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The devil in your diet drink
17 February 2006
At a wedding last year, I realised that my extended family were deliberately poisoning themselves.
It was the morning after the reception, and we were gathered at my aunt Patricia's house, nursing hangovers and cups of coffee.
As I slipped half a teaspoon of brown sugar into my cup, I was shocked to see that few were interested in my ancient method of sweetening a drink.
Almost everyone over the age of 40 dug into their pockets or handbags...and whipped out tiny plastic cylinders.
With nimble thumbs, they each pumped a couple of sweeteners into their drinks and sat back in satisfaction.
'Are you all mad?' I blurted.
'What's wrong?' said my Aunt Patricia.
'What's sugar ever done to hurt you that you want to fill your bodies with aspartame?'
'Aspartame?' said Uncle Pete, peering at his dispenser, 'this one's called 'Canderel'.
'You should be careful with these artificial sweeteners,' I said.
'See what Ray's like these days,' said Lara, 'he's obsessed!'
Everyone began to laugh.
But I was deadly serious.
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The dangers of aspartame
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Aspartame was once considered a miracle alternative to sugar.
It was discovered by accident in 1965 by a chemist called James M Schlatter. At the time he was trying to produce an antiulcer drug for the pharmaceutical giant, G.D Searle & Co.
When he accidentally licked his finger, he discovered that the chemical he had just concocted was very sweet.
In fact, aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar. But because you need such a tiny quantity to sweeten the taste of something, it has hardly any calories.
You can imagine the dollar signs rolling over the eyes of Searle's directors at the news...
A sweetener that doesn't make you fat!
After some years in development, aspartame began to take over the world.
These days it's used in diet drinks, crisps, sweets, 'sugar free' chewing gum, processed meals, ice cream and even toothpaste.
It would be considered the best food invention since sliced bread... if it were not for one tiny drawback...
It's poisonous.
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A roll call of sweet misery
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While the corporations that produce sweeteners have tried to quash the evidence, aspartame stands accused of causing 92 health problems.
They include:
Abdominal pain, anxiety attacks, arthritis, asthma, breathing difficulties, chest pains, chronic coughs, chronic fatigue, confusion, depression, headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, impotency, insomnia, irritability, memory loss, muscle spasms, nausea, rashes, tinnitus and vision problems.
Worse still, in 1995, the US health authorities discovered that aspartame could cause symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.
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Known as 'Aspartame Disease', it's also suspected of causing brain cancer, chronic fatigue and epilepsy.
Quite a roll call of misery, isn't it?
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The big cover up
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At this point in my rant, my Uncle Pete boomed, 'Ray, I've heard of this aspartame thing. It's an urban legend.'
'The corporations behind aspartame make BILLIONS in profits,' I said, 'so they spend a lot of energy trying to get you to THINK that.'
By this point, two relatives had started chatting about curtains, and two doubters had left the room, but I was on a roll.
'The evidence has been around since 1980, but powerful American politicians have stamped it into the ground.'
I began to tell a typical tale of modern politics...
The first tests on aspartame suggested it might cause brain tumours in rats.
For this reason, the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) did not approve it as a food additive.
Then in 1981, President Reagan appointed an FDA commissioner who'd be a little more sympathetic to aspartame.
By 1983, they'd approved aspartame for fizzy drinks and baked goods... by 1993 it could go in sweets... and by 1996, it could go into ANY foods at all.
Could some of this approval in have been anything to do with Donald Rumsfeld, US Secretary of Defense and close ally of the Bush family?
Well, as you know, I'm no conspiracy theorist...
But Rumsfeld was Chief Executive Officer, President, and then Chairman of Searle, the company who made aspartame, from 1977 until 1985.
So aspartame has some friends in pretty high places.
Worse still, scientific studies are often distorted by the big pharmaceutical companies.
For example, in 1996, the American programme '60 minutes' looked at 164 studies into aspartame.
The 74 funded by NutraSweet found NO bad effects.
But a shocking 83 out of 90 studies by INDEPENDENT researchers found health problems!
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Here comes the science bit
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Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol.
None of them are particularly helpful in large doses.
Larger than normal amounts of Aspartic Acid can kill neural cells in the brains of those most susceptible... especially infants, children and the elderly.
Phenylalanine decreases the amount of seratonin in the brain, causing emotional disorders and depression.
Finally, methanol is wood alcohol, which is a deadly poison.
When aspartame is heated, it releases 'free methanol'. This breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body.
Yup, that's right... FORMALDEHYDE.
The results can cause misty vision, headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness, nausea, and more.
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What the sceptics will tell you
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Now, your average sceptic will say that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are natural and safe.
And it's true... when they are independent of each other,
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But together they are toxic.
It's a bit like saying carbon monoxide is safe because all it contains is carbon and oxygen.
A sceptic may also tell you that fruit juices and alcoholic drinks ALSO contain small amounts of methanol.
But whenever methanol appears in natural products, it contains a higher amount of ethanol. Ethanol is an antidote for methanol poisoning in the human body.
This doesn't happen with aspartame.
The fact is, aspartame has a habit of converting to dangerous by-products in the body. There is much doubt about its safety among independent scientists and researchers.
And even last year, members of the European Parliament's Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy Committee voted for a full re-evaluation of aspartame.
So what do you think?
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How to cut down on aspartame
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While it's impossible, and unnecessary, to avoid all traces of aspartame altogether, it's wise to cut down dramatically on your intake.
It's the very high levels of aspartame consumed by diet drink lovers and sweetener addicts that are the problem.
-- Cut down on drinks that use sweeteners. Even with a diet cola, you should have only the occasional drink as a treat.
-- Read the ingredients label. When it says, 'no added sugar' or 'low calorie' is means that it has aspartame or another sweetener.
-- Use honey as a sweetener... or just use sugar, but LESS of it!
-- Watch out for brand names of aspartame, like NutraSweet, Canderel and Hermesetas.
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And finally - heal yourself with food
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Finally, if you want to repair some of the damages done by aspartame, why not order a copy of Eat & Heal?
This excellent book shows you how to use everyday foods to help make your body invulnerable to disease.
For example, did you know that courgettes could protect you against cancer...? Or that bananas can treat blurred vision...? Or that oysters could help with depression?
It's a great little self-healing bible and well worth a look:
Eat
Yours, as ever,
Ray Collins
The Good Life Letter
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