
that one of the industry's leader's son could no longer walk due in part by
product usage!
We have a very serious problem. Even a stranger came up to Dr. Espisto (one
of my speakers) and myself and said, "Could you tell me why so many people
seem to be coming down with MS?" During a visit to a hospice, a nurse said
that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, have all been
diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence. Here is the problem.
There were Congressional Hearings when aspartame was included in 100
different products. Since this initial hearing, there have been two
subsequent hearings, but to no avail. Nothing has been done. The drug and
chemical lobbies have very deep pockets. Now there are over 5,000 products
containing this chemical, and the PATENT HAS EXPIRED!!!
At the time of this first hearing, people were going blind. The methanol in
the aspartame converts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye. Formaldehyde
is grouped in the same class of dmgs as cyanide and arsenic - DEADLY
POISONS!!! Unfortunately, it just takes longer to quietly kill, but it is
killing people and causing all kinds of neurological problems.
Aspartame changes the brain chemistry. It is the reason for severe seizures.
This drug changes the dopamine level in the brain. Imagine what this drug
does to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. This drug also causes
birth defects.
There is absolutely no reason to take this product. It is NOT A DIET
PRODUCT!! The congressional record said, "It makes you crave carbohydrates
and will make you FAT". Dr. Roberts stated that when he got patients off
aspartame, their average weight loss was 19 pounds per person. The
formaldehyde stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs.
Aspartame is especially deadly for diabetics. All physicians know what wood
alcohol will do to a diabetic. We find that physicians believe that they
have patients with retinopathy, when in fact, it is caused by the aspartame.
The aspartame keeps the blood sugar level out of control, causing many
patients to go into a coma. Unfortunately, many have died. People were
telling us at the Conference of the American College of Physicians, that they
had relatives that switched from saccharin to an aspartame product and how
that relative had eventually gone into a coma. Their physicians could not
get the blood sugar levels under control. Thus, the patients suffered acute
memory loss and eventually coma and death.
Memory loss is due to the fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are
neurotoxic without the other amino acids found in protein. Thus, it goes
past the blood-brain barrier and deteriorates the neurons of the brain. Dr.
Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, said, "The ingredients stimulate the neurons
of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees." Dr.
Blaylock has written a book entitled, "EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS"
(Health Press 1-800-543-2665). Dr. H.J. Roberts, diabetic specialist and
world expert on aspartame poisoning, has also written a book entitled
'DEFENSE AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE" (1-800-814-9800). Dr. Roberts tells us
how aspartame poisoning is escalating Alzheimer's disease and indeed it is.
As the hospice nurse told me, women are being admitted at 30 years of age
with Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Blaylock and Dr. Roberts will be writing a
position paper with some case histories and will post it on the Internet.
According to the Conference of the American College of Physicians, "We are
talking about a plague of neurological disease caused by this deadly poison".
Dr. Roberts realized what was happening when aspartame was first marketed.
He said, "his diabetic patients presented memory loss, confusion, and severe
vision loss". At the Conference of the American College of Physicians,
doctors admitted that they did not know. They had wondered why seizures were
rampant (the phenylalanine in aspartame breaks down the seizure threshold and
depletes serotonin, which causes manic depression, panic attacks, rage and
violence). Just before the Conference, I received a fax from Norway asking
for a possible antidote for this poison because they are experiencing so many
problems in their country. This "poison" is now available in 90 PLUS
countries worldwide. Fortunately, we had speakers and ambassadors at the
Conference from different nations who have pledged their help. We ask that
you help too. Print this article out and warn everyone you know. Take
anything that contains aspartame back to the store. Take the "NO ASPARTAME
TEST", and send us your case history.
I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of aspartame, knows how deadly it is.
They fund the American Diabetes Association, American Dietetic Association,
Congress, and the Conference of the American College of Physicians. The New
York Times, on November 15, 1996, ran an article on how The American Dietetic
Association takes money from the food industry to endorse their products.
Therefore, they can not criticize any additives or tell about their link to
MONSANTO. How bad is this? We told a mother who had a child on NurtraSweet
to get off the product. The child was having grand mal seizures every day.
The mother called her physician, who called the ADA, who told the doctor not
to take the child off the NutraSweet. We are still trying to convince the
mother that the aspartame is causing the seizures. Every time we get someone
off of aspartame, the seizures stop. If the baby dies, you know whose fault
it is, and what we are up against.
There are 92 documented symptoms of aspartame, from coma to death. The
majority of them are all neurological because the aspartame destroys the
nervous system. Aspartame Disease is partially the cause to what is behind
some of the mystery of the Desert Storm health problems. The burning tongue
and other problems discussed in over 60 cases can be directly related to the
consumption of an aspartame product. Several thousand pallets of diet drinks
were shipped to the Desert Storm troops. (Remember heat can liberate the
methanol from the aspartame at 86 degrees F). diet drinks sat in the
120-degree F Arabian sun for weeks at a time on pallets. The service men and
women drank them all day long. All of their symptoms are identical to
aspartame poisoning. Dr. Roberts says, "consuming aspartame at the time of
conception can cause birth defects". The phenylalanine concentrates in the
placenta, causing mental retardation, according to Dr. Louis Elsas.
Pediatrician Professor - Genetics, at Emory University in his testimony
before Congress: "In the original lab tests, animals developed brain tumors"
(phenylalanine breaks down into DXP, a brain tumor agent). When Dr. Espisto
was lecturing on aspartame, one physician in the audience, a neurosurgeon,
said, "when they remove the brain tumors, they have found high levels of
aspartame in them". Stevia, a sweet food, NOT AN ADDITIVE, which helps in
the metabolism of sugar, which would be ideal for diabetics, has now been
approved as a dietary supplement by the FDA, for years, the FDA has outlawed
this sweet food because of their loyalty to MONSANTO. If it says "SUGAR
FREE" on the label - DO NOT EVEN THING ABOUT IT!!!! Senator Howard
Metzenbaum wrote a bill that would have warned all infants, pregnant mothers
and children of the dangers of aspartame. The bill would have also
instituted independent studies on the problems existing in the populations
(seizures, changes in brain chemistry, changes in neurological and behavioral
symptoms). It was killed by the powerful drug and chemical lobbies, letting
loose the hounds of disease and death on an unsuspecting public. Since the
Conference of the American College of Physicians, we hope to have the help of
some world leaders. Again, please help us too. There are a lot of people
out there who must be warned. Please let them know this information.
Women's Cancer Resource Center
Laurie Moser, Assistant Director
1815 East 41st Street, Suite C
Minneapolis, MN 55407-3425
1-800-908-8544
[This message has been edited by RunningSoLate (edited January 14, 2000).]
Answer
I have heard this letter is a hoax, here is a site that explains more.....
Aspartame Hoax
[IMG]http://www.truck.net/bbs/cool.gif[/IMG]
Amee
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Welcome to earth, third rock from the sun.
[This message has been edited by Truckboss (edited January 14, 2000).]
Answer
I have heard this letter is a hoax, here is a site that explains more.....
Aspartame Hoax
[IMG]http://www.truck.net/bbs/cool.gif[/IMG]
Amee
------------------
Welcome to earth, third rock from the sun.
[This message has been edited by Truckboss (edited January 14, 2000).]
Answer
Well, Amee, I told Mama Echo I would put this in the medical forum and see what turned up about it. But this article you referred us too is also non conclusive and he does not really tell us which parts are "true" and which parts of the letter are "false"/ I went back to the labels on Equal and did not see any warning, but then that doesn't mean anything either. NewYorkTwo-do you know anything about this???? Sibyl
Answer
Try this one
Multiple Sclerosis Foundation
This site explains it a little more clearly.
This is from the FDA, about aspartame and other sweeteners....
Food and Drug Administration
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Welcome to earth, third rock from the sun.
[This message has been edited by Truckboss (edited January 14, 2000).]
Answer
I wrote to Equal a few days ago questioning some of the proposed health risks in using their product, this is their response...
______________________________________
Dear Friend,
Thanks for writing!
You can be extremely confident when you choose Equal sweetened with aspartame. This is because aspartame is made of the same components found in the foods we eat everyday such as meat, milk, fruits and vegetables.
Aspartame was discovered almost 35 years ago and since that time has been looked at every which way. There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims that aspartame causes side effects, of any kind, including cancer.
Over 200 scientific studies conducted by researchers at universities and health organizations throughout the world have established its safety.
For more information, including a list of studies, in regards to aspartame, we suggest that you visit our second website: http://www.nutrasweet.com.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Best regards,
Team Equal
_______________________
It's not much, but at least they responded [IMG]http://www.truck.net/bbs/cool.gif[/IMG]
Amee
------------------
Welcome To Earth,
Third Rock From The Sun.
Answer
I wrote to Equal a few days ago questioning some of the proposed health risks in using their product, this is their response...
______________________________________
Dear Friend,
Thanks for writing!
You can be extremely confident when you choose Equal sweetened with aspartame. This is because aspartame is made of the same components found in the foods we eat everyday such as meat, milk, fruits and vegetables.
Aspartame was discovered almost 35 years ago and since that time has been looked at every which way. There is no scientific evidence supporting the claims that aspartame causes side effects, of any kind, including cancer.
Over 200 scientific studies conducted by researchers at universities and health organizations throughout the world have established its safety.
For more information, including a list of studies, in regards to aspartame, we suggest that you visit our second website: http://www.nutrasweet.com.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
Best regards,
Team Equal
_______________________
It's not much, but at least they responded [IMG]http://www.truck.net/bbs/cool.gif[/IMG]
Amee
------------------
Welcome To Earth,
Third Rock From The Sun.