Aspartame: RICO Complaint Filed Against NutraSweet, ADA, Monsanto

Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Peter Bowditch wrote:
"Jan Drew" wrote:

http://www.thenhf.com/articles_46.htm

Aspartame: RICO Complaint Filed Against NutraSweet, ADA, Monsanto
Sepp (Josef) Hasslberger

September 17, 2004
That's over two years ago, Jan, and aspartame is still on the market.

Whatever happened to the great court case? Could it be just possible
that it went nowhere?
I don't think something being on the market is any indication that it's
safe. We FINALLY got the FDA to admit that trans fats are not safe in
any amount, but they're still everywhere.

There is no question to the validity of the claim aspartame, a
dipeptide, breaks down into several chemicals, one being methanol, once
inside the body. That methanol then breaks down into formaldehyde. I
remember seeing this in an email and thinking to myself "No way. This
has to be net lore." Then I happened to see the myth challenged on TV
(I believe on the show Dr. Know) and sure enough, formaldehyde is a by
product of aspartame.

All one needs to do is search the web for aspartame and formaldehyde to
see a list of side effects cause by constant use of aspartame. I'm
surprised this is even a debating point these days.

Max.
No doubt your organic chemistry is top-notch, but I undoubtedly
absorbed far more formaldehyde by dissecting frogs in high school and
cadavers in medical school than I would ever ingest in a lifetime's
consumption of Diet Pepsi.

"Dose makes the poison" -- memorize that.

Mark, MD
Dose = poison also depends on on the toxicity of the item in question.
Some compounds require extremely small doses to be poison, some require
large amounts. Additionally, something does not have to kill you to be
a poison. There are literally thousands of cases tying aspartame to
migraine headaches. In this letter to the FDA :

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dai...emc-000200.txt
Mark Gold, chuckle...he posted to usenet years ago that there would be
epidemics of people made blind by aspartame...

the problems of the formation of aspartic acid, formaldehyde and
methanol are discussed.

Here you can see that serum levels of methanol go up after aspartame
intake:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract
"The temporary serum methanol increase showed peak values within the
range of individual basal levels."

What does that mean?

And this one:
http://www.newstarget.com/004416.html

has good general warnings about sodas in general, including some
comments on aspartame.
Newstarget? Not a credible source. Pure opinion.
That's right... when you can't debate the issue, just attack the
messenger. Works every time, huh. :-/
Debating NewsTarget articles is like debating the direction of sunrise.
Then please feel free to debate any of the other actual studies I've
posted or even to comment on the rebuttal of your study showing no link
between aspartame and ADD.

Aspartame linked to cancer.
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html
"Abstract
The Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center of the European Ramazzini
Foundation
EVERYTHING they test seems to be carcinogenic. Weird. Makes me wonder...

BTW, this outfit did not want to divulge the raw data for months...


I certainly hope that's not your idea of evidence that aspartame is
safe.

Nope. It is my idea that the source of the evidence is, at best,
questionable.

BTW, Mark Lowry mentioned the rats. Those rats are bred to develop
cancer and are HYPERSENSITIVE to anything and everything. The study, at
the very best, merely suggests that some further testing should be done.
These rats are far from human comparable.



Max.

has conducted a long-term bioassay on aspartame (APM) , a
widely used artificial sweetener. APM was administered with feed to
8-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats (100-150/sex/group) , at concentrations
of 100,000, 50,000, 10,000, 2,000, 400, 80, or 0 ppm. The treatment
lasted until natural death, at which time all deceased animals
underwent complete necropsy. Histopathologic evaluation of all
pathologic lesions and of all organs and tissues collected was
routinely performed on each animal of all experimental groups. The
results of the study show for the first time that APM, in our
experimental conditions, causes a) an increased incidence of
malignant-tumor-bearing animals with a positive significant trend in
males (p = 0.05) and in females (p = 0.01) , in particular those
females treated at 50,000 ppm (p = 0.01) ; b) an increase in
lymphomas and leukemias with a positive significant trend in both males
(p = 0.05) and females (p = 0.01) , in particular in females
treated at doses of 100,000 (p = 0.01) , 50,000 (p = 0.01) , 10,000
(p = 0.05) , 2,000 (p = 0.05) , or 400 ppm (p = 0.01) ; c) a
statistically significant increased incidence, with a positive
significant trend (p = 0.01) , of transitional cell carcinomas of the
renal pelvis and ureter and their precursors (dysplasias) in females
treated at 100,000 (p = 0.01) , 50,000 (p = 0.01) , 10,000 (p =
0.01) , 2,000 (p = 0.05) , or 400 ppm (p = 0.05) ; and d) an
increased incidence of malignant schwannomas of peripheral nerves with
a positive trend (p = 0.05) in males. The results of this
mega-experiment indicate that APM is a multipotential carcinogenic
agent, even at a daily dose of 20 mg/kg body weight, much less than the
current acceptable daily intake. On the basis of these results, a
reevaluation of the present guidelines on the use and consumption of
APM is urgent and cannot be delayed. Key words: artificial sweetener,
aspartame, carcinogenicity, lymphomas, malignant schwannomas, rats,
renal pelvis carcinomas. Environ Health Perspect 114:379-385 (2006) .
doi:10.1289/ehp.8711 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 17
November 2005]"

Max.

Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Mark wrote:
Max C. wrote:
Peter Bowditch wrote:
"Jan Drew" wrote:

http://www.thenhf.com/articles_46.htm

Aspartame: RICO Complaint Filed Against NutraSweet, ADA, Monsanto
Sepp (Josef) Hasslberger

September 17, 2004
That's over two years ago, Jan, and aspartame is still on the market.

Whatever happened to the great court case? Could it be just possible
that it went nowhere?
I don't think something being on the market is any indication that it's
safe. We FINALLY got the FDA to admit that trans fats are not safe in
any amount, but they're still everywhere.

There is no question to the validity of the claim aspartame, a
dipeptide, breaks down into several chemicals, one being methanol, once
inside the body. That methanol then breaks down into formaldehyde. I
remember seeing this in an email and thinking to myself "No way. This
has to be net lore." Then I happened to see the myth challenged on TV
(I believe on the show Dr. Know) and sure enough, formaldehyde is a by
product of aspartame.

All one needs to do is search the web for aspartame and formaldehyde to
see a list of side effects cause by constant use of aspartame. I'm
surprised this is even a debating point these days.

Max.
No doubt your organic chemistry is top-notch, but I undoubtedly
absorbed far more formaldehyde by dissecting frogs in high school and
cadavers in medical school than I would ever ingest in a lifetime's
consumption of Diet Pepsi.

"Dose makes the poison" -- memorize that.

Mark, MD
Dose = poison also depends on on the toxicity of the item in question.
Some compounds require extremely small doses to be poison, some require
large amounts. Additionally, something does not have to kill you to be
a poison. There are literally thousands of cases tying aspartame to
migraine headaches. In this letter to the FDA :

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dai...emc-000200.txt
Mark Gold, chuckle...he posted to usenet years ago that there would be
epidemics of people made blind by aspartame...

the problems of the formation of aspartic acid, formaldehyde and
methanol are discussed.

Here you can see that serum levels of methanol go up after aspartame
intake:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract
"The temporary serum methanol increase showed peak values within the
range of individual basal levels."

What does that mean?

And this one:
http://www.newstarget.com/004416.html

has good general warnings about sodas in general, including some
comments on aspartame.
Newstarget? Not a credible source. Pure opinion.
That's right... when you can't debate the issue, just attack the
messenger. Works every time, huh. :-/
Debating NewsTarget articles is like debating the direction of sunrise.
Then please feel free to debate any of the other actual studies I've
posted or even to comment on the rebuttal of your study showing no link
between aspartame and ADD.

Aspartame linked to cancer.
http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2005/8711/abstract.html
"Abstract
The Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center of the European Ramazzini
Foundation
EVERYTHING they test seems to be carcinogenic. Weird. Makes me wonder...

BTW, this outfit did not want to divulge the raw data for months...


I certainly hope that's not your idea of evidence that aspartame is
safe.

Nope. It is my idea that the source of the evidence is, at best,
questionable.

BTW, Mark Lowry mentioned the rats. Those rats are bred to develop
cancer and are HYPERSENSITIVE to anything and everything. The study, at
the very best, merely suggests that some further testing should be done.
These rats are far from human comparable.

First, by agreeing to Mark's claim, are you saying that there are no
humans which might be more susceptible to cancer than others?

Second, I've tried to verify the claim that a Sprague-Dawley rat would
be "HYPERSENSITIVE to anything and everything." You know, I haven't
found anything saying that. Here's what I've found so far:

http://aceanimals.com/SpragueDawley.htm
"The outbred multipurpose model of choice is the Sprague Dawley Rat. A
general model for the study of human health and disease, this outbred
rat serves as an excellent model for toxicology, reproduction,
pharmacology, and behavioral research areas.

Common characteristics of the Sprague Dawley Rat include:

Anatomy and Physiology

Adult body weight: 250 - 300g (female); 450 - 520g (male)
Life span: 2.5 - 3.5 years
Respiratory rate: 70 - 115 breaths/minute
Heart rate: 250 - 450 beats/minute

* The dental formulae is 2(I 1/1, M 3/3) = 16. The incisors are
open-rooted and grow continuously. Rats will bite or "pinch" with their
sharp incisors if mishandled.
* The esophagus enters the stomach at the lesser curvature
through a fold of tissue of the stomach. Because of this anatomical
arrangement, the rat is unable to vomit.
* Like the horse, the rat does not have a gall bladder.
* The left lung consists of one lobe; the right lung consists
of four lobes.
* The rat has five pairs of mammary glands. Distribution of
mammary tissue is diffuse, extending from the ventral midline over the
flanks, thorax, and portions of the neck.
* The urethra of the female rat does not communicate with the
vagina or vulva; it exits separately just ventral to the vulva.
* The deep gland of the nictitating membrane (Harderian gland)
is a pigmented lacrimal gland located behind the eyeball, encircling
the optic nerve. The secretion of this gland is rich in lipid and
porphyrin. Although many species possess a Harderian gland, it assumes
a special importance in the rat. During periods of stress and/or
certain diseases, the tears overflow and stain the face around the eyes
and nose. When the tears dry, the pigment has the appearance of dried
blood. The pigment fluoresces under ultraviolet light and contains
little or no blood.
* The rat responds to decreases in ambient temperature by
nonshivering thermogenesis, and to increases in ambient temperature by
increasing the vascularization of its long tail, which may serve as a
thermoregulatory organ. Nonshivering thermogenesis for the most part
occurs in brown fat, the highest concentration of which is found in the
subcutaneous tissues between the scapulae."

http://www.ndif.org/Terms/Sprague-Dawley_rats.html
"A strain of albino rats developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal
Company, widely used in experimental work because of their calmness and
ease of handling."

The rest of the links discuss actual studies with the rats. And you
know, I found quite a few that made no mention of the rats getting
cancer, even with very poor diets designed to initiate obesity. You'd
think if they were hypersensitive to cancer, a diet specifically
designed to induce obesity would set off some cancer.

I would imagine (thought I don't know for sure) that it's possible to
breed the rats to be more susceptible to cancer for specific studies,
but if that was done in this case, what evidence do you have of that?

Max.

I'm still waiting for clarification on the Sprague-Dawley rats, Mark
(either one of you.) You claimed that they would be "HYPERSENSITIVE to
anything and everything" and that they are "are far from human
comparable."

I found just the opposite when when I found what appeared to be a
breeder's site that said:

"The outbred multipurpose model of choice is the Sprague Dawley Rat. A
general model for the study of human health and disease, this outbred
rat serves as an excellent model for toxicology, reproduction,
pharmacology, and behavioral research areas.

I had already posted that info, as you can see below. I'd like to know
what information you have that shows that the rats used in the study in
question were hypersensitive to cancer.

Max.


Max C. wrote:
Mark Probert wrote:
BTW, Mark Lowry mentioned the rats. Those rats are bred to develop
cancer and are HYPERSENSITIVE to anything and everything. The study, at
the very best, merely suggests that some further testing should be done.
These rats are far from human comparable.

First, by agreeing to Mark's claim, are you saying that there are no
humans which might be more susceptible to cancer than others?

Second, I've tried to verify the claim that a Sprague-Dawley rat would
be "HYPERSENSITIVE to anything and everything." You know, I haven't
found anything saying that. Here's what I've found so far:

http://aceanimals.com/SpragueDawley.htm
"The outbred multipurpose model of choice is the Sprague Dawley Rat. A
general model for the study of human health and disease, this outbred
rat serves as an excellent model for toxicology, reproduction,
pharmacology, and behavioral research areas.

Common characteristics of the Sprague Dawley Rat include:

Anatomy and Physiology

Adult body weight: 250 - 300g (female); 450 - 520g (male)
Life span: 2.5 - 3.5 years
Respiratory rate: 70 - 115 breaths/minute
Heart rate: 250 - 450 beats/minute

* The dental formulae is 2(I 1/1, M 3/3) = 16. The incisors are
open-rooted and grow continuously. Rats will bite or "pinch" with their
sharp incisors if mishandled.
* The esophagus enters the stomach at the lesser curvature
through a fold of tissue of the stomach. Because of this anatomical
arrangement, the rat is unable to vomit.
* Like the horse, the rat does not have a gall bladder.
* The left lung consists of one lobe; the right lung consists
of four lobes.
* The rat has five pairs of mammary glands. Distribution of
mammary tissue is diffuse, extending from the ventral midline over the
flanks, thorax, and portions of the neck.
* The urethra of the female rat does not communicate with the
vagina or vulva; it exits separately just ventral to the vulva.
* The deep gland of the nictitating membrane (Harderian gland)
is a pigmented lacrimal gland located behind the eyeball, encircling
the optic nerve. The secretion of this gland is rich in lipid and
porphyrin. Although many species possess a Harderian gland, it assumes
a special importance in the rat. During periods of stress and/or
certain diseases, the tears overflow and stain the face around the eyes
and nose. When the tears dry, the pigment has the appearance of dried
blood. The pigment fluoresces under ultraviolet light and contains
little or no blood.
* The rat responds to decreases in ambient temperature by
nonshivering thermogenesis, and to increases in ambient temperature by
increasing the vascularization of its long tail, which may serve as a
thermoregulatory organ. Nonshivering thermogenesis for the most part
occurs in brown fat, the highest concentration of which is found in the
subcutaneous tissues between the scapulae."

http://www.ndif.org/Terms/Sprague-Dawley_rats.html
"A strain of albino rats developed by the Sprague-Dawley Animal
Company, widely used in experimental work because of their calmness and
ease of handling."

The rest of the links discuss actual studies with the rats. And you
know, I found quite a few that made no mention of the rats getting
cancer, even with very poor diets designed to initiate obesity. You'd
think if they were hypersensitive to cancer, a diet specifically
designed to induce obesity would set off some cancer.

I would imagine (thought I don't know for sure) that it's possible to
breed the rats to be more susceptible to cancer for specific studies,
but if that was done in this case, what evidence do you have of that?

Max.