April 1 2004 Hello Valerie Duffy, Madeleine Sigman-Grant, Maggie Powers,

Despite the date, it is no joke that aspartame is 11% methanol, immediately
released into the GI tract, and within hours converted by the liver into
formaldehyde and formic acid-- potent cumulative toxins that attack every
tissue and trigger hypersensitivity reactions.

The exponentially ever expanding network of science makes it increasingly
evident that this is so. The house of cards of three decades of denial is
exceedingly unstable, liable to implosion this year. Indeed, this very
communication is evidence of that.

For five years, as a volunteer layman activist, concerned to serve the
public welfare by supplying civil, lucid, detailed, long, referenced reviews
of mainly mainstream scientific research, I have never had any genuine
two-way communication with anyone on the pro-aspartame side. I now have an
impulse to send this, sensing that female professionals can not help but act
from the deepest core of their being to actually protect people.

Here is an opportunity to alert families all over the world about an easily
avoidable scourge. Here is an opportunity to mobilize responsible, capable,
flexible, caring professionals to make the best of an increasingly
difficult, rapidly unstable situation that affects hundreds of thousands of
jobs, the fortunes of great corporations, and public trust in government
worldwide. Why, like the heedless tobacco industry, continue to march
blindly down a closed corridor that leads to decades of perilous, boring,
humiliating, and exceedingly hazardous legal and financial difficulties,
while needless disease , disability, and death wreck rampant and careless
harm on individuals and societies?

Why not come clean, admit the disaster, apologize, warn the peoples of our
single human family, cease production, sales, and distribution of aspartame
and MSG, and set aside hundreds of billions of dollars into a fund to fairly
recompense the hapless victims and to research alternatives, like stevia,
that hold promise of being a wholly benign solution? Wouldn't this be fun?
Wouldn't this set an outstanding historical precedent for dealing with
similar situations, as serious, as simmering, just as ready to boil over?
Why can't we cooperate reasonably, daringly, and creatively as free citizen
souls of this wonderful, tortured single world polity? Wouldn't this be
true democratic action? Wouldn't this be spiritual service?

I say this to you now, and you do hear me. You must listen to the truth
within yourself. Whatever you do, the fact stands and expands inevitably
that this message is said widely, and heard widely. Truth can not be
managed. It is essential that you scrutinize the evidence herein and
rethink the entire situation. Your fate is in your own thinking, nowhere
else.

In mutual service, Rich Murray

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1068
critique of aspartame review by American Dietetic Association Feb 2004,
Valerie B. Duffy & Madeleine Sigman-Grant: Murray 4.1.4 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-986-9103

[ My critical comments are in square brackets. I've copied parts of another
recent critique after the end of this critique, and then supplied more
references and links. I have spaced the lines to make the text a little
easier to comprehend, without changing anything else.
Two similar previous ADA position statements are referenced for 1998 and
1993, both widely cited.
I make a few comments about neotame, a derivative of aspartame.
The journal letter by Anthony Kulczycki competently shows the flaws in the
inadequate effort by Geha et al.
I also draw attention to very interesting results by Yu F. Sasaki's team,
which have aroused remarkably little comment:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/934
24 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] reports:
Murray 12.31.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/935
Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in
mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 1.1.3 rmforall
[Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives,
using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon,
liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame--
a very high dose.]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/961
genotoxins, Comet assay in mice: Ace-K, stevia fine; aspartame poor;
sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin bad: Y.F. Sasaki Aug 2002:
Murray 1.27.3 rmforall [A detailed look at the data] ]
************************************************************

American Dietetic Association, 120 South Riverside Plaza, Suite 2000,
Chicago, IL 60606-6995 Phone: (800) 877-1600, ext. 5000
www.eatright.org sales@...

http://www.eatright.org/Nutritive(1).pdf
J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Feb; 104(2): 255-75.
Position of the American Dietetic Association: use of nutritive and
nonnutritive sweeteners. American Dietetic Association.
[ p. 275 lists 2 authors and 10 reviewers:
ADA position adopted by the House of Delegates on October 18, 1992, and
reaffirmed on September 6, 1996 and on June 22, 2000.
This position will be in effect until December 31, 2009.
ADA authorizes republication of the position statement/support paper, in its
entirety, provided full and proper credit is given.
Requests to use portions of the position must be directed to ADA
Headquarters at 312/899-0040, ext. 4835, or ppapers@... .

Authors:
Valerie B. Duffy, PhD, RD (University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT) [ Valerie
Duffy Assc. Prof. Organization: ALLIED HLTH DIETETICS Status: Faculty
Building: KOONS HALL UBox: UNIT 2101 Email: VALERIE.DUFFY@...
Web URL: M.UCONN.EDU/~VDUFFY/ Phone: 860 486-1997 ];
Madeleine Sigman-Grant, PhD, RD (University of Nevada Cooperative Extension,
Las Vegas, NV, [ http://www.jneb.org/boe/sigman.htm
MCH Nutrition Specialist and Professor, Cooperative Education,
University of Nevada-Reno, 2345 Red Rock Street, Las Vegas, Nevada
89146-3160 Phone 702-222-3130 msigman@... ]

Reviewers:
Margaret A. Powers, MS, RD, CDE, International Diabetes Center, Park
Nicollet Institute, Minneapolis, MN, Diabetes Care and Education Dietetic
Practice Group, [ Maggie Powers, Powers and Associates Inc, "a health
communications firm" , " Margaret is president of Powers and Associates,
Inc., a national health and nutrition communications firm.", St. Paul, Minn.
Minnesota Dietetic Association mda@... , Maggie Powers
651-699-0031 mpowers5@... , http://www.parknicollet.com/Institute/ Park
Nicollet Institute, 3800 Park Nicollet Blvd., Minneapolis, MN 55416
952-993-3350 ,
http://www.parknicollet.com/Diabetes/ International Diabetes Center,
3800 Park Nicollet Boulevard, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416-2699
Phone: 952-993-3393 Toll-free: 1-888-825-6315 Fax: 952-993-1302
idcdiabetes@... 1-888-637-2675. ] ;
Denise Elmore, DTR, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,
TX, Dietetic Technicians in Practice Dietetic Practice Group;
Esther F. Myers, PhD, RD, FADA (American Diebetic Association, Chicago, IL);
Diane Quagliani, MBA, RD (Quagliani Communications, Inc., Western Springs,
IL);
Gita Patel, MS, RD, CDE, Nutrition Consultant, Etna, NH, Sports,
Cardiovascular and Wellness Dietetic Practice Group;
Marie Spano, MS, RD, Atlanta, GA. Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness
Dietetic Practice Group;
Kimberly F. Stitzel, MS, RD (American Dietetic Association, Washington, DC);
Sue Taylor, MS, RD (Kellen Company, Atlanta, GA); and
[ADA] Association Positions Workgroup:
Robert Earl, MPH, RD (chair);
Sonja Connor, MS, RD. ]

Sweeteners elicit pleasurable sensations with (nutritive) or without
(nonnutritive) energy.
Nutritive sweeteners (eg, sucrose, fructose) are generally recognized as
safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), yet concern exists
about increasing sweetener intakes relative to optimal nutrition and health.
Dietary quality suffers at intakes above 25% of total energy (the Institutes
of Medicine's suggested maximal intake level). In the United States,
estimated intakes of nutritive sweeteners fall below this, although one in
four children (ages 9 to 18 years) can surpass this level.
Polyols (sugar alcohols), GRAS-affirmed or petitions filed for GRAS, add
sweetness with reduced energy and functional properties to foods/beverages
and promote dental health.
Five nonnutritive sweeteners with intense sweetening power have FDA approval
(acesulfame-K, aspartame, neotame, saccharin, sucralose) and estimated
intakes below the Acceptable Daily Intake (level that a person can safely
consume everyday over a lifetime without risk).
By increasing palatability of nutrient-dense foods/beverages, sweeteners can
promote diet healthfulness.
Scientific evidence supports neither that intakes of nutritive sweeteners by
themselves increase the risk of obesity nor that nutritive or nonnutritive
sweeteners cause behavioral disorders.
However, nutritive sweeteners increase risk of dental caries.
High fructose intakes may cause hypertriglyceridemia and gastrointestinal
symptoms in susceptible individuals.
Thus, it is the position of The American Dietetic Association that consumers
can safely enjoy a range of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners when
consumed in a diet that is guided by current federal nutrition
recommendations, such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the
Dietary References Intakes, as well as individual health goals.
Dietetics professionals should provide consumers with science-based
information about sweeteners and support research on the use of sweeteners
to promote eating enjoyment, optimal nutrition, and health.
Publication Types: Guideline PMID: 14760578
*************************************************************

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m0887/n6_v17/20848372/p1/article.jhtml
Valerie B. Duffy and G. Harvey Anderson, Position of The American Dietetic
Association: Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners, J. American
Dietetic Assoc 98(5): 580-587 (May 1998)

http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/2455/sugar.html
"Position of The American Dietetic Association: Use of Nutritive and
Non-Nutritive Sweeteners," Journal of The American Dietetic Association, 93:
7: 816-821, July 1993. Franz, M. J., Maryniuk, M. D.
*************************************************************

p. 263 "Aspartame, a dipeptide (L-a-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester)
is 160 to 220 times sweeter than sucrose.
Intestinal esterases hydrolyze aspartame to aspartic acid, methanol, and
phenylalanine (74).
These components are found in much greater amounts in the normal diet in
fruits, vegetables, meat, and milk. [ standard industry PR spin ]
For example, a serving of nonfat milk provides about six times more
phenylalanine and 13 times more aspartic acid, whereas a serving of tomato
juice has about six time more methanol than an equal volume beverage
sweetened 100% with aspartame (75).
The amino acids are metabolized to provide 4 kcal/g.
Thus, this sweetener does provide energy; however, because of the intense
sweetness of aspartame, only minute amounts need to be added, and the amount
of energy derived is negligible.

[ To summarize the actual and simple reality:

It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily
for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid
toxicity, since 11% of aspartame (1,120 mg in 2L diet soda, 5.6 12-oz
cans) is 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol), immediately released into the
body after drinking (unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in
molecules inside many fruits), then quickly transformed into
formaldehyde, which in turn becomes formic acid, both of which in
time are partially eliminated as carbon dioxide and water.

However, about 30% of the methanol remains in the body as cumulative
durable toxic metabolites of formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily,
a gram every month. [Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE. [ an aspartame industry lab ]
J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.]
If 10% of the methanol is retained as formaldehyde, that would give 12
mg daily formaldehyde accumulation, about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg
from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in water.

Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in drinking water is
1 ppm, or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
RTM: ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999
5.30.2 rmforall

This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical
patterns of increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with
headache, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, memory loss, and
leading to vision and eye problems, and even seizures. In many cases
there is addiction. Probably there are immune system disorders, with a
hypersensitivity to these toxins and other chemicals.

J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.
Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
Dept. of Biochemistry, Searle Laboratories,
Division of G.D. Searle and Co. Box 5110, Chicago, IL 60680
They found that about 70% of the radioactive methanol in aspartame put
into the stomachs of 3 to 7 kg monkeys was eliminated within 8 hours,
with little additional elimination, as carbon dioxide in exhaled air
and as water in the urine. They did not mention
that this meant that about 30% of the methanol must transform
into formaldehyde and then into formic acid, both of which must remain
as toxic products in all parts of the body. They did not report any
studies on the distribution of radioactivity in body tissues, except
that blood plasma proteins after 4 days held 4% of the initial
methanol. This study did not monitor long-term use of aspartame.

The low oral dose of aspartame and for methanol was 0.068 mmol/kg,
about 1 part per million [ppm] of the acute toxicity level of 2,000
mg/kg, 67,000 mmol/kg, used by McMartin (1979). Two L daily use of
diet soda provides 123 mg methanol, 2 mg/kg for a 60 kg person, a dose
of 67 mmole/kg, a thousand times more than the dose in this study.
By eight hours excretion of the dose in air and urine had leveled off
at 67.1 +-2.1% as CO2 in the exhaled air and 1.57+-0.32% in the urine,
so 68.7 % was excreted, and 31.3% was retained. [ This data is the
average of 4 monkeys. ]

In 1981, the FDA approved aspartame as a sweetener for a number of dry uses
(eg, tabletop sweetener, cold breakfast cereal, gelatins and puddings) and
in chewing gum.
This approval was expanded in 1983 to include carbonated beverages.
The Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association in
1985 concluded that, "Available evidence suggests that consumption of
aspartame by normal humans is safe and not associated with serious adverse
health effects." (76). [ Note the cautious qualifiers "available",
"suggests", "normal", "serious". ]
In 1996, the FDA approved aspartame as a "general purpose sweetener" for use
in all foods and beverages.
Aspartame is also approved for use in over 100 nations.

[ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/927
Donald Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval:
Turner: Murray 12.23.2 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/upipart1.txt
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/262
aspartame expose 96K Oct 1987 Part 1/3: Gregory Gordon, UPI reporter:
Murray 7.10.0 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/enclosur.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/53
aspartame history Part 1/4 1964-1976: Gold: Murray 11.6.9: rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/928
revolving door, Monsanto, FDA, EPA: NGIN: Murray 12.23.2 rmforall ]

The United Nations leads the world in demand for aspartame, accounting for
up to 75% of sales.
Although soft drinks account for above 70% of aspartame consumption, this
sweetener is added to more than 6,000 foods, personal care products, and
pharmarceuticals.
Aspartame is available in liquid, granular, encapsulated, and powder forms
to extend use in food and beverage products.
Aspartame decomposes during excessive heating and loses its sweetening
power.
However, appropriate cooking methods can minimize losses of aspartame
sweetness (77).

Detailed studies have been conducted to determine how ingestion influences
plasma levels of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol (or the
byproduct formate). [ Typical of industry PR spin, the alarming fact that
formaldehyde is another inevitable byproduct is omitted. ]
In studies with healthy adults (78), levels of plasma aspartate
concentrations or blood levels of formate did not change with a bolus load
up to four times the ADI for aspartame (ie, 200 mg/kg). [ The issue is not
blood or plasma levels, but the cumulative levels of formaldehyde and formic
acid toxic products in a variety of body tissues, resulting from long-term,
heavy use (above 6 12-oz cans daily diet soda, about 2L) by many types of
vulnerable persons. ]
Plasma phenylalanine response to aspartame (as well as to other dietary
sources of phenylalanine) varies in persons with phenylketonuria (PKU), a
homozygous recessive inborn error of metabolism of which affected
individuals cannot metabolize phenylalanine.
In persons with this rare (frequency in approximately one in 10,000 whites)
[ ie, 1,000 in 10 million, 10,000 in 100 million, 30,000 in 300
million ] inborn error, excess intake of this amino acid can cause higher
plasma phenylalanine levels and its adverse effects (79).
MNT involes the control of dietary sources of phenylalanine, including
aspartame.
The FDA requires that foods that contain aspartame have the prominent
display of the following label:
"PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE" (80).

Untreated individuals with PKU appear to tolerate the amount of
phenylalanine in a diet soda sweetened with aspartame (approximately 104
mg/12 oz) (81).
Heterozygotes for PKU do not show changes in cognitive performance or in
electroencephalograms after 12 weeks of consuming either 15 or 45 mg/kg
bw/day of aspartame (82). [ milligrams per kilogram body weight per day ]
In non-PKU individuals, single-bolus studies of aspartame (up to 50 mg/kg
bw) or repeat dose studies show a plasma phenylalanine response near the
normal postprandial range and considerably lower than that observed in PKU
individuals or those with mild hyperphenylalanemia (78).

Aspartame breaks down to diketopiperazine [ a potent carcincogen ] in liquid
systems with excessive heat exposure. Animal toxicity studies show that,
even if all aspartame were converted to diketopiperazine in beverages, the
amount would be well below the FDA-established ADI of 3,000 mg/kg bw/day for
this compound (83).

Some individuals report allergic reactions to aspartame, including edema of
the lips, tongue, and throat; dermatologic reactions; and respiratory
problems (84).
[ These are classic formaldehyde allergic reactions. It is typical that
industry research never explores which breakdown products of aspartame might
be causing allergic reactions. The disparaging term "some individuals" is
used rather than give specific numbers. Russell M. Jaffe, MD, PhD found 20
% of fibromyalgia patients were sensitive to aspartame:

http://www.perque.org/Fibromyalgia.pdf
A Novel Treatment for Fibromyalgia Improves Clinical Outcomes in a
Community-Based Study.
Patricia A. Deuster, Russell M. Jaffe.
Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain. 1998; Vol. 6(2): 133-149.

"Using blood tests, the researchers ran a panel of 350 antigens including
environmental chemicals, food additives and preservatives, crustaceans,
diary products, fish, fruits, grains, meats, mollusks, and oils."

"Normal, healthy people react to only two or less of this panel. The
greatest offenders were:

MSG 42.5 % (17 out of 40 patients)
Candida albicans 37.5 %
Caffeine 37 %
Chocolate/cocoa 37 %
Food colorings 37 %
Cola beverages 37 %
Cow Dairy Products 25 %
Sulfite/metabisulfite 22.5%
Xylene 22.5%
Yogurt 22.5%
Aspartames 20%
BHA 20%
Cadmium 20%
Lead 20%
Tylenol 20%
Yeast 20%
Sodium benzoate 20%
Orange 20% "

http://www.perque.com/ info@... 800-525-7372

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1047
Avoiding Hangover Hell 12.31.3 Mark Sherman, AP writer: Robert Swift, MD:
[formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame]: Murray 1.16.4 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1048
hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?):
Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 1.18.4

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/915
formaldehyde toxicity: Thrasher & Kilburn: Shaham: EPA: Gold: Murray:
Wilson: CIIN: 12.12.2 rmforall

Thrasher (2001): "The major difference is that the Japanese demonstrated
the incorporation of FA and its metabolites into the placenta and fetus.
The quantity of radioactivity remaining in maternal and fetal tissues
at 48 hours was 26.9% of the administered dose." [Ref. 14-16]

Arch Environ Health 2001 Jul-Aug; 56(4): 300-11.
Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde. [100 references]
Thrasher JD, Kilburn KH. toxicology@...
Sam-1 Trust, Alto, New Mexico, USA.
http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_embryo_toxicity.html full text

http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne
Thrasher, Alan Broughton, Roberta Madison. Immune activation and
autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde.
Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. "Immune activation,
autoantibodies, and anti-HCHO-HSA antibodies are associated with long-term
formaldehyde inhalation." PMID: 2400243

Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909
testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &
peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame:
Martin L. Pall: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall ]

However, two double-blinded challenge studies report difficulty in
recruiting individuals who claim an allergic respnse to aspartame and a
failure to reproduce the allergic reactions in controlled experimental
conditions (85, 86).
[ A number of standard aspartame industry ploys apply here. Again and
again, industry funded double-blind laboratory tests are used to justify
ignoring negative clinical feedback. It happens to be very easy to conduct
misleading double-blind laboratory studies:
by using only healthy subjects, by using too few subjects to generate
statistics that could detect effects rarer than 1% incidence,
by giving the aspartame in delayed release capsules, rather than in fast
release beverages,
by using one-time or limited duration exposures that can not detect
long-term accumulation and gradual sensitivation, and,
as always, failing to measure the actual disposition of the accumulation of
toxic formaldehyde and formic acid products over time in many specific
tissues.
After the references for this ADA statement, I give the full text of a
journal letter (Feb 1995) by Prof. Anthony Kulczycki, Jr of Washington
University School of Medicine, that gives a detailed critique of reference
(86), the Geha study (1993) . In general, aspartame industry research and
review papers barely mention that many competent negative laboratory
studies do exist.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/622
Rich Murray: Gold: Koehler: Walton: Van Den Eeden: Leon:
aspartame toxicity 6.4.1 rmforall four double-blind studies

Headache 1988 Feb;28(1):10-4
The effect of aspartame on migraine headache.
Koehler SM, Glaros A PMID: 3277925, UI: 88138777
Shirley M. Koehler, PhD 904-858-7651 skoehler@...
http://www.med.umich.edu/abcn/alpha/alpha-K.html#Koehler
Alan Glaros glarosa@... 816-235-2074

They conducted a double-blind study of patients, ages 18-55, who had
a medical diagnosis of classical migraines (normally having 1-3
migraines in 4-weeks), who were not on medications (other than
analgesics), and who suspected that aspartame had a negative effect on
their migraine headaches. The subjects were given 1200 mg daily,
aspartame or placebo, for four weeks, about 17 mg/kg. The placebo
group had no increase in headaches. Approximately half of the subjects
(5 of 11) who took aspartame had a large, statistically significant
(p = 0.02), increase in migraine headache frequency, but not in
intensity or duration, compared to baseline or placebo. Only 11 of
25 subjects completed the program: 8 dropped out, 4 began new
medications, 2 had incomplete records. They were at home.
Since 1/3 of the subjects dropped out, they may have been choosing
to avoid headaches-- were they unpaid? To achieve statistical
signifance with only 11 subjects hints that the incidence rate from
aspartame is very high, about 1/2, for migraine cases who believe
that they are hurt by aspartame.

Walton, RG, "Adverse reactions to aspartame: double-blind challenge in
patients from a vulnerable population," 1993, with Robert Hudak and
Ruth J. Green-Waite, Biological Psychiatry, 34 (1), 13-17.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio
Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown,
OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine,
Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown,
OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@...
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm

Eight depressed patients, ages 24-60, and five non-depressed controls,
ages 24-56, employed at the hospital, were given for 7 days either
aspartame or a placebo, and then after a 3 day break, given the
opposite. Each got 2100 mg aspartame daily, 30 mg/kg bodyweight,
equal to 10-12 cans of diet soda daily, about a gallon. Despite the
very small number of subjects, the results were dramatic and
statistically significant. The eight depressed patients reported with
aspartame, compared to placebo, much higher levels of nervousness,
trouble remembering, nausea, depression, temper, and malaise. (For each
symptom, p<0.01) The five normals did not report strong enough
differences between aspartame and placebo to be significant.
Initially, the study was to be on a group of 40, but was halted by the
Institutional Review Board because of severe reactions among 3 of the
depressed patients.

Again, statistical significance with only 8 depressed patients:
"In this study, patients most often began to report significant
symptoms after day 2 or 3." The incidence rate is very high,
indeed, about 1/3. The most common symptoms are entirely typical
of thousands of case histories.

Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, T.D. Koepsell, W.T. Longstreth, Jr,
G. van Belle, J.R. Daling, B. McKnight, "Aspartame ingestion and
headaches: a randomized crossover trial," 1994, Neurology, 44, 1787-93
Steven K. Van Den Eeden,PhD 550-450-2202 skv@...
Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program
3505 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94611-5714
http://www.dor.kaiser.org/dorhtml/investigators/Stephen_Van_Den_Eeden.html

In their introduction, they comment:

"In addition, the FDA had received over 5,000 complaints as of July,
1991 in a passive surveillance system to monitor adverse side effects.
(17) Neurologic problems constitute the primary complaints in these
and several other case series, with headaches accounting for
18 to 45 %,depending on the case series reported. (17-19)"

Subjects, ages 18-57, were recruited who believed they got headaches
from aspartame, but were otherwise mentally and physically healthy.
They were paid $ 15 total, and were at home. Of the 44 subjects, 32
contributed data to the 38-day trials: a week of inert placebo, a week
of either aspartame or placebo, followed by a week of the opposite, and
then this two-week cycle repeated. The daily dose was about 30 mg/kg.
"The proportion of days subjects reported having a headache was
higher during aspartame treatment compared with placebo treatment
(aspartame = 0.33, placebo = 0.24; p = 0.04) (table 5)".
Of the 12 subjects not included in the data, 7 reported adverse
symptoms before withdrawing.

Again, statistical significance with a moderate number of healthy
subjects, willing to be recruited by a newspaper ad, who believed
aspartame hurt them. The number of headaches for each subject
for each treatment week are given: it appears that 4 subjects
had the strongest increase in headaches from the run-in week
or placebo week to their first week on aspartame, jumping from 0 to 5,
1 to 6, 1 to 4, 0 to 5 headaches per week. So, about 4 of the 44
healthy people recruited for the study, who believed aspartame hurt
them, had a stong increase in headaches from the first week of daily
asparame exposure, while 7 reported adverse symptoms before leaving,
a total of 11 out of 44, an incidence ratio of 1/4.

This is sky high, if we consider that, if the incidence ratio for the
about two hundred million users in the USA is 1 of 100, that is 2
million cases. It is plausible that the incidence ratio lies between 1
and 10 out of 100 for continuous daily exposure. These three flames
should have set off alarm bells, with extensive follow-up studies and
much more careful study of thousands of case histories. But these
little flares were adroitly smothered by thick blankets of industry
funded fluff.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/623
Rich Murray: Simmons: Gold: Schiffman: Spiers:
aspartame toxicity 6.4.1 rmforall two double-blind studies

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/857
RTM: www.dorway.com: original documents and long reviews of flaws in
aspartame toxicity research 7.31.2 rmforall

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html
"Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research" Mark D. Gold

"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding
sources," 1998, unpublished: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed
medical literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety.
The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's
safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%)
identified a problem. Six of the seven non-industry funded studies
that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which
has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio
Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown,
OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine,
Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown,
OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@...
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm ]

The FDA increased the ADI for aspartame to its present level of 50 mg/kg
bw/day when it was approve for use in carbonated beverages in 1983 (87).
This ADI would approximate a 60-kg individual consuming 500 to 600 grams of
sucrose per day over a lifetime based on sweetness of aspartame compared
with that of sucrose (75).
Postmarket assessment of aspartame conducted between July 1991 and June 1992
shows that daily intake of aspartaame is below this ADI (88):

Aspartame eaters (at least 90th percentile of consumption) in the
general population consume 6% of the ADI (3.0 mg/kg bw/day),
those 0 to 5 years of age consume 0.4% (5.2 mg/kg bw/day),
people with diabetes consume 6.6% (3.3 mg/kg bw/day), and
women of childbearing age consume 8.4% (4.2 mg/kg bw/day).

As a tabletop sweetener, packets contain 35 to 40 mg of aspartame and are
equivalent to the sweetness of 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Consumers would need to contact individual companies to determine the amount
of aspartame in each product.
The amount in some common foods is as follows:

up to 225 mg in a 12-oz diet soda,
100 mg in an 8-oz drink made from powder,
80 mg in an 8-oz yogurt or a 4-oz gelatin dessert, and
up to 47 mg in frozen dairy products.

To reach the ADI, an 18-kg child (nearly 40 pound) child would need to
consume 900 mg of aspartame per day, which translates to
24 packets of sweetener (equivalent to 48 teaspoons of sugar),
four 12-oz cans of diet soda, or
nine 8-oz glasses of fruit drink made from a powder.

A comprehensive review of the safety of aspartame has recently been
published (75).
The review covers previous publications as well as new information that
support the safety of aspartame as a food additive and negates claims of its
association with a range of health problems includings brain tumors.
The SCF (89) has also recently evaluated new scientific evidence.
They conclude that current intakes in European countries are well below the
ADI set of JECFA and SCF (40 mg/kg bw/day), that aspartame is not a
carcinogen and is not associated with neurobehavioral disorders, and thus
that there is no need to revise the risk assessment of, or ADI for,
aspartame.
[ You may not have noticed that the European ADI is 20% lower than the USA
level, or known this:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/989 On 4.10.2003
the European Union Parliament voted 440 to 20 to approve sucralose,
limit cyclamates & reevaluate aspartame & stevia: Murray 4.12.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 1.12.3 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame (12.4.2): 59 pages, 230 references

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/925
aspartame puts formaldehyde adducts into tissues, Part 1/2
full text, Trocho & Alemany 6.26.98: Murray 12.22.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/926
aspartame puts formaldehyde adducts into tissues, Part 2/2
full text, Trocho & Alemany 6.26.98: Murray 12.22.2 rmforall

http://ww.presidiotex.com/barcelona/index.html
Trocho C, Pardo R, Rafecas I, Virgili J, Remesar X,
Fernandez-Lopez JA, Alemany M ["Trok-ho"]
Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue
components in vivo. Life Sci 1998 Jun 26; 63(5): 337-49.
Departament de Bioquimica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia,
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
http://www.presidiotex.com/barcelona/index.html
Maria Alemany, PhD (male) alemany@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/864
Murray: Butchko, Tephly, McMartin: Alemany: aspartame formaldehyde
adducts in rats 9.8.2 rmforall
Prof. Alemany vigorously affirms the validity of the Trocho study
against criticism:
Butchko, HH et al [24 authors], Aspartame: review of safety.
Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2002 April 1; 35 (2 Pt 2): S1-93, review
available for $35, [an industry paid organ]. Butchko:
"When all the research on aspartame, including evaluations in both the
premarketing and postmarketing periods, is examined as a whole, it is
clear that aspartame is safe, and there are no unresolved questions
regarding its safety under conditions of intended use."
[ They repeatedly pass on the ageless industry deceit that the methanol
in fruits and vegetables is as as biochemically available as that in
aspartame-- see the 1984 rebuttal by Monte, below.
In the same report, Schiffman concludes on page S49, not citing any
research after 1997, "Thus, the weight of the scientific evidence
indicates that aspartame does not cause headache."
Dr. Susan S. Schiffman, Dept. of Psychiatry, Duke University
sss@... 919-684-3303, 660-5657
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/864
Murray: Butchko, Tephly, McMartin: Alemany: aspartame formaldehyde
adducts in rats 9.8.2 rmforall ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/911
RTP ties to industry criticized by CSPI: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall ]

[ The ADA article goes on to devote several long paragraphs to neotame, a
derivative of aspartame, approved in Australia/New Zealand in summer 2000,
and by the USA FDA in summer, 2002-- yet which has, as far as I can search
out, never been put on the market anywhere in the world. Since it is 40
times sweeter than aspartame, 40 times less of it is necessary, and so it
supplies 40 times less methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid. However,
of the "113 preclinical, clinical, and special studies and an additional 32
exploratory and screening studies", precisely no safety studies have been
independenty funded and exactly one safety study has been published in a
mainstream, peer-reviewed public access journal. The FDA has relied
entirely on secret research by industry paid researchers. If the research
was so good, and neotame is so safe and wonderful and worth billions of
dollars of yearly business, why hasn't the industry sagely hastened to place
their scores of studies in mainstream public research journals, and thereby
boost the public reputations of their expensive scientists?

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/860
FDA: objections to neotame approval (Section A) : Murray 8.4.2 rmforall

Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2003 Oct; 38(2): 144-56.
Long-term food consumption and body weight changes in neotame safety studies
are consistent with the allometric relationship observed for other
sweeteners and during dietary restrictions.
Flamm WG, Blackburn GL, Comer CP, Mayhew DA, Stargel WW.
AAC Consulting Group, Vero Beach, FL, USA

In long-term safety studies with neotame, a new high-intensity sweetener
7000-13,000 times sweeter than sucrose, the percent changes (%Delta) in body
weight gain (BWG) in Sprague-Dawley rats were several-fold greater than the
%Delta in overall food consumption (FC).
This study investigates the question of whether the changes in BWG were
adverse or secondary to small, long-term decrements in FC.
The hypothesis tested in Sprague-Dawley rats was that the relationship
between long-term %Delta in FC and %Delta in BWG is linear and in a ratio of
1:1.
The %Delta in FC were compared to %Delta in BWG after 52 weeks on study in
one saccharin (825 rats), two sucralose (480 rats), two neotame (630 rats),
and five dietary restriction (>1000 rats) studies.
Non-transformed plotting of data points demonstrated an absence of linearity
between %Delta in FC and %Delta in BWG; however, log-log evaluation
demonstrated a robust (R2=0.97) linear relationship between %Delta in FC and
%Delta in BWG.
This relationship followed the well-known allometric equation, y=bxa where x
is %DeltaFC, y is %DeltaBWG, b is %DeltaBWG when DeltaFC=1, and a is the
log-log slope.
Thus, in Sprague-Dawley rats at week 52, the long-term relationship between
%Delta in FC and %Delta in BWG was determined to be:
%DeltaBWG=3.45(%DeltaFC0.74) for males and %DeltaBWG=5.28(%DeltaFC0.68) for
females.
Sexes were statistically different but study types, i.e., the high-intensity
sweeteners saccharin and sucralose versus dietary restriction, were not.
The %Delta in BWG are allometrically consistent with the observed %Delta in
FC for these high-intensity sweeteners, including neotame. BW parameters are
not appropriate endpoints for setting no-observed-effect levels (NOELs) when
materials with intense taste are admixed into food.
An approach using objective criteria is proposed to delineate BW changes due
to toxicity from those secondary to reduced FC. PMID: 14550756 ]

[ cited references ]
74. Ranney R, Oppermann J, Muldoon E, McMahon F.
Comparative metabolism of aspartame in experimental animals and humans.
J Toxicol Environ Health. 1976; 2: 441-1. [ Twenty-eight years ago, an
aspartame industry lab proved 30% retention of toxic products (indubitably
formaldehyde and formic acid) of methanol from a single low dose of
aspartame in 4 monkeys. No humans were tested for methanol product
retention in tissues, then or ever since. Obviously, this would be
devastating to billions of dollars of yearly sales worldwide.

75. Butchko HH, Stargel WW, Comer CP, Mayhew DA, Benninger C, Blackburn GL,
de Sonneville LM, Geha RS, Hertelendy Z, Koestner A, Leon AS, Liepa GU,
McMartin KE, Mendenhall CL, Munro IC, Novotny EJ, Renwick AG, Schiffman SS,
Schomer DL, Shaywitz BA, Spiers PA, Tephly TR, Thomas JA, Trefz FK.
Aspartame: Review of Safety.
Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2002; 35: S1-S93. [ an industry funded and
staffed organ ]

76. Council on Scientific Affairs.
Aspartame: Review of safety issues.
JAMA. 1985; 254: 400-402.
[ http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1800.html
American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs: no reports
listed before 1994 ]

77. Equal Sweetener.
Available at: www.equal.com
Accessed February 26, 2003.

78. Stegink L, Filer L J.
Effects of aspartame ingestion on plasma aspartate, phenylalanine, and
methanol concentrations in normal adults.
In: Tschanz C, Butchko H, Stargel W., Kotsonis F, eds.
The Clinical Evaluation of A Food Additive. New York, NY: CRC Press; 1996.
[ The term "food additive" is typical, because, unlike a "drug", the
industry does not have to prove safety or collect complaints from users and
physicians. As usual for industry studies, the amount of accumulation over
long periods of exposure of toxic products of formaldehyde and formic acid
in many specific tissues are not studied. ]

79. Wolf-Novak LC, Stegink LD, Brummel MC, Persoon TJ, Filer LJ Jr, Bell
EF, Ziegler EE, Krause WL.
Aspartame ingestion with and without carbohydrate in phenylketonuric and
normal subjects: effects on plasma concentrations of amino acids, glucose,
and insulin.
Metabolism. 1990; 39: 391-396.

80. Food and Drug Administration.
Food additives permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption:
Aspartame.
2002. 21CFR172.804.

81. Mackey S, Berlin CJ.
Effect of dietary aspartame on plasma concentrations of phenylalanine and
tyrosine in normal and homozygous phenylketonuric patients.
Clin Pediatr. 1992; 31: 394-399.

82. Trefz F, De Sonneville L, Matthis P, Benninger C, Lanz-Englert B,
Bickel H.
Neuropsychological and biochemical investigations in heterozygotes for
phenylketonuria during ingestion of high dose aspartame (a sweetener
containing phenylalanine)
Hum Genet. 1994. 93: 369-374.

83. Food and Drug Administration.
Food additives permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption:
Aspartame.
Federal Register. 1983; 48: 31376-31382.

84. Health Hazard Evaluation. Summary of Adverse Reactions Attributed to
Aspartame.
Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services; April 20, 1995.

85. Garriga M, Berkebile C, Metcalfe D.
A combined single-blind, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to determine
the reproducibility of hypersensitivity reactions to aspartame.
J Allergy Immunol. 1991; 87: 821-827.

86. Geha R, Buckley C, Greenberger P, Patterson R, Polmar S, Saxon A, Rohr
A, Yang W, Drouin M.
Aspartame is no more likely than placebo to cause uticaria/angioedema:
Results of a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled
crossover study.
J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1993: 92;513-520.
[ Typically, this industry funded study manages to avoid the deadly words,
"formaldehyde" and "formic acid", the most potent allergens produced in the body
from the 11% methanol component of aspartame. It is surely fruitless to attempt
to study allergies while ignoring the most potent allergens. ]

87. Food and Drug Administration.
Food additives permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption:
Aspartame.
1984; 49: 6672-6677.

88. Food and Drug Administration.
Food additives permitted for direct addition to food for human consumption:
Aspartame.
1996; 61(126)(21CFR Part 172): 33654-33656.

89. Scientific Committeee on Food.
Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food:
Update on the Safety of Aspartame.
Brussels: European Commission; Deacember 2 2002. SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/222 Final.
************************************************************

[ Geha et al. (1993) used monocrystalline cellulose in gelatin capsules as
their placebo. A recent study suggests that an inhaled cellulose powder
extract may prevent classic hay fever attacks.
Another study find hypersensitivity reactions in patients [ blood ]
dialysed with cellulose or synthetic membranes".
There are scores of studies on gelatin allergy.

Adv Ther. 2003 Jul-Aug; 20(4): 213-9.
Use of cellulose powder for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Josling P, Steadman S.
Herbal Health Centre, Battle, UK.

This study was designed to determine whether a unique cellulose powder
extract could prevent the classic hay fever attack from occurring among
volunteers who have suffered for some years.
Nasaleze enhances nasal mucus, which allows the filtration of allergens, to
ensure that only clean air reaches the lungs.
One hundred two volunteers were recruited and, using a simple 5-point
scoring system to grade their general well-being and severity of any hay
fever attacks, the overall average score was 3.85, indicating that Nasaleze
was able to control hay fever very well.
Rapid relief of symptoms was also demonstrated, sometimes within minutes
after inhalation.
Overall, 77% of volunteers reported a significant reduction in the number of
challenges throughout the study period and most graded Nasaleze as more
effective and reported fewer side effects than with a wide range of chemical
treatments. Publication Types: Clinical Trial PMID: 14669817

Nephrologie. 1996; 17(3): 163-70.
[Risk factors for acute hypersensitivity reactions in hemodialysis]
[Article in French]
Simon P, Potier J, Thebaud HE.
CH La Beauchee, St-Brieux.

The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the prevalence of
anaphylactoid reactions (AR) in patients dialysed with cellulose or
synthetic membranes and the possible link with ACE inhibitors....
PMID: 9064565

Biologicals. 2003 Dec; 31(4): 245-9.
Removal of gelatin from live vaccines and DTaP-an ultimate solution for
vaccine-related gelatin allergy.
Kuno-Sakai H, Kimura M.
Department of Public Health and Social Medicine, School of Medicine, Tokai
University, 143 Shimokasuya, Isehara City, Kanagawa, 259-1193, Japan.

From the early 1990s infants started to receive acellular pertussis vaccine
combined with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DTaP) before live vaccines
such as measles, rubella, and mumps vaccines, which contained gelatin as a
stabilizer. Then, an increasing number of cases of anaphylactic/allergic
reactions to those live vaccines were reported. Almost all these cases had a
previous history of receiving three or four doses of DTaP containing
gelatin.Anaphylactic/allergic reactions to live measles vaccine were
analyzed using information obtained from the Reporting System, a
retrospective study, as well as from the Monitoring System, a prospective
study. Dramatic decreases in anaphylactic/allergic reactions to live measles
vaccines were observed immediately after each manufacturer marketed
gelatin-free or gelatin (hypo-allergic)-containing live measles vaccine, and
since the end of 1998 reports on anaphylactic/allergic reactions to live
measles vaccine have almost ceased. PMID: 14624794

Clin Exp Allergy 2000 May; 30(5): 739-43.
Why do some dietary migraine patients claim they get headaches from
placebos?
Strong FC 3rd
Departamento de Ciencia de Alimentos
Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, SP, Brasil
http://www.unicamp.br/unicamp/universidade/universidade.html
and Department of Chemistry, Bucknell University
www.bucknell.edu 570-577-2000 Lewisburg, PA, USA.
Strong Frederick C fstrong@...
c/o C H Clapp Chemistry Dept, Graduate/Special, guest

BACKGROUND: In six double-blind studies involving 182 tests of dietary
migraine patients sensitive to tyramine and beta-phenylethylamine, 18%
reported headaches from placebos which were all concealed in gelatin
capsules. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to test a hypothesis:
gelatin is partially hydrolysed animal protein;
(partially) hydrolysed vegetable protein (PHVP) is known to cause migraine;
perhaps the gelatin caused some of the headaches.
METHOD: The author tested this hypothesis on himself because he suffers from
dietary migraine.
He proved this in a double-blind test with tyramine hydrochloride (TYH).
The amount required for the test was so small (1 mg) that it was tasteless
and capsules were unnecessary.
The author then undertook tests with a capsule, PHVP, monosodium glutamate
(MSG) aspartame (a dipeptide) and TYH, adjusting quantities to give a
moderate headache.
Samples were mixed with foods to simulate normal eating: the capsule with
potato chips, aspartame with orange juice and the rest with cottage cheese
or ricotta cheese.
Times were measured from ingestion (1) to start of the headache and (2) to
maximum headache intensity.
Each experiment was repeated three times.
The headaches were relieved with caffeine.
RESULTS: Of eight double-blind test samples, the author identified correctly
the two placebos and five of the six samples containing tyramine.
Quantities giving moderate headaches were: 1 gelatin capsule, 400 mg MSG,
118 mg PHVP, 4.0 mg aspartame and 1.0 mg TYH.
Typical times for the three repetitions of the two time periods were 8, 9
and 11 and 17, 19 and 22 min.
CONCLUSIONS: Capsules may give headaches to dietary migraine patients that
are similar to those from foods.
This would explain some of the headaches of patients from placebos.
The double-blind test and the repeatability of the time measurements
demonstrated the validity of the experiments. PMID: 10792367 ]

J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1995 Feb; 95(2): 639-640.
Aspartame-induced hives.
Anthony Kulczycki, Jr., MD akulczyc@...
Assc. Prof. of Medicine
Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Box 8122, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Correspondence:
To the Editor:

The failure by Geha et al. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1993; 92: 513-20) to
find more than two subjects with aspartame-induced hives may have resulted
from flaws in study design.
After reviewing their study protocol in 1986 to 1987, I declined to take
part because I identified the defects numbered below.

My perspective is based on my own additional experience with
aspartame-induced hives, summarized as follows.

During 1986, after reporting two index cases (1), I was contacted by 88
individuals in the St. Louis area who had heard a direct televised appeal
for subjects and had suspected that their chronic urticaria or angioedema
might be due to aspartame.
By contrast, indirect attempts to recruit subjects (i.e., appeals to local
allergists) yielded no referrals during the same period.
Few of my telephone respondents had consulted an allergist.

Seventy-five of the individuals who telephoned were willing to avoid
aspartame for 2 weeks;
50 experienced complete resolution of hives upon aspartame avoidance;
22 were willing to openly rechallenge themselves with aspartame, and
each re-experienced allergic skin reactions.
With resources to study only six of these individuals, I found four of them
(all women) who experienced hives after double-blind, placebo-controlled
challenges with aspartame.
One subject (age 40) had a reaction 3 hours after challenge, which was
similar to the initial cases (1);
one subject (age 26) had an immediate reaction and a delayed reaction 12
hours after challenge;
one subject (age 29) had an "immediate reaction" 2.5 hours after challenge
and subsequent delay outbreaks of hives at 9, 23, 30, and 43 hours, which
required treatment; and
one subject (age 43) had only a delayed reaction at 22 hours after
challenge;
no subjects reacted to placebo.
Thus it should not be surprising that the subjects B01 and F03 in the study
by Geha et al. experienced delayed reactions to aspartame.
Allergists need to recognize that aspartame-induced hives can be acute,
delayed, or chronic. [ As in the case of morning-after hangovers from the
formaldehyde produced from the methanol impuritities in wines and dark
liquors, it takes some hours for the liver to process the aspartame-derived
methanol into formaldehyde and formic acid.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1047
Avoiding Hangover Hell 12.31.3 Mark Sherman, AP writer: Robert Swift, MD:
[formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame]: Murray 1.16.4 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1048
hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?):
Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 1.18.4 ]

The defects I identified in the study by Geha et al. are the following:

1. Subject recruitment methods.

There are two types of recruiting:
direct appeals to subjects and indirect appeals through physicians.
Indirect recruiting is less successful when subjects rarely visit physicians
and when physicians are not actively looking for a given disorder.
Geha et al. relied primarily on indirect types of recruiting and garnered
only 86 referrals.
I found that direct appeals to patients via television were essential for
adequate recruitment of aspartame-allergic subjects.
From my perspective, the recruiting efforts of Geha et al were inadequate to
address the problem of aspartame-induced hives, and therefore their
conclusion that "the incidence (of aspartame-induced urticaria) is "rare" is
unwarranted.

There remains no study that adequately defines the incidence of
aspartame-induced hives in the population. [ Indeed, the Geha study is
widely used by the aspartame industry to deny the validity of hundreds of
cases of allergic and
dermatological reactions, disparaging dismissed as "anecdotal reports". ]

2. Convenience, compensation, and safety for subjects.

Geha et al. note that 32 of the individuals contacted "decline to
participate". Their study design probably tended to discourage the
participation of the subjects who were most likely to be allergic to
aspartame.
Why?
The more a potential subject finds that aspartame consumption correlates
with hives, the less motivation the potential subject has to learn about the
cause of his or her hives and to participate in an inconvenient, 5-day
hospital stay, especially if compensation is inadequate.
The more uncertain the correlation, the more likely a potential subject
might be to welcome an extensive evaluation.
(The authors should disclose the financial compensation to subjects;
it may have been inadequate to encourage sufficient subject participation.)
Also, subjects with more severe or delayed symptoms would be more likely to
decline to participate because of the potential for a severe reaction.
Having once experienced that one diet soda could produce severe or delayed
allergic reactions, some of the potential subjects most sensitive to
aspartame may have been unwilling to participate out of concern for their
safety.
(The study required ingestion of the equivalent of over six cans of diet
soda.)
Obviously, the nine enrolled subjects in the study by Geha et al who had
required no medications did not have severe urticaria or angioedema.

My challenge procedures were more conveniently designed.
They involved two 4-hour outpatient visits, usually on Saturdays, with 50 mg
of aspartame. [ 2 oz diet soda equivalent ]
The six subjects that I found to have positive responses to aspartame were
unwilling to be referred to the Geha et al. study because they believed it
would be too inconvenient and possibly unsafe.

Thus several aspects of the Geha et al. study design may have contributed to
selectively discourage the participation of the subjects likely to be
allergic to aspartame.

3. Inclusion or exclusion criteria and challenge design.

Avoiding "confounding (but unspecified) medication within three weeks" is
not adequate preparation for aspartame challenges.
The national task force recommendation to avoid astemizole for at least 6
weeks, and also tricyclic antidepressants, before skin testing (2) should
clearly apply to this type of challenge study.
Because astemizole, which can suppress responses to skin tests (and
presumably challenges) for possibly up to 12 weeks, has been commonly used
in treatment of chronic urticaria, prior astemizole use might explain some
of the negative aspartame challenge results.
Withdrawal from the astemizole might account for one or both of the
"positive" placebo challenge results.
I ask the authors, "How many subjects had taken astemizole during the 12
weeks before their challenges?"
(Also, what justifies the authors' apparent assumption that "a positive
histamine skin test" will guarantee a positive challenge?)

Although five subjects in the "population identified as alleged responders"
by Geha et al. had food-induced hives and seven subjects had allergic
respiratory problems, apparently no effort was made to limit the subjects'
diets or to exclude other recognized causes of chronic urticaria (3).

Because of these deficiences in study design, I am concedrned that the
NutraSweet Company-sponsored study by Geha et al. does not accurately
reflect the incidence of aspartame-induced hives.
I hope that, from among the dozens of allergist who have cases of
aspartame-induced hives, additional studies will be forthcoming.

Anthony Kulczycki, Jr, MD

References:

1. Kulczycki A.
Aspartame-induced urticaria.
Ann Intern Med. 1986; 104: 207-208.

2. Bernstein IL.
Proceedings of the Task Force on guidelines for standardizing old and new
technologies used for the diagnosis and treatment of allergic diseases.
J Allergy Clin Immnol. 1988; 82: 494.

3. Kulczycki A, Atkinson JP.
Urticaria and angioedema.
In: Korenblat PE, Wedner HJ, eds. Allergy: theory and practice. 2 ed.
Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co., 1992, 217-228.
*************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1067
eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV
Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 3.30.4 rmforall [ 150 KB ]

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-986-9103

[ Comments by Rich Murray are in square brackets. To increase the
readability of the dense, specialized, condensed text of a brief scientific
letter (usually not peer reviewed), I have added spacing without altering
text, while correcting minor typos.

I then offer some critical analyses and extensions of the references, since
the relevant scientific literature is contaminated by long-term, systematic
influence by corporate vested interests. ]

"A 60-year-old Caucasian woman presented with a 6-month history of eyelid
dermatitis...

By strictly avoiding formaldehyde and all formaldehyde releasers for the
next 3 weeks, she improved only slightly.

Her problem, however, was subsequently solved when a local pharmacist
advised her to avoid aspartame.

She had begun using an aspartame-based artificial sweetener 5 months prior
to the onset of her dermatitis. [ 12 months of low-level aspartame use until
stopping. ]

Within 1 week of discontinuing the aspartame, her eyelid dermatitis resolved
completely and has not recurred over 18 months without specific
treatment....

Our patient was consuming an average of 80 mg (1.13 mg/kg) of aspartame
daily, well below the levels previously studied."

[ A packet of tabletop sweetener gives 37 mg aspartame, while a 12 oz diet
soda gives 200 mg aspartame. An aspartame reactor can have immediate strong
symptoms from an under-the-tongue wafer with 4 mg aspartame.
(Appendix A, for comments, abstracts, and links.) ]

Contact Dermatitis. 2003 Nov; 49(5): 258-9.
Systemic contact dermatitis of the eyelids caused by formaldehyde derived
from aspartame?
Hill AM, Belsito DV. DBelsito@...
Division of Dermatology, University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow
Blvd., Kansas City, KS 66160, USA. PMID: 14996049

A. Michele Hill and Donald V. Belsito
Division of Dermatology, University of Kansas Medical Center
3901 Rainbow Blvd., Kansas City, KS 66160, USA [ (Appendix B, for more
abstracts by Donald V. Belsito, selections, and institutions) ]

Key Words: allergic contact dermatitis; aspartame; eyelids; formaldehyde;
systemic contact dermatitis.

Formaldehyde is a common and ubiquitous contact allergen.
Sources of exposure include hair and skin care products, cosmetics, topical
medications, permanent press clothing, cleaning agents, disinfectants, paper
and even smoke. [ Also, new buildings, mobile homes, furniture, carpets,
drapes, particleboard, medical facilities, methanol, aspartame, dimethyl
dicarbonate, dark wines and liquors ]

Sensitization is reported in between 2.2 and 9.6% of patients patch tested
(1,2).
[ (Appendix C, for abstracts on rates of formaldehyde sensitivity in control
groups, as a possible first estimate of the impact of widespread exposure to
aspartame since 1981.) ]

Case Report

A 60-year-old Caucasian woman presented with a 6-month history of eyelid
dermatitis.
A corticosteroid-containing opthalmologic ointment improved but did not
clear the rash.
She failed to improve when she discontinued the use of all eyelid cosmetics
and nail polishes for 2 months.
She had had a facial dermatitis in 1995, for which she had been patch tested
and found to be allergic to formaldehyde, quaternium-15 and fragrances.
She had also had incidental, non-relevant reactions to neomycin and
ethylenediamine.
Her dermatitis had resolved with a change to formaldehyde-, quaternium-15
and fragrance-free facial and nail cosmetics.

There was no personal or family history of atopy or psoriasis.
Her only oral medication was celecoxib that she had taken for years prior to
the onset of her blepharitis.
She had also taken multivitamins, calcium and flaxseed oil for many years.
She worked as a homemaker and library volunteer. [ It is relevant as to
whether she had the standard urban diet with high protein and animal fats,
meats, milk products, some inorganic fruits and vegetables, high sugars,
and processed foods. Mercury dental amalgams and mercury contaminated fish
could also play a role. Was her water fluoridated or otherwise
contaminated? Were there toxic mold exposures in her environment? Was she
exposed to pesticides in her area? ]

Her eyelid dermatitis was kept clear with tacrolimus 0.03% ointment X2
daily.
She underwent patch testing to the North American Contact Dermatitis Group
standard tray, the University of Kansas' supplemental standard tray, and to
her cosmetics, cleansers, skin and hair care products and topical
medications.
She had relevant positive reactions at days 2 and 4 to formaldehyde (++),
quaternium-15 (++), diazolidinyl urea (+), DMDM hydantoin (+) and
imidazolidinyl urea (++), her hair care products and cleansers containing
multiple sources of these allergens.

She was extensively instructed in avoidance of formaldehyde and formaldehyde
releasers, as well as that of her multiple, currently non-relevant
allergens, including fragrance, benzalkonium chloride, neomycin, bacitracin,
p-phenylenediamine and black rubber mix. [ As a medical layman, I'm
disturbed to see all these chemicals that I know nothing about. ]

By strictly avoiding formaldehyde and all formaldehyde releasers for the
next 3 weeks, she improved only slightly.

Her problem, however, was subsequently solved when a local pharmacist
advised her to avoid aspartame.

She had begun using an aspartame-based artificial sweetener 5 months prior
to the onset of her dermatitis. [ 12 months of low-level aspartame use until
stopping. Aspartame reactors discover this possibiliy usually from the Net,
alternative medicine providers, media, nurses, friends, and pharmacists,
rarely from physicians. ]

Within 1 week of discontinuing the aspartame, her eyelid dermatitis resolved
completely and has not recurred over 18 months without specific treatment.
[ This quick healing response is typical of cases of low-level use with few
symptoms. Long-term heavy users , above 2 L, about 6 12-oz cans daily for
years, often have severe craving and withdrawal symptoms for weeks, with
gradual recovery for months. H. J. Roberts, MD has summarized over 1200
cases. (Appendix H) Three recent case reports are added here.
(Appendix I) ]

Unfortunately, she refused to undergo rechallenge with the sweetener.
[ This is usually the case. Commonly, there is inadvertent reexposure,
with immediate painful symptoms, even with low doses. ]

Discussion

The artificical sweetener, aspartame, is consumed by 54% of adults in the
USA (3).

It has been reported to cause dry eyes and difficulty in wearing contact
lenses (3) but never allergic contact dermatitis. [ Reference (3) is given
in full here. (Appendix H) Roberts H J. Dry eyes from use of aspartame
(Nutrasweet): Associated insights concerning the Sjogren syndrome.
The Townsend Letter for Doctors, January 1994. Appendix H also quotes
several cases of eyelid dermatitis from his review of 1200 cases in
Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic (2001). ]

Aspartame, an L-aspartyl-L-phynylalanine methyl ester, is hydrolysed in the
intestine to phenylalanine (50%), aspartic acid (40%) and aspartaic acid
methyl ester (10%).

The methyl ester is then converted to methyl alcohol (methanol) and carried
by the portal vein to the liver.

Methanol is there oxidized to formaldehyde that is converted into formic
acid (formate) by alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase and the
microsomal oxidase pathway.

This occurs not only in the liver, but also in other organs containing high
levels of these enzymes, including the eye (4,5).

Formaldehyde binds proteins and nucleic acids, forming adducts difficult to
eliminate via metabolism.

Trocho et al. (6) demonstrated the formation of formaldehyde adducts with
DNA and proteins after administration of 20 mg/kg 14C-labelled aspartame to
rats, concluding that these adducts were responsible for functional
alterations of proteins and for DNA mutations leading to autoimmunity, cell
death or malignant transformation. [ (Appendix E) gives links, comments,
and quotes for the debate on the key Trocho study. ]

In contrast to Trocho et al. (6), McMartin et al. (7) studied formaldehyde
levels after large doses (3,000 mg/kg) of 14C-labelled methanol and
14C-labelled formaldehyde in monkeys, which unlike rats are sensitive to the
toxicities of methanol.

No increased formaldehyde derived from methanol was found.

High levels of formic acid were found in all monkeys that were given
methanol or formaldehyde.

[ (Appendix F) reviews the major studies. Oppermann et al (1973, 1976)
found that 30% of the methanol from aspartame fed to monkeys remained in
body tissues, indubitably as toxic products of formaldehyde and formic acid.
They did not test methanol product retention in humans. McMartin et al
(1979) reported significant formaldehyde retention in the midbrain of one
monkey from oral aspartame, and substantial formic acid in liver, kidney,
optic nerve, cerebrum, and midbrain in two other monkeys. It is clear that
his formaldehyde assays were too insensitive to give valid measurements.
There has been a dearth of relevant primate and human studies ever since. ]

Based on the work of McMartin and al. (7), Tephly (8) concluded that the
radioactive carbon from methanol, which was found in DNA and protein by
Trocho et al., was due to the normal physiologic flow of single-carbon units
through the folate pathway.

Stegink et al. (9) have shown that doses of 100 mg/kg or greater of
aspartame are required to increase methanol blood levels (and thus,
presumable formaldehyde formic acid levels) above control.

This would be equivalent to consuming 35 cans of diet beverage at one
sitting for a 70 kg person. [ This is a typical aspartame industry PR ploy,
well designed to plant the impression that only absurdly huge amounts of
diet soda might supply damaging amounts of methanol-derived formaldehyde and
formic acid toxic residuals in body tissues, thus reducing methanol blood
levels. So, it is a classic red herring tactic to focus on methanol blood
levels. It is urgent to determine the actual accumulation from long-term
exposure to aspartame of toxic products of formaldehyde and formic acid in
many specific tissues in vulnerable groups of people, especially long-term
heavy users, above 6 12-oz cans diet soda (about 2 L) daily for years, who
have the typical suite of serious symptoms. ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/910
formaldehyde & formic acid from methanol in aspartame:
Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily
for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid
toxicity, since 11% of aspartame (1,120 mg in 2L diet soda, 5.6 12-oz
cans) is 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol), immediately released into the
body after drinking (unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in
molecules inside many fruits), then quickly transformed into
formaldehyde, which in turn becomes formic acid, both of which in
time are partially eliminated as carbon dioxide and water.

However, about 30% of the methanol remains in the body as cumulative
durable toxic metabolites of formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily,
a gram every month. [Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.]
If 10% of the methanol is retained as formaldehyde, that would give 12 mg
daily formaldehyde accumulation, about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg
from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in water.

Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in drinking water is
1 ppm, or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.

[ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
RTM: ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999
5.30.2 rmforall ]

This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical patterns of
increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with headache, fatigue, joint
pain, irritability, memory loss, and leading to vision and eye problems, and
even seizures. In many cases there is addiction. Probably there are immune
system disorders, with a hypersensitivity to these toxins and other
chemicals. (Appendixes D, E, F, G, H, I, J) ]

Leon et al. (10) studied doses of 75 mg/kg of aspartame daily for 24 weeks
and found no change in blood or urine methanol levels and no symptoms of
methanol toxicity.

The dose used in Leon's study is 25 times the 90th percentile daily
consumption of aspartame (11). [ Appendix E gives an abstract by Davoli
(1986), using a properly sensitive assay, that proved a temporary rise in
blood methanol levels in humans from a single aspartame dose. Trocho
pointed out that formaldehyde adducts are persistent and thus cumulative. It
is reasonable to state that with long-term chronic formaldehyde exposure, it
may take a long time to both accumulate adducts and develop markedly
increased sensitivity and a series of complex symptoms . Adequate studies
would have to test substantial exposures over a year or longer with large
numbers of vulnerable types of people and record all symptoms. ]

Our patient was consuming an average of 80 mg (1.13 mg/kg) of aspartame
daily, well below the levels previously studied.
[ A packet of tabletop sweetener gives 37 mg aspartame, while a 12 oz diet
soda gives 200 mg aspartame. An aspartame reactor can have immediate strong
symtoms from an under-the-tongue wafer with 4 mg aspartame. (Appendix A,
for comments, abstracts, and links.) ]

However, it is possible that the eye, with its high level of metabolic
activity, could be affected by methanol (and subsequently formaldehyde)
released from these low levels of aspartame and respond as a localized
target organ to minute amounts of her known allergen, formaldehyde, or its
metabolite, formate.

It is also possible that the amplifying effects of cell-mediated immunity
might detect trace amounts of a chemical not identified by more standard
assays, such as blood or urine levels. [ (Appendix D gives Thrasher's data
about immune system reactions from long-term, low-level formaldehyde
exposure, while Martin Pall gives a complex general theory, specifically
discussing formaldehyde as a major trigger.)

http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne
Thrasher, Alan Broughton, Roberta Madison. Immune activation and
autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde.
Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. "Immune activation,
autoantibodies, and anti-HCHO-HSA antibodies are associated with long-term
formaldehyde inhalation." PMID: 2400243

Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909
testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &
peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame: Martin L. Pall: Murray:
12.9.2 rmforall

FASEB J 2002 Sep; 16(11): 1407-17.
NMDA sensitization and stimulation by peroxynitrite, nitric oxide, and
organic solvents as the mechanism of chemical sensitivity in multiple
chemical sensitivity.
Pall ML. PMID: 12205032 [ 162 references, received 1.3.2 ]
School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University,
Pullman, Washington 99164-4660, USA. martin_pall@... ]

Such a hypothesis might explain why her dermatitis was limited to the
eyelids and give clinical support to Trocho's theory of formaldehyde
adducts.

Unfortunately, without rechallenging her with aspartame, we cannot test this
hypothesis.

Nonetheless, her long-lasting remission following discontinuation of
aspartame intake suggests that its breakdown to formaldehyde may have been a
possible mechanism for her prior blepharitis.

References

1. Christophersen J, Menne' T, Tanghoj P, Andersen K E, Brandrup F.
Clinical patch test data evaluated by multivariate analysis.
Contact Dermatitis 1989: 21: 291-299.

2. Fransway AF, Schmitz N A.
The problem of preservation in the 1990s.
II. Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing biocides: incidences of
cross-reactivity and the significance of the positive response to
formaldehyde.
Am J Contact Dermat. 1991: 2: 78-88.

3. Roberts H J. Dry eyes from use of aspatame (Nutrasweet):
Associated insights concerning the Sjogren syndrome.
The Townsend Letter for Doctors, January 1994. [ full text in Appendix H ]

4. Murray T G, Burton T C, Rajani C, Lewandowski M F,
Burke J M, Eells J T.
Methanol poisoning: A rodent model with structural and functional evidence
for reinal involvement.
Arch Opthalmol 1991: 109: 1012-1016.

5. Eells J T.
Methanol-induced visual toxicity in the rat.
J. Pharmacol Exp Ther 1991: 257: 56-63.

6. Trocho C., Pardo R, Fafecas I, Virgili J, Remesar X,
Fernandez-Lopez, J A.
Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue components in
vivo.
Life Sci 1998 1988: 63: 337-349. [ abstract and quotes in Appendix E )

7. McMartin K E, Mrtin-Amat G, Noker P E, Tephly T R.
Lack of a role for formaldehyde in methanol poisoning in the monkey.
Biochem Pharmacol 1979: 28: 645-649. [ abstract, quotes, discussion, related
studies in Appendix F ]

8. Tephly T R: Comments on the purported generation of formaldehyde from
the sweetener aspartame.
Life Sci 1999: 65: 157-160. [ letter, usually not peer-reviewed,
abstract in Appendix E ]

9. Stegink L D, Brummel M C, McMartin-Amat G., Filer L J, Baker G L,
Tephly T R.
Blood methanol concentrations in normal adult subjects administered abuse
doses of aspatame.
J Toxicol Environ Health 1981: 7: 281-290.

10. Leon A S, Hunninghake D B, Bell C, Rassin D K, Tephly T R.
Safety of long-term large doses of aspartame.
Arch Intern Med 1989: 149: 2318-2324.

11. Tschanz C., Butachko H, Stargel W, Kotsonis F N (eds).
The Clinical Evaluation of a Food Additive: Assessment of Aspartame
Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1996.
************************************************************

Appendix A:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/846
aspartame in Merck Maxalt-MLT worsens migraine,
AstraZeneca Zomig, Eli Lilly Zyprexa,
J&J Merck Pepcid AC (Famotidine 10mg) Chewable Tab,
Pfizer Cool Mint Listerine Pocketpaks: Murray 7.16.2 rmforall

Migraine MLT-Down: an unusual presentation of migraine
in patients with aspartame-triggered headaches.
Newman LC, Lipton RB Headache 2001 Oct; 41(9): 899-901.
[ Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 3.75 mg aspartame,
while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg. ]
Headache Institute, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY
Department of Neurology newmanache@...
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Innovative Medical Research RLipton@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/855
RTM: Blumenthall & Vance:
aspartame chewing gum headaches Nov 1997 7.28.2 rmforall

Harvey J. Blumenthal, MD, Dwight A Vance, RPh
Chewing Gum Headaches. Headache 1997 Nov-Dec; 37(10): 665-6.
Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine,
Tulsa, USA. neurotulsa@...
Aspartame, a popular dietetic sweetener, may provoke headache in some
susceptible individuals. Herein, we describe three cases of young women
with migraine who reported their headaches could be provoked by chewing
gum sweetened with aspartame. [ 6-8 mg aspartame per stick chewing gum ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/782
RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums:
full text: aspartame, MSG, fibromyalgia 1.17.2 rmforall

Jerry D Smith, Chris M Terpening, Siegfried OF Schmidt, and John G Gums
Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following Discontinuation of Dietary
Excitotoxins.
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2001; 35(6): 702-706.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disorder that is
often difficult to treat effectively.
CASE SUMMARY: Four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome
for two to 17 years are described.
All had undergone multiple treatment modalities with limited success.
All had complete, or nearly complete, resolution of their symptoms within
months after eliminating monosodium glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame
from their diet.
All patients were women with multiple comorbidities prior to elimination of
MSG.
All have had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is ingested.
PMID: 11408989

Siegfried O. Schmidt, MD Asst. Clinical Prof. siggy@...
Community Health and Family Medicine, U. Florida, Gainesville, FL
Shands Hospital West Oak Clinic Gainesville, FL 32608-3629
352-376-5071

Several recent pro-aspartame reviews simply ignore these reports by eminent
mainstream researchers, as well as the tidal surge of complaints by users.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 1.12.3 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame (12.4.2): 59 pages, 230 references

J Am Diet Assoc. 2004 Feb; 104(2): 255-75.
Position of the American Dietetic Association: use of nutritive and
nonnutritive sweeteners.
American Dietetic Association. PMID: 14760578

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1068
critique of aspartame review by American Dietetic Association Feb 2004:
Murray 4.1.4 rmforall

"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding sources,"
1998, unpublished: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed medical
literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety.
The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's
safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%)
identified a problem. Six of the seven non-industry funded studies
that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which
has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio
Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown,
OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine,
Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown,
OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@...
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/messages 770 members 16,692 posts ]
************************************************************

research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) toxicity:
Murray 4.1.4 rmforall

Rich Murray, MA Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505 USA 505-986-9103

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/927
Donald Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval:
Turner: Murray 12.23.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1039
three-page review: aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) toxicity:
Murray 11.22.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1026
brief aspartame review: formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 9.11.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1025
aspartame & formaldehyde toxicity: Murray 9.9.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1067
eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV
Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 3.30.4 rmforall [ 150 KB ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/989 On 4.10.2003
the European Union Parliament voted 440 to 20 to approve sucralose,
limit cyclamates & reevaluate aspartame & stevia: Murray 4.12.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1065
politicians and celebrities hooked on diet sodas (aspartame):
Murray 3.24.4 rmforall

http://google.com gives 221,000 websites for "aspartame" , with the top
9 of 10 listings being anti-aspartame, while
http://groups.google.com finds on 700 MB of posts from 20 years of
Usenet groups, 83,800 posts, the top 10 being anti-aspartame.
http://news.google.com 28 recent aspartame items from 4500 sources.
http://www.AllTheWeb.com gives 291,700, the top 7 of 10 being
leading and very well informed volunteer anti-aspartame sites.
http://teoma.com/index.asp gives 85,700 websites, top 8 of 10 anti.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed lists 751 aspartame items.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
for 1068 posts in a public searchable archive 120 members

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/messages 777 with 16,703 posts

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1047
Avoiding Hangover Hell 12.31.3 Mark Sherman, AP writer: Robert Swift, MD:
[formaldehyde from methanol in aspartame]: Murray 1.16.4 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1048
hangovers from formaldehyde from methanol (aspartame?):
Schwarcz: Linsley: Murray 1.18.4

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1052
DMDC: Dimethyl dicarbonate 200mg/L in drinks adds methanol 98 mg/L
( becomes formaldehyde in body ): EU Scientific Committee on Foods 7.12.1:
Murray 1.22.4 rmforall

It is certain that high levels of aspartame use, above 2 liters daily
for months and years, must lead to chronic formaldehyde-formic acid
toxicity, since 11% of aspartame (1,120 mg in 2L diet soda, 5.6 12-oz
cans) is 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol), immediately released into the
body after drinking (unlike the large levels of methanol locked up in
molecules inside many fruits), then quickly transformed into
formaldehyde, which in turn becomes formic acid, both of which in
time are partially eliminated as carbon dioxide and water.

However, about 30% of the methanol remains in the body as cumulative
durable toxic metabolites of formaldehyde and formic acid-- 37 mg daily,
a gram every month. [Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.]
If 10% of the methanol is retained as formaldehyde, that would give 12
mg daily formaldehyde accumulation, about 60 times more than the 0.2 mg
from 10% retention of the 2 mg EPA daily limit for formaldehyde in water.

Bear in mind that the EPA limit for formaldehyde in drinking water is
1 ppm, or 2 mg daily for a typical daily consumption of 2 L of water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
RTM: ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999
5.30.2 rmforall

This long-term low-level chronic toxic exposure leads to typical
patterns of increasingly severe complex symptoms, starting with
headache, fatigue, joint pain, irritability, memory loss, and
leading to vision and eye problems, and even seizures. In many cases
there is addiction. Probably there are immune system disorders, with a
hypersensitivity to these toxins and other chemicals.

J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.
Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
Dept. of Biochemistry, Searle Laboratories,
Division of G.D. Searle and Co. Box 5110, Chicago, IL 60680
They found that about 70% of the radioactive methanol in aspartame put
into the stomachs of 3 to 7 kg monkeys was eliminated within 8 hours,
with little additional elimination, as carbon dioxide in exhaled air
and as water in the urine. They did not mention
that this meant that about 30% of the methanol must transform
into formaldehyde and then into formic acid, both of which must remain
as toxic products in all parts of the body. They did not report any
studies on the distribution of radioactivity in body tissues, except
that blood plasma proteins after 4 days held 4% of the initial
methanol. This study did not monitor long-term use of aspartame.

The low oral dose of aspartame and for methanol was 0.068 mmol/kg,
about 1 part per million [ppm] of the acute toxicity level of 2,000
mg/kg, 67,000 mmol/kg, used by McMartin (1979). Two L daily use of
diet soda provides 123 mg methanol, 2 mg/kg for a 60 kg person, a dose
of 67 mmole/kg, a thousand times more than the dose in this study.
By eight hours excretion of the dose in air and urine had leveled off
at 67.1 +-2.1% as CO2 in the exhaled air and 1.57+-0.32% in the urine,
so 68.7 % was excreted, and 31.3% was retained. [This data is the
average of 4 monkeys.]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/915
formaldehyde toxicity: Thrasher & Kilburn: Shaham: EPA: Gold: Murray:
Wilson: CIIN: 12.12.2 rmforall

Thrasher (2001): "The major difference is that the Japanese demonstrated
the incorporation of FA and its metabolites into the placenta and fetus.
The quantity of radioactivity remaining in maternal and fetal tissues
at 48 hours was 26.9% of the administered dose." [Ref. 14-16]

Arch Environ Health 2001 Jul-Aug; 56(4): 300-11.
Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde. [100 references]
Thrasher JD, Kilburn KH. toxicology@...
Sam-1 Trust, Alto, New Mexico, USA.
http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_embryo_toxicity.html full text

http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_1990.html full text Jack Dwayne
Thrasher, Alan Broughton, Roberta Madison. Immune activation and
autoantibodies in humans with long-term inhalation exposure to formaldehyde.
Archives of Environmental Health. 1990; 45: 217-223. "Immune activation,
autoantibodies, and anti-HCHO-HSA antibodies are associated with long-term
formaldehyde inhalation." PMID: 2400243

Confirming evidence and a general theory are given by Pall (2002):
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/909
testable theory of MCS type diseases, vicious cycle of nitric oxide &
peroxynitrite: MSG: formaldehyde-methanol-aspartame:
Martin L. Pall: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1055
hormesis: possible benefits of low-level aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde)
use: Calabrese: Soffritti: Murray 3.11.4

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1056
disorders of NMDA glutamate receptors in brain range from high activity
(MCS, CF, PTSD, FM, from carbon monoxide or formaldehyde (methanol,
aspartame)-- Pall)
to low activity (schizophrenia-- Coyle, Goff, Javitts):
Murray 3.13.4 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/946
Functional Therapeutics in Neurodegenerative Disease Part 1/2:
Perlmutter 7.15.99: Murray 1.10.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/97
Lancet website aspartame letter 7.29.99:
Excitotoxins 1999 Part 1/3 Blaylock: Murray 1.14.0 rmforall
The Medical Sentinel Journal 1999 Fall; (95 references)
http://www.dorway.com/blayenn.html
aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde) toxicity: Murray 1.1.4 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1034
Brain cell damage from amino acid isolates (aspartame releases
phenylalanine, aspartate, methanol [formaldehyde, formic acid] Bowen &
Evangelista May 6 2002: Murray 11.10.3 rmforall

http://www.aspartame.ca/Brain%20Cell%20Damage.pdf
Brain cell damage from amino acid isolates 5.6.2 41 references
detailed 22 page review by James D. Bowen, MD and Arthur M. Evangelista,
former FDA Investigator orwilly@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/628
Rich Murray: Professional House Doctors: Singer: EPA: CPSC:
formaldehyde toxicity 6.10.1 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/782
RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums:
full text: aspartame, MSG, fibromyalgia 1.17.2 rmforall
Jerry D Smith, Chris M Terpening, Siegfried OF Schmidt, and John G Gums
Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following
Discontinuation of Dietary Excitotoxins.
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2001; 35(6): 702-706.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disorder that is
often difficult to treat effectively.
CASE SUMMARY: Four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome
for two to 17 years are described.
All had undergone multiple treatment
modalities with limited success. All had complete, or nearly complete,
resolution of their symptoms within months after eliminating monosodium
glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame from their diet.
All patients were women with multiple comorbidities
prior to elimination of MSG.
All have had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is ingested.

Siegfried O. Schmidt, MD Asst. Clinical Prof. siggy@...
Community Health and Family Medicine, U. Florida, Gainesville, FL
Shands Hospital West Oak Clinic Gainesville, FL 32608-3629
352-376-5071

Debbie J. Hypes painfreeliving@... 304-872-4141 (Case # 1 of 4)
P.O Box 25 Lookout, WV 25868-0025 She has about 1,000 on her local
mailing list, and has been a volunteer activist since 1997. Her guide
first came out in 1997: http://www.Pain-Free-Living.net
"The Food Plan: How To Do It" $ 5 by mail, free by email.
Her sister Darlene, now 47, cured her own severe fibromyalgia in 1995
by using an elimination diet, and then Debbie also cured herself by
1997. Their doctor, Siegfried Schmidt, paying attention, tried it on
two more patients, who got well, and are his third and fourth cases.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/846
RTM: aspartame in Merck Maxalt-MLT worsens migraine,
AstraZeneca Zomig, Eli Lilly Zyprexa,
J&J Merck Pepcid AC (Famotidine 10mg) Chewable Tab,
Pfizer Cool Mint Listerine Pocketpaks 7.16.2 rmforall
Migraine MLT-Down: an unusual presentation of migraine
in patients with aspartame-triggered headaches.
Newman LC, Lipton RB Headache 2001 Oct; 41(9): 899-901.
[Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 3.75 mg aspartame,
while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg.]
Headache Institute, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York, NY
Department of Neurology newmanache@...
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Innovative Medical Research RLipton@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/855
RTM: Blumenthall & Vance:
aspartame chewing gum headaches Nov 1997 7.28.2 rmforall
Harvey J. Blumenthal, MD, Dwight A Vance, RPh
Chewing Gum Headaches.
Headache 1997 Nov-Dec; 37(10): 665-6.
Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine,
Tulsa, USA. neurotulsa@...
Aspartame, a popular dietetic sweetener, may provoke headache in some
susceptible individuals. Herein, we describe three cases of young women
with migraine who reported their headaches could be provoked by chewing
gum sweetened with aspartame. [6-8 mg aspartame per stick chewing gum]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/925
aspartame puts formaldehyde adducts into tissues, Part 1/2
full text, Trocho & Alemany 6.26.98: Murray 12.22.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/926
aspartame puts formaldehyde adducts into tissues, Part 2/2
full text, Trocho & Alemany 6.26.98: Murray 12.22.2 rmforall

http://ww.presidiotex.com/barcelona/index.html
Trocho C, Pardo R, Rafecas I, Virgili J, Remesar X,
Fernandez-Lopez JA, Alemany M ["Trok-ho"]
Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue
components in vivo. Life Sci 1998 Jun 26; 63(5): 337-49.
Departament de Bioquimica i Biologia Molecular, Facultat de Biologia,
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
http://www.presidiotex.com/barcelona/index.html
Maria Alemany, PhD (male) alemany@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/864
Murray: Butchko, Tephly, McMartin: Alemany: aspartame formaldehyde
adducts in rats 9.8.2 rmforall
Prof. Alemany vigorously affirms the validity of the Trocho study
against criticism:
Butchko, HH et al [24 authors], Aspartame: review of safety.
Regul. Toxicol. Pharmacol. 2002 April 1; 35 (2 Pt 2): S1-93, review
available for $35, [an industry paid organ]. Butchko:
"When all the research on aspartame, including evaluations in both the
premarketing and postmarketing periods, is examined as a whole, it is
clear that aspartame is safe, and there are no unresolved questions
regarding its safety under conditions of intended use."
[ They repeatedly pass on the ageless industry deceit that the methanol
in fruits and vegetables is as as biochemically available as that in
aspartame-- see the 1984 rebuttal by Monte, below.
In the same report, Schiffman concludes on page S49, not citing any
research after 1997, "Thus, the weight of the scientific evidence
indicates that aspartame does not cause headache."
Dr. Susan S. Schiffman, Dept. of Psychiatry, Duke University
sss@... 919-684-3303, 660-5657
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/864
Murray: Butchko, Tephly, McMartin: Alemany: aspartame formaldehyde
adducts in rats 9.8.2 rmforall ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/911
RTP ties to industry criticized by CSPI: Murray: 12.9.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/622
Rich Murray: Gold: Koehler: Walton: Van Den Eeden: Leon:
aspartame toxicity 6.4.1 rmforall four double-blind studies

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/623
Rich Murray: Simmons: Gold: Schiffman: Spiers:
aspartame toxicity 6.4.1 rmforall two double-blind studies

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame (12.4.2): 59 pages, 230 references

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 1.12.3 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food, a whitewash

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1018
aspartame toxicity coverup increases danger of corporate meltdown:
Michael C. Carakostas of Coca-Cola: Murray 8.11.3 rmforall
http://www.isrtp.org/new_members/members1.htm
The International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
Carakostas, Michael C., DVM, PhD Director/Scientific & Regulatory
Affairs The Coca-Cola Company PO Drawer 1734 Atlanta, GA 30301
T. 404/676-4234 F. 404/676-7166 E-mail: mcarakostas@...
http://www2.coca-cola.com/ourcompany/columns_aspartame.html [photo]
Aspartame: The world agrees it's safe By Michael Carakostas, DVM, PhD
Director, Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Coca-Cola

It is commendable that Carakostas mentions the core problem, albeit
disparagingly: "During digestion, aspartame yields a very small amount
of methanol-- as do many other food substances. The body converts this
methanol to formaldehyde, which is instantly converted to formate.
Formate is quickly eliminated as carbon dioxide and water."

Plenty of evidence in the mainstream scientific literature since 1973
shows that as much as 30% of the formaldehyde is retained in the body as
toxic, cumulative adducts to the DNA, RNA, and proteins in all cells and
tissues, leading to pointed reports by informed doctors and experts.
Clearly, there are no safe levels for chronic, low-level formaldehyde
exposure. If just 10% of the methanol from six cans of diet soda is
retained in the body as toxic products of formaldehyde and formic acid,
that is sixty times the EPA limit for allowable formaldehyde from daily
drinking water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1016
President Bush & formaldehyde (aspartame) toxicity: Ramazzini Foundation
carcinogenicity results Dec 2002: Soffritti: Murray 8.3.3 rmforall

p. 88 "The sweetening agent aspartame hydrolyzes in the gastrointestinal
tract to become free methyl alcohol, which is metabolized in the liver
to formaldehyde, formic acid, and CO2. (11)"
Medinsky MA & Dorman DC. 1994; Assessing risks of low-level
methanol exposure. CIIT Act. 14: 1-7.

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 87-105.
Results of long-term experimental studies on the carcinogenicity of
formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in rats.
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Lambertin L, Lauriola M, Padovani M, Maltoni C.
Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and
Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@...

Formaldehyde was administered for 104 weeks in drinking water supplied
ad libitum at concentrations of 1500, 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, or 0 mg/L
to groups of 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley rats beginning at
seven weeks of age.
Control animals (100 males and 100 females) received tap water only.
Acetaldehyde was administered to 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley
rats beginning at six weeks of age at concentrations of 2,500, 1,500,
500, 250, 50, or 0 mg/L.
Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death.
Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were found to produce an increase in total
malignant tumors in the treated groups and showed specific carcinogenic
effects on various organs and tissues. PMID: 12562630

Surely the authors deliberately emphasized that aspartame is well-known
to be a source of formaldehyde, which is an extremely potent, cumulative
toxin, with complex, multiple effects on all tissues and organs.

This is even more significant, considering that they have already tested
aspartame, but not yet released the results:

p. 29-32 Table 1: The Ramazzinni Foundation Cancer Program
Project of [200] Long-Term Carcinogenicity Bioassays: Agents Studied

No. No. of Bioassays Species No. Route of Exposure
108. "Coca-Cola" 4 Rat 1,999 Ingestion, Transplantal Route
109. "Pepsi-Cola" 1 Rat 400 Ingestion
110. Sucrose 1 Rat 400 Ingestion
111. Caffeine 1 Rat 800 Ingestion
112. Aspartame 1 Rat 1,800 Ingestion

http://members.nyas.org/events/conference/conf_02_0429.html
Soffritti said that Coca-Cola showed no carcinogenicity.

It may be time to disclose these important aspartame results.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/934
24 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] reports:
Murray 12.31.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/935
Comet assay finds DNA damage from sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin in
mice: Sasaki YF & Tsuda S Aug 2002: Murray 1.1.3 rmforall
[Also borderline evidence, in this pilot study of 39 food additives,
using test groups of 4 mice, for DNA damage from for stomach, colon,
liver, bladder, and lung 3 hr after oral dose of 2000 mg/kg aspartame--
a very high dose.]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/961
genotoxins, Comet assay in mice: Ace-K, stevia fine; aspartame poor;
sucralose, cyclamate, saccharin bad: Y.F. Sasaki Aug 2002:
Murray 1.27.3 rmforall [A detailed look at the data]

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html 5-page review
Roberts HJ Aspartame (NutraSweet) addiction.
Townsend Letter 2000 Jan; HJRobertsMD@...
http://www.sunsentpress.com/ sunsentpress@...
Sunshine Sentinel Press P.O.Box 17799 West Palm Beach, FL 33416
800-814-9800 561-588-7628 561-547-8008 fax

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/669
1038-page medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic"
published May 30 2001 $ 60.00 postpaid data from 1200 cases
available at http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research

http://www.dorway.com David O. Rietz over 12,000 print pages
Mission-Possible-USA Betty Martini 770-242-2599
Bettym19@... dorietz@...
http://www.dorway.com/asprlink.html many links
http://www.dorway.com/nslawsuit.txt Jeff Martin, Attorney
http://www.dorway.com/doctors.txt
What many informed doctors are saying/have said about aspartame

http://www.HolisticMed.com/aspartame 603-225-2100
Aspartame Toxicity Information Center Mark D. Gold
mgold@... 12 East Side Drive #2-18 Concord, NH 03301
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html
"Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research"

Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987-2001]
Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder & President
P.O. Box 780634 Dallas, TX 75378 .
214-352-4268 marystod@...
http://web2.airmail.net/marystod/index.html
http://web2.airmail.net/marystod/espanol.htm
Toxicology Sourcebook: "Deadly Deception: Story of Aspartame"

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/802
RTM: 700.club.com: CBN:
Totheroh & Robertson: aspartame expose 2.13.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/805
RTM: Ive: UK Daily Mirror Magazine: aspartame toxicity 2.18.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/857
RTM: www.dorway.com: original documents and long reviews of flaws in
aspartame toxicity research 7.31.2 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/upipart1.txt
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/262
aspartame expose 96K Oct 1987 Part 1/3: Gregory Gordon, UPI reporter:
Murray 7.10.0 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/enclosur.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/53
aspartame history Part 1/4 1964-1976: Gold: Murray 11.6.9: rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/927
Rumsfeld, 1977 head of Searle Corp., got aspartame FDA approval:
Turner: Murray 12.23.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/928
revolving door, Monsanto, FDA, EPA: NGIN: Murray 12.23.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/957
safety of aspartame Part 1/2 12.4.2: EC HCPD-G SCF:
Murray 1.12.3 rmforall EU Scientific Committee on Food

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/841
RTM: Merisant Co., MSD Capital, Dell Computer Corp., NutraSweet Co.,
JW Childs Assc.: aspartame-neotame toxicity 7.10.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/876
hyperthyroidism (Graves disease) in George and Barbara Bush, 1991--
aspartame toxicity? Roberts 1997: Murray 10.9.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/874
re "dry drunk": Bisbort: danger to President Bush from aspartame
toxicity: Murray: 2.24.2 9.29.2 rmforall

Many scientific studies and case histories report: * headaches
* many body and joint pains (or burning, tingling, tremors, twitching,
spasms, cramps, stiffness, numbness, difficulty swallowing)
* fever, fatigue, swollen glands * "mind fog", "feel unreal", poor
memory, confusion, anxiety, irritability, depression, mania, insomnia,
dizziness, slurred speech, sexual problems, poor vision, hearing
(deafness, tinnitus), or taste * red face, itching, rashes, hair loss,
burning eyes or throat, dry eyes or mouth, mouth sores, burning tongue
* obesity, bloating, edema, anorexia, poor appetite or excessive hunger
or thirst * breathing problems, shortness of breath * nausea,
diarrhea or constipation * coldness * sweating * racing heart, low or
high blood pressure, erratic blood sugar levels * hypothryroidism or
hyperthyroidism * seizures * birth defects * brain cancers
* addiction * aggrivates diabetes, autism, allergies, lupus, ADHD,
fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivity,
multiple sclerosis, and interstitial cystitis (bladder pain).
***********************************************************

http://www.readthelabel.org.uk/ Additives Survivors' Network (UK)
Geoff Brewer <geoffbrewer@...>
http://www.chem.ox.ac.uk/mom/aspartame/aspartame.html
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2000/srogers/sarah.html
Sarah Rogers <sr8442@...>
http://www.react.ie/Health/Nutrition/Aspartame.htm Ireland
http://members.tripod.com/~mission_possible/scotland_branch.html
http://www.aspartame.ca/indexa.html John T. Linnell <admin@...>
http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000/AspartaMalcache.htm
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/ Australia FAILSAFE diet
http://www.bradymax.com/nzaa/ New Zealand
http://www.reseauproteus.net/therapies/nutritio/aspartame.htm France
http://ww2.grn.es/avalls/aspa1.htm Spain
http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Falls/8669/ Brazil
http://www.phd.com.br/aspartame.htm
http://hem.passagen.se/mission.possible.sweden/
http://home.online.no/~dusan/foods/aspartame.html Norway
http://www.ostara.org/aspartam/#menue Germany
http://www.aspartaam.nl/info/product.html Holland, in Dutch
http://www.laleva.org/ <archimede@...> Italy 9 languages
http://www.laleva.cc/alimenti/alimenti.html aspartame vs stevia 4.17.03
http://users.westnet.gr/~cgian/aspartame.htm Greece
http://www.cseindia.org/html/cola-indepth/index.htm India
***********************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/870
Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Interest 1984:
Monte: Murray 9.23.2 rmforall

Dr. Woodrow C. Monte Aspartame: methanol, and the public health.
Journal of Applied Nutrition 1984; 36 (1): 42-54.
(62 references) Professsor of Food Science [retired 1992]
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287 woodymonte@...
The methanol from 2 L of diet soda, 5.6 12-oz cans, 20 mg/can, is
112 mg, 10% of the aspartame. The EPA limit for water is 7.8 mg daily
for methanol (wood alcohol), a deadly cumulative poison. Many users
drink 1-2 L daily. The reported symptoms are entirely consistent
with chronic methanol toxicity. (Fresh orange juice has 34 mg/L, but,
like all juices, has 16 times more ethanol, which strongly protects
against methanol.)

"Fruit and vegetables contain pectin with variable methyl ester
content. However, the human has no digestive enzymes for pectin (6, 25)
particularly the pectin esterase required
for its hydrolysis to methanol (26).

Fermentation in the gut may cause disappearance of pectin (6) but the
production of free methanol is not guaranteed by fermentation (3). In
fact, bacteria in the colon probably reduce methanol directly to formic
acid or carbon dioxide (6) (aspartame is completely absorbed before
reaching the colon). Heating of pectins has been shown to cause
virtually no demethoxylation; even temperatures of 120 deg C produced
only traces of methanol (3). Methanol evolved during cooking of high
pectin foods (7) has been accounted for in the volatile fraction during
boiling and is quickly lost to the atmosphere (49). Entrapment of these
volatiles probably accounts for the elevation in methanol levels of certain
fruits and vegetable products during canning (31, 33)."

Recent research [see links at end of post] supports his focus on the
methanol to formaldehyde toxic process:

"The United States Environmental Protection Agency in their Multimedia
Environmental Goals for Environmental Assessment recommends a minimum
acute toxicity concentration of methanol in drinking water at 3.9 parts
per million, with a recommended limit of consumption below 7.8 mg/day
(8). This report clearly indicates that methanol:

"...is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion
once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde
and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." (8)...

Recently the toxic role of formaldehyde (in methanol toxicity) has been
questioned (34). No skeptic can overlook the fact that, metabolically,
formaldehyde must be formed as an intermediate to formic acid
production (54).

Formaldehyde has a high reactivity which may be why it has not been
found in humans or other primates during methanol posisioning (59)....

If formaldehyde is produced from methanol and does have a reasonable
half life within certain cells in the poisoned organism the chronic
toxicological ramifications could be grave.

Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen (57) producing squanous-cell
carcinomas by inhalation exposure in experimental animals (22). The
available epidemiological studies do not provide adequate data for
assessing the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde in man (22, 24, 57).

However, reaction of formaldehyde with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
has resulted in irreversible denaturation that could interfere with DNA
replication and result in mutation (37)..."

http://www.dorway.com/barua.html
Dr. J. Barua (ophthalmic surgeon), Dr. Arun Bal (surgeon)
Emerging facts about aspartame.
Journal Of The Diabetic Association Of India 1995; 35 (4):
(79 references) barua@...
"...the total amount of methanol absorbed will be approximately
10% of aspartame ingested. An EPA assessment of methanol states
that methanol, 'is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate
of excretion once it is absorbed. The absorbed methanol is then
slowly converted to formaldehyde...'"
"Reaction of formaldehyde with DNA has been observed,
by spectrophotometry and electron microscopy, to result in
irreversible denaturation." "DKP [from aspartame] has been implicated
in the occurence of brain tumors."
************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/939
aspartame (aspartic acid, phenylalanine) binding to DNA:
Karikas July 1998: Murray 1.5.3 rmforall
Karikas GA, Schulpis KH, Reclos GJ, Kokotos G
Measurement of molecular interaction of aspartame and
its metabolites with DNA. Clin Biochem 1998 Jul; 31(5): 405-7.
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece
http://www.chem.uoa.gr gkokotos@...
"K.H. Schulpis" <inchildh@...> "G.J. Reclos" <reklos@...>

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/960
aspartame & MSG: possible role in autoimmune hepatitis:
Prandota Jan 2003: Murray 1.15.3 rmforall

Roberts, Hyman J., 1924- ,
Useful insights for diagnosis, treatment and public heath: an updated
anthology of original research, 2002, 798 pages,
Palm Beach Institute for Medical Research, Inc.
P.O. Box 17799, West Palm Beach, FL 33416
fax 561-547-8008 dr.roberts@...
aspartame disease pages 627-685, 778-780

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/859
RTM: Roberts: the life work of a brilliant clinician:
aspartame toxicity 8.2.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/790
RTM: Moseley:
review Roberts "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" 2.7.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/858
RTM: Samuels: Strong: Roberts: Gold: flaws in double-blind studies re
aspartame and MSG toxicity 8.1.2 rmforall

"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding
sources," 1998, unpublished: http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
Walton found 166 separate published studies in the peer reviewed
medical literature, which had relevance for questions of human safety.
The 74 studies funded by industry all (100%) attested to aspartame's
safety, whereas of the 92 non-industry funded studies, 84 (91%)
identified a problem. Six of the seven non-industry funded studies
that were favorable to aspartame safety were from the FDA, which
has a public record that shows a strong pro-industry bias.
Ralph G. Walton, MD, Prof. of Clinical Psychology, Northeastern Ohio
Universities, College of Medicine, Dept. of Psychiatry, Youngstown,
OH 44501, Chairman, The Center for Behavioral Medicine,
Northside Medical Center, 500 Gypsy Lane, P.O. Box 240 Youngstown,
OH 44501 330-740-3621 rwalton193@...
http://www.neoucom.edu/DEPTS/Psychiatry/walton.htm

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/938
aspartame harms mice brain cells: Hetle & Eltervaag: 2001 thesis
abstract: Sonnewald 1995 study, full text: Murray 1.5.3 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/346
WebMD: Barclay: Barth:
survey shows aspartame hurts memory in students 11.9.00
http://www.psy.tcu.edu/psy/barth.htm
Timothy M. Barth Department of Psychology t.barth@...
Texas Christian University TCU Box 298920 Fort Worth, TX 76129
Chairman, Physiological Psychology 817-921-7410

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/760
Kovatsi L, Tsouggas M
The effect of oral aspartame administration on the
balance of magnesium in the rat.
Magnes Res 2001 Sep;14(3): 189-94.
Laboratory of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece kovatsi@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/943
aspartame, cell phones, brain cancer July 1999 Hardell:
Murray 1.9.3 rmforall
http://www.medscape.com/MedGenMed/braintumors
Lennart Hardell, M.D., PhD, in 1999 reported in Sweden that both
cell phone use and heavy aspartame use correlate with increased
brain cancers lennart.hardell@... +46 19 602 15 46

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/31
Murray: Wurtman: aspartame & seizures 11.9.85 10.30.99
Wurtman RJ Aspartame: possible effect on seizure susceptibility.
Lancet 1985 Nov 9; 2(8463): 1060.
Richard J. Wurtman, Ph.D. dick@... 617-253-3091
Professor of Neuroscience
Prof. of Health Sciences and Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technlogy Cambridge, Mass. 02139

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/32
Murray: Drake: aspartame & panic attacks 9.13.86 10.30.99 rmforall
Miles E. Drake, MD
Panic attacks and excessive aspartame ingestion.
Lancet 1986 Sep 13; 2(8507): 631.
Department of Neurology and Psychiatry,
Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/ Truth in Labeling Campaign [MSG]
Adrienne Samuels, PhD The toxicity/safety of processed
free glutamic acid (MSG): a study in suppression of information.
Accountability in Research 1999; 6: 259-310. 52-page review
P.O. Box 2532 Darien, Illinois 60561
858-481-9333 adandjack@...

http://www.msgmyth.com/ Debby Anglesey <avenger@...>
Battling the "MSG Myth", A Survival Guide and Cookbook - $19.00
P.O. Box 895 Richland, WA 99352 509-735-3397

Russell L. Blaylock, MD 601-982-1175 Madison, Mississippi
"Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills", 1977, 298 p., 493 references.
"Health and Nutrition Secrets that can save your life", 2002, 459 p.,
558 + 30 references, $ 30 http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/

George R. Schwartz, MD "In Bad Taste: The MSG Syndrome", 1988
http://www.healthpress.com/ goodbooks@...
PO Box 37470 Albuquerque, NM 87176 505-888-1394
Kathleen Frazier, Publisher

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/841
RTM: Merisant Co., MSD Capital, Dell Computer Corp., NutraSweet Co.,
JW Childs Assc.: aspartame-neotame toxicity 7.10.2 rmforall
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http://www.vegsource.com extensive vegan information
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/kradjian_milk.htm
Robert Kradjian MD Discusses Milk

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/971
Joel Fuhrman critique of Atkins diet in "Eat To Live":
Murray 3.1.3 rmforall

Substitute stevia (at health food stores).
Avoid all products with aspartame and MSG. Gradually reduce alcohol,
caffeine (coffee, cocoa, and teas), meat, fish, eggs, milk, butter, and
cheese, food additives and colors, fluoride, city water. Enjoy organic
rice, beans, nuts, almond butter, vegetables, fruits, with modest use of
soy products and sprouted grain breads, flax seed and olive oils, vitamins
and minerals, 4-8 1,000 mg fish oil capsules, and fill your jugs with
deionized water.
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