DEADLY NEW ASPARTAME SWEETENER DAMAGES DNA IN LAB TESTING

	U.S. FOOD SUPPLY SAFETY THREATENED WITH FDA APPROVAL OF CONTROVERSIAL NEW ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER 13,000 TIMES SWEETER THAN SUGAR For Immediate Release Contact: Mary Stoddard marystod@gmail.com DALLAS, July 5, 2002 - (Aspartame Consumer Safety Network) - In response to FDA and Monsanto's announcement today that approval has been granted for use of the new sweetener, Neotame as a food additive in baked goods, aqueous solution and as a table top sweetener, Aspartame Consumer Safety Network, issues the following statement: Seventy eight percent of all FDA complaints pertain to aspartame adverse reactions. ACSN has thousands of serious reactions in their files. These reports include: grand mal seizures, brain tumors, blindness and other health-related problems including deaths. Monsanto's Nick Rosa stated in 1998, that Neotame is "based on the aspartame formula." Since we believe this to be true, Dallas-based Aspartame Consumer Safety Network vigorously opposes today's approval and urges consumers to avoid the new fake sugar if they want to remain healthy. Neotame is aspartame plus 3-di-methyl-butyl, which can be found on the EPA's list of most hazardous chemicals. The aspartame formula is comprised of Phenylalanine, which caused seizures in lab animals and Aspartic Acid, which caused "holes in the brains" of lab animals - bonded by Methyl Alcohol, or Methanol which is capable of causing blindness, liver damage and death. Methanol, or wood alcohol in aspartame breaks down further in heat and in the body, into Formaldehyde (embalming fluid), Formic Acid (venom in ant stings) and the most deadly of all - Diketopiperazine (DKP), a brain tumor agent.ACSN's files contain in excess of 10,000 responses from the public, including thousands of serious adverse reactions to Monsanto's aspartame. As a founder of the world's burgeoning anti-aspartame movement, Stoddard was the first non-M.D.engaged to lecture at a major medical school on the topic of Aspartame (Jan. 1997).ACSN founder, Stoddard recently concluded a multi-city lecture tour and finds interest in this topic to be extremely high - here and all over the world. Recently, a story appeared in London's Sunday Mirror, featuring an adverse reaction of a child whose parents are members of A.C.S.N. (Aspartame Consumer Safety Network). Aspartame has been identified and denounced as a major risk factor by consumers in over a dozen countries. According to FDA Toxicologists who gave testimony with Stoddard in 1987 at a Senate Hearing on the subject - the tests to get aspartame approved were falsified. Deaths of lab animals were covered up and went unreported. Many criminal acts were committed and the perpetrators went unpunished. Based on over a decade of epidemiological research and work with consumers and health care professionals, Stoddard urgently implored the FDA to unequivocally deny any form of approval of Neotame. ACSN's warnings fell on deaf ears when Stoddard and co-founder, James Turner, Esquire met with top FDA officials in Washington in 1998 to plead their case. Today, four years later, FDA approval was announced in the national media. ____________________________________________________________________________ Mary Nash Stoddard, Author, "Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame" [Odenwald Press 1998] Founder, Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Worldwide Pilots Hotline (Division of ACSN) [1987] Aspartame safety.com ________________________________________________________________________________ Additional Contact: Blondell Anderson Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-206) FDA, 200 C Street, SW, Washington, DC 20204 ________________________________________________________________________________ Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Fact Sheet [1987 - 2002] 80% of all consumer complaints to the FDA are aspartame related [5 deaths registered prior to 1987] THE BITTER TRUTH ABOUT ASPARTAME AND NEOTAME "Aspartame/Neotame - the most dangerous substances in our food supply today." - Mary Nash Stoddard [Founder ACSN & Pilot Hotline] Illegal Actions to Gain FDA Approval: FDA approved the new genetically engineered molecule in 1974, following a spate of criminal acts committed by G.D. Searle pharmaceutical employees and contractors. That approval was rescinded before aspartame got to market, because it was revealed a component of aspartame [diketopiperazine] caused brain tumors. Tests were "falsified." Second approval occurred in 1981 under President Reagan's new FDA Director, Dr. Arthur H. Hayes. In 1983, Hayes' office approved the new molecule for aqueous solution [soft drinks, etc.] and three months later, Dr. Hayes left government, went to work for the NutraSweet public relations firm, Burson Marsteller for $1,000 a day. Hayes continues to craftily dodged all media requests for interviews on the topic. In fact, many government officials connected with this issue have defected - going to work for the industry whose products they were entrusted to approve or reject. In the laboratory, aspartame produced: * Brain Tumors * Breast Tumors * Uterine Tumors * Pancreatic Tumors * Seizures * Deaths These went unreported, as did the deaths and seizures of other animals in the original tests. Tumors were removed then animals put back in test as tumor free, animals who died were brought back to life on paper when results officially submitted by G.D. Searle pharmaceutical to FDA. Aspartame changes DNA: In tests, the third generation of pups born to animals fed aspartic acid [component of aspartame] were born: 1) Morbidly obese and 2) Sexually Dysfunctional Components of aspartame and its breakdown products can adversely affect the brains and central nervous systems of children and adults who consume it. "When you harm the brain, you harm the very expression of one's self." - Peter Breggin, M.D. [Psychiatrist - Bethesda, MD] Reported psychological symptoms: * Suicidal Depressions * Panic Attacks and Anxiety [PAD] - Manias * Sleep Disorders * Severe Mood Disorders [rages, mood swings] * Brain Chemical Imbalance * Brain Wave Malfunctions [shows up in EEGs] * Personality Disorders * Hallucinations * Aberrant Behaviors Medicine In Our Food? Aspartame Components & Breakdown Products: Phenylalanine 50% - Lowers the seizure threshold. Causes mental retardation in some. Blocks production of serotonin [key neurotransmitter which controls: Moods / Sleep Patterns / Satiety ] Cultured in e-coli bacteria in the lab. Aspartic Acid 40% - Caused lesions or holes in the brains of lab animals. Neuroexcitatory [excites brain cells to death] amino acid. Causes motor-neuronal disorders in studies. Methanol 10% - Also known as "methyl alcohol", "moonshine", "Sterno." Damages the liver and eye. Two teaspoons can be lethal to humans. [Not processed the same in humans and animals, so lab tests do not show full impact of toxicity] Breaks down into formaldehyde [embalming fluid] and formic acid [venom in insect stings] at temperatures exceeding 86 degrees Fahrenheit. [Body temperature is 98.6 F] Implicated in birth defects and fetal alcohol syndrome in newborn infants. As a constituent of other foods in nature, it is found in combination with ethyl alcohol, which counteracts or neutralizes the toxic affects of methanol as it is metabolized by the body. There is no ethyl alcohol in aspartame, therefore methanol in aspartame is in "free form" and is immediately absorbed into the bloodstream. For every molecule of aspartame, there is a molecule of methanol released. Classic signs of methanol poisoning include: lethargy, confusion, leg cramps, back pain, severe headache, abdominal pain, slurred speech, fainting, visual loss/blindness, labored breathing. Diketopiperazine [DKP] - Caused brain tumors in laboratory tests. Thirteen out of 320 lab animals developed brain tumors in testing. Aspartame breakdown products cross the blood brain barrier to damage the brain. Aspartame is known to exacerbate or trigger onset of the following medical conditions: * Epilepsy * Parkinson's * Alzheimer's * Multiple Sclerosis * Chronic Fatigue Syn. * Lymphoma * Fibromyalgia / Eosinophilia Myalgia * Mental Retardation / Birth Defects * Diabetes / Hypoglycemia * Graves Disease * Heart Disease * Lung Disease * Liver Disease * Kidney Disease * Brain Tumors [astrocytoma/glioblastoma] * Pancreatic Disease * Kidney / Adrenal Disease * Arthritis * Blindness * Tinnitus * PMS * Carpal Tunnel * Lyme Disease * Muniere's Disease * Other: Rare / Hard to diagnose disorders [Aspartame has been called a "systemic" toxin - which means it may virtually adversely affect the function of every organ of the body. The effects are "cumulative" and do not show up in short term testing.] Aspartame and the Media: 1990, The Guardian [London newspaper] was sued for publishing headline story - "NutraSweet Faked Tests to Get Sweetener Approved." Later settled out of court. NutraSweet sent intimidating press releases to all U.S. media warning they were suing. Documented instances are on record where the manufacturers of aspartame, threatened to sue and/or withdraw advertising dollars, from media. Health care professionals, scientists and medical schools have been "bribed" or intimidated into silence. Aspartame and Flying Safety: Many military, general aviation and commercial airline pilots have lost medical certification to fly based on seizures which occurred while they were ingesting aspartame. Grand mal seizures have been reported in flight in the cockpits of commercial airliners. A pilots' hotline in Dallas,TX was established by ACSN, in 1988 for the anonymous reporting of adverse reactions and safety-of-flight incidents. USAF Flying Safety magazine published warnings re: aspartame use by pilots. Pilot's publications around the globe have warned readers. The FAA will not send out an official memo - because the FDA refuses to recall aspartame as a safety hazard to consumers. Is aspartame the unacknowledged "terrorist" in every cockpit on every flight? Legal: ACSN co-founders Turner & Stoddard have both qualified in court as medical Expert Witnesses. Many consumer lawsuits have been dropped or settled out of court since the mid-eighties. The Washington D.C. Supreme Court refused to hear a case brought against the FDA by James Turner, Esq. Aspartame is illegal because it violated The Delaney Clause, which states no substance can be approved that is shown to cause cancer. In 1995, a stealth law crept across the land, which made it illegal to say anything disparaging about a perishable food product -example: yogurt sweetened with aspartame. Oprah was later sued under this law. [Agricultural Defamation Act] In 1985, G.D. Searle and NutraSweet Co. became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Monsanto Chemical in St. Louis. Controversial Supreme Court Judge, Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto attorney. Monsanto sold their sweetener divisions to current owner, the J.W. Childs Partnership. 1998, Monsanto applied for FDA approval for a monster molecule, "based on the aspartame formula" with one addition: 3-dimethylbutyl [listed on EPA's most hazardous chemical list]. Thus, Neotame becomes 13,000 times sweeter than sugar. July 5, 2002 - Neotame, Monsanto's super bio-manipulated molecule [newest fake sweetener] was approved by FDA over formally registered objections of the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and others. Long term effects on humans are unknown. Aspartame is in over-the-counter drugs like: Tums, Pepsid AC, Metamucil, Alka Seltzer Plus, tooth whiteners, breath mints/strips and more. Diabetes and Aspartame / Neotame: Diabetics are most insidiously harmed , because they are told aspartame is their "life line" to good health, when, in fact, just the opposite is true. Remember, aspartame caused pancreatic tumors in the lab. A diabetic may see the real life effects of aspartame on blood sugar by performing this simple test with a finger-stick test kit: * Confirm blood sugar levels to be well within normal limits. If they are, then continue. Drink 2-3 cans [or the bottled equivalent] of Diet Soda containing aspartame, without stopping. Then, begin to retest for blood sugar level readings approximately one hour later. In this way, the adverse effects on blood sugar levels may be proven. This test is NOT recommended for anyone except individuals who already drink more than 2 diet drinks per day. The American Diabetic Association and The American Dietetic Association [Registered Dietitians] have been "bought out" by the sweetener manufacturers. [ACSN has proof!] Parents the FDA does not protect your children. Greed and avarice have made government officials, industry and mainstream science, turn a deaf ear to the truth. Children are at least 4 times more susceptible to aspartame toxicity because of the developing central nervous system. Read labels. If it says:"phenylalanine" don't buy it. Insist your child's pediatric medical records contain this warning - "Never prescribe any medications containing phenylalanine [always present in aspartame and neotame]." Aspartame is a multi-billion dollar a year industry in more than 7,000 food products, chewing gums, children's antibiotics and meds, children's vitamins and pain medications for kids. In the lab, aspartame caused tragic birth defects. Action Agenda: * Copy and distribute this Fact Sheet to everyone.  * Post this brochure on the Internet. * Tell everyone about this problem. * Ask the next 5 people you see using aspartame if they have had any of the symptoms. * Get off the substance for a period of 4-6 weeks to see your physical and mental condition improve. * If you have sought medical treatment for any of these symptoms and you are/were an aspartame user - have your doctor enter into your official medical record that you believe aspartame may have caused some or all of your symptoms and that you are ceasing use of the sweetener and want to be "monitored" by your health care team as you get better. Very important. * Join over 10,000 concerned consumer members of Aspartame Consumer Safety Network worldwide who are fighting this battle to educate the consuming public about artificial sweeteners that masquerade as "natural." * Take all aspartame products back to the store and exchange them for healthy "real" food. This sends a message back to the manufacturer that we will no longer tolerate neurotoxins in our foods and children's items. Register a powerful complaint where it counts. * Write letters to the FDA and food manufacturers who use aspartame. Copy the editor of your local newspaper, stating your displeasure about the conspiracy of silence and illicit cover up of the facts by government and industry. The tobacco industry got away with it far too long. Let us learn a lesson from that and vow not to repeat mistakes that let them get away with it. The "real villains" in today's society are those who poison our food supply and that of our children - for profit. ____________________________________ Published by: Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and President ____________________________________ Books / Videos [send a $30 donation per item ordered to ACSN at above address] : * Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame by Mary Nash Stoddard [Food Safety Expert/ Consultant] - 200 pg. compilation of research studies from peer reviewed medical journals and others, documenting the deadly effects. Lists children's meds - addresses flying safety. * Deadly Deception - 90-Minute Book on Audio Cassette tapes * Excitotoxins The Taste That Kills by Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D. - A respected Neurologist/ Neurosurgeon's excellent review of aspartame toxicity * Cooking With Stevia by James Kirkland - gives conversion charts and lots of great recipes Deadly Deception Story of Aspartame Video - One hour lecture at a Science Symposium by founder of anti-aspartame consumer movement. __________________________________________ The world owes Dr. John Olney, of Washington University Medical School of Psychiatry, in Saint Louis, MO, a huge debt of gratitude. This soft spoken scientist and researcher , with James Turner, Esq., first uncovered the shocking unreported research study results on aspartame, tucked away in a dismal warehouse. Dr. Olney, the world expert on amino acids, cares more about the truth than popularity with his peers and government officials. We salute Dr. Olney for his efforts and sacrifices on our behalf. Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and President Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987 - 2002] Author: "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" [Odenwald Press 1998] * Expert Medical Witness [1992-2002] * 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] * Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997] * Keynote speech: Mexican Government's 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 to Senate Committee Hearing on Safety of Aspartame - Washington [1987] * Panelist at National News Conference Announcing Brain Tumor/Aspartame Connection - Washington D.C. [1998] * Member Texas Radio Hall of Fame [2002] WEBSITE: http://www.aspartamesafety.com Mary Stoddard Dallas, Tx USA

DENTISTS REPORT ASPARTAME IN FOOD AND DRINKS CAN ERODE PATIENTS TOOTH ENAMEL

DIET SOFT DRINKS MAY WASH AWAY PEARLY WHITE SMILE

The Health Adviser

By Lisa Messinger

Sandi Banks, a personnel specialist from Lake View Terrace, Calif., often drinks four to six cans of diet soda a day. She reports that an office mate is a six pack a day man.

Like many diet soda drinkers, Banks and her friend think the word "sugarless" on the can's label means there is probably no danger to the teeth.

Dentists, however, are seeing a steady increase of patients with enamel problems ranging from cracking to total tooth erosion. The only explanation they can find is consumption of excessive amounts of diet soda.

"Many dentists have observed in their own practices patients where they could find no other cause but the possibility of a diet drink being the actual reason for the teeth dissolving," said Mark Friedman, a University of Southern California dental professor who lectures to other dentists on the subject.

Although there has been virtually nothing on the topic in the media or in dental literature, Friedman says dentists are aware of the problem. Each of his lectures, he said, elicits comments from dentists who say they have seen patients with enamel erosion most likely caused by drinking too many diet sodas.

Soda consumption in this country is booming. We drank an average of 466 cans per person in 1985, up from only 289 cans in 1975, according to the National Soft Drink Association. Diet sodas accounted for more than 21 percent of all 1985 sales.

We are drinking more. But are we reading the small print on the back of our favorite diet soft drinks? And, if we are, do we realize that the phosphoric and citric acids listed pose potential danger to the enamel of our teeth?

Citric and phosphoric acids are routinely added to most sodas as flavor enhancers.

"I'm a label reader, but that's one I haven't happened to have read," Banks said. The low pH levels in sugared sodas and more so in most juices - like orange, grapefruit, apple and grape - make them acidic as well. This includes the new juice-type sodas.

"If you take a soft drink that is already acidic and add very acidic juice, the product you end up with will tend to be highly acidic, in many cases, even more so than vinegar," said Larry Wolinsky, a biochemist and periodontist at the UCLA Dental School. 

The lower the pH of a product, the more acidic it will be. Vinegar has a pH of about 5.5. Most sodas with phosphoric acid have a pH level of 2.3 to 2.6. Dentists fear that pH levels of lower than 5.5 can be harmful to the teeth. 

Most people might talk of drinking a soda here or a glass of juice there, and not the three, four, five or even more cans a diet soda drinker can swallow in just one day.

"I thought it was harmless, so I just drank it like water," said Karen Wehmeister, 29, a Los Angeles computer programmer.

Wehmeister averaged six to seven cans of diet cola a day all through college and until recently. She is currently having more than $6,000 worth of dental work done to correct her eroded teeth.

"In Karen's case, we could find no other explanation for the erosion than the fact that she was an excessive diet soda drinker," Friedman said.

Six of Wehmeister's top teeth and eight of her bottom teeth require expensive porcelain veneer work. The teeth had turned brown and the rim of the top teeth had gradually dissolved.

Experts stress that teeth may be dissolving all over at once and that changes may not be easily visible to either dentist or patient until extensive damage is done.

Alternatives to highly acidic drinks might be diluting juice with water, or drinking low-acidity juices such as cranberry.

Recent studies can't pinpoint how much might be too much, but added lemon or lime in soda makes it even more acidic. In his instance, gulping is better than sipping slowly all day. Straws are the best prevention - as long as they are placed far enough into the mouth so that liquid misses the front teeth.

Question: Is diet soda contributing to a steady increase of patients with enamel problems, ranging from cracking to total tooth erosion?

photo  Chicago Sun Times/ Jim Frost

(Sunday, July 26, 1987)

  

Mary Stoddard

marystod@gmail.com

#PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON FOOD SAFETY MEETS IN DALLAS TX - HEARS ACSN STATEMENT ON ASPARTAME

PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ON FOOD SAFETY – FOOD SAFETY STRATEGY PLAN

Official Statement of
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network to:
President's Council on Food Safety Hearing

December 8, 1998
Dallas, Texas

The Aspartame Consumer Safety Network is a coalition of consumers and health care professionals [over 10,000 strong] around the world who have a common concern. That concern is for the safety of our food supply and the health of those who consume it. We are specifically concerned that after several decades of coverup regarding the health and safety effects of the controversial artificial sweetener, aspartame [produced primarily by the NutraSweet Kelco Co. of Deerfield IL, a subsidiary of Monsanto Chemical and others].

Our network produces a 200 page Toxicology Sourcebook [Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame] to support our allegations that this substance is unsafe for human consumption in our food supply. It contains numerous independent studies showing harm – ranging from birth defects to brain tumors.

In 1987 I presented testimony to a Senate Committee looking into the safety of aspartame in Washington D.C. At that time there was more than enough evidence to indict this sweetener and remove it from the marketplace because of health concerns [as it was following its first approval in 1974 because of the brain tumor issue]. Today, we can show even more proof in the thousands of adverse reactions reported to the Food and Drug Administration and others. Seventy-eight percent of all complaints to the FDA are about adverse reactions to aspartame

Today, I ask you to reconsider the decision to continue to label safe that which some scientists have proven in the laboratory to be a neurotoxin and carcinogen. Please do the right thing and keep our food supply free of harmful chemical agents.

Fake foods, whether they be fake fat, fake sugar or otherwise are not natural and carry with them the potential for great harm. Chemical sweeteners have no place in our lives if we wish to maintain maximum good health. Some studies show they actually encourage weight gain. Many healthy truly natural alternatives exist for use as sweeteners.

Our organization takes the stand that carcinogens such as aspartame [aka NutraSweet, Equal etc.] are potentially toxic and do not belong in our food supply, and we remain dedicated to educating others as to these hazards. In the lab, animals died. Others developed brain tumors, pancreatic tumors, uterine tumors and mammary [breast tumors. This also includes the new sweetener known as Neotame, which is waiting approval from the FDA. Neotame is 8000 times sweeter than sugar and will be produced by Monsanto's NutraSweet Kelco Co. It has virtually the same formula as aspartame with dimethylbutyl [listed on the EPA list of hazardous chemicals] added.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder

Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-045N]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 97N-0074]

Environmental Protection Agency
[Docket No. OPP-00550A:FRL-6034-3]

Food Safety Initiative Strategic Plan Agency: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS; Food and Drug Administration, HHS; Environmental Protection Agency

RELATED PRESS RELEASE:

Dallas – December 8 – ACSN — Dallas-based Epidemiologist, Mary Nash Stoddard, a founder of the world's burgeoning anti-aspartame movement in 1987, will deliver findings regarding thousands of adverse reactions to the world's most controversial sweeteners at a special Hearing of the President's Council on Food Safety in Dallas today. The Aspartame Consumer Safety Network operates an adverse reaction hotline and database and is the clearinghouse for information on the sweetener.

Representing a constituency of over 10,000 concerned consumers, Stoddard calls for an immediate 'Moratorium' on all aspartame sweeteners until their absolute safety can be assured by independent research. A precedent for this type of action was set in 1992 when the Food and Drug Administration called a 'Moratorium' on silicone breast implants. Ms. Stoddard first testified to the U.S. Senate in November, 1987. She later submitted formal petitions objecting to the FDA's support of the sweetener asking that aspartame be recalled and re-tested as a drug, which is how it was discovered.

Seizures, loss of vision, vertigo, suicidal depressions, heart problems, etc. are routinely reported. Reactions in many consumers are reported to cause bizarre psychological symptoms as well. In tests, lab animals developed: Brain Tumors-Pancreatic Tumors-Breast Tumors and Uterine Tumors. These were covered up. Federal Prosecutor, Samuel Skinner was bringing criminal charges against the makers of aspartame [G.D. Searle, now a subsidiary of Monsanto Chemical Co.], but excused himself at the last minute – defecting to Searle's law firm, Sidley & Austin. The lawsuit was then dropped by the Federal Prosecutor's Office.

Aspartame [aka NutraSweet/Equal] is 10% methanol (wood alcohol) by weight and breaks down further in heat and in the body into: formaldehyde, formic acid and a brain tumor agent, DKP. ##

Mary Stoddard

marystod@gmail.com