Ajinomoto Sweeteners Europe has issued legal proceedings for defamation (malicious falsehood) against ASDA Stores Limited, who have chosen to describe aspartame as a "nasty" on a wide range of own-label products sold in the company's stores.

Ajinomoto is the leading supplier of aspartame, a low calorie sweetener that tastes like sugar and which enables people to reduce their calorie intake. Brand leaders in a range of product categories, including carbonated soft drinks, squashes, yogurts, hot chocolate and chewing gum are sweetened with aspartame.

Aspartame is a simple food ingredient made from amino acids, the building blocks of protein that occur widely in our diet, including in eggs, meat, fish, cheese and milk. When we consume aspartame, it is broken down in the digestive system to tiny amounts of common dietary components. It is therefore absurd that ASDA should refer to aspartame as a "nasty".

Products sweetened with aspartame help people to control their weight. At a time when the health profession and the government are seeking ways to combat overweight and obesity, it is unconscionable that ASDA should try to vilify a safe and beneficial food ingredient.
www.aminosweet.info...

The methanol in aspartame is a free-form replica and laboratory grade of wood alcohol – and that’s toxic anyway you slice it. Methanol was a logical (and cheap) way to “attach” the phenylalanine and aspartic acid in aspartame. However, the methanol in aspartame is not natural and aspartame does not contain methanol’s counterpart, ethanol. (Methanol "denatures" ethanol.) Methanol is found in aspartame as a food ingredient, not a by-product of aspartame’s decomposition.

Aspartame, dark wines, and liquor provide similar levels of methanol. Methanol rapidly degrades into formaldehyde and formic acid.

Alcoholics can get a “fix” from the methanol in aspartame. Free-form laboratory methanol is no different from great-grandpa’s white lightening distilled in his barn. The methanol in aspartame is a laboratory concoction, no doubt, and one that is proven harmful to human health, especially in children and for fetuses.

What Are The Toxic Breakdown Products of Aspertame?

Formaldehyde
Formic acid
Wood alcohol
Tyrosine
Dopamine
Norepinephrine
Epinephrine
Diketopiperazine (DKP)
Phenylethylamine
Phenylpyruvate
Phenylactic acid
Phenylacetic acid

The chemicals in aspartame block normal serotonin production in the brain. Serotonin is the brain chemical made from tryptophan (outlawed in the USA by the FDA). Proper serotonin production during daylight hours stimulates the respective production of melatonin during the nighttime, which secures deep sleep.

In 1971, Mary Coleman, MD documented that the average concentrations of serotonin in the blood platelets of hyperactive children were lower than in children less active. Hyperactivity lessens as serotonin levels rise.

Serotonin levels are generally lower in depressed individuals than in those who are not. The body gets serotonin (and tryptophan) from a healthy diet. Aspartame suppresses serotonin, so a diet saturated with aspartame creates an environment for depression, sleep disorders, hyperactivity and sever mood swings.

FYI: The addition of vitamin B6 can help raise serotonin levels.

What followed were years of controversy. Early on, respected neuroscientist and researcher, Dr. John W. Olney, warned the manufacturer that oral intake of glutamate, aspartate and cysteine, the excitotoxic amino acids found in aspartame, cause brain damage in mice. His findings were confirmed by another researcher, Ann Reynolds, who was hired by G. D. Searle. (Claiming an oversight, G. D. Searle did not inform the FDA of this study until after the approval of aspartame.)

Petitions by Dr. Olney prompted an FDA investigation which found G.D. Searle’s testing procedures to be full of inaccurate results and manipulated test data. Following the investigation, a grand jury probe began, but was thwarted six months later when the lead U.S. Attorney assigned to the case, Samuel Skinner, suddenly resigned and accepted a position at the law firm representing G.D. Searle.

About this same time (1977) the battle weary G.D. Searle company sought to turn the situation around by appointing, as their new CEO, former Illinois congressman and Washington “insider” Donald Rumsfeld (most recently the former Secretary of Defense).

Although it took several years, Rumsfeld’s political pull, rather than the scientific evidence, eventually resulted in the approval of Aspartame—through his associations in Washington and with President Ronald Reagan.

Originally posted by silo13

Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes

Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and (some severe)
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss
gradual weight gain
aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays. Textbook disorders and diseases may actually be a toxic load as a result of aspartame poisoning.

Aspartame is the common denominator for over 92 different health symptoms at the root of modern disease. The Aspartame Detoxification Program demonstrates the most effective way to reverse disease symptoms is removing the underlying cause - aspartame.

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