Aspartame

girl drinking orange drink with sweetener

Question: Would you knowingly give your child a poison to drink on a regular basis?

Answer: Of course not. But you may, unknowingly, be doing just that.

Some time ago, while shopping, I came across the soft drinks isles. I was interested to find out how many drinks were labelled ……..sugar -free, diet, low calorie, Light, Zero.

I started with squash – concentrated juices ?? to which water should be added. To my amazement, I found the sugar-added version of Ribena was the ONLY BOTTLE that I could find that did not contain artificial sweetener.

The rest contained artificial sweetener! Sucralose (Splenda) and Acesulfame K were common additives. Many of them contained Aspartame.

Sadly, even my beloved Ribena now contains artificial sweetener.

There was an entire isle of this neurotoxic liquid. Someone must be drinking it….and in large quantities.

The soft drinks isles were also dominated by “diet” drinks. Yes. You got it.  Aspartame again… or another harmful sweetener.

Question: Would you expect that a substance that has been shown, as long ago as 1996, to have a toxic effect on the brain, to be available for general consumption 23 years later in 2019?

Answer:  Well….it is.

aspartame skull and cross bones Aspartame danger to your brain

In fact more than 90 countries world-wide approve Aspartame for human consumption and some people, including children, consume large quantities.

The adverse long-term health effects

Over 40 adverse health effects of Aspartame have been documented.

The potential link between Aspartame and an increase in brain tumour rates was one of the first of many biomedical studies that moved on to show that:

Aspartame is an excitotoxin and carcinogenic substance. In other words it can cause brain cells to die and can cause cancer.

It is metabolized into three distinct components in a human body.

  1. Aspartic acid –  shown to kill brain cells.
  2. Phenylalanine – shown to kill brain cells.
  3. Methanol – a toxic substance.

Aspartame kills brain cells

  • Many conditions such as MS, Diabetes and strokes disrupt the blood brain barrier that exists to protect the brain from toxins. This allows excitotoxins to impact on the brain.
  • The brains of unborn foetuses, babies and young children are particularly easily damaged by these excitotoxins, that can enter the brain through the placenta to a foetus and breach the immature blood brain barrier, destroying synapses and cells.
  • Life-long exposure also makes the brain more vulnerable and affects the elderly. Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of “Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills” warns of the wide ranging and serious lifelong effects of Aspartame.
  • Phenylalanine was believed to only present a serious health concern to those with a genetic disorder known as phenylketonuria. However, phenylalanine is also a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain resulting in cellular death.

Methanol poisoning

Methanol is  problematic, as it is not naturally found in significant quantities in the human diet. Canning and bottling has introduced low levels of methanol into our diet since the 1800s and it exists in small quantities in fruit and vegetables.

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/EmergencyResponseCard_29750029.html

The emergency directive for management of toxic substances begins with this description for Methanol.

DESCRIPTION: Methanol is a toxic alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide, and alternative fuel source. It also occurs naturally in humans, animals, and plants. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices, fermented beverages, and diet soft drinks containing aspartame are the primary sources of methanol in the human body. Most methanol poisonings occur as a result of drinking beverages contaminated with methanol or from drinking methanol-containing products. In the industrial setting, inhalation of high concentrations of methanol vapor and absorption of methanol through the skin are as effective as the oral route in producing toxic effects.

  • The dietary introduction of Aspartame, an artificial sweetener, 11% methanol by weight, has greatly increased methanol consumption.
  • Methanol is highly toxic and is metabolized into the known human carcinogen formaldehyde and formic acid, which is known to be highly toxic to the central nervous system. This happens at lower temperatures than the temperature of the human body. Formaldehyde is the chemical used in most nail varnish and to preserve dead bodies. In nature, Formic Acid is most commonly found in the bites and stings of insects, namely ants and bees. It is used as a pesticide.

 Research

  • A study, published in the Journal of Biosciences September 2012 (Volume 37 No 4) and titled, “Effect of chronic exposure to aspartame on oxidative stress in the brain of albino rats,” aimed to test the hypothesis that chronic consumption of aspartame may be causing neurological damage in exposed populations. They found that chronic (90 day) administration of aspartame to rats, at ranges only 50% above what the FDA considers safe for human consumption, resulted in blood and brain tissue changes consistent with brain damage. The authors of the new study concluded that the observed adverse brain changes were due to the generation of oxidative stress in brain regions.
  • Research published in April 2013 in Drug and Chemical Toxicology Long term concluded that “consumption of Aspartame leads to an imbalance in the anti-oxidant/pro-oxidant status in the brain mainly through the mechanism involving the glutathione-dependant system.” Search terms include nausea, fibromyalgia, insomnia, MS and weight gain.

http://aspartamecentral.com/aspartame-research-articles-006-long-term-consumption-of-aspartame-and-brain-antioxidant-defense-status/

Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits

So what should happen?

Should Aspartame be added to food and drinks? Check any sugar-free item for its presence – sugar-free gum, biscuits, sweets and jelly for example.

If Aspartame was banned, the other artificial sweeteners would be likely to replace it.

They are no less harmful. For example, Sucralose, brand-name Splenda, has been shown to suppress the immune system, causing inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, migraine headaches, and DNA damage.

There is less research evidence regarding Acesulfame K, although it has been shown to affect prenatal and early development in mice.

Zhang, G. H.; Chen, M. L.; Liu, S. S.; Zhan, Y. H.; Quan, Y.; Qin, Y. M.; Deng, S. P. (2011). “Effects of Mother’s Dietary Exposure to Acesulfame-K in Pregnancy or Lactation on the Adult Offspring’s Sweet Preference”. Chemical Senses 36 (9): 763–770. doi:10.1093/chemse/bjr050PMID 21653241

So……

  • Aim to use natural products such as Honey for sweetening. You could grow Stevia in your garden. That will really annoy the manufacturers of these artificial sweeteners.
  • Get used to natural sweetness in ripe foods.
  • Read the labels.
  • Eat fresh unprocessed foods.
  • Contact Robin Priestley at 38 degrees to request action against Aspartame and toxic food additives. action@38degrees.org.uk

SOME MORE…

Do you drink Coke?

If you drink caramel-coloured soda then this cancer producing compound is also a serious threat to your health.

https://nutritionfacts.org/2019/03/28/cancer-causing-caramel-color/

Question: Why are “diet” drinks so popular?

Answer: They help you to stay slim.

WRONG

So, you think that drinking a diet soda containing no calories and sweetened with an artificial sweetener such as Aspartame will keep you slim? Think again. Research evidence shows this just isn’t true. Your waist size is more likely to increase if you drink diet sodas. In one study, people who drank two or more diet sodas a day experienced waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda.

You may be tricked into thinking you are drinking something sweet, but your brain knows better and expects a calorie intake to occur. When it doesn’t – the regulatory mechanisms are disturbed.

Blood sugar levels are also raised by Aspartame which could be a danger to diabetic patients.

Find out more at:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181001101932.htm

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/artificial-sweeteners-sugar-free-but-at-what-cost-201207165030   

http://www.womentowomen.com/healthyweight/splenda.aspx

Contact Robin Priestley at 38 degrees to request action against Aspartame and toxic food additives. action@38degrees.org.uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjW-S19eLWE  To hear more about excitotoxins, low blood sugar levels and rage.

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