http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/804

RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag: 2001 thesis
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice:
Sonnewald 1995 study full text 2.17.2 rmforall

For thesis in Norwegian, mailed by regular mail,  contact:
Anne Værnes <anne.varnes@...>

"Cola light, one calorie"  men hva med jhernen?
Hovedfagoppgave hosten 2001
Utfort av Arnstein Eltervaag og Elisabeth Hetle
Det medisinske fakultet   Institutt for kliniske nevrofag
Trondheim Norway 10.desember 2001

The 48-page thesis has 35 references, and includes an English abstract.
Faculty and helpers listed in the Forword are:
Ursula Sonnewald (with 134 items in PubMed since 1988, showing a
distinguished research career in biochemical studies of neurotoxins--
one of her studies on aspartame, published 1995 with three partners,
Tomm Muller, Geirmund Unsgard, and S.B. Peterson, is given in full at
the end of this post, with 18 references, and obviously presents much
the same laboratory technique as applied in 2001 in the thesis.),
Hong Qu  [female    qu.hong@... ], and
Bente Urfjell.  Obviously, this team has the experience, facilities,
funding, faculty support, and motivation to study the biochemistry of
aspartame toxicity in detail.

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Aspartame (ASM) is a product that was originally made for
diabetics, but today ASM is widely used by healthy people
as an artificial sweetener in many food products.

Purpose: The main goal with this research was to see whether ASM was
harmful to brain cells (cerebellar granule cells).
We wanted to check if the damage to the neurons is connected to
the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptors on these cells.

Procedure:  Brain cells from 7 day old mice were used. They were
cultured in 24 Petri well dishes, and different quantities of ASM were
added.
After 7 days, the cultures were analysed by two different tests:
Lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) test, which gives a picture of cell death
(LDH leakage to the medium in which the cells were cultured).
3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromid (MTT) test,
which can be used to analyse mitochondrial activity in living cells.
To test whether the NMDA-receptor was involved in the damage done by
ASM, the receptor was blocked by
(±)-2-amino-5 phosphonopentanocid (AP5).

Results:  Our results showed damage/cell death from an added quantity
of 0.06 mg/ml ASM each day for 4 days.
As a comparison there is 0.24 mg/ml ASM in Cola Light.
MTT- and LDH-tests showed damage to the neurons at an added
quantity of 1.5 and 3.00 mg/ml ASM after 22 hours of incubation.
The results also show that ASM is in part acting through the
NMDA-receptor because AP5 reduced or
blocked the damage to the granule cells.

Conclusion: In  light of these results, our conclusion is that in order
to be on the safe side, it should be warned against use of ASM
as a food additive, maybe especially in products consumed by children,
because NMDA-receptors and the synapses involved
also are connected to learning.
**********************************************************

http://www.dagbladet.no/print/?/dinside/2001/12/17/301529.html
[A major newspaper in Norway]

[Photo caption]
FARLIG FOR HJERNEN?
Medisinstudent Elisabeth Hetle (32) har sluttet å drikke lettbrus, mens
medstudent Arnstein Eltervaag (40) aldri har drukket lettbrus.

I edited this into a fairly accurate English version:

[Caption for photo]
DANGER FOR BRAIN?
Medical student Elisabeth Hetle (32) has stopped using aspartame diet
sodas, while fellow student Arnstein Eltervaag (40) has never used them.

You can also read this article at:  [article on newspage]
http://www.dagbladet.no/dinside/2001/12/17/301529.html
Dagbladet © 2001:

hetle@...  eltervaa@...
**********************************************************

NTNU:  Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet:
[English] Norwegian University of Science and Technology
NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Phone.: +47 73595000, Fax: +47 73595310

http://www.ntnu.no/indexe.php
Creative, Constructive, Critical:
These are the keywords in our
strategy. As the name states the
Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, NTNU, is a centre for
technological education and research
in Norway, with a solid foundation in
the natural sciences.
This tradition is interwoven with
broadly based expertise in the
classical university disciplines of the
humanities, medicine and the social sciences.
At the same time, NTNU offers the
widest range of education in art
subjects; music, the visual arts and
architecture, of all the universities in  Norway.
At NTNU we strive to encourage soaring imagination and restless
curiosity. Our ambition is to promote a creative interplay between all
forms of human intellectual activities, the arts,
the natural and social sciences, and technology.
Our interdisciplinary efforts are inspired by the consummate
Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci,
who unified areas of study previously seen as distinct.
NTNU is an institution that provides stimulating challenges for those
who want to explore new approaches. NTNU is about leading the field.

Faculty of Medicine:    http://www.medisin.ntnu.no/eng/
The faculty does research in all the medical disciplines: basal,
paraclinical and clinical subjects. Medical technology is an important
area of cooperation for the faculty.
Academic posts: 146. Doctoral students: 77.

Besøksadresse: Olav Kyrres g. 3, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter
Postadresse:  Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, N-7489 Trondheim
Tlf.: 73 59 88 59, faks: 73 59 88 65, E-post: dmf-post@...
**********************************************************

http://www.sintef.no/units/unimed/mr/Staff/ursula.htm
URSULA SONNEWALD Ph.D.,  Professor
Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
Olav Kyrres g.3,
Norwegian  University of Science and  Technology,
N-7489 Trondheim  Norway
phone: (+47) 73 59 04 92, fax: (+47) 73 59 86 55, e-mail:
Ursula.sonnewald@...

http://www.ntnu.no/forskning/publikasjoner98/dmf_farmakologi
NTNU - det medisinske fakultet
Institutt for farmakologi og toksikologi
**********************************************************

http://www.oslo.sintef.no/annual/94/eng/14.html
(photo)  First-aid for brain cells
Research at SINTEF UNIMED´s MR Centre has given us a better
understanding of what takes place in brain cells when their oxygen
supply is reduced or cut off. As a result of its work, the Centre has
been awarded a research contract by a leading Japanese drug company.
In SINTEF UNIMED´s laboratory, Ursula Sonnewald has cultivated mouse
brain cells.

The MR Centre is now testing new drugs which are being developed by
Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals. The manufacturer hopes that these medicines
will enable doctors to reduce brain damage in stroke patients and others

who are suffering from reduced or blocked oxygen supply to the central
nervous system (CNS).
SINTEF UNIMED will test the new drugs by means of in vitro studies and
animal tests.

A lack of oxygen in the brain can lead to lasting damage since brain
cells die, and because the bodily functions that are controlled by these

cells are put out of operation. Damage of this sort can occur in
patients who have suffered strokes, heart failure, in newborn children
with paranatal injuries and people who have been rescued from drowning.

However, cells whose oxygen supply is cut for a short period are capable

of surviving for a day after they are damaged. In theory, this means
that it ought to be possible to save many cells before the damage
becomes permanent, if only we knew just what happens in the cells at
this time.

The photomicrograph below shows a collection of nerve cells that have
built up a neural network in the petri dish. In the background we can
see glial support cells (astrocytes).

Biochemical changes

In collaboration with Professor Geirmund Unsgård of the University of
Trondheim, Dr. Tomm Müller of Trondheim Regional Hospital
and scientists from the Pharmaceutical College of Denmark,
Dr. Ursula Sonnewald at the MR Centre
has been studying cell cultures from mice and rats. Their
studies have provided new understanding of the biochemical changes that
take place during the first few hours after the oxygen supply to the
brain has been cut off.

Dr. Sonnewald and her partners have demonstrated differences in
mechanisms of injury in the nerve cells themselves (the neurones) and
the surrounding glial cells (the astrocytes) that keep the neurones
alive. For this purpose she has used a spectroscopic analysis technique
that utilizes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In SINTEF UNIMED´s cell
experiments for Yamanouchi the effects of the drugs on injured brain
cells in cell cultures are studied by means of the same technique.

Brain images from living animals

A parallel study at SINTEF UNIMED is looking at the effects of drugs on
the brains of living rats with the aid of NMR-based imaging.
The special method that is being used in this part of the study was
developed by Dr. Müller in the course of his doctoral studies, in
collaboration with Dr.
Olav Haraldseth and Dr. Richard Jones, both at SINTEF UNIMED. This
method makes it possible to identify those regions of the CNS that
undergo alterations when the blood supply to these animals' brains
stops. The images also show the size of the areas involved.

When the animals are given medication, the images can show the extent
to which the injuries disappear. In this way the technique can tell us
whether a given drug is capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier, as
it must do if it is to have its intended effect on the central nervous
system.

Contact persons:  Ursula Sonnewald   Olav Haraldseth
**********************************************************
[ 13C and 45Ca are radioactive isotopes of carbon and calcium, used to
trace biochemical reactions.]

1
Bakken, Ingen Johanne; White, Linda R.; Aasly, Jan; Unsgård, Geirmund;
Sonnewald, Ursula;
<U-13C> aspartate metabolism in cultured cortical astrocytes and
cerebellar granule neurons studied by NMR spectroscopy.
GLIA. Wiley-Liss, Inc. 23, 271-277 1998

2
Bakken, Inger Johanne; White, Linda R.; Unsgård, Geirmund; Aasly, Jan;
Sonnewald, Ursula
<U-13C>-glutamate Metabolism in Astrocytes During Hypoglycemia  and
Hypoxia.
Journal of Neuroscience Research. Wiley-Liss, Inc. 51, 636-645 1998

3
Håberg, Asta; Qu, Hong; Bakken, Inger Johanne; Sande, Leif Magne; White,

Linda R.; Haraldseth, Olav; Unsgård, Geirmund; Aasly, Jan;
Sonnewald, Ursula
In vitro and ex vivo 13C-NMR spectroscopy studies of pyruvate
recycling in brain.
Developmental Neuroscience. S. Karger AG 20, 389-398 Basel 1998

4
Håberg, Asta; Qu, Hong; Haraldseth, Olav; Unsgård, Geirmund; Sonnewald,
Ursula
In vivo Injection of 1-13C Glucose and 1,2-13C Acetate Combined With  Ex
Vivo 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy:
A Novel Approach to the Study of
Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion in the Rat.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism. Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins 18: 11, 1223-1232 Philadelphia 1998

5
McKenna, Mary C.; Sonnewald, Ursula; Huang, Xueli; Stevenson, Joseph;
Johnsen, Svein F.; Sande, Leif M.; Zielke, H. Ronald
-a-Ketoisocaproate alters the production of both lactate and
aspartatefrom <U-13C>glutamate in astrocytes : a 13C NMR study.
Journal of Neurochemistry. Lippincott-Raven Publishers 70, 1001-1008
Philadelphia 1998

9
Sonnewald, Ursula; Sonnewald, Ursula; Akiho, Hiraku; Koshiya, Kazuo;
Iwai, Akihiko
Effect of orotic acid on the metabolism of cerebral cortical astrocytes
during hypoxia and reoxygenation : an NMR spectroscopy  study.
Journal of Neuroscience Research. Wiley-Liss, Inc. 51: 1, 103-108 1998

14
Waagepetersen, H.S.; Bakken, I.J.; Larsson, O.M.; Sonnewald, Ursula;
Schousboe, A.
Comparison of lactate and glucose metabolism in cultures neocortical
neurons and astrocytes using 13C-NMR spectroscopy.
Developmental Neuroscience. S. Karger AG 20, 310-320 Basel 1998

15
Waagepetersen, Helle S.; Bakken, Inger J.; Larsson, Orla M.; Sonnewald,
Ursula; Schousboe, Arne
Metabolism of Lactate in Cultured GABAergic Neurons Studied by 13C
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.
Lippincott-Raven Publishers 18: 1, 109-117 Philadelphia 1998

31
Qu, Hong; Håberg, Asta; Sæter, Oddbjørn; Haraldseth, Olav; Unsgård,
Geirmund; Sonnewald, Ursula
Pyruvate recycling.
Journal of Neurochemistry. Lippincott-Raven 71 USA, 1998

32
Schousboe, Arne; Gegelashvili, Georgi; Sonnewald, Ursula
Role of astrocytes in glutamate metabolism during neurotransmission.
Journal of Neurochemistry. Raven Lippincott 71 USA, 1998

33
Sonnewald, Ursula; Håberg, Asta; Qu, Hong; Sæter, Oddbjørn; Haraldseth,
Olav; Unsgård, Geirmund
Stroke, the metabolic approach.
Journal of Neurochemistry vol. 71.  Lippincott-Raven USA, 1998
***********************************************************

http://www.phys.ntnu.no/instdef/grupper/biosystemer/qu.hong/
qu.hong@...
http://www.ntnu.no/doktorgrader/dr.scient/02.02/qu.htm
(photo of woman) Cand.scient. Hong Qu (30) fra Shenyang, Kina, har
studert vekselvirkninger mellom celler i hjernen (astrocytter og
nevroner) i sin doktoravhandling ved Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige
universitet, NTNU.
***********************************************************

NEUROPHARMACOLOGY AND NERUOTOXICOLOGY Volume 6 1995 (PP318-320)  Rapid
Communications of Oxford Ltd

Effects of aspartame on Ca influx and LDH leakage from nerve cells in
culture
Ursula Sonnewald, Tomm  Muller, Geirmund Unsgard, S.B. Peterson
MR-Centre, SINTEF UNIMED, N-7034
Trondheim; University of Trondheim, Dept. of Neurosurgery,
University Hospital N-7006
Trondheim; Norwegian Institute of Tecnology, Drpt. of Biotecnology,
N-7034 Trondheim, Norway

Aspartame (ASM), an artificial sweetener, was shown to dose dependently
increase CA influx into and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage from
murine brain cell cultures.
Astrocytes were more resistant than neurones to the effects of ASM.
In cerebellar granule neurones, a 20% increase in calcium
was found after an incubation time of 22 h in the presence of 0.1 mM
ASM;
at 0.5 mM concentration, calcium influx increased 40% compared with
control cultures.
At a concentration of 10mM, influx was increased 13-fold after 5 h.
Morphological appearance as judged by phase contrast microscopy was
first visibly affected after exposure to 1mM ASM for 22 h.
Citrate, another food additive, was included in the study to demonstrate
that cerebellar granule neurones could tolerate 10mM additions to the
medium and citrate did not cause Ca influx or morphological changes in
neurones after 22 h.
LDH leakage, a sign of severe cell damage, was observed at 1 mM
concentrations of ASM after 22 h.
Cerebral astrocytes on the other hand were more resistant and showed
morphological changes, increased calcium influx and LDH leakage
first at 5 mM concentrations of ASM.

Key words:  Aspartame, Neurotoxicity; Cerebellar granule neurones;
Lactate dehydrogenase leakage; Calcium influx

INTRODUCTION
Aspartame (L-aspartyl--L-phenylalanine methyl ester, ASM) is a widely
used artificial sweetener in soft drinks and low calorie food.
There have been reports of adverse neurological effects
such as headache (1),
insomnia and seizures after ingestion of aspartame, which may be
attributed to the alterations in regional concentrations of
catecholamines.(2)
Brain phenylalanine and tyrosine were increased
following ASM ingestion. (3)
Studies using radioactively labelled aspartame in comparison with
labelled methanol, aspartame and phenylalanine have shown the 30-40% of
the total dose of aspartame of the labelled components remains in the
body after 8 h; the remainder is primarily s
ecreted through expired air. (4)
Analysis of tissue distribution of orally administered isotopically
labelled aspartame in the rat showed part of the label remaining in the
brain for up to 24 h. (5)
From these studies it was not possible to
determine whether ASM or its degradation products reached the brain.

Both aspartate (6) and aspartame (7) have been shown to have excitatory
activity.  Olney et al (8) have shown that systemic administration of
glutamatae, an excitatory amino acid, produced brain damage in a number
of animal species including primates, and excitotoxic analogues such as
aspartame had the same effects. (9)

In order to investigate potential toxicity of aspartame on brain cells,
lactate dehydrogenase leakage and (45) Ca influx into astrocytes and
neurones were measured after incubation with
varying concentrations of aspartame.

Materials and Methods

Plastic tissue culture dishes were purchased form NUNC A/S (Denmark),
fetal calf serum from Seralab (Sussex, UK), poly-L-lysine (mol wt.> 300
000) and amino acids from Sigma (St. Louis, MO) ; 45Ca was from
Amersham.  All other chemicals were of the purest grade available from
regular commercial sources.

Cortical astrocytes were cultured essentially as described by Hertz et
al. (10)  Prefrontal cortex was taken from newborn NMRI mice and passed
through Nitex nylon sieves (80 um pore size) into a slightly modified
Dulbecco's medium (DMEM) containing 20% (v/v) fetal calf serum and
plated in NUNC 3 cm culture dishes.  Medium was changed twice a week.
Cells were used for experiments after  2-3 weeks in culture.
Cerebellar granule cells were prepared from 7-day-old mice; (11) they
have been shown to possess NMDA receptors (12) and are useful in the
study of neurotoxicity. (12)
Tissue  samples of cerebella were exposed to mild trypsinization
followed by trituration in a DNAse solution containing a soyabean
trypsin inhibitor.  Cells were suspended (2-3 x 106 cells ml-1)
in a slightly modified  DMEM with 10% (v/v fetal calf serum.
Cytosine arabinoside (20 uM) was added after 48  h to prevent astrocyte
proliferation.
Cells were used after 7 days in culture.  Prior to experiments, the
incubation medium was removed and substituted with Hanks balanced salt
solution without MG2+  (HBBS) containing 1.5 uCi ml-1 (45)Ca.
The experiments were terminated by the removal of the incubation
medium.  The cells were washed five times with ice-cold
phosphate-buffered saline containing 25 mM MgCl2 to displace (45) Ca
bound extra-cellularly.
The cells were lysed in 0.5 M HCL and the (45) Ca content
was determined by liquid scintillation spectrometry.
When appropriate, cell integrity in the cultures was assessed by
determination of leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH< EC 1.1.27) from
cells into the medium, using a diagnostic kit supplied by Sigma Chemical
(catalogue no. DG 1340-K).
LDH was measured in cell extracts and medium and expressed
as percentage of total LDH ((14)

Results and Discussion

Aspartame has been shown to dose-dependently inhibit L-(3H) glutamate
binding to the N-methyl-D-aspartame (NMDA) receptor in a synaptosomal
preparation from rat brain. (7)
The NMDA receptor is an ionotropic
glutamate receptor mediating calcium influx into neurones.
Aspartate, a constituent of ASM, is a potent NMDA agonist and has been
shown to induce widespread late neuronal degeneration. (14)
Delayed cell death mediated by the NMDA receptor depended on the
presence of extracellular calcuium. (15-17)
Thus the present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of ASM
on primary nerve cell cultures in terms of calcium influx.
Furthermore measurement of LDH activity released to the extracellular
media has been found to be a quantitative method for determining
neuronal cell injury. (18)
Table 1 shows that ASM dose-and time-dependently increase calcium
influx into and LDH leakage from cerebellar granule neurones.
No effect was detected at 0.1 mM, but at 0.5 mM ASM LDH leakage was
increased slightly and at a concentration of 5 mM LDH leakage was
increased by a factor of 2.5 after 22 h (Table 1).
After this time cells had detached from the culture dishes and
intracellular (45)Ca could not be determined.
At 10 mM, calcium influx was increased 13-fold after a 5  h
incubation (Table 2).
Citrate, another food additive, was included in the
study to demonstrate that cerebellar granule neurones could tolerate
addition of organic substances at 10 mM concentration to the medium and
citrate did not cause (45) Ca influx or morphological changes in
neurones;
however, deleterious effects on astrocytes were seen.
The above findings further confirm the hypothesis of Pan-How et al (7)
that the neurotoxicity produced by ASM is mediated by a calcium coupled
receptor.
In the case of cerebellar granule neurones it is likely to be an NMDA
receptor-mediated effect.
The excitotoxin responsible for this effect could either be free
aspartate (an NMDA receptor agonist) derived from proteolytic cleavage
of ASM or ASM directly.
Astrocytes on the other hand are not believed to have NMDA receptors
and the observed calcium influx at 5 mM ASM (Table 1) must therefore be
mediated through a different mechanism.
LDH leakage, a sign of cell damage, was also observed in astrocytes
(Table 1). Thus it has been shown that ASM has adverse effects both on
glia and neurones in culture.

Clearly the concentrations used in these studies are not likely to be
physiological, but subpopulations of neurones might be affected by
lower doses, and long term exposure to low concentrations might
produce  cumulative irreversible damage.
Based on the results presented here, we cannot draw any conclusions for
the in vivo situation, there is the need for additional in vitro and in
vivo studies, to evaluate the safety of this food additive that is
consumed in increasing amounts by adults and children.

References
1.  Johns Dr. Migraine provoked by aspartame.  N Engl J Med 315, 456
(1986)

2.  Coulomb, RA and Sharma RS. Neurobiochemical alterations induced by
the artificial sweetener aspartame.  Toxicol Parmacol 83d, 79-85 (1986)

3.  Fernstrom JD, Fernstrom MH and Gillis MA.
Acute effects of aspartame on large neutral amino acid and  monoamines
in rat brain.  Life Sci 32, 1651-1658 (1983)

4.  Opperman JA. Aspartame metabolism in animals.  In Stegink LD and
Filer Jr. eds. Aspartame Physiology and Biochemnistry.
New York: Marcel Dekker, 1984: 161-200.

5. Matsuzawa Y and O'Hara Y. Tissue distribution of orally administered
isotopically labelled aspartame in the rat.  In. Stegink LD and Filer
Jr. eds. Aspartame Physiology and Biochemistry.
New York: Marcel Dekker, 1984; 161-200

6. Watkins JC. Excitatory amino acid and central synaptic transmision .
Trends Pharmacol 5 373-376 (1984)

7. Pan-Hou H, Ohe Y, Sumi M et al. Effect of aspartame on NMDA sensitive

L-(3H)glutamate  binding sites in rat brain synaptic membranes.
Brain Res 520, 351-353 (1990)

8.  Olney Jw. Sharpe LG and Feigin Rd.
Glutamate-induced brain damage in infant primates.
  J Neuropathol Exp eurol 31, 464-488 (1972)

9.  Olney JW, Sharpe LG and Feigin RD. Glutamate-induced brain damage in
infant primates. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 31, 464-488 (1972)

10.  Hertz l, Juurlink BHG, Hertz E et al.  Preparation of primary
cultures of mouse (rat) astrocytes.  IN: Shahar A, De Vellis J,
Vernadakis A, Haber B, eds.
A dissection and Tissue Culture Manual of the Nervous System
New York: Liss, 1989:105-108

11.  Schousboe A, Meier E, Drejer J et al. Preparation of primary
cultures of mouse (rat) cerebellar granule cells.   In Shahar A, De
Vellis J, Vernadakis A. Haber B, eds.
A Dissection and Tissue Culture Manual of the Nervous System.
New York: Liss, 1989: 183-186

12.  Lysko PG, Cox JA, Vignano MA et al. Excitatory amino acid
neurotoxicity at the N-methyl-E-aspartame receptor
in cultured neurones; pharmacological characterization,
Brain Res 499, 258-266 (1989)

13.  Frandsen AA and Schousbor A. Time and concentration dependency of
the toxicity of excitatory amino acids on cerebral neurones in primary
culture. Neurochem Int 10, 583-591 (1987)

14.  Choi DW. Non-NMDA receptor-mediated neuronal injury
in Alzheimer's disease? Neurobial Aging 10, 605-606 (1989)

15.  Hartly DM, Kurth MC , Bjerkness L et al.
Glutamate receptor-induced (45) Ca2+ accumulation in cortical cell
culture correlates with subsequentneuronal accumulation in cortical cell
culture correlates with subsequent neuronal degeneration.
J Neursci 13 1993-2000 (1993)

16.  Sijesjo BK and Bengtsson F. Calcium fluxes, calcium antagonists,
and calcium-related pathology in brain ischemia, hypoglycemia, and
spreading depression: A unifying hypothesis.
J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 9, 127-140 (1989)

17.Eimerl S and Schramm. The quantity of calcium that appears to induce
neuronal death. J Neurochem 62 1223-1226 (1994)

18.  Koh JY and Choi DW. Quantitative determination of glutamate
mediated cortical neuronal injury in cell culture by lactate
dehydrogenase efflux assay. J Neurosci Methods 20, 83-90 (1987)

Acknowledgements:  Thisresearch was supported by the Research Council
of  Norway.  The use of the animal facilities at the University Hospital

in Trondheim are gratefully acknowledged.
Received 26 October l994; accepted 25 Nov l994

Table 1.  The effect of aspartame on calcium influx and LDH leakage in
cerebellar granule neurones and cortical astrocytes
**********************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 804 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/804
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag: 2001 thesis
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice:
Sonnewald 1995 study full text 2.17.2 rmforall
**********************************************************

I have scanned this article from today's Daily Mirror Magazine in the UK.

Have your cake and eat it
By Frances Ive.    (c)Daily Mirror Magazine  Saturday 16th February 20022


Replacing sugary snacks and juices with 'low-cal' foods and 'diet' drinks
seems like the healthy option. But there's increasing concern about an
artificial sweetener called Aspartame, found in most of these 'light'
alternatives, which has been linked with over 90 ailments. . .

Aspartame appears in thousands of everyday brands including children's
vitamins and medicines. It is in most products bearing the words 'low
sugar', 'reduced sugar', 'low calorie', 'no sugar', 'diet' or 'light'. It is
sometimes found under its trade name, NutraSweet(r) , or simply as E951.
Reports have linked excessive Aspartame intake with headaches, dizziness,
rashes, aching joints, migraines, fatigue, depression and hyperactivity in
children. It has also been cited as a possible factor in cases of brain
damage, Alzheimer's, impaired eyesight, epilepsy, Parkinson's Disease and
multiple sclerosis. But the company that markets NutraSweet(r) denies there
is any proof to support these claims: 'Allegations continue to arise from a
relatively small number of individuals, based on anecdotes and personal
opinion. Such misinformation... may have resulted in individuals wrongly
attributing symptoms to Aspartame.'

So, why is Aspartame thought to be harmful?

Developed in the laboratory, Aspartame is a chemical containing
phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (or wood alcohol). It breaks down
into formaldehyde, a known poison, which accumulates in the cells of the
body and could damage DNA. Some people are believed to be more at risk than
others because their bodies are not as efficient at preventing toxins going
into the brain. They include diabetics, smokers, and people with high blood
pressure.

Diabetes UK (the charity for people with diabetes) actually recommends that
diabetics drink diet drinks because they must not have sugar, and they
currently refute suggestions that Aspartame is harmful. Together with the
government's food watchdog, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), they do,
however, acknowledge that people with the inherited disease,
phenylketonuria, whose bodies cannot metabolise phenylalanine, must not
consume Aspartame. Therefore all products containing the sweetener must
carry the warning: 'Contains a source of phenylalanine.'

Should I be worried about it?

So far there is no independent scientific evidence that Aspartame is unsafe.
Safety fears are refuted by manufacturers, and regulatory authorities
worldwide as well as the World Health Organisation accept all existing
studies.
But many scientists have doubts about trials back in the '80s which passed
Aspartame as safe. And their fears are borne out by a number of GPs we have
contacted who now ask their patients about their Aspartame consumption. Last
year the FSA sent some 500 documents claiming that Aspartame is unsafe to
the Scientific Committee on Food Secretariat in Brussels and their findings
are awaited. If  it can be proven to be harmful an EU ban could follow.

Are manufacturers and supermarkets taking any action?

Two years ago Iceland Stores banned Aspartame in all their own-label
products, and Virgin Group reduced its content in all its diet drinks by
30%. But a survey of the supermarket shelves reveals that there are still
many products containing Aspartame (see list below).

Is there a 'safe' level of consumption per day?

The FSA recommends an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for Aspartame - 40mg per
kilo of body weight which equals 2,800mg per day for the average British
adult who weighs 70 kilos (about 11st). The FSA claims that to reach the ADI
an adult needs to drink 14 cans of diet drink containing Aspartame each day,
and even then they can reach the limit only if the drink has its maximum
permitted level of the chemical. However, an average three-year-old would be
over the  ADI with more than three cans of  Diet Coke (600mg of Aspartame)
and a typical 11-year-old would be over with seven cans.

'Aspartame in my vitamins made me ill'

Joanna Clarke, 50, of Glasgow, believes that Aspartame was the cause of her
health problems.

'I kept having giddy spells after drinking diet drinks and flavoured spring
waters, and I realised it might be the Aspartame, so I stopped drinking
them. Then, a few years later I switched brands of Vitamin C tablets. I was
taking four a day because I thought they'd be good for me. I began to have
pains in my joints, a stiff neck and a bad hip. Despite seeing a
physiotherapist, an orthopaedic specialist, a sports clinic doctor and an
osteopath, no one could find anything wrong with me. After three years of
suffering I noticed that my Vitamin C contained Aspartame. I stopped taking
it as I suspected it didn't agree with me but I didn't connect it with my
pains. Gradually the pain and stiffness went. Later on, I took some medicine
which also contained . Aspartame. I needed to take it to get better but was
worried about getting giddy again. The day after I started taking it I woke
up with a sore neck and it felt like the same pain I'd had when I was taking
Vitamin C with Aspartame.'

Joanna is now the Scottish coordinator for the Additive Survivors Network

Just some of the products containing Aspartame

If you are concerned, always check the list of ingredients, especially on
reduced or no-sugar drinks and food, and on vitamin supplements.

* Boots Children's Complete Chewable Multivitamins & Minerals
* Boots Vitamin C Tablets
* Cadbury Highlights
* Canderel
* Colgate Dental Gum
* Diet Coke
* Diet Pepsi
* Fybogel (laxative)
* Haliborange Multivitamins Plus Calcium and Iron
* Hermasetas Gold
* Lemsip
* Lilt Light
* Lucozade Sport
* Options
* Müller Light Yogurts
* Orbit Chewing Gum
* Ovaltine Light
* Pepsi Max
* Ribena Light
* Robinson's No Added Sugar Orange and Original Whole Orange
* Rowntrees Sugar Free Jelly
* Sanatogen Chewable High Strength Vitamin C
* Silver Spoon Half Spoon Granulated Sugar and Low Calorie Granulated
   Sweetener
* Walkers Prawn Cocktail Crisps
* Wrigleys Air Waves and Extra Sugar Free Gum.

Where can I get more info?

* See http://www.food.gov.uk, the FSA's website.

* For details of the Additive Survivors Network (ASN) send an SAE plus a £5
cheque made payable to The Green Network Charitable Trust to: Geoff Brewer,
National Coordinator, ASN (UK), 63 Downlands Road,
Devizes, Wiltshire SNl0 5EF or see  http://www.additivesout.org.uk.
*******************************************************************************

http://www.readthelabel.org.uk/    arthur@...
*******************************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/802

RTM: 700.club.com: CBN: Totheroh & Robertson:
aspartame expose 2.13.2 rmforall

[ Comments by Rich Murray:  I happened to turn on my satellite TV for
the first time in months, and within an half-hour, found myself
watching, shortly after 9 PM MST, for over 20 minutes,
the following news show,
followed by a detailed discussion between Totheroh  (a tall, thin,
intense young man with a quick smile, brown hair, blue eyes and glasses)

and the very genial, articulate Pat Robertson.
They unequivocably, firmly, pointedly warned the public about aspartame
toxicity, and even mentioned that Donald Rumsfeld, now Secretary of
Defense, had been hired by Searle from his previous work
in Washington, DC for a salary of $ 1.2 million to get
aspartame approved decades ago.

Some of the topics discussed:
Fraud in aspartame tests on rats was described
the FDA condemnation and eventual reinstatement of saccharin
the still continuing FDA condemnation of cyclamates (approved in Canada)

the many types of stevia products
a fruit flavored liquid sweetener
Diet Rite soda with its "no aspartame" label (they didn't mention that
    this is from the makers of Royal Crown sodas)
Pat Robinson's own memory problems from aspartame
other CBN staff members having memory and other problems
repeated listing of the many symptoms, memory loss, IQ reduced 10-15%,
    aches and pains, seizures, death
twice gave the FDA hotline number for toxicity complaints: 888-463-3633
    and  http//www.fda.gov
emphasized that only 6 grams of methanol (wood alcohol, as in old-time
    illicit "White Lightning" liquor) could kill an adult
many sources of aspartame in a day could provide hundreds of milligrams
   of methanol, a cumulative poison, eventually creating illnesses
the FDA, having committed itself to approval of this terrible drug, was
    resisting admitting its mistake about a billion-dollar product.

The role of the Net was not mentioned, except that Mary Nash Stoddard
was shown at her computer, very serious, with long black hair and blue
eyes, and her web page was shown.

CBN Main Switchboard (757) 226-7000
http://web.cbn.org/cc/contact/feedback-cbnonline.asp  contact editors
http://web.cbn.org/cc/contact/feedback-700club.asp   contact 700 Club
The Christian Broadcasting Network
977 Centerville Turnpike
Virginia Beach, VA 23463

CBA Canada
680 Progress Avenue - Unit #2
Scarborough, ON M1H3A5
Canada

http://www.patrobertson.com/
Pat's Life Verse:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:13)

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/staff/gailon_totheroh.asp
gailon.totheroh@...
**********************************************************

http://www.700club.com/cbnnews/
http://www.700club.com/cbnnews/news/020213a.asp
HEALTH:   The Bitter Truth About Aspartame
By Gailon Totheroh   Science & Medical Reporter  February 13, 2002

The controversial sweetener called
aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, has become the subject of a
decades-long safety controversy.

CBN.com - The American public’s long love affair with sweets has not
been good for our health. From obesity to diabetes, sugar has left its
mark. In response, Americans came up with artificial sweeteners without
all the calories, and a bitter diet of public health safety battles then

ensued.

The controversial sweetener called aspartame, also known as
NutraSweet, has become the subject of a decades-long safety
controversy. It is a war that pits consumer groups and scientists
against the food industry and their experts.

The fuel of the aspartame controversy has been the thousands of
consumers complaining of mild to serious health problems they attribute
to the artificial sweetener.

One of them is Mary Stoddard. She suffered from suicidal depression, a
painful blood disease, nerve damage, and a traumatized daughter. "After
many months of migraine headaches, heart attack symptoms, I finally
was carried in from a school field trip after a grand mal seizure,"
Stoddard said.

CBN News contacted two major industry groups which advocate
aspartame's safety. The International Food Information Council and the
Calorie Control Council were unable to find an available expert by our
deadline.

They, along with the NutraSweet Company, the major producer of the
sweetener, do provide their side of the story on the Internet.

For over 15 years, Stoddard has been fighting aspartame with her
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, asking dozens of government and
elected officials to listen, "To listen seriously to what we have to
say and the tens of thousands of reports we have in our files,"
she explained.

While the government may not be listening, some companies appear to
the getting the message. [image of Diet Rite soda (from makers of
Royal Crown sodas) can with "no aspartame" label]

Soddard says everyone should listen to the brain problems her group has
logged: Headaches, seizures, hallucinations, ringing in the ears, memory

problems, aggravation of brain diseases like multiple sclerosis
and even brain tumors have been reported.

The NutraSweet Company calls those who attack aspartame alarmists
using "scare tactics" that have "distorted" public perception.

But whose side is science on?

The industry generally claims over 200 research articles supporting the
safety of aspartame. In other words, their research claims
it is safe to consume aspartame at will.

Noted psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Walton analyzed the relevant research
articles and had a rather different story to tell.
"What I found was 100 percent of the industry-sponsored research
attested to the safety of the product whereas 92 percent of the studies
that had independent funding identified some type of problem," he
explained.

Walton's chart of industry-funded research shows 74 articles, and every
single one supports safety, while other apparently more objective
researchers found adverse reactions in 85 studies. To some, this sounds
like corporate tampering with science to deceive the public.

"We need a better process with regards to medical research, that people
doing the research should not have a vested interest in the outcome of
that research. Unfortunately, with NutraSweet we do have that
situation," Walton said.

Walton's analysis finds support from Dr. Woodrow Monte of Arizona State
University. Monte was wary of aspartame from the beginning because it
contains a toxic alcohol also known as wood alcohol or methanol.

"This never, never, ever should have been approved," Monte said.
"It has done tremendous damage to the population and is doing more
damage. I am one hundred percent behind stopping it from being consumed,

especially by women that are pregnant and children. Or anyone really.
There's nothing good about it, absolutely positively nothing good about
NutraSweet."

But industry defenders correctly state that fruits also contain this
samealcohol, and fruit is safe.

Walton explained why he disagrees.
"In fruit you have the antidote along with it. And also the methanol
component is bound to something called pectin, in fruit. We humans don't

have the enzyme to split methanol off from pectin. So, in fruit it's
perfectly harmless, but that's not the case in aspartame," he said.

Yet groups from the World Health Organization to the American Medical
Association say there is no problem consuming even large quantities.

Walton compares the sweetener to how the medical field used to treat
tobacco. "Physicians would indeed urge patients to smoke, so it took
quite a long time for there to be, first, medical awareness,
then public awareness of the hazards of smoking," he said.
"I think we're in an analogous situation with aspartame."

For consumers, there are a couple of straightforward questions to
consider: Who is the most credible on the safety issue? If unsafe, how
unsafe? And what are the alternatives? How good are they? All these
questions may require a lot more personal thought and investigation,
even if the truth is hard to swallow.
***************************************************************

http://www.700club.com/about/
Today CBN is a multifaceted institution that comprises several national
and international  broadcasting entities, a 24-hour telephone prayer
line, and a hotel and conference center. Chief among CBN's broadcasting
components is The 700 Club, a daily television program featuring Pat
Robertson. On the air continuously since 1966, The 700 Club is one of
the longest-running  programs in broadcast history. The show's
news/magazine format presents a lively mix of  information, interviews,
and inspiration to an average daily audience of more than 1,000,000
viewers.

An international edition of The 700 Club and other CBN television and
radio programs air in more  than 90 countries in 46 languages from
Chile to Iceland and from the West Indies to the Far East.
****************************************************************

http://www.cbn.com/CBNNews/staff/gailon_totheroh.asp
Gailon Totheroh   Medical Reporter   gailon.totheroh@...

Over the years, CBN viewers have come to recognize
reporter Gailon Totheroh as a valuable authority on current
health and science issues. Among his most recent stories were his
in-depth reports on cancer and arthritis; each multi-part series
focused on prevention, nutrition, and alternative treatments.

                   He has also done several investigative reports on such

controversial medical and moral issues as the development of
"designer" embryos and the use of such excitotoxins as MSG and
aspartame.

                   Before working for CBN News, Totheroh served in
various areas throughout the Christian Broadcasting Network. As a
graduate student, he was hired by CBN's human resources department in
1984. He later worked as a specialist in the media and public relations
departments  for four years. In 1988, he joined the news department as
a field producer, and shortly thereafter was promoted to reporter.
His emphasis on science and medicine earned him the
official title of medical reporter in 1996. His work has earned him
CBN's President's Award for Excellence in 1990 and 1997.

                   When he arrived at CBN, Totheroh brought experience
in a variety of fields, including business management, education, and
journalism. While living in Phoenix, Arizona, he worked as an employment

manager for Manpower Services,
a researcher for The Trilateral Observer, an employment specialist for
Coca-Cola, and an apartment manager for the Royal Suites Hotels. He also

obtained his teacher certification in 1981, and traveled to the Soviet
Union for a study tour.

                   A native of Arizona, Totheroh earned an A.A. in
chemistry from Phoenix College in 1972 and a B.A. in German from the
University of Arizona two years later. In 1988, he earned an M.A. in
Public Affairs Journalism from Regent University.

                   According to Totheroh, whose favorite scriptures
include Psalm 19 and Revelation 21:1-4, his  greatest asset as a
journalist is "the sovereign and loving Lord who has given me the
support of a wonderful wife and great children."
***************************************************************

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"
Mary Nash Stoddard, author [Odenwald Press 1998]

http://www.dorway.com/wmonte.txt
Dr. Woodrow C. Monte, "Aspartame: Methanol, and the Public Health,"
Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 36, No. 1, pages 42-54, 1984.
(62 references)   Professsor of Food Science
Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
6411 South River Drive #61 Tempe, Arizona 85283-3337
602-965-6938    woody.monte@...
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.)

http://www.dorway.com/wmonte.txt
Dr. Woodrow C. Monte, "Aspartame: Methanol, and the Public Health,"
Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 36, No. 1, pages 42-54, 1984.
(62 references)   Professsor of Food Science
Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
6411 South River Drive #61 Tempe, Arizona 85283-3337
602-965-6938    woody.monte@...
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.)

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

Monte's prescient warning was published sixteen years ago. Many
symptoms of methanol toxicity are present in the many case reports.
One would hope that all experts involved would focus on identifying
all vulnerable populations and the exact toxic biochemistry, and,
of course, act to eliminate aspartame, but, sadly enough, entrenched
financial interests, just as in the case of tobacco, lead to corruption
of the scientific process, as Walton elucidates in this 66-page report:

"Survey of aspartame studies: correlation of outcome and funding
sources," 1998, unpublished as yet:
This study is available at http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html
Al Raetz has justly criticized bias in both sides of the debate:
www.aspartametruth.freeservers.com/personal.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.

Moreover, 33 pro-aspartame studies were, with slight changes,
published repeatedly in different journals from 2 to 6 times each.
Walton comments, "Virtually all journals require that an affidavit be
signed by all authors to the effect that neither the manuscript nor
the data it contains have been previously published or concurrently
submitted elsewhere for publication. Violation of this policy may have
a detrimental impact on scientific progress and ethics."
**************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 790 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall
**************************************************************

Hi, Rich:

The message below may have been sent to this list by Dave Reitz, but it was not
written by him.

I thank you for your offer of a forum to discuss these issues publicly.
However, I don't believe an aspartame list is the appropriate venue.

In the meantime, for anyone wanting to form their own conclusions on some of the
issues we've touched on here, I offer this link:

http://www.vegsource.com/articles/cohen/index.htm

[ The Sad Truth About Robert Cohen:
Do honesty and character count in an activist?
by Jeff Nelson VegSource Interactive, Inc.
Comments by Rich Murray:  This article presents overwhelming testimony by
many prominent activists, as well as a number of unedited email exchanges,
that convince me that Robert Cohen has long-standing, deep personal
problems that fatally impair his effectiveness as a public spokesman for
his crusade against dairy products.  Personally, I can no longer refer
people to him as a reliable, careful, accurate source.  I regret this,
because he has been a real hero for me, and I have often enjoyed his
playful humor, and vivid, pointed denunciations of diary.  May he receive
the help he so badly needs, and quickly, and may he choose to accept it
humbly and gratefully.  ]

Cheers,  Jeff

"Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" wrote:

> At 03:27 PM 2/10/02, you wrote:
> >I'm afraid that, like Cohen, you have a real truth problem with all you say
> >here.
>
>    I do know for a fact that this peeing contest over a minor item has
> damaged both Vegsource AND notmilk, not to mention leaving lots of folks
> seeking help in the dark, subjected to something that has nothing to do with
> their personal needs.
>
[ This post by Dave Rietz has already been posted to this forum. I will no
longer accept posts on this topic, since I judge that adaquate forums
exist on Vegsource.com  as well as alt.food.vegan . ]
********************************************************************************

RTM: Rietz on Rietz 2.11.2 rmforall

Subject:  Re: Reitz on Reitz
    Date:   Mon, 11 Feb 2002 16:47:57 +0500
    From:   "Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" <dorietz@...>
      To:     Rich Murray <rmforall@...>

At 11:39 AM 2/11/02, you wrote:
>Dave,  I like your two posts--
>would you put them on aspartameNM or can I?
>They are clear, passionate, right-on, reasonable.
>I am really grateful for your five years of
>dedicated and enormously effective service.
>
>Rich Murray
>

     Yes, you may.  Thank you for asking my permission
(very appropriate, civil, responsible and considerate).

     Also... please post this permission before the others.

     Thank you.

     Dave Rietz, WEBmaster and cancer victim
                 fighting for ALL of us on my nickle.
************************************************************************

Subject: Rietz on Rietz
    Date:  Sun, 10 Feb 2002 23:39:02 -0700
    From: Rich Murray <rmforall@...>
      To:   "Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" <dorietz@...>
    BCC:  rmforall@..., Joelsol@...

Dave,  I like your two posts-- would you put them on aspartameNM
or can I?
They are clear, passionate, right-on, reasonable.
I am really grateful for your
five years of dedicated and enormously effective service.

Rich Murray
************************************************************************

Rietz on Rietz

Subject: More on milk versus soy... and tolerances
    Date:  Sun, 10 Feb 2002 18:17:47 +0500
    From:   "Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" <dorietz@...>
      To:     Jrhrjh1979@...

At 10:40 AM 2/10/02, you wrote:
>Thanks a bunch for taking the time to answer my questions...
>and so quickly too :)

    I am on the net seven days a week... and barring access/Internet
problems have done so for many years.  My average is around 200 donated
hours a month as applied to dozens of web sites, Email, searches,
promoting the sites, etc.

>One more for you when you have the time....
>Is it true that there is alot of instances of people being alergic to
> soy....along the same lines as people being allergic too milk
>(although I'm under the impression everyone is allergic to milk in a
> way)

     First the bit about milk.  Yes... EVERYONE has a problem with
casein (80% of the protein in milk), because it is a histamine trigger
(mucus maker).
As with anything else... the depth of problems at any given
moment relate to individual "parameters" that are affected by genetics,
diet and more.  Just as someone can tolerate one or more poisonous
insect bites with no problems... the next one could be fatal.
We are all "variable" on just about everything.

    Flo-Jo the athlete died by drowning in her own mucus after eating
pizza... 255cc of which was still in her stomach 15 hours after she ate
it.  The only drug in her body was Benedryl... an antihistamine.
4.5 billion humans (3/4 of the earths population) cannot tolerate milk
sugar (lactose).
Everyone has a problem with being desensitized to
life-saving antibiotics from the up to 52 powerful antibiotics in cow's
milk and dairy.
Everyone has problems, to one degree or another, to the 59
hormones in all cow's milk, other allergens, up to 20 million live
bacteria per liter and more.

    Now to soy.  Just as with peanuts, wheat gluten, aspartame, MSG, and
even water... some folks have a problem handling soy products for one
reason or another.  Nothing is perfect... not even water.

    Perhaps one thing to point out... too much of anything is not good.
The USDA suggests (their dairy tweaked food pyramid)
that 8% of the diet be from MEAT milk and dairy (same category... fatty
proteins).

    In truth, by the amount of dairy sold every year... the "average" is
around 39% of
the daily diet from cow's milk and dairy... AND the thousands of
products that use pieces and parts of dairy.
Check all labels for those parts using
the list at   http://www.notmilk.com/cowparts.txt.

    Too much water or anything else is not recommended.  Balance and
proportion are the key to better diet.... which should lead to better
health.

    However, for a myriad of reasons, balance should exclude all animal
products.

    The only thing that one COULD miss by being a vegan is vitamin
B-12... but that would be a rarity because that vitamin is not limited
to meat and dairy.
For those who were once animal protein eaters... one can go 10-20
or more years on what their body has stored.
http://www.veg.org/nutrition/b12.htm#possible   for more in-depth
information on that subject.

    There are a number of folks who rail against a plant based diet.  To
those who insist that humans MUST have animal proteins for healthy
bodies I point to the many other (often big boned) mammals that do very
well, have excellent solid bones... living only on plants:
cows, elephants, giraffes, zebras, horses, buffalos, and many more
(of a bit over 4700 mammals on this planet).

    Americans have far too much milk and dairy in their diets for many
reasons.  First... despite how bad it is for the body and human
health...most of it is VERY tasty.
Then, too, Americans have been subjected to
many decades of billions of dollars in brainwashing advertisements and
pro-dairy articles... to include the silly and very inaccurate notion
that humans need milk for the calcium.
"Foods" have been invented primarily to sell milk (such as breakfast
cereals).
Nobody has ever been subjected to a "cookies and water" commercial.

    One of the prime perpetrators of MORE milk consumption makes note
that it takes lots of money... to sell more milk.  The "GOT MILK"
commercials squander half a billion dollars a year promoting milk and
dairy.  If it was so healthy... why would then need to do that?

    For the record... I am a layman.  Someone who learned about
aspartame, meat, milk and dairy... and MSG the hard way.
Because I was lied to for  the better part of my 65 years
(by governments, medical systems, media and others) ,
I try to be as honest, open, factual and relevant as I can.
Over the past five years and four months I have donated around
200 hours a month to these efforts.
I try to focus on the common sense items...
because to me they are the only ones that count.
There are thousands of articles that focus on specific points...
to the total exclusion of the whole...for whatever reasons.
The point to be made here is that,  just as with
business having the "bottom line" ... the dollar sign,
the business of anti-anything should be a focus on the complete effects
of a given substance or action.        Regards,     Dave Rietz
***********************************************************************

Subject: BCCed message
    Date:  Sun, 10 Feb 2002 18:50:52 +0500
    From:  "Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" <dorietz@...>
      To:    Jeff Nelson <HeadVeg@...>, Rich Murray
<rmforall@...>

    The only reason I included both of you on that reply to that AOLer
was to let you have a peek at what I have done for years.
I don't focus on studies or parts of studies... for the simple reason
they are too subjective.
Like politics and religion... they are to open to a wide
variety of reactions/opinions.

    Recent events have denigrated my years of such effort... to what
end?  Does vegsource want notmilk.com to disappear?  Would that be of
benefit to the human race?

    I have been very puzzled by all this tizzy over Walsh and whatever...

because it has little bearing on the end result... that cow's milk and
dairy are inappropriate and unfit for human consumption.

    I see no valid reason to have commenced that confusing anti-consumer
dialog... and certainly no reason to perpetuate it.

    Regards,       Dave Rietz
***********************************************************************

I would be extremely grateful if this discussion would be taken off this
public forum. aspartameNM, unless I am mistaken, is supposed to discuss the
problems of aspartame poisoning. While we all appreciate the fact that the
nomilk website has been doing a fine job warning us of the dangers of
ingesting dairy products, this is not the place to discuss it's finer
issues.

Thank you

Arthur McBryan

The Aspartame Sweetener
Really Is Poisonous, see:
http://www.readthelabel.org.uk
or http://www.neotame.org.uk

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" <dorietz@...>
To: <aspartameNM@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 10, 2002 1:21 PM
Subject: ANM: Rietz to Nelson: focus on real issue-- milk is toxic


> At 03:27 PM 2/10/02, you wrote:
> >I'm afraid that, like Cohen, you have a real truth problem with all you
say
> >here.
>
>    I do know for a fact that this peeing contest over a minor item has
> damaged both Vegsource AND notmilk, not to mention leaving lots of folks
> seeking help in the dark, subjected to something that has nothing to do
with
> their personal needs.
>
>    There can be no argument that IGF-1 from external sources is a cancer
> fuel.  There can be no argument that humans, especially children, have no
> need for 59 bioactive hormones, no need for the allergens and concentrated
> toxins, no need for the up to 52 antibiotics, no need for 49% or more
> calories from animal fats, no need for all the cholesterol...
> etc.  Everything else is a "moot point" and the controversy is of little
> consequence other than to promote personal agends.
>
> >As Cohen well knows, actual doctors whose sites we host on VegSource have
> >contacted Cohen to point out problems and inaccuracies on his site in the
> >past.
> >Cohen responded with angry bombast and refused to discuss it...  So much
for
> >Cohen's "challenge."
>
>    Perhaps they will be kind enough to make ME privy to their
> protestations?  In over five years I have heard about none of
> them.  Perhaps that is because THEIR arguments are also of very minor
> consequence when compared to the real problems?
>
> >As for "destroying" the Notmilk site, all I can say is to Rich Murray --
> >if you want to see how  Dave Reitz *communicates*,
> >let me know and I'll send you copies of my
> >correspondence with him.  He must not realize I'm on this list or he
wouldn't
> >have dared.  It's actually rather humorous.
>
>    Yes... I know that Mr. Nelson has NO problems or inhibitions against
> posting private communications to further his position. For many good
> reasons I do not break such a trust.  Perhaps Connie Chung learned her
> lesson when she asked Gingrich's mother "off the record..." and then
> published the reply.
>
>     Private peeing contests over that which is of little import are not
> worth the animosity or negative impact on either of our causes (which, by
> the way are complementary).  PCRM has finally come out against milk and
> dairy... and that is the bottom line that counts. Perhaps controversy
> obtains more click-throughs for VegSource... but it is still a totally
> negative energy that serves to detract from both health-promoting
> resources.  I lament that fact the most.
>
>     My personal advise to Mr. Cohen... to whom I have donated my services
> since 1998, has been to refrain from personal attacks, and to not go off
on
> such tangents.  Stick to the goal of informing the clueless public.
>
>     To Mr. Nelson I suggest the same.
>
>     Nobody is perfect... and because of that nothing anyone DOES is
> perfect.  Add to that personal opinions and there is always room for
> controversy on most things.  To anyone who can read, apply simple common
> sense and reasoning... there can be NO valid reason for humans to consume
> cow's milk and dairy.  All other "arguments" are academic and serve no
> purpose other than to occupy space.
>
>     The only truths that count, Mr. Nelson, focus on the fact that milk
and
> dairy consumption is NOT healthy.
>
>     Regards,     Dave Rietz
>
****************************************************************************
***
>
>
> Community email addresses:
>   Post message: aspartameNM@onelist.com
>   Subscribe:    aspartameNM-subscribe@onelist.com
>   Unsubscribe:  aspartameNM-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>   List owner:   aspartameNM-owner@onelist.com
>
> Shortcut URL to this page:
>   http://www.onelist.com/community/aspartameNM
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>

At 03:27 PM 2/10/02, you wrote:
>I'm afraid that, like Cohen, you have a real truth problem with all you say
>here.

    I do know for a fact that this peeing contest over a minor item has
damaged both Vegsource AND notmilk, not to mention leaving lots of folks
seeking help in the dark, subjected to something that has nothing to do with
their personal needs.

    There can be no argument that IGF-1 from external sources is a cancer
fuel.  There can be no argument that humans, especially children, have no
need for 59 bioactive hormones, no need for the allergens and concentrated
toxins, no need for the up to 52 antibiotics, no need for 49% or more
calories from animal fats, no need for all the cholesterol...
etc.  Everything else is a "moot point" and the controversy is of little
consequence other than to promote personal agends.

>As Cohen well knows, actual doctors whose sites we host on VegSource have
>contacted Cohen to point out problems and inaccuracies on his site in the
>past.
>Cohen responded with angry bombast and refused to discuss it...  So much for
>Cohen's "challenge."

    Perhaps they will be kind enough to make ME privy to their
protestations?  In over five years I have heard about none of
them.  Perhaps that is because THEIR arguments are also of very minor
consequence when compared to the real problems?

>As for "destroying" the Notmilk site, all I can say is to Rich Murray --
>if you want to see how  Dave Reitz *communicates*,
>let me know and I'll send you copies of my
>correspondence with him.  He must not realize I'm on this list or he wouldn't
>have dared.  It's actually rather humorous.

    Yes... I know that Mr. Nelson has NO problems or inhibitions against
posting private communications to further his position. For many good
reasons I do not break such a trust.  Perhaps Connie Chung learned her
lesson when she asked Gingrich's mother "off the record..." and then
published the reply.

     Private peeing contests over that which is of little import are not
worth the animosity or negative impact on either of our causes (which, by
the way are complementary).  PCRM has finally come out against milk and
dairy... and that is the bottom line that counts. Perhaps controversy
obtains more click-throughs for VegSource... but it is still a totally
negative energy that serves to detract from both health-promoting
resources.  I lament that fact the most.

     My personal advise to Mr. Cohen... to whom I have donated my services
since 1998, has been to refrain from personal attacks, and to not go off on
such tangents.  Stick to the goal of informing the clueless public.

     To Mr. Nelson I suggest the same.

     Nobody is perfect... and because of that nothing anyone DOES is
perfect.  Add to that personal opinions and there is always room for
controversy on most things.  To anyone who can read, apply simple common
sense and reasoning... there can be NO valid reason for humans to consume
cow's milk and dairy.  All other "arguments" are academic and serve no
purpose other than to occupy space.

     The only truths that count, Mr. Nelson, focus on the fact that milk and
dairy consumption is NOT healthy.

     Regards,     Dave Rietz
*******************************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/797

RTM: Butchko & Stargel: aspartame is not toxic Dec 2001 2.10.2 rmforall

[Comments by Rich Murray:  At the end of this lengthly post, I
give a review of a pro-aspartame text, edited by these two industry
employees in 1996.  In this post, I give information about the journal
and related associations, to help anyone who wants to evaluate the
scientific objectivity of this report.   Other sources for
understanding the manipulation of science by vested interests include:

http://www.truthinlabeling.org/    Truth in Labeling Campaign [MSG]
Adrienne Samuels, PhD P.O. Box 2532 Darien, Illinois 60561
858-481-9333   adandjack@...   "The Toxicity/Safety of Processed
Free Glutamic Acid (MSG): A Study in Suppression of Information"
Accountability in Research (1999) Vol 6, pp. 259-310

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" ]

Regul Toxicol Pharmacol 2001 Dec;34(3):221-33
Aspartame: scientific evaluation in the postmarketing period.
Butchko HH, Stargel WW.
Medical and Scientific Affairs, The NutraSweet Company,
Mt. Prospect, Illinois, 60056

Prior to marketing, the safety of the high-intensity sweetener
aspartame for its intended uses as a sweetener and flavor enhancer was
demonstrated by the results of over 100 scientific studies in animals
and humans. In the postmarketing period, the safety of aspartame
was further evaluated through extensive monitoring of intake,
postmarketing surveillance of
anecdotal reports of alleged health effects,
and additional research to evaluate these anecdotal reports and other
scientific issues. The results of the extensive intake evaluation in
the United States, which was done over an 8-year period,
and the results of studies done in other countries demonstrated intakes
which were well below the acceptable daily intakes set by the FDA and
regulatory bodies in other countries, as well as the Joint
FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Evaluation of the anecdotal
reports of adverse health effects, the first such system
for a food additive, revealed that the reported effects were generally
mild and also common in the general population and that there
was no consistent or unique pattern of symptoms that could be causally
linked to consumption of aspartame. Finally, the results of the
extensive scientific research done to evaluate these allegations
did not show a causal relationship between aspartame and adverse
effects. Thus, the weight of scientific evidence confirms that, even in
amounts many times what people typically consume, aspartame is
safe for its intended uses as a sweetener and flavor enhancer.
(c) 2001 Elsevier Science.  PMID: 11754527
*********************************************************

http://www.isrtp.org/index.htm
http://www.isrtp.org/nonmembers/members.htm

http://www.isrtp.org/sponsors.htm
American Chemistry Council
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Dow AgroSciences, LLC
Eastman Kodak Company
The Gillette Company
Indespec Chemical Corporation
Merck and Co., Inc.
The Procter & Gamble Company
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company
The Sapphire Group, Inc.
Schering-Plough Research Institute
SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals

http://www.academicpress.com/www/journal/rt.htm
http://www.academicpress.com/www/journal/rt/rteb.htm
http://www.isrtp.org/nonmembers/manuscript.html
The Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
Journal (RTP) is the official Journal of ISRTP and
membership in the Society includes a Journal
subscription. These peer-reviewed papers are
devoted to significant developments, public
opinion, scientific data and ideas that bridge the gap
between scientific information and the legal aspects
of toxicological and pharmacological regulations.
Included are suggestions and concepts dealing with
regulatory decisions and the interpretation of
scientific knowledge as it influences regulatory
developments in the United States and other
countries. The Journal, now in its 17th year, has
wide international readership.

Manuscripts Scheduled to Appear
in upcoming issues of
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology Journal

BELOW ARE MANUSCRIPTS SCHEDULED FOR PUBLICATION
IN RTP AS OF NOVEMBER 17, 2001

"Addendum" to Pelekis Paper Vol. 33:12-20, 2001

"Announcement" Gary M. Williams Award

"Lack of Binding to Isolated Estrogen or Androgen Receptors, and
Inactivity in the Immature Rat Uterotrophic Assay, of the Ultraviolet
Sunscreen Filters, Tinosorb M-active and Tinosorb S"
ASHBY, John et al.

"The Use of Non-Cancer Endpoints as a Basis for Establishing a
Reference Concentration for Formaldehyde"
BENDER, Joel

"Aspartame: Scientific Evaluation in the Postmarketing Period"
BUTCHKO, Harriett H. & W. Wayne Stargel

"Comparative In Vitro - In Vivo Percutaneous Penetration of the
Fungicide Ortho-Phenylphenol"
CNUBBEN, Nicole H.P. et al.

"Appraisal of Risks from Non-Occupational Exposure to Chlorpyrifos"
COCHRAN, R.C.

"Dose-Response for Formaldehyde-Induced Cytotoxicity in the Human
Respiratory Tract"
CONOLLY, R.B. et al.

"Chemomorphic Analysis of Malathion in Skin Layers of the Rat:
Implications for the Use of Dermatopharmacokinetic (DPK) Tape Stripping
in Exposure Assessment to Pesticides"
DARY, Curtis C., Jerry N. Blancato, and Mahmoud A. Saleh

"ICCVAM Evaluation of the Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA): II.
Conclusions and Recommendations of an
Independent Scientific Peer Review Panel"
DEAN, Jack H. et al.

"Testing Therapeutic Potency of Anticancer Drugs in Animal Studies:
A Commentary"
DEN OTTER, Willem et al.

"Elevating the Terms of the GM Food Debate" (Commentary)
FLAMM, W. Gary

"Extending the Threshold of Regulation Concept: de minimus Limits for
Carcinogens and Mutagens"
FIORI, Janice M. and Roger D. Meyerhoff

"A Procedure for Developing Risk-Based Reference Doses"
GAYLOR, David W. and Ralph L. Kodell

"Evaluation of Subchronic Toxicity Data Using Benchmark Dose Approach"
GEPHART, L. A. et al.

"The Costly Illusion of Regulating Unknowable Risks"
GORI, Gio Batta

"Frank Lu Award" (Announcement)
GORI, Gio B.

"The Effect of Different Tumor Groupings on Findings of
Anticarcinogenic Responses in Long-Term Rodent Bioassays"
GRAY, George M. et al.

"The TestSmart –HPV Program – Development of an Integrated Approach for
Testing High Production Volume Chemicals"
GREEN, Sidney et al.

"High-Alumina Low-Silica HT Stone Wool Fibers -- A Chemical
Compositional Range with High Biosolubility"
GULDBERG, Marianne et al.

"Genetic Polymorphisms in Assessing Inter-Individual Variability in
Delivered Dose"
HABER, Lynne et al.

"An Evaluation of the Possible Carcinogenicity of Bisphenol A to Humans"

HAIGHTON, Lois A. et al.

"Safety Assessment of DHA-rich Microalgae from Schizochytrium sp.
Part IV: Mutagenicity Studies"
HAMMOND, Bruce G. et al.

"A Study of the Biological Partitioning Behavior of n-Alkanes and
n-Alkanols in Causing Anesthetic Effects"
HAU, K.M. et al.

"Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Non-Smoking Section
of a Restaurant: A Case Study"
JENKINS, Roger A. et al.

"ICCVAM Evaluation of the Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA)): III.
Data Analyses Completed by the National Toxicology Program Interagency
Center for the Evaluation of Alternative Toxicological Peer Review
Panel"
KANEKE, Karen E. et al.

"SafetyEvaluation of Phosphodiesterase Produced from Penicilium
citrinum: Summary of Toxicological Data"
KONDO, Mitsuru et al.

"Analysis of Solvent Central Nervous System Toxicity and Ethanol
Interactions Using a Human Population Physiologically-Based Kinetic and
Dynamic Model"
MacDONALD, A.J. et al.

"Testing Extrapolation of a Biologically-Based Exposure-Response Model
from in vitro to in vivo Conditions"
MEBUST, M. et al.

"Categorization and Nomenclature of Vitreous Silicate Woods"
MOORE, Martin A. et al.

"Letter to the Editor" Commenting on Paper Published in Vol. 30, 1999:
96-109, "A Risk Assessment for Exposure to Glass Wool by WILSON, Langer
and Nolan"
MUSSELMAN, Rod P.

"Physiological Model-based Derivation of the Adult and Child
Pharmacokinetic Intraspecies Uncertainty Factors for Volatile Organic
Compounds"
PELEKIS, M. et al.

"Evaluation of the Carcinogenicity of 1,1-Dichloroethylene (Vinylidene
Chloride)"
  ROBERTS, Stephen M. et al.

"Preclinical Safety Evaluation of Recombinant Human Interleukin-10"
ROSENBLUM, I.Y. et al.

"The Use of Mechanistic Data and the Handling of Scientific Uncertainty
in Carcinogen Risk Assessment"
RUDEN, Christina

"ICCVAM Evaluation of the Murine Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA): I. The
ICCVAM Review Process"
SAILSTAD, Denise M. et al.

"An Analysis of the Mainstream Smoke Chemistry of Samples of the U.S.
Cigarette Market Acquired Between 1995 And 2000"
SWAUGER, J.E. et al.

"Chronic Toxicity and Carcinogenicity of Sucrose Fatty Acid Esters in
Fischer 344/DUcrj Rats"
TAKEDA, K. & M. Flood

"The In Vivo Rodent Test Systems for Assessment of Carcinogenic
Potential"
van der LAAN, Jan-Willem et al.

"Risk Analysis for Mortality from Respiratory Tumors in a Cohort of
Refractory Ceramic Fiber Workers"
WALKER, Alexander M. et al.

"Letter to the Editor" Response to Manuscript in Vol. 30, 2000: 219-225
WATTS, Peter and James Hopkins

"Joint Positive Control Testing in Guinea Pig Skin
Sensitization Tests - A Harmonized Approach"
WIEMANN, C. et al.

"Response" to ‘Letter to the Editor’" Paper Published in Vol. 30,
1999:109 "A Risk Assessment for Exposure to Glass Wool" by WILSON,
Langer, and Nolan
WILSON, Richard , A.M. Langer, and R.P. Nolan

"Investigations of Benzene Exposure, Benzene Poisoning and Malignancies
in China"
WONG, Otto
*********************************************************

Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology is primarily devoted to reports
of significant developments, public opinion, scientific data, and ideas
that bridge the gap between scientific information
and the legal aspects of toxicological and pharmacological regulations.
Papers dealing with
regulatory decisions and the interpretation of scientific knowledge as
influencing regulatory decisions will be included.
The Editors are particularly interested in articles about international
scientific developments and the legal and public health aspects of
toxicological and pharmacological regulations.

Manuscripts should be submitted to:
Dr. C. Jelleff Carr   rtp-isrtp@...
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
6546 Belleview Drive
Columbia, MD 21046-1054
Tel. 410/992-9083
*********************************************************

http://www.isrtp.org/nonmembers/events.htm
EPA’s Characterization of Dioxin Risks:
Do Background Dioxin Exposures Pose a Human Health  Threat?
Friday, October 6, 2000
Hilton Crystal City at National Airport
2399 Jefferson Davis Highway
Arlington, VA 22202
T. 703/418-6800    F. 703/418-3762   E-mail: rtp-isrtp@...
Co-Sponsored by
The International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
American Bar Association Special Committee on Pesticides, Chemicals
Regulation and Right to Know
Chlorine Chemistry Council
FOCUS
For the past decade, EPA has been attempting to reassess the hazards
posed by 2,3,7,8­ tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and related compounds
(generally, "dioxins"). EPA published a draft dioxin reassessment in
1994. In response to recommendations and concerns expressed by its
Science Advisory Board and other commenters, EPA agreed to redraft
significant portions of its dioxin reassessment.
Recently, EPA released entirely new reassessment chapters
concerning dose-response modeling and toxicity
equivalence factors (TEFs), and significantly revised health and
exposure chapters. EPA also released a new Integrated Summary and Risk
Characterization chapter.
Despite EPA’s findings that dioxin exposures have decreased
precipitously over the last ten years and evidence that exposures will
continue to decrease ­ all due primarily to effective regulatory
programs ­ the Agency paints a dire picture concerning the threat
"background" dioxin exposures pose to human health.
For example, since its 1994 draft of thereassessment
EPA has determined that dioxin is a "known human
carcinogen," that it is a more potent carcinogen
and that it may cause significant cancer and
non-cancer effects in humans at background levels of exposure. EPA
concludes that current background exposures (much of it from food) to
dioxin and related compounds pose an upper-bound human cancer risk as
high as one in a hundred. If EPA is correct, as many as 64,000 annual
cancer deaths in the U.S. and 1,280,000 annual cancer deaths worldwide
could be attributed to background dioxin exposures.

Many in the scientific community, however, challenge EPA’s conclusions
asserting that the Agency failed to fully weigh the science, ignored
portions of  the scientific evidence and
relied upon overly conservative assumptions to draw its conclusions.
For example, it has been pointed
out that more than 90% of EPA’s estimated human background exposures
to "dioxins" are exposures to non-TCDD compounds,
many of which have not been shown to
cause cancer in animals or humans. Further, it has been asserted that
human epidemiologic studies fail to demonstrate a cancer or non-cancer
hazard  to humans at background levels of exposure. Indeed, many higher
human exposures (such as some occupational and accidental exposures)
have not been clearly shown to cause adverse human effects.

This conference will address a number of scientific, human risk and
health policy issues related to EPA’s recent draft dioxin risk
characterization, such as:
Does EPA accurately describe the science concerning dioxin’s
potential cancer and non-cancer risks?
Is the human population at risk?
Is the U.S. food supply safe?
What are the public health consequences of EPA’s draft risk
characterization?

  "Neuroprotection and Neurorepair -- Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms"
International   Conference in Combination with a Technical Workshop
March 1-4, 2000   Magdeburg, Germany
For further information, visit  http://www.fan-magdeburg.de/neurorepair
or
contact Prof. Reiser, Tel. 011/49/391/6713088; Fax. 011/49/391-6713097,
Institut fuer Neurobiochemie,
Otto-von Guericke Universitaet Magdeburg Leipzigern Str. 44,
39120 Magdeburg, Germany,
organized by Klaus G. Reymann and Georg Reiser (Magdeburg, Germany).

     The "FQPA Workshop" held March 1999, is available online. The
executive summary of the FQPA workshop, "The FQPA: A Challenge for
Science Policy and Pesticide Regulation," is now available on the Web
at  http://www.cast-science.org/fqpa/fqpa.htm .
The March 1999 workshop
was co-sponsored by the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology
(CAST) and the International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and
Pharmacology (ISRTP).  A limited number of printed summaries are
available for a $3.00 per copy shipping charge.

"Low Level Environmental Exposures --  State-of-the-Science Update"
December 1, 1999  Double Tree Hotel at National Airport   Arlington, VA
Co-sponsored by The Environmental Sensitivities Research Institute
(ESRI)         http://www.esri.org/links.html
and The International Society of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
(ISRTP)

A summary report will be published in the official journal of ISRTP
Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. Additional information is
available at   http://www.esri.org      webmaster@...

"Toxicological Significance of DNA Adducts --
A Special Fall Meeting and Workshop"
October 21-22, 1999    John M. Clayton Hall Conference Center
University of Delaware   Newark, DE
Presented by the Genetic Toxicology Association
The Fall meeting is organized as a 2-day meeting in which presentations
by DNA adduct experts are given on the first day.  Panelists will then
convene to discuss current issues in
adduct measurement and interpretation.
Panelists will continue on Day 2 as a workshop to come up with
guidance recommendations for the design and interpretation of
DNA adduct studies intended for submission to regulatory agencies.
  This effort is a continuation of a previous DNA adduct workshop in
1995 held under the auspices of the International Society of Regulatory
Toxicology and Pharmacology.  The presentations and discussions will be
submitted for publication in RTP.
For information please call Dr. Raghu Nath, Covance;
tel: 703/893-5400 X 5270; fax: 703/759-5782; e-mail:
raghu.nath@...
You may visit the GTA home page at  http://www.ems-us.org/gta
for registration information.

CHLOROFORM: EPA Policy or Science?
Thursday, June 17, 1999  Hilton Crystal City  at National Airport
2399 Jefferson Davis Highway   Arlington, VA 22202

The FQPA:  A Challenge for Science Policy and Pesticide Regulation
March 23-24, 1999   Hyatt Fair Lakes   Reston, VA
****************************************************************

http://www.ems-us.org/gta/    Genetic Toxicology Association   229
members
Topics of meetings have included:
      P450 Metabolism/Induction
      Transgenic Animals for the Evaluation of Exogenous Materials
      Detection and Molecular Analysis of Human Genetic Disease
      Tumor Promotion, Receptors, and Thresholds in Carcinogenesis
      Assessing the Safety of the Products of Biotechnology
      Measurement of Indirect Genotoxicity
      In Vivo and In Vivo/In Vitro Measures of Germ Cell Damage
      What do Federal Agencies Want in Genetic Toxicity Test Data?
      Future Directions in the Application of Short Term Tests
      Cytotoxicity Assessment and Dose Level Selection in Genetic
          Toxicology Testing
      Chemical Interactions in Mutagenesis
      Variations in Cell Culture Conditions: Effects on the Outcome
          of In Vitro Assays
****************************************************************

http://www.ems-us.org/index.html     853 members
about 50% academic, 25% government, 25% industry
The Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS) is the primary scientific
society fostering research on the basic mechanisms of mutagenesis as
well as on
the application of this knowledge in the field of genetic toxicology.
EMS has seven core scientific content areas. These are:
    1.Exposure, detection and metabolism of DNA damaging agents
    2.Responses to DNA damage (DNA repair and recombination,
       changes in gene expression, cell cycle effects)
    3.Mutational mechanisms (spontaneous and exposure related)
    4.DNA technologies
    5.Molecular epidemiology
    6.Human health effects (developmental, cancer, aging, genetic
       disease)
    7.Applications: testing, regulatory issues and risk assessment

The EMS was founded in 1969 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

http://www.interscience.wiley.com/jpages/0893-6692/aims.html
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis    publishes original research
articles on environmental mutagenesis.
It will publish manuscripts in the six general areas of
mechanisms of mutagenesis; genomics; DNA damage; replication,
recombination, and repair; public health; and DNA technology.
Subsumed under these six general areas are subject matters
that are appropriate for inclusion in EMM.

Mechanisms of Mutagenesis
   spontaneous and induced mutation in indigenous and transgene systems
   genomic instability
   mutation rates
   the consequence of mutation on fitness and evolution of organisms

Genomics
   molecular epidemiology
   genetic susceptibility
   gene expression
   biomarkers
   small genomes and comparative genomics

DNA Damage
   Indentification, detection, characterization, and quantification of
DNA damage
   metabolism of chemicals into DNA-damaging agents

Replication, Recombination, and Repair
   genetic and biochemical mechanisms
   genetic and infectious disease
   insertions, deletions, rearrangements, aneuploidy

Public Health
   Issues impacting basic human health such as cancer, genetic disease,
   aging,   or acute and chronic disease
   methodologies that will lead to better methods to determine risk and
   help  to define regulatory policy

DNA Technology
   DNA microarrays, differential dispaly, and mutation detection analysis

   novel sequencing strategies
   bioimaging techniques
   bioinformatics and functional genomics

The study of environmental mutagenesis is a multidisciplinary activity.
The journal is intended for investigators in such fields as genetics,
microbiology, biochemistry, basic cancer research, radiation biology,
and toxicology.
It should as well be of interest to a wide audience of scientists in
other areas of biology, chemistry, and medicine that are engaged
in public health research or in formulating public health policy.

Dr. Robert H. Heflich,
US FDA/National Center for Toxicological Research
3900 NCTR Rd., Jefferson, AR 72089, USA
phone (870) 543-7493; fax (870) 543-7393; E-mail: RHeflich@...
**************************************************************

Now, I want to add that the rather ad hoc classification that was
lobbied successfully for aspartame as a "food additive", not a
"drug", ensured that the industry never had to prove safety, nor
maintain records of doctor and user complaints:  See this:

UPI reporter Gregory Gordon: 96K 3-part expose Oct 1987:
http://www.dorway.com/upipart1.txt

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/63
Subject:   Tschanz: "The Clinical Evaluation of a Food Additive:
Assessment of Aspartame" 11.11.99
         Date:  Thu, 11 Nov 1999 16:16:37 -0700
        From:  Rich Murray <rmforall@...>
  Organization:  Room For All

http://www.chipsbooks.com/clineval.htm
CLINICAL EVALUATION OF A FOOD ADDITIVE:
Assessment of Aspartame
edited by:  Christian Tschanz • Harriett Butchko • W. W. Stargel • Frank

Kotsonis   1996 • 308 pages • $134.00 + shipping

Nov 11, 1999   Yes, I called Christian Tschanz in Chicago about last
March, and he had NutraSweet mail me a free copy, worth about $ 130.
It is a dreary, pious compilation of pro-aspartame studies-- it does
not have a common bibliography, just references to each of 22
chapters.  I didn't find any reference to the seminal warning
by Woodrow Monte in 1984:
"Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Interest", and the
negative studies by Kohler SM et al (1988), Walton RG et al (1993), and
Van Den Eeden et al (1994) are not in the index-- because the index
in this expensive 308-page book does not include names!

Walton's study is reference #37 in Chapter 17: "Evaluation of Behavior,
Cognition, Mood, and Electroencephalograms in Normal Adults and
Potentially Vulnerable Populations," Donald L. Schomer, Paul Spiers,
LuAnn A. Sabounjian (the last is an employee at Richard Wurtman's
drug research company).  It was cursorily summarized and criticized in
14 lines on page 222.
One claim is blatantly false: "This study was the first to suggest
a possible relationship of aspartame consumption to
side effects in an "at risk" group."  Above, we see that Kohler (1988)
was earlier, with migraine victims, and Van Den Eeden (1994), not
mentioned, of course, was only a year later, two years before the
1996 date of copyright.  For shame...  Here is my review of Walton
(1993):

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:
rwalton193@...    330-740-3671

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 the voluminous records of case histories.

Koehler (1988) is reference 24 in Chapter 15 "Evaluation of Headaches,"
by Susan S. Schiffman, PhD of Duke University, sss@... ,
919-660-5657 , who takes almost a whole page to summarize, criticize,
and dismiss it.  Here is my review:

Headache 1988 Feb;28(1):10-4
The effect of aspartame on migraine headache.
Koehler SM, Glaros A
Publication Types: Clinical trial   PMID: 3277925, UI: 88138777

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.

Van Den Eeden (1994) was not mentioned anywhere, as far as I can
determine in the most likely chapters.  Here is my review:

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   skv@...  510-450-2202:

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
ontributed 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
asprtame 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.

So, it is obvious that if one is determined to dismiss a study, one
can always find some excuse to do so.  The industry book ignored one
study, and dealt with the other two in widely separated chapters,
giving no clue that the other, confirming study existed.  When all
three studies are carefully reviewed, then the key question, "Is
aspartame disasterously toxic in millions of users?" certainly can
not be firmly answered in the negative, for this "most widely
tested food additive in history", the usual industry PR slogan.
*************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 790 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/689
Measurement of molecular interaction of aspartame and
its metabolites with DNA. Clin Biochem. 1998 Jul;31(5):405-7.
Karikas GA, Schulpis KH, Reclos GJ, Kokotos G.
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece
http://www.chem.uoa.gr   gkokotos@...

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

Two teams find hot aspartame releases DKP, a potent carcinogen:
Food Addit Contam 2000 Oct; 17(10): 821-7
Simultaneous formation and detection of the reaction product of
solid-state aspartame sweetener by FT-IR/DSC microscopic system.
Lin SY, Cheng YD
Biopharmaceutics Laboratory,
Department of Medical Research & Education
Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Shih-Pai, Taiwan,
Republic of China.   sylin@...
and
J Pharm Sci 1998 Apr; 87(4): 508-13
Hydration and dehydration behavior of aspartame hemihydrate.
Leung SS, Padden BE, Munson EJ, Grant DJ
Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455-0343, USA.
Sophie S. Leung, PhD
Dolores J. Grant, PhD   grant1@...

http://www.dorway.com/barua.html
Journal Of The Diabetic Association Of  India
1995  Vol. 35, No. 4.  Emerging Facts About Aspartame
Dr. J. Barua (ophthalmic surgeon), Dr. Arun  Bal (surgeon)
(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 has been implicated in the occurence of brain tumors."

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/645
Rich Murray: 18 recent formaldehyde toxicity [Comet assay] abstracts
6.25.1 rmforall

http://www.dorway.com/wmonte.txt
Dr. Woodrow C. Monte, "Aspartame: Methanol, and the Public Health,"
Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 36, No. 1, pages 42-54, 1984.
(62 references)   Professsor of Food Science
Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287
6411 South River Drive #61 Tempe, Arizona 85283-3337
602-965-6938    woody.monte@...
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.)

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/623
Rich Murray: Simmons: Gold: Schiffman: Spiers:
aspartame toxicity 6.4.1 rmforall
**********************************************************

[As moderator of aspartameNM , I choose to edit accepted posts to eliminate
overly loaded language, character defamation, and insults, and sometimes
substitute milder language with the same meaning-- these efforts of mine
are marked with * *.  I wish I have changed the word "drivel" into "errors"
in Dave's initial post here.  Please do your best to tone down the rhetoric,
and to focus on issues, evidence, and verifiable testimony.  I would like
to have the Nelson-Rietz testimony, if it is also provided to Rietz.  I think
it should not be publicized except by consensus agreement between Nelson and
Rietz. I am looking for civil, fair-minded comments and observations by
those on both sides and on neither side, as I am still confused by the
barrage of vehement exchanges with little objective evidence.  I hope some
good can evolve out of this crisis.  Thanks,  Rich Murray]

Hi, Dave:

I'm afraid that, like Cohen, you have a real truth problem with all you say
here.

As Cohen well knows, actual doctors whose sites we host on VegSource have
contacted Cohen to point out problems and inaccuracies on his site in the past.
Cohen responded with angry bombast and refused to discuss it...  So much for
Cohen's "challenge."

As for "destroying" the Notmilk site, all I can say is to Rich Murray --
if you want to see how  Dave Reitz *communicates*,
let me know and I'll send you copies of my
correspondence with him.  He must not realize I'm on this list or he wouldn't
have dared.  It's actually rather humorous.

* *

Regarding whether doctors on VegSource have commented on the inaccuracies on
Cohen's website and his recent breakdown episode -- the answer is yes, they
have.  Every one of our experts is appalled.  None of them takes Cohen
seriously.

Jeff Nelson

To answer

"Dave Rietz (DORway.com)" wrote:

>     I have no idea why you are giving credence to Nelson's and Walsh's
> drivel by publishing it in your newsletter.  It has nothing to do with
> aspartame, and everything to do with milk/cancer and credibility.  As Mr.
> Cohen has said... he challenges ANYONE to provide appropriate proof that
> anything on his NOTMILK web site (which Nelson has destroyed because of his
> friendly affiliation with Walsh) is anything other than valid.  No takers,
> including Walsh.
>
>     Please refrain from republishing flawed personal-promotional
> disinformation.
>
>     Thanks,
>
>     Dave Rietz, locked out of ALL eight sites hosted by Nelson... INCLUDING
> my DORway.com (because I am Mr. Cohen's webmaster)
>
> Feb 9 2002   Hello Dave Rietz,  I am dismayed that you are shut out of
> your excellent, extremely valuable site.  I find Walsh's counter-critique of
> Cohen's critique of the Hjartaker milk & cancer study to be convincing,
> clear, and calm.  So, so far, I have the tentative opinion that Rob Cohen
> is having a problem with not accepting that his critique of Hjartaker was
> in error, and I guess that he is in recent months handicapped by some kind
> of personal stress.  If you know of any other careful, fairminded posts
> on this controversy, please submit them to this list.  There are many
> high-powered, eminent vegans on VegSource.com-- are any of them commenting?
>
> Gratefully,  Rich Murray
>
>
> Community email addresses:
>   Post message: aspartameNM@onelist.com
>   Subscribe:    aspartameNM-subscribe@onelist.com
>   Unsubscribe:  aspartameNM-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>   List owner:   aspartameNM-owner@onelist.com
>
> Shortcut URL to this page:
>   http://www.onelist.com/community/aspartameNM
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

I have no idea why you are giving credence to Nelson's and Walsh's
drivel by publishing it in your newsletter.  It has nothing to do with
aspartame, and everything to do with milk/cancer and credibility.  As Mr.
Cohen has said... he challenges ANYONE to provide appropriate proof that
anything on his NOTMILK web site (which Nelson has destroyed because of his
friendly affiliation with Walsh) is anything other than valid.  No takers,
including Walsh.

     Please refrain from republishing flawed personal-promotional
disinformation.

     Thanks,

     Dave Rietz, locked out of ALL eight sites hosted by Nelson... INCLUDING
my DORway.com (because I am Mr. Cohen's webmaster)

Feb 9 2002   Hello Dave Rietz,  I am dismayed that you are shut out of
your excellent, extremely valuable site.  I find Walsh's counter-critique of
Cohen's critique of the Hjartaker milk & cancer study to be convincing,
clear, and calm.  So, so far, I have the tentative opinion that Rob Cohen
is having a problem with not accepting that his critique of Hjartaker was
in error, and I guess that he is in recent months handicapped by some kind
of personal stress.  If you know of any other careful, fairminded posts
on this controversy, please submit them to this list.  There are many
high-powered, eminent vegans on VegSource.com-- are any of them commenting?

Gratefully,  Rich Murray

RTM: Grant: meat & breast cancer in 35 nations 2.8.2 rmforall

http://unisci.com/stories/20021/0104023.htm

Diet Called Most Important Breast Cancer Risk Factor

A unique study of breast cancer mortality rates and dietary factors for
35 countries published January 1 in the journal Cancer presents strong
evidence that diet is the most important risk factor for breast cancer.

Specifically, the data from the study shows that the fraction of daily
calories derived from animal products exhibits a very strong
correlation with increased mortality by this cancer,
while the fraction derived from vegetable products shows
an equally strong correlation with a decreased mortality.

This new study finally solves the mystery of why almost all such
correlation type studies find a very strong link between dietary fat
and the incidence of breast cancer, while other types of
cancer studies, such as those involving case-control
or the examination of cohorts do not show this effect.

The increase is due to the fact that those females living in countries
with high-fat diets generally eat a higher fraction of animal products,
drink more alcoholic beverages, and eat less fish
(a source of vitamin D) than those women living in countries with
low-fat diets.

Thus, over their lifetime, they produce more estrogen- and more
insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). Both of these compounds are known
to be strong factors associated with increased risk of breast cancer,
and alcohol increases the effects of estrogen.

The study also confirms surprising and important results about the
relationship between the mortality from breast cancer and
ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, the type of sunlight that produces
vitamin D (and is also associated with tanning and skin cancer).

The results clearly show that exposure to UV-B actually reduces the
mortality from breast cancer quite substantially.

For example, breast cancer mortality rates in the southwestern part of
the U.S. are only half what they are in the northeast, and, in Europe,
the breast cancer mortality rates are found to increase with increasing
latitude as long as corrections are made for diet.

Thus, the most cost-effective way to reduce breast cancer mortality
rates for adult women in the U.S. and Europe is likely by sufficient
UV-B radiation without burning and the use of vitamin D supplements,
especially in winter in the NE U.S. and northern Europe

The study was conducted by William B. Grant, Ph.D., an independent
research scientist who studies dietary and environmental links to
chronic diseases.

Using correlation analyses based on the sophisticated tools developed
to study the effects of atmospheric pollution, Dr. Grant, in 1997,
published the first paper linking a high-fat, high-caloric diet to the
development of Alzheimer's disease.
(W.B. Grant, Dietary links to Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's Disease
Review 2, 42-55, 1997; available online at this URL.)

(Reference: W.B. Grant, An ecologic study of dietary and solar UV-B
links to breast cancer mortality rates.
Cancer, 94, 272-281, Jan. 1, 2002.)
[Contact: William B. Grant Ph.D.   wbgrant@...  ]   04-Jan-2002
*********************************************************************

Cancer 2002 Jan 1;94(1):272-81
An ecologic study of dietary and solar ultraviolet-B
links to breast carcinoma mortality rates.
Grant WB.
Newport News, Virginia, USA. wbgrant@...

BACKGROUND: The role of diet in the etiology of breast carcinoma
has been debated for decades. The ecologic approach generally
finds that dietary fat is highly associated with breast carcinoma
mortality, with fish intake and solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation,
a source of vitamin D, inversely associated. Case-control and
cohort studies generally find a variety of chemical, nonfat dietary,
environmental, genetic, lifestyle, and reproductive factors to be
important.

METHODS: An ecologic study was conducted using breast
carcinoma mortality rates (1989-1996), dietary supply data,
and latitude (an index of solar UV-B radiation) from 35 countries.

RESULTS: The fraction of energy derived from animal products (risk)
combined with that from vegetable products (risk reduction),
followed by solar UV-B radiation and, to a lesser extent, energy
derived from alcohol (risk) and fish intake (risk reduction),
were found to explain 80% of the variance
of breast carcinoma mortality rates.
Dietary fat contributed insignificantly in regressions involving the
other factors.

CONCLUSIONS: It is hypothesized that animal products are
associated with risk for breast carcinoma because they are
associated with greater amounts of insulin-like growth factor-1
and lifetime doses of estrogen. Vegetable products contain several risk
reduction components including antioxidants and phytoestrogens.
The association with latitude is very likely because of solar UV-B
radiation and vitamin D. Alcohol modulates estrogen's effects on
breasts.
Fish intake is associated with risk reduction through vitamin D
and n-3 oils. These results are consistent with those of many
case-control and cohort studies but should be assessed in well designed
cohort studies. Copyright 2002 American Cancer Society.  PMID: 11815987
******************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 790 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall
*******************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/793

RTM: Nelson: Walsh: Cohen:
debate Hjartaker milk & cancer study 2.8.2 rmforall

http://www.vegsource.com/articles/walsh_openletter.htm

The Vegan Society    Stephen Walsh
7 Battle Road 11 Borderside
St Leonards-on-Sea Slough
East Sussex SL2 5QT
TN37 7AA
0845 4588244 07967 361510
info@...    stephenwalsh@...
http://www.vegansociety.com

Open letter to Robert Cohen     By Stephen Walsh

VegSource Comment: [by Jeff Nelson]
Dr. Stephen Walsh, a UK Vegan Society trustee,
was introduced to me by vegan nutritionist
Vesanto Melina RD last year. Since then we have published
several of Dr. Walsh's articles on VegSource.

In December of 2001 Walsh approached me indicating he
wanted to publish an "open letter" to Rob Cohen. Walsh
had earlier sent a letter to Cohen that was highly critical of
an article Cohen wrote, pointing out with great specificity
what he (Walsh) believed to be serious errors and unfair
accusations in Cohen's article. Cohen had not been
receptive to and or interested in Walsh's criticism, as his
response to Walsh (printed below) reveals.

Frustrated, and not wanting to let stand unchallenged what
he perceived to be a highly inaccurate article, Walsh
presented his analysis, and I agreed to publish it if Cohen
continued to ignore Walsh's comments.

In the interest of fairness, I very recently wrote to Cohen
asking if he would comment on this open letter before we
published it, either to show where Walsh is all wet in his
criticisms, or else maybe to acknowledge if Walsh has valid
points, and perhaps edit the prominently displayed
NotMilk.com article to thus improve its accuracy.

But Cohen refused to make any comments on the criticisms,
instead expressing contempt for Walsh and threatening me
personally. If I ran Walsh's open letter on VegSource, Cohen
said, it would mean "war" and he would respond by
"revealing [me] and many things that [I] do as being phony."

Uh-huh...

I would prefer it if Cohen would just answer the points,
rather than ranting about how Walsh is suddenly an
"infiltrator" and I'm suddenly a "phony," after I've hosted
six websites for free for Cohen for years. It reminds me of a
quote from Cicero, a first-century Roman statesman, orator
and writer: "When you have no basis for an argument,
abuse the plaintiff."

In the years we've operated VegSource, we've received
plenty of comments and criticism, and we've always looked
at it as a potential opportunity to improve ourselves and/or
our website. It's a process of learning. Few people ever
arrive at the status of "unquestionable authority."
-Jeff Nelson

An Open Letter to Robert Cohen by Stephen Walsh

I am making this exchange with Robert Cohen public
in the interests of honest and effective vegan
advocacy. The strength of veganism lies in
compassion and in exposing the truth
about the suffering, environmental damage
and health risks associated with
abusing animals for food. If leading vegan
propagandists disregard truth, it greatly
weakens the vegan cause.

I encourage all recipients of this letter to pass it
on to other vegans and to contact Robert Cohen
and ask him to respond properly to the questions raised in
my letter.

Sincerely,   Stephen Walsh

(sections in red italics in the following are quotations
from an article on Robert Cohen's website,
http://www.notmilk.com):

29 January, 2002
Dear Robert,

As you know, I wrote to you in a personal
capacity on 21 December, 2001,
pointing out serious errors in an article
you featured on your website. In my letter,
I told you that if you did not respond
and take action to correct certain glaring
misstatements and defamatory remarks,
I would make this matter public. Hence,
I write this open letter.

I contacted you 10 weeks ago to provide you
with a draft version of the Vegan
Society briefing paper on milk and breast cancer.
This briefing paper is now in
official form and is available on
http://www.vegansociety.com/briefings/milkbreastcancer.htm and
http://www.vegsource.com/articles/walsh_milk_cancer.htm
[Murray: This is a lengthy scientific review, obviously
fair-minded, with 18 references, covering many studies, concluding:
"There is a lot we can do to take control of our health for the better,
including reducing risk of breast cancer.  Green leafy vegetables,
olive oil and physical  activity can all be expected to be beneficial.
Drinking cow's milk doesn't appear on the list. ]

I was disappointed to receive no constructive response
to either this briefing paper or my later letter.

I am even more disappointed that 10 weeks later
you are still displaying your article at
http://www.notmilk.com/tomfoolery.html

In this article you launch a melodramatic attack on the paper
by Hjartaker et al appearing in the September 15 [2001] issue of
International Journal of Cancer, accusing the authors of this paper
of producing "the fraudulent study of the century."

You make several criticisms of the paper to back this up:

    1) 317 of the 48,844 women in the study got breast cancer (six-
    tenths of one percent), but the study actually began with 57,664
    women. Why were the data from 8820 women eliminated? It
    turns out that 986 of those women had cancer too (11%). What
    does that indicate regarding the entire study?

The authors were simply following standard good practice by excluding
people whose behaviour and recollection of their diet may have
been altered by related pre-existing disease.
In making this criticism you show ignorance of the
basic principles of nutritional epidemiology.

    2) Nine different categories of questions were asked of the
    48,844 women regarding milk and other foods consumed.
    Only one question was asked regarding milk consumption as a child:

    "How much milk did you drink as a child each day?"

    Even the authors recognize how poorly they designed this
    so-called study. In the discussion section (page 891), they write:

    "Our questionnaire included only a single question on
    childhood milk consumption... we do not know how well the
    question reveals real differences... although no significant
    association between childhood milk consumption and breast
    cancer incidence was found in our study, one may speculate
    on a negative association."

    IS THAT REAL SCIENCE OR REAL BIAS?

It is real science. The authors did not find
a statistically significant effect
but they did find a tendency towards a negative association.
They do not claim anything more than the data justifies.

[ For the benefit of the majority of people, who will not have read the
original paper, I have added some additional explanation
of the background to the next point.

The key table in the paper was Table 4, which set out the number of
cases of breast cancer according to three categories of long-term milk
consumption.
These categories were based on answers to a question about childhood
milk consumption as well as answers to questions on adult milk
consumption.

The total number of women considered was 47,747,
and the total number of breast cancer cases during the study was 311.
Taking the authors' figures above
we can work out how many women were in each category.

The risk of breast cancer for the low-milk consumption group was
therefore 42 cases divided by 5,231 women in the category,
that is 0.00803.
The risk for the moderate-milk consumption group was 254 cases divided
by 39,057 women in the category,
that is 0.0065.
The risk for the high-milk consumption group was 15
cases divided by 3,459 women in the category,
that is 0.0043.
The relative risk is calculated by dividing the risk in each category
by the risk in the low-milk category.
For the moderate-milk consumption group this is 0.0065/0.00803 (0.81).
For the high-milk consumption group this is 0.0043/0.00803 (0.54).

What you do below, Robert, is to claim the authors of the study can’t
read their own paper and that the low-milk group has a lower risk
of breast cancer than the other groups.
You reach this conclusion by pretending that half the total group
were in the low-milk consumption category
and the other half were in the
moderate- and high-milk consumption categories combined.
Based on this, you say that the expected number
of breast cancer cases in the low-milk category
was half the total (156)
and the expected number of cases in the other groups
combined was also half the total (155).
As there were 42 cases in the low-milk category
and 269 in the moderate- and high-milk consumption categories combined,
this gives your claimed “true” relative risk
for moderate to high-milk consumption of 269/42, that is 6.4 or 640%.

This is nonsense as there is absolutely no reason to suppose that half
the total group were in the low milk category.
This appears a bizarre and arbitrary assumption on your part. ]

    3) TABLE 3 reveals the incidence rate ratios of breast cancer
    according to milk consumption as a child and as an adult.

    Based upon population statistics supplied by the authors, the
    expectation of breast cancers for low-milk consuming females
    was 156 cases out of 311. The actual number of cases was only 42.

    The expected number of cases of breast cancer for the
    moderate- and high-milk consumption group was 155 cases.
    The actual number of cases of breast cancer for the milk
    drinkers was 269.

    In other words, the authors mis-read their own data.

    Women who drank a lot of milk as children developed more
    cases of breast cancer than notmilk users. How much more? A
    factor of 640%!

This is the core of your claim that the paper is fraudulent and is an
unmitigated piece of nonsense.
You arrived at your figures above by arbitrarily and incorrectly
assuming that half the study population
were in the low-milk consumption group
and half were in the medium- and high-milk consumption groups combined.
Based on this fanciful assumption,
one would indeed expect 155.5 cases in the low-milk group
based on the total of 311 cases in the table of age-adjusted cancer
incidence.

In my briefing paper, I reconstructed the number of individuals in each
group (using data in the paper by Hjartaker et al)
as 11% low-milk, 82% medium-milk and 7% high-milk.
I then summarised the expected vs observed number of cases,
after adjustment for other risk factors.
Your figures for observed cases in the low-milk group
are slightly different than mine (42 vs 36) as you used the
age-adjusted incidence, not the multivariate-adjusted incidence.

"Only by using a combined measure of childhood and adult milk intake
was a statistically significant protective association found and this
was
only just significant (RR=0.51 "high" milk intake vs "low" milk intake,
with full adjustment for known risk factors).
11% of the overall group was in the low-milk category.
This category had 36 cases of breast cancer against an expected 29,
based on the average risk for the whole group.
7% of the group was in the high milk category.
This category had 13 cases of breast cancer against an expected 20,
based on the average risk. There was little difference between the age
adjusted and fully adjusted relative risks, indicating that any
interactions between milk consumption and known risk factors, such as
age at menarche, did not have a large effect on the observed risk."

Your claim based on assuming that 50% of the population studied were
in the low-milk group is nonsense as only 11% of the population were in
this category.

You owe the authors of this study an apology and bring shame on the
vegan community by your arbitrary, nasty and unfounded accusation of
fraud.

    4) The authors bring their biases to the discussion by writing
    (page 892):

    "Calcium intake, however, has previously been
    investigated with cancer risk, especially of colon cancer..."

As discussed in the milk and breast cancer briefing paper --
there is good evidence for the view that milk consumption
does modestly decrease colorectal cancer risk, though there
are much better ways of achieving this reduction in risk.

Nonsense such as your "tomfoolery" article brings the
vegan community into disrepute. It sows confusion among
vegans seeking to understand the truth so as
to promote veganism effectively.

You do the vegan community a profound disservice
by such behaviour. Vegans - like everyone else - should be fair.
I strongly encourage you to do the right thing
and correct or remove your article and apologise
to those people you unjustly accused of fraud.

If you are prepared to try to work within the
constraints of facts, I would be happy
to help you produce material based on sound science.
There is no need to exaggerate or invent in order to show
that the dairy industry, which causes much animal suffering
and environmental damage, is at best unnecessary for human
health and at worst harmful. Distorting to overstate this case
only serves to weaken the credibility of all vegan advocates,
and ultimately to weaken veganism.

yours sincerely,    Stephen Walsh

Robert Cohen's only reply to Walsh to date:

    I have no idea what you're talking about.
    I do not like your tone, or your agenda.
    I hope that nothing is lost in the translation
    when I tell you to go and have carnal relations with yourself.

    Robert Cohen

Subject: NOTMILK - - TRUE EVIL IS EXPOSED
    Date:  Fri, 08 Feb 2002 17:32:49 -0000
   From:   "i4crob" <i4crob@...>
  Reply-To:  notmilk-owner@yahoogroups.com
       To:  notmilk@yahoogroups.com

TRUE EVIL IS EXPOSED

When examining the virtues and vices of
men, one looks to moral qualities of human
actions as the barometer distinguishing
and defining truth.

As many of you are aware, I have been the
recipient of a slanderous personal campaign
that concluded with the hacking and temporary
destruction of my notmilk.com website.

During these attacks, I have continued to
ignore a tidal wave of comments made by a group
of individuals at vegsource.com. Rather than
defend myself, and become no better than my
attackers who accused me of the vilest and
most unethical acts, I made the decision to
turn the other cheek.

The greatest movements in human history have
been disrupted by infiltrators. Leaders of
those movements have been betrayed by saboteurs.
Men have been deceived by trusted allies. Brutus
plunged the final knife thrust into a dying
Caesar and Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of
silver. Benedict Arnold sold out a young nation
during a time of war, while J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI
infiltrated and did harm to Dr. Martin Luther
King's peace movement.

The vegetarian movement exists as an enormous
threat to many industries and multi-national
corporations. Those leaders of the vegetarian
movement are carefully monitored by industry
insiders. Hundreds of billions of dollars of meat,
milk, and biotechnology sales are influenced by
public perception. It is no surprise that those
who hold the greatest financial stake might be
motivated in placing a wedge within the heart
of a movement that remains the greatest threat
towards preventing greater profitability for
those who market dairy products, meat, and
genetically engineered foods.

The owner of vegsource.com should be held
responsible for waging this campaign, but I
would ask that the court of public opinion
hold him harmless.

You see, Jeff Nelson has been deceived.

Review vegsource and you will see dozens of articles
and second opinions written by Dr. Steve Walsh. The
articles are medical opinions citing peer-reviewed
scientific journal articles. In many areas, Jeff
Nelson cites Dr. Walsh and promotes his comments.

It has been confirmed that Steve Walsh has a degree
in computers, not medicine. Jeff Nelson could not
have been aware of that deception.

I have previously been told that Steve Walsh is an
infiltrator. I had also been told that Mr. Walsh
works for one of Europe's largest chemical companies.
During a family trip to England in April of 2001, Walsh
attempted to sabotage my talks by screaming, "Robert
Cohen is a liar."  He was booed off the stage in
London (Regents College) by the people who know him
best. Although I was his victim, I admonished the
crowd, defending Mr. Walsh's right to speak.

A few nights later, 150 miles away, he did the same thing
when I lectured before an animal rights group. Both
times, this raving man insulted me in the vilest manner
in front of my three daughters and wife. He played to
the audience with the same exact "routine," after I had
set him straight the night before.

This morning (February 8, 2002), I received concrete
evidence that Mr. Walsh is indeed employed by a chemical
company, but there is much more to what I have learned
than just that. Mr. Walsh admits to being employed by ICI.

I am not claiming that Mr. Walsh makes every decision
for ICI. After all, this is a company that employs
60,000 people. It's just that it the past month, Mr.
Walsh seems to be working full-time, on company time,
to promote his dangerous and deceitful agenda on
vegsource. To compromise one's job in such a visible
matter marks the man as either very unwise or extremely
secure in his job assignment.

http://www.ici.com

ICI owns an enormous stake in the dairy industry.
ICI owns Sherman William Paints, which relies upon
milk protein (casein) as a major product component.
ICI owns National Starch Company, which manufactures
stabilizers for dairy products. From their website:

"Ingredients to improve the quality and stability
of a range of dairy foods, including yogurts,
puddings, ice cream, cheese and cream preparations."

http://www.nationalstarch.com/markets/food.asp

ICI works closely with the biotechnology industry
by supporting Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds.
ICI owns Uniqema, a self-descibed world leader in
"oleochemicals and surfactants." From their website:

"Improving the performance of Roundup®-ready plantings"

http://www.uniqema.com

Monsanto's Roundup-Ready pesticide is designed
to kill everything that grows with the exception of
the gene-altered seeds and crop that it is designed
to protect. This is the company that Steve Walsh
works for. These are the conflicts of interest that
Mr. Walsh brings to his debate. Jeff Nelson could not
have known these things.

Despite the trouble he has created for me, I forgive
Jeff Nelson, for he could not have known the poison that
he was nurturing through Mr. Walsh's fertilizer.

Walsh's agenda remains clear. He seeks neither truth nor
fair debate. He is a destroyer, who has conned his way
into Jeff Nelson's graces, and has poisoned Mr. Nelson's
judgement.

I have invested the most productive eight years of a
man's life (age 42-50) to give all of myself to
strangers, rather than my own family. I now have multi-
pronged goals. The first is to level the informational
playing field for all consumers so that they may be
empowered to make informed decisions that bear on the
health and welfare of themselves and their children.
The sooner the public has all of the facts about the
adverse effects of milk and dairy products, the better
it will be for all consumers. My second goal is to
give people a healthy alternative to milk and dairy
products. The next eight years of my life will be
dedicated to changing the way people eat by offering
healthy options to the standard and traditional milk-
based diet.

The NOTMILK site stands on its own. The 1000+ columns
that I have written contain real science, and my
analyses of scientific fraud have continuously
withstood the rigorous scrutiny of peer review.

Those who know me recognize that I have stood toe to
toe with the most powerful and influential industry in
America, the dairy industry, and fear no man or group
of men. I have done damage to Monsanto by helping to
defeat approval of their genetically engineered bovine
growth hormone in Canada. I have testified before Congress,
USDA, FDA, and have pulled no punches in delivering
passionate and directed messages. I have received death
threats and had dead animals thrown on my lawn. I receive
hate mail and threatening phone calls in the middle of
the night. There are ten million people employed by the
dairy industry who know and hate my name. I know when to
fight, and can defend myself both physically and with
the pen, which I've learned to wield mightier than any
soldier wields a sword.

Understand all of the above and know that I will not
enter into the namecalling libelous fray occurring
at vegsource. I will not even consider legal action,
as many of my friends and associates have advised,
for to do so would hurt our movement and take
away from my creative spirit.

Jeff Nelson is a dedicated man, and he is trying to
change the world for the better. I ask you to forgive
him and understand the enormous pain that he carries.
Perhaps one day he will chase away those tormenting
demons that compromise a man's virtuous passions
by transforming them into vices lacking moral quality.

Robert Cohen  http://www.notmilk.com  i4crob@...
----------------------------------------------------
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**************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/791

RTM: Hunter: Townsend Letter review: Roberts  "Aspartame Disease: An
Ignored Epidemic " 2.8.2 rmforall

Subject:  Review of Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic
by Beatrice Trum Hunter, world famous  nutritionist:
Townsend Letter for Doctors, Feb/March, 2002 A Clear and Present Danger
    Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 18:35:23 -0500
    From:  Betty Martini <Mission-Possible-USA@...>
      To:   "Activist List-yahoogroups.com"
<Activist_List@yahoogroups.com>

A Clear and Present Danger   review by Beatrice Trum Hunter

ASPARTAME DISEASE: AN IGNORED EPIDEMIC
by H.J. Roberts, MD
Sunshine Sentinel Press, P.O. Box 17799
West Palm Beach, Fla 33416 USA
Order: 800-814-9800;fax 561-547-8008 $75 plus $10s/h
Florida residents add $4.50 sales tax
Oversized quality paperback, 1027 pages, appendices, bibliography

This monumental work represents an extraordinary effort by a concerned
physician who has spent much of his time researching
the diverse effects of aspartame,
the synthetic high-intensity sweetener, on the human body.

He found that the physical effects can be inflicted on all systems,
organs and tissues.  The mental effects can result in psychological,
behavioral, and psychiatric problems.
The author traces the nonscientific basis and political machinations
that led to FDA's unwise approval of aspartame.
The sweetener now permeates many processed foods and beverages,
and is used by two-thirds of the American population.

Numerous reactions to aspartame frequently are undiagnosed,Or, they are
misdiagnosed and wrongly attributed to such serious health conditions
as fibromyalgia, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, or Alzheimer's
disease, among others.

Dr. Roberts offers pearls of wisdom to doctors.  Every evaluation of
difficult allergic, dermatologic, gastrointestinal, or metabolic
problems should include queries about aspartame consumption.

Diabetes accompanied by visual, neurological, or bowel problems
should not be assumed to be complications of retinopathy or neuropathy
until aspartame use is ruled out.  After aspartame abstinence,
there should be time to observe any changes.

Cataract surgery should be deferred in heavy aspartame users
until it can be learned whether vision improves after aspartame
avoidance.

Patients with refractory neurological or psychiatric problems,
including unexplained seizures, headaches, facial or eye pain,
depression, or dizziness should be asked about their aspartame
consumption before recommending invasive studies or prescribing potent
medications.

Patients who express concern about "early Alzheimer's disease" due to
unexplained confusion or memory impairment, should be observed for
several months after aspartame use is stopped, before making any
diagnosis.

Cystoscopy, prostate surgery, uterine curettage, or hysterectomy
should be deferred in aspartame users, who have unexplained
urinary tract problems, or altered menses,
until aspartame use is suspended, and observations
made for any possible remissions.

Dr. Roberts includes an extensive questionnaire that he has used with
patients suspected of having adverse aspartame reactions.  The
questionnaire would serve as a useful tool for all health practitioners
whose patients have puzzling symptoms that are difficult to diagnose or
treat.

The medical and public health implications of aspartame's effects on
human health cannot be ignored.  A large segment of the population is
being adversely affected.
Dr. Roberts has provided a comprehensive book that should serve
as a valuable reference for all health providers, as well as for
individuals concerned about maintaining their health or restoring it.
___________End of Review

More information on Aspartame on  http://www.dorway.com
See this medical text and order information on
http://www.sunsentpress.com  or
http://www.aspartameispoison.com
Aspartame Toxicity Center,  http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame
Class Action on Aspartame,  http://www.dorway.com ,
and you can click on to the support groups
Betty Martini, Mission Possible International, 9270 River Club Parkway,
Duluth, Georgia 30097, 770 242-2588
*********************************************************

http://www.nutrition4health.org/NOHAnews/NNF01SoyBeatrice.htm
[extract]     THE DOWNSIDE OF SOYBEAN CONSUMPTION
by Beatrice Trum Hunter, who is one of America’s foremost food experts
and an Honorary Member of NOHA. She is the Food Editor of
Consumers’ Research Magazine and the author of many books on food
issues, including Food Additives and Federal Policy: The Mirage of
Safety; The Great Nutrition Robbery;
and her classic Natural Foods Cookbook.

Soy consumption is being promoted vigorously.
Despite many alleged benefits, there is a downside, which is being
ignored.

The raw soybean contains numerous anti-nutrients. Although processing
can reduce them, it does not eliminate them. [1] The raw soybean is an
anti-coagulant (an agent that prevents blood clotting). The
anti-coagulant property is not reversed by vitamin K,
which is a highly effective blood-clotting agent.
Green leafy vegetables and liver are excellent sources of vitamin K.
Many Americans are low in vitamin K.
Soy’s anti-coagulant property is attributed to its anti-trypsin
activity.
Trypsin is a special enzyme needed to digest protein. In addition,
trypsin allows vitamin B12 to be assimilated. Thus, by blocking trypsin
activity, the soybean, as an anti-trypsin agent, increases the
requirements for vitamin B12
and actually creates vitamin B12 deficiency. [2]

The raw soybean contains other anti-nutrients, including phytic acid
(from phytates), which binds and prevents mineral absorption
(especially zinc, calcium, and magnesium). [3]  Phytic acid is present
in grains, too.
Thus, vegetarians who depend on soybeans and many soy-containing
products, as well as phytate-containing grains, are at even higher risk
of deficiencies of these minerals. [4] Phytates are present in plant
foods but not in animal foods.

Hemagglutinins are also anti-nutrients in the raw soybean.
These substances have an ability to agglutinate (clump together)
the red blood cells in  humans and in other animal species,
and significantly suppress growth.
These anti-nutrients are known also as "phytoagglutinins" or "lectins."
[5].....
******************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 792 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall
**********************************************************

RTM: Jarvis: Why I Am Not a Vegetarian 1997 2.7.2 rmforall

http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0902/vegetarian.html
American Council on Science & Health
Priorities Vol 9, Number 2, 1997
Why I Am Not a Vegetarian   [21 references] [extract]
I gave up vegetarianism because I found that commitment thereto
meant surrendering the objectivity that is essential to the personal
and professional integrity of a scientist. As a health educator, I feel
I have an obligation to endeavor to stick to whatever unvarnished facts
scientific research uncovers. I can support pragmatic vegetarianism,
but I believe that crusading vegetarian ideologues are dangerous to
themselves and to society.

ACSH advisor William T. Jarvis, Ph.D., is a professor of public health
and preventive medicine at Loma Linda University,
founder and president of the National Council Against Health Fraud,
and coeditor of
The Health Robbers: A Close Look at Quackery in America (1993).
This article is an adaptation of one published by Prometheus Books
(Amherst, New York) in the November/December 1996
issue of Nutrition & Health Forum newsletter.

http://www.quackfiles.com
http://quackbusters.quackfiles.com
"Paul Lee" <pglee@...>

http://www.llu.edu/llu/health/

[Comments by Rich Murray:  I am grateful to Paul Lee,
moderator of HealthFraud@...  , for suggesting
I read this long article.  Loma Linda University is a Seventh Day
Adventist institution, and both Lee and Jarvis were raised in that
tradition, which has a strong emphasis on vegetarianism.  I have
been a vegan for three years, enjoying it very much, with
improvement of my already good heath, at age 59.  I believe
this article is an unbiased and honest discussion of some of the
scientific evidence and complex social and emotional factors
involved, which often make it hard for people to avoid
polarized debate.   I am not impressed by the very
brief and curt dismissals of two prominent scientists,
Neal  Barnard and Colin Campbell, whose claims deserve
careful examination.

I think the huge increase in pesticides, antibiotics,
and disease in modern factory farms in recent
decades has made meat and diary much less safe than
before, as well as being extremely cruel to the animals.
There is a real problem with infectious diseases, now
resistant to the antibiotics lavishly applied in factory
farms. There are reports that the farms incubate diseases that
can mutute and jump to humans, as influenza has
many times in a century from pigs and chickens.

I imagine genetic engineering will be capable of creating
plant and yeast foods that offer all the advantages of
meat, with no health or environmental penalties.
For instance, a new corn, developed in Mexico,
gives high quality protein, enough to sustain health,
surely an enormous boon for hundreds of millions.

I will study and rethink the many issues involved.
*********************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 790 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
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/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall
**********************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/790

RTM: Moseley:
review Roberts "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" 2.7.2  rmforall

Subject:  Review of Dr. Roberts book from Journal of Neurosurgery,
              Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic
    Date:   Wed, 09 Jan 2002 01:24:52 -0500
    From:  Betty Martini <Mission-Possible-USA@...>
        To:   "aspartame@onelist.com" <aspartame@onelist.com>

This review is by Charles D. Moseley, M.D., Clinical Studies,
Washington, D.C.
Falls Church, Virginia

I think its an excellent review except  when Dr. Moseley mentions "lack
of balance,"  he didn't realize that aspartame is a universal poison,
and there is no other side of it.
And as far as getting through the FDA, he likewise
didn't realize that the FDA did not say to approve it, they
first wanted the company indicted for fraud, but the U.S. Prosecutors
hired on with the defense team.  Then after not approving  it for 16
years, when Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed by President Reagan,
obviously to approve it,
the FDA's Board of Inquiry said it was never proven safe,
and couldn't be approved, because it had triggered brain tumors.
Dr. Hayes simply over-ruled the Board of Inquiry, and approved a drug
masquerading as an additive, that  the FDA said was not safe.
Then went to work for the PR agency of the manufacturer.

I've always referred to Dr. Roberts book as a medical text, because
that's what it is.  If a physician has no knowledge of aspartame,
there is no way of diagnosing the problems it causes.
With this text, all they have to do is look up the reaction.
I've also said  Aspartame Disease: The Ignored Epidemic
is to the drug/toxin  aspartame like the PDR is to adverse
reactions on  other drugs.  It's just that aspartame is so deadly, it
takes an entire medical text to give the adverse reactions instead of a
page.  Now here is the review:

Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, H. J. Roberts,
West Palm Beach, Florida:  Sunshine Sentinel Press 2001,
1018 pp. illus. ISBN 1884243-177.  Price $75.00

Charles Moseley, M.D.,
Clinical Studies, Washington
Falls Church, Virginia

[ http://www.thejns-net.org/
http://www.thejns-net.org/jns/issues/current/toc_fs.html
Journal of Neurosurgery
Vol. 96, January, 2002, p. 153-4

"...a psychiatrist with psychopharmacology research experience..."
Moseley, Charles, MD
Arlington, VA  703/527-9099
listed as staff at     http://dominionhospital.com
Dominion Hospital mental health facility
2960 Sleepy Hollow Road
Falls Church , VA   22044
(703) 536-2000    fax (703)536-6601 ]

To read Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic is something like
reading the "Warnings and Adverse Effects" section of the
Physicians' Desk Reference, with the added impact of being told that
this information is being intentionally withheld from the consuming
public.

The result, we are told, is an epidemic as multifaceted as the many
faces of depression, both psychological and somatic.  It is the somatic
which will be of most concern to the neurosurgeon,
with a broad array of neuropathological disorders
attributed directly to toxic effects on
neuronal tissues.  These include
seizures, atypical peripheral neuropathies, motor neuron disease,
tremors, pseudotumor cerebri and malignant brain tumors.
This author directs attention, for instance, to several
prolactin-secreting pituitary tumors found in patients who were heavy
consumers of aspartame, correlated with the known prolactin-stimulating
effect of phenylalanine
(a direct breakdown product of aspartame in the body),
and multiple instances of pituitary tumors in exposed rats, as cited in
the Bressler Report.  [http://www.dorway.com/bresslr5.html ]

The author, H. J. Roberts, M.D., an internist, is director of the Palm
Beach Institute of Medical Research and has clearly dedicated himself
to warning both professional and general readers of an
"imminent public health hazard," noting that at least 66% of adults and
40% of children in America currently consume aspartame.

The biochemistry is interesting.  The primary breakdown product of
aspartame is a synthetic substance made by combing the amino acids
L-phenylalanine and L-aspartic acid with the ester of methyl alcohol
(also known as wood alcohol), which produces a
"phenylalanine-containing  dipeptide."
  Breakdown in the body is simply the reverse, which results in rapid
absorption into the portal circulation and
across the blood-brain barrier.

As a psychiatrist with psychopharmacology research experience,
I wonder about the effects of the dopamine precursor
L-phenylalanine on neurotransmission.
It is notable that disturbed
dopamine metabolism is attracting increasing interest
in neuropsychiatry as an important component
of numerous psychopathological conditions,
most notable affective disorders (bipolar disorder and major
depression).

Additionally, I wonder about the neurotoxic effects of wood
alcohol, noted by Dr. Herbert Posner of the National Institute of
Environmental Sciences in l975, to produce "delayed and irreversible
effects on the nervous system (of methanol) at widely varying levels of
exposure and at rather low levels."

My major criticism of this work is the absence of balance; there is
clearly another side of the argument, as attested by the fact that
aspartame won approval in a contentious Food and Drug Administration
approval process.
It is not enough to dismiss the studies supporting its safety
as "industry sponsored".
Nor is it sufficient to characterize numerous regulatory,
scientific and legal organizations' acceptance of the safety data
they received as invalid stamps of approval, because they "did not
insist upon independent confirmatory studies by corporate-neutral
investigators."

Perhaps the greatest benefit of this work for the practitioner of
medicine is to raise the index of suspicion that aspartame may be an
otherwise hidden causal agent in a wide array of neuropathological
conditions.

For the researcher, a well-designed study with the goal of determining
the answer to the threshold question:
Does aspartame consumption result in increased incidence
of neuropathological signs and symptoms? would seem
an important next step.  We are, after all, talking about a substance
that is being consumed by Americans
in quantities of pounds per year per person.
Charles D. Moseley, M.D.

More information on aspartame on  http://www.dorway.com
Congratulations Dr. Roberts! As many have said, one day Aspartame
Disease may become known as Roberts Disease!
http://www.aspartameispoison.com

All my best,  Betty   Martini    http://www.dorway.com
******************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 783 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/782
RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums:
full text: aspartame, MSG, fibromyalgia 1.17.2 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/790
RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/752
Headache 2001 Oct;41(9):899-901
Migraine MLT-Down: An Unusual Presentation of Migraine
in Patients With Aspartame-Triggered Headaches.
[Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 4 mg aspartame,
while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg.]
Newman LC, Lipton RB.     RLipton@...
Headache Institute, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York
NY Department of Neurology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Innovative Medical Research
******************************************************************

http://aamr.allenpress.com/aamronline/?request=get-static&name=mr-info
http://web.syr.edu/~thechp/mreditor.htm
one of dozens of Consulting Editors: Charles Moseley
Steven J. Taylor, Editor, Mental Retardation
Center on Human Policy
805 South Crouse Avenue, Syracuse, NY 13244-2280.

Mental Retardation is published bi-monthly
by the American Association on Mental Retardation
444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 846, Washington, DC 20001-1512.
Subscription rates: $85 for one year; $155, 2 years; $225, 3 years;
single issue, $25. For Canada, add $6; others, add $15

Mental Retardation is a journal of policy, practices, and perspectives
that provides information to mental retardation and developmental
disability professionals and families. According to the most recent
Journal Citation Reports impact factor rankings, Mental Retardation is
ranked No. 2 in "Special Education" and No. 3 in "Rehabilitation".

Mental Retardation is devoted to meeting the information needs of those
who seek effective ways to help people with mental retardation and their

families. The journal reports new teaching approaches, program
developments, administrative tools, program evaluation, service
utilization studies, community surveys, public policy issues, training
and case studies, and research that emphasizes the new application of
methods. Mental Retardation is a peer-reviewed journal whose consulting
editors represent a broad spectrum of settings: universities, research
centers, public and private residential care facilities,
and specialized community service agencies.
*********************************************************

Murray: Nelson: Walsh: Cohen:
[Fwd: - - NOTMILK SITE IS HACKED!!!!!!!!!!] 2.7.2 rmforall

http://www.vegsource.com/articles/vegan_society_walsh_cohen.htm

Statement from the UK Vegan Society
Regarding   Robert Cohen and Stephen Walsh

Comment from Jeff Nelson of VegSource:

February 6, 2002, 10:45 a.m. pst --
The upshot of the UK Vegan Society
statement printed below is what we on VegSource
already knew: that Robert Cohen
plays fast and loose with the truth.

Also, Rob Cohen's notmilk.com site
has not been "hacked" as Cohen claims.
You can read below to find out the true facts.

As of today, when Cohen put out on his
email list that he had been "hacked" --
when he knew this was not true,
we have terminated his hosting for his abusive
and harassing behavior. Read on.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: - - NOTMILK SITE IS HACKED!!!!!!!!!!
Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 17:43:27 -0000
From: "i4crob" <i4crob@...>
Reply-To: notmilk-owner@yahoogroups.com
To: notmilk@yahoogroups.com

Dear Friends,

For the first time in five years, my Internet
site has been attacked and HACKED.

http://www.notmilk.com

The attacker has deleted files, so please be
aware that anything might possibly appear on
notmilk. From this moment on, I cannot be
responsible for anything posted on my own
website. This individual is sophisticated,
and has an ugly agenda.

The codes have been changed, so that I cannot
gain access to my own site.

(Imagine a burglar entering your home in the
middle of the night, violating your family,
then sticking around long enough to change
the locks so that only he has a key!)

I expect the problem to clear within 48 hours,
and am working closely with my new Internet
Service Provider.

I need your help. Please monitor the site, and
if you find anything offensive added, alert
my webmaster, Dave Rietz:

dorietz@...

Thanks, Robert Cohen  i4crob@...
----------------------------------------------------
                    THE NOTMILK NEWSLETTER:
SUBSCRIBE:    send an empty Email to-
               notmilk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
UNSUBSCRIBE:  send an empty Email to-
               notmilk-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Forward this message to your milk-drinking friends:
Learn about MILK from A to Z: http://www.notmilk.com/milkatoz.html
PLAY 2O QUESTIONS: http://www.notmilk.com/notmilkfaq.html
******************************************************************

This can also be found, with photographs on the 'Recent Comments' page at
http://www.readthelabel.org.uk

Arthur McBryan

The Aspartame Sweetener
Really Is Poisonous, see:
http://www.readthelabel.org.uk
or http://www.neotame.org.uk

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/787

RTM: Hetle & Eltervaag:
abstract: aspartame brain damage in mice 2.5.2 rmforall

For thesis in Norwegian, mailed by regular mail,  contact:
Anne Værnes <anne.varnes@...>

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Aspartame (ASM) is a product that was originally made for
diabetics, but today ASM is widely used by healthy people
as an artificial sweetener in many food products.

Purpose: The main goal with this research was to see whether ASM was
harmful to brain cells (cerebellar granule cells).
We wanted to check if the damage to the neurons is connected to
the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptors on these cells.

Procedure:  Brain cells from 7 day old mice were used. They were
cultured in 24 well dishes, and different quantities of ASM were added.
After 7 days, the cultures were analysed by two different tests:
Lactate dehydrogenases (LDH) test, which gives a picture of cell death
(LDH leakage to the medium in which the cells were cultured).
3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromid (MTT) test,
which can be used to analyse mitochondrial activity in living cells.
To test whether the NMDA-receptor was involved in the damage done  by
ASM, the receptor was blocked by
(±)-2-amino-5 phosphonopentanocid (AP5).

Results:  Our results showed damage/cell death from an added quantity
of 0,06 mg/ml ASM each day for 4 days.
As a comparison there is 0,24 mg/ml ASM in Cola Light.
MTT- and LDH-tests showed damage to the neurons at an added quantity of
1.5 and 3.00 mg/ml ASM after 22 hours of incubation.
The results also show that ASM is in part acting through the
NMDA-receptor because AP5 reduced or
blocked the damage to the granule cells.

Conclusion: In  light of these results, our conclusion is that in order
to be on the safe side, it should be warned against use of ASM
as a food additive, maybe especially in products consumed by children,
because NMDA-receptors and the synapses involved
also are connected to learning.
**********************************************************

http://www.dagbladet.no/print/?/dinside/2001/12/17/301529.html
[A major newspaper in Norway]

[Photo caption]
FARLIG FOR HJERNEN?
Medisinstudent Elisabeth Hetle (32) har sluttet å drikke lettbrus, mens
medstudent Arnstein Eltervaag (40) aldri har drukket lettbrus.

I edited this into a fairly accurate English version:

[Caption for photo]
DANGER FOR BRAIN?
Medical student Elisabeth Hetle (32) has stopped using aspartame diet
sodas, while fellow student Arnstein Eltervaag (40) has never used them.

You can also read this article at:  [article on newspage]
http://www.dagbladet.no/dinside/2001/12/17/301529.html
Dagbladet © 2001:

hetle@...  eltervaa@...
**********************************************************

Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 21:15:20 -0500
To: "aspartame@onelist.com" <aspartame@onelist.com>
From: Betty Martini <Mission-Possible-USA@...>
Subject: For Global Release:  Norway Study Connects Aspartame with
Brain Destruction.  Now accepting histories for CLASS ACTION in U.S.
Contact Betty Martini, 770 242-2599,  http://www.dorway.com

Medical faculty at Norway Technical Scientific University released the
report of this study in Norway yesterday and today in the Danish BT
Newspaper:

Kan søtingsstoff vera skadeleg?
Lightprodukter, der indeholder sødestoffet aspartam,
mistænkes for at dræbe hjerneceller. Det er særligt de områder i
hjernen, som bruges ved indlæring, der påvirkes, og derfor bør særligt
børn undgå lightprodukter. Det er konklusionen i en hovedopgave fra det
medicinske fakultet ved Norges teknisk-naturvidenskabelige universitet.
M. Ebdrup, B.T., 13

TRANSLATION :
Light products containing the sweetener aspartame, is suspected of
killing brain cells. Especially the areas in the brain
used for learning are being affected,
and therefore especially kids should avoid light products.
That is the conclusion in a main assignment from the medical
faculty at Norway technical-scientific University.
M. Ebdrup, B.T., 13
**********************************************************

NTNU:  Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet:
[English] Norwegian University of Science and Technology
NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway
Phone.: +47 73595000, Fax: +47 73595310

http://www.ntnu.no/indexe.php
Creative, Constructive, Critical:
These are the keywords in our
strategy. As the name states the
Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, NTNU, is a centre for
technological education and research
in Norway, with a solid foundation in
the natural sciences.
This tradition is interwoven with
broadly based expertise in the
classical university disciplines of the
humanities, medicine and the social sciences.
At the same time, NTNU offers the
widest range of education in art
subjects; music, the visual arts and
architecture, of all the universities in  Norway.
At NTNU we strive to encourage soaring imagination and restless
curiosity. Our ambition is to promote a creative interplay between all
forms of human intellectual activities, the arts,
the natural and social sciences, and technology.
Our interdisciplinary efforts are inspired by the consummate
Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci,
who unified areas of study previously seen as distinct.
NTNU is an institution that provides stimulating challenges for those
who want to explore new approaches. NTNU is about leading the field.

Faculty of Medicine:    http://www.medisin.ntnu.no/eng/
The faculty does research in all the medical disciplines: basal,
paraclinical and clinical subjects. Medical technology is an important
area of cooperation for the faculty.
Academic posts: 146. Doctoral students: 77.

Besøksadresse: Olav Kyrres g. 3, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter
Postadresse:  Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, N-7489 Trondheim
Tlf.: 73 59 88 59, faks: 73 59 88 65, E-post: dmf-post@...
**********************************************************

Hi to all:

Thought that you would be interested in this research.

Regards, Anthony Stephan

Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 9:41 PM
Subject: National Post articles; Study on Ritalin

For your information, I am also including the CMAJ URL for the study.
http://www.cma.ca/cmaj/index.asp

Little scientific proof Ritalin effective,
researchers discover studies played down negative side effects
and role of placebos

Brad Evenson  National Post

OTTAWA - After a painstaking analysis of 62 studies of Ritalin
treatment for attention deficit disorder, a team of Canadian
researchers says it has found little scientific evidence
the drug lives up to its reputation.

More than 200,000 Canadian schoolchildren take methyl-phenidate,
the generic name for Ritalin, a stimulant drug prescribed to help
them concentrate and control their impulsive behaviour.
Many parents, teachers and doctors praise the drug for
turning around the tumultuous lives of millions of young children.

Yet a meta-analysis published today in the
Canadian Medical Association Journal says the clinical trials
of the drug have often been biased and poorly constructed.
For example, although patients may take Ritalin for years,
most trials comparing the drug with a placebo lasted three weeks,
with none lasting longer than seven months. In some cases,
scientists studying Ritalin ignored or downplayed the impressions
of schoolteachers, who thought children taking the drug were
no better off than those taking a placebo. Finally, such adverse
side effects as insomnia and loss of appetite have not been
carefully measured.

"Collectively, these observations likely reflect a less than
an ideal state of affairs given the long history of extensive,
and ever increasing, use of methylphenidate for ADD particularly
in North America for groups that now include pre-schoolers
and adults," conclude the researchers, from the
Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario and the University of Ottawa.

For a disease that didn't officially exist before 1987,
attention deficit disorder has been remarkably catching.
An estimated 5% of children are affected.
Several years ago, the definition was expanded to the new name,
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder [AD/HD].
The symptoms include trouble concentrating, talking constantly,
running around in a disruptive way, fidgeting and acting impulsively.

Surprisingly, little is known about how Ritalin tames these symptoms,
but scientists agree it clearly works in the short term.
A positive response to Ritalin, however, does not mean a child
has AD/HD; stimulants can temporarily sharpen anyone's focus.
Also, the drug does not raise IQ or remove the learning disabilities
that often accompany AD/HD.

"Short-term managed behaviour -- that's important for a lot of kids,
but it's not going to give them the skills that they need to manage
for the rest of their lives, because when the medication wears off,
they're back at square one and, in some cases, maybe a little worse off,"
says Toronto psychologist Lynda Thompson, co-author of The A.D.D. Book.

As a result, many people are seeking alternatives, including biofeedback
and nutritional regimens. These have less dramatic results than Ritalin,
but they make parents more comfortable.

Indeed, a University of British Columbia study, also published today
in the CMAJ, raises concerns that many children who are prescribed
Ritalin don't need it.
***************************************************************************


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[[ http://www.aspartame.ca/   John T. Linnell   admin@...
http://www.aspartame.ca/page_a10.html
Canadian Class Action Law Suit ]]
********************************************************************************

healthfactsandfears.com  on aspartame 2.4.2

"margieroswell" <mroswell@...>

Well, the industry-funded American Council on Health and Science is
up to no good at

http://healthfactsandfears.com/
high_priorities/scam/2002/aspartame020102.html

Learn more about them by looking at their 990 forms at guidestar.com.
See, for instance, pg 16 of
http://www.guidestar.org/pdf/2000/132/911/2000-132911127-1-9.pdf

Scam-a-rama
Aspartame-Induced Man-Breasts?
February 1, 2002
By Todd Seavey

The story of the man-breasts was not the first sign that an anti-
Aspartame paranoia campaign was growing.

I must confess that my own dear mother recently expressed concern
about the sweetener Aspartame, found in many diet sodas, after
hearing the testimonials of some daytime talk show guests, who
attributed their aches and pains to the substance. The show even
inspired my mother to give up diet soda.

I had mixed feelings. Countless times before, the world has seen well-
meaning but misguided activists attribute all of life's discomforts
to some demonized chemical without much evidence beyond free
association and worry (see our feature article "Cancer Clusters:
Findings vs. Feelings" from 2/1/02). I didn't want my mother falling
victim to junk science. On the other hand, I was pleased that
something had inspired her to give up drinking soda, and I even
bought my parents a teapot to help push the transformation along.

Really, what harm could an aversion to Aspartame do?

It has since been brought to my attention by ACSH advisor Dr. William
London of the National Council Against Health Fraud that the anti-
Aspartame campaign seems to be a plank of the broader war against
genetically-modified foods and transnational agribusinesses such as
Monsanto. Well, to be more direct: Dr. London sent me a link to a
website featuring an article by an elderly gentleman who thinks his
man-breasts were caused by Aspartame.

The human body gets a bit saggy and the hormones a bit out of whack
in old age, but when 44DD anomalies strike a man, he is apt to seek
some villain to blame. John Linnell (not, alas, the same John Linnell
who is in the rock band They Might Be Giants, which would be a much
better story) relates the following horrific tale with admirable
humor: "On 1st December 1997 I was a normal male with average
muscular chest. About noon my nipples and underlying breasts started
to itch internally—not a surface itch that you can have a good
scratch at." Within weeks, recounts Linnell, his breasts were "about
the size of a nursing mother, rubbing on my shirt and [causing] an
aching feeling in my now much larger breasts."

Linnell soon resorted to wearing bras—the site includes a striking
photograph of the grim-faced Linnell in bra and baseball cap—and he
avoided foods with artificial sweeteners, since he discerned
increased pain while eating desserts and drink, he claims. He even
describes angrily confronting restaurant managers about his pain
after they served him sweet desserts. He also describes mocking a
flat-chested woman at a shopping mall, asking her, "What's the matter
with you, honey? Jealous, maybe?"

It hasn't all been bad for Linnell, though. He describes striking up
more frequent conversations with women, for instance, debating brands
and sizes of bra. He also assures us that no unwanted homosexual
feelings have accompanied his physical transformation and that he has
not become a womanizer like his father, either.

Now, I'm moderately confident my mother won't be reduced to shouting
at strangers in shopping malls, and she acknowledges that her
Aspartame fears were not produced by good scientific evidence—she
says there's no harm in avoiding diet soda and just wants to see if
she notices any difference. Still, Mr. Linnell's case is a reminder
that leaping to conclusions can sometimes make one look a bit
ridiculous or can reinforce other people's unscientific fears (or do
both at the same time). If Aspartame is harmless and Mr. Linnell has
simply picked a scapegoat for an unwelcome physical development, he
may live out his days as an unnecessarily hateful, bitter, and
paranoid man. Surely that is a loss for everyone involved—such as
those restaurant managers—and a reminder that groundless fears have
costs, despite the easy talk of "erring on the safe side."

If you wish to respond to this editorial please email your comments
to forum@.... Also, visit the ACSH FORUMS at
www.acsh.org/forum/.
********************************************************************************

RTM: Valone: Energy Independence Possible: a million windmills 1.21.2
rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rmforall/messages/12

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rmforall/messages/14

Jan 21 2002   Thomas Valone, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
What a great development of my vision.   I hope a number of
visionary, experienced executives will initiate forming public
service Companies to build the windmills, selling bonds to raise
the capital, building the mills, and using the profits to pay 10%
yearly on the bonds.  The bonds can be sold over the Net.

Not issuing public stock will protect the companies from
hostile takeovers.  The companies will follow policies to keep
the bonds from being traded in any way that recreates the Ponzi
scheme, pyramid scam process that is the real nature of world
stock markets, with their ruinous overvaluation of corrupt,
unaccountable, greedy, and lawless corporations.

The Companies can be kept honest, if they maintain a policy of
absolute openness, i.e. expediting public access to every
message and every penny spent, without exception, so that
citizen networks can monitor their performance and give constant
feedback.  This is the single ethical principle, simple, practical,
and, thanks to the Net, affordable, that will make business and
government and all social institutions efficient, honest, good,
sane, and fun.

The mills will end up costing far less than $ 1 million each, in mass
production.  The USA will  build a vast world export
business, and earn the deserved respect of world citizens,
openning the door for extensions of public service Companies
to provide safe and affordable food, pure water, sanitation, universal
basic health care, and a personal computer for every world
citizen to expedite free world communication, education,
democratic government, business and work opportunities,
participation in research, entertainment, using a World Wide Net
based on fiber optics and satellites, accomodating all cultures and
languages.

Another area for innovative public service Companies will be to
provide small correctional facilities that completely abandon the
dangerous superstition of punishment and provide a maximum
program of complete rehabilitation, not just  bare social adjustment,
but social excellence-- in many cases, the graduates will staff the
expanding network of facilities.

Transportation will be enormously expedited as personal
vertical take-off flying cars, based on hydrogen-oxygen
fuel cells, computer managed for near-perfect safety, and
flyable without a pilot, provide completely free movement for
families, merchandise, raw materials, and refuse, enormously
increasing the world's economic efficiency, and erasing all
parochial boundaries.  In case of impending earthquakes, for
instance, everyone will be able to simple lift off and escape.
Like today's RV's and mobile homes, citizens will have flying
homes that can stay anywhere.

Life on Earth can be, must be, and will be glory. Nothing less is
practical.

I have reserved the domain name WindMint.com  for a public
service world windmill Company.

Blessings within the one,  Rich Murray

"Integrity Research Institute, Thomas Valone" wrote:

WORLD WINDFALL:
THE ANSWER IS ABLOWING IN THE WIND

TWO ENERGY NEWS ITEMS ABROAD PROVOKE
A PLAUSIBLE PROJECTION FOR THE UNITED STATES
  When countries like Ireland and the UK decide to build hundreds
of 3 MW windmills offshore (see below), some of us start thinking
about how many   such free energy machines are needed for the entire
US energy needs. Creating ENERGY INDEPENDENCE by planning
for the end of fossil fuel   usage is outlined in this
IRI Future Energy "enews" edition.   Thomas Valone, MA, PE
Integrity Research Institute
1220 L St. NW #100-232
Washington, DC 20005
202-452-7674, 800-295-7674
FAX: 301-513-5728
http://www.integrity-research.org===============
=============================
1) World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm
Approved for Irish Sea

DUBLIN, Ireland, January 14, 2002 (ENS) -
Two hundred wind turbines have been approved for Ireland's east
coast in a new development that will be
the largest offshore wind power project in the world.
The farm will be 4 miles at sea in water up to 81 feet deep
with 200 foot diameter rotors to generate
520 megawatts, as much as a large coal powered plant,
enough for 500,000 homes, for $ 563 million, about $ 1 per watt,
or $ 1,000 per home, which over
20 years would cost $ 1 weekly to build the farm.
The operating costs and environmental and health costs,
of course, are extremely low. Construction
will start this spring, and by fall about 20 turbines will supply
the first 60 megawatts.
http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-14-01.html

One  of two 66 meter diameter rotors is lifted into place a
kilometer off Blyth, UK where an offshore wind farm now
generates power. (Photo courtesy  Blyth Offshore Wind Ltd)

2) England to Put Wind to Work

LONDON, Apr. 10, 2001 PDT (Environment News Service)--
More than a million United Kingdom households are a step closer
to getting their electricity from wind power after 18 offshore wind
farm developers were granted leases.
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,42967,00.html
The UK will build 540 3 MW windmills, 200' high, 3 miles offshore,
for $ 2,300 million capital costs, $ 4.26 million per mill,
able to generate 1630 MW, as much as two nuclear power plants,
enough for 1.1 million households at 1.472 kilowatt each.
At a typical USA price of $ 0.10 per kw, the daily cost for
power delivered would be $ 3.53 for 24 hours, $ 106 for 30 days.

However, the capital cost for the mills is $ 2,090 per household,
or $ 209 capital cost per year for 10 years, about $ 18 monthly.
The mills are designed   to last about 30 years. There will be some
cost for repairs, operations, and distribution.
Obviously, this is going to be a very economically practical
business, with almost no environment damage or toxic byproducts.
Photo below shows huge windmills already installed in the Atlantic.

Two wind turbines generating  power offshore the UK
(Photo courtesy Blyth Offshore Wind Ltd.)

3) Planning a United States National Program for
Energy Independence from Fossil Fuels

Offshore windmills will continue in the future to be a good,
environmentally friendly investment for a planned end to
fossil fuel usage in the United   States. As global warming increases,
it is well-known that global wind speed will also increase, and so
will the windmills' energy production in the next  few decades.

US ELECTRICAL ENERGY: Addressing the US total
electrical energy consumption annually, the DOE/EIA states
it is about 4 trillion kWh.
Converting it to simple wattage by dividing by hours in a year,
we find the total US electrical generation power needs to be
about 450 thousand MW.
Dividing by 3 MW per windmill, we find that the US needs a
little more than 150,000 windmills to supply all of its electricity.
A square mile hold about   60 mills, so about 2500 square miles
or 50 miles x 50 miles is all the space that is needed.
Furthermore, with the capital cost of $4.3 million per windmill,
only $650 billion total expenditure is required to for the US to
become ELECTRICALLY INDEPENDENT of fossil fuels!
Over ten years, this amounts to   an investment of only $65 billion
per year, or about $18/month per person in the US for ten years.
(Note this dollar amount just happens to be about
  the same as the UK estimate above per household.)

US TOTAL ENERGY:  Expanding the possibility to the total US
energy need from all sources, the above numbers become
7300 times as large.
The   total USA energy consumption from all sources is about
10**17 BTU (1 with 17 zeros, or "100 quads"),
which is 3 X 10**9 BTU/second, 3.3 X 10**6   MW,
the amount produced by a million 3 MW mills.
A square mile holds 60 mills, so 16,000 square miles
ould hold the million mills. That's a square
  125 miles by 125 miles, which can be also used for farming,
if on land. The capital cost would be
$ 4.26 million each for 1 million mills, 4.26 trillion  dollars,
or $ 426 billion yearly for 10 years, during which the nation's
energy bill would be constantly decreasing and the air getting
much cleaner--   especially if the electricity can be used to
charge electric cars, or produce hydrogen for nonpolluting
fuel cell powered cars. Thus, total ENERGY   INDEPENDENCE
is also possible with today's available windmill technology.

Land based wind farms are much cheaper than sea based
but generation plants have many siting and right-of-way
(ROW) issues that are not resolved
nationally as of yet for installation and distribution.

IRI endorses a national program to end fossil fuel usage:
(The NRDC calls for an Apollo Project to achieve the same goal
http://www.nrdc.org.) Others call  it a Manhattan Project.
Electrical energy consumption from windpower can be first
on the agenda, for example. A couple thousand windmills could be
installed off the coast of major cities around the US,
also minimizing distribution losses.

The US Energy Association states in their policy recommendations,
Toward a National Energy Strategy, that "Investment in energy
  technology...should focus on energy sources that can realistically
expect to have a significant impact in meeting US energy needs
over the next 20 to  30 years."

The above proposal meets these requirements.

Your support through membership in IRI is invited for 2002
by visiting our website:  http://www.integrity-research.org

Credit is given for this vision to:
Rich Murray Room For All rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road Santa Fe New Mexico 87505
505-986-9103
============================================
To be removed from our occasional email enews list
send reply with "remove" in the subject area.
****************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/783

RTM: Polevoy: controversy re Synergy Truehope "EM Power" for manic
depression 1.18.2 rmforall

http://www.truehope.com   "Anthony Stephan" <astephan@...>

http://www.healthwatcher.net  Terry Polevoy, MD
tpolevoy@...

http://www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Synergy/

http://www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Synergy/index.html

http://www.schizophrenia.on.ca/stories/spring01/synergy.html

http://www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Synergy/cs010919superman.html

http://www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Synergy/ACH/ach011219phonemessage.htm\
l

http://www.healthwatcher.net/Quackerywatch/Synergy/report-th.html
December 18, 2000     http://report.ca
From pig feed to miracle cure:
A mineral-vitamin blend can heal manic depression and  possibly other
mental illnesses    by Mike Byfield

http://report.cam
http://207.216.246.197/magazine/p32i020121f.html
Alberta Report: Canada's Independent Newsmagazine
Bipolar breakthrough
COVER STORY  January 21, 2002 Issue Full Text
An animal feed specialist's cure for manic depression in people gets
confirmation at Harvard    by Mike Byfield

SOMETIMES pigs in a barn start to act
crazy, most commonly by biting each others'
ears and tails. Left unchecked, the aggression
can become lethal. Fortunately, porcine
nervous system disorders are usually curable
by adding carefully designed micronutrients
(minerals, vitamins and amino acids) into their
feed. In sharp contrast, schizophrenia and
manic depression--also central nervous system
disorders, albeit in human beings--can rarely
be cured using the current medical tool kit of psychotropic drugs.
Instead, many victims die of their mental illnesses
while most others suffer all of their lives.

David Hardy, an animal feed specialist
from Raymond in southern Alberta,did more than wonder
about this discrepancy in cures. By applying a
farm-style micronutrient  mix of vitamins and minerals to people, Mr.
Hardy has apparently learned to heal manic depression in most cases. A
medical breakthrough of this importance by a  layman is, naturally, the
stuff of legend. But the good news may get even better. The Hardy
supplement, suggest several researchers from Harvard and Calgary, could
help revolutionize scientific understanding about how the human brain
works and  heals.

Terrible tragedy among friends, not scientific curiosity,
drew Mr. Hardy toward his
assault on bipolar affective disorder (the clinical term for manic
depression). In January 1994, Debbie Stephan
took her own life in Cardston, Alta., after many
years of severe bipolar misery. At the time, two of her 10 children had
already been diagnosed as bipolar
and a third would later become hypomanic.
[A boy or girl who has one bipolar parent
has about a 25% chance of being affected. The probability
reaches 50% to 75% when both parents are afflicted.]
"The death of my wife devastated me,
and my children were in terrible danger," recalls Tony
Stephan, a power engineer.
"I searched exhaustively for help along every possible medical avenue."

Two years after Debbie's death,
the Stephan family's situation was truly grim.
Joseph--already 215 pounds at age 15--was becoming so violent that
forced hospitalization appeared inevitable.
He and his sister Autumn had been afflicted with
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in their childhood.
Autumn started exhibiting bipolar signs by 12 years old.
The birth of her own son at
age 20 triggered a massive onset.
Daily cycles between mania and depression escalated to
hallucinations and hearing voices.
The young mother feared constantly that her
husband, Dana Stringam, was conspiring to kill her
and she often acted out violently.

At this point, Messrs. Hardy and Stephan--both Mormons
from neighbouring communities--agreed to try a
micronutrient mix with Joseph. The notion is not so
outlandish as it might seem. Pigs, like people, are omnivores,
with relatively high intelligence to boot. Patient Zero, as
Joseph Stephan likes to call himself, became free of manic
depressive symptoms within 30 days. More than five years
later, he still lives and works normally.

The results were equally dramatic with his sister Autumn. "I
could feel real emotions again. I can't describe how lovely
that is after so much illness and drugs," Ms. Stringam recalls.
By careful use of the micronutrient mix, she has had two
more children with no difficulty. A profound partnership
developed between her father and David Hardy
as the two men pondered and prayed
about the near-miracle unfolding before their grateful eyes.

"The difficulty appears to be that certain people are short of trace
minerals within their system and
do not readily take up these micronutrients when they
are available," explains Mr. Hardy, who holds a degree in biology.
He cites a study from Johns Hopkins University
as a "strong indicator" favouring this diagnosis.
Among frequent-attender patients
whose visits to the hospital were prompted
by digestive-tract disorders,
90% also suffered from a mental disorder.
Many of these victims had two mental disorders.

Synergy Group of Canada was founded by the Hardy-Stephan duo
to manufacture and distribute the concoction that
cured the Stephan children, now called EM Power.
The supplement contains 36 ordinary minerals, vitamins and amino
acids. So common are these ingredients
that the formula cannot be effectively patented and the
company may never make much money. But because none of its content is
classified pharmaceutical, the supplement
can be distributed without prescription.

Although designed originally with bipolar in mind,
EM Power has apparently been quite effective for depression as well.
People with ailments ranging from ADHD to
schizophrenia continue to try the nutraceutical, sometimes with success.

This experimentation mimics the development of micronutrients for
agriculture, Mr. Hardy comments.
"In animal nutrition, we learned by trial and error that all of the
needed micronutrients not only have to be present
but they must be present in the right proportions.
That factor is important to successful uptake by the body,
whether human or animal," Mr. Hardy says.
"We don't know why a specific blend
works in one situation or another, just that it does."

Many researchers have focused on trace minerals over the past
half-century.
(Vitamins come into play because they enable the human body to utilize
minerals.)
Leading much of that investigation was Walter Mertz,
former director of
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Human Nutrition Research Center,
in Maryland. He also edited multiple editions of a standard text,
Trace Elements in Human and Animal Nutrition.
In 1955, Dr. Mertz himself discovered that
chromium is a vital trace nutrient.

"Every disease has a preliminary appearance
when it is not a disease but only a slight metabolic abnormality,"
explains the retired scientist. "For instance, glucose
intolerance precedes the onset of diabetes. The presence of chromium is
essential to preventing that progression from occurring."
Dr. Mertz believes that the quantities of
most trace minerals required by the human body are understood.
But not all. "That question is still the subject of large
research projects in the United States.
The challenges in analysis are formidable," he notes.
Furthermore, research to date has
only indicated a vital role for trace minerals in preventing disease.
To date, Dr. Mertz cautions,
conventional health specialists have not figured out how to use them in
curing mental illness.

Keenly aware of the previous limits of micronutrients for healing is
Margaret Shirley,
a nurse who has worked in emergency wards in the Lower Mainland of B.C.
and in Alberta. At age 31,
she had her first "episode" of clinical depression.
It lasted a year,
the second episode endured two years and several more followed.
"I had always been a normal, hard-working person,"
says Ms. Shirley, now 50. "My symptoms
originally occurred when I had my first child, which is common.
The feelings involved in deep depression cannot
really be understood by someone who hasn't
experienced them but, believe me, they are terrible.
To recover, I tried everything, including the
conventional drugs as well as nutrients."

Ms. Shirley, who lives in Bragg Creek west of Calgary,
spent a costly month at a clinic in Tucson, Arizona.
There she took micronutrients intravenously
to help their absorption. The veteran nurse was also treated by
an internationally known doctor in Denver.
Furthermore, she self-treated with near-raw foods and other techniques
implemented with the counsel of a pharmacist who had a deep interest in
nutrition.
"Nothing helped enough. The probability, I knew, was that my depressive
episodes would get more frequent and more severe in intensity.
Frankly, I thought my condition would kill me."

A year ago, the nurse heard about the Synergy Group.
"For me, EM Power just worked. I am completely okay now,"
testifies Ms. Shirley. "Some people may
wonder if the healing isn't psychosomatic, some sort of placebo effect.
But anyone who's been through an ordeal like bipolar
or clinical depression knows that a deep,
stable sense of mental health cannot possibly be restored by positive
thinking or anything else less substantial than a genuine cure."

News about EM Power first spread by word of mouth among bipolar victims.

>From the beginning, however,
Synergy's two co-founders realized that scientific validation
was essential to getting their solution to millions of sufferers.
  "We visited a lot of offices trying to persuade doctors
and scientists to look at our results. There was a
lot of scepticism, to say the least," remembers Mr. Stephan with a
smile. Bonnie Kaplan, a research psychologist at the University of
Calgary and Alberta Children's Hospital, initially assumed they were a
couple of "snake oil" salesmen peddling vitamins,
and refused to see them.
But Synergy's customers were trained to
self-report their symptoms. Slowly an impressive record of documented
success emerged. Notified by a Lethbridge colleague, Dr. Kaplan
reconsidered.
She and Steve Simpson, a psychiatrist at Calgary's Foothills Hospital
and the U of C, decided to test EM Power on the next handful of
bipolar patients who came through the door.

The results were dramatic. On average, the 14 patients taking the
supplement found their symptoms reduced by more than 50%
compared to their earlier experience with
psychotropic drugs. To illustrate the significance of those findings,
Dr. Kaplan draws an analogy with a new species of corn.
"Suppose corn normally grows six feet tall,
but someone comes up with a new type of seed which appears to grow two
inches taller. To demonstrate that the two-inch improvement
is definitely real, you'd have to
grow many acres of corn in a variety of testing conditions. But let's
say that you are handed 10 seeds of a new corn variety
and those plants grow to an average of 12 feet.
At that point, even with a small sample, you'd definitely be very
interested.
That's analogous to what happened with our case series on EM Power."

In October 2000, a Kaplan/Simpson paper on their bipolar work drew
considerable attention when presented to a meeting of the
Canadian Psychiatric Association in Victoria.
Last month, it was printed in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, a
prestigious U.S. publication. Harvard University psychiatrist Charles
Popper, who has monitored patients within his own practice,
also reported remarkable results in
the December issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry:
"Among the 15 patients
who were being treated with medications when they began the nutritional
supplement, 11 patients have been stable for six to nine months without
psychiatric medications." The most common side effect is nausea
from ingesting so many supplement capsules per day.
Headaches and loose stools occur, but much less frequently.
No classical symptoms of vitamin or mineral toxicity have cropped up.

In his article, Dr. Popper wonders how the Hardy-Stefan nutraceutical
functions physiologically:
"Might minerals serve as catalysts for enzymes involved
in neurotransmitter metabolism, change drug biotransformation, modify
membrane receptors or channels, influence second or third messenger
systems, or alter gene expression?"
The psychiatrist notes that the most common medication for
treating bipolar patients is lithium, itself a mineral. "The
possibilities if
there were numerous interacting micronutrients are staggering."
Given sufficient research, he speculates,
specific micronutrient formulas may be tailored for various ailments in
different people.

The Harvard doctor notes that experimentation
with more than one variable is deeply
alien to conventional science. That is the biggest reason why the
by-guess-and-by-golly success of testing
combinations on animals' mental health by
agribusiness has been overlooked for so long.
However, Dr. Popper adds one
pointed warning to colleagues about combining strong nutritional
supplements with existing psychoactive prescriptions:
"Psychiatrists do not normally think of vitamins or
minerals as modifiers of psychiatric medications,
but early anecdotal experience with
this nutrient supplement suggests that there may be strong
micronutrient-medication interactions."

Simply put, many psychotropic drugs would make a normal
person insane. Therefore, when the Hardy-Stephan
supplement begins to have its healing effect, any ongoing
effects of psychotropic drugs can become highly
destabilizing for bipolar and depression victims. The
after-effects of these medicines can crop up sporadically for
years, much like LSD flashbacks, and withdrawal symptoms
from the most addictive chemicals are comparable in painful
intensity to cocaine habituation.

Synergy distributes EM Power to patients by direct
purchase, via the Internet or by phone (1-888-TRUEHOP).
The price includes telephone advice from a Truehope assistant,
many of whom are themselves recovered bipolar victims.
These counsellors, who usually work for little more than
their expenses, help handle the potentially perilous transition from
psychotropic medications.
A patient normally takes 32 capsules per day until his
symptoms disappear, at a cost of about $220 per month.
The ongoing maintenance dosage
varies widely but averages about 16 capsules. In the past year, the
number of customers has mushroomed from 1,000 to 3,000.

"The transition period to normalcy is often difficult and sometimes
dangerous," Tony Stephan confirms.
"Besides the drug complications, a patient may also be depressed
as he returns to reality and a realistic perception of his life. Your
marriage, your relationships with your children,
your career and your finances may all be in ruins.
We say 40% of the work is done by the supplement,
60% by our support system."
That statement can be amply confirmed
by reading posts on the discussion forum
at truehope.com, the Synergy Web site.
The messages are, in effect, reports from the
front lines of a war. Clients already taking the nutraceutical
must wonder for weeks if they will be among those helped or not.
Patients with bowel-related digestive problems
struggle particularly hard while they figure out how they can
somehow absorb the micronutrients in the supplement.

The most vociferous sceptic concerning Synergy's work is Terry Polevoy,
a doctor who runs an acne clinic in Kitchener, Ont.
He also administers an anti-quackery Web site
called healthwatcher.net as a "kind of hobby."
Dr. Polevoy says he has
fielded complaints about EM Power from the Internet and still has many
questions about the supplement. "This is powerful stuff which is even
being used
on children without pharmaceutical evaluation," the physician notes.
Yet he acknowledges that
"someone close to me" was being treated for bipolar
symptoms with four or five psychotropic drugs. All had potentially
dangerous side effects.
Nonetheless, Dr. Polevoy wants
Synergy's claims subjected to a proper clinical trial.

So does Synergy. In 2000, the Alberta government
announced a $554,000 grant for a double-blind testing
of EM Power by the University of Calgary. One hundred
patients were scheduled to be assessed over two years.
(Double-blind refers to the
fact that neither the staff dispensing the pills nor the patients
themselves will know
which group is receiving the nutraceutical and which is not.)

But the testing proposal has encountered procedural obstacles,
resulting in repeated delays which have frust rated Dr. Kaplan.
Health Canada, a 6,000-employee leviathan,
recently placed the regulation of micronutrients under its
newly organized Health Products and Food Branch.
Unfortunately, the directorate took regulatory
jurisdiction before it created evaluation procedures for new products.
After much bureaucratic ado, Dr. Kaplan says,
she and Dr. Simpson received a final set of
directives from Health Canada in late December.
The trial should proceed shortly.

Bipolar affective disorder: the highs and lows of hell

UNTIL now, bipolar effective disorder has been an
incurable malady which is believed to afflict one or two
North Americans in 100. The disease, also called manic
depression, triggers severe cycles of emotional highs and
lows. Among its 300,000 or more Canadian victims is Gayle
Duncan, a 57-year-old Albertan. "I was an athletic girl and
honour student, but I tried to commit suicide when I was
15," recalls the former teacher, who was born at Olds, Alta.
"My disease has been hell on earth for my two children and me."

In many ways, Ms. Duncan is a classic bipolar victim,
who tend to be bright. Despite her difficulties,
she did graduate from the University of Alberta and
then taught in Kelowna and Calgary.
But the depression-prone woman
tried to commit suicide five more times.
Once, a neighbour praying for her felt suddenly moved to visit
and found her near death from an overdose.
On another occasion, crashing her Volkswagen
Beetle deliberately into a concrete overpass left Ms. Duncan with
serious physical injuries. "I'm alive by a miracle," she professes.

The Lethbridge resident has spent many months in psychiatric wards over
the years.  Long courses of drugs and electroconvulsive
shock therapy erased many of her memories.
Her marriage and her career dissolved. Her emotions
roller-coastered
between long, shattering lows and occasional obsessive highs,
often saturated with fury. And Ms. Duncan's woes are grimly common.

In the depressive phase, waves of deep despair can prevent the bipolar
victim from
performing simple tasks like getting dressed in the morning or feeding
her children. A mental fog can make thinking impossible,
even for tasks like adding two plus two.
Overeating and weight gain are routine, as is paralyzing disinterest in
other people
and previously loved activities. Holding a job usually becomes
impossible, even with medication. An estimated 15% commit suicide.

The shift to mania can occur in five minutes or five months.
At that point, exhilarating
overconfidence commonly leads to foolishness like buying a $40,000
sports car or harassing the owners of a ranch to sell it.
A man who is normally frightened of snakes
may arrive home with several of them draped around his neck.
To reduce the government's need for taxes,
a woman once planted coins in the Alberta Legislature
grounds so money trees would grow. Thoughts seem to flow at great speed.

The mania victim may not sleep for days, starting and abandoning one
project after another. Elation can easily turn to rage.

Manics sometimes believe they are conversing with God or angels.
Reckless speeding may occur.
Promiscuity is also common, and a mild example would
be attempting to undress at a Christmas party.
Far more serious was the normally chaste
woman who wandered along a river
sleeping with every willing man she met.
Another victim, a churchgoing mother of two,
shaved her head and dyed the stubble purple, then went hitchhiking.
She had sex with a series of truckers, becoming
pregnant in the process. Deeds performed while manic can severely
reinforce the depressive stage when it recurs in due course.

Part and parcel of bipolar's deadly horror has been its treatment.
Lithium, the most
commonly prescribed pharmaceutical, can only diminish the symptoms, not
cure the illness, and it frequently fails to achieve even that.
Lithium is also dangerous to people
with kidney trouble and some other physical conditions. It may interact
with many other substances, some as common as salt and caffeine.
In the event of problems,
doctors employ scores of other emotion-muffling drugs,
some severely addictive and many with nasty side effects. Bipolar
symptoms may then be complicated rather than cured by the drug therapy.

Today, Ms. Duncan considers herself fully recovered
with the help of the
mineral-vitamin supplement pioneered by David Hardy's Synergy Group
(see main story). "For 40 years, no medicine really worked for me.
Then, in July 1999, David took me into his program.
I started decreasing the use of my five prescribed
psychotropic medicines. By September, I was drug-free for good.
I've lost 40 pounds and my emotional equilibrium is excellent.
My kids and I love each other.
Even my father and I were able to make up and become very close.
I realize now
that his long-term alcoholism was due to a mental condition similar to
mine. He and I sang and prayed together daily.
My dad's dead now, but he did come to Christ.
What a journey our family has been on.
And how I hope that this medicine will
be accepted by the millions of other people still suffering.
I think about them every day."

Psychotropic meds can harm as well as heal

THE risks of psychotropic drugs affect more than bipolar victims. An
excellent example is paroxetine,
most commonly sold under the trade name Paxil.
Unquestionably, the drug often helps people who have difficulty with
depression.
IMS Health Canada, a market data firm, reports that
Canadians absorb three million prescriptions for paroxetine annually,
making it the nation's eighth most commonly
prescribed drug. But an intervention which affects brain chemistry can
be problematic, too.

In one clinical trial, 16% of patients discontinued the use of
paroxetine due to side
effects such as hallucinations and paranoia, severe shakes, the washing
out of their emotions and more.
Paroxetine triggers mania in 2% of bipolar patients,
according to another study.
Although patients are often told that the drug is non-addictive,
withdrawal symptoms can feel horrid. And an article in the American
Journal of Epidemiology, published in May 2000,
associates two years or more of paroxetine
usage with a 720% increase in the incidence of breast cancer.

The spreading plague of depression

FOR Canadians, the trend toward mental illness appears
downright alarming. IMS Health Canada, a Montreal firm
which tracks healthcare, says depression prompted 7.8
million visits to doctors in 2000. That figure has risen by
36% over a period of five years. Only high blood pressure
causes more trips to physicians. Canadian prescriptions for
psychotherapeutic drugs during 2000 rose by 14% in just
one year, according to IMS, and by 21% in the U.S.
Among other troubling indicators, B.C. has just created a
separate ministry for mental health, while mentally related
treatments now cost the Alberta government about $2 billion
annually.

"The burden of disease has shifted from traditional physical killers to
psychiatric disorders,"
says Bill Wilkerson, co-founder of the Business and Economic
Round Table on Mental Health.
His career has spanned crisis management
assignments for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau,
the CBC, ITT and the Royal Bank.
He also worked as chief of staff for the City of Toronto and CEO of
Liberty Health (formerly Ontario Blue Cross).
"Health Canada estimates that mental illness costs Canada $14
billion annually," Mr. Wilkerson comments. "I think the true figure,
including lost productivity, would be twice as high."

In a review released two years ago, the Round Table
estimated that three million Canadians
suffer from significant depression.
If that is true, only 6% of all cases have
been diagnosed and treated. In the report, Royal LePage president Colum
Bastable--a founding member of the three-year-old Round
Table--acknowledges
that he had previously been sceptical about the issue's importance for
business. "I don't need more convincing [now]," he states.

A Harvard University study undertaken for the
World Health Organization and the
World Bank assessed depression as the fourth-ranked factor in the total
burden of global disease.
As people live longer, psychological problems are increasing.
"An almost indescribable mingling of forces produces mental illness,"
Mr. Wilkerson says.
Suspected factors range from stress and violence
to the mysteries of the human brain. Nutritionally,
too many North Americans prefer to eat diets laden with junk
food and highly processed ingredients.

The risks are not just mental. Depression is highly associated with
cardiovascular
disease and a far greater risk of heart attack. "Business must pay more
attention, especially to depression," Mr. Wilkerson advises. "In
particular, we
still don't know nearly enough about the relationship between the
physical and psychological factors in mental illness."

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1038-page medical text   "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic"
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over 600 references from standard medical research
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Headache 2001 Oct;41(9):899-901
Migraine MLT-Down: An Unusual Presentation of Migraine
in Patients With Aspartame-Triggered Headaches.
[Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 4 mg aspartame,
while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg.]
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NY Department of Neurology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Innovative Medical Research

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Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...

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RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums:
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The Annals of Pharmacotherapy: Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 702–706.
Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following
Discontinuation of Dietary Excitotoxins
Jerry D Smith,
Chris M Terpening,
Siegfried OF Schmidt,
and John G Gums
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.
DISCUSSION: Excitotoxins are molecules, such as MSG and aspartate, that
act as excitatory neurotransmitters, and can lead to neurotoxicity when
used in excess. We propose that these four patients may represent a
subset of fibromyalgia syndrome that is induced or exacerbated by
excitotoxins or, alternatively, may comprise an excitotoxin syndrome
that is similar to fibromyalgia. We suggest that identification of
similar patients and research with larger numbers of patients must be
performed before definitive conclusions can be made.
CONCLUSIONS: The elimination of MSG and other excitotoxins from the
diets of patients with fibromyalgia offers a benign treatment option
that has the potential for dramatic results in a subset of patients.

EXTRACTO
OBJETIVO: La fibromialgia es una afección reumática que muchas veces es
dificil tratar efectivamente.
RESUMEN DEL CASO: Se describen cuatro pacientes con el síndrome de
fibromialgia por una duración de dos a 17 años. Todas fueron tratatadas
con varios tratamientos con poco éxito. En todas se observó completa o
casi completa resolución de los síntomas en unos pocos meses después de
eliminar el glutamato modosódico (MSG) ± aspartame de su dieta.
DISCUSIÓN: Las excitotoxinas son moléculas, como MSG y aspartato, que
actuan como neurotransmisores excitatorios y que, en exceso, pueden
causar neurotoxicidad. Los autores sugieren que las cuatro
pacientes descritas representan un
subconjunto de pacientes con síndrome de fibromialgia
inducido u exacerbado por excitotoxinas o, alternativamente, un
subconjunto con un síndrome de excitotoxina que es similar a la
fibromialgia. La identificación de otros pacientes similares y mucho
más estudio es necesario antes de llegar a conclusiones definitivas.
CONCLUSIONES: La eliminación de MSG y otras excitotoxinas
de la dieta constituye una opción terapeútica para pacientes con
fibromylagia.
Este tratamiento benigno tiene el potencial para producir resultados
positivos dramáticos en un subconjunto de pacientes.
Christina Dalmady-Israel

RÉSUMÉ
RÉSUMÉ DU CAS: Cet article décrit quatre cas de fibromyalgie pour une
période de deux à 17 ans. Tous les patients ont reçu de nombreuses
modalités de traitement avec des résultats limités. Cependant, tous les
malades ont eu une résolution complète, ou presque complète, de leur
symptômes dans les mois suivant l'élimination du glutamate monosodique
(MSG) ± aspartame de leur alimentation. Ce sont toutes des femmes,
atteintes de nombreux problèmes médicaux avant l'élimination du MSG.
Toutes ont une recrudescence des symptômes à l'ingestion du MSG.
DISCUSSION: Les excitotoxines sont des molécules, telles que le MSG et
l'aspartame, qui agissent sur les neurotransmetteurs excitatoires
et qui peuvent conduire à une neurotoxicité excessive.
L'hypothèse proposée ici est que ces quatre patientes
puissent présenter une forme de syndrome de fibromyalgie
induit ou exacerbé par les excitotoxines ou,
alternativement, puissent comprendre un syndrome d'excitotoxine
similaire à la fibromyalgie. L'identification d'autres patients
avec des symptômes similaires ainsi qu'une recherche poussée
sur un plus grand nombre de sujets doit être effectué avant
qu'on ne tire de conclusions définitives.
CONCLUSIONS: L'élimination du MSG et des autres excitotoxines de la
diète des patients atteints de fibromyalgie offre une option
thérapeutique bénigne avec un potentiel de résultats impressionnants
chez un certain nombre de sujets.
Louise Gagnon

KEY WORDS: aspartame, fibromyalgia, monosodium glutamate.
Ann Pharmacother 2001;35:702–706.

Fibromyalgia syndrome occurs in 3–6 million patients in the
US. [1]  It is the third most commonly diagnosed rheumatologic disorder
(after osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis).
Most patients are women, with
a median age of onset of 29–37 years;
the median age of formal diagnosis is 34–53  years. [2]
This disabling disorder is characterized
by widespread pain and tenderness, fatigue, morning stiffness,
and sleep disturbance
Diagnosis criteria have been developed by the American College of
Rheumatology [Appendix 1] [3],but, unfortunately,
the cause of fibromyalgia syndrome is unknown.

Theories have included alterations in neurotransmitter regulation
(especially serotonin); hormonal control problems (especially of the
hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal and growth hormone axes); immune system
dysfunction; problems in sleep physiology; abnormal perception of
bodily sensations; stress; viral pathologies; local hypoxia;
and disturbances in
muscle microcirculation, adenosine monophosphate, and creatine
concentrations. [1]

Current evidence most strongly supports a
neurochemical or neurohormonal hypothesis. [4-6]

We describe four patients who experienced a dramatic recovery from
fibromyalgia syndrome by eliminating certain preservatives and food
additives, mainly monosodium glutamate (MSG), from their diet. All four
patients had fibromyalgia syndrome characterized by tenderness and pain
at all tender points, fatigue, sleep disorders, and irritable bowel
syndrome.  [Table 1]
This appears to be the first such report in the medical
literature, based on the absence of results in a MEDLINE search.

CASE REPORTS
CASE 1
A 40-year-old white woman was diagnosed in 1987 with moderately
aggressive fibromyalgia symptoms that had been very difficult to manage
with traditional approaches.
She also had atypical chest pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.
This patient did a tremendous amount of reading in the
lay press regarding fibromyalgia, allergies, food allergies,
and “food toxins.”
She treated her daughter, who had a number of skin allergies, with a
diet that was basically additive-free,
with an emphasis on corn derivatives and MSG.
When her daughter's allergy problem resolved,
the woman decided to follow the same dietary regimen.
The patient had, over time, what she and her
physician considered complete resolution of fibromyalgia symptoms. The
carpal tunnel symptoms disappeared, she began to sleep better, and
believed that her memory improved as well. The patient rechallenged
herself with the food products she felt were the offending agents, and
the symptoms returned. She restricted her diet again, and the symptoms
resolved.

CASE 2
A 37-year-old white woman, the sister of the patient described above,
had multiple medical problems including fibromyalgia syndrome
affecting all 18 tender points,
allergic rhinitis, irritable bowel syndrome, dysuria,
stress reaction, depressive disorder, temperomandibular joint (TMJ)
disorder, facial pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, anxiety, mitral valve
prolapse, and dyslexia. She underwent a total hysterectomy in 1991 and
surgery to open her left nasal passage. This woman was in a basically
nonfunctional condition, much worse than her sister. She reported pains
she had experienced since she was 15 years old. She did not recall a
traumatic or emotional event prior to the onset of the pain.
The pains progressively worsened, especially after the birth of her
first child in 1979, and never completely resolved. She underwent
several tender point injections with bupivacaine,
with temporary relief.
The patient then began a corn-free diet
and was able to decrease her amitriptyline dose
from 100 to 25 mg/d and discontinue sertraline and lorazepam.
After several months of using a diet free of aspartame and MSG,
she had no pain in any of the tender points,
no further abdominal or facial pain, no carpal tunnel syndrome,
and no further depression or anxiety;
a reevaluation also showed no sign of dyslexia.
The woman also reported
improvement in her memory. Symptoms of fibromyalgia recur when she
unknowingly eats foods that contain MSG or aspartame. At times, she
experiences an episode for 24–48 hours, and then researches if
anything in her foods could have caused it.
She often calls a food manufacturer to
learn more details about the ingredients.
Both the number of medications and
number of office visits were markedly reduced after elimination of
aspartame and MSG.  On reevaluation, she had no further
findings consistent with fibromyalgia,
allergic rhinitis, irritable bowel syndrome, dysuria,
stress reaction, chronic depressive disorder, TMJ disorder, or chronic
fatigue issues.

CASE 3
A 57-year-old white woman had a past medical history of chronic
musculoskeletal pain (very diffuse), chronic fatigue, migraine and
tension headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, allergic rhinitis,
gastroesophageal reflux disease, anxiety and depressive disorder,
as well as a diagnosis in 1994 of fibromyalgia syndrome involving 16 of
18 tender points. Despite a major workup and extensive therapies,
including physical therapy,
electro-acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, injection treatment,
counseling, medication, and lifestyle adjustment, her condition
severely worsened, and she was placed on a diet to eliminate MSG and
aspartame.
Within two months, she improved partially with no further headaches,
allergic symptoms, or irritable bowel syndrome symptoms. Within three
months, she had no further diffuse musculoskeletal pain and
only continued to have very localized lower back
and bilateral shoulder pain attributed to osteoarthritis.
By seven months, she experienced no pain, but had
achieved marked improvement of the chronic fatigue, and reported
feeling “very good.”
If she inadvertently uses MSG, the symptoms recur.
The number of medications she takes was reduced from 15
to only estrogen for hormone replacement.

CASE 4
A 37-year-old African-American woman was diagnosed with fibromyalgia
syndrome involving all 18 tender points in 1985. Furthermore, she had
ongoing diffuse multiple symptoms including severe fatigue, epigastric
pain, retrosternal pain, precordial pains, symptoms consistent
with some reflux (none could be substantiated with a 24-h pH study),
major depressive episodes, chronic migraine and tension headaches,
chronic musculoskeletal pain with costochondritis
and myofacial pain component,
chronic TMJ dysfunction, emphysema, chronic postnasal drip,
hyper chol esterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and obesity.
At that time, she was receiving fluoxetine,
triamterene/hydrochlorothiazide,
nasal triamcinolone, fluticasone metered-dose inhaler (MDI),
ipratroprium bromide MDI, albuterol MDI as needed, ranitidine twice
daily, isosorbide dinitrate, buspirone, lorazepam, simvastatin, and
propoxyphene/acetaminophen,
along with repeated trigger point injections of bupivacaine.
The patient was told to try to eliminate MSG from her diet. After two
months, she stated that she had improved dramatically. The headaches,
as well as shoulder, neck, and abdominal pain,
decreased from 8 of 10 to 3 of 10 in severity.
After another month of elimination of MSG, the woman
experienced even further pain improvement and believed that she was at
70% of her normal health. Her ranitidine dose was cut to once daily,
the buspirone dose was decreased by half,
propoxyphene/acetaminophen use decreased,
and isosorbide dinitrate was discontinued. Secondary to her
financial situation, she was unable to adjust her diet completely;
whenever she uses certain foods, especially those that include MSG, she
develops recurrent pain. She intermittently tried to stop buspirone
completely, but felt very anxious and restarted the medication.

Discussion
MSG, the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid or glutamate,
is an additive used to enhance the flavor of certain foods.
It does not have a flavor of its own,
but is believed to enhance the taste of other foods
by stimulating glutamate receptors on the tongue.

MSG was classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) substance in 1959, after the 1958
Food Additives Amendment to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
required approval for new food additives.
This classification meant that MSG and other GRAS substances,
such as salt and baking powder,
were grandfathered as harmless food substances
due to their history of safe use.
Since then,
several expert committees have investigated MSG and determined that it
is safe for use by the general public.[7-9]

Between 1980 and 1994, the Adverse Reaction Monitoring System in the
FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition received
600 reports of problems due to MSG.
Complaints, since verified in susceptible individuals, [10]
included symptoms such as headache, weakness, muscle
tightness, numbness or tingling, and flushing. Collectively, these
symptoms have been termed the MSG symptom complex.
The complaints submitted to the FDA, several books, and a television
news show reporting the possible dangers of MSG
prompted a review of the safety of the additive by the Federation of
American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). The 1995 FASEB
report [11] reaffirmed the FDA's belief that MSG and related substances
are safe food additives for most people.

However, that report [11] identified two groups of people who may
develop complications from MSG.
One group may be intolerant of MSG when the substance is eaten in large
quantities, and develop the MSG symptom complex.
The second group contains
patients with severe, poorly controlled asthma, whose asthma may worsen
after they eat foods containing MSG, in addition to being prone to MSG
symptom complex.

Aspartame was first marketed in 1981.  It is a dipeptide of aspartate
and phenylalanine used in foods, beverages, and drugs.
[Along with the 10 % methanol (wood alcohol) component)...]
In animal models, aspartame has been associated with an increased
incidence of brain tumors. [12]

Anecdotally, aspartame use in humans has been linked with head aches,
seizures, dizziness, movement disorders, urticaria, angioedema, and
anaphylaxis. However, in placebo-controlled trials, only the potential
for headache has been verified, even among self-identified susceptible
patients. [13]

With the discovery of excitatory amino acid (EAA) transmitter systems
and identification of EAA receptor subtypes (N-methyl-d-aspartame
[NMDA],
kainic acid, and amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-proprionic acid)
and their antagonists, it has become widely accepted that glutamate,
aspartate, and other environmental substances have neurotoxic
(excitotoxic) effects in the human nervous system. [14]

The adverse reactions to MSG have been theorized to be due to MSG's
actions at glutamate receptors in glutamate-responsive tissues. Studies
have shown that glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, and
abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked to neurologic
disorders such as Alzheimer disease and Huntington's
chorea. [15]  Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have
resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain.

Aspartate is equipotent to glutamate in destroying hypothalamic neurons
and has additive neurotoxic effects when the two are combined.
Aspartate is derived from the gut hydrolyzation of aspartame. It is a
much more
potent flavoring agent than glutamate and is, therefore,
used in smaller doses.
However, even in small amounts,
aspartate has additive effects to any glutamate. [14]

Normally, people can consume large amounts of dietary glutamate,
and the body can produce and eliminate glutamate efficiently.
Glutamate is rapidly absorbed
into the bloodstream after oral administration.
In fact, when compared with mice and monkeys,
humans demonstrated higher plasma peaks
and AUCs after receiving MSG 150 mg/kg. [14]

Glutamate crosses the blood–brain barrier only by active transport, and
concentrations in the brain are kept low and independent of plasma
concentrations. However, glutamate freely enters brain regions that
lack blood–brain barriers (circumventricular organs, e.g., the
hypothalamus).

It has been shown  [14] that glutamate can destroy circumventricular
organ neurons by an excitotoxic mechanism (via the NMDA receptor)
in all animal models appropriately tested
(cats, chickens, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, monkeys, rabbits).

In fact, much of the research performed proving that
glutamate was safe for human consumption may have been flawed.
Tests using infant monkeys anesthetized these animals with
phencyclidine, now known to inhibit the neurotoxic effects of glutamate
on the hypothalamic neurons
by its potent antagonism of the specific subtype of NMDA receptor. [14]

As the etiology of fibromyalgia remains unclear, it is difficult to
pinpoint an exact role for glutamate in its exacerbation or induction.
However, several potential hypotheses can be envisioned. For example,
when glutamate enters the endocrine hypothalamus, it interacts with EAA
receptors on the surface of the hypothalamic neurons, which then
stimulate the release of hypophysiotrophic-releasing factors.
These factors trigger the release of pituitary hormones
into the general circulation, which
can disturb hormonal biorhythms. The use of intravenous glutamate or
related analogs in prepubertal monkeys induces a release of growth
hormone, luteinizing hormone, and prolactin. [14]

However, recent tests [16] in healthy adult humans
showed no increases in pituitary or cortical
hormones in response to orally administered MSG.

These findings do not
preclude the possibility that a different response might occur in
subsets of fibromyalgia patients.
Up to 35% of subjects with fibromyalgia in
various studies demonstrate abnormal suppression to the nighttime
administration of dexamethasone. Additionally, patients with
fibromyalgia have reduced 24-hour free cortisol excretion in the urine,
loss of diurnal variation of cortisol concentrations,
and exaggerated adrenocorticotrophic hormone,
but blunted cortisol response to administration of
corticotropin-releasing hormone or to insulin-induced hypoglycemia,
and reduced adrenocortical activation
in response to exhaustive exercise. [17]

Another plausible explanation involves the role of glutamate in chronic
pain sensitization. [18]
Prolonged firing of certain peripheral nociceptor neurons causes
release of glutamate.
This acts on central NMDA receptors to produce chronic
sensitization at the level of the spinal cord. Perhaps exogenous
glutamate may act to produce similar sensitization in a small subset of
patients.

Alternatively, MSG may represent a specific chemical intolerance,
yielding a fibromyalgia-like picture as a result of some
cross-sensitization. [19]

Without further prospective studies in susceptible patients, clarifying
the mechanism of glutamate toxicity remains, at best, difficult.

Obviously, this case series does not establish a cause–effect
relationship between excitotoxins and fibromyalgia syndrome.
The potential relationship is further complicated by the often
inconsistent manner in which fibromyalgia syndrome is diagnosed and
documented in common practice.
However, the Naranjo probability scale [20]
places this drug reaction in or near the probable range.

As MSG is nearly ubiquitous in processed food,
appearing under many names, including
gelatin, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, textured protein,
and yeast extract, most people
in developed nations are exposed to it from a very young age.

The general population has less exposure to aspartame. None the
less, it is the dominant artificial sweetener on the market, and has
been since its approval in 1981.

In the four patients reported here, the
adverse reaction improved on discontinuation and reappeared under
retrial.

As the patient in case 4 reduced, but did not eliminate, MSG and
symptoms were reduced but not eliminated, one may argue a dose–response
effect.
Still, prospective, placebo-controlled trials are needed to verify the
finding.

Summary
As the mystery of fibromyalgia syndrome unfolds and the diagnosis gains
greater acceptance and awareness in both the medical and lay
communities, one should remember that multiple etiologies of this
syndrome exist. Our four patients were diagnosed with fibromyalgia
syndrome that met the typical criteria.
All also had allergic rhinitis symptoms and responded
to a diet of mainly MSG elimination, aspartame elimination, or both
with resolution of their symptoms.
This excitotoxin-induced or -exacerbated
fibromyalgia could be due to the mechanisms described above, but other
mechanisms may remain unknown.

We also do not believe that sensitivity to MSG
is the cause of all cases of fibromyalgia syndrome,
as many of our patients have not responded to
our recommendations of elimination of the excitotoxins.

There may also be many more yet unknown, or widely unrecognized,
excitotoxins that could also cause fibro myalgia syndrome. Even in the
patients described here, we cannot state unequivocally that MSG caused
their fibro myalgia. However, elimination of MSG and/or aspartame did
result in striking improvements in their symptoms. Identification of
similar patients and much more research must be performed before
definitive conclusions concerning causation can be made. This subgroup
of fibromyalgia syndrome patients needs to be identified by
physicians and other healthcare providers to initiate appropriate
dietary adjustments that may lead to
significant improvement of symptoms, and to further
delineate the mechanisms involved in their sensitivity.

References
1. Reiffenberger DH, Amundson LH
Fibromyalgia syndrome: a review.
Am Fam Physician 1996;53:1698–704.

2. Krsnich-Shriwise S
Fibromyalgia syndrome: an overview.
Phys Ther 1997;77:68–75.

3. Wolfe F, Smythe HA, Yunus MB, Bennett RM
Bombardier C, Goldenberg DL.
The American College of Rheumatology 1990 Criteria for the
Classification of Fibromyalgia.
Report of the Multicenter Criteria Committee.
Arthritis Rheum 1990;33:160–72.

4. Russell IJ
Advances in fibromyalgia: possible role for central neurochemicals.
Am J Med Sci 1998;315:377–84.

5. Crofford LJ
Neuroendocrine abnormalities in fibromyalgia and related disorders.
Am J Med Sci 1998;315:359–66.

6. Neeck G, Riedel W
Hormonal perturbations in fibromyalgia syndrome.
Ann N Y Acad Sci 1999;876:325–38.

7. Select Committee on GRAS Substances.
Evaluation of the health aspects
of protein hydrolyzates as food ingredients.
Supplemental review and evaluation.
SCOGS-37b-supplement 1980b. Prepared for the Food and Drug
Administration under contract no. FDA 223-75-2004 by the
Life Sciences Research Office,
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.
Available from Special Publications Office, FASEB, Bethesda, MD.

8. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
L-glutamic acid and its ammonium, calcium, monosodium and potassium
salts
In: Toxicological
evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants.
New York: Cambridge University Press. 1987:97–161.

9. International Glutamate Technical Committee.
Scientific literature review on glutamates.
Atlanta, GA: The Glutamate Association, 1991.

10. Yang WH, Drouin MA, Herbert M, Mao Y, Karsh J
The monosodium glutamate symptom complex:
assessment in a double-blind,
placebo-controlled, randomized study.
J Allergy Clin Immunol 1997;99:757–62.

11. Raiten DJ, Talbot JM, Fisher KD, eds.
Life Sciences Research Office Report.
Executive summary from the report.
Analysis of adverse reactions to monosodium glutamate (MSG).
J Nutr 1995;125 (suppl).:2892–906. s.

12. Olney JW, Farber NB, Spitznagel E, Robins LN.
Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame?
J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 1996;55:1115–23.

13. Van den Eeden SK, Koepsell TD, Longstreth WT, van Belle G, Daling
JR, McKnight B
Aspartame ingestion and headache: a randomized crossover trial.
Neurology 1994;44:1787–93.

14. Olney JW
Excitotoxins in foods.
Neurotoxicology 1994;15:535–44.

15. Choi DW
Glutamate neurotoxicity and diseases of the nervous system.
Neuron 1988;1:623–34.

16. Fernstrom J
Pituitary hormone secretion in normal male humans:
acute responses to a large, oral dose of monosodium glutamate.
J Nutr 2000;130 (suppl 4S).:1053–7. S.

17. Demitrack MA
Neuroendocrine correlates of chronic fatigue syndrome: a brief review.
J Psychiatr Res 1997;31:69–82.

18. Bennett GJ
Update on the neurophysiology of pain transmission and
modulation: focus on the NMDA-receptor.
J Pain Symptom Manage 2000;19 (suppl 1):S.:2–6.

19. Bell IR, Baldwin CM, Schwartz GE
Illness from low levels of environmental chemicals:
relevance to chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Am J Med 1998;105 (suppl 3A).:74–82. S.

20. Naranjo CA, Busto U, Sellers EM, Sandor P, Ruiz I, Roberts EA
A method for estimating the probability of adverse drug reactions.
Clin Pharmacol Ther 1981;30:239–45.

Appendix I
American College of Rheumatology Diagnostic Criteria for
Fibromyalgia [3]
[History of Widespread Pain over most areas of body.
and Pain on digital palpitation in 11 of  18 (bilateral)
listed sites of tender points:]

Jerry D Smith PharmD, Clinical Pharmacist
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL

Chris M Terpening PhD PharmD, Clinical Pharmacy Fellow
Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Community Health & Family Medicine
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Siegfried OF Schmidt MD PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Community Health & Family Medicine, University of Florida

John G Gums PharmD, Professor
Departments of Pharmacy Practice and Community Health & Family Medicine
University of Florida

Reprints: Chris M Terpening PhD PharmD, 625 S.W. 4th Ave.
Gainesville, FL 32601-6430, FAX 352/392-7766
cmt@...

Tables
Table 1. Fibromyalgia
Symptoms [1,3]
[Pain:
Prevalence
98 % widespread
85      neck
79      low back
72      posterior thorax
56      >= 15 painful sites
53      headache
41      dysmenorrhea

Other
81      fatigue
77      morning stiffness >15 min
75      sleep disturbance
63      paresthesias
48      anxiety
36      dry mouth
31      prior depression
30      irritable bowel syndrome
26      uninary urgency
17      Raynaud's phenomenon
**************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rmforall/messages/11

RTM: Eirtricity building 200 turbine wind farm in Irish Sea 1.14.2
rmforall

Comments:  Ireland is building a 200 wind turbine farm 4 miles at sea
in water up to 81 feet deep with 200 foot diameter rotors
to generate 520 megawatts,
as much as a large coal powered plant, enough for 500,000 homes,
for $ 563 million, about $ 1 per watt, or
$ 1,000 per home, which over 20 years would cost $ 1 weekly to build
the farm.  The operating costs and environmental and health costs, of
course, are extremely low. Construction will start this spring, and by
fall about 20 turbines will supply the first 60 megawatts.

The capital cost is four times cheaper than that of the 540 turbine sea
wind farm planned by the U.K.  A million such turbines could supply the
entire energy needs of the U.S.A. for a capital cost of about $ 1
trillion,
or $ 100 billion yearly for ten years, providing extremely cheap
power without polution and with major improvement of public
health, and ending reliance on imported oil.  Of course, in mass
production, the costs would be radically reduced, and the industry
could export globally.  The power could be used to make hydrogen
and oxygen from water for highly efficient, clean, quiet, economical,
high performance fuel cell vehicles.

annuvu.com: Hodges: H2-O2 fuel cell car, 4 wheel motors, flywheel 4.20.1

http://www.ecoworld.com/Home/articles2.cfm?TID=255
http://www.anuvu.com

Rich  Murray: RPM: Dick Fradella:
50 KWH vacuum 400 lb flywheel system 5.10.1 rmforall
http://members.netjunk.com/flyrpm/homepage.htm

American Wind Energy Association   http://www.awea.org/
*******************************************************

http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2002/2002L-01-14-01.html

World's Largest Offshore Wind Farm  Approved for Irish Sea

DUBLIN, Ireland, January 14, 2002 (ENS) - Two hundred wind
turbines have been approved for Ireland's east coast in a new
development that will be the largest offshore wind power project in
the world.

At a Foreshore Lease signing ceremony in Dublin on Friday, Irish
Marine & Natural Resources Minister, Frank Fahey, gave the go-ahead
for the construction and operation of the 520 megawatt wind farm in
an area of the Irish Sea known as the Arklow Bank.

There are currently only 20 offshore developments worldwide, all in
northern Europe. When completed, the Arklow Banks project will have
three times the combined capacity of all offshore wind farms
currently in production in the world.

Irish Marine & Natural Resources Minister, Frank
Fahey (Photo courtesy Irish Marine Institute)

Fahey said, "Today heralds the dawning of a new
age of clean green energy, harvested from two
plentiful renewable resources, the sea and the wind.
I am particularly pleased that this project, the most
ambitious offshore wind energy development ever
undertaken, is being undertaken by a dynamic Irish
company who have already established a track record in renewable
energy projects."

The wind farm application, which had been subject to full public
consultation, had received no objections from members of the public.
Ireland is ideally suited to generating wind power as some of the
strongest winds in Northern Europe blow from the north and
southwest coast.

Fahey says this project will be the first of many. He hopes it "will
help to establish Ireland as a world leader in this young industry and
that the Arklow Banks will become a model development attracting
visitors from around the world."

During clear bright weather, the development, situated some seven
kilometers (4.3 miles) from the nearest onshore point, will be highly
visible from Wicklow Head to Courtown Harbour and including such
popular beaches as Brittas and Courtown.

On the international side, there is a strong possibility that a
development of this size will bring large numbers of trade and public
representatives on fact finding visits with a positive effect for
tourism, the minister said. There may also be an increase in marine
tourism with boat trips bringing people out to the wind farm, which
will not be open to the public.

Fahey expects considerable revenue for Ireland from this
development - upwards of €1.9 million ($1.7 million) each year within
five years of completion.

There is a provision in the Foreshore Lease to increase the maximum
output of the wind farm and vary the number of turbines subject to
the minister's consent.

One of two 66 meter diameter rotors is lifted into
place a kilometer off Blyth, UK where an offshore wind farm now
generates power.  (Photo courtesy Blyth Offshore Wind Limited)

The Arklow Banks are seven  kilometers (4.3 miles) from the
nearest landfall. Situated east  of Arklow in the Irish Sea and
running in a north-south  direction for 27 kilometers (17
miles) and are up to a mile and a half wide in places.
Water depths from  five to 25 meters (16 to 81 feet)
make them an ideal location for generating electricity.

The pollution free energy produced will be equal to an annual
reduction of some 1.1 million metric tons of the greenhouse gas
carbon dioxide that would have been emitted from a coal fired
generating station producing the same amount of electricity.

The development will contribute the ability of Ireland to meet its
greenhouse gas reduction target under Kyoto Protocol, an addition to
the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change that was approved
politically during negotiations in 2001. Ireland must reduce its
emission of carbon dioxide by eight percent during the period
2008 to 2012.

Phase 1 of the project, when operational, will replace some €330
million of imported fossil fuels. The social benefit of avoided
pollution is estimated at €25 million ($22.3 million).

The wind farm is to be built by Eirtricity, a joint venture between
Future Wind Partnership and the National Toll Roads. Future Wind
Partnership was set up three years ago with its aim being to develop
Ireland's wind energy resources.

"The development of major offshore wind energy parks will be the
biggest energy revolution since the internal combustion engine,"
according to Eddie O’Connor, managing director of Eirtricity and vice
president of the European Wind Energy Association.

Speaking at the signing of the foreshore lease, Dr. O’Connor said,
"The resource is there, the technology is proven, the costs continue
to drop - all that is needed is the political will to see it happen."

Two wind turbines generating  power offshore the UK (Photo
courtesy Blyth Offshore Wind Ltd.)

"The Department of the Marine  and Natural Resources are to be
congratulated on a foreshore  policy that is more advanced
than our European neighbors,"  said Dr. O'Connor, "however, the
key next step is for the  government to create a business
environment that encourages investment in offshore wind
energy. Without support in areas such as grid connection costs
and capital relief, Ireland risks losing the lead it has now
established in offshore wind  energy to countries such as the UK, where
massive subsidies are targeted at offshore wind energy."

Eirtricity hopes to commence construction in the spring and begin
power generation of 60 megawatts in autumn of this year.

The entire 520 megawatt wind development will have the capacity to
meet the needs of more than 400 industrial electricity users or
500,000 homes.

The cost of the project will, at current prices, be in excess of €630
million ($563 million).

Construction of phase one will result in 360 full time equivalent jobs
and 23 permanent jobs from 2002.

Fahey said an anticipated increase in marine life means, "There is a
real possibility of an increase in boat angling in the area, not to
mention the potential creation of a valuable new protected spawning
ground for the Irish Sea."

The achievement of the targets set down in the European Union's law
known as the Renewable Energy Directive will require offshore wind
development all over Europe. The onshore resource is simply not
there or is too expensive, Dr. O'Connor said.

He predicts that offshore wind energy alone could provide up to two
thirds of Europe’s electricity needs by 2020.
*******************************************************

Rich Murray: World Windfall:
The answer is ablowing in the wind 4.13.1 rmforall

Vision by:
Rich Murray  Room For All   rmforall@...
1943 Otowi Road  Santa Fe  New Mexico 87505
505-986-9103

The UK will build 540  3 MW windmills, 200' high, 3 miles offshore,
for $ 2,300 million  capital costs,  $ 4.26 million per mill,
able to generate 1630 MW, as much as two nuclear power plants,
enough for 1.1 million households at 1.472 kilowatt each.  At a
typical USA price of $ 0.10 per kw, the daily cost for power
delivered would be $ 3.53 for 24 hours, $ 106 for 30 days.

However, the capital cost for the mills is $ 2,090 per household,
or $ 209 capital cost per year for 10 years, about $ 18 monthly.
The mills are designed to last about 30 years.  There will be some
cost for repairs, operations, and distribution.  Obviously, this is
going to be a very economically practical business, with almost
no environment damage or toxic byproducts.  The links show
photos of huge windmills already installed in the Atlantic.

The total USA energy consumption from all sources
is about 10**17 BTU,  which is 3 X 10**9 BTU/second,
3.3 X 10**6 MW,  the amount produced by a  million
3 MW mills.  A square mile holds 60 mills,
so 16,000 square miles would hold the million mills.
That's a square 125 miles by 125 miles, which can be
also used for farming, if on land.

The capital cost would be $ 4.26 million each for 1 million mills,
4.26 trillion dollars, or $ 426 billion yearly for 10 years,
during which the nation's energy bill
would be constantly decreasing and the
air getting much cleaner-- especially if the electricity can be
used to charge electric cars, or produce hydrogen for
nonpolluting fuel cell powered cars.  All buildings could be
given extra insulation to reduce power for heating and  cooling.

Land based wind farms are much cheaper than sea based.

This could become a national program to end
consumption of oil, gas, coal, and uranium, eliminate
air polution and other deadly toxins, such as lead,
mercury, and uranium from coal, generate jobs,
clean and beautify our cities, and develop profit-making
businesses to export to the entire world.  Power could
be distributed with zero-loss superconducting cables,
and new technologies might develop to store the
energy, besides the well-proven one of pumping water
to high altitude lakes to supply hydroelectric power stations.

Mass production on this scale would strongly reduce
the total cost.  We can surely expect constant
technological improvements and innovations.
In ten years we would have very cheap, very clean,
very safe, very expandable power, with a much
more beautiful cities, and much improved health
and lower health costs.

A profit-making public service corporation can be quickly
created to sell stock directly to people via the Net, use the
money to set up windmills, sell the power at competive rates,
and pay substantial profits back to the stockholders, who
can use them to defray their local electric bills.  Businesses,
institutions, and governments would soon realize the
advantages of  buying stock.  The more stock sold by the
corportation, the more windmills built, with the investors
getting constant generous dividends.  If twice as many
mills are set up every 6 months, in ten years that would
total a million mills.  Rather naturally, and surprisingly quickly,
this corporation could supplant the existing power
corporations, just as after 1950, transistors replaced the
huge vacuum tube industry.   Perhaps the corporation
could be based in another convenient nation, such as
Canada or Mexico.  The windmills can be anywhere,
as long as they can connect to the continental power grid.
I suggest the name: WindMint.

The answer, my friends, the answer is ablowing
in the wind.
********************************************************

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,42967,00.html
England to Put Wind to Work    Environment News Service
11:30 a.m. Apr. 10, 2001 PDT
LONDON -- More than a million United Kingdom households are a step
closer to getting their electricity from wind power
after 18 offshore wind farm developers were granted leases.

The sites would displace four and a quarter million tons of the
greenhouse gas carbon dioxide every year
and create 8,000 jobs.

"This is a terrific start," said Frank Parrish, Crown Estate's
head of marine estates, which granted the leases last week.
The Crown Estate, in its role of landowner of the U.K.
territorial seabed, processed the lease applications a month
ahead of schedule.

The successful applicants can now undertake the necessary
technical and environmental studies.

Each site would typically have 30 turbines producing three
megawatts each. The turbines would be about 61 meters
(200 feet) tall and about five kilometers (3.1 miles) offshore.

"If all of these sites were to go ahead, the power generated
would be between 1,000 and 1,500 megawatts -- enough to
power over one million households," Parrish said.

The UK is one of the windiest countries in Europe and has
enough offshore wind to supply three times the country's
current electricity requirements, according to government
figures.

Unlocking such potential would help the government meet its
domestic goal of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 19
percent by 2010.

Though not always predictable, renewable energy sources,
such as the wind and sun, cause fewer emissions and are
inexhaustible.

The British Wind Energy Association (BWEA) estimates the
18 offshore sites, which represent a private sector
investment of 1.6 billion British pounds (US$2.3 billion), could
supply the annual electricity needs of more than 1.1 million
households.[...equivalent to the output of both Dungeness B and
Bradwell nuclear reactors ...]
The BWEA represents about 150 companies
involved in the U.K. wind energy business, including 17 of
the 18 developers awarded sites.

Obtaining the lease is the first in a series of statutory
hurdles wind farm developers must negotiate.

Potential wind turbine developers currently face up to seven
steps to gain approval for the offshore facilities. This is in
addition to dealing with local authorities and various
Parliamentary acts.

Under the terms of an agreement for lease, successful
companies must gain all the necessary statutory consents
within three years. Developers may have to get permission
from three additional government departments -- the
Department of Trade and Industry; the Department of
Environment, Transport and Regions; and the Ministry of
Agriculture.

In February, the DTI said it would simplify the rules to speed
up the applications process.

Energy Minister Peter Hain proposed making the DTI a "one
stop shop" for offshore developers, with the department
distributing information to other consenting bodies and
managing the applications process from start to finish.

The Crown Estate manages the hereditary possessions of
the Sovereign, which includes more than 295,526 acres of
agricultural land, substantial blocks of urban property and
the seabed out to the 19 kilometer (12 mile) territorial limit.
Profits made on the land it manages are paid to the U.K.'s
treasury.

Environmental group Friends of the Earth welcomed the
Crown Estate's backing for the new sites. "This is the dawn
of new era in energy and the beginning of a major new U.K.
industry," said Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Mark
Johnston.

"At long last, wind energy's massive potential is being
matched by the ambition and financial capital of major
British companies," Johnston said.

Johnston said the projects would make a major contributions
to cutting pollution from fossil fuels, the main cause of
climate change, and ease the growing volume of radioactive
waste from nuclear power plants.

"This demonstrates to the rest of the world, and especially
to President (George W.) Bush in the White House, that the
U.K. is able and willing to fulfill its international obligations on
tackling dangerous climate change," he said.

For full text and graphics, visit ENS.
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-09-10.html

For more on the UK's offshore wind power industry, visit the
British  Wind Energy Association.
http://www.britishwindenergy.co.uk/new.html

To find out more about the companies behind the 18 offshore wind
projects visit the Crown Estate web site
http://www.offshorewindfarms.co.uk/
************************************************************

Oh! what hypocrisy and graft we have to put up with. Will mr. melchett speak
out when he learns the real truth about monsanto, aspartame, gm foods and
all the poison their pr firms spin for the unknowing public, or has mr.
melchett signed a non-disclosure agreement, signed and sealed with the
millions he has or will received.

I am totally exasperated, and just say, roll on the Second Coming!

Arthur McBryan

The Aspartame Sweetener
Really Is Poisonous, see:
http://www.readthelabel.org.uk
or http://www.neotame.org.uk


http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4330958,00.html

Anti-GM warrior Melchett joins PR firm that advised Monsanto

John Vidal
Guardian

Tuesday January 8, 2002

Lord Melchett, the former head of Greenpeace UK who was arrested two years
ago after leading an attack on a genetically modified crop, startled former
colleagues yesterday by announcing he had taken a job at a PR company which
has represented Monsanto and the European biotech industry.
In a move that has provoked scorn from anti-GM activists, the former Labour
minister and farmer, who is on the board of Greenpeace International, is to
become a consultant for Burson-Marsteller, the world's largest corporate
communications company. He will be paid an undisclosed annual retainer and
has a brief to talk to whoever he likes.
Burson-Marsteller is the company that governments with poor human rights
records and corporations in trouble with environmentalists have turned to
when in crisis.
The world's biggest PR company was employed by the Nigerian government to
discredit reports of genocide during the Biafran war, the Argentinian junta
after the disappearance of 35,000 civilians, and the Indonesian government
after the massacres in East Timor. It also worked to improve the image of
the late Romanian president Nicolae Ceausescu and the Saudi royal family.
Its corporate clients have included the Three Mile Island nuclear plant,
which suffered a partial meltdown in 1979, Union Carbide after the Bhopal
gas leak killed up to 15,000 people in India, BP after the sinking of the
Torrey Canyon oil tanker in 1967 and the British government after BSE
emerged.
In the past few years it has acted for big tobacco companies and the
European biotechnology industry to challenge the green lobby and counter
Greenpeace arguments on GM food.
Yesterday Lord Melchett said he would be an adviser in Burson-Marsteller's
corporate social responsibility unit, and would work only with the companies
he chose to.
"I will be more selective than when I worked at Greenpeace," he said.
"My values have not changed at all and if I think a company should close
down I shall tell them. I shall tell them the truth."
Stephen Tisdale, the director of Greenpeace UK, said he did not foresee any
conflict of interest. "Anyone who knows Peter will know that he hasn't
changed his agenda at all," he said. "He sees Burson-Marsteller as a conduit
to some very influential companies who would not normally talk to
environmentalists. In some ways Greenpeace held him back, and he has become
more radical after leaving last year."
An internal document from Greenpeace to its staff suggested that Lord
Melchett would not have to compromise his beliefs: "Peter's advice to
companies will be 'go organic, do the right thing', rather than help bad
companies avoid the likes of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth.
"Peter will only take on the briefs that he chooses, there is no question of
him working for BAT [British American Tobacco] or the Burmese junta."
But others said he was effectively now on Monsanto's and other corporations'
payrolls. "How can you have a man who is on the board of Greenpeace
International and a policy adviser to the Soil Association taking money from
the GM industry and companies with some of the worst records imaginable?"
said Kate Jones, a former anti-GM campaigner.
Other well known environmentalists who have left high-profile campaigning to
work for people who might be considered their opponents include Tom Burke, a
former Friends of the Earth director now with the mining company Rio Tinto,
and Jonathon Porritt, another former head of Friends of the Earth who now
works for the government. They say they can effect change better from within
the corporate fold, but have been widely criticised and accused of selling
out.
Lord Melchett, whose grandfather helped to found ICI, joins at
Burson-Marsteller Richard Aylard, a former head of the Soil Association, and
Gavin Grant, a former head of communications for the Body Shop.

RTM: Motavalli: The Case Against Meat: Evidence Shows that Our
Meat-Based Diet is Bad for the Environment, Aggravates Global Hunger,
Brutalizes Animals and Compromises Our Health (Jan-Feb 2002) Emagazine:
rmforall

http://www.emagazine.com/january-february_2002/0102feat1.html


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

RTM: Rachel #741:
Lowell Statement on Science and Precaution 1.4.2 rmforall

Subject:  Rachel's #741: Science and Precaution
     Date:  Fri, 4 Jan 2002 17:10:15 -0500
    From:   Rachel News <rachel@...>
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        To:      RACHEL-NEWS@...

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. HEADLINES:   SCIENCE AND PRECAUTION                     .
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Review of 2001--Part 2
SCIENCE AND PRECAUTION

[During 2001, the "precautionary principle" to guide
environmental decision-making became widely-recognized as an
important alternative to business as usual: The NEW YORK TIMES
wrote positively about precautionary action,[1] the environmental
community (worldwide) embraced the principle enthusiastically,
and corporations -- which had begun to attack the principle
crudely in 2000[2] -- launched a more sophisticated attack in
2001.[3]

In late 2001, 77 scientists and teachers from 16 countries issued
the issued the Lowell Statement on Science and Precaution.[4]
The meeting that produced this statement now has its own web site:
http://www.uml.edu/centers/lcsp/precaution/.
Here is the text of the Lowell Statement:]

Lowell Statement on Science and the Precautionary Principle,
December 17, 2001; Statement from the International Summit on
Science and the Precautionary Principle; Hosted by the Lowell
Center for Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts
Lowell 20-22 September 2001.

Growing awareness of the potentially vast scale of human impacts
on planetary health has led to a recognition of the need to
change the ways in which environmental protection decisions are
made, and the ways that scientific knowledge informs those
decisions. As scientists and other professionals committed to
improving global health, we therefore call for the recognition of
the precautionary principle as a key component of environmental
and health policy decision-making, particularly when complex and
uncertain threats must be addressed.

We reaffirm the 1998 Wingspread Statement on the Precautionary
Principle [see REHN #586] and believe that effective
implementation of this principle requires the following elements:

** Upholding the basic right of each individual (and future
generations) to a healthy, life-sustaining environment as called
for in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights;

** Action on early warnings, when there is credible evidence that
harm is occurring or likely to occur, even if the exact nature
and magnitude of the harm are not fully understood;

** Identification, evaluation and implementation of the safest
feasible approaches to meeting social needs;

** Placing responsibility on originators of potentially dangerous
activities to thoroughly study and minimize risks, and to
evaluate and choose the safest alternatives to meet a particular
need, with independent review; and

** Application of transparent and inclusive decision-making
processes that increase the participation of all stakeholders and
communities, particularly those potentially affected by a policy
choice.

We believe that effective application of the precautionary
principle requires interdisciplinary scientific research, as well
as explicitness about the uncertainties involved in this research
and its findings.

Precautionary decision-making is consistent with "sound science"
because of the large areas of uncertainty and even ignorance that
persist in our understanding of complex biological systems, in
the interconnectedness of organisms, and in the potential for
interactive and cumulative impacts of multiple hazards. Because
of these uncertainties, science will sometimes be incapable of
providing clear and certain answers to important questions about
potential environmental hazards. In these instances, policy
decisions must be made on the basis of sound judgment, open
discussion, and other public values, in addition to whatever
scientific information is available. We believe that waiting for
incontrovertible scientific evidence of harm before preventive
action is taken can increase the risk of costly mistakes that can
cause serious and irreversible harm not only to ecosystem and
human health and well-being, but also to the economy.

Some of the ways that scientific information is currently applied
in formulating policy can work against the ability to take
precautionary action, for example by misrepresenting limitations
in the state of scientific knowledge. Decision-makers frequently
look for high levels of proof of causal links between a
technology and a risk before acting, so that their decisions will
be protected from accusations of being arbitrary. But often, high
levels of proof cannot be achieved, and are not likely to be
forthcoming in the foreseeable future. A more complete and open
presentation from scientists on the current limitations in
understanding of environmental risks will encourage the
acceptance on the part of government decision-makers and the
public of the idea that precautionary action is a prudent and
effective strategy when potential risks are large and
uncertainties are large as well.

It is not only the communication between scientists and policy
makers, however, which needs improvement. We believe that there
are ways in which the current methods of scientific inquiry may
also retard precautionary action. For example, research
frequently focuses on narrow, quantifiable aspects of problems,
thus inadvertently excluding from consideration potential
interactions among different components of the complex biologic
systems of which humans are a part. The compartmentalization of
scientific knowledge further impedes the ability of science to
detect and investigate early warnings and develop options for
preventing harm when far-reaching health and environmental risks
are involved. Unfortunately, limitations in scientific tools and
in the ability to quantify causal relationships are often
misinterpreted by government decision-makers, scientists, and
proponents of hazardous activities as evidence of safety.
However, not knowing whether an action is harmful is not the same
thing as knowing that it is safe.

We contend that effective implementation of the precautionary
principle demands improved scientific methods, and a new
interface between science and policy that stresses the continuous
updating of knowledge as well as improved communication of risk,
certainty, and uncertainty. With these objectives in mind, we
call for a re-evaluation of scientific research agendas, funding
priorities, science education, and science policy. The ultimate
goals of this effort would include:

** A more effective linkage between research on hazards and
expanded research on primary prevention, safer technological
options, and restoration;

** Increased use of interdisciplinary approaches to science and
policy, including better integration of qualitative and
quantitative data;

** Innovative research methods for analyzing the cumulative and
interactive effects of various hazards to which ecosystems and
people are exposed; for examining impacts on populations and
systems; and for analyzing the impacts of hazards on vulnerable
sub-populations and disproportionately affected communities;

** Systems for continuous monitoring and surveillance to avoid
unintended consequences of actions, and to identify early
warnings of risks; and

** More comprehensive techniques for analyzing and communicating
potential hazards and uncertainties (what is known, not known,
and can be known).

We understand that human activities cannot be risk-free. However,
we contend that society has not realized the full potential of
science and policy to prevent damage to ecosystems and health
while ensuring progress towards a healthier and economically
sustainable future. The goal of precaution is to prevent harm,
not to prevent progress. We believe that applying precautionary
policies can foster innovation in better materials, safer
products, and alternative production processes.

We urge governments to adopt the precautionary principle in
environmental and health decision-making under uncertainty when
there are potential risks, as well as to take timely preventive
and restorative actions in cases where damage has been
demonstrated. The elements of decision-making processes
incorporating the precautionary principle, as outlined above,
represent necessary aspects of sound, rational processes for
preventing negative impacts of human activities on human and
ecosystem health. This approach shares the core values and
preventive traditions of medicine and public health.
==========

[1] Michael Pollan, "Precautionary Principle," NEW YORK TIMES
MAGAZINE Dec. 9, 2001, pgs. 92, 94.

[2] Wirthlin Worldwide, "The Precautionary Principle: Throwing
Science Out with the Bath Water," WORTHLIN WORLDWIDE ISSUES PERSPECTIVE
February, 2000. pgs. 1-8; available at
http://-209.204.197.52/publicns/report/PPFINAL.PDF.

[3] Indur M. Goklany, THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE; A CRITICAL APPRAISAL
OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESSMENT
(Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 2001). ISBN 1-930865-16-3.

[4] Juan Almendares Bonilla, MD, MS, Professor of the Medical
School of Honduras, Honduras; Molly Anderson, PhD, MS, Director
of the Tufts University GIS Center, Tufts University, USA;
Nicholas Ashford, PhD, JD, Professor of Technology & Policy,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Katherine Barrett,
PhD, Research Associate of Environmental Law and Policy,
University of Victoria, Canada; Kamaljit Bawa, PhD, MS,
Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts
Boston, USA; Pushpa Bhargava, PhD, Founding Director, Centre for
Cellular and Molecular Biology, India; Finn Bro-Rasmussen, PhD,
MSc, Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science and Ecology,
Danmarks Tekniske Universitet, Denmark; David Brown, ScD, Public
Health Toxicologist, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use
Management, USA; Donald Brown, JD, MA, Director; Pennsylvania
Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy, USA; Phil
Brown, PhD, Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies,
Brown University, USA; Richard Clapp, DSc, Associate Professor of
Public Health, Boston University School of Public Health, USA;
Terry Collins, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon
University, USA; Barry Commoner, PhD, Director of the Center for
the Biology of Natural Systems, Queens College, USA; Anthony
Cortese, ScD, President, Second Nature, USA; Carl Cranor, PhD,
MSL, Professor of Philosophy, University of California Riverside,
USA; Cathy Crumbley, MS, Program Director, Lowell Center for
Sustainable Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA;
Dianne Dumanoski, MA, Author, USA; Paul Epstein, MD, MPH,
Associate Director, Center for Health and the Global Environment,
Harvard Medical School, USA; Thomas Estabrook, PhD, Worker Health
Educator, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Daniel Faber,
PhD, Associate Professor of Sociology, Director of the
Philanthropy and Environmental Justice Research Project,
Northeastern University, USA; Marian Flum, MS, Project Director
of the Environmental Justice Minority Worker Training Program,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Ken Geiser, PhD,
Director of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, University of
Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Michael Gilbertson, PhD, Biologist,
Canada; Elizabeth Guillette, PhD, Visiting Scholar, Tulane and
Xavier Universities, USA; Marissa de Guzman, Research Assistant,
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Philippines;
Mary-Elizabeth Harmon, PhD, Toxics Campaign Scientist,
Greenpeace, USA; May Hermanus, MSc, Chief Inspector of Mines,
Department of Minerals and Energy, Mines Health and Safety
Inspectorate, South Africa; Christina Holcroft, ScD,
Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Massachusetts
Lowell, USA; Polly Hoppin, ScD, Public Health Scientist, USA;
James Huff, PhD, Toxicologist, National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, USA; Carel Ijsselmuiden, MD,
Director of the School of Health Systems and Public Health,
University of Pretoria; South Africa; Sheila Jasanoff, PhD, JD,
Professor of Science and Public Policy, Harvard University, USA;
Matthias Kaiser, DPhil, Director, National Committee for Research
Ethics in Science and Technology, Norway; Tom Kelly, PhD,
Director of the Office of Sustainability Programs, University of
New Hampshire, USA; Lee Ketelsen, New England Director, Clean
Water Fund, USA; Misa Kishi, MD, DrPH, Senior Environmental
Specialist, JSI Research and Training Institute, USA; David
Kriebel, ScD, Co-Director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable
Production, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; John Lemons,
PhD, MS, Professor of Biology and Environmental Science,
University of New England, USA; Richard Levins, PhD, Professor of
Population Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health, USA; Edward
Loechler, PhD, Professor of Biology, Director of the Program in
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Boston University, USA; John
MacDougall, PhD, Professor of Regional Economic and Social
Development, University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Marco
Martuzzi, PhD, Epidemiologist, WHO European Centre for
Environment and Health, Italy; William Mass, PhD, MPH,
Co-Director of the Center for Industrial Competitiveness,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Arlene McCormack, PhD,
Professor of Regional Economic and Social Projects Director of
the Science and Environmental Health Network, USA; David Ozonoff,
MD, MPH, Professor Environmental Health, Boston University, USA;
Romeo Quijano, MD, MS, Associate Professor at the College of
Medicine, University of Philippines Manila, Philippines; Margaret
Quinn, ScD, Professor of Work Environment, University of
Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Carolyn Raffensperger, JD, MA,
Executive Director, Science and Environmental Health Network,
USA; Jorge Riechmann, PhD, Research Coordinator, Instituto
Sindical de Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud, Spain; Anthony Robbins,
MD, Professor, Department of Family and Community Health, Tufts
University School of Medicine, USA; Per Rosander, Chemical Policy
Advisor, Kemi & Miljo AB, Sweden; Ruthann Rudel, MS, Senior
Environmental Toxicologist, Silent Spring Institute, USA; Hans
Sanderson, Aquatic Ecotoxicologist, Roskilde University, Denmark;
Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director for the Science and
Environmental Health Network, USA; Reinmar Seidler, Biologist,
University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA; Vandana Shiva, PhD,
Director and Founder, Research Foundation for Science,
Technology, and Ecology, India; Caroly Shumway, PhD, Principal
Investigator for Aquatic Biodiversity, New England Aquarium, USA;
Carlos Eduardo Siqueira, MD, ScD, MPH, Research Assistant
Professor of Work Environment, University of Massachusetts
Lowell, USA; Craig Slatin, ScD, MPH, Assistant Professor,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Carlos Sonnenschein, MD,
Professor of Cellular Biology, Tufts University School of
Medicine, USA; Colin Soskolne, PhD, Professor of Epidemiology,
University of Alberta, Canada; Ana Soto, MD, Professor of Cell
Biology, Tufts University, USA; Doreen Stabinsky, PhD, Science
Advisor, Genetic Engineering Campaign, Greenpeace; USA; Andy
Stirling, Dphil, MA, Senior Lecturer and Senior Fellow, Science
Policy Research Unit; Sussex University, UK; Cato ten
Hallers-Tjabbes, PhD, Netherlands Institute for Sea Research,
Netherlands; Boyce Thorne-Miller, MSc, Consultant, USA; Joe
Thornton, PhD, Research Scientist, Columbia University, USA; Joel
Tickner, ScD, Research Assistant Professor of Work Environment,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; Alejandro Valeiro, PhD,
Agronomic Engineer, National Institute for Agricultural
Technology, Argentina; Miguel Vales, PhD, Senior Researcher,
Institute of Ecology and Systematics, Cuba; Reginald Victor, PhD,
Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies and Research,
Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman; Wendy Wagner, JD,
MA, Professor, University of Texas School of Law, USA; Cathy
Walker, National Health and Safety Director, Canadian Auto
Workers, Canada; Tom Webster, DSc, Assistant Professor of
Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health,
USA; David Wegman, MD, MSc, Professor of Work Environment,
University of Massachusetts Lowell, USA; John Wooding, PhD,
Professor of Regional Economic and Social Development, University
of Massachusetts Lowell, USA.

################################################################
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RTM: Van Wagner: Cohen: enemy friends 12.31.1 rmforall

Subject:  NOTMILK - - KNOW YOUR ENEMY
     Date:  Mon, 31 Dec 2001 11:56:08 -0000
    From:   "i4crob" <i4crob@...>
  Reply-To:  notmilk-owner@yahoogroups.com
        To:      notmilk@yahoogroups.com

Included in today's newsletter is an
editorial that was published in the
monthly "American Dairy Farmer" magazine.

BACKGROUND

I received an invitation to dinner at the
northern Florida dairy farm owned by Teresa
VanWagner and family.

If you've seen the ending to the movie, "Easy
Rider," you can relate to my mixed feelings at
accepting that invitation. Would I be buried
somewhere in the north 40?

Although she is a friend, there is no
misunderstanding between us. I am the
dairy industry's worst nightmare. One
well placed pitchfork, and I'd be
sleeping with the cow dung.

I see great wisdom in knowing one's enemy.
I subscribe to many dairy magazines and
journals and try to keep up with the
politics, science, and business within
that industry.

Know your enemy. That view was shared by
Italian statesman Niccolo Machiavelli,
Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu and Abraham
Lincoln. These men combined the art of
political science with the psychology of
human nature to write their own unique
chapters in the collective textbook of
the art of warfare. Lincoln once said:

   "I destroy my enemy when I make
    him my friend."

Machiavelli's text,"The Prince," has been
used for tutoring monarchs and chief
executives in a centuries-old lesson:
successful campaigns are waged on and off
battlegrounds. Those who understand their
opponents win wars.

The great Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu
wrote in his "Art of War":

   "If ignorant both of your enemy and
    yourself, you are certain to be in
    peril."

THE EDITORIAL

GUESS WHO CAME TO DINNER
by Teresa VanWagner

"At any gathering, he'd be the center of
attention, the  life of the party. One
minute he'll regale you with stories of
his misadventures, the next minute he'll
single-handedly and fairly debate both
sides of an issue. He's a whirlwind of
energy with a brilliant mind. He reads
people as easily as the rest of us read
traffic signs, and his sense of humor
doesn't quit. He's charismatic to a
spellbinding degree, and his name is
Robert Cohen. Yes, that Robert Cohen-the
NotMilkman, founder of the Dairy Education
Board, author of the book "Milk - The
Deadly Poison," the person the dairy
industry loves to hate - THAT Robert Cohen
came to dinner.

In the past, via email, Robert and I had
engaged in an offensively hostile war of
words. Trading verbal putdowns, attempting
to discredit another's avocation by
discrediting the person is a forgivable
fault of human nature. But standing in the
middle of a raging battlefield, playing
mindless word games, isn't good strategy
for staying alive. Finally, Robert and I
decided to act like intelligent adults.
We agreed to respectfully disagree. By
openly acknowledging that knowing one's
enemy is of utmost importance in the
pursuit of winning any adversarial conflict,
we discovered that while we would always
be enemies on one level, we could be, and
are, friends on another. It's a fragile
trust, based on a shared philosophy that
there is no one in this world from whom
we can't learn something.

So there we were, seven of us - three
generations of VanWagners, Robert Cohen
and his friend, Eva Jones–sharing a meal
and lively, laughter-filled and serious,
conversation. A summit meeting of sorts,
with a unique cast of characters as
comfortable with one another as the dairy,
pasta, poultry, and vegetarian foods on
the table. From our email conversations,
I had already come to the conclusion that
behind Robert's abrasive, inflammatory
mockery of dairy products lies a man with
a serious dedication to his mission
against milk.

Before I met him, it was warning enough to
simply say, 'Watch out for this guy! He has
an extensive knowledge of science and a
superior ability to combine facts, in a
variety of ways, to support his arguments.'

Since meeting him, however, I know those
were naive words. They don't do justice to
Robert's powerfully persuasive personality,
or to his thorough understanding of dairy
farmers and the dairy industry. He has
sincere appreciation, empathy and admiration
for dairy farmers, publicly and privately
describing us as the most dedicated and
hardworking people he knows. He has an
excellent grasp of the fragmentation within
our ranks and the reasons behind our
divisiveness. He has some outstanding ideas
on how to promote milk consumption, as well
as valid, constructive criticisms of our
present milk marketing programs.

Is Robert Cohen an enigma? Maybe. What's
important is that he knows his enemy well-
far better than we know ourselves. I have
two lasting impressions from that evening.
One is that underestimating Robert Cohen's
ability to damage the dairy industry is a
big mistake. The other is a profound wish
that the man was on our side. And I have a
question. If 'got milk?' and 'NotMilk!'
from opposite sides of the battlefield can
agree to find middle ground, why can't
those of us, on our side of the battlefield,
do the same?"

You can visit Teresa, her family, and the
600 cows on on the VanWagner farm:

http://www.atlantic.net/~vwd/farm.html

Have a happy and healthy new year!

Robert Cohen    http://www.notmilk.com
----------------------------------------------------
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Forward this message to your milk-drinking friends:
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PLAY 2O QUESTIONS: http://www.notmilk.com/notmilkfaq.html
*********************************************************

RTM: Weber: aspartame safety 12.31.1 rmforall

This is a reasonable viewpoint, lucidly expressed.  What is striking for
me is
that there is no up-t0-date data on the percentage of aspartame users
who
have some reactions, nor is there independent current data on the actual

disposition of the components of aspartame in the human body.
Meanwhile,
many people use aspartame at levels far higher than imagined two decades

ago.  I am hoping at least to be able to present a few heavy users who
are
fairly free of the long list of reported reactions, to balance the
discussion.
For instance, does wine or beer protect against aspartame toxicity?

Subject:  Re: RTM: aspartame toxicity: recent research 12.30.1 rmforall
    Date:   Mon, 31 Dec 2001 01:05:14 -0700
    From:   "matt weber" <mattheww@...>
      To:     "Rich Murray" <rmforall@...>

At 10:55 PM 12/30/01 -0700, you wrote:
>Dec 30 2001  Pardon me for raising the A issue once again, which
>was discussed on misc.health.diabetes on 03.24.00-- my intention is
>to make recent research easily available.  I am asking people who use
>aspartame daily without any problems to submit a description in detail,

>which I will summarize and post on the networks that discuss this
issue,
>pro and con.  So far, I don't have a single detailed report of a person

>who uses several cans of aspartame soda daily with none of the rather
>long litany of symptoms.

Because there probably aren't any.   In the early 1970's because of a
number of serious legitimate questions about how Searle had conducted
some unrelated clinical testing, the FDA required Aspartame to be tested
on a far wide scale than had ever been required for a food additive
petition. To
be honest, getting a new drug approved is much easier then a FAP. Look
at
how long it took to get any of aspartames competitors like Acesulfame or

Surcralose approved.

It took so long that the plant being built at Agusta GA with our
partner,
Ajimoto, actually ceased construction, in fact I am not sure it was ever

finished. I think the total elapsed time from the initial Food Additive
petition to approval was over a decade. I know I was long gone when it
was finally approved, and I left toward the end of 1978.

There is a small portion of the population that does have an adverse
reaction. Some people are allergic to milk, some to peanuts, some to
Gluten, so to strawberries, some to roses, some to dogs, some to
sunlight,
some to penicillin  .... and some to Aspartame.  Anything made out of
amino acids is capable of producing an allergic reaction, and aspartame
is no
exception. Those who do report reactions, may well be at least as
sensitive
to other components in aspartame sweetened products, such as caffeine.

As for the Formaldahyde toxity. While it is true that one of the
degradation products of Aspartame is formalin, like many other toxic
chemical, they are present in small amounts in many foods. If you
completely degrade the aspartame in a 12 ounce soda can, you get about
the amount of formalin you get from a medium sized ripe tomato.  Let me
assure you however, that no one is going to get past the first sip of
that can of soda however because it makes castor oil seem like chocolate
sauce.....

For example Apple seeds and almonds contain small amounts of cyanide. As
long as the body has enough thiosulfate to oxidize the cyanide, the
chemistry exists in the body to render truly lethal amounts of cyanide
absolutely harmless. Sodium Nitroprusside is used in emergencies to
lower
blood pressure. If the patient starts to show signs of cyanide
poisoning,
you administer sodium thiosulate. My point is the body is well equipped
to
deal with small quantities of commonly occuring toxins. They are part of

the food supply and have been for millions of years.

As I have pointed out, Aspartame may indeed carry some risks, but the
fact
that it isn't clear that anyone has dropped dead from it, and I don't
think
anyone who has sued Monsanto has survived summary dismissal  after
almost 20 years suggests that if there is such a risk, it cannot be
appreciably
above background. There are no smoking guns at this point.

Matt Weber
****************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 763 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters
*****************************************************************

RTM: abc27.com: Siegfried Schmidt: fibromyalgia cured, no aspartame or
MSG  12.19.1 rmforall
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/775

http://www.abc27.com/showstory.hrb?f=n&s=25370&f1=hea

From ABC 27 News [Harrisburg, PA]:
Fibromyalgia
Location: Health Digest
Producer: Katie McCarthy
Posted: December 18, 2001 11:33 AM EST
URL: http://www.whtm.com/showstory.hrb?f=n&s=25370&f1=hea

A walk is how Darlene starts each day. It's something she couldn't do
nine years ago. Darlene suffers from fibromyalgia - a disorder that
causes severe pain all over her body. "Basically, five days out of the
week I didn't get out of bed. Oh, a couple of hours during the day, but
that's about it."

After years of therapy and thirteen different medications, Darlene tried

a new treatment-- a changed diet. She eliminates two things--aspartame
and monosodium glutamate or MSG. Her pain is gone. Doctor Siegfried
Schmidt had four other patients like Darlene try this diet. The patients

suffered from allergies and fibromyalgia.
He says the results surprised him.

Siegfried Schmidt, M.D./Family Practitioner, "These people are back to
normal life, which is, when you come from chronic pain, to be normal,
this is a miracle." Doctor Schmidt thinks the chemicals in the food
could affect the brain and cause the pain.

Siegfried Schmidt, M.D., "To me, in a disease where we have no
treatment, we don't know what it is, but we can eliminate it in some
people with just a dietary regimen. To me, that's, I mean, what are we
waiting for?"

It's difficult for Darlene to think about the years she lost. At least
now she can finally enjoy life again. Dietitians say it's important to
read labels very carefully and they recommend eating a lot of fresh
fruits and vegetables.
********************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/652
Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
terpening@...  cterpeni@...
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
gums@...    siggy@...
********************************************************

Rich Murray: Smith: fibromyalgia & aspartame & MSG 6.27.1 rmforall

Ann Pharmacother 2001 Jun;35(6):702-6
Relief of fibromyalgia symptoms following
discontinuation of dietary excitotoxins.
Smith JD, Terpening CM, Schmidt SO, Gums JG.
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. DISCUSSION:
Excitotoxins are molecules, such as MSG and
aspartate, that act as excitatory neurotransmitters,
and can lead to neurotoxicity when used in
excess. We propose that these four patients may
represent a subset of fibromyalgia syndrome
that is induced or exacerbated by excitotoxins or,
alternatively, may comprise an excitotoxin
syndrome that is similar to fibromyalgia.
We suggest that identification of similar patients and
research with larger numbers of patients must be
performed before definitive conclusions can be
made. CONCLUSIONS: The elimination of
MSG and other excitotoxins from the diets of
patients with fibromyalgia offers a benign treatment
option that has the potential for dramatic
results in a subset of patients.  PMID: 11408989
****************************************

Ann Pharmacother 1998 Feb;32(2):196-200
Possible lansoprazole-induced eosinophilic syndrome.
Smith JD, Chang KL, Gums JG.
Department of Pharmacy Practice
University of Florida, Gainesville, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To report a case of myalgia with
eosinophilia related to lansoprazole
administration. CASE SUMMARY: A 50-year-old white
woman developed severe myalgia 1 week after
starting lansoprazole. During the
treatment course, the patient was also found to have
eosinophilia. The myalgia and eosinophilia
resolved 40 days after lansoprazole was stopped and
18 days after prednisone therapy was begun. The
patient was not rechallenged with lansoprazole.
DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first
reported case of lansoprazole-induced
eosinophilic syndrome. Clinically, it is
difficult to distinguish between eosinophilia-myalgia
syndrome and eosinophilic fasciitis, which are
probably part of a continuum of eosinophilic
disorders. This patient presented with symptoms
of both syndromes. Although other causes
cannot be completely ruled out, the time course
strongly suggests that lansoprazole was the
causative agent. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to
consider medications when diagnosing
patients with hypereosinophilia and/or myalgia.
PMID: 9496405

Expert Opin Pharmacother 1999 Nov;1(1):71-80
Management of essential hypertension.
Terpening C, Gums JG, Grauer K.  terpening@...
University of Florida, Departments of Pharmacy
Practice and Family Medicine
625 SW 4th  Ave., Gainesville, FL 32601, USA.
terpening@...

Hypertension, in spite of a very high prevalence,
remains undertreated. This is not due to a lack of
effective therapeutic modalities.
Non-pharmacological treatments can be effective in many
patients. If those treatments fail to reduce
blood pressure sufficiently, the physician can choose
between numerous classes of antihypertensive
agents. However, interpatient variability in
response to these agents is high, and use of
multiple agents is frequently necessary. Thus, no
single class has proven to be superior for the
majority of patients. This article will review the
different non-pharmacological and pharmacological
methods available to treat hypertension, as
well as the guidelines that are available to aid
in proper selection of a treatment regimen.
Publication Types:  Review   Review, tutorial
PMID: 11249566

Terpening CM.
The FDA: protector or puppet?
Pharmacotherapy. 2000 Jul;20(7):860-1. No abstract available.
PMID: 10907979

Gums JG.
Empathy to apathy: a consequence of higher education?
Pharmacotherapy. 1994 Mar-Apr;14(2):250-1.
No abstract available.  PMID: 8197049

Christopher Miles Terpening
Information current as of: 09/09/1999
post doc aso     pharmacy practice,uf
Campus   mg-58 445          (352) 392-3155
po box 100486 gainesville fl  32610-0486
Home   u of f box 100846 gvn fl fl  32611
Email    cterpeni@...

John G Gums
Information current as of: 09/28/1999
professor     pharmacy practice,uf
Campus    j486 jhmhc       (352) 392-4541
po box 100486 gainesville fl  32610-0486
Home   3626 nw 23rd pl gainesville  fl 32605-2666
(352) 335-1124   Email   gums@...

Siegfried O Schmidt
Information current as of: 01/27/2000
clin ast prof   community hlth & fam med,uf
Campus    w oak clnic     (352) 376-5071
po box 103588 gainesville fl  32610-3588
Home   8120 sw 36th ave   gainesville fl 32608-3629
Email    siggy@...
***************************************************************

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

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages  for 775 posts
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/657  45K post
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/763  30K post

http://www.dorway.com/tldaddic.html  5-page review
"Aspartame (NutraSweet) Addiction"
H.J. Roberts in "Townsend Letter", Jan 2000 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    $ 85.00 postpaid    data from 1200 cases
available at  http://www.amazon.com
over 600 references from standard medical research
http://www.aspartameispoison.com/contents.html    34 chapters

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/752
Headache 2001 Oct;41(9):899-901
Migraine MLT-Down: An Unusual Presentation of Migraine
in Patients With Aspartame-Triggered Headaches.
[Merck 10-mg Maxalt-MLT, for migraine, has 4 mg aspartame,
while 12 oz diet soda has 200 mg.]
Newman LC, Lipton RB.     RLipton@...
Headache Institute, St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York
NY Department of Neurology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
Innovative Medical Research
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