Question:

Dear Dewayne:  Let’s see now, you’re going to disagree with a medical doctor who is such a specialist on aspartame he wrote a book on it – because of something you heard.   One does not have to be an expert to write a book.   Dewayne Mellen

Response:

Dear Dewayne:  Let’s see now, you’re going to disagree with a medical doctor who is such a specialist on aspartame he wrote a book on it – because of something you heard.   Dewayne:  Do you remember prohibition and the thousands that went blind and died on wood alcohol, methanol?  If I were you I would quit thinking up excuses and listen to the good doctor.  Many are buried in graveyards because of this poison, Joyce Wilson, Virgil Culp, William Randolph, Mr. Krol, Patricia Craine, and on and on!  And I received letters from aspartame victims who wonder how long they can hang on because the damage has been done.   Its your life, if you want to play Russian Roulette!  Methanol is a severe metabolic poison even in small amounts. Regards, Betty     TYPE:    sendme help        on the Subject Line                           1. Take the 60-day No Aspartame Test and   Mission Possible                send us your case history. 5950-H State Bridge Rd.   2. Tell your doctor and all of your friends!      Suite 215            3. Return Asparcidal food to the store. Anything  Duluth, GA 30155  USA       with Monsanto’s NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful                                   or Benevia or NatraTaste VISIT  http://www.dorway.com/possible.html  Get links to 29 other sites.        http://www.tiac.net/users/mgold/aspartame/  FAQs/Toxicity Reports     Disability and Death are not acceptable costs of business!

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It is the usual procedure of the FDA to send out propaganda packets. They

That’s because they know how to spot a pathological liar when they see one and aren’t finished laughing yet! So, stop turning to us, Betty.  Can’t you see you’re not wanted here or are you really that stupid????  Stop spreading your lies about aspartame causing retinal detachments.  Retinal detachments is the end stage of Diabetic Retinopathy.  But you must know that because I don’t see you defending yourself when I call you on this one. **Emailing me constitutes permission to publish your letter** Sheila

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QUANTITATIVE CONSIDERATIONS Taking aspartame into the body yields approximately ten per cent methyl by weight (Federal Register, Feb 22, l984, pp6672-6682)  The actual methanol composition of the aspartame molecule is 32/394 or l0.9 percent.  The following approximations are provided for comparative purposes: *  19 gm aspartame, the equivalent of one teaspoon sugar, yields 1.9 gm methanol.

Where did you get this number?  I just pulled out a packet of NutraTaste and in the ONE gram package there is the sweetness of TWO teaspoons of sugar. Also if you look at the ingredient list the first  ingredient is dextrose with maltodextrin.  Also under the nutrion facts it states that there is ONE gram of sugar in this pack.  This would make aspartame a very small part of the weight.  An article that I read when nutrasweet came out said that it is ONE THOUSAND times sweeter then sugar.  That would put the equivalent of one teaspoon of sugar at 0.5mg of aspertame or 0.05mg of methanol at best. Which means that you are overstating things by a factor of about 20,000. *  One liter of most aspartame sweetened soft drinks contains about 55 mg. methanol.

That would put the equivelent sugar in one liter of pop at about 1000 tsp. of sugar. Or about 21 cups of sugar.  I don’t think so. *  Methanol  concentrations in aspartame-sweetened beverages increase with heating and during prolonged storage. *  The amount of methanol ingested by heavy consumers of aspartame products could readily exceed 250 mg. daily (Monte l984).  This is 32 times the limit of consumption recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Using your numbers above that would be about 5 liters of pop.  That’s alot of pop. If we assume the same factor of 20,000 that would be about 100,000 liters of pop. *  "Abuse doses" (100 mg. aspartame/kg body weight, or more) result in suignificant elevations of blood methanol concentrations in normal subjects (Stegink l984).  Moreoever, the level remains detectable for eight or more hours.  

For a 200lb person that is 9.091 grams of aspertame.  Or using your numbers above about 900 miligrams of methanol.  This would take about 18 Liters of pop. Any one who drank that much pop would be in serious trouble just from the amout of liquids.  If we use our 20,000 factor again the we are talking about 360,000 liters of pop. Dewayne Mellen

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Dear Mike:  Aspartame does not have ethanol in it!  Prove it! Betty

Dear Betty, quite aside from the fact that you are a frothing nitwit it becomes increasingly apparent that either you cannot read simple, declarative English sentences or that you are so deficient in cognitive capacity that having read a simple, declarative sentence you do not understand its content. Read this very carefully: MIKE DID NOT SAY THAT ASPARTAME HAS ETHANOL IN IT!! You quote his message as follows: However, a can of soft drink also typically contains about 0.05% ethanol to solubilize the flavor oils.  

Let’s try this again: HE DID NOT SAY ANYTHING EVEN VAGUELY RELATED TO WHAT YOU WANT HIM TO PROVE. Please shut up, go away and stop bothering decent people. No one really cares about your lunatic ravings, and frankly, if we needed a group comedian we could hire a much better one.

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Dear Mike:  Aspartame does not have ethanol in it!  Prove it! Betty     TYPE:    sendme help        on the Subject Line                           1. Take the 60-day No Aspartame Test and   Mission Possible                send us your case history. 5950-H State Bridge Rd.   2. Tell your doctor and all of your friends!      Suite 215            3. Return Asparcidal food to the store. Anything  Duluth, GA 30155  USA       with Monsanto’s NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful                                   or Benevia or NatraTaste VISIT  http://www.dorway.com/possible.html  Get links to 29 other sites.        http://www.tiac.net/users/mgold/aspartame/  FAQs/Toxicity Reports     Disability and Death are not acceptable costs of business! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – O.K., Einstein, where does the methanol come from in Aspartame?  Please explain to me the metabolic pathway that produces methanol.  It seems like everyone is saying that Aspartame has methanol, so where is it? For maybe the first time a critic of Betty has slipped to her level of ignorance.   Aspartame is the methyl ester of aspartylphenylalanine.  Methanol is formed when the ester linkage breaks during metabolism.  If I recall the numbers correctly (don’t have my Merck Index handy), aspartame has a MW of about 300 and methanol has a MW of about 30, so consuming a can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink produces about 20 mg. of methanol.  However, a can of soft drink also typically contains about 0.05% ethanol to solubilize the flavor oils.  That’s over 175 mg or an 8:1 ratio of ethanol to methanol, which tends to block further metabolism of the methanol, since the same pathway is used and ethanol is metabolized preferentially.   Mike  

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Dear Keith:  Even Monsanto admits that aspartame contains methanol.  And methanol converts to formaldehyde.  Monsanto even admits that and then says that while the EPA says its a carcinogen when inhaled there is no study to prove formaldehyde is a carcinogen when consumed.  Do you know anyone who wants to sign up for a study consuming formaldehyde.  But I once wrote an article on the FDA approval of aspartame called DO IT YOURSELF EMBALMING! But from the book ASPARTAME (NUTRASWEET)IS IT SAFE? by Dr. H. J. Roberts here is some information.   Chapter Six  METHYL ALCOHOL Methyl alcohol (methanol, wood alcohol) the third breakdown product of aspartame is a metabolic poison.  It can cause serious tissue damage – especially blindness and even death.  Rarely found in nature as its "free" form, methyl alcohol is usually dereived or produced from other substances.  It made headlines recently when 25 persons in Italy died after drinking table wine containing 5.7 percent methanol.  In one series of patients with methyl alcohol poisoning (Bennett l952), the lowest fatal dose was thre teaspoons of 40 percent methanol. (book written in l990) As a known poison, it is logical to consider the possible role of methyl alcohol in reactions to aspartame containing products.  This applies especially to eye and neuropsychiatric complaints. QUANTITATIVE CONSIDERATIONS Taking aspartame into the body yields approximately ten per cent methyl by weight (Federal Register, Feb 22, l984, pp6672-6682)  The actual methanol composition of the aspartame molecule is 32/394 or l0.9 percent.  The following approximations are provided for comparative purposes: *  19 gm aspartame, the equivalent of one teaspoon sugar, yields 1.9 gm methanol. *  One liter of most aspartame sweetened soft drinks contains about 55 mg. methanol. *  Methanol  concentrations in aspartame-sweetened beverages increase with heating and during prolonged storage. *  The amount of methanol ingested by heavy consumers of aspartame products could readily exceed 250 mg. daily (Monte l984).  This is 32 times the limit of consumption recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). *  "Abuse doses" (100 mg. aspartame/kg body weight, or more) result in suignificant elevations of blood methanol concentrations in normal subjects (Stegink l984).  Moreoever, the level remains detectable for eight or more hours.   *  Monte (l984) calculated that one hundredth the fatal level (a standard criterion for safety used by the FDA) translates into only two 12 ounce cans. METABOLISM: Methyl alcohol appears to be the first component of aspartame released within the upper small intestine.  Its absorption is rapid.  Man is highly vulnerable to methanol toxicity, largely because two enzymes required to metabolize it have been lost during human evolution (Roe l982).  Its rate of oxidation (or breakdown) is only one seventh that of customary ethyl alcohol (ethanol). The body attempts to detoxify methanol by oxidizing it to formaldehyde, then to formate or formic acid and ultimately to carbon dioxide which is blown off in the breath.  Formate itself may contribute to toxicity – most notably as metabolic acidosis and eye damage. The rate of methanol elimination in humans is five times slower than for a similar amount of ethyl alcohol (Forney l968).  Accordingly, the daily ingestion of "individually innocuous amounts of methyl alcohol" could result in "eventual poisonous effects" INTERACTIONS OF METHANOL WITH OTHER DRUGS, page 43 Used together, the interactions between methanol and chemical compounds related to ethyl alcohol might have clinical significance (Posner l975). These could include the oral (sulfonylurea drugs used in treating diabetic patients, metronidazole (an anti-bacterial agent), and allopurinol (a standard drug used for managing gout). The consumption of methyl alcohol in the form of aspartame products theoretically may harm alcoholic patients being maintained on disulfiram. Antabuse, the trade-name drug, is currently being taken by an estimated 400,000 persons in the United States, while at least as many use less expensive generic brands. Methanol and formaldehyde concentrations could rise in patients receiving maintenance disulfiram who are excessive consumers of aspartame products due to (1) a further slowing of methyl alcohol degradation and (2) inhibition of the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase.   *  Koivusalo (l958) reported that the rate of methanol elimination      in rabbits was considerably delayed by disulfiram.  Methanol was      still detectable in the blood 100 hours after the smallest      administered dose.   *  Way and Hausman (l950) noted more rapid toxicity from oral methanol      in rats and rabbits after prior disulfiram administration. THE METHYL ALCOHOL SYNDROME The symptoms and signs of methanol toxicity in man are diverse.  Dr. Woodrow Monte (l984), Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory at Arizona State University, reviewed the methyl alcohol syndrome.  Its symptoms and signs need not correlate with blood concentrations of methanol. The disorders caused by methyl alcohol are listed below because of their possible relevance to complaints encountered among certain reactors to aspartame products.  Admittedly, such relationships, as well as the concept of methanol as "cumulative poison", have been denied or criticized by represenetatives of the manufacturer (Sturtevant l985). EYE DAMAGE    Page 44 Blindness caused by methanol has been attributed to the toxic effects of its breakdown products, formaldehyde and/or formic acid on retinal cells. Methanol produces swelling of the optic disc (Hayreh l977) and degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (Baumbach l977) in monkeys.  This topic is further discussed in Chapter 14. BRAIN INVOLVEMENT CT scans of the brain in patients with methanol poisoning have revealed areas of presumed local death or infarction (McLean l980, Swartz l981). Accordingly, a review of some observations concerning brain swelling (edema) slowing of blood in its vessels (vascular stasis), and altered cerebral function after experimental methanol exposure is germane.   *  A marked reduction of both cerebral blood flow and cerebral oxygen consumption has been documented during methanol poisoning. *  Brain swelling occurs in both humans and experimental animals (Menne l938, Bennett l953, Erlanson l965, Rao l977). *  Significant alterations of brain water, sodium and potassium with concomitant vascular stasis, are found after methanol administration – both acute and chronic – in male rabbits and monkeys (RAO l977). Furthermore, the progressive rise of blood methanol levels after the third week suggests partial inhibition of methanol degradation. *  Survivors of severe methanol intoxication have developed Parkinsonism, dementia and other neurologic abnormalities … as well as blindness (McLean l980). INVOLVEMENT OF THE PERIPHERAL NERVES (NEUROPATHY) Neuropathic symptoms from methanol include numbness, "pins and needles" seensations (paresthesias), and shooting pains (Chapter 12).  They are particularly evident after chronic exposure of methanol.   INFLAMMATION OF THE PANCREAS  (Pancreatitis) Pancreatitis has been reported in methanol poisoning (Bennett l952) Pancreatitis may have produced the severe abdominal pain in some aspartame reactors in the present series (see chapter 19) INFLAMMATION OF THE HEART MUSCLE (CARDIOMYOPATHY) Cardiac changes have been found in patients with methanol poisoning.  The relatively frequent complaints of palpitations, rapid heart action and atypical chest pain among aspartame reactors (Chapter 20) may be pertinent. METABOLIC ACIDOSIS Methanol characteristically causes metabolic acidosis.  In this severe biochemical state, excessive acids in the body can result in respiratory failure and death (Diabetic acidosis is another type of metabolic acidosis). This part of the book has been quoted here with permission from the author, diabetic specialist, H. J. Roberts, M.D. Aspartame precipitates diabetes and as you can see mimics problems that those with diabetes think are due to their disease.  Many times doctors think the patient has diabetic retinopathy when, in fact, they are going blind from the methanol in aspartame.  This toxin triggers horrible agonizing pains in the legs.  William Randolph of this diabetic newsgroup had them, and they disappeared a couple of weeks off aspartame.  However, he simply wasn’t warned in time and died from the cardiac problems caused by aspartame.  Dr. Roberts wrote a position paper on aspartame and cardiac problems on the Dorway web site (address below my signature) in his memory.   You asked about methanol so I quoted only that part and did not go into the other neurotoxins and their breakdown products.  It is a witches brew of breakdown products.  Here is a toxin that damages the pancreas, precipitates diabetes and the symptoms can be misdiagnosed as diabetic retinopathy and diabetic neuropathy..  If someone asked me how do you kill someone with diabetes, I would say just keep giving him aspartame.   What is the FDA and Monsanto’s excuse about putting methanol, a severe metabolic poison, in aspartame?  I’ll quote further from the book: "The FDA and the Council on Scientific Affairs of the American Medical Association (l985) rationize the safety of methanol in aspartame products with statements such as "fruits and vegetables are also sources of dietary methanol" and "dietary methanol also arises from fresh fruits and vegetables"  (Federal Register Vol. 48, No. 132, July 8, l983, p. 31380)." In reality here is the truth of the matter:  ASPARTAME:  METHANOL AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH, Dr. Woodrow Monte, Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 36, Number 1, l984: "Ethanol, the classic antidote for methanol toxicity, is found in natural food sources of methanol at concentrations 5 to 500,000 times that of the toxin.  Ethanol inhibits metabolism of

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many using it are going blind

Well, with 100 million people in this country alone consuming aspartame, is that a surprise?  Many people consuming pizza are also going blind.  Many using aspartame are also: – finding high-paying jobs – getting raises – hiring maids – getting straight-A’s – riding in limousines – getting laid.   – buying Porsches. What you fail to show — what you always fail to show — is any causal link between the first event and the second.  Correlation isn’t causation.   Mike

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O.K., Einstein, where does the methanol come from in Aspartame?  Please explain to me the metabolic pathway that produces methanol.  It seems like everyone is saying that Aspartame has methanol, so where is it?

For maybe the first time a critic of Betty has slipped to her level of ignorance.   Aspartame is the methyl ester of aspartylphenylalanine.  Methanol is formed when the ester linkage breaks during metabolism.  If I recall the numbers correctly (don’t have my Merck Index handy), aspartame has a MW of about 300 and methanol has a MW of about 30, so consuming a can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink produces about 20 mg. of methanol.  However, a can of soft drink also typically contains about 0.05% ethanol to solubilize the flavor oils.  That’s over 175 mg or an 8:1 ratio of ethanol to methanol, which tends to block further metabolism of the methanol, since the same pathway is used and ethanol is metabolized preferentially.   Mike  

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Well, with 100 million people in this country alone consuming aspartame, is that a surprise?  Many people consuming pizza are also going blind.  Many using aspartame are also: – finding high-paying jobs – getting raises

OH BOY!   That’s great!  I really need the money (for testing supplies, of course <LOL).   I’m getting a raise!  I’m getting a raise!  I know it’s true because I read it on the internet! Well, it makes as much sense as Betty’s anti-aspertame stuff. Gene Goldman ICQ 503060 If you can read this, you have gone too far.

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Same to you, Doug, you idiot! Ralph — Northern Research – Information Retrieval Specialists Research Services: Background Checks, Social Security Traces, Pre-Employment Screening, Education Verification, Personal Profiles http://www.galaxycorp.com/NorthernResearch

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O.K., Einstein, where does the methanol come from in Aspartame?  Please explain to me the metabolic pathway that produces methanol.  It seems like everyone is saying that Aspartame has methanol, so where is it? Cheers, Keith Keith C. Fischer

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[snipped everything]

You are a dismal, pathologic liar. You’ve been caught so often in blatant, self-serving, stupid lies that you have exactly zero credibility. You are a waste of bandwidth, and probably a waste of oxygen. Go away and stop bothering decent people with your garbage. Have a lousy day, Doug

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Dear Elaine:  Thanks for this quote.  Someone in the diabetic newsgroup, didn’t realize methanol was in aspartame and converted to formaldehyde and formic acid.  And, indeed, many using it are going blind.  So I’ll post this for them to read. Regards, Betty P.S.  Just got the book Deadly Feasts tonight that many are talking about.     TYPE:    sendme help        on the Subject Line                           1. Take the 60-day No Aspartame Test and   Mission Possible                send us your case history. 5950-H State Bridge Rd.   2. Tell your doctor and all of your friends!      Suite 215            3. Return Asparcidal food to the store. Anything  Duluth, GA 30155  USA       with Monsanto’s NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful                                   or Benevia or NatraTaste VISIT  http://www.dorway.com/possible.html  Get links to 29 other sites.        http://www.tiac.net/users/mgold/aspartame/  FAQs/Toxicity Reports     Disability and Death are not acceptable costs of business! From POISON! By Jim Morelli – How to Handle the Hazardous Substances in Your  Home Use  Methanol  Methanol, also called wood alcohol, was made famous earlier in this century  when it was used by bootleggers during Prohibition to make alcoholic  beverages. There was one catch with this ethanol substitute, however:  Methanol causes blindness.  The body metabolizes methanol the same way it does an alcoholic beverage. But  with methanol, a couple of toxic by-products are formed: formaldehyde and  formic acid. The formic acid poisons eye tissue; the formaldehyde poisons  everything else.  The metabolites are killers because they make the blood  more acidic, which upsets the delicate chemical balance that keeps our bodies  running.  Remember, any methanol ingestion is potentially dangerous. Even as little as  a teaspoonful has caused blindness, and hospital treatment is almost always  necessary.  With the fatal attraction methanol has for eye tissue, you’d think a splash  of windshield wiper fluid in the eyes would constitute a major problem. But  remember, it’s not the methanol itself that causes blindness, it’s formic  acid, a metabolite. Methanol irritates the eyes but doesn’t harm them. So  simply rinse out the eyes for ten to fifteen minutes with lukewarm water and  see a doctor if irritation persists past an hour.  Methanol is not particularly toxic to the skin either. But, it can be  absorbed through the skin. Never continue to wear methanol-soaked clothes.  Immediately and thoroughly wash the skin. (P85,86)   It’s a Fact  One effective way to treat a methanol or ethylene glycol ingestion is by  metabolic interference using ethanol – the kind of alcohol found in wine,  beer, and spirits. Ethanol competes with methanol and ethylene glycol for the  same enzyme and thus blocks transformation of these compounds into toxic  metabolites.  One early sign of intoxication with either methanol or ethylene glycol is  uncoordination and symptoms of drunkeness. However, with methanol, those  symptoms can take several hours to develop. (P87)  Fresh Breath and Healthy Teeth  Toothpaste  One of the most toxic ingredients you’ll find in the bathroom is fluoride.  Excessive flouride not only corrodes the lining of the stomach, it also  affects the function of the heart and other organs. (P117)

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