AVOID Aspartame and other Artificial Sweeteners

We’ve talked about Aspartame before in the blog post Aspartame and Cancer, here is another reminder to keep in mind when shopping.

Beware of labels promoting “no sugar” or “free from sugar” as they will almost certainly contain artificial sweeteners.

ASPARTAME

Aspartame is a sugar alternative or artificial sweetener found in hundreds of foods, lollies, drinks, chewing gums, medicines and popular supplements (even Metamucil). It is officially known as ‘951’ and often has the toxicity warning of “phenylketonuric: contains phenylalanine”.

Reports from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other medical journals reveal possible links of aspartame with miscarriage, headaches, numbness, altered behaviour, fatigue, sexual dysfunction, blurred vision, insomnia, diabetes, irritability, brain tumours, seizures and depression.¹

Pregnant women would indeed be wise to research artificial sweetners and the harmful possibilites they may present for their developing babies; reports have found that women who consume aspartame during pregnancy have an increased chance of having a child with brain damage.²

When consumed, aspartame changes into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Methanol is a particularly dangerous alcohol and increased levels of phenylalanine have been associated with mental retardation, brain tumours and poor muscular coordination.³

Class action lawsuits against aspartame manufacturers are now common in the US and undoubtedly we will see a similar occurrence in Australia over the next decade. Investigate aspartame for yourself—see the Resources list below for website details.

SPLENDA

Splenda is America’s number one selling artificial sweetener and is best known for its clever marketing tag line, “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar”.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest has great concerns over this deceptive advertising, as Splenda is actually made from chlorinated hydrocarbons, or organochlorines.

Organochlorines are mainly used as pesticides; for example, DDT, Dieldrin,
aldrin, lindane, chlordane, and heptachlor. Organochlorines have come under considerable scrutiny because of their persistence in the environment and the human body. Notorious organochlorines include “Agent Orange” and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which have consistently been associated with cancer and abnormalities within the reproductive, immune and nervous systems.⁴

According to pharmaceutical chemist Shane Ellison, “To use an organochlorine to
make a sweetener defies logic. It is the first organochlorine ever used for human con-
sumption. I would no sooner eat Splenda than I would eat DDT.”⁵

Please also refer to blog post “Aspartame and Cancer!”…

And Investigate Aspartame For Yourself:

• Networking For A Better FutureNews and perspectives you may not find in the media.
  Online: www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/index.htm
  
• Doctors’ Opinions and Reports on Aspartame (US)Online: www.nancymarkle.com/doctors.html
  
  

 

References