In light of the new ruling from W.H.O., it was time for me to revise this article a bit—mostly because the files I once kept to back up the data in this article are no longer available online (from me; but they are still searchable and a matter of public record).
Until about 10 years ago, and since my father’s death (2003), I managed his anti-aspartame website, DORway, and through that experience, learned more than I ever wanted to know about aspartame. Despite that my father was a fierce advocate for this cause, I remained, if not skeptical, certainly arrogant in my belief that my dad was overreacting. He was not. During my tenure as webmaster of DORway, I learned much to the contrary. And through that experience, I corresponded with so many wonderful people whose lives were changed by the information DORway provided. At one time, DORway was a standalone site, warning people about the dangers of aspartame. In fact, it was the biggest library of anti-aspartame articles available on the Web, and, over the years, DORway has been referenced in anti-aspartame movies, documentaries, and numerous articles. Unfortunately, due to hackers, much of DORWay is lost now, but not everything is gone. All files that remained on DORway were archived and remain in my keeping and someday, I may find the bandwidth to restore the site. In the meantime, there is still a place you can go to commune with other concerned consumers and these will remain open.
Many thanks to those who followed dorway.com. The following article is one that received much attention on DORway and now, it will live here. Apologies in advance for the supporting links, some of which no longer exist and some that are not updated. For many reasons, this is no longer my priority.
Moderated Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/48681018383/
Public Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dorwaytodiscovery/
The Sum of it All: Straight Talk About Aspartame
Is aspartame poisoning an urban myth? Some doctors say so, the FDA says so, and Snopes says so. Why would they say it was safe if it wasn’t true?
“Above all else, do no harm.” Ever hear that phrase? It’s from the Hippocratic Oath. Too bad not all doctors swear by it anymore, and many don’t abide by it. But where medicine is concerned, shouldn’t it be about erring on the safe side and guiding people toward decisions that will better their health rather than harm it? I’m appalled, not just by our legal and health systems, but by the people who follow popular sound bytes without bothering to check the facts. Consider this: If soy, a product with healthful qualities, can be damaging to your health in larger quantities, how can anyone not question possible harmful effects from a man-made synthetic sweetener that’s now prevalent in more than 10,000 products and drugs? I just don’t get it.
The FDA says it’s not going to hurt me. Shouldn’t I trust them?
In 1980, the FDA Public Board Of Inquiry voted unanimously to reject the use of aspartame. The short version as to why? (In their words, not mine.)
- • Flawed data
- • Brain tumor findings in animal studies
- • Lack of studies on humans to determine long-term effects
Want more? Do a Google search about the shady way it was approved, including being ramrodded through the approval process by Donald Rumsfeld, who later went to work for the PR firm representing Searle (the company that first marketed the chemical). And if that weren’t enough, the Bressler Report, written by Jerome Bressler (who worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1977), describes numerous instances where Searle was less than forthcoming about reporting negative results. So the FDA allowed Searle to conduct and present their own tests and then to submit the findings of their choice. This, my friends, is a matter of public record. Incidentally, there have still been no studies done on humans to determine long-term effects, but the FDA seems to have conveniently ignored that part of their initial rationale. So my question is… why should you trust the FDA? Scratching head…
As long as I just stick to the FDA’s acceptable daily intake, I’m cool. I’m not worried.
Really? Do you know what the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of aspartame is? When it was first approved, it was 20 mg/kg body weight. Then, once it was approved for use in Coke products, for some reason, the FDA decided it was OK (without additional studies – we’ll call their rationale “The Science of Politics”) to raise the limit to 50 mg per kg body weight. Consider this: At 20 mg per kg body weight, a 50 lb child can reach his ADI with 2 ½ cokes. You do the math. Add to that the simple fact that no one is actually required to tell you how much aspartame is in the products you’re consuming – just that it’s there. And then take into account the thousands of products it’s now used in—from chewing gum to yogurt to children’s vitamins—and what makes you think you’re not in danger of reaching your conveniently readjusted ADI?
The FDA claims they are “regulating” the public intake of aspartame.
Really? When was the last time you were surveyed by a government agency about your grocery shopping habits? About which drugs you’re taking? Which children’s vitamins you’re giving your kids? Do you have someone at hand to research the quantities of aspartame in each and every product you use and then kindly add it all up to give you an update? When was the last time you saw a regulatory body standing guard over the Pepsi machine to enforce a 2,4,6 coke limit per day? Nobody is regulating anything. If you ask me, for a little green pocket lining, the people who are supposed to be protecting us are conveniently looking the other way. In fact, speaking of looking the other way, legally, any Citizens Petition for a Ban submitted to the FDA is required by law to be answered within 180 days. Upon receiving the petition, the FDA must: i) Approve the petition (ii) Deny the petition; or (iii) Provide a tentative response, indicating why the agency has been unable to reach a decision on the petition, e.g., because of the existence of other agency priorities, or a need for additional information. The tentative response may also indicate the likely ultimate agency response and may specify when a final response may be furnished. The Citizen’s Petition for a Ban on Aspartame was sent via certified mail on June 17, 2002 – 7 years ago. In May of 2003, the FDA sent a “tentative response,” siting “competing priorities.” To date, this petition has not been revisited and remains lost in the bureaucratic Twilight Zone, unanswered. Want to know more about aspartame and ADI? Check out this article on DORway, or check out the study itself.
So what does aspartame do to you, exactly?
For starters, the FDA compiled a list of 92 symptoms based on over 10,000 complaints from, guess who… you, the consumer. They used to mail this list out freely, but now you can’t get it without a congressman or Freedom of Information Act request. Because aspartame is a neurotoxin, some doctors suggest aspartame may also be a factor in ADD, hyperactivity, mental retardation, and various other neurological problems in children. Check out this book by Dr. Russell Blaylock. Or check out this video and hear his own words. Along with the above and the increased possibility of cancer, aspartame also contains phenylalanine. The law requires a PKU warning for people who cannot metabolize the phenylalanine, because phenylalanine floods the brain, lowering the seizure threshold and depleting serotonin. So next time you pick up a pack of gum and check the ingredients, if it has phenylalanine—yep, that’s aspartame.
What do you have to gain from aspartame?
Not weight loss. Think again. In fact, what you might find yourself gaining… is weight. All the numerous other potential health risks aside, a new Duke University study published in The Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health found that artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Splenda actually contribute to obesity. They also destroy beneficial intestinal bacteria and may interfere with the absorption of prescription drugs. This is an older well-written article by a nutritionist that I found interesting. For anyone who is health-conscious or wants to lose weight, it spells it all out very clearly.
OK, but if it’s so bad for you, why hasn’t it been banned? Ever hear this other phrase: “Money talks”?
So what does DORway have to gain from sharing this info? For 10 years before his death, my father spent thousands of hours compiling research. He then spent many thousands more transcribing the documents to DORway. He then paid for DORway’s bills out of his own pocket. Upon his death, I took over the upkeep for DORway – everything from paying the bills to updating the Web site to answering letters. No one paid him. No one pays me. I do it because, like my father, I just want to provide you, the public, with information. It’s that simple. You make up your own minds. On the other hand, what did Donald Rumsfeld have to gain for ramrodding aspartame through the FDA approval process? A job with the PR firm representing Searle – along with millions of dollars in compensation for his political influence. What do the lobbyists who help keep it legal have to gain? Lots of money. What does the FDA have to gain? Guess. What do the pro-aspartame Web sites have to gain? Take another educated guess. To give you just an idea how much money is at stake, Merisant Worldwide, Inc., just one of the many companies now dealing in aspartame, allegedly controls about 1/5th of the worldwide aspartame market. Their sales in 2007, according to their stock profile, were an estimated $290 million. One-fifth of the market at $290 million… DORway actually gets hate mail for simply posting information – something the U.S. Constitution grants us the right to do. We aren’t coming into your homes and seizing your diet cokes. We’re just giving you a little food for thought. So why should that make anyone angry? Hmmmm…
“Above all else, do no harm.” There’s that phrase again. DORway can rest assured that we are doing no harm by providing the free-thinking public with information. But we can point to many who can’t make the same claim, including Snopes, who irresponsibly plants a “False” status to the statement, “The artificial sweetener aspartame has been proved responsible for an epidemic of cancer, brain tumors, and multiple sclerosis.” Guess what, Snopes? Just maybe there would be a shred of truth in that statement if you had just added two words at the end of that sentence: “in people.” Aspartame HAS been proven to cause cancer in laboratory rats and mice – beyond a shadow of a doubt. No one is arguing that point – not the FDA, not the National Cancer Institute, not even the makers of aspartame! On August 1, l985 the FDA’s own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross, told Congress one of Searle’s studies “established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals and that this predisposition of it is of extremely high significance.” So they’re only mice? How do you think they gauge the safety of every drug or food product introduced into the open market? When was the last time you heard of scientists using live human beings for lab testing – killing them in the testing process, then dissecting their remains to assess the damage? In fact, the safety of all products is often extrapolated from results compiled by thorough testing on other organic beings – mice, rats, monkeys, etc. It’s called science. So shame on you, Snopes. You’ve been given a rare opportunity to make a difference, and what do you do with it? Certainly not encourage people to do the research for themselves. No, you waste it. You essentially enter the folks who make the mistake of trusting you in a game of Russian roulette. Way to play the game.
Come on FDA, don’t you think it’s time to reevaluate whether aspartame still poses a “reasonable certainty of no harm”? Many respected doctors and researchers think so. To sum it all up, I’ll cede to William Campbell Douglass II, M.D., who said it better than I can and with far more impressive credentials: “No matter how you look at it, aspartame is bad news in my book. The massive introduction of this neurotoxin into the food supply is nothing less than biological warfare against every single one of us, and the only acceptable solution is to ban it from the food chain.”
How can I get a copy of the 146 page report from the CDC you mentioned in a video. I’m writing a book and would love to get my hands on that report.
Lee, reach out to Betty Martini at http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm
Hi Tanya, it’s been a very long time indeed since we last corresponded by email. Life happens to all of us. Mine, fortunately has been long & free of distress from ASP since the mid 1990’s….Due to Miss Betty & your Father. I have long been an advocate of the truth about this toxin, & I can totally relate to the harassment of attempting to fight for the truth. I really am just simply writing to you to thank you for fighting as long as you have. The MISSION POSSIBLE site is a very good one & having just found it again, I will be sending people there. If you should choose to email me for a kind listener, I will be glad of it. My most sincere gratitude to you & my condolences again on the loss of your Dad. I am now taking care of mine & he is going on his 88th year….:-}
There is a 55 year old doctor in my town that has lost his license because of “dementia”. He drinks 12 diet cokes a day! A friend of mine lost his pilot’s license because of seizures. He was drinking several diet drinks per day but doctor figured out the problem and he stopped. He made aviation news because he was the first pilot to get his license back after failing his physical for this kind of issue. His doctor was able to show the review board that it was not health issue but a diet issue that was completely resolved.
That poison needs to be taken off the market now!
Asante sana (Thank you very much). Do you have contacts of groups or people on this path in Phoenix, Arizona?
You’re welcome. I don’t anymore. But you might reach out to Betty Martini here: http://www.mpwhi.com/main.htm
A friend of mine commited suicide 2 years ago, because she felt like she was loosing her mind. She finally got diagnosed with brain shrinkage & she couldn’t bear the angry change of personality & confusion happening to her, she had a total personality change, she didn’t want her daughter to go through the craziness until she died, so she drank a lot of her heavy medication and didn’t wake up again. Out of all the people that I’ve met in my 45 yrars on this planet, she was an angel, she had a heart of gold. She drank sweeteners and diet drinks because she was diabetic every day & she was a tiny lady. I will never forget my friend Linda, God rest her soul. Her daughter is 13 years old now & she will never know her Mom, except the few memories of her loosing her mind.
Very sad.
Thank you for following in your fathers footsteps.
I pray that these people profiting on this fomeldrahyde poison get a concise and share the truth one day.
Sending you big, big hugs. I’m so sorry to hear this. And you’re welcome, Lea-Ann. It’s not been an easy promise to keep, because people can be hateful, but I’m still here.
Can you provide any links to peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate the ill-effects of aspartame on humans? As far as I can see, it is all anecdotal evidence, as per Bruce Stewart’s comments above. I don’t trust big corps such a Coke for one second, but I do trust independent, unbiased studies conducted in accordance with the scientific method. The recent studies into aspartame would indicate it is safe for consumption – do you believe there is a conspiracy amongst academics studying this topic?
There were links to all sorts of sources when this was a separate site, dedicated to aspartame awareness (DORway.org) and many links on this one article. Since that site was hacked, I have not had the time or inclination to put it back up. We’re talking about 14 years of hard work gone overnight. Honestly, I’m publishing this lone article as a heads up for you to do the research yourself. If you don’t want to do it, don’t. Apologies for any defensiveness, but I have been threatened, hacked, stalked and much more in the name of this campaign, and I no longer have patience for it anymore.
Should you ever have the time and/or inclination, a perusal via the Wayback Machine (https://archive.org/web/) may be of some help (specifically https://web.archive.org/web/20050624083119/http://www.dorway.org:80/)
Thank you, David. Unfortunately, my time is more precious than ever, and the experience of this left me a little broken. There are people who don’t want to hear it, and who are very avid in their pursuit of that.
Tanya, I believe your Dad’s and your efforts will not be in vain. I believe God wants you to know that. Thank you for all you have done to get the truth out there.
There are no non biased studies, by the way. I DO believe there is a conspiracy, no doubt.
I discovered my allergy to aspartame in 1984 shortly after it the market. I consider myself fortunate to have the allergy, as I don’t eat or drink anything with aspartame aka Equal, the blue pack. This is one drug that I take the soap box and tell as many people that will listen how bad this poison is. Wish I had a microphone that the entire country would hear me.
This stuff is pure poison. I had to stop using it due to severe migraines. I also had purple bags under my eyes, dry, wrinklely, flakey skin, bladder pain, disturbed sleep, confused and fuzzy thinking, forgetfulness, racing heart and a host of other things that have completely cleared up since I quit using it a couple years ago. Quitting that stuff took huge effort on my part. The addiction to it was incredibly powerful. Thank you for the opportunity to share.
You’re welcome and I am so. happy it’s behind you.
I’m only at the grocery store line here in the text but wanted to reach out and say, I LOVE YOUR WRITING and article! thus far. Thank you for sharing. Now back to reading… this is a first.
Thank you! Hugs!
Some of us all know that artificial sweetners are no good but we stiil take it hoping too loose weight, I tried to finf some chewing gum without it and could not find any! I will read your post. Thank you!
Unfortunately, most of those actually make you gain weight, according to studies. And you’re so welcome.
Convenience stores carry only aspartame gum as do most grocery stores. I buy Spry gum at a local health food store. There is also Pur brand and Dentyne Classic. They are aspartame free. There are other brands as well. I’m not a fan of the red dye in Dentyne but I’ll take it over aspartame. You can get them all on Amazon.
Thank you for your huge fight. I’ve been a fan of anyone that stands up against a Tsunami of untruths that the Government rams down everyone’s throats. Then pacifying everyone with false notions that there is actually “something good” that can be derived from it’s consumption while there actually is literally NOTHING good that could possibly come from it.
I’ve been aware of Aspartame’s high toxicity for at least 2 decades and possibly closer to 3 now because of voices like your own. I was appalled to learn that the Government funded agencies are simply “posing” as being “for” the people when they are emphatically only FOR the funds that the people bring in.
The FDA lost it’s ability to actually aid the general public in being a wall of safety for us to trust in for their opinion of what is truly good for us…. and sort out the bad. The problem is, they feel that if they cannot make significant money off of regulations that will improve health (- ie: can’t make money from the drug companies not prescribing more drugs when patients become healthier!) then they will pull out basically a fabricated lie to imply that it is a great alternative for those with diabetes or weight issues to use instead of sugar.
In short, if it causes them to make less money, they simply won’t take it off the market nor brand it as “unsafe” despite all of the obvious information proving the opposite. The only positive that there is to it is that it’s “sweet”. Well, so is antifreeze!!! So why not market that as a product for population control? As you can see the sarcasm is there but for real, this stuff is actually rat poison when heated to 86 degrees!
Why aren’t more people in the general public doing their homework? The info’s been out there for a long time. Now I hear they were even planning to add it to MILK lately! How is such a vile substance even being considered to put into something that people already see as an essential item in their fridge? It’s not like milk is going out of style! The one thing I’d say is this, I’d be quitting milk in a hot New York minute if they are to do this.
I’m sorry this is so long but my 20+ years of personal studies on natural versus what the pharmaceutical industry/FDA/FTC and anything linking all of those things to the Government will never change as long as there’s greediness as the driving force behind the top of lying leaderships in this country.
This is only a tip of the iceberg of the Pandora’s box of Natural VS Pharmaceutical. I believe that the FDA, created 112 years ago, may have been a proper assigned and well meaning screening administration at it’s early years but the negative force it has become today is far from it’s beginning goals of keeping the masses “safe” and to “sift out” harmful elements that are unknown to the general public.
Anyone can see that this has become a classic case of “Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”The FDA was created in 1906. Perhaps this forethought was applied to this particular association fairly quickly as many things that have been deemed “regulated” (another way to say this is “screened” and “passed” as “safe” for human consumption in
“certain amounts”)
Many toxins have been “allowed” to be called “safe” to be put into foods, drinks, drugs and/or additives for so many decades (as it is unclear as to just how far back this truly goes is absolutely appalling) We seem to be in a society held captive by the millions of truckloads of items shoved on the general public as “safe” that when consumed daily, regularly and continuously leads to a HUGE laundry list of sicknesses and conditions that make me wonder how it is even constitutional or even allowed to continue on as a gov’t operation “for” the people! It is not anyone’s friend. It is designed to pad the pockets of a few at the top.
I walked through the aisles at my local supermarket and most everything is full of toxins the FDA has passed with it’s screening process. What happens to a person that consumes a daily dose of Red dye 40, ammonia in crackers and meat, MSG in nearly all things with preservatives, propylene glycol in water additives, hydrogenated oils, Sugar alcohols, bleached sugars, flours and salt and finally aspartame and it’s other offensive relatives. I realize there really is very little that is edible within the boxed, prepackaged or canned areas.
If we continue to eat things that are not “food” being added to food, we are not satisfying a need but contributing to the pockets that continue to fatten while compounding toxins that destroy human health to a calamity stage no one can miss when in a sea of other nearby human beings.
We are actually aiding and abetting an industry of health snatchers that have systematically biologically destroyed the health of a Nation in it’s near entirety and waged biological warfare on it’s own country only to destroy it’s own country one bag of chips at a time! How constitutional is that? Aspartame is only a tiny symptom of a much larger problem we as individuals can do little about without coming together! And that is exactly what they are afraid of and do everything they can to stop it, because it would be the beginning of their end!
Research how Vitamin C being called a cure for Scurvy back in 1763 but was met with an uphill battle against the medical society even then, that did not like to hear that a “cure” could come from a natural substance and not through medicine. The mentality that pharmaceutical industry is the only way to become healthy again after falling into sickness has been around for hundreds of years. And now has managed to indoctrinate the vast majority into believing this theory.
“THE ONLY SAFE SWEETENER” Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD
http://www.JUSTLIKESUGAR.COM
Chicory Root
Calcium
Vitamin C
Natural Flavors
Orange Peel
I have one friend who has had breast cancer and another with diabetes… Both intelligent ladies who drink diet cokes etc regularly. No amount of suggestion on dangers and effects has any influence on changing their lifestyles. The only person who gets stressed about their health and their brain washed views (will not research for themselves) is ME! I try not to nag but just point them to the best information sites… I am trying to keep quiet knowing it is hopeless .
Interesting articles, makes good reading. But, truth is more and more people are getting to know of Aspartame sweetener. I usually find about 2 in 10 know of it, that it is potentially dangerous neurological toxin. That may not sound like many, but people talk. Imagine if you started with just 2 pennies, doubled it each day how much would you have in 28 days. I don’t believe the battle is lost, it’s barely began and we have head started due to likes of Betty Martini, Tanya Anne Crosby and Dr. Russell Blaylock, MD
Thank you, Steve! We can’t forget my father, David O. Rietz, whose site was the original whistleblower.
Hi Tanya, I just saw you’re a writer. That doesn’t surprise me though reading your article. I just got one of your books “The Things We Leave Behind” free on Amazon UK and bought another. “Lady’s Man”, that I have just started reading tonight. Sounds erotic; makes me blush. I was wondering though where can I learn more about your father, David O. Rietz? I saw you mention he sadly died (2003), He must have been only young. I tried a Google search but, only an American baseball player came up. It looked like type thing you could write story about as he was shot accidentally taken for another. Fortunately, he and his friend survived. Is there anything about your father on You Tube? It must take courage to blow the whistle on the bad guys. Is there a film made about him? I wonder what class drug is Aspartame as some believe it to be an excitotoxin that is given to children as well as adults. I subscribed to you earlier. X
I do wish your father’s info was still reachable. I was hospitalized from aspartame poisoning several years ago, and ignorantly started drinking diet soda again a year later. I’ve had wicked insomnia and forgetfulness for a year and I believe this may be the culprit.
What do you think the government gains by making us ingest something that will kill us? “They want to make money” right? But what money would they gain from intentionally poisoning us? They would make nothing compared to what they could make by keeping us healthy. And yes, too much aspartame can be dangerous, but so can too much water. Or too much vitamin A. Too much of anything is dangerous that’s why they give us amounts not to go over. Please tell me when you find any real evidence that this is dangerous. I would love it if you could prove me wrong.
Ever hear of cigarettes? Illness is big business, FYI. But, honestly, I don’t really need to prove you wrong. I have this info available for you to digest, and otherwise, it’s a free country and you should eat, or drink what you wish. There’s lots of evidence out there, but this is not the site you’ll find it on. I spent too many years trying to keep up my father’s anti-aspartame site, and it was a thankless job. So please feel free to make up your own mind, based on what you know.
This shows how Fake News is being made in USA https://youtu.be/5pIMD1enwd4
It helps the balance sheet, by reducing un-funded liabilities, i.e., pension & ss obligations, while at the same time creating more customers for health-related services. I”m fairly ignorant, but knew inherently not to put foreign substances into my body. Others smarter than I, not so “lucky”. Some folks just like chemicals is all. “I made a rule, I let people do what they want” – Hondo Lane
upon this Earth their will be two class of people the one who will love the truth and move by it and the one who will hate it (the children of Cain)
I appreciate your Article
Thanks a lot.
I heard today on the news of a plan to inflate the price of sugar-containing drinks. This means that artificially sweetened drinks will be cheaper. I sure hope it doesn’t mean juices with no added sweeteners of any kind will cost more than artificially sweetened juices! That would be incredibly unfair to anyone just trying to nourish themselves (survive) especially if they are on a budget! Even if not, it is unfair because inevitably most people will become a guest at some time, somewhere, in which case the only drink offered may be artificially sweetened, maybe out of necessity due to cost and/or other circumstances. While there is such a thing as excess or inappropriate use of pop, just like anything else, it does have its place and when it does, noone should have to be in the position of having only diet drinks to choose from.
Some very practical uses of pop are to settle one’s stomach, to wake up, and to cool off. There may not in every case be a suitable alternative available for everyone, depending on circumstances and on what else some persons may or may not be able to drink.
And there are even some situations where water may not be readily available.
This is just another attempt by those in power to lace our food with toxic additives and then try to force it down our throats.
I think all the aspartame in the world should be put in a giant dumpster and shot into space to rid the world of it forever.