Aspartame May Be Linked to Depression, Suicide
by Mary Nash Stoddard / Founder of the Aspartame Consumer Safety
Network
DALLAS - February 1, 2001 - For the
record, 92
aspartame-related symptoms - including 5 deaths - have
been reported
to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At least 75% of
all complaints
to the USFDA are regarding the artificial sweetener, better
known as:
NutraSweet, Canderal, Equal, etc.
At Aspartame Consumer Safety Network [Dallas-based
all volunteer
international organization], we are increasingly concerned
with the more
sinister reported psychological side effects of aspartame
ingestion.
One aspartame component, phenylalanine (50% of the molecule)
has
been shown in the laboratory to block production of a
necessary
neurotransmitter, serotonin, which controls sleep patterns
and moods.
Many daily users of products containing the sweetener such
as diet
drinks, gums, etc. report both manic and suicidal
depressions among
other their symptoms. Aspartame also breaks down in heat and
in the body
to the addictive depressant, methanol (10% wood alcohol),
formaldehyde
[embalming fluid], formic acid and diketopiperazine (a
documented brain
tumor agent].
Even subtle alterations of brain patterns in
aspartame users
may be deemed significant, according to
these
prominent brain researchers:
Richard Wurtman, M.D., head of Brain Science at MIT
says,
"There is
evidence that levels of serotonin or 5-HIAA are
subnormal in CSF
(cerebrospinal fluid) samples from violent
psychiatric patients
and in
brains of people who died by suicide." 1
"In rats, the administration of glucose and aspartame
by gavage
increased brain levels of tyrosine and phenylalanine
and
decreased brain
serotonin concentration. It has been argued that
these changes
in brain
amino acid and biogenic amine levels in rats may
have important
behavioral implications for humans." 2
Ralph Walton, M.D., a respected researcher at the
Department
of
Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio Univ. College of
Medicine and
Director of
Research Western Reserve Care System, states, "We
conclude that
individuals with mood disorders are particularly
sensitive to
this
artificial sweetener and its use in this population
should be
discouraged." 3
Lane Lenard, Phd wrote: "In one meta-analysis, five
out of seven
studies
reported reduced levels of serotonin and/or 5_HIAA
in the brain
stems
of suicide victims."
Neurologist, Russell Blaylock, writes that, "In the
case of
children,
the damage done at the time of initial exposure
produces no obvious
outward
effects. However, when the child reaches a later
stage of
development,
the damage may present itself as an emotion control
disorder
[violent
episodes, schizophrenia, paranoia]. Hundreds of
millions of
children
are at great risk and their parents are not even
aware of it. Early
exposure to excitotoxins [aspartame] could cause a
tendency for
episodic
violence and criminal behavior in later years." 5
Aspartame (aka NutraSweet/Equal), as shown in the
literature,
can be a powerful, mind-altering drug - driving some over
the abyss into
dark,
sinister depressions they can not shake, even with the use
of
anti-depressants. Suicide, for many individuals may seem to
be the only
way out.
On a brighter note, abstinence from aspartame has
been reported
to have a miraculous effect on some, allowing for a happier
existence
and the ability to cope with life's normal problems in a non
threatening
way. A clear understanding of this issue may mean the
difference between
life and death for some.
End notes
1 Wurtman, Richard J. ,M.D.; Effects of Dietary Amino
Acids,
Carbohydrates, and Choline on Neurotransmitter
Synthesis; The
Mount
Sinai Journal of Medicine; Vol. 55, No. 1, January
1988. From
the Dept.
of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and The Clinical
Research
Center,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge,
MA.]
2 JAMA, July 19,1985- Vol 254, No.3, p.402
3 Adverse Reactions to Aspartame: Double-Blind
Challenge in
Patients from a Vulnerable
Population,the
Journal of Biological
Psychiatry, 1993
4 Lane Lenard, Phd as reported in Life Enhancement,
January, 1998
5 Blaylock, Russell M.D., Excitotoxins - The Taste
That Kills
Mary Nash Stoddard, Founder and President
Aspartame Consumer Safety Network and Pilot Hotline [1987 -
2001]
Author: "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" [Odenwald
Press 1998]
Expert Medical Witness [1992-2001]
Visiting Professor: U. T. Southwestern Medical School [1996]
Visiting Professor: American University [1999] and Univ. of
North Texas
at Denton [1990]
Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997]
Keynote speech: Mexican Government's Conference on
Sweeteners [1999]
Appointed Judge - State of Texas [1977-1984]
Broadcast Journalist - [1965-2000]
President's Council on Food Safety - [1998-1999]
International Lecture Tours - [1996-2000]
http://web2.airmail.net/marystod
____________________________________________________________
__________
Mary Nash Stoddard, author of Deadly Deception - Story of
Aspartame,
[Odenwald 1998], can be reached at:
P.O. Box 780634, Dallas, TX 75378
phone: 214-352-4268,
or email: marystod@airmail.net
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