Hi; Aspartame contains phenylalanine. So does Nutra-sweet. So does Sugar Twin...You have to read the pak.
The comment about phenylalanine being an essential neurotransmitter is true, but spplementation is usually unnecessary and unwise because it breaks down to formaldehyde.. A google search turned up a wealth of information, all of it bad WRT Aspartame and phenylalanine...here are just a few.. 'Nuff said. ciao Duncan ******************** http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/aspart.htm "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." ********** The "Pandora's box of chameleon-like toxins and tumor agents" Aspartame was never and cannot be proven to be safe. It is not and cannot be a diet aid because the formaldehyde (from the breakdown of the 10% methanol) gets stored in the fat along with some water. The National Soft Drink Association did a 30-page protest in the '80s (Congressional Record, Senate S 5511, 5/7/85) that mentioned the fact that aspartame was unstable, and that aspartame reduced the levels of serotonin (a substance that gives one that "full" feeling) which often induces a craving for carbohydrates. L-Aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester, 98%, aspartame CAS #22839-47-0 (a.k.a. Equal, NutraSweet, Spoonful, Benevia, Equal Measure, etc.) is composed of (at least) three things: 1.) aspartic acid, (around 40%) CAS # 56-84-8 2.) phenylalanine, (around 50%) CAS # 63-91-2 3.) methanol (wood alcohol) (10%) CAS # 67-56-1 Molecular Weight : 294.30 Formula : C14H18N2O5 MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET : http://www.dorway.com/asparta.txt ********* http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html#discussion "These are indeed extremely high levels for adducts of formaldehyde, a substance responsible for chronic deleterious effects that has also been considered carcinogenic. "It is concluded that aspartame consumption may constitute a hazard because of its contribution to the formation of formaldehyde adducts." (Trocho 1998) "It was a very interesting paper, that demonstrates that formaldehyde formation from aspartame ingestion is very common and does indeed accumulate within the cell, reacting with cellular proteins (mostly enzymes) and DNA (both mitochondrial and nuclear). The fact that it accumulates with each dose, indicates grave consequences among those who consume diet drinks and foodstuffs on a daily basis." (Blaylock 1998) The methanol from aspartame is converted to formaldehyde and then formic acid (DHHS 1993, Liesivuori 1991), although some of the formaldehyde appears to accumulate in the body as discussed above. Chronic formaldehyde exposure at very low doses has been shown to cause immune system and nervous system changes and damage as well as headaches, general poor health, irreversible genetic damage, and a number of other serious health problems (Fujimaki 1992, He 1998, John 1994, Liu 1993, Main 1983, Molhave 1986, National Research Council 1981, Shaham 1996, Srivastava 1992, Vojdani 1992, Wantke 1996). One experiment (Wantke 1996) showed that chronic exposure to formaldehyde caused systemic health problems (i.e., poor health) in children at an air concentration of only 0.043 - 0.070 parts per million! Obviously, chronic exposure to an extremely small amount of formaldehyde is to be avoided. Even if formaldehyde adducts did not build up in the body from aspartame use, the regular exposure to excess levels of formaldehyde would still be a major concern to independent scientists and physicians familiar with the aspartame toxicity issue. In addition to chronic formaldehyde poisoning, the excitotoxic amino acid derived from aspartame will almost certainly worsen the damage caused by the formladehyde. Synergistic effects from aspartame metabolites are rarely, if ever, mentioned by the manufacturer. Aspartame breaks down into a free-form (unbound to protein) excitotoxic amino acid which is quickly-absorbed (as long as it is not given in slow-dissolving capsules) and can raise the blood plasma levels of this excitotoxin (Stegink 1987). It is well known that free-form excitotoxins can cause irreversible damage to brain cells (in areas such as the retina, hypothalamus, etc.) in rodents and primates (Olney 1972, Olney 1980, Blaylock 1994, Lipton 1994). In order to remove excess, cell-destroying excitotoxic amino acids from extracellular space, glial cells surround the neuron and supply them with energy (Blaylock 1994, page 39, Lipton 1994). This takes large amounts of ATP. However, formate, a formaldehyde metabolite, is an ATP inhibitor (Liesivuori 1991). Eells (1996b) points out that excitatory amino acid toxicity may be the "mediators of retinal damage secondary to formate induced energy depletion in methanol-intoxication." The synergistic effects from the combination of a chronic formaldehyde exposure from aspartame along with a free-form excitotoxic amino acid is extremely worrisome. ************* www.dorway.com Aspartame was not approved until 1981, in dry foods. For over eight years the FDA refused to approve it because of the seizures and brain tumors this drug produced in lab animals. The FDA continued to refuse to approve it until President Reagan took office (a friend of Searle) and fired the FDA Commissioner who wouldn't approve it. Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed as commissioner. Even then there was so much opposition to approval that a Board of Inquiry was set up. The Board said: "Do not approve aspartame". Dr. Hayes OVERRULED his own Board of Inquiry. Shortly after Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages, he left for a position with G.D. Searle's Public Relations firm. Long-Term Damage. It appears to cause slow, silent damage in those unfortunate enough to not have immediate reactions and a reason to avoid it. It may take one year, five years, 10 years, or 40 years, but it seems to cause some reversible and some irreversible changes in health over long-term use. **************** ciao -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
