Dear Laura,
Things may be worse than you think.
I have always been a staunch supporter of Aspartame since the 2 amino acids making it up are normally in all the foods we eat. All foods produce some methyl alcohol (methanol) during digestion.
Since any joined amino acids are broken apart in the digestive process, Aspartame could not be any more toxic than the healthy food we eat.
HOWEVER, that is only true in the healthy gut. Since nearly every US citizen now has at least some leaky gut (many VERY seriously leaky) we are no longer breaking down all our proteins into the amino acids that make them up. It is the leakage of these peptides that cause more than 95% of all the environmental sensitivities our population is presently experiencing.
THAT means that Aspartame frequently leaks into the bloodstream UNCHANGED. Since it was supposed to be disassociated inside the gut, there is no easy way to do that once in the blood. Now we have a man-made artificial molecule in the blood that never existed in nature before-----let alone in our brains, etc. Who KNOWS what effect THAT has.
I still believe that a healthy person, with a healthy gut, would have no problem with aspartame since it would be broken down into its components BEFORE it is absorbed into the body.
I would be interested in anyone's thoughts about this. It took me many years of supporting Aspartame until, one day, I had an intuitive flash about the above. NOW, I no longer think it is safe at all. I DO still think that the more one uses, the more risky it is. The genetic susceptibility curve would show that some people could be soaked in this stuff all their lives with no problem and thee rwould be some of us that one dose would cause symptoms.
Still learning, Walt
In Reply to: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Walt Stoll on April 01, 1998 at 12:13:19:
BOY! That makes sooooo much sense! I'm sure my Mom does not have the healthiest of guts either. Would some of the symptoms by any chance be: severe headaches, nausea???
When I told her that taking this could cause problems, she SAID she didn't use it for a few days and still felt the same. She is not easy to reason with at all, and doesn't understand. I believe there are beginning stages of demensia......and Equal is moving it right along. Thanks for your above post too. I will get her the zinc. Bonna
In Reply to: Re: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Bonna on April 01, 1998 at 21:14:51:
Dear Bonna,
Those are some of the most common symptoms. HOWEVER, no one yet has any idea of HOW this foreign molecule causes the symptoms. Some say that there is a binding of the molecule to the tissue & that it can take years for it to get out.
Certainly, if she did not have these symptoms until she started using aspartame, it would be worth while being off it for 6 months or so to see if the symptoms might get better. If they do, the clincher would be if a few doses brought back all the symptoms that had gone. Unfortunately, if they DID come back, it might take 6 months again to see them go.
The government took the word of the manufacturer that this stuff was safe. Because of that, there has been no government money studying it. Why study it since it is safe? Only private money is researching it. Where is the payback in that? Most research money is used to produce a product that can be sold for great profits. Who gets paid if aspartame is proven to be dangerous?
Walt
In Reply to: Re: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Walt Stoll on April 03, 1998 at 14:05:07:
Dear Walt,,
I was advised by a holistic MD, that aspartame does indeed cause neurological problems (including vision ). She said it is safer to use saccharin as it would take such a large amt. of this to cause damage or symptoms (I think I recall that bladder cancer was the issue with this substnce). Anyway, she said the government would never pass any legislation re aspartame because so many of the government officials have stock in the company. She apparently has articles to back this up, but I did not ask for them. I just avoid aspartame because I reacted to it on my cellular antibody testing. What are your thoughts?
Namaste`
Linda
In Reply to: Re: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Linda Hynds on April 13, 1998 at 11:18:51:
Dear Linda,
I can only offer an additional perspective. I've worked in biomedical editing for many years and have seen probably 3 courageous and well-written articles and letters as to the myriad dangers of aspartame in one prestigious psychiatric journal in particular. Without exception, the responses to these articles/letters were defensive, unsubstantiated and flat-out rude, not taking into account the substantive research that had gone on. Solid science rebuked by petty science... Personally, I get hyper from aspartame, and experience nasty mood changes, so there's no way I'd touch the stuff anymore.
Namaste', Kyra
In Reply to: Re: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Linda Hynds on April 13, 1998 at 11:18:51:
Dear Linda,
I used to pooh-pooh any suggestion about aspartame being dangerous since it is just 2 normally occuring amino acids (that we eat with every meal anyhow) that are joined. The normal gut separates them prior to absorbtion so they could not cause any problem.
I discussed this thoroughly several months ago. I hope Bill puts those discussions in the archives.
In those discussions I pointed out that a "normal" gut lining is a rarity now-a-days. Those with even minimal LGS do NOT break down this artificial molecule completely. Therefore some if it ends up in the blood stream unchanged. NO ONE has any idea what this molecule (which has NEVER been in our environment for the past 4 billion years) does when it escapes into the blood stream.
I NOW say that, at least in this country, aspartame probably is a very dangerous substance. Your personal experience cannot be denied by you and your bodymind laboratory is still the best indicator of what something does to YOU.
Thanks, Walt
In Reply to: Re: A fresh look at Aspartame? posted by Kyra on April 14, 1998 at 21:03:01:
Thanks, Kyra. I never touch the stuff anymore either.
Namaste` Linda