UK's Sunday Times - Top sweetener condemned by secret report
Letter....
February 10, l999
Minneapolis Neuropathy Association
Mr. Al Porte
P. O. Box 14901
Minneapolis, Mn 55414
Dear Mr. Porte:
I was asked to write to you about my concerns regarding the sweetener aspartame, especially as regards neurological disorders. As you may know, complaints against aspartame constitute 75% of all additive related complaints relayed to the FDA department of consumer complaints. Until recently, these were merely written off as anecdotal observations of little scientific validity. But recent findings have shed some light on this elusive compound and its deleterious effects of the human population .
.. Aspartame an L aspartyl L phenylalanine methyl ester, is composed of two amino acids, aspartate and phenylalanine, linked by methanol. Inside the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the stomach it is bro ken down into its constitutent components . In some instances the dipeptide is lysed within the cells of the gut. As a consequence the methanol is rapidly absored and distributed throughout the tissues of the body. Within the tissues substantial amounts of methanol's two metabolic breakdown products (formaldehyde and formic acid) have been shown to accumulate in many tissues."
These breakdown products, formaldehyde and formic acid, have been shown in several important studies, to be extremely toxic to tissues in very small doses. In fact, even small doses of formaldehyde are considered to be carcinogenic. A recent study by Trocho, Pardo and co-workers, have demonstrated that following aspartame ingestion, significant amounts of formaldehyde accumulate in the tissues. Formaldehyde is known to bind strongly to proteins and nucleic acids , forming adducts that are extremely difficult to eliminate through normal metabolic pathways."
In this study, they demonstrated that labeled methanol (as formaldehyde) accumulated in high concentrations in the liver (50%) and in lower, but substantial, concentrations in the kidney, adipose tissue, brain and retina. Within the cell, they found large amounts located within the DNA. It was interesting to note ethat these doses were lower than that used in toxicity studies. Previous studies have shown that very high doses of aspartame may not cause acute symptomatology. This study indicates that the damage may necessitate longer periods of time to manifest itself, and that the eventual effects can be quite deleterius.
The doses used were within those recommended by the FDA as ADI for humans. This is especially of conern in children who may consume doses of aspartame as high as 75 to 90mg/kg. It is also important to note that in this study, the formaldehyde was accumulative as were its injury to cellular proteins and DNA. In the real life situation, humans are exposed to repeated doses of aspartame found in many foods, drinks, medicines and chewing gum.
An earlier study by Shephard and co -workers, it was found that aspartame is nitrosated within the gut and that this nitrosation of the amine group is "quite cytotoxic" and represents a moderately strong mutagen in the Ames test.
Another recent study, by Sorg, Willis and co-workers is also alarming. In this study, it was found that prolonged exposure to low concenetrations of formaldehyde could cause chemical sensitization to cocaine, via a limbic mechanism. With increasing reports of multiple chemical sensitivity syndrome, one must be concerned about chronic low dose formaldehyde exposure via aspartame."
In addition, a l997 study found that macrophages exposed to aspartame produces a threefold rise in leukotriene (B4, C 4 and 15 hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid) and arachidonic acid metabolites. This would be detrimental to patients having autoimmune disorders such as lupus, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis . Clinically, there is some evidence for worsening of two of the three conditions (MS and Lupus) by aspartame use.
Finally, in the diabetic, great concern must be expressed about the danger of toxin damage to already weakened peripheral nerves in the diabetic situation. With the buildup of accumulated concentrations of formaldehyde and formic acid in nervous tissue, long term damage and drapid progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy is almost a given. We know that all of the components of aspartame are neurotoxic as well as most of its breakdown products, such as diketopiperazine, phenylethalamine, phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (formaldehyde and formic acid) Aspartic acid is a known excitotoxin and in the body is converted to glutamic acid, an even more poewrful excitotoxin. Experimentally, the same widespread brain lesions produced by MSG exposure can be produced by high dose aspartame exposure.
It is my opinion, and the opinion of many others, that aspartame is a dangerous neurotoxin and its use should be discouraged generally, but especially so in those harboring neurological diseases.
Sincerely yours,
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
References:
1. Shephard SE, Wakabayashi K and Nagao M. Mutagenic activity of peptides
and the artificial sweetener aspartame after nitrosation. Food Chem Tox
31Z : 323-329, 1993
. 2. Sorg BA, Willis JR , et al. Repeated low-dose formaldehyde exposure produces cross-sensitization to cocaine; possible relevance to chemical sensitivity in humans . Neuropsychopharmacol 18 :385, 394 , l998
3. Trocho C, Pardo R, et al, Formaldehyde derived from dietary aspartame binds to tissue components in vivo. Life Sciences 63:337-349,1998
4. Hardcastle JE, B ruch RT. Effect of L-aspartyl-L -phenylalanine methyl ester on leukotriene biosynthesis in macrophage cells. Prostagland Leukot Essen Fatty Acids 57: 331-333,1997.
The UK's Sunday Times Article below as not sure how long it stays on the website
BRITAIN
Top sweetener condemned by secret report
Jonathan Leake, Science Editor
BRITAIN'S bestselling sweetener was condemned as dangerous and potentially toxic in a report compiled by some of the world's biggest soft drinks manufacturers - who now buy tons of it to add to diet drinks.
Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other manufacturers produced the report in the early 1980s before the sweetener, aspartame, had been approved for use in America. It warns that it can affect the workings of the brain, change behaviour and even en-courage users to eat extra carbohydrate, so destroying the point of using diet drinks.
The documents were un-earthed last week under freedom of information legislation. It follows a decision by re-searchers at King's College in London to study suspected links between aspartame intake and brain tumours.
Britons drink more than 9 billion cans or bottles of pop a year, of which about half contain artificial sweeteners. Aspartame, made by Monsanto and also marketed under the name NutraSweet, is 200 times sweeter than normal sugar and is used in many popular low-calorie foods and drinks. It has been declared safe in a number of studies and has been approved for use in both America and Europe.
There has, however, always been concern at its tendency to break down, producing methanol, which is both toxic in its own right and which breaks down further to produce formic acid and formaldehyde. Phenylalanine, another breakdown product of aspartame, is also dangerous to people with phenylketonuria, a common enzyme deficiency.
The 30-page aspartame report was drawn up under the auspices of America's National Soft Drinks Association (NSDA), whose governing body at the time included senior Coca-Cola and Pepsi executives. It says: "We object to the approval of aspartame for unrestricted use in soft drinks." It then lists ways in which aspartame was believed directly to affect brain chemistry, including the synthesis of vital neurotransmitters such as serotonin.
Other papers obtained with the NSDA documents show the Food and Drug Administration also had misgivings. Despite this, it approved aspartame.
Dick Adamson, of the NSDA, said that, in l983, it evaluated the data on aspartame and posed a umber of questions. Once they were answered, it no longer had concerns about the safety of aspartame in carbonated drinks.
Ben Deutsch, a spokesman for Coca-Cola, referred questions to the NSDA.
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