Jamie, thanks for this lead. I see research the last three years
indicates aspartame has complex effects.
Clear-cut answers don't emerge easily.
I respect Al Raetz for criticizing both sides.
I will think about what he says.
I will look into all this. I don't like lies. Joel Sol

http://aspartametruth.freeservers.com/main.html (quotations)

Is aspartame (NutraSweet) completely safe?

I'm not sure.

Are the anti-aspartame web pages full of false claims
and misleading statements?

Of this I'm certain.

After spending much time looking at the original
research, I would say there is strong evidence that
aspartame is safe for most people and that it has no
long term health effects.

Please read this web site carefully as it is the results of
my research. This site is not pro-aspartame
propanganda, but a critical analysis of the evidence
that supports and denies the safety of aspartame.

If aspartame is dangerous, I want to know about it.

But don't lie to me!

Here are two respectable sources that have a more
conservative view of aspartame. Their main points are
that we should limit our consumption and that more
research is needed.

Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)

Columbia University

RECENT MEDICAL RESEARCH

These two studies support the safety of aspartame.
They will never appear on an anti-aspartame web site.
They are a small sample of the evidence you will find
on MEDLINE regarding the safety of aspartame.

Aspartame has no effect on anxiety in high doses

Aspartame does not induce cancer

A S P A R T A M E T R U T H
I N F O R M A T I O N S I T E

Certainty and Science

I just had someone who believes his medical problems
are due to aspartame email me and start out by writing,
"well, I don't expect to change you're mind about
aspartame, I'm sure you've made up your mind by now..."

Actually, I really don't know. If I was sure of myself, why
would I do all this research?

And after doing it, how much more sure am I? Am I
screaming "aspartame is safe"? No, I'm not. Because I still
maintain an emotional detachment to this issue. If I look at
research with the assumption that aspartame is safe, then
I will probably read into it something different than if I
thought aspartame was dangerous. I am open to the
possibility I may be completely wrong about this issue.
Part of what has motivated me in expanding this site is
the sense of responsibility I have for posting correct and
accurate information. I still think, "what if I'm wrong?" I
think it all the time. If I became sure of myself I would no
longer be able to judge further evidence fairly.

Science is a process, not an answer. If you follow the
right process, you're more likely to get to the right answer.
But science is also the history of mistakes, and so you
always have to be open to the possibility you're wrong.

Tactics and The Truth

This is not a pro-aspartame site. It's a pro-truth site. Right
now there are people surfing the internet that only find
information on aspartame that is biased and untrue. Why
do I care?

Does it bother you when people lie to you--and what do
you feel when you see these liars lying to everyone
unimpeded?

I'm all for working with anti-aspartame activists in raising
the awareness of the general public about aspartame. My
problem is with their tactics. The reasonable people who
may initially tend to agree with the anti-aspartame
activists have no choice but to buy into the hysterical
tactics of Dave Reitz and Bryant Holman. There is no
middle ground--there are no "reasonable anti-aspartame"
web sites. Either you march to their tune, or you're naive
or (if you're a doctor) you're being funded by NutraSweet.

I think there are unresolved safety issues regarding
aspartame. The aspartame issue is not a hoax, but it's
easy for someone like me to dismiss these people when I
see their tactics. What are the anti-aspartame sites doing
to educate the general population? Most of the "proof" on
these sites is either false or deceptive--and they know it.

They know they are lying. I've been involved in many
email and mailing list 'discussions' with anti-aspartame
activists. These people have read my web site. They
don't seem to have any good arguments about why my
research is wrong, yet I don't see them correcting their
web sites to reflect this new knowledge! I've certainly
changed and updated my site based on anti-aspartame
web site content and input from anti-aspartame activists.

They have no respect for the intelligence of the masses
and assume that the best means to achieve their goals is
through inciting panic versus truly trying to educate
people about the real unresolved safety issues. I read
these web sites now and they all read like a laundry list of
the same old false claims--but at the same time I can see
how an unaware consumer could be easily swayed by the
'information' on these sites.

I have no doubt that Monsanto/Nutrasweet (or any
corporation) would attempt to lie and cover up scientific
evidence in the name of profit. It happens all the time.

The truth from a liar is still the truth. Wisdom from an idiot
is still wisdom. I would tend to distrust the corporation that
is selling something for profit, but I'm open-minded
enough to listen to their arguments. In the case of
aspartame, their arguments are in the form of the
scientific studies done. And after months of looking up
dozens of studies in medical libraries throughout Northern
California and reading them, I find their arguments are
pretty damn convincing. Not every study done is
convincing and thorough, but there really is a large body
of evidence that says aspartame is generally safe. If you
can believe they falsified all this data, paid off literally
dozens and dozens of Phd. researchers at major
universities and medical centers.... you may as well
believe that everyone is out to get you! The "footprint" of
a full blown cover-up would be much more messy, I would
think. Manipulating data and paying off researchers would
only go so far. Researchers are people, and you have to
have a little faith in their humanity. If aspartame was truly
dangerous (with 100 million users today), we wouldn't
need a web site to know it.

If you've been consuming aspartame without any
problems, chances are you belong to the vast majority of
people who have no problem with it. If you have
undiagnosed health problems, and have doubts about
whether aspartame is the cause, I recommend you take
the "aspartame challenge": stop consuming all aspartame
products for at least a few weeks and see if your
symptoms are alleviated.

My name is Alan Raetz

I have no connection with Nutrasweet or anyone else who
might be trying to sell you aspartame. I have nothing to gain. I
started this web site to counter the deception on the internet.
Period.

I do not advocate the use of aspartame. I believe the public
has the right to know the relative safety and danger of
aspartame.

You can email me at al_raetz@... .

A friend went into shock when I told him I was drinking 3-4
Diet Cokes a day. He said aspartame caused brain tumors. (I
have since cut it down to 1 per day, just to be safe). I said I'd
research it on the internet. I saw the scare sites, then went to
MEDLINE and although there were a few negative studies,
MEDLINE data generally supported the claim that aspartame
was safe. Then my friend emailed the
"www.aspartamekills.com" site to me. That threw me over the
edge. Reasonable, intelligent people were buying into the
hype. I learned of the huge chasm between what you could
find on the web vs. what the research shows.

And that bothered me.

Because I (like many) use the search engines to find
information on anything and everything on the internet. There
is a full scale war of deception going on, and on the internet
the winning side is the one with the loudest voice--you get
overwhelmed with the number of anti-aspartame sites and the
volume of information they contain.

The aspartame critics would like to turn the internet into a
virtual world where they define the truth about aspartame,
and anyone who criticizes them are somehow tied to
corporate interests.
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