The following was sent to me the same day as the Aspartame causes Multiple Sclerosis e-mail .. please read and continue your own research .. 4-21-00 Hi! I found this article to be a bit unbelievable, so did some searching on the net using "World+Environmental+Conference". I believe this email to be a hoax, based on the following which I found at this website: http://urbanlegends.miningco.com/culture/urbanlegends/library/bl asp2.htm Guide's note: First off, despite the attribution at the top (absent in some versions of the message), this text was not written by "Nancy Markle" ‚ whoever that may be. Its real author was one Betty Martini, who posted a host of similar messages to Usenet newsgroups in late 1995 and early 1996. The original email was penned exactly three years ago. Ms. Martini, who is not a physician but says she has worked in the medical profession, has waged a single-minded battle for years against what she calls "the propaganda put out by industry and the FDA" regarding aspartame. To that end, she founded an organization called "Mission Possible International," represented on such Websites as Dave Rietz's http://www.dorway.com, which houses a vast archive of anti-aspartame literature. Even if we credit Martini with good intentions (and there's no reason not to), it's difficult to take her email warning seriously. Among other things, it blithely implicates aspartame as the cause of just about every malady known to humankind. To recap the laundry list: "The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis..." "In the cases of systemic lupus, which is triggered by ASPARTAME, the victim usually does not know that the aspartame is the culprit." "If you...suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision, or memory loss-you probably have ASPARTAME DISEASE!" "In one lecture attended by the Ambassador of Uganda, he told us that their sugar industry is adding aspartame! He continued by saying that one of the industry leader's son could no longer walk - due in part by product usage!" "At the time of this first hearing, people were going blind. The methanol in the aspartame converts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye." "Aspartame changes the brain's chemistry. It is the reason for severe seizures." "This drug also causes Birth Defects." "It makes you crave carbohydrates and will make you FAT." "The ingredients stimulates the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees." "...aspartame poisoning is escalating Alzheimer's Disease..." "...the phenylalanine in aspartame breaks down the seizure threshold and depletes serotonin, which causes manic depression, panic attacks, rage and violence..." "Aspartame Disease is partially the cause to what is behind some of the mystery of the Dessert [sic] Storm health problems." "When they remove brain tumors, they have found high levels of aspartame in them." That's a dizzying array of charges ‚ to which it's perfectly reasonable to respond: if it's all provable, why isn't the entire medical establishment up in arms about it? Why does the substance continue to have the FDA's approval? Why do reputable scientists and doctors scoff? Martini's answer, as I mentioned above, is pat and comes in the form of a conspiracy theory: the Monsanto Company, which created aspartame, has used its deep pockets to buy all but a very few critics off. I.e., the only authorities you can trust are those who agree with Martini. Naturally, Monsanto insists ‚ as it has ever since the product was invented in 1965 ‚ that aspartame is safe for nearly everyone to use. In answer to the Internet rumors charging that aspartame is deadly, the company has posted a detailed rebuttal on its NutraSweet promotional Website. Labeling Martini's allegations "egregious," the document states: "None of the symptoms she and her 'sources' have attributed to aspartame have been substantiated in any clinical scientific study." Those who are inclined to think that's nothing but a corporate whitewash will probably also reject the FDA's Statement on Aspartame published in 1996. The statement disputes charges that aspartame is associated with brain tumors. The FDA has also released a rebuttal of the "Nancy Markle" email dated January 27, 1999. A very recent MIT study reaffirms that aspartame is harmless for most users, but again, skeptics will observe that the research was funded by a grant from the NutraSweet Co. (a division of Monsanto), and therefore cannot be trusted. On Jan. 12, the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation posted its own rebuttal of the aspartame rumors, referring to them as "rabidly inaccurate and scandalously misinformative." The article was researched and written by Dr. David Squillacote, neurologist and Senior Medical Advisor for the Foundation. Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. and professor of medicine and biological chemistry at Johns Hopkins University, agrees. In a recent article, he wrote: "A letter recently circulating on the Internet stated that aspartame can cause a number of illnesses: multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), as well as Alzheimer's disease. As far as I can ascertain, there is no reliable evidence to support the claim that aspartame causes any of these disorders." Responding to the claims that breakdown byproducts of aspartame are dangerous, he added: "While it is true that high heat can break down aspartame, there is no evidence that the breakdown products are toxic." The "aspartame scare" hit the mainsream media when the Associated Press moved its Jan. 29 article debunking the rumor. It states that "MS and lupus have been around a lot longer than aspartame has, and repeated scientific studies have found no connection between the sweetener and such symptoms." The AP article cites the FDA and the ACSH, an alphabet soup that won't be to everyone's liking. So, for those who would rather not take anyone's word on this ‚ Betty Martini's, the FDA's, or the media's ‚ I highly recommend taking the time to survey the last 20 years' worth of medical research on aspartame (courtesy of the MEDLINE database). I reviewed a good many of the journal abstracts on file there and, taking their conclusions as a whole, it certainly appears to this layman that the "aspartame = death" theorists have wandered far afield from the known facts. Lastly, aspartame is acknowledged (though not without controversy) to produce minor side effects in some people ‚ most notably headaches (see Aspartame Ingestion and Headaches, Neurology, 1994). Also, the FDA warns that persons with certain medical conditions, including pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine, should avoid aspartame: Carefully controlled clinical studies show that aspartame is not an allergen. However, certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), those with advanced liver disease, and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine. ‚ Food Allergies Rare But Risky, May 1994 ‚ David Emery For more information, see: A critique of Martini's email and Rebuttal by Mark Gold Excerpts from a lively Usenet debate A Bitter Pill for Lupus Patients Cathy Welsh, a Registered Dietician and About.com's Lupus Guide, disputes the charges against aspartame Aspartame (NutraSweet) Toxicity Info Center More anti-aspartame literature at the Holistic Medicine site Aspartame - what the body does with it Straightforward article from the Mayo Clinic http://www.nutrasweet.com Where Monsanto extolls the marvels of its product http://www.aspartamekills.com Where Monsanto's CEO is likened to Adolf Hitler -----Original Message----- From: Janet Taylor [mailto:jataylor@nxs.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2000 9:03 PM To: Dr. Lisa Zinberg; Melissa Whaley; Dr.Steven Watts; Dr. Stu & Terri Warner; CorinneThorsell; Dr. Keith Thornton; Ed& Carol Thomas; Shinara Taylor; NoahTaylor; Dr. Barry Sunshine; Dr.Donovan Stewart; Doug Spears; Dr.Jason Smith; Yolonda Sharpe; Dr.Alan Rousso; Madeline Rogero; Dr.Eugene Renne; Dr. Cleve Redus; Dr.Jerry Railey; Dr. Dennis Perman; Dr.Chris Pecsok; Larry Patterson; Dr.Scott Parson; Beverly Northcutt; NormaMoore; Starr Money-Lawson; Dr.Galen Methvin; Dr. Manuel Mendez; KarenMcDonald; Dr. Larry Markson; Dr.Joel Margolies; Frederick Maitland; Dr.Stephanie Leanard; Dr Dennis & Lael Ann Landes; JaneLael; Dr. Ted Koren; LauraKillebrew; Dr. Christopher Kent; Dr.Gordon Johnson; Dr. Brent Johns; PhillipJacobs; Dr. Stuart Humberg; Dr.Steve Hoffman; Dr. RobertHoffman; Dr. Dawn Hill; RobertHenning; Ort & Verna Henning; ToddHeczko; Dr. Robert Gruenenfelder; Tubby& Millie Gross; Dr. Greg Grass; MelissaFrye; Margaret A Farmer; DonnieEllis; Theresa Cipriano; Dr.Patricia & James Cawrse; Dr. Julia Butler; AnnetteBrown; Dr. Joseph Birdwell; Dr.Jacqueline Berk; Dr. ChristopherBennett; Dr. Mark Bame; EdeAtkins Subject: Fw: Aspartame, Nutrasweet, Equal, etc. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dr. Richard Cole" To: "Lisa P. Cole" ; "Dr. Jeff Luebbe" ; "Dr. Craig Thomas" ; "Dr. Alan Arstikaitis" ; "Dr. Andrea Selby" ; "Dr. Barry L. Cole" ; "Dr. Barry W. Sunshine" ; "Dr. Debe Williams" ; "Dr. Don E. Cole" ; "Dr. Doug Vander Ploeg" ; "Dr. H. Louis Obersteadt" ; "Dr. James Davis" ; "Dr. Janet Taylor" ; "Dr. Jeff McKinley" ; "Dr. Lana Cook" ; "Dr. Max Atnip" ; "Dr. Mike Massey" ; "Dr. Randall Allen" ; "Rodney Phelps" ; "Dr. Ron Boesh" ; "Dr. Steve Vollmer" ; "Holly Bell" ; "Lamont Carter" Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 4:30 PM Subject: FW: Aspartame, Nutrasweet, Equal, etc. > FYI > > Rick > > Dr.Cole@ColeClinics.com > > WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE and the MULTIPLE > SCLEROSIS FOUNDATION & FDA IS SUING FOR COLLUSION WITH MONSANTO. > > Article written by Betty Martini > > I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE > on ASPARTAME: Marketed as 'NutraSweet,' 'Equal,' and 'Spoonful."' > > In the keynote address by the EPA, they announced that there was an > epidemic of multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus, and they did not > understand what toxin was causing this to be rampant across the United > States. I explained I was there to lecture on exactly that subject. > > When the temperature of Aspartame exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood > alcohol in ASPARTAME coverts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which > in > turn causes metabolic acidosis. (Formic acid is the poison found in the > sting of fire ants.) The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis; > thus, > people were being diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis in error. The > multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence, where methanol toxicity is. > In the case of systemic lupus, we are finding it has become almost as > rampant as multiple sclerosis, especially Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi > drinkers. > Also, with methanol toxicity, the victims usually drink > three to four 12 oz. cans of them per day, some even more. In the cases of > systemic lupus, which is triggered by ASPARTAME, the victim usually does not > know that aspartame is the culprit. The victim continues its use > aggravating the lupus to such a degree, that sometimes it becomes life > threatening. When we get people off the aspartame, those with systemic lupus > usually become asymptotic. Unfortunately, we cannot reverse this disease. > On > the other hand, in the case of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, > (when in reality, the disease is methanol toxicity), most of the symptoms > disappear. We have seen cases where their vision has returned and > even their hearing has returned. This also applies to cases of tinnitus. > During a lecture I said "If you are using ASPARTAME [NutraSweet, Equal, > Spoonful, etc.] and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting > pains, numbness in your legs, cramps, vertigo, dizziness, headaches, > tinnitus, joint pain, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred > vision, or memory loss, you probably have ASPARTAME DISEASE!" People were > jumping up during the lecture saying, "I've got this. Is it reversible?" > > It is rampant. Some of the speakers at my lecture even were suffering from > these symptoms. In one lecture attended by the Ambassador of Uganda, > he told us that their sugar industry is adding aspartame! He continued > by saying that one of the industry leader's son could no longer walk due > in part to product usage! > > We have a very serious problem. Even a stranger came up to Dr. > Espisto, (one of my speakers) and myself and said, "Could you tell me why so > many people seem to be coming down with MS?" During a visit to a hospice, a > nurse said that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke drinkers, > had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence. > > Here is the problem. There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame > was originally included as a sweetener in 100 different products. Since > this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, but to no > avail. Nothing has been done. The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep > pockets. Now there are over 5,000 products containing this chemical, > and the PATENT HAS EXPIRED!!!! > > At the time of this first hearing, people were going blind. The > methanol in the Aspartame converts to formaldehyde in the retina of the eye. > Formaldehyde is grouped in the same class of drugs as cyanide and > arsenic - DEADLY POISONS!!! > > Unfortunately, it just takes longer to quietly kill, but it is killing > people and causing all kinds of neurological problems. Aspartame > changes the brain's chemistry. It is the reason for severe seizures. This > drug changes the dopamine level in the brain. Imagine what this drug does > to patients suffering from Parkinson's Disease. This drug also causes > birth defects. > > There is absolutely no reason to take this product. It is NOT A DIET > PRODUCT! The Congressional record said, "It makes you crave > Carbohydrates and will make you FAT." Dr. Roberts stated that when he got > patients > off aspartame, their average weight loss was 19 pounds per person. The > formaldehyde stores in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and > thighs. Aspartame is especially deadly for diabetics. All physicians know > what wood alcohol will do to a diabetic. We find that physicians believe > that they have patients with retinopathy, when in fact, it is caused by the > aspartame. The aspartame keeps the blood sugar level out of control, > causing many patients to go into a coma. Unfortunately, many have > died. People were telling us at the conference of the American College of > Physicians, that they had relatives that switched from saccharin to an > aspartame > product and how that relative had eventually gone into a coma. Their > physicians > could not get the blood sugar levels under control. Thus, the patients > suffered > acute memory loss and eventually coma and death. Memory loss is due to the > fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are neurotoxic without the other > amino acids found in protein. Thus it goes past the blood brain barrier and > deteriorates the neurons of the brain. Dr. Russell Blaylock, > neurosurgeon, said, "The ingredients stimulates the neurons of the brain to > death, > causing brain damage of varying degrees. Dr. Blaylock has written a book > entitled "EXCITOTOXINS: THE TASTE THAT KILLS" (Health Press > 1-800-643-2665). > > Dr. H. J. Roberts, diabetic specialist and world expert on aspartame > poisoning, has also written a book entitled "DEFENSE AGAINST > ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE" (1-800-814-9800). Dr. Roberts tells how aspartame > poisoning > is escalating Alzheimer's Disease, and indeed it is. As the hospice > nurse told me, women are being admitted at 30 years of age with Alzheimer's > Disease. > > Dr. Blaylock and Dr. Roberts will be writing a position paper with > some case histories and will post it on the Internet. According to the > Conference of the American College of Physicians, "We are talking > about a plague of neurological diseases caused by this deadly poison." Dr. > Roberts realized what was happening when aspartame was first marketed. He > said, "His diabetic patients presented memory loss, confusion, and severe > vision loss." > > At the Conference of the American College of Physicians, doctors > admitted that they did not know. They had wondered why seizures were > rampant > (the phenylalanine in aspartame breaks down the seizure threshold and > depletes serotonin, which causes manic depression, panic attacks, rage and > violence). Just before the Conference, I received a fax from Norway, > asking for a possible antidote for this poison because they are > experiencing so many problems in their country. This "poison" is now > available in 90 PLUS > countries worldwide. Fortunately, we had speakers and ambassadors at > the Conference from different nations who have pledged their help. > > We ask that you help too. Print this article out and warn everyone > you know. Take anything that contains aspartame back to the store. > > Take the "NO ASPARTAME TEST" and send us your case history. I assure > you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame, knows how deadly it is. They > fund the American Association, American Dietetic Association Congress, and > the Conference of the American College of Physicians. > > The New York Times, November 15, 1996, ran an article on how the > American Dietetic Association takes money from the food industry to endorse > their products. Therefore, they cannot criticize any additives or tell > about their link to MONSANTO. > > How bad is this? We told a mother who had a child on NutraSweet to > get off the product. The child was having grand mal seizures every day. The > mother called her physician, who called the ADA, who told the doctor not to > take the child off the NutraSweet. We are still trying to convince the > mother that the Aspartame is causing the seizures. Every time we get > someone > off of aspartame, the seizures stop. If the baby dies, you know whose > fault it is, and what we are up against. > > There are 92 documented symptoms of aspartame, from coma to death. > The majority of them are all neurological, because the aspartame destroys > the nervous system. Aspartame Disease is partially the cause to what is > behind some of the mystery of the Desert Storm health problems. The burning > tongue and other problems discussed in over 60 cases can be directly related > to the consumption of an Aspartame product. Several thousand pallets of > diet drinks were shipped to the Desert Storm troops. (Remember heat can > liberate the methanol from the aspartame at 86 degrees F.) Diet > drinks sat in the 120 degree F Arabian sun for weeks at a time on pallets. > The > servicemen and women drank them all day long. All of their symptoms > are identical to aspartame poisoning. > > Dr. Roberts says consuming Aspartame at the time of conception can > cause birth defects." According to Dr. Louis Elsas, Pediatrician and > Professor of Genetics, at Emory University, in his testimony before > Congress. > The phenylalanine concentrates in the placenta, causing mental > retardation. > > In the original lab tests, animals developed brain tumors, > phenylalanine breaks down into DXP, a brain tumor agent. When Dr. Espisto > was > lecturing on aspartame, one physician in the audience, a neurosurgeon, said, > "When they remove brain tumors, they have found high levels of aspartame in > them." > > Stevia, a sweet food, NOT AN ADDITIVE, which helps in the metabolism > of sugar, which would be ideal for diabetics, has not been approved as a > dietary supplement by the FDA for years, the FDA has outlawed this > sweet food because of their loyalty to MONSANTO. If it says "SUGAR FREE" on > the label - DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. > > Senator Howard Hetzenbaum wrote a bill that would have warned all > infants, pregnant mothers and children of the dangers of aspartame. The bill > would have also instituted independent studies on the problems existing in > the population (seizures, changes in brain chemistry, changes in > neurological and behavioral symptoms). It was killed by the powerful drug > and > chemical lobbies, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an > unsuspecting public. > > Since the Conference of the American College of Physicians, we hope to > have the help of several world leaders. There are a lot of people out > there who must be warned, please let them know this information. > > Good Luck- Rita Miller-Huey, MEd, RD, LD, CLC