good point Arlene;

how are you doing;

i haven't heard form you in a while;

Best wishes alwasy; anna--- In ldnsupport@yahoogroups.com,
arlizotte@... wrote:
>
> Let's see...oh yeah the FDA approved the HRT drug that was used in
a study supposedly to benefit women but was then the study was
stopped b/c the HRT was causing cancer in the women in the study...
> They also approved several drugs that have since been pulled from
the shelves b/c of adverse effects the drugs are having on people who
took them...
> I also read one of the big wigs from Monsanto who helped discover
aspartame was then hired by the FDA just before the FDA approved
aspartame for human consumption. What a coincidence!
> Think about it, aspartame is used in so many products on the
grocery shelves that there would be a lot of money lost if aspartame
was banned.
> You can believe what you want, but I'm steering clear of anything
the FDA approves.
> Arlene
>
> -------------- Original message --------------
> From: "Rae Bower" <raebower@...>
> Hi all. Since I got really shot down by lots of folks in group
over how harmful aspartame is, I went to the source for
clarification. Here's what the FDA had to say about the allegations.
Believe what you want, but here are their words...
>
> Cheers, Rae
>
> Oh--and if anyone wants to reach me privately, pls note that my ISP
address has changed since we just moved back to MI yesterday.
>
>
>
>
> From: CFSAN-OCO2 [mailto:Consumer@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 10:25 AM
> To: raebower@...
> Subject: RE: Aspartame in diet sodas
>
>
>
> Dear Ms. Bower: FDA is aware of and has reviewed the world-wide
body of peer-reviewed science bearing on the safety of aspartame.
FDA stands behind its finding that aspartame is safe for its intended
use. Regarding the Italian study, FDA has requested but never
received additional details of that study, which, based on what FDA
knows to date, is at variance from all other legitimate study
results. Meanwhile, consumers are free to choose products that do
not contain aspartame. A quick look at the ingredient label will
tell if the sweetener is in a product.
> aspartame information sheet
> Aspartame is a low-calorie sweetener used to sweeten a variety of
foods and beverages as well as a tabletop sweetener. It is 180
times sweeter than sugar.
> Aspartame was approved as a food additive by the FDA in 1981 for
use in dry foods, in 1983 for use in carbonated beverages and in 1996
for use in all foods and beverages. Aspartame, sold under trade
names such as NutraSweet and Equal, is one of the most thoroughly
tested and studied food additives the agency has ever approved. The
agency has reviewed more than 100 toxicological and clinical studies
before and after marketing to confirm that aspartame is safe for the
general population
> The agency resolved the brain tumor issue before the initial
approval of aspartame in 1981. A public board of inquiry was
convened in 1980 by the agency to review the scientific data
presented by G.D. Searle and Company relating to the safety of
aspartame. These independent scientific advisors to the Agency
concluded that aspartame did not cause brain damage. FDA has
continued to review complaints alleging adverse reactions to products
containing aspartame. To date, FDA has not determined any consistent
patterns of symptoms that could be attributed to the issue of
aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly
show safety problems.
> This message would not necessarily be apparent to consumers surfing
the Internet, especially those who use Web-based search engines to
find information about sugar substitutes or artificial sweeteners.
Websites with screaming headlines and well-written text attempt to
link aspartame consumption to systemic lupus, multiple sclerosis,
vision problems, headaches, fatigue, and even Alzheimer's disease.
One report distributed nationally over e-mail systems claims that
aspartame-sweetened soft drinks delivered to military personnel
during the Persian Gulf War may have prompted Gulf War syndrome.
> No way, says FDA, along with many other health organizations such
as the American Medical Association. David Hattan, Ph.D., Senior
Toxicologist, Associate Director of Science and Policy in the Office
of Food Additive Safety, there is no "credible evidence," to support,
for example, a link between aspartame and multiple sclerosis or
systemic lupus. Some Internet reports claim that patients suffering
from both conditions went into remission after discontinuing
aspartame use. "Both of these disorders are subject to spontaneous
remissions and exacerbation," says Hattan. "So it is entirely
possible that when patients stopped using aspartame they might also
coincidentally have had remission of their symptoms."
> It is true, says Hattan, that aspartame ingestion results in the
production of methanol, formaldehyde and formate--substances that
could be considered toxic at high doses. But the levels formed are
modest, and substances such as methanol are found in higher amounts
in common food products such as citrus juices and tomatoes.
> Other circulating reports claim that two amino acids in aspartame--
phenylalanine and aspartic acid--can cause neurotoxic effects such as
brain damage. "This is true in certain individuals and in high enough
doses," says Hattan. He explains that a very small group of people
who have the rare hereditary disease phenylketonuria, estimated at 1
in 16,000 people, are sensitive to phenylalanine.
These "phenylketonurics" have to watch their intake of phenylalanine
from other sources as well. People with advanced liver disease and
pregnant women with high levels of phenylalanine in the blood also
may have trouble metabolizing the substance. FDA requires all
products containing aspartame to be labeled for phenylalanine so
consumers will be aware of the substance's presence and can avoid or
restrict it.
> Aspartic acid also has the potential to cause brain damage at very
high doses. But under normal intake levels, the brain's mechanism for
controlling aspartic acid levels ensures no adverse effects. It is
unlikely that any consumer would eat or drink enough aspartame to
cause brain damage: FDA figures show that most aspartame users only
consume about 4 to 7 percent of the acceptable daily intake the
agency has set for the sweetener.
> Still other reports attempt to link aspartame to seizures and birth
defects. Regarding seizures, Hattan cites animal and human studies
showing that the sweetener neither causes nor enhances the
susceptibility of seizures. Aspartame also has been evaluated for its
potential to cause reproductive effects or birth defects. Again,
researchers found no evidence, even in test animals fed the sweetener
at doses much higher than those to which humans would be exposed. On
the basis of extensive testing in animal and human subjects, the
level of daily consumption that is judged to be safe by the FDA is 50
milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight per day. At this
level, for example, a 150-pound (60-kilogram) person would need to
consume almost 16 12-ounce cans of a beverage containing aspartame to
reach this level of intake. The FDA estimates that the average
consumer ingests onl y about 4 percent to 7 percent of this amount
each day, the larger amount being consumed by heavier users of
> aspartame or by those with lower body weights. The reason that
this relatively small amount of aspartame is ingested is that it is a
potent sweetener, about 180 times sweeter than sugar. On a given day,
someone might consume more than 50 mg/kg and even then nothing
adverse is expected to happen. Intakes of aspartame at even these
levels is not expected to cause any problems because it is safe to
consume the acceptable daily intake level even if you do it every day
for a lifetime. Thus, occasionally consuming above the 50 mg/kg/day
level would not be expected to result in any effect. The FDA
considers aspartame to be one of the most thoroughly tested and
studied food additives the agency has ever approved. More than 100
toxicological and clinical studies the agency has reviewed confirm
that aspartame is safe for the general population. Aspartame does
contain phenylalanine, w h ich should be avoided by the small number
of people--about 1 in 16,000--who have the hereditary disease ph
> enylketonuria. People with advanced liver disease and pregnant
women with high levels of phenylalanine in the blood also may have
trouble metabolizing the substance. In addition to including
aspartame in the ingredient statement, the FDA requires that any food
containing aspartame state on the label that it contains
phenylalanine so that consumers can restrict intake or avoid
phenylalanine if they wish to.
> Aspartame is stable at ambient temperature. The metabolites of
aspartame in humans are compounds that are found in current food and
that are also produced by the endogenous metabolism of the cells.
Aspartame is a minor source of phenylalanine, aspartic acid and
methanol compared to current food contributions of these substances.
Thus they cannot be the origin of the harmful neurological effects
attributed to aspartame.
> The epidemiological study of Olney et el which makes the hypothesis
of a relationship between the marketing of aspartame and a possible
increase in the frequency of brain cancers in humans does not support
any scientific element justifying or showing the base of this
assumption; this is not confirmed data. In conclusion, Afssa
estimates that the current scientific data does not make it possible
to establish a relation between exposure to aspartame and brain
tumors in humans or animals.
> Jeannine Ertter, A.S.C.P.
> Senior Public Affairs Specialist
> Outreach and Communication Branch
> Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
>
>
>
> From: Rae Bower [mailto:raebower@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 1:26 PM
> To: CFSAN-OCO2
> Subject: Aspartame in diet sodas
> I'm in a Yahoo web group where there are many people espousing that
aspartame in diet sodas is not safe, giving examples of these two
doctors to support that concern:
> http://www.russellblaylockmd.com/
> http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/hidden_dangers.htm
> I'm a concerned Mom and I don't know what to believe. I've read
your policy statement on the web about aspartame, but I tend to
suspect that where there's smoke, there's fire. I would appreciate it
if a scientist there would read these doctor's comments and give me
some feedback.
> Cheers, Rae
>