Experts are attempting to ban aspartame, the artificial food sweetener thought to mimic the symptoms of serious illnesses such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and parkinsons’ disease.
Aspartame (951), also known as nutrasweet and equal, among other brand names, is found in over 6000 products including diet drinks, chewing gum, children vitamins and medicines.
The artifical sweetener can cause a host of problems in children, ranging from diabetes, addiction, convulsions, as well as antisocial behaviour, poor school performance, lowered intelligence and brain tumours, according to United States pediatrician, Dr Kenneth Stoller.
“Aspartame cannot be shown to be risk-free,” he said in a statement to the Health Select Committee recently. The neurotoxin is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is cheap. Experts say that aspartame also affects the dopamine system in the brain and is highly addictive.
Safe Food Campaign spokesperson Alison White presented a petition signed by 8000 New Zealanders to the Health Select Committee, stating, “We believe that exposure to this addictive neurotoxin is causing a public health epidemic rivalling that of tobacco.”
The toxic effects of aspartame experienced by a number of New Zealanders was a catalyst for the submissions.
Abby Cormack, a 26 year old student from Wellington, was consuming sugar free chewing gum last year to keep her weight down for a body sculpting competition.
A one piece-a-day habit escalated to four packets a day before she realised that she had become addicted.
She experienced four months of terrifying ill health – including, depression, paranoia, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, excruciating cramps, and deteriorating vision. Ms Cormack underwent tests for possible multiple sclerosis, lupus and diabetes before discovering she had aspartame poisoning.
Her health improved rapidly after she removed diet coke and sugarfree gum from her diet.
“The methanol in aspartame is metabolised into formaldehyde in the body—a powerful cancer-causing agent,” retired Food Scientist, Dr Woodrow Monte warned.
Dr Monte, who lives between the United States and New Zealand, has researched the effects of aspartame for over thirty years.
“It settles in the brain, breast and skin shortly after it is consumed... contributing greatly to the increased breast cancer and melanoma rates in New Zealand since we started consuming diet soda.
“In the developing child methanol is known to cause birth defects and I am of the impression that it has led to the large increase of autism in this country and other diet soda consuming countries throughout the world.”
He said his biggest concern is that methanol may be the cause of multiple sclerosis. His research can be found on www.thetruthaboutstuff.com
Advocacy groups have also asked for diet drinks to be removed from schools.
It is “alarming” that children are being exposed to even more aspartame products in schools, Ms White said. Manufacturers tend to be replacing calorie-laden soft drinks with sugar-free drinks as part of the government health iniative to control obesity. Diet drinks contain a high amount of aspartame.
Otorohanga mother, Robyn Hodges, said her 13 year old son was concerned that his school cafetaria was selling diet drinks.
She said Jackson has suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and gastric disturbances that were much worse after he consumed aspartame and msg (monosodium glutamate).
“Aspartame is quite tricky because it is in mostly sugar-free things, which I have avoided, but if he is in other people’s homes you don’t know quite what he has been given.”
He is “uncontrollable” for two days after ingesting the substances, Mrs Hodges said, including vomitting, diarrhea, headaches and extreme lethargy.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) insists that aspartame has undergone rigorous testing by safety authorities in many countries over many years and that its components—aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol—are a natural part of everyday foods. http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/
However, independent researchers say that the methanol in natural foods is antidoted by the existance of ethanol.
“In aspartame, the methanol is released, once in the body, unfettered by ethanol, to be a pure poison,” Dr Stoller said.
In New Zealand, the average daily intake (ADI) of aspartame has been set at 40 mg/kg.
NZFSA deputy executive director, Sandra Daly, said these levels are extremely high. “For an adult ...you would need to drink (around) 20 cans a day every day of your life to even start to reach the ADI... for children it was about 7 cans a day every day.”
Dr Stoller said the Food Safety Authority does not take into account the methanol content in a can of diet drink. Based on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) daily limit of methanol, a “25 kilo child would not be allowed to exceed 12.5 mg per day so ...even one can of diet soda exceeds the EPA allowed methanol.”
Aspartame was granted approval by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981 for dry goods and again in 1983 for carbonated soft drinks, resulting in a storm of opposition from its own toxicologists and scientists as well as the American Association of Neuropathologists.
It is expected the Health Select Committee will produce a report by October regarding aspartame in New Zealand’s food chain.
Aspartame (951), also known as nutrasweet and equal, among other brand names, is found in over 6000 products including diet drinks, chewing gum, children vitamins and medicines.
The artifical sweetener can cause a host of problems in children, ranging from diabetes, addiction, convulsions, as well as antisocial behaviour, poor school performance, lowered intelligence and brain tumours, according to United States pediatrician, Dr Kenneth Stoller.
“Aspartame cannot be shown to be risk-free,” he said in a statement to the Health Select Committee recently. The neurotoxin is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is cheap. Experts say that aspartame also affects the dopamine system in the brain and is highly addictive.
Safe Food Campaign spokesperson Alison White presented a petition signed by 8000 New Zealanders to the Health Select Committee, stating, “We believe that exposure to this addictive neurotoxin is causing a public health epidemic rivalling that of tobacco.”
The toxic effects of aspartame experienced by a number of New Zealanders was a catalyst for the submissions.
Highly Addictive
Abby Cormack, a 26 year old student from Wellington, was consuming sugar free chewing gum last year to keep her weight down for a body sculpting competition.
A one piece-a-day habit escalated to four packets a day before she realised that she had become addicted.
She experienced four months of terrifying ill health – including, depression, paranoia, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, excruciating cramps, and deteriorating vision. Ms Cormack underwent tests for possible multiple sclerosis, lupus and diabetes before discovering she had aspartame poisoning.
Her health improved rapidly after she removed diet coke and sugarfree gum from her diet.
Aspartame and Cancer
“The methanol in aspartame is metabolised into formaldehyde in the body—a powerful cancer-causing agent,” retired Food Scientist, Dr Woodrow Monte warned.
Dr Monte, who lives between the United States and New Zealand, has researched the effects of aspartame for over thirty years.
“It settles in the brain, breast and skin shortly after it is consumed... contributing greatly to the increased breast cancer and melanoma rates in New Zealand since we started consuming diet soda.
“In the developing child methanol is known to cause birth defects and I am of the impression that it has led to the large increase of autism in this country and other diet soda consuming countries throughout the world.”
He said his biggest concern is that methanol may be the cause of multiple sclerosis. His research can be found on www.thetruthaboutstuff.com
Children and Aspartame
Advocacy groups have also asked for diet drinks to be removed from schools.
It is “alarming” that children are being exposed to even more aspartame products in schools, Ms White said. Manufacturers tend to be replacing calorie-laden soft drinks with sugar-free drinks as part of the government health iniative to control obesity. Diet drinks contain a high amount of aspartame.
Otorohanga mother, Robyn Hodges, said her 13 year old son was concerned that his school cafetaria was selling diet drinks.
She said Jackson has suffered from irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and gastric disturbances that were much worse after he consumed aspartame and msg (monosodium glutamate).
“Aspartame is quite tricky because it is in mostly sugar-free things, which I have avoided, but if he is in other people’s homes you don’t know quite what he has been given.”
He is “uncontrollable” for two days after ingesting the substances, Mrs Hodges said, including vomitting, diarrhea, headaches and extreme lethargy.
NZ Food Safety Insists Aspartame is Safe
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) insists that aspartame has undergone rigorous testing by safety authorities in many countries over many years and that its components—aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol—are a natural part of everyday foods. http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/
However, independent researchers say that the methanol in natural foods is antidoted by the existance of ethanol.
“In aspartame, the methanol is released, once in the body, unfettered by ethanol, to be a pure poison,” Dr Stoller said.
In New Zealand, the average daily intake (ADI) of aspartame has been set at 40 mg/kg.
NZFSA deputy executive director, Sandra Daly, said these levels are extremely high. “For an adult ...you would need to drink (around) 20 cans a day every day of your life to even start to reach the ADI... for children it was about 7 cans a day every day.”
Dr Stoller said the Food Safety Authority does not take into account the methanol content in a can of diet drink. Based on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) daily limit of methanol, a “25 kilo child would not be allowed to exceed 12.5 mg per day so ...even one can of diet soda exceeds the EPA allowed methanol.”
Aspartame was granted approval by the American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1981 for dry goods and again in 1983 for carbonated soft drinks, resulting in a storm of opposition from its own toxicologists and scientists as well as the American Association of Neuropathologists.
It is expected the Health Select Committee will produce a report by October regarding aspartame in New Zealand’s food chain.
