Aspartame is the technical name for such brand names as NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when G.D. Searle Company chemist James Schlatter was testing an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame was approved for carbonated beverages in 1983. In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.
Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: Aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi, recently published a book called Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills, which thoroughly details the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive aspartic acid from aspartame. 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 a myriad of other acute symptoms.
The taste that kills
Dr. Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon, presents the latest research findings to demonstrate how exposure to excitotoxins will damage nerve cells in the brain. Unfortunately, and to our peril, the use of aspartame, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and monosodium glutamate in prepared foods and beverages continues to increase on a yearly basis. Dr. Blaylock clearly demonstrates that the neurotoxic potential of excitotoxins such as MSG and aspartame is so overwhelming that it can no longer be ignored.
Aspartame is by far the most dangerous food additive on the market today. Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent 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.1 Some of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame are: headaches, vertigo, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, 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 ingesting of aspartame: brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes." (2)
Rumsfield’s Disease
The history of aspartame and its approval has a political history as well as a scientific one. When Donald Rumsfeld was CEO of Searle, the company manufactured aspartame. For 16 years the FDA refused to approve aspartame, ruling that aspartame is a deadly neurotoxic drug masquerading as an additive.
After leaving Searle, Donald Rumsfeld joined President Reagan's transition team. The day after he took office he appointed an FDA Commissioner who would approve aspartame. The FDA set up a Board of Inquiry of top scientists who said that aspartame is not safe and causes brain tumors, and the petition for approval was thereby revoked. The new FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, overruled that Board of Inquiry and then went to work for the PR Agency of the manufacturer, Burson-Marstellar, rumored at $1000.00 a day, and has refused to talk to the press ever since.
The constellation of deadly and devastating symptoms associated with Aspartame Disease are now called, appropriately enough, “Rumsfield’s Disease.”
Revolving doors
The FDA and the manufacturers of aspartame have had a rovolving door of employment for many years. In addition to the FDA Commissioner and two US Attorneys leaving to take positions with companies connected with G.D. Searle, four other FDA officials connected with the approval of aspartame took positions connected with the NutraSweet industry between 1979 and 1982 including the Deputy FDA Commissioner, the Special Assistant to the FDA Commissioner, the Associate Director of the Bureau of Foods and Toxicology and the Attorney involved with the Public Board of Inquiry. (3)
It is important to realize that this type of revolving-door activity has been going on for decades. The Townsend Letter for Doctors (11/92) reported on a study revealing that 37 of 49 top FDA officials who left the FDA took positions with companies they had regulated. They also reported that over 150 FDA officials owned stock in drug companies they were assigned to manage. Many organizations and universities receive large sums of money from companies connected to the NutraSweet Association, a group of companies promoting the use of aspartame. In January 1993, the American Dietetic Association received a $75,000 grant from the NutraSweet Company. The American Dietetic Association has stated that the NutraSweet Company writes their own “Facts” sheets. (4)
Death-dealing diet drinks
The United States government, in conjunction with soda companies, succeeded, unintentionally or otherwise, in performing a large-scale aspartame experiment on humans. During the Persian Gulf War, truckloads of diet soda were sent to the troops. The cans sat for up to eight weeks on pallets in the 120+ degree Arabian sun. Thirsty soldiers drank it up, can after can. Is it any surprise that Desert Storm Syndrome symptoms are identical to aspartame disease? Thousands of troops returned home complaining of memory loss, vision problems, chronic fatigue syndrome, confusion, dizziness, joint pain, headaches, equilibrium problems and manic depression. The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Immunologic Disease Society (CFIDS) claim that some 6000 soldiers, to date, have perished as a result of the Desert Storm Syndrome.
The NSDA also said (Docket No. 82F-0305) “Aspartame is inherently, markedly and uniquely unstable in aqueous media. In a liquid, such as a soft drink APM will degrade as a function of temperature and pH. Higher temperatures and more acidic liquids increase the rate of degradation. Higher temperatures may also affect the degradation products which are formed.” (6)
Coke and Pepsi knew all this and yet sent diet pop to the Persian Gulf. American soldiers were, in effect, drinking formaldehyde cocktails.
It’s about the money
Of approximately 100 independent studies conducted on aspartame, over 90 percent have demonstrated significant health risks. This would lead to the question, “Why hasn't aspartame been banned?” The answer is, sadly, that it’s about the money. In 1996, ignoring the fact that aspartame breaks down faster when heated above 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the FDA decided to remove any remaining limitations on its use. Presently, there are thousands of companies using aspartame in diet sodas, powdered drinks, gelatin, tea, coffee, cocoa, juices, frozen desserts and even vitamins and medications. This translates to billions of dollars worldwide. Unfortunately, this is more than enough to provide agency officials with lucrative future employment, politicians with campaign funds, non-profit foundations with endowments, scientists with research grants and the media with advertising dollars.
- Aspartame Toxicity Info Center. http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/
- Ibid
- News with Views. http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive15.htm
- Christine Lyndon, MD, “Could There Be Evils Lurking In Aspartame Consumption?” http://www.aspartamekills.com/lydon.htm
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