A Tale of Two Sweeteners: Aspartame and Stevia

[gorbal]

I had been using Aspartame for the last year in my tea because I thought Atevia to sweet, then I came upon a chapter I had skipped over a while ago in "You are being lied to". The description of Aspartame poisoning fits me to a tea, so I did some more info searching on-line. I think you may like this article-

http://www.vegsource.com/davis/sweeteners.htm

What do you guys think? I like stevia in some kinds of coffee and in some foods, but in others the aftertaste is a bit much. perhaps, like this lady says, I AM using a bit to much.

Do you guys think the whole Aspartame issue is untrue? I feel like a guinea pig, this isn't fair.

[gulfcoastliberal]

1. I believe Rumsfeld rammed aspartame through FDA

I guess if you trust Donald Rumsfeld and Ronnie Raygun, you can trust that aspartame is safe. I just use sugar. If you can't eat sugar, there's Splenda.

[gorbal]

5. Splenda aint so good either

Stevia is the sweetener that appears to be the safest when I do searches on it. You can find it a most health food stores. The only people that seem to have a problem with it are...all the other sweeteners.

[dreamcollector]

12. Check splenda

I think there's a problem there too.

[gulfcoastliberal]

22. I hadn't researched Splenda

I just remembered the packet saying it was sugar based. But then I found this:

In a simple word you would just as soon have DDT in your food as Splenda, because sucralose is a chlorocarbon. The chlorocarbons have long been famous for causing organ, genetic, and reproductive damage. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the testing of sucralose, even at less than the level demanded by FDA rules, reveals that it has been shown to cause up to 40%shrinkage of the thymus: A gland that is the very foundation of our immune system. It also causes swelling of the liver and kidneys, and CALCIFICATION of the kidney.

Lying and deceit on the artificial sweetener issue has been the FDA's Modus Operandi ever since Donald Rummsfeld broke everything decent in the US government to put Aspartame on the market as a "contract on humanity". It has no commercial purpose other than a contract on humanity. Either they have done but little testing of sucralose, or they are so afraid of what the public would think of sucralose, and the government if the public but knew what was going on, that they will not tell us! BECAUSE: we have been told nothing about the extensive studies which would have to have been done if very reasonable, and scientifically sound FDA rules had been followed.

Such study results as have been made known, catches the company in great big whopper lies! When questioned about the Thymus shrinkage which would disqualify sucralose forever, by the FDA's own rules, the company merely said. "Well the rats wouldn't eat the food with sucralose in it, so the thymus lost weight from starvation." The FDA allowed that explanation even though it was an admission that the rats hadn't ingested the required amount of sucralose, but had demonstrated immense damage anyway! In fact, if research animals won't voluntarily eat the required dose of experimental substance it can be given by gastric gavage, which is a common and well-known research method. Moreover, the rats so fed were only 7-20% underweight Vs the average for the control group. Rats who are severely starved to create a 30% weight loss, only shrink their thymus by an average of 7%. The net conclusion from all this is, that both the thymus shrinkage and the growth retardation caused by sucralose were enough to in each case disqualify sucralose from the marketplace.

All of these KNOWN findings only pointed out that the testing was so flawed that it could never be used as a basis for approval on one hand, and that the effects which were detected anyway were so severe that sucralose should never be allowed into the human body. It should be classified right along with DDT, and dioxin as illegal to even release into the environment much less put into your body!

http://www.wnho.net/splenda.htm

[BrklynLiberal]

30. Kind of had a feeling that something that was advertised so much on TV

could not be so good... Guess I am just very cynical.
And one can pretty much tell by who the manufacturer is.

Three other sites showing the negative side of Splenda

http://www.holisticmed.com/splenda/

http://www.mercola.com/2000/dec/3/sucralose_dangers.htm

http://www.wnho.net/splenda.htm

[notadmblnd]

2. No, I think it's true.

I don't use or allow my kids to use any products containing it. If the product is labeled "diet" we don't use it. I really do believe that aspartame has something to do with the prevalence of Alzheimer's.

[dreamcollector]

17. It causes seizures in children

Pilots are not permitted to drink diet drinks in flight as there have been incidents of confusion and seizures at high altitudes. Many healthy athletes have been dropping dead cuz of high asparatme consumption. Avoid it like the plague.

[bobweaver]

3. My personal experience: Aspartame (aka NutraSweet) causes headaches...

I used to drink a lot of diet sodas especially Fresca. I often got weird headaches that I couldn't explain from any other cause. I finally read some articles about Aspartame/NutraSweet on the internet and decided to quit drinking diet sodas. Right away those headaches stopped and haven't returned. This is merely my own personal experience with it.

[SOS]

37. Headaches, blurred vision and irregular heartbeat

are the most common side effects of Aspartame.
I used alot of Nutrasweet in the form of Equal and in diet soda.
Experienced cardiac arrythmia and related panic attacks. Once passed out on a bus.
The heartbeat was so screwed up that EKGs were abnormal. Doctor had no idea what was wrong. One day I came upon some info describing the side effects of aspartame.
Stopped using Nutrasweet and was fine a few days later.
Google Rumsfeld and Aspartame and you'll see how Searle CEO Rumsfeld rammed this crap onto the market by stacking the FDA a few days after Reagan took office.

[dreamcollector]

4. Unfortunately Aspartame and Nutrasweet and all that is VERY bad for you

All diet drinks and sugarless gum and breath mints. Really bad for you. You can thank Donald Rumsfeld for getting it through the FDA. It's his most criminal act. See <www.dorway.com>. I'm an ex doctor's wife. None of the medical people in our group would go near aspartame. Try other types of stevia. Most health food stores have several kinds of Stevia. I used one that wasn't bad. But I am back to sugar. Sugar is at least not deadly like aspartame. I urge you to check it out on <www.dorway.com>

[gorbal]

11. Thanks:)

Thanks for the info, I threw the Nutrataste away. Yu don't have a suggestion for a brand of stevia do you?

Any kind of stevia is GREAT in rainforest nut coffee, does anyone know other drinks or sweets that go well with stevia?

[genieroze]

27. They talk about MSG on that site also. I can tell when there is MSG in

food by the reaction I get. I feel like I ate glass. As for Nutrasweet I get severe headaches and black spots in my vision. That stuff is nasty.

[muse]

6. Aspartame gives me migraines.

So, I avoid it entirely. Stevia tastes odd. I have some, but I never got used to it. I use Splenda.

[peacetalksforall]

7. The FDA is not our friend.

A similar story applies to MSG - re damage and lobbying.

The FDA accepts payola. What a crock we've been fed - there is a grand myth being lived that they are taking care of us.

These people are supposed to be working for us. What a laugh.

[cags]

8. Artificial sweeteners give me migraines, I use good old fashioned sugar

[dreamcollector]

9. Aspartame is in children's vitamins

Flinstone vitamins and in many other vitamins and in medications. You have to read all the labels. You'd be amazed how many ailments are caused by consumption of aspartame. I like to think Bush is being slowly murdered by the diet coke he's drinking. If so --- ha! ha!.Thanks uncle Donald for poisoning the worst criminal on the face of this earth. I hope Rummy is drinking it too. I think Bush does have a health problem and confusion and memory loss is a symptom of aspartame poisoning. Couldn't happen to a better guy!

[BrklynLiberal]

10. Stevia natural, used all over Europe with no bad side effects.

No money to chemical companies.
If too sweet, can't you use less?
I have been using it for years.

[michael_1166]

13. Some time ago

I did a bit of Internet research regarding Aspartame, because everytime I drank Diet Coke in the past I got headaches. Well if you look Aspartame up on Google you'll find out after a while that it was once one the Pentagon's list as a nerve poison for conducting chemical warfare and sometime later Donald Rumsfeld had a hand in getting Aspartame approved as a food additive.

Bon appetit... ;-)

Here is one of many articles about this topic.

Michael

[dweller]

14. i remember looking for stevia as a plant

a year or two ago, and found a source to supply either seed or cutting, can't remember now.

It would be interesting to see if i could grow my own.

dp

edit: guess i've answered my own musing...
http://www.stevia.net/growingstevia.htm
http://www.stevianow.com/growing_stevia.htm

[dreamcollector]

20. I intend to grow my own starting this summer

There must be plentry of information online concerning preparation of it for consumption.

[dweller]

23. those 2 links were one of many

and both provided harvesting/preparation.

let me know if you locate a source, i saw a few in one of the links, but will look for a local NC source.

good luck
dp

[phillysuse]

15. Stevia contains estrogenic hormones

Back when I was in college in the late 1960's, I did research on
Stevia rebaudiana. This is a plant used by the Indians in Paraguayan
to brew tea and the plant from which the "health food" compound Stevia is extracted. The Paraguayan Indians have found that women who drink tea with Stevia have decreased fertility and drinking this tea allows them to space births. That is because Stevia rebaudiana contains estrogenic compounds similar to those in the birth control pills.

So just be carefulwhen you use Stevia - you may be taking estrogenic supplementation - it may help your hot flashes but it may contribute to increased breast cancer. And if you are male, it's probably not a great thing to ingest extra estrogen.

Natural products don't necessarily mean safe.

[KittyWampus]

18. Gosh That's Interesting! Thank You So Much. What An Interesting Topic

to have researched.

[gorbal]

21. Did it cause cancer in the Paraguayan Indians?

They have been using it for thousands of years, you might think they would notice it killed people if they noticed those other things.

Probably the fact that they have better diet has something to do with it. I read that 30 percent aff all cancers were caused by smoking and 35 percent were cause by not eating enough fresh fruits and vegitables.

[otohara]

28. Well Pooh...

although it doesn't seem to help with the hot flashes much, not like I do it everyday - mainly I use it for baking pumpkin pies...

[yella_dawg]

16. I was having digestive problems

abdominal pain and frequent diarrhea. I decided to quit diet cola due to the caffeine. Two weeks later, the digestive symptoms had eased, but I didn't really think much of that at the time. I decided to indulge in a diet cola. I was literally doubled up in cramps within seconds of the first swallow. That was over two years ago, and recently I took a few sips just to see. Doubled up in cramps almost immediately.

Sure, it's safe.

[kcass1954]

35. I had the intestinal virus going around last month

and gave up drinking anything but gatorade for a while. Gatorade was the only thing I could keep down. I have since not picked back up my habit if drinking 5-6 diet cokes per day, and I feel so much better. I do occasionally drink a regular soda.

[wgellis]

19. Which Side Affects Fit?

You have ALL of these side effects?

headaches, menstrual irregularities, nausea, dizziness, skin lesions, rashes, hyperactivity, heart palpitations, gastrointestinal disorders, blackouts, numbness, memory loss, blindness, seizures, and suicidal depressions.

[gorbal]

24. I have the side effects listed in another article

I have recently developed many of the side effects listed in another article. Nausea, headaches, minor seizers and I am just developing muscle issues that mimic fibromyalgia.

[Baconfoot]

25. That webpage contains absolute rubbish. 700,000 adverse effects?

"the real number of adverse effects associated with aspartame use is estimated to be as high as 700,000."

700,000?! Ye Gods! Unfortunately, we have arrived at a day and age when we cannot simply trust the conclusions drawn by any one particular source be it the FDA or vegsource.com. We are called upon to do some thinking and research before arriving at even tentative judgments.

Here's a nice article on urbanlegends.about.com which has links to resources regarding an email related to the aspartame "controversy." I would suggest trying to read some of the actual studies before abandoning the chewable vitamins.
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/blasp.htm?terms=aspartame

(For anyone who would respond to this "but it does give me headaches," I would note that headaches are one of the few symptoms among the 700,000 which actually IS associated with consumption of aspartame. It's only about 699,998 of them that one might find themselves questioning once one actually weeds through some part of the research on this topic.)

[gorbal]

31. Sorry, but after what I have just read, I can't believe "urban legends"

I find it hard to believe that it is bunk after everything I have read on the issue. And trust me, I will believe the food and drug administrations of other countries before I do the US.

I will stop using it and if my headaches, aching and involuntary movements go away, I have all the proof I need.

[dreamcollector]

34. Urban Legands is dead wrong about aspartame

I wish I could remember where I read that Urban Legends has a conflict of interest where aspartame is concerned. Either that or Urban Legends is funded by some questionable sources. But hey, go ahead and poison yourself. It's legal, ain't it?

[Baconfoot]

46. I wish you could remember where you read that too.

Meanwhile, however, might one suggest either actually reading the article or, as I suggested using the article as a tool for finding scientific studies of the substance.

[genieroze]

26. My husband stopped using Aspartame because of the articles I

showed him. He said why chance it. Now he uses plain old sugar, he just doesn't use as much. You can cut down on sugar and get used to the lack of sweetness. I got used to not using salt growing up because my parents both had high blood pressure and didn't use it or used it in moderation. Now I don't like anything salty.

[BrklynLiberal]

29. Great article on Stevia. Thanks for posting.

[RiDuvessa]

32. Evidence for the other side

I have read several articles from many scientific sites that state there is no scientific evidence that Aspertame causes issues. Snopes has a nice roundup of sites.



I still think that sugar is probably better for you regardless of the calories. Esp if you use brown or organic sugar instead of white.

[gorbal]

33. Everyone should do their own google search

Everyone should do their own google search and decide for themselves.

This is the very first site.

http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

If about 100 percent of independent research finds problems with Aspartame, I think I'll go with that info if it is true. (check quickly to make sure is isn't funded by sugar industry)

I wish I could just do sugar but unfortunately I am pre-diabetic.

[RiDuvessa]

36. Totally agree

I totally agree that people should search for themselves. I was just pointing them in a direction counter to most of the posts on this thread in case they were interested.

[gorbal]

38. true

I just didn't have anyone to debate with but you:)

[Angry Girl]

39. Stevia and erythritol GOOD! Aspartame and sucralose BAD!

My husband and I started with aspartame. Especially Diet Coke. Then we read about how Rumsfeld himself had shoved the product through the FDA after it had been denied, like, twice, I think! Tumors had been a problem and long-term exposure to aspartame also damages the eyes.

Anyway, we kicked it. But it was HARD, because the caffeine of the diet drink combined with the aspartame turns into a particularly *addictive* combination. We were susceptible and we were in a really foul mood for about 2 weeks while the stuff left our systems.

Then we started with Splenda (sucralose). Then for some reason we googled bad effects of Splenda and found out that certain people were very sensitive. And we found out that no long-term studies had been done on the stuff. NONE! So we kicked it to see what would happen. While getting off aspartame made us crabby, the withdrawal from sucralose made us feel really depressed. Really depressed. Illogically so.

Anyways, we eventually found stevia and erythritol, a sweetener used especially in Japan. Can't really bake too tough with any of these EXCEPT for cheesecake, which works very nicely with erythritol (1 cup erythritol = 1 cup sugar).

ERYTHRITOL is a 4 carbon sugar-alcohol that is about 70% as sweet as sucrose, but it looks and cooks like sucrose with no aftertaste and supplies only about 0.2 Calorie per gram! Essentially none! It has a pleasant cooling effect in the mouth and ranks a zero on the glycemic index. Popular in Japan, it has been introduced in the USA only recently. Cannot be used by harmful bacteria or yeast in the mouth or gut. Rated GRAS by the FDA. This is a top choice for diabetics and low-carb diets. Works well as a carrier for stevia. 1 lb., $6.00. Code 707.2

http://www.easycart.net/BeyondACenturyInc./Sweet_Stuff.html

This is the write-up from Beyond-a-Century.com, our favorite place for nutritional supplements and the only place we've found erythritol!

Good luck!

[gorbal]

41. Thanks for telling me about erythritol

I need something to cook with, I'll look it up on-line, see what other research there is on it.

Doesn't it feel sick that we live in a country where we have to constantly research our own food?

[jhain]

40. ANOTHER huge for profit scam

artificial sweetners all contain harmful components. There is a boatload of reseach AGAINST them all.

Our govt can not manage to protect us from ITSELF - there is NO -nada none -zip -Zilch inclination on their part to protect American children from chemicals that can make the greedy buddies big money.

Ignore the constant commercial hype.

Put a tsp of sugar in your tea. 16 whole calories. It won't make a speck of difference to your diet.

[atim]

42. Systematic poisoning through food, drug, vaccine, chlorine, mercury and mu

I have been seeing many reports over the years how adition of chlorine and flouride in drinking water, mercury in vaccine and dental silver amalgums, aspartame/nutrasweet in all diet products, gums, low calorie foods, partially hydrogenated oil in all snacks, cookies, pesticides and preservatives like msg and others in fruits, bio-enginnered mycoplasma are causing many long-term debilitating illnesses by overwhelming body's enzyme and hormone system and natural immunity. The petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals and research facilities are all connected; even FDA investigators are paid by same companies pushing the product. Here are two source of many started by ethical Doctors.

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/fraud.htm (see mycoplasma)
http://www.tetrahedron.org
http://www.garynull.com

There are some class action lawsuits on dental fillings and maybe aspartame you need to search at google and amazon. I did not know there are that many books on cancer cure at Amazon. I know of a colleague who used to drink several cans of dietcola everyday about a decade ago now is a paraplegic in wheelchair. I am not a doctor, but I suspect her habits had something to do with it.

[davsand]

43. I'm convinced I feel better without Aspertame in my diet.

I kicked Diet Coke a few months ago and I am convinced it made a huge difference for me. I have fewer headaches, I am not suffering with insomnia as often, and the biggest difference for me is I am no longer having a strange facial spasm that pulls half my face up into a perpetual grimace.

I had that spasm thing happen one other time and had accupuncture done to end it--after the Docs actually suggested I inject Botulism Toxin into my face to deaden the affected nerves. Never ONCE did they ask mme about my use of diet products! I thought the accupuncture solved it at thetime, but to be fair, I also had quit drinking Diet Coke at the same time because I wanted to cut out caffine.

This year, I was under a lot of stress and had slipped back into a really bad habit that I didn't go anywhere without a can of Diet Coke. One day it began with muscle twitches in my eyelid and the next day I was in a spasm that would not stop. One whole side of my face was locked up.

I know a man who does accupressure, and I went to see him before I paid for accupuncture treatments. He is a natural healer. I walked into my appointment with my usual can of Diet Coke. He took one look at that and asked me how much I drank of it every day. I told him I figured it for at least 20 oz a day, maybe more. He looked me in the eye and said, "You do realize that stuff is a neurotoxin?"

I walked out of there and stopped cold on my Diet Coke habit. Four days later my face was fine. I figured I'd give it a test and had a Diet Coke, and within three hours my face was in spasm again. I repeated this experiment a few times with the same result.

Now, I just drink tea.


Laura

[jayctravis]

44. I was an aspartame junkie.

It dissolved in iced tea better than sugar and was sweeter.

I read something that said it breaks down chemically into wood alcohol and something akin to formaldehyde. Apparently there is also a chemical/toxin in it similar to that used by fire ants.

I used to get unexplained lesions on my arms that looked like mosquito bites, but would scab over and last for a long time. It clicked when someone asked me if I was getting bitten by spiders.

Since not drinking diet soda or tea with aspartime regularly, these blemishes have stopped.

[bleedingheart]

45. I use sugar...plain old fashioned sugar

I also use butter....

I prefer to stick to the stuff my ancestors ate.