SWEETENERS GONE WILD BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE DEALERS OF DIETARY DECEPTION

Neotame:  The new, more controversial, form of aspartame, 13,000 times sweeter because 3-dimethylbutyl [on EPA's Most Hazardous Chemical's List] is added.
www.aspartamesafety.com/Article6.htm
www.aspartamesafety.com/PR4.htm

Local sugarcane finds its way into "Caddy Wars" as battle for sweetener success heats up

By SUSAN SALISBURY

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Monday, June 08, 2009


Yellow Splenda. Blue Equal. Pink Sweet 'N Low. Old-fashioned white granulated sugar, produced right here in Palm Beach County.The colorful sweetener market is getting downright crowded - and competitive, as packets fight for space in restaurant "caddys."

The usual sweetener suspects

Now there's a new color in town: green-clad stevia, a plant-derived sweetener used for centuries in South America. In December, after years of opposition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, abruptly cleared the path for a highly purified form to sweeten foods and beverages.

Welcome to caddy wars.

The introduction of stevia, the newest combatant, has touched off unlikely liaisons, created colorful marketing confusion and reinvigorated the fight for control of which sweeteners get stirred, poured and sprinkled both in restaurants and eventually, at home.

Through their connection to Domino Foods Inc., West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals Corp. and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida in Belle Glade are fighting back by joining hands with the enemy: NutraSweet Co., the Chicago-based maker of rival aspartame.

The local companies jointly own American Sugar Refining Inc. and the Domino sugar brand.

Domino and NutraSweet have developed a "caddy strategy" in the war of the packets, mixing up sugar and artificial sweeteners and perhaps confusingly for consumers, colors, with a line of new products such as NutraSweet Cane.

Introduced this year, NutraSweet Cane's yellow packets contain both sugar and two artificial sweeteners, taking direct aim at yellow-clad Splenda.

"We decided to go into each category - each color - and develop a product that was unique and better," said NutraSweet CEO Craig Petray.

But already, some consumers are bristling from the sugar caddy confusion. A recent posting on the Fooducate.com blog from a consumer named, Tina, expressed outraged over when she picked up a "pink packet" to sweeten her iced tea at Burger King and noticed it was NutraSweet Pink, not Sweet n'Low.

She checked it out later and found out that the NutraSweet packet was not saccharine, but contained neotame, which she had never heard of.

So is the unlikely pairing of sugar and sweetener folks; who for years have had a relationship more akin to the Hatfields and McCoys. For years, alternative sweetener manufacturers have marketed their products by attacking sugar as too caloric, seeking to blame it for the nation's obesity epidemic.

The sugar industry has shot back that sugar, unlike artificial sweeteners, is natural and at 15 calories a teaspoon, not that calorie-filled.

"Sugar is the gold standard and everything else is trying to come as close as possible to it," sniffs Brian O'Malley, Domino's president and CEO.

But, said O'Malley, "We decided to launch an artificial line of products in recognition that there are consumers who will not eat sugar; either they cannot or do not want to."

Only a few years ago, NutraSweet viewed sugar and high fructose corn syrup, another major sweetener, as "the enemy," Petray said. Then, "Five or six years ago, we got on a whole blending kick."

They opened a lab called "Sweet Spot," in Chicago, to specialize in sweetener blending. "We take out a little bit of high fructose corn syrup or sugar and put in other sweeteners, and have the products taste the same," Petray said.

Blended products that are a mix of sugar and another sweetener are becoming more common, and consumers will see more and more "hybrid blends" in foods and beverages too, Petray said. For example, Sunny Delight, a popular kids beverage, has both corn syrup and artificial ingredients neotame and ace-k. [Unlike Aspartame, Neotame does not have to be listed as an ingredient.]

The partnership's first product was blue-packeted NutraSweet, a blend of aspartame and ace-k, designed to compete with Equal, which has just aspartame. "It has a better up-front sweetness and less of a linger," Petray said of "blue," launched last year.

The latest offering, brought out at the National Restaurant Association in Chicago in May, is a green-packeted product called "100 percent Natural NutraSweet with Stevia." It contains 98 percent sugar, but 90 percent of the sweetness is from stevia, Petray said.

At first glance, the packets and boxes of the blended sweeteners look almost identical to the products they seek to usurp. For instance, NutraSweet "blue" boxes could be mistaken for Equal, which is known for blue packaging.

New Pink's pink packets and boxes compete with pink-packeted saccharine, though New Pink brags right on the box that it is "saccharine free," and has an "extra sweet taste." It is formulated to taste "just like Sweet 'N Low," Petray said. "During our market research, we found the one thing consumers did not like about (Sweet 'N Low) pink was that it has saccharine in it" - despite the fact that Sweet 'N Low is practically synonymous with saccharine.

The blending strategy continues throughout the product line, which is all manufactured and distributed by Domino and sold along with its sugar products. The sweeteners formulated by NutraSweet are marketed by both Domino and NutraSweet, and so far have been distributed primarily to restaurants and hotels, with grocery stores expected to be added later.

Petray said there's much more to come from NutraSweet's alliance with Domino Sugar.
###
Comments
By MIFI
Jun 10, 2009 9:57 PM  
Stevia is all natural (like sugar cane) and about 350 times more potent than sugar, without the chemical issues. 

By Joyce Grace
Jun 10, 2009 1:25 PM  
If you are looking for an all natural sweetner, then stick with sugar or stevia. Stevia is an herb that does not raise your blood sugar level. Warning: Pure stevia extract is VERY sweet and cloying. I purchased some at my local Fresh and Easy supermarket and I only need to use a 1/3 of the 25mg scoop to sweeten my tea. I used a whole scoop in my coffee and I was tasting it for about an hour.

By Tom Martin
Jun 9, 2009 10:26 AM 
Stick with Stevia. The Japanese have been using it for over 30 years without a health related complaint. Funny how the Japanese have one of the longest life expectancy rates on the planet.

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Neotame: Next generation of aspartame problems. [At least aspartame is required by law to appear marked, somewhere on the ingredient label. Neotame is not!] Traveled from Monsanto Chemical Company (original patent holder) to The NutraSweet Company to J.W. Childs Partnership to Pharmacia to Pfizer. First petitioned in 1997, Neotame was approved in 2002 as safe for chewing gum, carbonated soft drinks, refrigerated and non-refrigerated ready-to-drink beverages, frozen desserts and novelties, puddings and fillings, yogurt products, baked goods, and candies.
_________________________________________________________________________
For more information:
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline 
[Promoting FDA Recall of Aspartame - since 1987]

email: marystod@airmail.net
http://www.aspartamesafety.com

BAKING WITH #STEVIA SWEETENERS - HEALTHY ALTERNATIVE TO #ASPARTAME AND REFINED #SUGARS

There are many brands of Stevia Sweeteners on the Market today. In my opinion, Stevita Stevia is the purest and best product line available. I've been to their company many times and observed how this family-owned and operated business works hard to bring us the best product available. I have known the owners since the late eighties and trust their products implicitly. Please email me if you have questions.

http://marystod.blogspot.com/2013/11/who-will-win-sweetener-wars.html

We have wonderful stevia Cookbooks available for a $25 donation to our Aspartame Awareness campaign. Let me know if you want a Cookbook filled with delicious recipes similar to the ones below:


PECAN SANDIES

1 cup butter
3/4 cup oat flour
1 1/2 cups soy protein isolate
1/2 teaspoon stevioside or
4 teaspons stevia blend or
8 packets of stevia
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans finely chopped

Topping
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon stevioside
or 1 teaspoon stevia blend
or 2 packets of stevia

In a mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add about half of the soy protein and oat flour, stevia, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of water. Beat till thoroughly combined. Beat in remaining soy and flour. Stir in 1 cup of finely chopped pecans,. In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup finely chopped pecans with stevia. Shape dough into crescents, 1-inch balls or 2-inch fingers. Press into pecan mixture covering the cookies completely. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies in a 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes or till bottoms are slightly browned. Cool cookies on a wire rack.

Makes 3 dozen

NUTRITIONAL FACTS PER SERVING: 1G CARBOHYDRATE; 86 CALORIES; 9G TOTAL FAT; 1G PROTEIN - FOOD EXCHANGES: 2 FAT

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TEXAS SPICED PECANS

A nice fall snack

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 each egg white
2 cups pecans
1/2 teaspoon stevioside or 4 teaspoons stevia blend or 8 packets of stevia
2 tablespoons water

In a bowl, combine all spices and stevia. In another bowl, beat egg white with water till frothy. Add pecans to egg mixture and coat well. Place coated pecans on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle spice mixture over nuts. Bake at 300 degrees for 30-minutes. Allow to cool before serving.

Makes four 1/2 cup servings

PER SERVING: 11G CARBOHYDARATE; 367 CALORIES; 37G TOTAL FAT; 5G PROTEIN - FOOD EXCHANGES: 1/2 STARCH/ 1/2 LEAN MEAT; 7 FAT

http://www.stevitastevia.com/newsdetails.php
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Labels:
Aspartame, Stevia, Sweeteners, Baking, Stevita Co., Mary Nash Stoddard, FDA, Food Additives, Sugar, Diabetics, Fat, Protein, Food Exchanges, Low Calorie,

_____________________________________________________________________________

Mary Nash Stoddard
marystod@airmail.net

FROM #FDA DOCUMENT FILES (Washington DC) re: #ASPARTAME RECALL /#PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH

Date: January 12, 2002 

Please find below Evidence File #6: Aspartame & Parkinson's Disease

                  Scientific Abuse in Parkinson's                      Disease Research Related to                              Aspartame    Table of Contents           Summary of Aspartame Effects on Parkinson's Disease         Meaningless Industry Research         References    Summary of Aspartame and Parkinson's Disease Issue    Severe adverse effects of regular aspartame use by Parkinson's Disease  patients has not been reported in the scientific literature. However,  researchers and physicians know that case histories are rarely reported in  the scientific literature, but instead, reported to the U.S. Food and Drug  Administration and to independent organizations such as Aspartame Consumer Safety Network. These organizations have received numerous case reports of aspartame worsening Parkinson's Disease patients (Stoddard 1995). In addition,  professionals familiar with aspartame use and Parkinson's Disease have  reported adverse effects (Morris 1995):     "[At] the state psychiatric hospital where I worked in quality assurance    the psychiatrists [stated] that patients exhibiting Parkinsonian tremors    should not receive any food or beverage containing Nutrasweet as it    increased the tremors.    ....   "I NEVER use aspartame (Nutrasweet) or any food or beverage    containing it due to what I have seen as side effects in patients with    Parkinsonian tremors."    The adverse effects of aspartame on Parkinson's Disease patients may be  due to the damaging effects of aspartame-released excitotoxins in  combination with the formaldehyde metabolite. Excitotoxins have been  implicated in the development and worsening of Parkinson's Disease  symptoms (Blaylock 1994, Choi 1992, Kurland 1988). [Note: Scientific abuse  related to excitotoxins and aspartame will be discussed in another  chapter.] Formaldhyde would be expected to exacerbate the toxic effects of  the excitotoxins and discussed in the Methanol / Formaldehyde Research  section.    Another theory as to adverse effects of aspartame on Parkinson's Disease  patients has been put forth by Pardridge (1986):     "Blockade of the therapeutic effects of some drugs would also be a    complication associated with hyperphenylalaninemia. The on-off effects    seen in L-DOPA therapy of Parkinson patients have been attributed to    the effects of the amino acids in dietary protein on L-DOPA uptake    into the brain [Nutt 1984]. Since L-DOPA, a neutral amino acid, is    transported into the brain on the same phenylalanine transport system    [Wade 1975], it would be expected that L-DOPA levels in the brain are    inversely related to plasma neutral amino acid levels."    Because the phenylalanine from aspartame is in free-form (unbound to  protein), it is absorbed suddenly and can spike the blood plasma levels of  phenylalanine (Caballero 1986, Matalon 1988, Stegink 1987). Pardridge's  theory is that this sudden rise in phenylalanine levels interferes with  L-DOPA used to treat Parkinson's Disease. Unfortunately, Dr. Pardrige was  (like many others) fooled by flawed and nearly fraudulent industry  research related to methanol and excitotoxins.    There is admitedly a lack of long-term research on the effects of  aspartame on Parkinson's Disease patients. But given the exposure to  formaldehyde, free-form excitotoxic amino acids, and free-form  phenylalanine, there is plenty of reasons for Parkinson's Disease patients  to avoid aspartame until long-term independent research is performed.      Meaningless Industry Research    Industry research (Karstaedt 1993) has concluded that:     "Aspartame consumption in amounts well in excess of what would be    consumed by heavy users of aspartame-sweetened products has no    adverse effects on PD [Parkinson's Disease] patients."    It sounds very convincing until the study is examined and it becomes clear  that the researchers were not testing anything related to aspartame  toxicity. The researchers were not even testing their own hypothesis  because of the severely-flawed study deisgn.    Karstaedt (1993) flaws:     1. The study lasted only one day. It is difficult to imagine how any      researcher could proclaim the safety of aspartame after a single day      test. It has been known for many years that the neurological effects      of aspartame usually take medium-term or long-term use to appear in      patients (CDC 1984, Roberts 1988). This proves that they were not      testing adverse effects as they happen in the real world.     2. The aspartame was given in capsules. Capsule administration of      aspartame has been proven to eliminate the sudden absorption of the      aspartame breakdown products (Stegink 1987). This is particularly      disturbing because the researchers were attempting to test whether the      spike of plasma phenylalanine levels (normally seen from aspartame      consumption) affects Parkinson's Disease patients. Yet they      administered aspartame in such a way as to eliminate the plasma      phenylalanine spike!     3. The authors claim that a high dose of aspartame was administered. In      reality, the dose was approximately 20-40% of the FDA acceptable      daily intake of 50 mg/kg/day. The dose given in this experiment been      shown to be equaled or exceeded on a daily basis by regular users      (CDC 1984, Frey 1976, Porikos 1984). The authors based their estimate      of a high dose on a projected estimate of daily intake published      shortly after aspartame was approved for use in carbonated beverages      (Roak-Folz 1984).    Whenever one sees statements implying that aspartame is "safe" for  Parkinson's Disease patients, it should be understood that such statements  are based soley on this single-day, poorly-designed study. People who cite  this study as evidence of aspartame's "safety" are usually either  Monsanto/NutraSweet consultants or persons completely unfamiliar with the  scientific literature.    References    Blaylock, Russell L., 1994. "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills," Health  Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, c1994.    Caballero, Benjamin, et al., 1986. "Plasma Amino Acid Levels After  Single-Dose Aspartame Consumption in Phenylketonuria, Milk  Hyperphenylalaninemia, and Heterozygous State for Phenylketonuria,"  Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 190, No. 4, page 668-671.    CDC 1984. "Evaluation of Consumer Complaints Related to Aspartame Use,"  Division of Nutrition, Center for Health Promotion and Education, Centers  for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333, November 1984.    Choi, Dennis W., 1992. "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Glutamate -- Too  Much of a Good Thing," Science, Volume 326, No. 22, page 1493-1495.    Frey, Gunther H., 1976. "Use of Aspartame By Apparently Healthy Children  and Adolescents," Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Volume  2, page 401-415.    Karstaedt, Patricia, Jonathan Pincus, 1993. "Aspartame Use in Parkinson's  Disease," Neurology, Volume 43, pages 611-613.    Kurland, L.T., 1988 "Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Parkinson's Disease  Complex on Guam Linked to an Environmental Neurotoxin," Trends in  Neuroscience, Volume 11, page 51-54.    Matalon, Reuben, et al., 1988. "Aspartame Consumption in Normal  Individuals and Carriers for Phenylketonuria (PKU)," Presented at "Dietary  Phenylalanine and Brain Function." Proceedings of the First International  Meeting on Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function, Washington, D.C., May  8-10, 1987. Center for Brain Sciences and Metabolism Charitable Trust,  P.O. Box 64, Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 02142. Reprinted in "Dietary  Phenyalalnine and Brain Function," c1988, Birkhauser, Boston, MA USA, page  41-52.    Morris, Rosemary, 1995. Post to USENET Group sci.med.nutrtion on July 5,  1995. Found on the Internet at:  http://x16.dejanews.com/getdoc.xp?AN=105653826&CONTEXT=917226403.236126282&hitnum=1    Nutt, J.G., et al. 1984. "The 'on-off' Phenomenon in Parkinson's Disease.  Relation to Levodopa Absorption and Transport," New England Journal of  Medicine, Volume 310, pages 483-488.    Pardridge, William M., 1986. "Potential Effects of the Dipeptide Sweetener  Aspartame on the Brain," In "Nutrition and the Brain, Volume 7," Edited by  R.J. Wurtman and J.J. Wurtman, Raven Press, New York, c1986, page 199-241.    Porikos, Katherine P., Theodore B. Van Italie, 1984. "Efficacy of  Low-Calorie Sweeteners in Reducing Food Intake: Studies with Aspartame"  IN Stegink, L., Filer L., 1984. "Aspartame: Physiology and Biochemistry,"  Marcel Dekker, Inc., N.Y., page 273-286.    Roak-Foltz, R., Leveille, G., 1984. "Projected Aspartame Intake: Daily  Ingestion of Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, and Methanol," in Stegink, L.,  Filer L., 1984. "Aspartame: Physiology and Biochemistry," Marcel Dekker,  Inc., N.Y.    Roberts, H.J., 1988. "Reactions Attributed to Aspartame-Containing  Products:  551 Cases," Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 40, page  85-94.    Stegink, Lewis D., et al. 1987. "Plasma Amino Acid Concentrations in  Normal Adults Administered Aspartame in Capsules or Solution: Lack of  Bioequivalence," Metabolism, Volume 36, No. 5, page 507-512.    Stoddard, Mary Nash, 1995. Conversations between Mary Nash Stoddard of the  Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Mark D. Gold.    Wade, L.A., R. Katzman, 1975. "Rat Brain Regional Uptake and  Decarboxylation of L-DOPA Following Carotid Injection," American Journal  of Physiology, Volume 228, page 352-359.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Subject: Docket # 02P-0317  To: FDA Dockets Submittal  From: Mark D. Gold - Concord, NH
____________________________________________________________________________________ 
Mary Nash Stoddard

marystod@airmail.net

LANDMARK CASE SIGNALING DUPLICITY OF #ASPARTAME APPLICANT'S MAKERS (Associated Press Story)

JURY FOUND G.D. SEARLE LIES ON PRODUCT SAFETY APPLICATIONS

Check out what a seated Jury thought about the safety of drug-maker G.D. Searle's products. The Nine Million $$$ settlement was huge back in 1988. Falsifying laboratory test results was the ONLY way to get Aspartame approved by FDA in 1981. So, that's what Searle did, with the help of CEO, Donald Rumsfeld. Twenty-six years after this stunning win by a victim of product fraud, the concerns have only become greater. Until now, scurrilous bribery and intimidation tactics, on the part of the manufacturers, have kept this hazardous product on the shelves. Sooner or later, Justice must prevail, as it did for this poor victim in 1988! Try to imagine the enormous liabilities that have accumulated over the past 3 decades. Mind boggling to say the least. Don't you agree?

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*** Suit Against Makers of Aspartame Who Should Also Have Been Sued for 'Intentionally Misrepresenting' Their (Aspartame) Sweetener's Safety As Well. Same Scientist Coverup of Adverse Reactions as Ones In IUD Suit:

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Dallas Morning News - Sept. 1988

Woman Wins $9 Million in IUD Suit

(G.D. Searle Drug Co. also makes Aspartame Sweeteners)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A federal jury Friday awarded a woman nearly $9 million in finding that G.D. Searle and Co. made intentional misrepresentations of  the Copper~7 intrauterine device, leading to the woman's sterility.

The Jury also decided the company was negligent in its testing, but not in its design or manufacture, of the Copper-7 worn by Esther Kociemba.

Kociemba, 30, of Elk River, was awarded $7 million in punitive damages, $1 million for emotional distress and $750,000 for pain and disability.

The jury did not award damages to Kociemba's husband, William.

Jurors refused to comment on the verdict.

Searle attorney Paul Strain of Baltimore said the verdict will be appealed.

About 500 lawsuits have been filed over the Copper-7, the most widely used IUD in 'the United States' before it was withdrawn from the U.S. market, in January 1986, in the midst of the litigation. 

Searle won 15 of the previous 18 cases to  be decided, but Kociemba's attorneys' have said none of the previous cases included as many documents or as much deposition testimony as this one.

(submitted by: Mary Nash Stoddard/author Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame) http://marystod.blogspot.com/

#ASPARTAME REACTION REPORTS CONTINUE TO POUR IN FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Our Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline Continues to Receive Complaints from Consumers Over the Past 27 years. 

The following reports are a miniscule sample taken from  the tens of thousands I've received, since 1987, from people looking for answers. Tragically, FDA has registered reports of Aspartame Deaths in their files and refuses to release the latest statistics. Injuries to children are probably closest to our hearts, followed in quick succession by adverse reaction reports from Pilots. One doctor called it an Aspartame Epidemic. How long must we wait on a hopelessly corrupt government agency (FDA) to correct this situation? Aspartame is a 'drug' that long ago should've been re-called and retested as a pharmaceutical drug, which is how it was discovered (as a drug for peptic ulcers.) The makers have enjoyed 33 years of profiting off their ill-gotten gains. That's 33 years too many, in our opinion, based on published, peer-reviewed independent studies and research! There should be no statute of limitation on criminal actions of this magnitude. -- Mary Nash Stoddard

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Report #1.

I have had Diabetes for the last 20-years. Started out with just pills and diet but have been insulin dependent for about 18 years now. Recently, I have undergone several major surgeries for Diabetic Retinopathy. I was almost completely blind a few years ago. Now I can see pretty good from my right eye but only partially from my left eye, even after all of the surgeries. I have completely lost my peripheral vision forever, and have been told there is nothing else that can be done for my left eye. Both of my retinas have been detached and repaired, and my left eye also had a hole in the center of it which was partially repaired. 

The doctors say it was from diabetes...nobody ever mentioned Aspartame to me. I just found out about Apartame a few months ago when someone sent me an email. 

I have been drinking tons of diet coke for the last 20-years thinking I was cutting down on sugar consumption. I also constantly had a sugarfree Certs in my mouth, because I was always thirsty. Turns out Certs also have Aspartame in them!

I have been off of diet coke and Certs for several months now and feel much better. Leg cramps have subsided, muscle aches have gone away and I have much more energy. I also have overcome my insomnia! 

Unfortunately, it is too late for my eyesight...what a shame. Any help you can offer me in this area would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work. Mike M.

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Report #2.

I battled high blood pressure from 1987 until 2006. My blood pressure
had become uncontrollable. I had memory lapses where I could not
remember someone's name. My joints were hurting and aching and my prostate
was enlarged.

My doctor just kept increasing my medications and the symptoms kept getting
worse. After experiencing dizziness and nose bleeds from excessively high blood
pressure, I had to stop eating and only consume distilled water. After several days,
my blood pressure went down to 116/65. I started eating only one food at a time and
checking my blood pressure at intervals afterward to see if my blood pressure went
up. I did not experience a problem until I drank a diet drink with Nutrasweet. My blood
pressure soared to 185/100 and stayed high for hours. As a result, I took diet drinks off my
consumables list.

Then I had a cup of coffee sweetened with Equal and my blood pressure soared
again. So I switched to decaf coffee sweetened with Equal and had the same
thing happen again. My blood pressure soared and stayed up for hours. After
that, I knew that Equal sweetener, (aspartame), was the problem.
I drank decaf coffee sweetened with sugar for a solid week, and it had no
effect on my blood pressure at all. I even went back to regular coffee
sweetened with sugar and had only a moderate blood pressure increase,
(131/80), that lasted for about an hour.

On top of that, I haven't had a memory lapse since I stopped using
aspartame. My joints had been hurting me so bad that I could not sleep
through the night. My joints have not ached since I stopped using
aspartame - that is not a coincidence! On top of that, my prostate  symptoms
subsided too. I do not have to take any medications at all since I
eliminated aspartame from my diet. I think I had several TIAs as a result of high blood
pressure induced by aspartame. I wonder how many people have died of strokes
or heart failure from high blood pressure brought on from using aspartame?

It is not a coincidence that my high blood pressure and my other health
problems started when I started using Equal, back in 1987, and ended
when I stopped using it. Sincerely, C. H. W.

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Report #3.

Mary,

My son has experienced the horrific effects of aspartame and is still in the recovering phase.  He has been on singulair for the past three years, and back in April after patch testing at University of Miami, he was found to have a formaldehyde toxicity.  It was at that time that we found out that singulair has aspartame in it.  Only the singulair made for children does, in order to sweeten it.  

He has been off the singulair for 4 months now, but he still has recurrent skin eruptions that reqiure hospitalization.  UM has referred him to National Jewish Center in Denver and we are leaving the 4th of September.  So  many kids are on Singulair for their asthma and I will spread the word in Denver about my findings.  His IgE was as high as 37,000 and two months after being off the singulair it is now down to 677.  

I am designing my own website to help other moms out there who pray their child makes it through the night almost every night.  This is such a serious epidemic.  What my son has endured is a sin.  I am a neonatal nurse and I want to post all the medications that contain aspartame on my website, although all the ones I have researched are not updated.  Singulair is not on any of them.  I called Merck to see how much aspartame is in the 5mg chewable and they said I had to write to them.  I did and I sent it certified mail, but I have not heard back.  I probably never will.  Two girls on the singulair lost their hair and it was reported to the FDA 6 months ago, and the doctor who reported it has not heard back from Merck.  Please send me any information regarding children and an updated list of all the meds containing aspartame that you have.  Thank you, K.G.

Report #4.

Dear Mary, the outer carton of my prenatal vitamins was unfortunately thrown out several months ago.  Last Friday, I called my pharmacist to obtain a refill of the Embrex 600 and was told that the product had recently been recalled due to labeling problems.  Searching online, one websitewww.hdsmith.com/HD_docs/drugsmith.pdf listed the labeling error by Adrx Laboratories (the manufacturer).  This site states the there was "no warning for phenylketonurics" on the label, and that the chewable calcium contained 4mg phenylalanine.  There were several other inactive ingredients that were mislabeled, but this one was the most upsetting.  I called Andrx Laboratories to find out more information and ended up speaking to a physician that works for that company.  He stated that the amount of aspartame was "less than 8mg", and that aspartame is "not contraindicated during pregnancy".  There is just so much more to be learned about aspartame and it should not be in a product that is made for pregnant women to take, and we discussed that.  Hope this information is helpful.  I'm sure there are multiple sources for finding out the details of the recall, I am just not finding them.  Thank you so much for your time. K.G.

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Report #5.

Greetings,

I  have just found information saying that Aspartame causes SEVERE PAIN and symptoms of, or causes FIBROMYALGIA, as-well as other very PAINFUL disease's, and/or can copy the PAINFUL EFFECTS of diseases such as MS, and others. Is this understanding of my readings correct?

I ask this because I suffer from SEVERE PAIN, and have had to under-go two surgeries to have implanted an Introthiceal Drug Delivery Pump for SEVERE PAIN and am also on and in NEED of strong oral pain killers as-well, to be able to survive day-to-day living / existing. So, I guess I'm wondering IF Aspartame IS, or COULD-BE at-least one reason for the SEVERE "FIBROMYALGIC" pain that I daily have to deal with.

Until today,(Wednesday 28 February, 2007) I USED-TO drink approximately 8 to 12 DIET PEPSI's per day(1 liter/1.05qt bottle). I have been drinking this product, ALMOST the same amount as I currently consume, since my mid-teens. I'm now 35yrs-old. Now that I've been informed by a very good friend that there MIGHT be a link to Aspartame (in DIET PEPSI), and the SEVERE PAIN I SUFFER day-to-day with, I have made the choice to NO LONGER CONSUME PRODUCTS with/containing Aspartame, to see if the information sent to me via e-mail is correct, figuring that if I stop consuming products containing Aspartame, HOPEFULLY with-in a few months, I SHOULD be feeling better, and NOT having to exist with as much pain. (This is kind-of my own "case-study" regarding Aspartame, and pain). I AM VERY interested in knowing if Aspartame IS, or MIGHT BE the cause of YEARS OF SEVERE PAINFUL SUFFERING.

Thank-you and Kindest Regards,

Mr. R. A. "Soda-Pop" H.

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Report #6. (Sent from Australia)

Hello. Ive been using Equal sugar for about 10 years. For the past 5 years I have been experiencing burning sensations and numbness in my feet and hands and this problem was getting worse every year. I've visited several neurologists and all confirmed that I have small fiber neuropathy but they didn't know the cause. It's only until I googled the problem that I came across several website including yours. I am not alone and I have stopped using Equal. Thank you for your website.

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http://marystod.blogspot.com/