BIO Mary Nash Stoddard on Twitter

PRESENTING: MARY NASH STODDARD - Co-Founder of the massive international anti-aspartame movement in the mid 1980's, following the brain tumor death of her forty two year old husband, Mike. Ms. Stoddard suffered a life threatening aspartame-related blood disorder in 1985, whereupon, The NutraSweet Co. offered her an all-expense paid vacation for two anywhere in the world, if she would agree to be tested by their doctors. She declined, with the blessing of her doctor, and the rest is history. She has conducted multi-national lecture tours and is a popular visiting professor at colleges, universities and medical schools. "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" is a toxicology sourcebook, edited by Ms. Stoddard, documenting the harmful effects of the world's most toxic artificial sweetener. The companion one hour "Deadly Deception" video is further documentation - taped at a prestigious scientific conference. Stoddard's efforts, over more than two decades, led to the present rejection of the sweetener by many of the food and beverage giants of industry, as they rush to distance themselves from the liabilities associated with use of a neuro-toxic substance in their products. She has testified in court as an Expert Medical Witness and like her counterpart, Erin Brokovitch, helped with a number of lawsuits on behalf of consumers. Her powerful message has reached millions around the world through the airwaves on radio and television, in print and through popular personal appearances. Honors, Awards, Societies: • Expert Medical Witness [1992-present] * Guest Presenter Gulf War Veterans Annual Conference - [Las Vegas 1999] * Visiting Professor: U. T. Southwestern Medical School [1997] * Visiting Professor: American University School of Journalism [1999] * Visiting Professor: University of North Texas at Denton Dept. of Science [1990 and 2005] • Visiting Professor: University of Houston Bioneers Conference [2006] * Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997] * Keynote speech: Mexican Government's Annual Conference on Sweeteners [1999] * Appointed Judge - State of Texas [1977-1984] * Broadcast Journalist - [1965-present] * President's Council on Food Safety - [1998-1999] * International Lecture Tours - [1996-present] * Testimony Senate Committee Hearing on Safety of Aspartame - Washington [1987] * Panelist at National News Conference Announcing Dr. John Olney's Brain Tumor/Aspartame Connection - Washington D.C. [1998] * Inducted Member Texas Radio Hall of Fame [2002-present] Representative of the Texas Rice Growers Association [Miss Rice] Board member: Irving Symphony Orchestra Board Member: Irving Community Theater Founding Board Member Radio Station KNON [public radio], Dallas Charter member City of Dallas Citizens Safety Committee Board Member Dallas Mayor’s Fee Task Force Vice President Operation Get Involved, [liaison committee of the D.P.D.] Board member Dallas Homeowners League President Save Open Space Texas Steering Committee Presidential Election Award for Public Service - Mexican Government State of Texas Board of Adjustment

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Aspartame Linked to Depression/Suicide by Research

.
 Aspartame Linked by Researchers
to Depression and Suicide
Mary Nash Stoddard 
Founder Aspartame Consumer Safety Network [1987] www.aspartamesafety.com

DALLAS - October 2, 2006 - For the record, 92 aspartame-related symptoms, including 5 deaths, have been reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Fully 75% of all complaints to the US FDA implicate the artificial sweetener, aspartame, better known as: NutraSweet, Canderel, Equal, etc.  
 At Aspartame Consumer Safety Network [Dallas-based all volunteer international organization], we are increasingly concerned with the more sinister reported psychological side effects of aspartame ingestion. One aspartame component, phenylalanine (50% of the molecule) has been shown in the laboratory to block production of a necessary neurotransmitter, serotonin, which controls sleep patterns and moods. Many daily users of products containing the sweetener such as diet drinks, gums, etc. report both manic and suicidal depressions among other their symptoms. Aspartame also breaks down in heat and in the body to the highly addictive depressant, methanol (10% wood alcohol), formaldehyde [embalming fluid], formic acid and diketopiperazine (a documented brain tumor agent.) 

 Even subtle alterations of brain patterns in aspartame users may be deemed significant, according to these prominent brain researchers: 

 Richard Wurtman, M.D., head of Brain Science at MIT says, "There is  evidence that levels of serotonin or 5-HIAA are subnormal in CSF  (cerebrospinal fluid) samples from violent psychiatric patients and in  brains of people who died by suicide." 1 

 "In rats, the administration of glucose and aspartame by gavage  increased brain levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine and decreased brain  serotonin concentration. It has been argued that these changes in brain  amino acid and biogenic amine levels in rats may have important  behavioral implications for humans." 2 

 Ralph Walton, M.D., a respected researcher at the Department of  Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Univ. College of Medicine and Director of  Research Western Reserve Care System, states, "We conclude that  individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this  artificial sweetener and its use in this population should be discouraged." 3 

 Lane Lenard, Ph.D. wrote: "In one meta-analysis, five out of seven studies  reported reduced levels of serotonin and/or 5-HIAA in the brain stems  of suicide victims." 

 Neurologist, Russell Blaylock, writes that, "In the case of children,  the damage done at the time of initial exposure produces no obvious outward  effects. However, when the child reaches a later stage of development,  the damage may present itself as an emotion control disorder [violent  episodes, schizophrenia, paranoia]. Hundreds of millions of children are at great risk and their parents are not even aware of it. Early  exposure to excitotoxins [aspartame] could cause a tendency for episodic  violence and criminal behavior in later years." 5 

 Aspartame (aka NutraSweet/Equal), as shown in the literature, can be a powerful, mind-altering drug - driving some over the abyss into dark, sinister depressions they can not shake, even with the use of antidepressants. Suicide, for many individuals may seem to be the only way out. 

 On a brighter note, abstinence from aspartame has been reported to have a miraculous effect on some, allowing for a happier existence and the ability to cope with life's normal problems in a non threatening way. A clear understanding of this issue may mean the difference between life and death for some. 

###

 End notes

 1 Wurtman, Richard J. M.D.; Effects of Dietary Amino Acids,  Carbohydrates, and Choline on Neurotransmitter Synthesis; The Mount  Sinai Journal of Medicine; Vol. 55, No. 1, January 1988. From the Dept.  of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and The Clinical Research Center,  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.] 

 2 JAMA, July 19,1985- Vol. 254, No.3, p.402 

 3 Adverse Reactions to Aspartame: Double-Blind Challenge in Patients from a Vulnerable Population, the Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 1993 

 4 Lane Lenard, Ph.D. as reported in Life Enhancement, January, 1998  5 Blaylock, Russell M.D., Excitotoxins - The Taste That Kills 

Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and President Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987 - present]
 * Author: "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" [Odenwald Press 1998]
 * Expert Medical Witness [1992-present]
 * Guest Lecturer: U. T. Southwestern Medical School [1996]
 * Visiting Professor: American University [1999] and Univ. of North Texas at Denton [1990 - 2005], University of Houston [2006]
 * Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997]
 * Keynote speech: Mexican Government's Conference on Sweeteners [1999]
 * Appointed Judge - State of Texas Board [1977-1984]
 * Broadcast Journalist - FCC Licensed - Texas Radio Hall of Fame - [1965-present]
 * President's Council on Food Safety - [1998-1999]
 * International Lecture Tours - [1996-present]
 * Established/Operates Worldwide Pilot Hotline [1987 - present]
__________________________________________________________ 
Mary Nash Stoddard, author of Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame, [Odenwald 1998], can be reached at: Aspartame Consumer Safety Network - P.O. Box 2001 - Frisco TX 75034
or email: marystod@airmail.net
website: http://www.aspartamesafety.com 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Phenylalanine, 50% of the aspartame molecule, uses the same active transport channel as tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier, and, interferes with the production of serotonin.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Info From Aspartame Files of Mary Nash Stoddard

Is Aspartame the Most Dangerous and Deadly Food Additive On the Market?



Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names, NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company was testing an anti-ulcer drug. Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26, 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr John W. Olney and Consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974 as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices caused the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (December 5, 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death as recently disclosed in a February 1994 Department of Health and Human Services report.(1) A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2) Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.

Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: Aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. The book, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James and Phyllis Balch, lists aspartame under the category of "chemical poison." As you shall see, that is exactly what it is.

ASPARTIC ACID (40% OF ASPARTAME) 

Dr Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of Neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi, recently published a book thoroughly detailing the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive aspartic acid from aspartame. [Ninety nine percent of monosodium glutamate 9MSG) is glutamic acid. The damage it causes is also documented in Blaylock's book.] Blaylock makes use of almost 500 scientific references to show how excess free excitatory amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid in our food supply are causing serious chronic neurological disorders and a myriad of other acute symptoms.(3)

SUMMARY OF HOW ASPARTATE (AND GLUTAMATE) CAUSE DAMAGE 

Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death.

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken in its free form (unbound to proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.

The blood brain barrier (BBB) which normally protects the brain from excess glutamate and aspartate as well as toxins 1) is not fully developed during childhood, 2) does not fully protect all areas of the brain, 3) is damaged by numerous chronic and acute conditions, and 4) allows seepage of excess glutamate and aspartate into the brain even when intact.

The excess glutamate and aspartate slowly begin to destroy neurons. The large majority (75%+) of neural cells in a particular area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic illness are noticed. A few of the many chronic illnesses that have been shown to be contributed to by long-term exposure excitatory amino acid damage include:

Multiple sclerosis (MS), ALS, memory loss, hormonal problems, hearing loss, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, hypoglycemia, AIDS dementia, brain lessions, and neuroendocrine disorders.

The risk to infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and persons with certain chronic health problems from excitotoxins are great. Even the Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology (FASEB), which usually understates problems and mimics the FDA party-line, recently stated in a review that "it is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children. The Existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders."(4) Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid.

The exact mechanism of acute reactions to excess free glutamate and aspartate is currently being debated. As reported to the FDA, those reactions include:(5) Headaches/migraines, nausea, abdominal pains, fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain), sleep problems, vision problems, anxiety attacks, depression, and asthma/chest tightness.

One common complaint of persons suffering from the effect of aspartame is memory loss. Ironically, in 1987, G.D. Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame, undertook a search for a drug to combat memory loss caused by excitatory amino acid damage. Blaylock is one of many scientists and physicians who are concerned about excitatory amino acid damage caused by ingestion of aspartame and MSG. A few of the many experts who have spoken out against the damage being caused by aspartate and glutamate include Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D., an experimental psychologist specializing in research design. Another is Olney, a professor in the department of psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University, a neuroscientist and researcher, and one of the world's foremost authorities on excitotoxins. (He informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid caused holes in the brain of mice.).
Isn't It OK If the FDA Approves It?
While the FDA approval may signal the green light for safe consumption, 85 percent of all complaints registered with the FDA are for adverse reactions to aspartame, including five reported deaths. A closer look at the unscientific studies, suspicious approval methods, and its harmful ingredients, reveal the hidden dangers of this artificial sweetener. In reality, aspartame poses a public health threat.


Ailments Resulting From Aspartame 

The components of aspartame can lead to a wide variety of ailments. Some of these problems occur gradually while others are immediate, acute reactions.

A few of the many disorders associated with aspartame include the following:

Birth Defects

A study funded by Monsanto to study possible birth defects caused by consuming aspartame was cut off after preliminary data showed damaging information about aspartame. Additionally, in the book, While Waiting: A Prenatal Guidebook, it is stated that aspartame is suspected of causing brain damage in sensitive individuals. A fetus may be at risk for these effects. Some researchers have suggested that high doses of aspartame may be associated with problems ranging from dizziness and subtle brain changes to mental retardation.

Cancer (Brain Cancer)

In 1981, an FDA statistician stated that the brain tumor data on aspartame was so "worrisome" that he could not recommend approval of NutraSweet.(14)

In a two-year study conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, twelve of 320 rats fed a normal diet and aspartame developed brain tumors while none of the control rats developed tumors, and five of the twelve tumors were in rats given a low dose of aspartame.(15)

The approval of aspartame was a violation of the Delaney Amendment, which was supposed to prevent cancer-causing substances such as methanol (formaldehye) and DKP from entering our food supply. A late FDA toxicologist testified before the U.S. Congress that aspartame was capable of producing brain tumors. This made it illegal for the FDA to set an allowable daily intake at any level. He stated in his testimony that Searle's studies were "to a large extent unreliable" and that "at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals ... " He concluded his testimony by asking, "What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act? ... And if the FDA itself elects to violate the law, who is left to protect the health of the public?"(16)

In the mid-1970s it was discovered that the manufacturer of aspartame falsified studies in several ways. One of the techniques used was to cut tumors out of test animals and put them back in the study. Another technique used to falsify the studies was to list animals that had actually died as surviving the study. Thus, the data on brain tumors was likely worse than discussed above. In addition, a former employee of the manufacturer of aspartame told the FDA on July 13, 1977 that the particles of DKP were so large that the rats could discriminate between the DKP and their normal diet.(12)

Diabetes

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is actually recommending this chemical poison to persons with diabetes, but according to research conducted by a diabetes specialist, aspartame: 1) Leads to the precipitation of clinical diabetes. 2) Causes poorer diabetic control in diabetics on insulin or oral drugs. 3) Leads to the aggravation of diabetic complications such as retinopathy, cataracts, neuropathy and gastroparesis. 4) Causes convulsions.

In a statement concerning the use of products containing aspartame by persons with diabetes and hypoglycemia, the researchers says:

"Unfortunately, many patients in my practice, and others seen in consultation, developed serious metabolic, neurologic and other complications that could be specifically attributed to using aspartame products. This was evidenced by the loss of diabetic control, the intensification of hypoglycemia, the occurrence of presumed 'insulin reactions' (including convulsions) that proved to be aspartame reactions, and the precipitation, aggravation or simulation of diabetic complications (especially impaired vision and neuropathy) while using these products ... Dramatic improvement of such features after avoiding aspartame, and the prompt predictable recurrence of these problems when the patient resumed aspartame products, knowingly or inadvertently."

Another researcher stated that excitotoxins such as those found in aspartame can precipitate diabetes in persons who are genetically susceptible to the disease.(5)

Emotional Disorders

In a double blind study of the effects of aspartame on persons with mood disorders, findings showed a large increase in serious symptoms for persons taking aspartame. Since some of the symptoms were so serious, the Institutional Review Board had to stop the study. Three of the participants had said that they had been "poisoned" by aspartame. Researchers concluded that "individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener; its use in this population should be discouraged."(18) One researcher stated about aspartame, "I know it causes seizures. I'm convinced also that it definitely causes behavioral changes. I'm very angry that this substance is on the market. I personally question the reliability and validity of any studies funded by the NutraSweet Company."(19)

Additionally, there are numerous reported cases of low brain serotonin levels, depression and other emotional disorders that have been linked to aspartame and often are relieved by stopping the intake of aspartame.

Epilepsy/Seizures


With the large and growing number of seizures caused by aspartame, it is sad to see that the Epilepsy Foundation is promoting the "safety" of aspartame. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 80 people who had suffered seizures after ingesting aspartame were surveyed. Community Nutrition Institute concluded the following about the survey:

"These 80 cases meet the FDA's own definition of an imminent hazard to the public health, which requires the FDA to expeditiously remove a product from the market."

Both the Air Force's magazine, Flying Safety, and the Navy's magazine, Navy Physiology, published articles warning about the many dangers of aspartame including the cumulative delirious effects of methanol and the greater likelihood of birth defects. The articles note that the ingestion of aspartame can make pilots more susceptible to seizures and vertigo. Twenty articles sounding warnings about ingesting aspartame while flying have also appeared in the National Business Aircraft Association Digest (NBAA Digest 1993), Aviation Medical Bulletin (1988), The Aviation Consumer (1988), Canadian General Aviation News (1990), Pacific Flyer (1988), General Aviation News (1989), Aviation Safety Digest (1989), and Plane & Pilot (1990) and a paper warning about aspartame was presented at the 57th Annual Meeting of the Aerospace Medical Association (Gaffney 1986).

A hotline was even set up for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame ingestion. Over 600 pilots have reported symptoms including some who have reported suffering grand mal seizures in the cockpit due to aspartame.(21)

Why don't we hear about these things? 

The reason many people do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold: 1) Lack of awareness by the general population. Aspartame-caused diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes. This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands of different locations across the United States. 2) Most people do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame. For the people who have killed a significant percentage of their brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, there is no way that they would normally associate such an illness with aspartame consumption.

How aspartame was approved is a lesson in how chemical and pharmaceutical companies can manipulate government agencies such as the FDA, "bribe" organizations such as the American Dietetic Association, and flood the scientific community with flawed and fraudulent industry-sponsored studies funded by the makers of aspartame.

Erik Millstone, a researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit of Sussex University has compiled thousands of pages of evidence, some of which have been obtained using the freedom of information act 23, showing: 1. Laboratory tests were faked and dangers were concealed. 2. Tumors were removed from animals and animals that had died were "restored to life" in laboratory records. 3. False and misleading statements were made to the FDA. 4. The two US Attorneys given the task of bringing fraud charges against the aspartame manufacturer took positions with the manufacturer's law firm, letting the statute of limitations run out. 5. The Commissioner of the FDA overruled the objections of the FDA's own scientific board of inquiry. Shortly after that decision, he took a position with Burson-Marsteller, the firm in charge of public relations for G.D. Searle.

A Public Board of Inquiry (PBOI) was conducted in 1980. There were three scientists who reviewed the objections of Olney and Turner to the approval of aspartame. They voted unanimously against aspartame's approval. The FDA Commissioner, Dr Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. then created a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the PBOI findings. After it became clear that the Commission would uphold the PBOI's decision by a vote of 3 to 2, another person was added to the Commission, creating a deadlocked vote. This allowed the FDA Commissioner to break the deadlock and approve aspartame for dry goods in 1981. Dr Jacqueline Verrett, the Senior Scientist in an FDA Bureau of Foods review team created in August 1977 to review the Bressler Report (a report that detailed G.D. Searle's abuses during the pre-approval testing) said: "It was pretty obvious that somewhere along the line, the bureau officials were working up to a whitewash." In 1987, Verrett testified before the US Senate stating that the experiments conducted by Searle were a "disaster." She stated that her team was instructed not to comment on or be concerned with the overall validity of the studies. She stated that questions about birth defects have not been answered. She continued her testimony by discussing the fact that DKP has been shown to increase uterine polyps and change blood cholesterol and that increasing the temperature of the product leads to an increase in production of DKP.(13)

*Source: Mary N. Stoddard, Founder of Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [aspartamesafety.com]

EVERY PILOT NEEDS TO KNOW THESE FACTS

SWEETENER SCARE HITS HOME WITH MILLIONS

   Los Angeles, CA - October 26, 1996 - (ACSN) --
Millions watched as Paramount Pictures' HARD COPY TV
show took on the makers of the artificial sweetener,
Aspartame, and the FDA, two days in a row, on national
television this week. Anti-Aspartame Activists from
Dallas based Aspartame Consumer Safety Network were
featured telling their stories. Pilots with seizures
from aspartame (who lost their medical certification to
fly) were seen and heard telling the world about the
"Ticking Time Bomb" in every cockpit on every flight.
It's Aspartame... in the form of  gums, breath mints,
Equal,[now, Neotame and AminoSweet],diet soft drinks, kool aid type drinks and foods
laced with the sweetener. ACSN's leaders have been
featured previously on: ABC TV's NIGHTLINE, 60-Minutes, 
LARRY KING LIVE, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, CBN NEWS, THAMES TV, 
warning the world of the hushed up Aspartame Epidemic.

   Two Commercial Airline Pilots were featured talking
about their grand mal seizures. One in the cockpit, in
flight. Both lost their "medical certification to fly"
as dozens of other pilots have, they blame their medical
problems on Aspartame. Worldwide Pilot's Hotline has
also heard from other airline pilots who've reported
grand mal seizures in the cockpit in flight.

   A huge audience watched incredulously as Senior
NutraSweet Medical Consultant, Robert Moser, M.D.,
extolled the virtues of Aspartame (a well documented
neurotoxin) for use by: "children, pregnant women and
lactating mothers ... "

   One interviewee, the mother of a four year old who
died and was brought back to life in the ER, believes
her daughter has suffered irreparable brain damage from
consumption of the sweetener in the form of children's
vitamins.

   A 30 year old diabetic described a debilitating stroke
after his heavy consumption of the sweetener. His doctor
then told him to stay away from it.

   Well-known Neurosurgeon/Author, Dr. Russell Blaylock,
told of treating patients in his practice who have
sustained serious neurological damage from their use of
this "Excitotoxin."

   A University Professor who suffered from Graves
Disease after beginning to use the sweetener in shakes
and soft drinks in lieu of meals, to lose a few pounds,
was shown also.

   Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder of the Aspartame Consumer
Safety Network (1987), has successfully reached millions
around the world following life threatening experiences
in her life, due to exposure to Aspartame. Now, with the
advent of her WorldWide Pilots Hotline in 1988,
following a request from a famous F-16 pilot who can no
longer fly, she reaches out to Commercial Airline
Pilots, Military Pilots and others to educate them
regarding the reported dangers to pilots of consuming
the sweetener. Her warnings were published a few years
ago in the official USAF Flying Safety publication, and
in dozens of flying publications around the world.
Stoddard claims Aspartame is "The Ticking Time Bomb" in
every cockpit, on every flight. And, no amount of
heightened airport security can stop it. Only vast
volumes of information contained in her files can. The
flying public needs to know. Airlines need to send memos
to their pilots, as one has already reportedly done. The
FAA should formally advise their members of this danger.
Thousands of adverse reactions have been documented by
ACSN and the Pilot's Hotline.

   In these first few hours following this week's HARD
COPY expose' of Aspartame's effects on the consuming
public (Pilots, Children, Diabetics, etc.), emails,
phone calls, and frantic requests for more documentation
are flooding the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network
office in Dallas, Texas, USA. ACSN's website:

http://www.aspartamesafety.com/

   has had thousands of "hits" from people searching  for
more information on Aspartame's deadly effects on
members of the flying community as well as  the general
public. People are stepping forward with their own
"horror stories" and negative experiences they've
associated with ingestion of a neurotoxin.

   Founder of ACSN, Mary Nash Stoddard, well known to
pilot's as their "Guardian Angel" was the only consumer
activist invited to present findings at the first
International Conference on Sweeteners this past July in
Jerusalem. (She has qualified in court proceedings as an
Expert Witness on the subject.)

   Increasingly in demand as a speaker and vital resource
for members of the media and others investigating this
issue, Stoddard's world network, Aspartame Consumer
Safety Network, is finally receiving the credibility and
legitimate status she has worked so hard for well over 2
decades to achieve. "Saving lives through education and
information" is their motto.

Aspartame Consumer Safety Network (1987)
WorldWide Pilots Hotline (Div. of ACSN)
http://www.aspartamesafety.com/


Monday, September 20, 2010

FOX TV Washington Features Stoddard & Turner

FDA met aspartame activists Stoddard & Turner, on 10.6.1999 Story on FOX TV NEWS Washington D.C.  Topic List   < Prev Topic  |  Next Topic >

Story Featured on FOX TV Washington DC:

Jane Henny, Director of the US Food and Drug Administration
MONSANTO CO.; FILING OF FOOD ADDITIVE PETITION; CORRECTION
April 26, 1999
Federal Register: (Volume 64, Number 79)
[Notices]
[Page 20311-20312]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap99-114]
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 99F-0187]
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice; correction.
SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is correcting a notice
that appeared in the Federal Register of February 8, 1999 (64 FR 6100).
The document announced that Monsanto Co. has filed a petition proposing
that the food additive regulations be amended to provide for the safe
use of L-Phenylalanine, N-[N-(3,3-dimethylbutyl)-L--aspartyl]-,1-methyl ester as a
general use sweetener. The name of the additive appeared incorrectly in
the SUMMARY section. This document corrects that error.
DATES: April 26, 1999.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Blondell Anderson, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
(HFS-206), Food and Drug Administration,
200 C St. SW., Washington, DC 20204, 202-418-3106.

George Pauli, director of product policy at
FDA's Office of Premarket Approval for Food Additives.
George Pauli of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition .
****************************************************

Subject: Breaking News!
Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 15:17:51 -0500
From: Mary Stoddard
Organization: Aspartame Consumer Safety Network

James Turner and I want to thank Congressman Dick Armey for
setting up the historic meeting this month with top officials of the
Food and Drug Administration. No anti-aspartame campaigner has met

 with FDA officials since the Senate Hearings in 1987, when Turner and 
Stoddard met at FDA Headquarters in Washington to present the case
 for aspartame being re-called and retested as a drug instead of a Food 
Additive. We also want to thank Environment News Network for featuring 
our story today in their widely-read publication. And, to FOX TV Washington 
for airing our story on the unprecedented meeting at FDA offices with
George Pauli, Blondell Anderson and Rudolph Harris. One major correction
to enclosed story: Congressman Armey told constituents Stoddard and
Anesthetist, Larry Taylor at a private meeting in his Dallas office [1988] that
his wife no longer drank diet drinks because they gave her headaches. 
[As far as I know Armey has never used aspartame as a sweetener.]

Prior to meeting with FDA in Washington D.C., I was the invited
guest lecturer at American University's School of Journalism, Master's Class,
Saturday, October 2.

Best wishes to you,

Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilots Hotline [1987-present]
President's Council on Food Safety [1998-1999]
Visiting Professor U.T. Southwestern Medical School [1997]
Expert Medical Witness [1992-present]
State Judge [1977-1984]
Radio Talkshow Host [1995-2001]
Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame [Toxicology Sourcebook
- Odenwald Press 1998]
*******************************************************

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Heart Association Study Shows Weight Gain in Diet Soda Users


Consumer Group Endorses Study Showing How Diet Drinks Can Trigger Heart Attacks, Stroke and Diabetes

Aspartame Consumer Safety Network confirms results of the latest scientific study showing aspartame in diet soft drinks can trigger serious adverse reactions like: heart attacks, strokes and diabetes. ACSN acts as a valuable resource for media, consumers and health care professionals looking for answers to their questions about the effects of aspartame and the new sweetener, neotame.

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) July 27, 2007
Authors of a major study published this week in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found that one or more sodas per day increases risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome (a cluster of factors that boosts the chance of having a heart attack or stroke and developing diabetes) by about 45 per cent. "It did not seem to matter if the soda was regular or diet," Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, said Monday from Boston.
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, a U.S. consumer group, with international affiliations, has published information for over two decades, supporting the findings of the Boston researchers. The group's files contain thousands of adverse reactions to the artificial sweetener, aspartame (aka NutraSweet, Equal, Canderel). Aspartame in diet sodas, breaks down into: phenylalanine, methanol, aspartic acid, formaldehyde, formic acid and diketopiperazine, a brain tumor agent. In independent testing, aspartame caused brain tumors, breast tumors, grand mal seizures, pancreatic tumors, uterine tumors, leukemia and lymphoma, ACSN's pilot hotline has logged close to one thousand pilot related calls regarding pilot's adverse reactions to the sweetener.
Sunday, marks ACSN's 20th Anniversary of all-volunteer service to the public. Founders, James Turner, Esq. of Washington, D.C. and broadcast journalist, Mary Nash Stoddard, of Dallas, Texas, have been recognized for significant contributions in the area of food safety and for documenting the risk factors, including heart, stroke and metabolic problems, associated with aspartame consumption.
Many prominent researchers and doctors, such as the late Dr. Robert Atkins concur with the network's findings. Food and Drug Administration toxicologist, Dr. Jerome Bressler discovered unreported heart and other life threatening problems in the laboratory animals, showing how the original drug company tests could have been 'falsified' to gain approval for the sweetener.
Public figures, with histories of serious heart problems, who are also reported to be daily consumers of diet sodas include: President Bill Clinton (Diet Coke),Vice President, Dick Cheney (caffeine-free Diet Sprite) and television personality, Regis Philbin (Diet Coke).
Turner and Stoddard are campaigning for an aspartame recall, based on the latest research and dozens of independent scientific studies showing aspartame can not be regarded as "safe."
For more information or to book an interview contact: 214-387-4001
Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network & Pilot Hotline since 1987
www.aspartamesafety.com
P.O. Box 2001 - Frisco TX 75034
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Monday, September 6, 2010

FDA's Aspartame Statistics First Made Public by Aspartame Awareness Campaign Pioneer

FDA Released Aspartame Statistics to Mary Nash Stoddard, An Investigative Journalist, Only After Freedom of Information Act Was Invoked

Aspartame Side Effects

The components of aspartame can lead to a number of health problems. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can be acute reactions. According to Lendon Smith, M.D., in the forward to Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame [Odenwald Press 1998] there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why. Then, there are users who don't 'appear' to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.
Mary Nash Stoddard, Host of The Great American Talk Show on KSKY Radio in Dallas, 1994-1997, was able to obtain the following information from the FDA, only by making the request as a Journalist. The agency finally, reluctantly sent the information, which Stoddard has made public in Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame and circulated widely on the Internet. 
Adverse reactions and reported side effects of aspartame ingestion include:
Eye -blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes
Ear -tinnitus – ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment
Neurological -epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors
Psychological/Psychiatric -severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias
Chest – 
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure
Gastrointestinal -nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing
Skin and Allergies -itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma
Endocrine and Metabolic -loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS
Other -frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection
Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all -
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies
Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme disease
Grave's Disease
Meniere's disease
Alzheimer's disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Lupus
non-Hodgkin's
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
These are not allergies or sensitivities, but diseases and disease syndromes. Adverse reactions to aspartame/neotame are commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mimic textbook 'disease' symptoms..
Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays. 
Ever gone to the doctor with real, physical symptoms, but he/she can't find the cause? Well, it's probably your diet, your environment, or both.
Aspartame is the common denominator for over 92 different health symptoms at the root of modern disease.  The most effective way to reverse disease symptoms is removing the underlying cause – aspartame.
What can you do about aspartame side effects?
Action Agenda taken from Stoddard's toxicology sourcebook, Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame:
  • Tell everyone you know.
  • Talk to the schools and day care centers. Offer to speak at parent-teachers meetings.
  • Contact your local, state, and Federal government representatives.
  • If you see someone with a diet drink, ask if they have had any of the typical aspartame side effects.
  • Spread the word at your work.
  • Distribute the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot's Hotline
  • Tell your doctor about the scientific research available proving the negative side effects of aspartame.
  • Register a complaint with the FDA, the FAA, and the NutraSweet Company about aspartame poisoning.
  • Return all food products with aspartame, opened or unopened, to your grocer. Tell him/her the products make you sick. The grocer can return them to the manufacturer for a store refund. The manufacturer should get the message. So, will the grocer.
  • Spread the word on computer networks.
  • Publish articles in newsletters at your church, place of work, or neighborhood association.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

What Does The Powerful Sweetener Lobby Fear Most?

Aspartame/AminoSweet/Neotame: 

Knowledge of Facts Equals Power

Informed Consumers Are What The Powerful Sweetener Industry Fears Most


DALLAS - Sept. 5, 2010  --  Knowing the facts about what you are feeding yourself and your kids, puts the power back into the consumer's hands and out of the hands of the government. In the case of artificial sweeteners, Aspartame, AminoSweet and Neotame, the public has fallen victim to a corrupt system of lies, deceit and worse, on the part of a government agency established to protect the general public. 
The US Food and Drug Administration has been allowed, for lack of responsible oversight, to engage in the most deceptive practices in the case of aspartame and Neotame approvals. 
As in the case of The Tobacco Industry and their lies about their product causing death and destruction of lives - the giant Sweetener Industry has, with help from their paid lobbyists, taken a page from The Tobacco Industry's Handbook for protecting their products. The Aspartame Story is an issue of Public Policy gone awry in the worst possible manner. 
This battle will only be won at 'Point of Sale' wherever foods, drinks, medications, etc. are on the shelves. Will consumers vote with their dollars? Savvy retailers carry only products which sell. Remember that, next time you're purchasing products to give yourself and your family. If you buy a product containing aspartame sweeteners by accident, take it back to the store for an exchange or refund. That sends a powerful message to the merchant and the cost is passed along to the manufacturer - where it belongs. Hold them accountable - Keep them honest.
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Saturday, September 4, 2010

Taken From Keynote Speech by ACSN Founder Sept. 8, 2005 at Nutrition Conference in Detroit MI


Studies Show Aspartame Causes Lymphomas and Leukemia
ATTENTION: ASSIGNMENTS EDITORS
Interview Opp For Immediate Release September 1, 2005
Keywords: FDA/ FAA / Health and Safety / Medical / Science/ Transportation
Contact: Mary Stoddard 214-387-4001

Latest Scientific Studies Show Aspartame Causes Lymphomas and Leukemia Reports Leading Consumer Advocate
Dallas - New studies, published in scientific journals, link the artificial sweetener aspartame to lymphoma and leukemia in rats and spontaneous changes in thinking and behavior in people, Aspartame Consumer Safety Network founder reports. Stoddard is the keynote speaker at a health and nutrition conference in Detroit, Michigan, Thursday evening, September 8th.
"The release of important scientific studies - in Italy and Africa, warns that the artificial sweetener, aspartame, commonly found in diet drinks and 7,000 products worldwide, may cause more harm than once thought possible," said network founder Mary Nash Stoddard of Frisco, Texas.
"The first study was released, in the European Journal of Oncology by Morando Soffritti and coworkers," Stoddard said.
"This study clearly demonstrates a significant increase in several types of lymphomas and leukemia in rats. . . . These malignancies have increased dramatically, since the widespread use of aspartame," said neurosurgeon and author of Excitotoxins The Taste That Kills, Russell Blaylock, M.D., in Jackson, Mississippi.
The second is The dose-dependent effects of Aspartame on Serotoninergic Parameters in Albino Rats, by B.A. Iwalokun, Department of Biochemistry, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria. Study results provided "strong indications that aspartame may alter serotoninergic parameters and associated behaviors," Stoddard said. The abstract was published in the abstract book from the Third International Conference on Mechanisms of Action of Neutraceuticals, at Maggie Valley Resort, North Carolina.
Dr. Richard Wurtman, a neurologist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] in Cambridge, says aspartame may have effects that are not detectable by standard neurotoxicological texts. Specifically, Wurtman and his collaborators are concerned that excess phenylalanine in the blood can reduce the production of brain neurotransmitters - catecholamines and serotonin - by competing with their precursor amino acids for transport across the blood-brain barrier. "There is no question that you can demonstrate changes in neurotransmitter release in rats given large doses of aspartame," says Wurtman. [from an interview with writer, Tim Stephens in The Journal of NIH Research, April, 1999; VOL 3 pg. 35; title: Some Still Bitter Over NutraSweet.]
A1993 study, published in Biological Psychiatry by Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Ralph G. Walton, M.D. shows: "Administration of this substance [aspartame], has also been associated with aggression and bingeing." An evolving view in modern psychiatry is that although depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, impulse control disorders and eating disorders have been viewed as separate entities, they should be viewed as a continuum of disorders - all involving some degree of dysregulation of serotonin. "I believe there is overwhelming evidence that aspartame contributes to this dysregulation," said Dr. Walton.
In a 1997 lecture at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, published, 1998 in toxicology sourcebook, Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame, Stoddard told students: "Individuals are reporting, to ACSN, cases of brain tumors and non-Hodgkins lymphoma."
In 1986, Stoddard was diagnosed with a life threatening blood disease, eosinophilia myalgia, after adding aspartame to her daily diet. When she ceased using the sweetener, the illness went away. [www.aspartamesafety.com]
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Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987-present] P.O. Box 2001 - Frisco, TX 75034
tel. 1-214-387-4001
email: marystod@airmail.net
http://www.aspartamesafety.com


Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Skin Eruptions from Aspartame Ingestion - Dermatologist



  • Brief Reports

Aspartame-lnduced Urticaria

  1. ANTHONY KULCZYCKI, Jr., M.D.
+Author Affiliations
  1. Washington University School of Medicine; 
    St. Louis, Missouri

    Excerpt

    Aspartame (NutraSweet; G.D. Searle & Co., Skokie, Illinois), the dipeptide composed of aspartic acid and the methyl ester of phenylalanine, is a low-calorie artificial sweetener 180 times sweeter than sucrose (1, 2). Although questions have been raised about its safety (3-5), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aspartame for use in carbonated beverages in 1983, and currently it is used extensively in diet soft drinks, chewing gums, cereals, desserts, and sugar substitutes. One case of granulomatous panniculitis resulting from aspartame has been documented (6). This report describes a case of aspartame-induced urticaria confirmed by doubleblind challenge.
    A 23-year-old white
    This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.

    Addendum

    The case of a second patient, a 42-year-old white woman with a 4-month history of intermittent angioedema and urticaria, was also studied. This patient noted that several of her episodes developed within 1 hour of ingestion of aspartame-containing drinks. In a doubleblind, placebo-controlled challenge the patient developed urticaria on the forearms and neck within 90 minutes of challenge with 75 mg of aspartame.

    Acknowledgments

    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: The author thanks W. Gerald Klingler, M.D., and Rand Dankner, M.D. for referal of the patient; Jane Gold, R.N., and Mary Conboy for assisting with patient monitoring and P-K testing; and Casey Croy and Dr. Philip Korenblat for reviewing the manuscript.

    Article and Author Information

    • Data were provided by Dr. David G. Hattan from adverse drug reaction reports as of 22 April 1985 made to the Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
    • Grant support: by grant 1P50 AI 15322-06 from the National Institutes of Health.
    • ▸Requests for reprints should be addressed to Anthony Kulczycki, Jr., M.D.; Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue; St. Louis, MO 63110.

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