Dr. Death (aka Donald RUMSFELD) named in ASPARTAME LAWSUIT

[Angry Girl]

Yeah, this is from December 2004 but it didn't exactly get much press, if you know what I mean.... Fellow DUers, PLEASE give this a read and warn your loved ones!

I just found out that

... $350-million class-action lawsuit has been filed in order to prove how deadly aspartame consumption truly is to the human body.

Also included in the lawsuit is the central role played by Donald Rumsfeld, current United States Secretary of Defense, in helping to get aspartame approved through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Plaintiffs claim that, despite objections of numerous FDA health researchers and negative studies, Rumsfeld used his political power and influence to get aspartame approved by the FDA.

Those charged in the lawsuit are being accused of knowingly using the neurotoxic aspartame as a sugar substitute in the manufacture of Equal, while fully aware that consumption of it could lead to a plethora of health problems.

"Unsweetened" Health Problems Linked to Aspartame

* Death
* Arthritis
* Brain cancer
* Memory loss
* Hearing loss
* Hypertension
* Abdominal pain
* Headache/Migraines

According to the affidavit, the doctor directing the studies -- which showed conclusive evidence that the artificial sweetener caused critical health problems and even death -- has been missing since aspartame's approval in 1984. All records of the studies, including filed notes and/or translations, have been destroyed.

http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/12/rumsfeld_aspartame.htm
and
http://www.newswithviews.com/BreakingNews/breaking25.htm

MORE SOURCES

Aspartame-Gate....
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/05/07/aspartame_gate_when_donald_rumsfeld_was_ceo_of_searle.htm

The Movie "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World"
http://www.soundandfuryproductions.com/Pages/Rumsfeld.html

National Institute of Science, Law, and Public Policy
http://www.swankin-turner.com/aspartame.html

http://www.aspartame.com/
Even has a 1999 expose by Fox News about the dangers of Aspartame!

The Ohio Observer Newspaper
http://www.vaclib.org/news/astimes.htm

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. In the early 70s,

we were living in Chicago, and my then-husband was an occasional consultant to G. D. Searle. Rumsfeld - I might have this wrong, but it seems right - was the head of Searle.

We were using aspertame in 1972, long before it was approved. In tablet form.

We're not married to each other any more, but we're both perfectly healthy.

[Angry Girl]

5. Knock yourselves out.... Eat it with everything!

Don't bother reading the scientific reports. Rummy said it was good for you and I'm sure he's got your best interest at heart!

Yum, yum, yum, eat it up! But don't come crying to me with your tumors and vision problems in a decade or so.

Oh, and make sure your kids eat it too!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

6. Thirty-three years later

We're all fine, and we still consume it in soft drinks. No tumors, no vision problems beyond the usual ageing things, and excellent health. That includes the kids and grandkids.

My then-husband never dealt with Rumsfeld.

My goodness, you sure are angry, aren't you? Has someone been forcing you to eat aspertame?

[Angry Girl]

11. That's good....

I don't want to see any harm done to anyone... well, that's not exactly true because I think Pol Pot had it easy....

Fact is, the stuff is poison. My husband and I quit asparatame some years ago and our eyesight got noticeably better within months. Not everyone will suffer from the effects, just like not all the rats in test scenarios develop tumors.

I just don't understand how somebody would knowingly imbibe a toxin when it's not even a recreational drug!

Sorry I'm so pissy today. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Yeah, I'm angry but it's mostly because of this book about the USDA I've been reading. I found out that they're responsible for the Lyme disease and West Nile Virus outbreaks in this country.

And the USDA says there's no mad cow disease here.... LMAO

[Eloriel]

41. What book???

And I'm with you on the aspartame. Wouldn't touch it with a 10-ft. pole.

A friend of mine who's a healthworker says she knows of people who had MS and Lupus who got cured by simply giving up their soft drinks.

[Lindacooks]

16. Just because nothing happened to you does not mean it's safe.

It could take longer to do damage to your body. Or it may not affect you at all. But that doesn't mean aspartame is safe.

When I was taking Food Chemistry in 1981, all my professors swore that aspartame would never be approved because there were too many problems with it in clinical trials. But then Reagan was swept into power, he dismantled the FDA, and surprise surprise, aspartame was approved.

I wouldn't touch the stuff with a 10 foot pole.

[redwitch]

23. oops

wrong account

[OldLeftieLawyer]

26. At my age,

if I die, it's because I've lived such a good, long life.

There are worse things to worry about, and, seriously, do I give a damn about some artificial sweetener causing me harm?

No, I do not.

All your professors were the guys who would have sold their left nuts to get a consulting gig with a pharmaceutical company. Keep that in mind, too. It's all political. All of it.

I'm laughing at your first line. Thirty-three years to cause harm? Jesus, you really writing that with a straight face? I'm probably healthier than you are.

And I'm old.

[jbnow]

47. The deficiencies in Searle's data and studies

are reason enough for great concern...not that they are alone in it. Nor is it rare that some that got it approved left the FDA and were hired by Searle's.

That monkeys and rats got tumors, cancers, seizures and CNS damage does not mean humans do, but then there were not human studies. The animals got higher amounts for shorter periods of time. Humans take smaller amounts for long periods of time. The population as a whole is an uncontrolled study, as we are for many things.
We know there is an increase in certain types of cancers and many other disorders but we can't tie it to any particular dietary or environmental issue because there are not studies comparing those exposed to those not expose, let alone intentionally exposing some in a double blind way.

We know the breakdown product of aspartame is a problem. We know we are mammals. We know there are many reasons to be suspicious.

Things can take decades to cause harm, but that you have not been harmed is not the same as saying harm has not already been done to people. I know healthy people who have smoked for over 50 years. We just can't blame aspartame (or lawn chemicals or other toxins) because no studies prove their is a link because there are no studies.

It's OK to keep using it but people treat this like some Internet rumor that just silly people worry about. Neurotoxicity isn't all that amusing.

[Lindacooks]

50. Thank you for a well reasoned and thoughtful response.

I get so sick of people saying 'well, I did this and this, and nothing ever happened to me!!' As though anecdotal evidence means anything. That kind of ignorance is just appalling.

[Lindacooks]

48. Well, that's one of the ruder responses I have ever received here.

I don't care about you either, but I do care about others who may be, and have been, harmed by this chemical.

Attacking the messenger by disparaging my professor's opinions and remarks, by the way, is a classic logical fallacy. So your argument doesn't hold water.

Since I have never had a major disease, I'm sure I'm healthier than you are. And I'm also more polite. Now you're on ignore.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

57. Hey, I'm on IGNORE!

Does that mean I can make faces at the above poster, and she'll never know?

:applause: :woohoo: :headbang: :hi: :beer: :wow: :bounce: :party: :hippie: O8)

Cool ..............

[GodHelpUsAll2]

97. Yep

[uppityperson]

78. 33 yrs to cause harm is not a long time.

Many things take a while to show up. 33 yrs is not a long time for environmentally caused problems. Jesus, you really writing that with a straight face?

[DemBones DemBones]

103. So true. Talk to any smoker with lung cancer.

It took almost 45 years for my mother's lung cancer to develop, and she had quit smoking fifteen years before she was diagnosed with cancer. It didn't take long for the cancer to kill her, though, a mere ten months.

[Avalux]

19. Have you ever tried to stop using aspartame for any lenght of time?

Curious.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

27. "...tried..."?

No, but there are long stretches of time - two- and three-month periods - where we're in the Far East or Europe, and then we use sugar. No big deal, except the soft drinks taste really icky to me so I stay with beer and wine and mineral water.

Why do you ask?

[Avalux]

28. I've heard of withdrawal symptoms -

I've never used aspartame (tastes funny to me) so I have no personal experience.
I do know of two cases, people who consume at least a 6 pack of diet soda a day, who can't quit. They have each suffered a variety of withdrawal symptoms including headaches, fatigue, trembling and insomnia. Upon resuming aspartame the symptoms resolve.
It's not definitive the aspartame is the cause however, so that's why I asked if you've ever had any problems.

:hi:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

30. Hell, if they consume that much of anything,

they'll have some sort of withdrawal symptoms, if only because of the difficulty in breaking some habits. My guess is that those people are reacting for completely different reasons having nothing to do with aspertame.

That's a lot of diet soda to drink in a day, I think. I just like the notion of everything in moderation. But, hey, I'm old ......... :toast:

[GodHelpUsAll2]

33. Those symptoms

are classic symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. Are you certain it's the resuming of aspartame that stops the symptoms or could it be the caffeine? I gave up cokes and coffee years ago on my quest to get slim and fit. I had horrible headaches and generally felt lousy. My Dr. was the one who suggested I had an addiction to caffeine and it was the cold turkey quitting that was causing my headaches and feeling bad. Upon resuming caffeine I felt good again. And that was before I used aspartame or drank diet coke.

[Avalux]

35. That's the problem -

Caffeine withdrawal should only last a few days, not weeks. It seems with the aspartame, it can be several weeks of withdrawal. It's all still a mystery.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

38. Caffiene is a tricky

little addiction. I have it. I am a coffee junkie. I quit drinking coffee for about 2 months. I thought the headaches were going to kill me. Addictions have different effects on different people. Maybe it's the aspartame maybe it's some funky reaction to caramel color maybe it's caffiene. Who really knows.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

73. It's all subjective, I think

I quit drinking coffee overnight and never had one second's discomfort. Same with a long-time cigarette habit. I just forgot to buy cigarettes once, years ago, and, by the time I got around to it, I didn't feel like smoking any more. That was a thirty-year habit.

People react differently to different things, and trying to lay the symptoms all on one thing is misguided.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

98. I agree

There are many things that can cause the same symptoms. Who can really pin-point exactly what causes a symptom.

[Horse with no Name]

71. It's not aspartame

It's the caffeine.
If I go 10 hours without caffeine, I get the shakes, cold sweats, headache (the kind that you can't get out of bed), etc.

[uppityperson]

77. Lots of people smoke and don't have problems

I am glad you have not had problems from aspertame. Many of us have, and it is really nice to see that it is getting more coverage. I responded back in the 80's to a study about aspertame since it gave me tremendous heachaches. The results of the study came out that there was no link to headaches. I was angry, not that someone was forcing me to eat aspertame, but that they were ignoring and covering up the problems caused by it.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

79. But what if it wasn't the cause?

I hope your headaches have stopped.

But, what is aspartame wasn't the cause? What if something else that you couldn't readily isolate or identify were the cause?

Causation is so damned hard to prove, in science, in psychology, in the law, in the kitchen when you're asking your kids, "OK, who dressed up the dog like the Statue of Liberty and put her on the roof?"

I just hope you're feeling better now.

[uppityperson]

84. They did. It was.

Causation of the dog on the roof- it was "not me", whoever that is. It was the aspartame. I can drink about 1/2 can of diet whatever and am ok. Anything beyond that and bad headaches happen. The only way it could have been something else would be water as everything I tried with aspartame caused headaches, even just aspartame in water. And no, that wasn't because I was expecting it to. ( By the way, I have been involved with research and know about doing good research and observer interference and causation.)

[OldLeftieLawyer]

87. Then I'm just glad you're all right

That poor dog. Still up there, I think.

Just avoid aspartame, and no headaches? That's wonderful. I can't avoid pollen or ragweed, so my headaches are ongoing, it seems.

Would you ever try Splenda? I don't know anything about it, but I see it in stores now.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

9. I promise

I won't come crying to you. Just like I didn't when I got that awful deadly flu that was going to kill everyone in the country because there wern't enough flu shots.

FYI: The FDA did recognize it caused cancer. If I consumed 12.8 metric tons over the next ten years. Now I get thirsty, but whew, I don't know if I can choke down that many diet cokes.

[girl gone mad]

44. for what it's worth, peanut butter causes cancer, too.

In fact, you're more likely to get cancer from eating peanut butter sandwiches than to win the lottery.

just a silly statistic I learned in a probability and statistics class. My professor told me the mathematics department had decided not to publicize the odds against winning since some of the money from the lottery actually went to the university.

[Lindacooks]

49. No, peanut butter is on the GRAS list.

Generally Regarded as Safe, the list the FDA has compiled for foods and ingredients that have long been considered not harmful.

[atommom]

88. I believe the peanut butter/cancer link was mentioned because

there's a common fungus that's often present in PB, and that fungus is carcinogenic. You're still not likely to succumb to cancer from PBJs .... it's just one more of our everyday toxic exposures!

[GodHelpUsAll2]

43. AH HA

Aspertame causes divorce!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

56. OH, MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That means this marriage - after all these years - is teetering on the edge of .......................

OH, MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick, pass me the sugar.....................:yourock:

[GodHelpUsAll2]

99. LOL

[whosinpower]

2. Uh-oh

Just as I was taking a swig of Coca Cola C2.....and then I checked the label......damn! And I was thirsty too!!!!!!!!!!!

[Celebration]

3. my experience

This is completely anecdotal and unscientific--I see flashes of light in front of my eyes if I eat or drink aspartame and then go out in the sun. Yes it affects my ability to see when driving. No, I no longer take aspartame. But guess what? Same thing happened to my friend, completely independently. She did not know of my experience and she told me hers. The light looks like sort of zagged lightening.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

31. Could be sinus problems

Or a brain tumor.

Or the microscopic breaking down of capillaries in the retina.

Or aliens sending you both coded messages.

Or nothing at all.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

36. Now that was funny

aliens sending coded messages.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

37. This whole thread is funny,

right down to my pointing out who the President was when aspertame was first submitted to the FDA.

Such virulent hysterics about something about which nothing malignant has been established. Thanks for your note of sanity here.

[GodHelpUsAll2]

40. My pleasure

I've never been one to get hysterical over some "scientific report". And I use the word scientific loosely.

[Celebration]

64. just listening to the body

The brain tumor, alien messages, and capillary breakdown ONLY occur after ingesting aspartame, and exposure to sunlight. Thankfully they are gone now since I avoid it like the plague. But maybe the aliens are really guardian angels, and the coded message is "don't ingest aspartame."

The effect was the worst, and really debilitating after I drank a Diet Coke at my inlaws lake cabin. I imagine that it had been there a while and it was past the (imaginary) expiration date.

I don't think it is approved in Japan, is it? If not,why not? I haven't heard of a rash of alien messages in Japan. So many of these things-- medical treatments, approved substances, etc. are culturally dependent.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

75. Diet Coke in Japan

They swill it there, although, due to local formulations, it tastes different from the stuff sold here.

[FearofFutility]

61. I'm addicted to Diet Coke

and have the exact same problem. If it's a sunny day and I'm not wearing sunglasses, I experience the "zagged lightening" effect. I was told by my doctor that it's ocular migraines. I think I may need rehab....:D

[glitch]

66. Precursor to migraine.

If you didn't get a blinding headache after them, you're lucky.

[Sugarbleus]

4. Not saying that nutrasweet doesn't cause ANY sideeffects but...

those symptoms could be attributed to a plethora of other medical conditions. None of it is specific to aspartame. Although, to be honest, my adult daughter claims that nutrasweet does upset her stomach...

I've been using it since it first came out. I don't use it on EVERYTHING, mainly just in my coffee and in my diet sodas. I did see that splenda is now entering the soft drink world. Drank a soda with that in it the other day; I could taste the difference.... more metalic than nutrasweet.

I remember thinking years ago, why can't the industry find a substance that tastes just like sugar so I'd not have to use sugar. Voile' along comes Equal. Who knew.

I don't know more than that. :shrug:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. I remember that it was made of .....

.... two amino acids. The stuff hasn't been any problem for us in more than thirty years. I should think something might have shown up in all that time, but, hey, who knows?

Remember when coffee certainly caused breast lumps? Then it didn't.

[Sugarbleus]

46. Yes, then the alar scar over apples...then...

it never ends. But that's not to say that some of these things created from god knows what aren't harmful. I'm willing to listen, but not overreact.

It's probably a good thing to bring some of the harmful side effects of different products to the publics attention and then let people use it or not use it according to their views and sensitivities on the subject.

I deplore the "food police" who would stop a product for EVERYBODY because it might cause or has caused some harm to a handful of the population. I still like the warning/content labels on food and drugs. That way people can make an informed choice.

I wish the FDA would do it's damn job. Heard about mad cow again recently--I eat way more meat than I consume nutrasweet. Never liked the idea of hormones in poultry and meat animals..stuff like that.

It's always something eh?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

53. Damn Chicken Little

Just when I find a soft drink to which no one has any objections, the sky will fall. I just know it.

Here's one that'll get you: a friend of mine had dinner in a restaurant, and, later that night, at home, getting ready for bed, she started to get deathly ill. Trouble breathing, she swelled up like a dirigible, and managed to call 911. When they found her, she was still breathing, but barely.

Anaphylactic shock. She's allergic to tetracycline. The chicken she had eaten in the restaurant was loaded with it, so much so that it affected her.

And that's legal.

In the meantime, all we can do is have fun, no?

[Sugarbleus]

96. Geez, I'm sorry about your friend

Forgive me but I chuckled at: Dirigible....Anyway, I've been saying I need to buy my meat in a whole foods store. I'm not so sure about the milk my family drinks either........BUT we are still "sitting up and taking nourishment" so...

When I start seeing multitudes of people dropping dead all over the place, from a fouled up food supply, then I'll make significant changes.

To each his own. Live and let live. It's not about the end game anyway, it's about the adventure along the way... :)

[GiovanniC]

63. Or Eggs! They're Good For You

Or wait... I've just been informed they are bad for you.

This just in... eggs good for you again! Film at elev --

Son of a bitch, eggs are worse than ever before... we're getting word that...

Never mind... if you don't eat an egg, you'll die!

Doctors are, in fact, informing me that you will die if you eat an egg.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

76. That was very, very funny

Well done.

Now, pass me the eggs.....

[GodHelpUsAll2]

100. Is anyone

lobbying the FDA to ban beer? It has a horrible effect on me. Also many many of my friends have had the same thing happen to them. Terrible headaches, impairs speech dramatically effects your vision. Has caused death in some instances. But I have noticed that when I stop ingesting it. All of my symptoms go away. It's quite miraculous.

[femme.democratique]

8. It breaks down to formaldehyde in your system.

Its true. Betcha you're gonna switch to Splenda! Actually, Saccharin isn't really bad for you! It was all a ploy by Montsanto to pave the way for Aspartame...

[OldLeftieLawyer]

13. Oh, that's why I'm looking so good!!!

I'm already embalmed.

(Where do people get these ideas?)

[GodHelpUsAll2]

14. They take small bits

of information and completely distort it.

[femme.democratique]

17. Excuse me? You work for Montsanto?

[GodHelpUsAll2]

20. Nope

I don't. I just research facts. That's all

[Angry Girl]

21. I copy-edited the original aspartame tumor reports at Dekker!

I used to copy-edit for Marcel Dekker, then a medical research book publishing house. I remember the tumors they cited, the statistics, and the concern of the scientists. At the time I'd never heard of aspartame. It wasn't till many years later that I made the connection....

As a trained mathematician, I am not in the habit of distorting. But I guess you could accuse me of the same when I tell you fraud took place in these latest two presidential elections....

[GodHelpUsAll2]

24. And.....

your point would be? You copy edited some reports that talked about tumors associated with aspartame. So that instantly makes it fact? Someone copy edited the case to go to war too. They saw all the evidence of WMD. Does that make it fact?

Bottom line here, the FDA, the CDC, the medical field, the government, the media etc etc etc all have their hysterics on horrors of this or that. Aspartame causes cancer, cell phones give off radiation that will cause brain tumors, people need to drink more water, people are drinking too much water, your colesterol needs to be below 200, opps we were wrong, now it needs to be below 100, there's a deadly flu coming and we are all going to die because there aren't enough shots. Your kids all have ADHD put them on medication NOW! Everyon should get on zoloft because life is just too stressful. And the list goes on and on and on. I often wonder how the human race has managed to survive this long.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

32. Imagine the person who copy-edited

the Vioxx data.

Who believes that research is sacrosanct? It's manipulated to get the desired results, and it's now just a matter of getting caught or not.

Remember Swine Flu? We were all gonna die.

And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?

And the boogeyman?

[GodHelpUsAll2]

39. Yep

I remember the swine flu. It's always something out there going to kill us.

[Jane Austin]

62. The Swine Flu? In 1958-59?

My brother almost did die. :(

[femme.democratique]

92. In my mind, theres enough evidence against Aspartame to cause alarm

The stuff was poison for me, personally. It caused chronic hives, but it took me years to make the connection. Tell me this shit doesn't kill when taken over time when my own body had such a violent reaction to it.

[Angry Girl]

22. Well, shut up and start reading then!

Like you said, do your research!

[GodHelpUsAll2]

25. LOL

Hysterics at it's finest.

[Ravy]

69. I don't believe it has to be in your system to do that....

I have no idea how, but one time I was visiting my mother and she gave me a can of Diet Pepsi with my meal (I drink it regularly).

HOW HORRIBLE! I nearly spewed over the table. I looked at the bottom of the can and it was over 6 years out of date.

I guess I should visit more often.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

74. Mothers are like that

My mother had a bottle of Diet Coke in her fridge. I got it out, poured some, and did what you did. Spit it in the sink.

She'd had it about a year, she said. The shelf life of aspartame is 90 days, as I recall.

And, yes, you should visit your mother MUCH more often..........:hi:

[Ravy]

80. In my defense,

I do visit her a couple of times at a year. I may have been playing russian roulette with it all that time or she could have bought it at a garage sale somewhere. *grin*

[OldLeftieLawyer]

82. Don't you go making me laugh

Twice a year is not enough. She misses you.

Garage sale, indeed.

Rotten kid .............. :toast:

[evolvenow]

10. MOnsanto Poison

http://www.wnho.net/nutrapoison.htm 

[ToeBot]

12. I thought the warnings about aspertame were tin foil hat stuff...

till I found out the Rumsfeld was the CEO of the company and that Searle had problems getting it approved. Then within a month or so of Reagen getting elected it was approved, no problem. Even if the stuff is safe the Rumsfeld connection alone is enough reason to quit using it.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

15. Yes.

Rumsfeld's touch withers all vines.

[Lindacooks]

18. You're correct. See my post above.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

29. How do you explain this fact of history?

Nixon was President of the United States when aspertame was first submitted for FDA approval in 1973.

I know, because I was there.

Back then - unlike today - it took years and years to get new drugs, medications, sweeteners approved. Things have changed dramatically, and that's why we're getting crap like Vioxx on the market.

So much for your Republican conspiracy theories. Sorry to deflate, but facts are facts.

[tanyev]

60. Facts are facts.

March 8, 1977 -G. D. Searle hires prominent Washington insider Donald Rumsfeld as the new CEO to try to turn the beleaguered company around. A former Member of Congress and Secretary of Defense in the Ford Administration, Rumsfeld brings in several of his Washington cronies as top management.

January 1981 -Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle, states in a sales meeting that he is going to make a big push to get aspartame approved within the year. Rumsfeld says he will use his political pull in Washington, rather than scientific means, to make sure it gets approved. January 21, 1981 -Ronald Reagan is sworn in as President of the United States. Reagan's transition team, which includes Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of G. D. Searle, hand picks Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes Jr. to be the new FDA Commissioner.

May 19, 1981 -Three of six in-house FDA scientists who were responsible for reviewing the brain tumor issues, Dr. Robert Condon, Dr. Satya Dubey, and Dr. Douglas Park, advise against approval of NutraSweet, stating on the record that the Searle tests are unreliable and not adequate to determine the safety of aspartame.

July 15, 1981 -In one of his first official acts, Dr. Arthur Hayes Jr., the new FDA commissioner, overrules the Public Board of Inquiry, ignores the recommendations of his own internal FDA team and approves NutraSweet for dry products. Hayes says that aspartame has been shown to be safe for its' proposed uses and says few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated close scrutiny.
http://www.swankin-turner.com/hist.html

[Eloriel]

34. My aspartame links

I don't know if there's any overlap with the above or not:

Rumsfeld and Asparatame
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2257875
How Aspartame Became Legal
http://www.rense.com/general33/legal.htm
Aspartame, anti-depressants and Bush
(Highly political but has very good info otherwise)
By Jerry Mazza, Online Journal Contributing Writer
http://onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/080604Mazza/080604mazza.html



Aspartame Victims Support Group
http://presidiotex.com/aspartame/

MERCOLA (has numerous articles)
Aspartame: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
http://mercola.com/article/aspartame/hidden_dangers.htm

Janet Starr Hull's website
http://www.sweetpoison.com/

Aspartame Toxicity Info Center
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/


World Natural Health Organization LINKS (includes some links re Splenda's dangers) http://www.wnho.net/aspartamenews.htm




Aspartame... the BAD news!
http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html

Artificial sweetners put the die in diet!
http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue2/sweet.html

Health Issues Links: http://jassekhmet.tripod.com/healthm.htm

10 mg Methanol From Aspatame Can Cause Blindness
http://www.rense.com/general38/10mg.htm

Documents relating to symptoms (LINKS!)
http://www.dorway.com/symptoms.html
Home page of massive aspartame info collection: http://www.dorway.com/

LETTER TO THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS WITH REGARD TO ASPARTAME
By Dr. Betty Martini
http://www.wnho.net/aapletter.htm


WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE USED ASPARTAME
By Neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D
http://www.wnho.net/wtdaspartame.htm

Former FDA Investigator Exposes Aspartame As Deadly Neurotoxin
That Never Should Have Been Approved
From Betty Martini 4-22-3
http://www.rense.com/general37/ddly.htm

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Additional links in this DU DISCUSSION: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=66563#66735
indigobusiness (1000+ posts) Sat Aug-07-04 10:45 PM
Response to Reply #9
But, while Stevia can taste quite bad if used incorrectly, it is virtually indistinguishable from sugar if used correctly. It just cannot be used exactly the same way as sugar.

Research excitotoxins and see where aspartic acid takes you.

Are you going to tell me monosodium glutamate is harmless as well?

The Nutrasweet Lobby is powerful, indeed...but shame on Snopes for not digging a little deeper.
http://www.dorway.com/blaymsg.txt

Peer Reviewed Studies:
SURVEY OF ASPARTAME STUDIES:
CORRELATION OF OUTCOME
AND FUNDING SOURCES
http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html

RAO Report (pivotal study)
http://www.dorway.com/raoreport.pdf

CDC Report
http://www.dorway.com/cdctext.txt
After reading this "full" report you can decide for yourself if the summary was adequate, correct, or a whitewash. Keep in mind that some of the studies that approved aspartame were the target of an indictment for fraud never carried out because two U.S. prosecutors went to work for the law firm defending the case, which let slip the hounds of disease and death on an unwarned public. On 60-Minutes (Dec. 29, 1996) Dr. Ralph Walton admitted that 83 of 90 INDEPENDENT studies on aspartame showed problems. The 60-Minute spokesman chided the aspartame representitives that 70 of 70 Searle funded tests seemed to show aspartame to be OK (however, it seems that Searle submitted around 112 documents and two of those studies were submitted to the Department of Justice for an indictment for fraud). Of Searle's many reports the FDA selected fifteen they termed as "pivotal" to their decision to approve aspartame as safe.

However, Dr. Moser (the Nutrasweet spokesman) admitted to JenniferCohen (http:/www.dorway.com/jcohen.html ) that:

"..the study should never have been undertaken, much less submitted as legitimate observation. This particular (RAO) experiment represents an unpardonable breach in methodology."

If this motivates the reader to action... http://www.dorway.com/congress.html is a good starting point for locating someone in authority to complain to. The President DHHS FDA and your congressional representatives.


The Bressler Report (FDA on Searle)
http://www.dorway.com/bressler.txt

Nexus Article
http://www.dorway.com/nexus.txt

NSDA Protest
http://www.dorway.com/nsda.txt

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The Artificially Sweetened Times
http://www.vaclib.org/news/astimes.htm

[SeveneightyWhoa]

52. Big surprise:

None of those sites are credible! Who woulda thunk it?

[GodHelpUsAll2]

101. My links on aspertame

I can come up with them too.

http://www.aspartame.info/aspartame_opinion.html

British Medical Journal 2004;329:755-756

Editorial

Aspartame and its effects on health

Evidence does not support links between aspartame and cancer, hair loss, depression, dementia, behavioural disturbances, or any of the other conditions appearing in websites.


http://www.aspartame.org/aspartame_facts.html

American Dietetic Association Fact Sheet

Aspartame has been extensively studied in animals and humans for more than two decades. In 1981, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved aspartame, it noted: "Few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated, close scrutiny, and the process through which aspartame has gone should provide the public with additional confidence of its safety." FDA has affirmed the safety of aspartame 26 times over a period of 23 years.


http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00772.html

Analysis of the National Cancer Institute's public data base
on cancer incidence in the United States -- the SEER Program --
does not support an association between the use of aspartame and
increased incidence of brain tumors. Data from the SEER program
show that overall incidence of brain and central nervous system
cancers began increasing in 1973 and continued to increase
through 1985 in the United States. Since 1985 the trend line has
flattened for these cancers, and in the last two years recorded
(1991 to 1993), the incidence has slightly decreased.

[DemBones DemBones]

42. Rumsfeld being president of Searle was what

convinced me to avoid aspartame. And that was years before his latest power gig in D.C., years before Dim Son appeared on the national horizon. Rummy is an evil bastard.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

54. Rumsfeld had already worked for Nixon, so

your theory fails.

He was in Congress during the sixties, resigned from Congress to become a member of the Nixon team in the White House in 1968 or 1969 - his counsellor. He was also Ford's Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense.

He didn't become President of Searle until the seventies, after Nixon was gone. Rumsfeld has always been a Washington player.

But, yes, he is an evil bastard. He is, not, though, causing people imaginar health problems via aspartame.

[DemBones DemBones]

55. Read my post -- I specifically said it was

years before his CURRENT power gig in D.C. But I guess it was important for you to share your knowledge of Rummy's resume.

Many people have had health problems that cleared up when they eliminated aspartame from their diet. The cause-effect relationship is unproven, of course, but there's no evidence to back up your conclusion that their health problems were "imaginar." How exactly do you go about judging whether someone else's health problems are real or "imaginar"?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

58. Yeah, I read that

and your implication was that, until now, Rumsfeld was never a Washington insider. Go back and read what you wrote. There's more to it than you might wish to assert.

Yeah, people who drink a six-pack or two of diet sodas a day can claim that aspartame caused their health problems. Right. Their problems are far from being caused by an artificial sweetener that is safe.

As for psychosomatic illnesses, yes, they're real and very often treatable, but do cause just as much anguish as the more easily perceived "real" diseases.

Tab, anyone?

[DemBones DemBones]

102. Wow, you can diagnose other people's diseases as "psychosomatic" when

you've never seen the people. And you're a lawyer, not a physician. Maybe you can get a job working for Bill Frist.

I said I got turned off to aspartame because Rumsfeld was president of Searle, years before his current D.C. power gig and before Bushbaby was on the national horizon. You're just denying what I said and reading into it what you want. Obviously your mind is closed on the topic and you're unwilling to listen to evidence -- hope you're not planning to serve on a jury.

[SOS]

68. Imaginary health problems?

Nonsense!

Rumsfeld pushed Aspartame through the FDA by rigging the vote. The FDA would have never approved aspartame without Rumsfeld's calling in a Reagan debt.
I drank alot of Diet Coke and used NutraSweet in my coffee. My heart rhythm was so screwed up that my doctor suggested carrying a copy of my EKG in my pocket. No-one could figure out what was wrong with me. I once collapsed on a city bus due to this poison.
After reading that Nutrasweet's main side effects are visual disturbance and arrhythmia I stopped using aspartame. 10 days later all of my symptoms were gone.
Just because it didn't effect you, doesn't mean it's safe. Chemicals affect people differently.

For the story on how Rummy got this chemical into the food supply:

http://www.stevia.net/aspartame.htm

[OldLeftieLawyer]

72. That's impressive

You know how Rumsfeld called in a Reagan debt and got aspartame through the FDA.

Impressive.

Somehow, the idea that your heart rhythm was out of whack doesn't especially surprise me.

[SOS]

94. Your spirited defense of Searle, Monsanto and Rumsfeld

is also impressive. Your rudeness more so.
Astounding that you are more knowledgable about my health than I am.
Does the name Arthur Hull Hayes ring a bell?
If not, you are too uninformed to be telling me anything.

[Johonny]

90. ?

Just because it didn't effect you, doesn't mean it's safe. Chemicals affect people differently.


If it doesn't effect me than isn't it safe for me? I mean your arguement is that only products that have no side effect in any human should be allowed to be sold. If that were true then we would be reduce to... water. May be.

[Turn CO Blue]

45. I don't consume aspertame because it TASTES BAD...which

is a poor attribute for a sweetener, don't ya think?
tee hee

[BigBearJohn]

51. I was being treated for depression. Then I stopped taking aspartame.

Problem solved!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

59. Coca Cola amongst others are now turning to Splenda. I wonder

how much that has to do with this lawsuit.

[Junkdrawer]

65. From what I can see in supermarkets, Splenda ice cream is...

fast replacing aspartame products. Pepsi and Coke got the me$$age.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

83. Actually, its about taste.

Splenda apparently tastes better, which I believe is why they're making the switch.

[Johonny]

91. Splenda

I wonder about introducing a whole lot of partially chlorinated hydrocarbons into the environment. It seems to me that's never really been a winner for long term environmental stability.

[Lorien]

93. Splenda gives me body aches

it's weird, but I always feel like I'm coming down with the flu when I eat or drink anything with Splenda in it. I kept feeling sick off and on through the holidays, but I never stayed sick for long. It turned out that someone who had given me a basket of baked goods had used Splenda in all her recipes, and I didn't know about it until later.

[SeveneightyWhoa]

95. I get weird reactions with Splenda sometimes too.

When I drink one of the new Crystal Light Slurpees made with Splenda, my eyelids will twitch a little bit right after drinking it. It seems to give me facial flushing too although I can't be sure that Splenda is the cause.

Needless to say, i don't drink those delicious, delicious Slurpees anymore. Oh how I wish I could.

[glitch]

67. Interesting thread. Apparently some people feel as strongly about their

sweeteners as smokers feel about their smokes.

[Horse with no Name]

70. I remember reading awhile back

that the "bad" sweetener, saccharine, was finally proven not to cause cancer.
I always supposed it was a corporate thing, but I preferred saccharine.
However, my consumption of apartame should give me seizures--at least that is what my doc told me 10 years ago.
I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs...and my one and ONLY vice is that I drink mass quantities of Diet Dr. Pepper--to the tune of 12-15 a day.
I know it's bad--but I also know that I am not giving it up.
Caffeine addiction is a bitch.

[Angry Girl]

86. ANT PROBLEM? Use EQUAL! (kills 'em....)

http://radio.weblogs.com/0112894/2005/04/24.html

Also, you should know that saccharine is NO LONGER on the GRAS (generally regarded as safe) list.

Yup, the USDA quietly took it off the list some years back.... But they still sell it!

[SmokingJacket]

81. Safe or not, do we really need chemicals to make things sweet?

That stuff has the nastiest aftertaste.

I'd rather have a glass of seltzer, thanx.

[elehhhhna]

85. That crap gives me a headache. Always has. Imagine that.

[atommom]

89. Safe or not, that stuff doesn't agree with me at all. I get headaches

and other odd symptoms, AND I don't like the way it tastes anyway. I'd rather just have sugar in moderation once in awhile.