Aspartame has been given a 'posh' new name, but don't be fooled, this stuff is toxic.

[solo]

I don't know how many other parents ban this stuff from their Dc's diet.
I don't let it pass my Dc's lips if I can help it.
The link makes some interesting reading.

TOXIC

diamondsandtiaras : "jojo thanks for that.....very scary stuff. Why on earth has it not been banned!?? Have the government ever responded to this research or attempted to explain themselves do you know?"

I'm afraid that the government are in on this big time.

"Dr. Devra Davis, the director of the Center for Environmental Oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, says that all scientific evidence about aspartame has been negative for human health, and it wasn?t until Donald Rumsfeld left government and became the CEO of G.D. Searle, the manufacturer, that the government approved aspartame for use in human food and drinks.

Interviewed by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, when asked about Donald Rumsfeld?s connection to the aspartame approval, Dr. Davis stated:

"I don't know what his precise role was. I only know that prior to his becoming CEO of Searle aspartame had been turned down by every scientific group reviewing its safety and that the General Counsel of the FDA asked the U.S. Attorney's office to convene a grand jury to decide whether to indict the producer for knowingly misrepesenting findings... The grand jury never acted. Those working on this for the government went to work for Searle. The day after Reagan's inauguration, the company resubmitted a request for approval. Within five months of Reagan's presidency, aspartame was approved. ""

Link

Thanks jojo. Have you seen the website aspartame.org? Under their FAQ section they list the different bodies which have approved aspartame.....surely they're not all wrong and part of some government conspiracy? Not trying to argue with you, am genuinely concerned now as the parent of a 2yo who drinks sugar free squash!

They make the point that none of the components of aspartame accumulate in the body and that they are all found in other foods in greater quantity......

www.aspartame.org/aspartame_faq4.html#13

Hi diamondsandtiaras

a quick whois provides:

the domain name www.aspartame.org is owned by the organisation: Calorie Control Council (plus at the bottom of aspartame.org website)

Their domain name www.caloriecontrol.org is owned www.kellencompany.com

who "provide association management, government affairs, public relations"

could it be they were hired to promote Aspartame?

If you look at www.aspartame.org/aspartame_calculator.html they are promoting use of Aspartame:

" And, with more than 6,000 aspartame-sweetened products on the market, there are a multitude of ways to enjoy your favorite foods and beverages with less calories. ".....

This crew (Kellen Company / Calorie Control Council) also own the following domains:

www.aspartameissafe.com/
www.aspartame-experts.com/
www.aspartame truth.net/
www.aspartameresource.com/

Do you think they're trying to convince us of something....?

The conspiracy theorist in me reckons that products such as aspartane as they are addictive and moreish and therefore people will buy more. Coupled with aggressive media marketing promoting diet foods and a certain body type and many people will fall for this stuff.
The pharmeceutical industry thrives on bad health. I find it all scary and makes me a tad wary of human nature etc.

I eat sugar but in the past have cut that out in favour of honey or barley syrup.

I was macrobiotic for a while but had to give up as it made me ill. Therein lies the irony- Macrobiotics is a very healthy, vegan, organic diet but it made me very paranoid about what I put in my body so I developed an eating disorder.

TBH- part of me feels thta we can't win and everyything is bad for us. The key is MODERATION. A can of diet coke once in a while won't kill you. Mum drinks it every day and now has cancer.

I'm with riven - why would you touch this stuff when you don't have to? I know the dangers of sugar. That's why my kids clean their teeth. I don't know the dangers of aspartame but I have a brain damaged child so why would I risk adding to it? Even if aspartame is perfectly safe squashes contain 'flavourings' - which can be anything - they don't have to be specified. When he had gut problems he used to react quite badly to certain additives. His youngest brother has the same gut problems.

There are plenty of other drinks available. Water, fruit juice, rocks, elderflower cordials, certain Capri suns etc. Mainly they have water with rocks or a cordial as an occasional treat (too expensive to give all the time). I don't pass out if the kids get aspartame at a party but I'm not going to buy the stuff. It irritates me that it's in calpol and nurofen but I don't give them that either unless they're really burning up so they don't get much.

If the only drinks in the world contained aspartame and there was no other choice then yes they'd have it. But there are plenty of other choices.

Thanks for this and all the links.

It'll hard to go without Pepsi Max, after all these years.

as a mother of a diabetic DS I allow artificial sweetner in our diets. However I'd like to point out that NONE of the links cited actual studies that tested the link between aspartame and negative health effects, the only study I saw proved negative as being harmful to human health. All those quoted MS studies were not controlled or close case studies, so the MS lesions they found could not be attributed to the use of artificial sweetner. People can make studies say all sorts if they are not 'proper' studies. The only way to find out if it is harmful is to take a control group of people who do not consume artificial sweetner and and a group who does (and I'm talking large, globally placed groups)and report on the health effects of both. Then you have to take into account all of the variables of peoples differing health.
I'm not saying that aspartame is without effect and I believe it does affect people with certain health conditions. However there is NO conclusive evidence that it CAUSES harm to human health. The reason most people find they get headaches and a hungover feeling after consuption of aspartame is due to the high consumpton of diet drinks that ALSO contain high amounts of caffine, citric acid and artificial flavours, all of which have been proven to dehydrate and cause headaches and migraine in the majority.
My answer......Everything in moderation!

Not sure if it's been mentioned but all of Sainsbury's own brands/basics (including a nice diet coke) contain Sucralose rather than Aspartame. In an ideal world, I'd just have sugar but I am more comfortable with sucralose than aspartame.

and those of you who have cut out aspartame on health grounds, do you use sunscreen? thats full of chemicals to, I'm not not being funny here I really want to know as my DH hates the stuff and I hapily plaster the dc in it

frangipan, it would be very difficult to find a large group who didn't/hadn't consumed aspartame in order to conduct that sort of trial. And who would conduct the trial? Where's the profit?

frangipan- I use sun cream on places likely to burn, but I am moving more towards shade/hats. Partly because there are some signs our family have problems with something to do with vitamin D (!) and partly because ds3 appears to be allergic to suncream and comes out in a horribly itchy welty rash every time we get to the summer. I used to think it was the sun causing it, but I now think it's the cream. (Have tried different brands to no avail).

DH btw does have diet coke. He knows I think aspartame is horrible stuff. But ds2 and ds3 don't like it & therefore don't whinge for it, so as long as dh doesn't leave it lying around for ds1 to nab that's up to him. He's 40 and can make up his own mind.

OMG ! I was taking too much articficial sweetener, gave it up for 3 weeks and am now back on it. I have Candarel. . but i guess thats no better for you , they are all the same thing arnt they ???
I think i better give it up for good and take 1 tsp of sugar in tea,, , ,cant bear it without . Just paranoid about putting on weight.

TRy half a sugar. doesn't take long to get used to it.

frangipan "as a mother of a diabetic DS I allow artificial sweetner in our diets. However I'd like to point out that NONE of the links cited actual studies that tested the link between aspartame and negative health effects..."

Researchers at the European Ramazzini Foundation (ERF) in Bologna, Italy, published a study in 2005. The scientists carried out tests of over 4,000 rats that regularly consumed high doses of aspartame and were allowed to live until they died naturally. Scientists from ERF concluded from their study that aspartame causes cancer and that current uses and consumption of the sweetener should be reevaluated.

The Food and Drink Administration resists, and have done for years, proposals to test Aspartame:

"NIEHS (National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences) officials say the FDA's resistance effectively prevented government research that might have resolved conflicts between scores of industry-funded studies, which have found the sweetener to be safe, and dozens of independent studies that have raised health concerns."

""It's a wonderful way to ensure that it isn't tested," said David Rall, who retired in 1990 after directing NIEHS and overseeing the National Toxicology Program for 19 years. "Discourage the testing group from testing it and then say it's safe.""

Both the above quotes from www.mindfully.org/Food/Aspartame-FDA-Resisted22nov96.htm

Great thread. Aspartame had a horrible effect on ds1, caused him to lose communication skills and eye contact almost completely. After a year of total panic I eventually worked out it was Robinson's sugar free squash which was largely causing the effect- there was massive improvement in him within 2 days after eliminating it from his diet.

Can't stress enough how evil this stuff can be for some children - having said all that, I'm sitting here with a can of diet coke right now. need to crack that habit!

we are another "no additives" household.

dd1, like saintlydame's ds, cannot tolerate anything artificial at all. including flavourings, colourings and preservatives. dd2 looks like she shares a gut profile with dd1, but then she's never had the stuff as I refuse to cater separately for the apir of them.

and yes, that incudes suncream. (loads of the high street suncreams have wheat products or milk products in anyway, neither of which dd1 can have)

we managed 3 weeks in Australia (in Brisbane) last summer, without suncream. we use loose cotton clothing, hats with flaps, etc. both girls are very pale skinned (as am I).

the only time dd1 has ever burned is when she was at nursery, when she had suncream on - the idiots thought that meant she could be out all afternoon

we have neutral shampoos/soaps/washing up liquid/washing machine soap - you name it, we have a "chemical free" version. dd1 literally reacts to anyhting.

I'm in the "why would you take the risk" camp. there are no long term studies proving the safety of sweetnersparabens etc. why on eearth would you consume/rub in this stuff when there are alternatives?

Food Standards Agency impartial enough for you?

Thanks. I have never allowed ds to eat or drink anything with aspartame in. Unfortunately I can't say the same for myself, I cannot function without diet coke I have tried to give it up but it is here to stay.

It drives me crazy that they are allowed to advertise drinks as containing no artificial flavours when they contain artificial sweetener.

Personally find diet drinks overly sweet anyway and always buy hi juice which has no sweetener.

I've not read enough studies to be sure about some of the 'scare' aspects but remember reading an interesting article in new scientist which suggested drinking things with artificial sweetener could lead to weight gain. Theory was your body starts getting used to very sweet stuff with few calories so doesn't feel the satisfaction from eating stuff that had sugar in and therefore more calories, leading to increased eating.

jojo- we are not rats, also who funded the studies......not sure they are 'impartial'. If oral B funds a study between Oral B toothbrushes and Colgate Toothbrushes, you can bet your bottom dollar OralB will come out on top, studies are subjective.

Perhaps you would feel comfortable with your children receiving doses of aspartame to allow human tests to be done, but I certainly would not!

If you watch some of the videos I have linked to in this post, there is so many people saying they've had serious problems when consuming drinks and food with aspartame. But each human being has the freedom to choose whether they want to listen to these testimonials or not.

If you feel happy with the fact that the manufacturer actively blocks independent testing of their product, and the FDA takes the industry sponsored testing as sufficient to allow mass use of their product, then fair play to you.

You must have greater faith in these companies and organisations than I do.

Re Wiki; my Ds tells me that it can be edited by anyone