Aspartame sugar substitutes cause worrying symptoms from memory loss to brain tumours. But despite US FDA approval as a 'safe' food additive, aspartame is one of the most dangerous substances ever to be foisted upon an unsuspecting public.

The Most Dangerous Food Additive? Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on 26 July 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr. John W. Olney and consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974, as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices, caused the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (5 December 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Aspartame is by far the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods. Aspartame accounts for over 75% of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death as recently disclosed in a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report.

A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingestion of aspartame: brain tumours, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia and diabetes.

Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. The book, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James and Phyllis Balch, lists aspartame under the category of "chemical poison". As you shall see, that is exactly what it is.

ASPARTI ACID (40% OF ASPARTAME)

Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a Professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi, recently published a book thoroughly detailing the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive aspartic acid from aspartame. Aspartic acid makes up 40% of aspartame; glutamic acid is 99% of monosodium glutamate (MSG). The damage MSG causes is also documented in Blaylock's book. Blaylock makes use of almost 500 scientific references to show how excess free excitatory amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid in our food supply are causing serious chronic neurological disorders and myriad other acute symptoms.

HOW ASPARTATE (AND GLUTAMATE) CAUSE DAMAGE

Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins". They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death.

G.D. Searle conducted animal experiments on the safety of DKP. The FDA found numerous experimental errors occurred, including "clerical errors, mixed-up animals, animals not getting drugs they were supposed to get, pathological specimens lost because of improper handling" and many other errors. These sloppy laboratory procedures may explain why both the test and control animals had 16 times more brain tumours than would be expected in experiments of this length.

In a ironic twist, shortly after these experimental errors were discovered, the FDA used guidelines recommended by G.D. Searle to develop the industry-wide FDA standards for Good Laboratory Practices.

DKP has also been implicated as a cause of uterine polyps and changes in blood cholesterol by FDA toxicologist Dr. Jacqueline Verrett in her testimony before the US Senate.

AILMENTS RESULTING FROM ASPARTAME

The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually; others are immediate, acute reactions.

There is an enormous population of people who are suffering from symptoms contributed to by aspartame, yet they have no idea why herbs or drugs are not helping relieve their problems. There are other users of aspartame who appear not to be suffering immediate reactions to aspartame. But even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol and DKP. A few of the many disorders that are of particular concern to me include the following:

Birth Defects Dr. Diana Dow Edwards, a researcher, was funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by the ingestion of aspartame. After preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame, funding for the study was cut off. A genetic paediatrician at Emory University has testified that aspartame is causing birth defects.

In the book, While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, by George R. Verrilli, M.D. and Anne Marie Mueser, it is stated that aspartame is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A foetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with problems ranging from dizziness an subtle brain changes to mental retardations.

Cancer (Brain Cancer) In 1981, Satya Dubey, an FDA statistician, stated that the brain tumour data on aspartame was so "worrisome" that they could not recommend approval of NutraSweet. In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, 12 of the 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumours, while none of the control rats had tumours. Five of the 12 tumours were in rats given a low dose of aspartame.

The approval of aspartame was a violation of the Delaney Amendment which was supposed to prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehyde) and DKP from entering our food supply. The late Dr. Adrian Goss, and FDA toxicologist, testified before the US Congress that aspartame was capable of producing brain tumours. This made it illegal for the FDA to set an allowable daily intake at any level. He stated in his testimony that Searle's studies were "to a large extent unreliable" and that "at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumours in experimental animals…" He concluded his testimony by asking, "What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act?… And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?"