| Aspartame - Ceritera Mengejutkan Dari Pemanis Terlaku Dunia |
| (Aspartame - the Shocking Story of the World's Bestselling Sweetener) |
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| 2006 03 14 |
| By Pat Thomas |
| Bagian Kedua |
| As a guide for other doctors, Roberts, a recognised expert in difficult diagnoses, has published a lengthy series of case studies, Aspartame Disease: an ignored epidemic (Sunshine Sentinel Press), in which he meticulously details his treatment of 1,200 aspartame-sensitive individuals, or 'reactors', encountered in his own practice. Following accepted medical procedure for detecting sensitivities to foods, Roberts had his patients remove aspartame from their diets. With nearly two thirds of reactors, symptoms began to improve within days of removing aspartame, and improvements were maintained as long as aspartame was kept out of their diet. |
| Roberts' case studies parallel much of what was revealed in the FDA's report on adverse reactions to aspartame - that toxicity often reveals itself through central nervous system disorders and compromised immunity. His casework shows that aspartame toxicity can mimic the symptoms of and/or worsen several diseases that fall into these broad categories (see sidebar, below). |
| Case studies, especially a large series like this, address some of the issues surrounding real-world use in a way that laboratory studies never can; and the conclusions that can be drawn from such observations aren't just startling, they are also potentially highly significant. In fact, Roberts believes that one of the major problems with aspartame research has been the continued over-emphasis on laboratory studies. This has meant that the input of concerned independent physicians and other interested persons, especially consumers, is 'reflexively discounted as "anecdotal"'. |
| Many of the diseases listed by Roberts fall into the category of medicine's 'mystery diseases' - conditions with no clear etiology and few effective cures. And while no one is suggesting that aspartame is the single cause of such diseases, Roberts' research suggests that some people diagnosed with, for example, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's or chronic fatigue syndrome may end up on a regimen of potentially harmful drugs that could have been avoided if they simply stopped ingesting aspartame-laced products. |
| Sidebar |
| Conditions Mimicked By Aspartame Toxicity |
| § Multiple sclerosis § Parkinson's disease § Alzheimer's disease § Fibromyalgia § Arthritis § Multiple chemical sensitivity § Chronic fatigue syndrome § Attention deficit disorder § Panic disorder depression and other psychological disorders § Lupus § Diabetes and diabetic complications § Birth defects § Lymphoma § Lyme disease § Hypothyroidism |
| Pages 48-49 |
| Aspartame's Toxic Contents |
| Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and methanol. The chemical bond that holds these constituents together is fairly weak. As a result, aspartame readily breaks down into its component parts in a variety of circumstances: in liquids; during prolonged storage; when exposed to heat in excess of 86° Fahrenheit (30° Centigrade); and when ingested. These constituents further break down into other toxic by-products, namely formaldehyde, formic acid and aspartylphenylalanine diketopiperazine (DKP). |
| Manufacturers argue that the instability of aspartame is irrelevant since its constituents are all found naturally in food. This is only partially true and ignores the fact that in food amino acids like aspartic acid and phenylalanine are bound to proteins, which means that during digestion and metabolism they are released slowly into the body. In aspartame, these amino acids are in an unbound or 'free' form that releases greater amounts of these chemicals into the system much more quickly. Similarly, the methanol present in natural foods like fruits, for example, is bound to pectin and also has a co-factor, ethanol, to mediate some of its effects. No such chemical 'back-stops' exist in aspartame. |
| According to neuroscientist Russell Blaylock, the effect of aspartame's breakdown components on brain function is central to its known adverse effects. Like monosodium glutamate (MSG) and L-cysteine, an amino acid found in hydrolysed vegetable protein, aspartame is what is known as an 'excitotoxin' - a chemical transmitter that allows brain cells to communicate. Blaylock has written a book about them, Excitotoxins: the taste that kills, and says: 'Even a minute over-concentration of these chemicals causes the brain cells to become so over-excited that they very quickly burn themselves out and die.' |
| While aspartame manufacturers say aspartame cannot penetrate the blood-brain barrier - the tightly-walled membrane that keeps toxins from reaching the brain, Blaylock counters that a number of factors make the blood-brain barrier more porous, including exposure to pesticides, hypoglycaemia, all immune diseases (such as lupus and diabetes), Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, strokes (including silent strokes) and a whole range of medical drugs. Under these conditions, ingesting aspartame-laced foods may cause a spike in the level of excitotoxins that directly reach the brain, thus increasing the likelihood of adverse effects. Each of aspartame's main constituents is a known neurotoxin capable of producing a unique array of adverse effects. |
| Phenylalanine |
| The essential amino acid phenylalanine comprises 50 per cent of aspartame. In people disorder, phenylketonuria (PKU) with the genetic the liver cannot metabolise phenylalanine, causing it to build up in the blood and tissues. Chronically high levels of phenylalanine and its breakdown products cause significant neurological problems, which is why foods and beverages containing aspartame must carry a warning for PKU sufferers. |
| But according to Dr HJ Roberts, sensitivity to aspartame is not limited to PKU sufferers. PKU carriers - people who inherited the gene for the disorder but do not themselves have the condition (around 2 per cent of the general population) - are also more prone to adverse effects. In Roberts' data there is also a high incidence of aspartame reactions among the close relatives of patients who cannot tolerate aspartame. Furthermore, there is evidence that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in the brain even among those not affected by PKU. |
| Although phenylalanine is sometimes used as a treatment for depression, excessive amounts in the brain can cause levels of the mood regulator serotonin to decrease, making depression more serious or likely. Build-up of phenylalanine in the brain can also worsen schizophrenia or make individuals more susceptible to seizures. Moreover, decrease in serotonin levels can result in carbohydrate craving. This could explain aspartame's lack of effectiveness as a diet aid. |
| DKP |
| DKP is a breakdown product of phenylalanine that forms when aspartame-containing liquids are stored for prolonged periods. In animal experiments it has produced brain tumours, uterine polyps and changes in blood cholesterol. Before the FDA approved aspartame, the amount of DKP in our diets was essentially zero. So no claim of DKP's safety can be accepted as genuine until good-quality long-term studies have been performed. No such studies have been done. |
| Aspartic Acid |
| Aspartic acid (also known as aspartate) is a non-essential amino acid that comprises 40 per cent of aspartame. In the brain, it functions as a neurotransmitter - facilitating the transfer of information from one nerve cell (neuron) to another. Both human and animal experiments have demonstrated a significant spike in blood-plasma levels of aspartate after the administration of aspartame in liquids. Too much aspartate in the brain produces free radicals, unstable molecules that damage and kill brain cells. |
| Humans are five times more sensitive to the effects of aspartic acid (as well as glutamic acid, found in MSG) than rodents, and 20 times more sensitive than monkeys, because we concentrate these excitatory amino acids in our blood at much higher levels and for a longer period of time. Aspartic acid has a cumulative harmful effect on the endocrine and reproductive systems. Several animal experiments have shown that excitotoxins can penetrate the placental barrier and reach the foetus. |
| In addition, as levels of aspartic acid rise in the body so do levels of the key neurotransmitter norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline), a 'stress hormone' that affects parts of the human brain where attention and impulsivity are controlled. Excessive norepinephrine is associated with symptoms such as anxiety, agitation and mania. |
| Methanol |
| Methanol (wood alcohol) comprises 10 per cent of aspartame. It is a deadly poison that is liberated from aspartame at temperatures in excess of 86° Fahrenheit (30° centigrade) - for instance, during storage or inside the human body. The US Environmental Protection Agency considers methanol a 'cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed', meaning that even small amounts in aspartame-containing foods can build up over time in the body. |
| The most well known problems from methanol poisoning are vision disorders, including misty or blurry vision, retinal damage and blindness. Other symptoms include headaches, Tinnitus, dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness and shooting pains in the extremities behavioural disturbances, and neuritis. |
| The EPA tightly controls methanol exposure, allowing only very minute levels to be present in foods or in environmental exposures. But Blaylock says: 'The level allowed in NutraSweet is seven times the amount that the EPA will allow anyone else to use.' |
| Formaldehyde |
| The methanol absorbed from aspartame is converted to formaldehyde in the liver. Formaldehyde is a neurotoxin and known carcinogen. It causes retinal damage and birth defects, interferes with DNA replication, and has been shown to cause squamous-cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, in animals. Several human studies have found that chronic, low-level formaldehyde exposure has been linked with a variety of symptoms, including headaches, fatigue, chest tightness, dizziness, nausea, poor concentration and seizures. |
| Formic Acid |
| Formic acid is a cumulative poison produced by the breakdown of formaldehyde. It concentrates in the brain, kidneys, spinal fluid and other organs, and is highly toxic to cells. Formic acid can lead to accumulation of excessive acid in the body fluids - a condition known as acidosis. The small amounts of formic acid derived from the methanol absorbed from aspartame may or may not be dangerous; there are no human or mammalian studies to enlighten us. |
| Comment, page 49 |
| Aspartame: Time for Action |
| The story of aspartame is the story of the triumph of corporate might over scientific rigour. It shines a spotlight on the archaic and unbalanced procedure for approving food additives. |
| We ingest food additives daily, yet their approval does not require the same scientific thoroughness as drug approval; and, unlike drugs, there is no requirement for surveillance of adverse effects that crop up once the additive is in use. |
| Approval does not involve looking at what people are already eating and whether the proposed substance will interact with other additives. Nor does it take into account whether the additive exacerbates damage caused by other aspects of the modern lifestyle (for instance, the neurological damage caused by pesticide ingestion or exposure). Nor does it look for subtle chronic effects (for instance, the gradual build-up of methanol in the body with regular aspartame ingestion). |
| There are other problems. Most studies into aspartame are animal studies, which are notoriously difficult to relate to humans. So why bother performing them in the first place? The answer is, manufacturers and regulators use animal research as a double-edged sword. If an animal study reveals no evidence of harm, the manufacturer can use it to support its case. If it reveals harm, however, the manufacturer is free to flip-flop into the argument that the results of animal studies are inconclusive in relation to humans. Faced with inconclusive evidence regulators will always err on the side of the manufacturer, who has after all demonstrated proper bureaucratic procedure by funding and submitting its animal tests for consideration. |
| The approval process for any substance that humans put in their mouths on a daily basis should be based on solid human data and on the precautionary principle when such data is not available. But, as it stands, the regulation of food additives in the US, the UK and elsewhere leaves the burden of proof of harm on average people, despite the fact that most of us are either too detached or too timid to complain or simply don't have the energy to take on multinational corporations. |
| The history of aspartame is all the more remarkable because of the number of motivated people who have refused to accept the mantra 'if it's approved by the government it must be safe'. Nearly every piece of independent research shows the outrage of these people, who have had to withstand threats of litigation and being vilified in the media as 'hysterics', is justified. |
| After 30 years of aspartame's commercial success, it would be easy to conclude it is too late to act. And yet earlier this year hundreds of products were swept off supermarket shelves on the chance that they might have contained minuscule amounts of a potentially carcinogenic dye, Sudan 1. No studies existed to show that Sudan 1 could cause cancer in humans. The likelihood of any one person's exposure to Sudan 1 being high enough to produce a tumour was minute. Nevertheless, on the basis of the precautionary principle, action was taken. |
| Aspartame is not a life-saving drug. It is not even a very effective diet aid, as shown by widespread obesity in the West. Until the many concerns about it have been examined in 'corporate-neutral', large-scale, long-term, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled human trials (the gold standard of scientific proof) it should be taken out of our food. |
| Pages 50-51 |
| Sucralose: Life After Aspartame |
| Aspartame should never have reached the marketplace. But even if the authorities were to remove it from sale tomorrow, how much faith should consumers place in the other artificial sweeteners on the market? PAT THOMAS REPORTS |
| There is not a single artificial sweetener on the market that can claim, beyond all reasonable doubt, to be safe for humans to consume. Saccharin, cyclamate and acesulfame-K have all been show to cause cancer in animals. Even the family of relatively benign sweeteners known as polyols, such as sorbitol and mannitol, can cause gastric upset if eaten in quantity. NutraSweet believes that its new aspartame-based sweetener, Neotame, is 'revolutionary'; but, seemingly, it is only amore stable version of aspartame. This leaves the market wide open for sucralose. |
| Sucralose, sold commercially as Splenda, was discovered in 1976 by researchers working for British sugar refiner Tate & Lyle. Four years later, Tate & Lyle joined forces with Johnson & Johnson to develop and commercialise sucralose under the auspices of a new company, McNeil Specialty Products (now called McNeil Nutritionals). Sucralose has been approved by more than 60 regulatory bodies throughout the world, and is now in more than 3,000 products worldwide. In the US, Coca-Cola has developed a new diet drink sweetened with Splenda, and other major soft drink manufacturers are expected to follow suit. |
| Splenda has had to rethink its slogan "made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar" in the wake of a heated US legal challenge and a recent ruling by the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority that said it confused and misled consumers. While it is true that sugar, or sucrose, is one of the starting materials for sucralose, its chemical structure is significantly different from that of sucrose. |
| In a complex chemical process, the sucrose is processed with, among other things, phosgene (a chemical-warfare agent used during WWI, now a common intermediary in the production of plastics, pesticides and dyes), and three atoms of chlorine are selectively substituted for three hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) groups naturally attached to the sugar molecule. |
| In a complex chemical process, the sucrose is processed with, among other things, phosgene (a chemical-warfare agent used during WWI, now a common intermediary in the production of plastics, pesticides and dyes), and three atoms of chlorine are selectively substituted for three hydroxyl (hydrogen and oxygen) groups naturally attached to the sugar molecule. |
| This process produces 1,6-dichloro-1,6-dideoxy-beta-D-fructofuranosyl-4-chloro4-deoxy-alpha-D-galactopyranoside (also known as trichlorogalactosucrose or sucralose), a new chemical substance which Tate & Lyle calls a 'water-soluble chlorocarbohydrate'. |
| Accepting Tate & Lyle's classification of sucralose as a chlorocarbohydrate at face value raises reasonable concerns about its suitability as a food additive. Chlorinated carbohydrates belong to a class of chemicals known as chlorocarbons. This class of chemicals includes a number of notorious human and environmental poisons, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); aliphatic chlorinated carbohydrates; aromatic chlorinated carbohydrates such as DDT; organochlorine pesticides such as aldrin and dieldrin; and aromatic chlorinated ethers such as polychlorinated dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF). |
| Most of the synthetic chlorinated compounds that we ingest, such as the pesticide residues in our food and water, bio-accumulate slowly in the body; and many cause developmental problems in the womb or are carcinogenic. How do we know that sucralose is any different? |
| Tate & Lyle insists that sucralose passes through the body virtually intact, and that the tight molecular bond between the chlorine atoms and the sugar molecule results in a very stable and versatile product that is not metabolised in the body for calories. This doesn't mean, however, that sucralose is not metabolised in the body at all, and critics like HJ Roberts argue that, during storage and in the body, sucralose breaks down into among other things 1,6 dichlorofructose, a chlorinated compound that has not been adequately tested in humans. |
| Tate & Lyle maintains that sucralose and its breakdown products have been extensively tested and proven safe for human consumption. The company notes that in seeking approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), McNeil Specialty Products submitted more than 110 studies that attested to the safety of sucralose. |
| But Can Consumers Trust This Research Data? |
| The vast majority of studies submitted to the FDA were unpublished animal and laboratory studies performed by Tate & Lyle itself, and therefore liable to charges of potentially unacceptable bias. Only five involved human subjects, and these were short-term, often single-dose, studies that clearly could not adequately reflect the expected real-world usage of sucralose. After questions were raised by the FDA about the safety of sucralose for diabetics, and prior to approval, a further five human studies were eventually submitted. On 1 April 1998 the FDA approved sucralose for limited uses; one year later it approved it as a general-purpose sweetener. |
| Some questions about sucralose's safety, arising from the data submitted to the FDA, remain unanswered. These studies included unsettling findings about animals, which, when exposed to high doses of sucralose, experienced: § Shrunken thymus and spleen; § Enlarged liver and kidneys; and § Reduced growth rate in adults and newborns. |
| In the FDA's 'final-rule' report, several of the studies submitted by McNeil were found to have 'inconclusive' results or were 'insufficient' to draw firm conclusions from them. These included: |
| § A test that examined the clastogenic activity (ability to break chromosomes apart) of sucralose, and a test that looked for chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes exposed to sucralose'; |
| § A series of three animal genotoxicity studies; and |
| § Laboratory studies using lymphoma tissue from mice which showed that sucralose was weakly mutagenic' (capable of causing cellular mutations). |
| Clastogenic, genotoxic and mutagenic substances are all potential risk factors in the development of cancer. |
| In addition to these, three studies that looked at very specific 'anti-fertility' effects of sucralose and its breakdown products, especially with regard to sperm production were also deemed insufficient; this is particularly worrying, since other 'chlorosugars', such as 6-chloroglucose, are currently being studied as anti-spermatogenic drugs. |
| Furthermore, the administration observed that McNeil had failed to explain satisfactorily a reduction in body weight seen in animals fed sucralose and that 'additional study data were needed to resolve this issue'. Ironically for a product that 'tastes like sugar', McNeil argued that weight loss was due to the 'reduced palatability of sucralose-containing diets'. FDA reviewers also found that at mid to high doses there was a trend towards 'decreasing white blood cell and lymphocyte counts with increasing dose levels of sucralose'. This was dismissed as having no 'statistical significance' by the FDA; in healthy animals and humans this may be so, but what happens when already immune-compromised individuals ingest sucralose? |
| Tate & Lyle says that any lingering concerns about sucralose are unfounded and that only a small amount, 15-20 per cent, of sucralose is absorbed and broken down in the human gut. The rest passes through the body unmetabolised and is excreted in urine and faeces. This in itself provokes important questions. |
| § What happens to sucralose that is flushed down the toilet? Does it remain stable or react with other substances (for instance, the chlorine used in water-treatment plants, or microbial life) to form new compounds? |
| § Is sucralose or any resulting chemical compound it may form safe for the environment? Is it harmful to aquatic life or wild animals? |
| § Will sucralose begin to appear in our water supply, in the way that certain drugs have, silently increasing our exposure to it? And would that increased exposure be safe? |
| Publish and be Sued |
| In the face of emerging public criticism, lawyers for Tate & Lyle are already gearing up for a battle. According to attorney James Turner, a key player in the aspartame drama, 'There's going to be a huge fight about Splenda in the next few months.[Tate & Lyle's] lawyers are already on the case trying to shut everybody up'. |
| It's a tactic that worked well for Monsanto, which certainly used legal pressure against anyone who criticised NutraSweet. Recently, the publisher of the local newspaper the Brighton Argus considered it prudent to publish an apology composed by Tate & Lyle (or their lawyers) or face a legal action for defamation and loss of sales after printing an article suggesting that sucralose was harmful to humans. |
| Tate & Lyle's first high-profile victim, however, was mercola.com - one of the world's most visited internet health sites. Run by Dr Joseph Mercola, the site has been a vocal critic of sucralose for years. Instead of carrying freely available information on sucralose that might stimulate spirited public debate, it now carries the following message: |
| 'Attorneys acting on behalf of the manufacturers of sucralose, Tate & Lyle Plc, based in London, England, have requested that the information contained on this page not be made available to internet users in England.' |
| At this point, concerned consumers should be asking themselves several questions. Does the story of sucralose sound familiar? If sucralose is safe beyond any reasonable doubt, why is there such a fervent need to suppress any criticism of it? Finally, whom do such tactics really serve? Do they serve the consumer and the principles of choice, information, safety and redress? Or do they serve the corporate machine and its need to keep generating profits without taking responsibility for the human cost of doing so? |
| Original source: http://www.wnho.net/the_ecologist_aspartame_report.htm |
| Related: MSG & Aspartame A Resolution to Create a New United Nations Undersecretary General for Nutrition |
