why do people still consume aspartame drinks?

[kola]

IMO this shit should be pulled off the markets. Despite all the info surrounding products with aspartame are dangerous, people STILL drink and eat products spiked with this crapola. Sometimes I go insane and lose faith in my fellow man (and women). THINK!!!


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/26/how-does-aspartame-damage-your-brain.aspx?source=nl


Consuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally, according to a new review by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo.

The review found that high doses of the sweetener may lead to neurodegeneration. It has also previously been found that aspartame consumption can cause neurological and behavioral disturbances in sensitive individuals.

Specifically, the review found a number of direct and indirect changes that occur in your brain as a result of high consumption levels of aspartame, including disturbing:

The metabolism of amino acids
Protein structure and metabolism
The integrity of nucleic acids
Neuronal function
Endocrine balances
Further, the breakdown of aspartame causes nerves to fire excessively, which can indirectly lead to a high rate of neuron depolarisation.

Despite these growing concerns, neither the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have changed their guidelines regarding the safety of the ingredient or intake advice.
Sources:
Food Quality News April 6, 2008
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008, 62, 451–462
---------------------------------------------------------------

Aspartame is a poison that does not belong in your body, and this is not an exaggeration. Yet, this toxic substance is consumed by over 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products.

Everything from soda and chewing gum to desserts, yogurt, and even some vitamins and cough drops contain it.

When you drink, say, a can of diet soda sweetened with aspartame, what are you REALLY consuming? Here's a breakdown of aspartame's three chemicals: the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and methanol.

1. Aspartic acid (40 percent of aspartame)

Aspartate acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate in your brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into your cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill your cells.

The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate is why Dr. Russell Blaylock refers to them as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate your neural cells to death.

Now, when aspartic acid is consumed, it significantly raises your blood level of aspartate, which leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of your brain, where they slowly begin to destroy neurons.

Your brain cells could be dying right now, but you likely would not notice the symptoms until 75 percent or more are gone. Then, chronic illnesses such as the following, which may by caused by long-term exposure to excitatory amino acid damage, may occur:

Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Memory and hearing loss
Hormonal problems
Epilepsy
AIDS
Brain lesions
Neuroendocrine disorders
2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in your brain, however people with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize phenylalanine. This leads to dangerously high -- and sometimes lethal -- levels of phenylalanine in your brain. It has been shown, though, that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in your brain even if you do not have PKU.

Even consuming aspartame one time has been found to raise your blood levels of phenylalanine. What's the risk of this?

Excessive levels of phenylalanine in your brain can cause the levels of serotonin in your brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It can also cause schizophrenia or make you more susceptible to seizures.

3. Methanol (aka wood alcohol) (10 percent of aspartame)

Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison, and the absorption of methanol into your body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Well, free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when an aspartame-containing product is improperly stored (in the sun, for instance) or when it is heated, such as part of a "food" product like Jello.

Meanwhile, methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde -- a deadly neurotoxin -- in your body.

Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic."

They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day, but a one-liter aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily -- or 32 times the EPA limit!

The symptoms of methanol poisoning are numerous and varied. They include:

Vision problems
Headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness
Nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances
Weakness, numbness and shooting pains in your extremities
Behavioral disturbances
Memory lapses
Do You STILL Believe Aspartame is Safe?

I could literally go on for days about the many problems plaguing this artificial sweetener; both the dangers it poses to your health and the blatant greed and manipulation that got it on the market.

That is why I spent years researching and writing Sweet Deception. It is the most comprehensive book on the market addressing this issue, and if you or your loved ones drink diet beverages or eat diet foods, please read it sooner rather than later.

I also highly recommend watching Sweet Misery, which is part documentary, part detective story that sheds much-needed light on the controversy surrounding aspartame.

Folks, aspartame is not your friend. It is actually responsible for 80-85 percent of the food complaints registered with the FDA!

Aside from the damage it can do to your brain, aspartame can cause cancer. One well-controlled, peer-reviewed, SEVEN-year study even found that as little as 20 mg per day can cause cancer in humans.

One 12-ounce diet soda contains about 180 mg of aspartame, so you do the math on that risk!

If you have NutraSweet or Equal packets in your home, I urge you to get rid of them. About the only good use for them I've heard about is using them to kill ants in your kitchen.

And if you're consuming diet foods or drinks of any kind, toss those as well. Your health will be much better off for it.

If you find you're still having sweet cravings or are having a hard time giving up your diet soda, Turbo Tapping is a simple tool to help you get rid of your soda addiction in a short period of time. And in the case of aspartame, getting it out of your diet can't come fast enough.


Related Articles:


  One Woman's Astonishing Experiment With Aspartame

  NutraSweet Shown to Cause Cancer

  Aspartame Disease: An FDA-Approved Epidemic

[Landon Jeffery]

Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Memory and hearing loss
Hormonal problems
Epilepsy
AIDS
Brain lesions
Neuroendocrine disorders
2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Am I crazy or does AIDS come from more sources than HIV infections?  Because as far as I knew you could only develop AIDS by becoming infected with the HIV virus.

[ReverendRyan]

Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Memory and hearing loss
Hormonal problems
Epilepsy
AIDS
Brain lesions
Neuroendocrine disorders
2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Am I crazy or does AIDS come from more sources than HIV infections?  Because as far as I knew you could only develop AIDS by becoming infected with the HIV virus.

AIDS is a syndrome. "Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome" just means you have a seriously compromised immune system, it has no congenital cause, and it falls under no more specific diagnosis. More specifically, AIDS is defined as a drop in the CD4⁺T Lymphocyte count (cells/mm³), below a certain threshold, regardless of cause, if it has no congenital cause and it falls under no more specific diagnosis.

A supermajority of AIDS cases are a result of HIV infection, though as a syndrome is defined as a set of symptoms rather than a pathogen, other causes can exist.

That being said, the article on aspartame is a grain of science buried in a mound of horseshit.

Now let's let Kola's HIV denial commence.....

[Caleb]

You know, William James was famous for saying that "It only takes one white crow to prove that not all crows are black."  I heard a report awhile back about a case of AIDS where there was no HIV infection, and it was being dismissed as anomalous, but at the time I was thinking, "well, how is our white crow doing?" Maybe I'll try to look it up and see what I can find.

That having been said, the thought that Aspartame causes AIDS seems preposterous on the face of it.

I grew up in Indianapolis. There was a kid named Ryan White from Kokomo, IN, who got infected with HIV. He was often in and out of Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, and became sort of a media darling. I think he also got national coverage, cause his school kicked him out for having AIDS and a bunch of celebrities like Elton John and Michael Jackson started coming to his defense and publicizing his case. He deteriorated rapidly, died in about four or five years I think. And it was sad to watch a kid my age go through all that. Now, a little after Ryan White died, Magic Johnson was found to have HIV. That was 1991. Seventeen years later, he's still alive and kicking. Different drugs, people always tell me. Bullshit. Ryan White was on AZT. Same drug as Magic Johnson, and Johnson didn't start deteriorating to the point where they had to switch him. (He switched drugs, sure, but not because of rapid deterioration with AZT). I say this:  Whatever killed Ryan White was a completely different thing than what has barely touched Magic Johnson.

[Coconut]

Paula from Florida got rid of her HIV. Might want to ask her.

[srqrebel]

...Consuming a lot of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in your brain to function normally, according to a new review by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo.

The review found that high doses of the sweetener may lead to neurodegeneration. It has also previously been found that aspartame consumption can cause neurological and behavioral disturbances in sensitive individuals...

No wonder my brain has gone to mush. It's that daily dose of Diet Coke I consume!

Seriously, I do not doubt that aspartame is no good for the human body. It certainly has no nutritional value. However, ordinary sugar is a far more destructive substance than any artificial sweetener ever has been. While artificial sweeteners may do some hard-to-detect harm, sugar definitely causes serious and easily proven harm -- from tooth decay and hypoglycemia to heart disease and cancer. In fact, reseach has shown that "less civilized" societies that do not consume sugar are spared a whole host of modern diseases; those diseases begin showing up large-scale approximately twenty years after sugar gets introduced into their diets, without fail.

If I have to choose between sugar and artificial sweeteners, I will take the artificial sweeteners any day, thank you very much. Of course, the safest approach is to simply avoid sweets altogether.

If you want to know a real poison, check this out.

[Caleb]

I have this orange, Menno. I was getting ready to eat it, but then I read your post and it scared me. Do you know if there is a way to suck out all the sugar from this orange and replace it with artificial sweeteners?    I would feel so much safer if I could do that.

[ReverendRyan]

You know, William James was famous for saying that "It only takes one white crow to prove that not all crows are black."  I heard a report awhile back about a case of AIDS where there was no HIV infection, and it was being dismissed as anomalous, but at the time I was thinking, "well, how is our white crow doing?" Maybe I'll try to look it up and see what I can find.

Like I said, a syndrome is defined by effects, not causes. The "white crow" argument doesn't really work here. If you say that HIV causes the supermajority of AIDS cases, you are correct. If you say it's the only cause, you misunderstand medical jargon, and are setting up a "white crow" argument with no basis.

"HIV is the cause of AIDS" is an oversimplification, yes, but taken in context it's usually used in a sincere sense. I've known very few doctors who dismiss all other marginal causes; what they are dismissing is the absurd assertion that HIV is not one.

I say this:  Whatever killed Ryan White was a completely different thing than what has barely touched Magic Johnson.

This very well may be true, but it's a gross oversimplification. HIV, just like any other virus, evolves over time. Those living with it for decades tend to have strains that are much less capable of adapting to new antiretroviral treatments.

And remember, AIDS doesn't directly kill. It suppresses the immune system and allows opportunistic diseases to take root. For example, and old friend of mine in the last stages died of the common cold. So general health both before and after infection is a huge factor. Children, in general, have a less diversified, if not weaker, immune system than adults.

[kola]

Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Memory and hearing loss
Hormonal problems
Epilepsy
AIDS
Brain lesions
Neuroendocrine disorders
2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Am I crazy or does AIDS come from more sources than HIV infections?  Because as far as I knew you could only develop AIDS by becoming infected with the HIV virus.

take a look with an open mind.
http://nhunderground.com/forum/index.php?topic=13807.0

[kola]

i am sorry you feel that way menno and from yur post i doubt you will accept and acknowledge that aspartame it a very bad chemical. I am a bit surprised you have faith in some manmade chemical toxin and turn up your nose at a creators natural piece of fruit. These are again the very laws of nature that people no longer see the light. (yes I know there are gods plants that are also deadly yada yada).

btw there is MORE than enough scientic evidance proving aspartame is dangerous and I can tell you from my practice that I have helped many folks once i suggested they styop drinking that shit. If you understand the basic chemical breakdown of aspartame then its pretty logical to see it is toxic.

geeze louise..

Kola     

[Caleb]

I was teasing Menno about the orange. I think he means "refined sugar" he just didn't say that, because the article he links to rails against refined sugar, not naturally occurring sugars.

I think Menno is right. Refined sugar is a poison. I disagree with him, though, that it is more of a poison than the artificial sweeteners. I read a study once that found that our insulin response is based on the sweetness level that is detected by our tastebuds, so this study concluded that artificial sweeteners also cause an insulin response, the same insulin response as refined sugar. So they also carry all the risks of sugar, plus additional risks that they bring to the table.

Better to avoid all that and just eat the natural product. Don't drink a coke, have an orange.  I always make the orange my last piece of fruit. I'll eat a banana and a couple apples, those make you thirsty. But you finish with the orange, and you're never thirsty. Don't need all that soda pop.

[ReverendRyan]

One of these days, hopefully people will realize that anything in excess is unhealthy, and most everything, in moderation, won't lessen your life enough to outweigh the benefits.

[Caleb]

Agreed. Balance is the key.

Although if everyone is agreed on that, what conceivable reason could anyone have for consuming a nasty diet beverage? If you want a cola now and then, just choose a sensible approach to a regular coke. Why put your tastebuds through the living hell of drinking diet?

[ReverendRyan]

Agreed. Balance is the key.

Although if everyone is agreed on that, what conceivable reason could anyone have for consuming a nasty diet beverage? If you want a cola now and then, just choose a sensible approach to a regular coke. Why put your tastebuds through the living hell of drinking diet?

One word: Marketing.

[Puke]

Even water can kill you in excess.