- LOS ANGELES, CA -- A new
report about the effects of drinking one regular or diet cola a day has
been released. Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, professor at Boston University
School of Medicine was senior author of the investigation, part of The
Framingham Heart Study that has been following the cardiac health of residents
in a Massachusetts town, since 1948. The results of the research are
published in Circulation, the Online Journal of the American Heart Association,
July 23, 2007.
-
-
- http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.689935v1
-
- 6,039 middle-aged participants without "metabolic
syndrome", an umbrella term for excess waist circumference(obesity),
hypertension and glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes) who daily drank one
soft drink of any kind, in a 4-year follow-up, had a 50% higher prevalence
of metabolic syndrome than those who didn't drink 1 soda (12-ounces) a
day.
-
- The link to diet soda found in the study was "striking"
says Dr. Vasan, because it shows artificially sweetened diet sodas could
be harmful. "That association was evident even when the researchers
accounted for other factors, such as levels of saturated fat, calorie intake,
smoking and physical activity."
-
- In calling into question what the ingredient in diet
soda could be to cause metabolic syndrome-the artificial sweetener,aspartame,
(Equal, NutraSweet) on the market since 1982, appears not to have been
considered as a possible cause by researchers, led by Dr. Ravi Dhingra
of Harvard Medical School.
-
- In 1993, the FDA, under the Freedom of Information Act
revealed 92 symptoms caused by aspartame,from headache to seizures to death.
Blood glucose disorders, an indication of metabolic syndrome is No. 63
on the list.
-
- The results of the new Framingham study comes on the
heels of the Ramazzini Cancer Research Institute's eight year study on
experimental rats. Dr. Morando Soffritti who heads the Institute found
aspartame causes cancer, especially lymphoma, leukemia and breast cancer.
-
- The FDA continues to assert aspartame safety despite
Dr.Soffritti's findings,reminiscent of their stance, in 1996, when Dr.
John Olney found aspartame linked to the increase of brain tumors. Aspartame,
the chemical sweetener, is now in 6,000 products, including chewing gum,
not labeled as sugar-free.
-
- Recently, 12 eminent USA toxicologists wrote to Andrew
von Eschenbach, commissioner of the FDA, regarding the Ramazzini cancer
study results.
-
- "In light of the new aspartame study,which extends
and corroborates the finding from an earlier (Ramazzini) study, we urge
the FDA to immediately commence a careful review of the new study."
-
- One of the writers of the letter to the FDA,Dr. Michael
Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest,(CSPI)
called on the food industry, the Food Products Association/Grocery Manufacturers
to voluntarily switch to other sugar substitutes.
-
- "Switching to safer ingredients now could be a wise
precautionary action. Considering how widely aspartame is consumed by
young children, as well as adults, in the United States and abroad, it
is essential that this review be done as expeditiously as possible. If
that review confirms that aspartame caused cancer in the laboratory animals,
the FDA must invoke the Delaney amendment and revoke its approval for the
artificial sweetener. But consumers, particularly parents, shouldn't wait
for the FDA to act. People shouldn't panic, but they should stop buying
beverages and foods containing aspartame."
-
- Early studies of aspartame by the pharmaceutical company,
G.D. Searle who owned the patent for the artificial sweetener were investigated
by the late FDA toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross. Dr. Gross ascertained
diketopiperazine,the break-down of phenylalanine, 50 percent of the aspartame
molecule, caused brain and mammary tumors in the experimental animals.
-
- According to Dr. Gross: "The manufacturer lied
and didn't submit the real nature of their observations...they took great
pains to camouflage these shortcomings of the study...and they did other
terrible things for instance,animals would develop tumors while they were
under study...Well, they would remove these tumors from the animals(and
put them back into the study)."
-
- For we anti-aspartame consumer activists, it is a necessary
task to spread the truth about aspartame to an exposed population.
-
- Aspartic acid (40% of the aspartame molecule) causes
holes in the brains of mice, Dr. John Olney told G.D. Searle. Free methanol,
wood alcohol, poisonous without the antidote ethanol found in natural food,
is 11% of the molecule.
-
- The aforementioned phenylalanine, 50% of the molecule,
is an amino acid isolated from the chain of 21 other amino acids in nature.
According to neurosurgeon, Dr. Russell Blaylock ("Excitotoxins:The
Taste That Kills"), phenylalanine crosses the blood brain barrier,
depleting serotonin,necessary for mental stability.
-
- "Oh,we're all going to die anyway", is a frequent
phrase this writer/researcher has heard in the last 10 years.
-
- Championing the evidence of the Framingham study and
the Ramazzini Cancer Institute are my colleagues- former judge, Mary Nash
Stoddard ("Deadly Deception: Story of Aspartame"), author/columnist
David Lawrence Dewey, Dr. H.J. Roberts("NutraSweet:Is It Safe?"),
Dr. Janet Hull("Sweet Poison"), toxicologist Dr. Hildegarde Staninger,
Bryant Holman, list owner of the aspartame support group on Yahoo and researchers,
Sh0shanna Allison, Rich Murray and Mark Gold.
-
- Carol Guilford is an LA-based writer and the author
of "The New Cook's Cookbook", "THE Diet Book", "Carol
Guilford's Main Course Cookbook" and "The Easiest Cookbook."
-
-
- carolguilford@sbcglobal.net
-
-
- http://www.aspartamesafety.com
-
- http://www.sweetpoison.com
-
- http://www.dldewey.com/aspar.htm
-
- http://www.presidiotex.com/aspartame/
-
- ASPARTAME SUPPORT GROUP
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/
-
-
- Shoshanna Allison contributed to this article.
-
|
