If I can add something to this discussion, we now have a very much more concrete
idea about why it is that aspartame can actually trigger diabetes.

I need to give just a little background on this, because newcomers on this list
are likely not aware of some of this:

A lot of the symptoms of aspartame victims are caused by what are sometimes
termed "excitotoxins", which, in the case of aspartame, includes the two free
proteins, aspartic acid and phenylalanine. These cause a lot of harmful chemical
reactions in the brain, and one of them is that they charge the conductivity of
the synapses in the brain, which is to say that that the little electrical
chages that pass from one nerve cell to the next are greater than they would be
otherwise. They are, in a sense, "overamped", and this is the root of a lot of
brain damage that takes place.

It turns out that these free proteins, particularly phenylalanine, concentrate
in the brain around the glands that control various bodily functions, and one of
the most critical is the endocrin gland, which controls the system in the body
that regulates insulin production, and the use of insulin by the body. The
pancreas is not going to release insulin without some reason for doing so, at it
does so in relation to the amount of glucose in the blood. The signal comes from
the brain, and it is phenylalanine in particular that disrupts this process. The
result of this can be the onset of diabetes.

Proteins do not exist in nature in a state wherein they can be consumed
individually. They are normally found mixed with several others, so that they
combine with each other in your body when you consume them. If they are "free",
which is to say that they are not combined with other proteins, they will find
other chemicals in the body with which to combine, and form different
substances. These chemicals that they "tie up" are needed for other functions in
the body, and without them, the body is sort of crippled, in effect. When they
affect something as vital as the endocrin system, the results can be disasterous
and far reaching.

I am of the opinion that my own diabetes was greatly exacerbated by my use of
aspartame for the period in which I drank a lot of diet sodas and other
artificially sweetened items.

Bryant
----- Original Message -----
From: Dr. Betty Martini
To: Hkw53@...
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2004 12:20 PM
Subject: [Aspartame Support] Quick question Aspartame and Diabetes


Dear Nanette,

If you go to www.dorway.com and scroll down to experts you will see Dr. H.
J. Roberts position paper, Aspartame and diabetes and hypoglycemia. He
tells you that aspartame can precipitate diabetes, keeps blood sugar out of
control, can cause diabetics to go into convulsions and even interacts with
insulin. Dr. Roberts is a diabetic specialist. Have her take this paper
to her physician because aspartame simulates and aggravates diabetic
retinopathy and neuropathy, and the information will not only save her but
also his other patients. ;snip:

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