From: Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum., Bettym19@mindspring.com
To: Jeffrey.MOON@efsa.europa.eu
Date: Fri, Feb 15, 2013 12:18 pm
Subject: Open letter: Aspartame is a chemical poison

Dear Jeffrey,

I know this is the last day to challenge, and I sent some comments but what I have to say can't be sent in 3800 characters. I will also go into the fact that as more studies pour in on aspartame they all show the problems we see in the population from depression and cancer to diabetes and strokes.

You can imagine my shock when "Food Processing" heads a release with the title: "Aspartame is not toxic, says EFSA". That's downright silly. As Dr. Russell Blaylock, neurosurgeon, said at a lecture: "Understand the reactions to aspartame are not allergic but toxic like arsenic and cyanide." EFSA might as well have put up a billboard saying: "We know we're biased but we are doing our best to convince the public to believe the lie." For 30 years there has been controversy because of the toxicity of aspartame. Usually when you see an absurd statement like "its not toxic" its because the manufacturer wrote it. They also tried to convince the public that aspartame doesn't get in the blood stream when the mostly corporate book proved it does. http://www.wnho.net/ajinomotoletter.htm Read the proof. I have a problem with EFSA not accepting the facts and just ignoring evidence.

Aspartame is an excitoneurotoxin. It's deadly, lethal, venomous and noxious! The article starts out with "Aspartame has been accused of causing a seemingly endless list of health conditions, including multiple sclerosis, headaches, hearing loss and blindness. But a recent assessment by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) suggests that the sweetener is not toxic at current levels of exposure."

Of course aspartame triggers MS, headaches, hearing loss and blindness. It releases methanol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid in the retina of the eye destroying the optic nerve. Headache is #1 on the FDA list of 92 symptoms: http://www.mpwhi.com/92_aspartame_symptoms.pdf Seizures and blindness are so prevalent in aspartame victims the Community Nutrition Institute and James Turner, Atty, took it all the way to the Supreme Court in l986.

About Multiple sclerosis, neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D. wrote: "Controversy has surrounded a claim that aspartame may produce an MS-like syndrome. A current review of recent peer-reviewed scientific studies has disclosed a pathophysiological mechanism to explain this connection. As far back as 1996 it was shown that the lesions produced in the myelin sheath of axons in cases of multiple sclerosis were related to excitatory receptors on the primary cells involved called oligodendroglia. Recent studies have now confirmed what was suspected back then. The loss of myelin sheath on the nerve fibers characteristic of the disease are due to the death of these oligodendroglial cells at the site of the lesions (called plaques). Further, these studies have shown that the death of these important cells is as a result of excessive exposure to excitotoxins at the site of the lesions.

"Normally, most of these excitotoxins are secreted from microglial immune cells in the central nervous system. This not only destroys these myelin-producing cells it also breaks down the blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing excitotoxins in the blood stream to enter the site of damage. Aspartame contains the excitotoxin aspartate as 40% of its molecular structure. Numerous studies have shown that consuming aspartame can significantly elevate the excitotoxin level in the blood. There is a common situation during which the excitotoxin exposure is even greater. When aspartate (as aspartame) is combined in the diet with monosodium glutamate (MSG) blood levels are several fold higher than normal. With the BBB damaged, as in MS, these excitotoxins can freely enter the site of injury, greatly magnifying the damage. So, we see that dietary excitotoxins, such as aspartame and MSG, can greatly magnify the damage produced in multiple sclerosis. Likewise, excitotoxins have been shown to breakdown the Blood Brain Barrier as well.

"Of equal concern is observation that we know that about 10% of the population (based on autopsy studies of elderly) have MS lesions without ever developing the full blown disease, a condition called benign MS. A diet high in excitotoxins, such as aspartame, can convert this benign, subclinical condition into full-blown clinical MS. The amount of excitotoxins consumed in the average American diet is considerable, as shown by several studies. In addition, the toxin methanol is also in the aspartame molecule. Methanol is an axon poison. Combined toxicity of the aspartate and the methanol adds up to considerable brain toxicity and can convert benign, subclinical MS into full-blown MS. Once the MS becomes full-blown, further consumption of excitotoxins magnifies the toxicity, increasing disability and death.

"Recent studies have also shown that even single exposures to these food-based excitotoxins can produce prolonged worsening of neurological lesions. In addition, it has been demonstrated that autoimmune reactions (as occurs with MS) greatly magnifies the toxicity of aspartate and glutamate (the excitotoxins). We also know liquid forms of excitotoxins are significantly more toxic because of rapid absorption and higher blood levels. In the face of this connection between excitotoxicity and the pathophysiology of MS, it would be ludicrous to allow further use of this excitotoxin containing sweetener...

"The possible mechanisms include formaldehyde-induced protein changes and increased leukotrienes, 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and other arachidonic acid metabolites after the exposure of macrophages to aspartame (Hardcastle l997)."

Aspartame, on the market for 3 decades, has been controversial since the beginning because of the horrendous symptoms and diseases triggered or precipitated by this deadly poison.

Today we have medical texts on aspartame disease revealing the mechanisms by which aspartame causes the problems, such as "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" by H. J.Roberts, M.D. and "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills" by neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D. They also have other books on the subject. More and more books that discuss the toxicity of aspartame are being published, most recently "While Science Sleeps" by Dr. Woodrow Monte. Chapter 3 is titled "Man and Methanol: A Tragic History of Mutation and Deceit", which opens with this sentence: "Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol and a component of mentholated spirits, is extremely toxic."

EFSA absurdly says: "the sweetener is not toxic at current levels of exposure". This is absurd. There is no safe level. Remember FDA toxicologist Dr. Adrian Gross, who told Congress that because aspartame causes cancer and violates the Delaney Amendment, the FDA should not have been able to set an allowable daily intake. Senate, 8/1/85 Dr. Woodrow Monte was able to acquire four of the original studies on aspartame and birth defects. I was able to acquire two others with FDA memo's stating that aspartame causes birth defects. Here is the last chapter in Dr. Monte's book on aspartame and autism. http://www.whilesciencesleeps.com/While%20Science%20Sleeps%20-%20Chapter%2012%20(ref).pdf This fact alone is sufficient to remove aspartame from the market place. The FDA in their memo's of original studies admit aspartame causes birth defects. There is not even a warning on the products. What a grievous crime. Then aspartame is rubber stamped around the world.

Dr. James Bowen in an article "Aspartame - A Heinous Poison" said: "Methanol is a recognized cause of many diseases including blindness, pancreatitis, and demyelinization type neurodegenerative diseases, etc. Exposure of mothers to even minute trace amounts of methanol is recognized as the cause of severe fetal malformations! Not surprisingly, about half of those doctors who deliver babies in our country, advise pregnant women with great urgency to never expose themselves to Aspartame, because of its enormous damage to the fetus. Surprisingly, about half are still oblivious, and tell their pregnant patients to use Aspartame freely, and without worry.

"Methanol has obligatory metabolism to formaldehyde (embalming fluid). Formaldehyde is the strongest organic base, and is a polymerizing agent. That is, it turns proteins into chains of proteins by chemically joining them together. This process is called esterization. The proteins, when esterized with each other, then are plastics. This is called "polymerization." This is why formaldehyde is so effective to embalm the dead. It turns cadavers into plastics, which have a very long "Shelf life." Formaldehyde is a commonly used plasticizing agent, and a very powerful one.

"Then Aspartame is consumed by the human, it is known to plasticize even the very DNA of which our genes are composed. This is called "cross linking DNA", for which formaldehyde is famous.

"When the Aspartame molecule exists in its diketopiperazine (DKP) form, it is from that DKP configuration, an extremely strong plasticizing agent. Diketopiperazines of many types are powerful, far reaching substrates of the plastics industry. It was the diketopiperazine form of Aspartame, which was found to be the number one brain tumor carcinogen known to man. Probably because, in that form, the molecule is adsorbed as the intact molecule, and because that form is an even more extremely potent polymerizer, which can reach farther, and with more energy than can formaldehyde to esterase human substances into polymers, and to cross link DNA."

Further, Dr. Bowen said: "I have seen patients, in whom only six weeks of using Aspartame destroyed all the cartilage in their bodies, leaving them horribly disabled and deformed. I used Aspartame in the Diet Kool Aid for six weeks, and had horrible neurodegenerative disease, with a Lou Gehrig's picture. I went from having a full head of dark brown hair, to in just six weeks having the appearance of having dyed my hair dark brown, and now the gray roots were showing. This happened because of the immense Mt DNA, and mitochondrial damage from Aspartame.

"This graying was also the result of formic acid effect. Formaldehyde is quickly metabolized to formic acid (fire ant poison). Formic acid (or formate) immediately shatters your DNA molecules, leaving your DNA unable to do anything, so the cell dies, leaving the formate free to diffuse from cell to cell, killing every cell, until it's too dilute to shatter. This is why it is known as a "blister poison". It kills whole groups of cells, leaving only blisters of dead tissue. Even when too dilute to kill the cell outright, it can cause immense genetic damage in the cell. This also happens in the immune system leaving it compromised and de-focused. This increases the tendency towards auto immunity, right along with the damage to the rest of your tissues, which are being denatured by all of this toxic reactivity. A fire ant can, with one sting, kill a human being that weighs millions of times more than itself. This points out how potent the formate poisoning can be when accompanied by hypersensitivity, CHz, Chemical Hypersensitivity disease. To recapitulate: the formic acid sting from fire ants, even though they weigh millions of times less than the human they attack, almost always raises a blister, because that sting has killed millions of cells, and sometimes kills the human being, resulting from the CHz reaction to the formic acid."

"L-aspartyl refers to aspartic acid, the little sister of glutamic acid or monosodium glutamate. Like monosodium glutamate, aspartic acid is a neural excitotoxin. That is aspartic acid, or aspartate, stimulates nerve cells to death. These neural excitotoxins (Chemically they are known as "dicarboxylic amino acids.") do not cross the blood brain barrier. They are preferentially secreted into the CSF, (cerebrospinal fluid) by the choroids plexus, a vascular plexus in the anterior aspect of the ventricles, (the cavities inside the brain), and pass on out posteriorly, exiting over the back of the spinal column, and brain stem from the end of the fourth ventricle.

"During this trip out, the CSF passes from the third ventricle to the fourth ventricle through a narrow tube known as the Sylvian Canal. This canal ends in the roof of the forth ventricle, so the CSF stream is jetted across the fourth ventricle against the floor of the fourth ventricle, just like water directed from a fire hose will spray against a building. Only in the case of the Aspartame victim, the stream of CSF is carrying with it destruction from its load of excitotoxins.

"The hypothalamus is located in floor of the fourth ventricle. It is the coordinator of the master gland of the neuroendocrine system, the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is heavily damaged by this stream of excitotoxins from Aspartame. The white matter lining the ventricles, and the nuclei and tracts of the brain steam and upper spinal cord are heavily damaged by this excitotoxin in the CSF as well. They are by this secretory process, richly bathed in CSF to nourish them, but in the case of Aspartame, it is also destroying them, along with their vital myelin sheaths and nuclei."

Dr James Bowen is both a physician and biochemist and was a flight surgeon. He is a victim of aspartame and today is in the hospital with stomach cancer and Lou Gehrigs which he attributes to aspartame. He has been researching aspartame for 25 years. He has written on every toxic ingredient of aspartame. He said, "Remember, all amino acid biochemistry is competitive at enzyme sites in the body. Phenylalanine is the amino acid, which out competes all the others at enzyme sites! From the can of Aspartame pop, you get that phenylalanine in about five minutes, in competition with nothing, but accompanied by the excitotoxin, aspartic acid. The liver is immediately flooded by this phenylalanine isolate. Amino acid isolates are not like nutritional amino acids at all, because nutritional amino acids are provided and metabolized in harmony as a balanced mix, while amino acid isolates on the other hand, drive specific and often toxic processes in the body. Amino acid isolates are at best pharmaceuticals, and at worst, horribly damaging toxins.

Amino acid release from the liver is enzymatic, and phenylalanine is the one which out competes all the other amino acids at enzyme sites, so you get an immediate flood of phenylalanine into the peripheral blood from a can of NutraSweet pop. The blood brain barrier is also enzyme linked, so you immediately, in like manner, flood the brain with phenylalanine. There are three severe toxic effects from this flood of phenylalanine into the brain."

Here is the article "Aspartame is not toxic, says EFSA". http://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/news/aspartame-not-toxic-says-efsa

I answered this because its just silly. Aspartame is so toxic that Dr. Bill Deagle says its more dangerous than depleted uranium because of it being so ubiquitous in our food. EFSA has gone too far in trying to say aspartame is safe. It is contrary to all independent, scientific peer reviewed studies, government documents and available resources the world over. The aspartame molecule is made up of three literal poisons, phenylalanine as an isolate, a neurotoxin, a methyl ester which immediately becomes free methanol then converts to formaldehyde, and aspartic acid, an excitotoxin. The molecule than breaks down to diketopiperazine, a brain tumor agent.

EFSA ignores independent scientific peer reviewed studies, and in reality they are the only ones you can rely on for facts. G. D. Searle, the original manufacturer could not get this poison to show safety which is why the FDA wanted them indicted for fraud. The FDA caught them many times. Then when victims started having seizures, going blind, being diagnosed with MS, brain tumors, etc., the manufacturer did studies to try and convince the public aspartame was safe. Of course, they couldn't do it. I've sent you in the past those industry studies analyzed by Mark Gold of the Aspartame Toxicity Center. I can't even imagine a company having the gall to pass off as a study ones like the Rowan on aspartame and seizures. They used one (1!) capsule for a 1 day study and then gave the subjects anti-seizure medication with the hopes of no one having a seizure in that 24 hour period. You can well see their power when they actually get this study peer reviewed.

You can tell industry is at work when you see Dr. Alemany's study being torn apart . Reputations of serious scientists and their work are defamed, attacked and damaged. This is done only for money, and without allowing them to defend their work from infamy and libel. The scandalous lies by industry should not be accepted. EFSA should be unbiased and have concern for the health of the public. Instead EFSA accepts the lies and ignores the evidence.

This is plain scientific abuse in the aspartame and seizure studies, methanol studies, Parkinson's, etc. I've sent you the information before but its also on web, http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame. We have a paper trail of physicians who once spoke out on aspartame. Dr. Diana Dow Edwards was funded by Monsanto to do a study on aspartame and birth defects. When they saw what aspartame was producing they removed the funding. When Dr. Woodrow Monte kept speaking out his house was blown up with him in it. He is fortunate to have survived. Dr. Richard Wurtman was a tiger in Congress but when he decided to do studies on aspartame and seizures he told Gregory Gordon, UPI, that he was threatened by the VP of G. D. Searle that his research funds would be rejected. They were! Dr Louis Elsas, pediatric genetics, testified before Congress http://www.dorway.com/elsas.txt about aspartame being a neurotoxin. Dr. Maria Alemany did the Trocho Study which showed the formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol embalms living tissue and damages DNA. Do you not call that "toxic"? When I went to Barcelona to speak with him the first thing he said was "Betty, aspartame will kill 200 million people." The modus operandi of aspartame manufacturers is to call names but not debate. Dr. Alemany said the NutraSweet Company tried to assassinate his character. Six studies done by G. D. Searle in different countries on subjects from poor villages showed aspartame triggers brain tumors, destroys the brain, triggers seizures and hardens the synovial fluids. We have never been able to find survivors. One pregnant woman lost her baby, hemorrhaged and then disappeared.

The point here is: if you can't trust the aspartame industry for studies than you can only accept independent, unbiased, scientific peer reviewed studies. Independent scientists want the actual facts only. EFSA and the aspartame industry ignore unbiased research. This is the problem. Why do we work so hard to get EFSA the evidence if EFSA continually ignores the evidence. This is what is happening. When we show you the scientific abuse in aspartame studies by the manufacturer you use them anyway. Whatever industry wants EFSA is delighted to please. What about the public being poisoned?

Parliament insisted EFSA review again because they saw study after study revealing the dangers of aspartame. There were three studies done by Dr. Morando Soffritti of the Ramazzini Institute showing aspartame to be a multipotential carcinogen causing everything from kidney cancer to lung, liver and mammary tumors. They also show that aspartame can precipitate leukemia and lymphoma. Then came the Denmark Study showing aspartame can jump pre term birth by 78%. Independent studies never stop and all of them show the symptoms and diseases triggered by toxic aspartame.

Independent studies continue to flow in. One showed aspartame can cause heart attacks and strokes, one showed aspartame raises fasting blood sugar, another showed aspartame's link to obesity. Then here comes one from Harvard again showing the link to leukemia and lymphoma as Dr. Soffritti found. What would you expect with formaldehyde embalming the body. In the last couple of days comes more studies showing the link to diabetes, one having to do with alcohol content in mixers like Diet Coke, etc. There has been one done in Egypt and one done in India. The last three I haven't posted yet. Here is where you can find them.

http://www.mpwhi.com/peer_reviewed_research.htm

Isn't 40 years of independent studies showing the problems aspartame cause enough?

EFSA simply has gotten reviewed the studies the aspartame manufacturers use to defend their poison. What about this constant flow of new studies all showing problems? The only way EFSA could say aspartame is safe is if it actually shows safety on independent studies, but there are none. All unbiased studies show aspartame problems. Only industry controlled studies or industry paid studies ever said it was safe. Please pass this on to other members of the committee. This is an open letter to help the public know what is going on. If you want all these new studies advise. Some of them are already up on http://www.mpwhi.com under peer reviewed studies.

Respectfully,

Dr. Betty Martini, D.Hum.
Founder, Mission Possible World Health International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770-242-2599
E-Mail: BettyM19@mindspring.com
http://www.wpwhi.com
http://www.wnho.net
http://www.dorway.com

Aspartame Toxicity Center: http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame