Aspartame – Ant Poison, FDA Complaints

Dear Health Concious Reader,

When you reach for a packet of NutraSweet or Splenda, you feel relieved that you’re dodging the evils of sugar. But did you know that these artificial sweeteners make good ant poison.

I just read a story from a lady who had a problem with carpenter ants. After spending thousands of dollars on professional exterminators and industrial poisons, she dumped 2 packets of NutraSweet in the corners of her bathroom and it killed the ants.1

It’s perhaps less of a surprise if you know that aspartame – the active ingredient in NutraSweet – was classified as a neurotoxin before it was approved by the FDA as a sugar substitute in the early 1980s.

But what does that mean when you eat ice cream, candy, or a diet soda that’s sweetened with NutraSweet? Or any of the other 5,000 products that use aspartame?

Aspartame accounts for 75% of all side effects reported to the FDA’s Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS), with 10,000 complaints in 1994 alone. By the FDA’s own admission, only 1 percent of those who experience side effects actually report them. That makes the real number closer to one million.

The FDA is so defensive about their stance on aspartame; it took a Freedom of Information Act request to get the full list of 92 recognized symptoms the FDA linked to artificial sweeteners that use aspartame.

Here’s just a few of the 92 reactions you may experience:

  • Anxiety Attacks
  • Arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Death
  • Diarrhea
  • Insomnia
  • Memory Loss
  • Nausea or Vomiting
  • Seizures or Convulsions
  • Vertigo
  • Weight Gain

The threat of seizures and vertigo is so strong; pilots are routinely warned about the dangers of aspartame. Both the Air Force’s magazine Flying Safety and the Navy’s Navy Physiology have published articles warning pilots of these side

effects.2

About 12 years ago, a hotline was setup for pilots suffering from acute reactions to aspartame. In the first year alone, over 600 pilots reported symptoms – some of whom actually suffered grand mal seizures while in the cockpit of their airplanes.2

What’s worse, most people have no idea that aspartame is causing their symptoms. Doctors usually link the symptoms to other diseases like multiple sclerosis, arthritis, Lyme disease, or even Alzheimer’s.

A recent study published by the Cancer Research Center in Italy found that, once inside your body, aspartame breaks down into very dangerous components. (One of these components is formaldehyde – a very dangerous toxin you may know as ‘embalming fluid.’)

A alarming number of rats fed NutraSweet died from various cancers including leukemia. The increase in cancer rates was 62%. Aside from cancer and the symptoms listed above, aspartame they discovered, can also lead to sudden death.3 How does this experiment relate to the amount of aspartame you consume?

The FDA set the Acceptable Daily Intake, (ADI) for aspartame at 50mg per kilogram of bodyweight (mg/kg). Lawyers for the FDA said in court that the average American averages 30mg/kg a day but often goes over the limit.

What’s disturbing is that the Italian scientists noticed markedly increased cancer rates in rats that consumed only 40% of this ADI. Rats eating only 8% of the ADI also had increased cancer rates. This means that many Americans are consuming more than this dose comparatively.

Russell Blaylock, MD is a well-known neurosurgeon and one of the leading authorities on the dangers of aspartame. He said, “This study strongly indicates that drinking a single diet cola sweetened with aspartame every day could significantly increase one’s risk of developing a lymphoma or leukemia.”4

If you suffer from any of these symptoms and consume any aspartame, stop consuming products that have aspartame for at least 60 days. Instead of relying on sodas, drink liquids that occur naturally:

  • Water – Filter purified or spring water. (This is your best bet when you’re thirsty.)
  • Milk – If you can find a good local source, raw is your best choice.
  • Tea – Real tea, green or black, with no artificial additives.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

  1. Jensen J. Aspartame – The World’s Best Ant Poison. The Idaho Observer. June 2006.
  2. Gold M. The Bitter Truth about Artificial Sweeteners. NEXUS Magazine. Oct/Nov 1995.
  3. Soffritti M. Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukemias in rats. Eur. J. Oncol., vol. 10, n. 2, 2005
  4. Martini B. Aspartame proven to cause cancer. Mission Possible, Jul 21, 2005. www.wnho.net