*************************************************************
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1209
NM State Environmental Improvement Board will consider aspartame ban
Tuesday, Sept. 6, 9:30 AM, State Capitol, Santa Fe: August 22 petition by
NM Nutrition Council, Stephen Fox, C. Grant La Farge MD, R. Leland
Lehrman: Holman: Murray 2005.08.28

Rich Murray, MA  Room For All  rmforall@comcast.net  505-501-2298
1943 Otowi Road    Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505   USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
group with 147 members, 1,209 posts in a public, searchable archive

From: "E Bryant Holman" <bryanth@presidiotex.com>
To: "Aspartame Support Group" <aspartame@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: "El Paso Greens" <ElPasoGreens@yahoogroups.com>;
<Educate-Yourself_Forum@yahoogroups.com>;
"1zapatista" <1zapatista@yahoogroups.com>;
"Stephen Fox" <stephen@santafefineart.com>
Subject: [Aspartame Support] DEAR ASPARTAME ACTIVIST
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2005 3:58 AM

Note:

I am sending this note on to our members, which I got from another list.
The person who originated this, Mr. Fox, refuses to send me these bulletins
in order for me to pass them on to other lists even though I have requested
to him that he do so, but I publish them anyway, for the sake of the
anti-aspartame movement.

Bryant
***********************************

DEAR ASPARTAME ACTIVIST:

As the progenitor of the protective Ban/Aspartame movement in New Mexico, I
am pleased to inform readers that the New Mexico Environmental Improvement
Board is progressing with our petition for a rule change to prohibit the
sale of this deadly neurotoxin in the Land of Enchantment, filed August 22.

When they next meet September 6, the EIB will decide whether to conduct an
extensive hearing on this matter, perhaps as early as October, or whether to
sweep the entire problem of neurotoxins under the rug, defer to the rapidly
eroding myths of FDA pre-emption, and thusly, to tolerate the wholesale
neurotoxin's neurodegenerative effects on all 1.8 million New Mexicans.

Truthfully, I don't think the latter reprehensible omission is going to
happen, and I have faith that thanks to New Mexico statutes, the EIB, and
the basic desire of humans to protect their health and that of their
children, we will be successful in this endeavor.

To my knowledge, the only New Mexicans to have objected thus far have been
two legislative lobbyists in the Capitol, one representing Coca Cola and
one representing Pepsi Cola (both relaying concerns from soft drink bottlers
around New Mexico---those objections are really no surprise, after all, are
they? These two companies have a bit to lose in any serious questioning of
what are the non-corporate medical experts' views on the neurodegenerative
effects of "diet" beverages, especially when the questions are focused on
getting diet drinks and all soft drinks out of all of the schools in New
Mexico!)

To add your own personal insights into this controversial discussion on how
New Mexico can get rid of this horrible neurotoxin, aspartame, found in 7000
products consumed by 70% of our citizens, please send an email to the
Administrator of the EIB,  barbara.claire@state.nm.us  ,
or, if you prefer, a personal letter, to NMEIB, Harold Runnels Bldg.,
1190 St. Francis, Santa Fe,  New Mexico 87502.

Ms. Claire will forward your letters to all six members of the EIB and to
other relevant officials in the Department of Environment, including the
Secretary and the General Counsel.

Personally, I welcome any questions as well as any case histories of
aspartame poisoning, especially in children, the elderly, and in Native
American populations, particularly with regard to aspartame consumption and
multiple sclerosis, headaches, brain tumors, seizures, convulsions, and
nausea, which are just a few of the 92 aspartame-attributed symptoms listed
by the USFDA.

I am certain that Governor Bill Richardson, Attorney General Patricia
Madrid, and any and all of the New Mexico State Legislators would be
privileged to learn of your concerns and your case histories, as they
prepare for appropriate action in the 2006 legislative session.

In the meantime, please read the labels, ask very direct questions of your
physician, and do some of your own internet research on Aspartame.

Stephen Fox  stephen@santafefineart.com

217 W.Water Street  Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501  505 983-2002
***************************************************************

From: "E Bryant Holman" <bryanth@presidiotex.com>
To: "Aspartame Support Group" <aspartame@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [Aspartame Support] progress on the banning of aspartame in New
Mexico
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2005 8:20 PM

Dear Ms. Claire, and members of the Environmental Improvement Board.

As you may be aware, I have worked over the past few years during the
Legislative sessions, on behalf of the creation of a Nutrition
Council. Thanks to the dedicated support of Senator Altamirano that
Council very nearly came into existence, were it not for the last
minute filibuster about other subjects, a filibuster whose indirect
effect was to kill many good bills by strangulation, including the
Nutrition Council.

My efforts and my support have been based on a long career in
medicine, specifically Pediatric and Adult Cardiology, and the
awareness that many dietary indiscretions and the superimposed toxic
food additives that confront us at every turn in this age, contribute
to keeping coronary disease--in its many forms--the #1 killer of
Americans.

Beyond such elemental problems as the obesity that is now so rampant,
the addition of such toxic elements as Aspartame to food materials
compounds the problems not only of cardiac disease but also of
diseases involving other systems like the brain and the liver.

You will have received a number of letters from physicians and other
experts in the field of toxicities--especially neurotoxicity--and
they speak knowledgeably and accurately of the dangers. While I have
no first-hand knowledge of the neurochemistry, I am aware of the
damage done to the inner lining of arteries that sets the chain
reaction in motion that leads to coronary disease even in adolescence!

I was pleased and honored to have the opportunity to work with Mr.
Stephen Fox and the Attorney General's Office in the formulation of
the proposed changes you will be reviewing to TITLE 7,  CHAPTER 6,
PART 2: HEALTH, FOOD HANDLING, [and]
FOOD SERVICE AND FOOD PROCESSING.

I believe that the proposed changes will afford the opportunity to
the Environmental Improvement Board of seeing to it that foods are
protected from contamination, whether accidental or, as in the case
of Aspartame and other similar compounds, deliberately introduced for
profit, not health.

Thank you for being willing to take this courageous stand in the face
of what inevitable will be industrial pressure masquerading in lies
and half-truths as "Good-For-The-Consumer" health. After all, what is
real leadership about, at best, but to see through the contorted
glass of corporate advertising and pressure in order to recognize and
to act upon the truth that is being so carefully hidden, and that is
so well documented in the scientific literature?

Sincerely,

C. Grant La Farge, MD, FACC, FACP, FAPS
Adult and Pediatric Cardiology
Santa Fe, New Mexico
--------------------------------------------
If you or someone you know
drinks diet soda check out the
Aspartame Victims Support Group at
http://presidiotex.com/aspartame
READING LIST:
http://aspartametruth.com/books/

Aspartame Reading List
http://aspartametruth.com/books/

PLEASE TRY AND RECRUIT MEMBERS - SEND THEM TO
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartame/

PRINT OUT THIS FLIER AND HAND IT OUT TO PEOPLE:
http://www.ojinaga.com/aspartame/

CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE!! http://presidiotex.com/aspartame

ASPARTAME BUMPER STICKER http://ojinaga.com/bumperstickers/freesticker/

to subscribe to this list, send a blank e-mail to:
aspartame-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

Our chat room is at http://aspartametruth.com/chatroom
Yahoo! Groups Links
***************************************************************

From: "Mother Media" <leland@33o.com>
To: <rmforall@comcast.net>
Subject:  MM Alert - Ban Aspartame from New Mexico September 6th
Date: Friday, August 26, 2005 8:16 PM

Stephen Fox's New Mexico Nutrition Council and the people of New Mexico have
won a terrific victory with the NM Environment Board's (NMEIB) decision to
hear
our aspartame rule change proposal on September 6th at 9:30, Room 317 of the
New Mexico State Capitol Building. Please join us at the Public Comment
period
close to the top of the agenda. The rule change bans the sale and
distribution of
aspartame-containing foods in New Mexico. Mother Media encourages all
concerned citizens to write to Barbara Claire of the NMEIB:
barbara.claire@state.nm.us indicating your support for the rule change
eliminating
the highly neurotoxic aspartame from the food supply.
Include the words Aspartame Rule Change Petition in the subject of your
message.

Below is an example of a letter I sent to the EIB including documentation
which
you can use for inspiration. Please do not send the same letter, but write
your
own brief, as unique letters are much more effective than form letters.
We have already presented hundreds of nationally and internationally
supportive
letters to the NMEIB, but we need more from New Mexicans in particular.
Eliminating aspartame is an essential protection for New Mexico's children,
seniors, and all citizens. Thank you for your efforts.

--------------
To: The Honorable Barbara Claire
From: R. Leland Lehrman, Director Mother Media KVSF 1400 AM
Re: Aspartame Rule Change a Just and Healthy Improvement for New Mexico

Ms. Claire -

Due to the overwhelmingly positive press Mr. Stephen Fox has received in
nearly every New Mexico newspaper, it has come to my attention that he is
now
working to ban aspartame in New Mexico. Undaunted by the bureaucratic
inertia and corporate influence behind toxic aspartame's current legal
standing,
Mr. Fox has proven to New Mexicans in countless articles and with rich
medical
detail that it is time New Mexico challenged federal preemption doctrine and
outlawed aspartame from all food and drink statewide. With support from a
multitude of State Legislators, including President Pro Tem Senator
Ben Altamirano, Stephen Fox has demonstrated a tenacious understanding of
the
importance of this issue that is both a credit to his own sense of justice
and to
New Mexico's citizenry, who are the beneficiaries of his dedication.

Abundant evidence exists, even within the FDA, that aspartame is toxic, and
98
symptoms are attributed to it. Approximately 80% of FDA complaints concern
aspartame. The aspartame scourge is a pure corporate scandal and deserves
immediate attention and citizen compensation, at minimum it must be made
illegal.
The tobacco lawsuits provide a compelling precedent.

As a health food advocate for over fifteen years, I have followed the sordid
history
of aspartame for years, marveling at the gullible innocence of American
consumers
and furious with their leadership which sold them out and allowed them to be
poisoned on a massive scale.

Ms. Claire, I have three children under four. I am constantly amazed at the
deteriorating condition of children's teeth in New Mexico; metal teeth are
now
a common sight. While certainly sugar overuse is a factor, the dangerous
consequence of sugar addiction is that parents come to believe "sugar free"
substitutes are the cure. In fact, they continue the destruction of our
children's brains and bodies.

Fortunately, through education and attentiveness, I can protect my children
from this disaster. However, other children and families are not so lucky.
It is our duty to protect them, and if we fail, we will be held accountable
by future generations. It is the responsiblity of those with education and
integrity
to protect the community. Let's honor this duty, and protect New Mexicans
from
corporate poison now and forever.

In support of these arguments, I include below a most important reference
work by Betty Martini and Idaho Observer reporter Don Harkin.
Please refer to it for the medical and historical details regarding
aspartame's
toxicity and the corporate manipulation that resulted in its legalization.

With high hopes and very sincerely,

R. Leland Lehrman
Director, Mother Media    KVSF 1400 AM, Santa Fe
Leland Lehrman  163 Old Lamy Trail  Lamy, NM 87540   505.982.3609
***************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1186
aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias in rats, full plain text,
M Soffritti, F Belpoggi, DD Esposti, L Lambertini: Ramazzini Foundation
study 2005.07.14: main results agree with their previous methanol and
formaldehyde studies: Murray 2005.08.28

http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf

" In rodents and humans,
APM is metabolised in the gastrointestinal tract
into three constituents:
aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol 3. "

" These experiments demonstrate that the increase in
lymphomas and leukaemias,
observed in the APM study,
could be related to methanol, a metabolite of APM,
which is metabolised to formaldehyde and then to formic acid,
both in humans and rats 3. "

" Yellowing of the coat was observed in animals exposed to APM, mainly at
the highest concentrations.

This change was previously observed in our laboratory in rats exposed
to formaldehyde administered with drinking water 9. "

1. The total number of rats was 1800.  1500 were given aspartame.

2. 44 [ 14.7 % ] of the 300 control rats, given no aspartame, developed
lymphomas and leukemias (hemolymphoreticular neoplasias ), and none had
malignant brain tumors.

Of 1500 rats given aspartame, 294 [ 19.6 % ] had lymphomas and leukemias
(hemolymphoreticular neoplasias), and 12 [ 0.8 % ]  had malignant brain
tumors.

In their previous methanol study, reported Dec 2002, of 200  + 100 = 300
control rats, given no methanol, there  were 41+ 15  = 56 [ 18.7% ]
lymphomas and leukemias (hemolymphoreticular neoplasias), while  of 600 +
100 = 700 rats given methanol, there were 187 + 15 = 202 with the same
cancers [ 28.9 % ].  They added 100 rats given 15 ppm methanol to their
Table 3 summarizing the formaldehyde data in their formaldehyde study, in
which their 200 control rats had 15 of these cancers.

In their previous formaldehyde study, reported Dec 2002, 200 control rats,
given no formaldehyde, had 15 [ 7.5 %]  lymphomas and leukemias
(hemolymphoreticular neoplasias),  while of the 600 rats given formaldehyde,
121 [ 20.3 % ] had these cancers.

Probably, other factors, such as viruses, bacteria, molds, or toxic
chemicals in the air, water, and food, also facilitate these cancers.

http://www.collegiumramazzini.org/ram1.htm Collegium Ramazzini

http://www.ramazzini.it/living2005/scientificsession.asp

3rd International Scientific Conference: Framing the Future in Light of the
Past: Living in a Chemical World      Bologna, Italy 2005 September 18-21

I. Identifying and preventing hazards in the environment and at work

II. Reducing and managing risk in high hazard sectors

III. Tools and strategies to reduce risk: applying science to achieve
prevention

Roundtable Sessions:

Long Term Carcinogenesis Bioassays and Other Testing Strategies
Co-chairs: James Huff, USA & Morando Soffritti, Italy

Results of long term carcinogenesis bioassasy on aspartame administered to
Sprague-Dawley rats
Fiorella Belpoggi, Italy   [ female ]  crcfr@tin.it

Please contact
Kathryn Knowles,  Fondazione Ramazzini  living2005@ramazzini.it
(+39) 051 6640460

http://www.ramazzini.it/eng/fondazione/eventidettagli.asp?id=210

News and events
Istituto Ramazzini
Collegium Ramazzini
NEWS AND EVENTS   14 July 2005   Press Release

Results of study on the carcinogenicity of the artificial sweetener
aspartame

CRC/ERF

Results of study on the carcinogenicity of the artificial sweetener
aspartame

Summary.

A long-term study to evaluate the potential carcinogenic effects of
aspartame,
an artificial sweetener used in more than 6,000 food and pharmaceutical
products has recently been completed in the experimental laboratories of its
Cancer Research Center of the European Foundation of Oncology and
Environmental Sciences "B. Ramazzini" in Bologna, Italy.

The first results of the experiment were reported to the Ministry of Health
and to the Superior Institute of Health of the Italian government in April
2005.

In mid-June, these findings were then communicated to
the European Food Safety Authority,
the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of Columbia University,
the National Cancer Institute of the US government,
and the National Toxicology Program of the US National Institutes of Health.

First results demonstrate that aspartame,
when administered to rats for the entire life span,
induces an increase of lymphomas and leukaemias in female rats.

The study is currently being published in the European Journal of Oncology
(available at:
http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf ) and final
results will be presented
at the 3rd international scientific conference of the Collegium Ramazzini,
"Framing the Future in Light of the Past: Living in a Chemical World",
to be held in Bologna, Italy from September 18-21, 2005,
the proceedings of which will be published in
the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Communication.

Aspartame is an artificial sweetener consumed by hundreds of millions of
people worldwide.

It is used in over 6,000 diet products including soft drinks, chewing gum,
candy, desserts, yogurt as well as in pharmaceuticals, in particular, syrups
and antibiotics for children.

The average daily intake of aspartame is calculated to be about 2-3 mg/Kg of
body weight, a figure which increases for children and women of childbearing
age.

Current daily intake allowed by regulatory bodies is 50 mg/Kg of body weight
in the US and
40 mg/Kg of body weight in the European Union.

Prior to the commercialization of aspartame in the 1970s,
the manufacturers of the compound conducted various experimental studies on
rats and mice to test its carcinogenicity.

When taken together, the results of these studies were considered negative
with regard to the carcinogenicity of aspartame.

Doubts were however raised by some in the scientific community about the
conduct of the experiments and
the fact that some cases of malignant brain tumors were found among animals
treated with aspartame
while none were found among the control group.

Given the limitations of these studies and
the ever growing use of aspartame throughout the years,
the European Ramazzini Foundation decided in the late 1990s
to plan and perform an experiment that would,
based on the total number of animals used,
the number of dose levels studied,
and the conduct of the experiment according to Good Laboratory Practices,
provide an adequate evaluation of the potential carcinogenic effects of
aspartame.

The CRC/ERF study was conducted on 1800 rats (900 males, 900 females)
of the colony used for over 30 years by the Foundation.

In order to simulate daily human intake,
aspartame was added to the standard rat diet in quantities of
5000, 2500, 100, 500, 20, 4, and 0 mg/Kg of body weight.
[ This asserts that humans are twenty times more vulnerable to aspartame
(methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity than rats. ]

Treatment of the animals began at 8 weeks of age and
continued until spontaneous death.

A complete necropsy and histopathological evaluation of tissues and organs
was then performed on each deceased animal,
for a total of over 30,000 slides examined by microscope.

The first results of the experiment show:

1) a dose-related statistically significant increase of lymphomas and
leukemias in female rats.
This statistically significant increase was also observed at a dose level of
20 mg/Kg of body weight,
a dose inferior to the accepted daily intake permitted by current
regulations (50-40 mg/Kg of body weight);

2) that the addition of aspartame to the diet induces
a dose-related reduction in food consumption,
without however causing a difference in body weight
between treated and untreated animals.

The above results demonstrate
for the first time
that aspartame is a carcinogenic agent,
capable of inducing lymphomas and leukaemias in female rats,
including when administered at dose levels very close
to the acceptable daily intake for humans.

In addition, the data demonstrate that the integration of aspartame into the
diet did not affect the body weight of treated animals
compared with untreated animals.

As recognized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of
the World Health Organization,
results of long-term bioassays conducted on rodents (rats and mice)
are highly predictive of carcinogenic risk for humans.

In light of this fact,
the results of the CRC/ERF study on aspartame call
for urgent reconsideration of regulations
governing its use as an artificial sweetener
in order to better protect public health,
in particular that of children.

Websites

European Foundation for Oncology and Environmental Sciences "B. Ramazzini"
www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/eng

3rd international scientific conference of the Collegium Ramazzini
www.ramazzini.it/living2005

Contact    Kathryn Knowles   Director of Resource Development
European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences "B. Ramazzini"
development@ramazzini.it     +39 0516640460

FONDAZIONE "B. RAMAZZINI" - Via Guerrazzi, 18 - 40125 Bologna
051 237286       fax 051 2911679      fondazione@ramazzini.it

CENTRO DI RICERCA SUL CANCRO - Castello di Bentivoglio, Via Saliceto,
3-40010 Bentivoglio (BO) - tel. 051.66.40.460 - fax 051 6640223
crcfr@ramazzini.it
***************************************************************

http://www.ramazzini.it/fondazione/docs/AspartameGEO2005.pdf

"  Conclusions
In our experimental conditions, it has been demonstrated,
for the first time, that APM causes a dose-related
statistically significant increase in lymphomas and leukaemias in females
at dose levels very near
those to which humans can be exposed.

Moreover, it can hardly
be overlooked that at the lowest exposure of 80 ppm,
there was a 62% increase in lymphomas and leukaemias
compared to controls, even though this was not statistically significant.

When compared to the concurrent control
group, an increase in the incidence of these neoplasias
was also observed in males exposed to the highest dose;
even though not statistically significant,
this observation confirms and extends the result in females.

The significance of the increase in haemolymphoreticular
neoplasias is further reinforced by the following considerations,
based on the results of experiments performed in the CRC laboratory.

These experiments demonstrate that the increase in
lymphomas and leukaemias, observed in the APM study,
could be related to methanol,
a metabolite of APM, which
is metabolised to formaldehyde and then to formic acid,
both in humans and rats 3.

In fact we have shown that:

1) methanol administered in drinking water increased the incidence
of lymphomas and leukaemias in female rats 11;

2) the same effect was induced in females treated with the
gasoline oxygenated additive methyl-tert-butyl-ether
(MTBE), which is also metabolised to methanol 12 ;

and finally
3) an increase in the incidence of lymphomas and
leukaemias was also observed in females treated with
formaldehyde 9, 13.

These results further highlight the important role that
formaldehyde has on the induction of haematological
malignancies in rodents.

Moreover, in a recent reevaluation
of the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde by the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),
strong, although not considered sufficient,
evidence of an association with leukaemias in humans was found 14.

Since the results of carcinogenicity bioassays in rodents,
mainly rats and mice, have been shown to be a consistent
predictor of human cancer risk 15-17,
the first results of our study
call for urgent re-examination of permissible exposure
levels of APM in both food and beverages,
especially to protect children. "
***************************************************************

Here I have combined fairly equivalent data from the Ramazzini aspartame,
methanol, and formaldehyde studies.
Aspartame groups were 100-150 rats each, methanol 100 rats each, and
formaldehyde 50 rats each (formaldehyde control groups 100 rats each).

Aspartame and methanol are directly comparable, since the 11% methanol
component of aspartame upon ingestion is immediately and fully released into
the GI tract, and then much of that quickly turned into formaldehyde and
then formic acid, both of which account for the toxicity of methanol.

Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol--  1,120 mg aspartame  in 2 L diet soda,
almost six 12-oz cans,  gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol).   If 30% of
the methanol is turned into formaldehyde, the amount of formaldehyde, 37 mg,
is 18 times the USA EPA limit for daily formaldehyde in drinking water, 2 mg
in 2 L water.

For instance, hangover researchers claim that it is the ~150 mg/L methanol
impurity, about one part in 10,000, twice the level from aspartame in diet
sodas,  in dark wines and liquors that, turned into formaldehyde and then
formic acid, is the major cause of the dreadful symptoms of "morning after"
hangover:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition: Bouchard M et al, full
plain text, 2001: substantial sources are degradation of fruit pectins,
liquors, aspartame, smoke: Murray 2005.04.02 rmforall

J. Nutrition 1973 Oct; 103(10): 1454-1459.
Metabolism of aspartame in monkeys.
Oppermann JA, Muldoon E, Ranney RE.
Dept. of Biochemistry, Searle Laboratories,
Division of G.D. Searle and Co. Box 5110, Chicago, IL 60680
They found that about 70% of the radioactive methanol in aspartame put into
the stomachs of 3 to 7 kg monkeys was eliminated within 8 hours, with little
additional elimination,  as carbon dioxide in exhaled air and as water in
the urine.
They did not mention that this meant that about 30% of the methanol must
transform into formaldehyde and then into formic acid, both of which must
remain as toxic products in all parts of the body.
They did not report any studies on the distribution of radioactivity in body
tissues, except that blood plasma proteins after 4 days held 4% of the
initial methanol.
This study did not monitor long-term use of aspartame.

Males
Females
Males + Females

       Animals with lymphomas and leukaemias [hemolymphoreticular
neoplasias]    % of each group of animals

Group
100 rats each

aspartame dose a
equivalent methanol dose (11% of aspartame)
roughly equivalent formaldehyde dose (30% of methanol)

--------------------20,000-40.0
----------------------------28.0 #^
--------------------------- 34.0

I--100,000-29.0
------------25.0**
------------27.0

II---50,000-0.0-----5,000-36.0-1,500-46.0 **
------------25.0**---------24.0--------20.0*
------------22.5------------30.0--------33.0

----------------------------------1,000-22.0*
-----------------------------------------22.0*
-----------------------------------------22.0

------------------------------------500-24.0*
-----------------------------------------14.0
-----------------------------------------19.0

III-10,000-15.0
-----------19.0*
-----------17.0

-----------------------500-35.0
----------------------------24.0
----------------------------29.5

-----------------------100-26.0**
----------------------------16.0
----------------------------21.0

-------------------------------------50-20.0
-----------------------------------------14.0
-----------------------------------------17.0

IV---2,000-22.0
-------------18.7*
-------------20.3

V-------400-16.7
--------------20.0**
--------------18.3
-------------------------------------10--8.0
----------------------------------------10.0
-----------------------------------------9.0

-----------------------15-20.0 [-50 rats ]
---------------------------10.0 [-50 rats ]
---------------------------15.0 [100 rats ]

VI-------80-15.3
--------------14.7
--------------15.0

VII--------0-20.7-------0-28.0------0--8.0 [ control groups ]
---------------8.7---------13.0----------7.0
--------------14.7---------20.5----------7.5

a Considering the life-span average weight of a rat (male and female) as 400
g and the average consumption of food as 20 g per day

*   aspartame, statistically significant p= 0.05;
** aspartame, statistically significant p= 0.01 using poly-k test (k = 3)

# methanol, p<0.05 using X2 test
^ methanol, p<0.05 using Cochrane-Armitage test for dose-response
relationship

*   formaldemyde, p<0.05 using X2 test
** formaldehyde,  p<0.01 using X2 test

The control groups vary widely, with the percentage of rats with these most
common cancers, present at natural death, ranging from 7.0% to 28.0%.

A layman can only speculate as to the possible causes in a uniform
population of rats in the same huge laboratory facility for decades, such as
various viruses, bacteria, or molds, or variable impurities in the tap
water.

Formaldehyde at 50 ppm shows a doubling of the percentage of rats with these
cancers, for groups of just 50 rats.  It is a safe bet that studies using
groups of 100 to 200 rats would establish significance at this 50 ppm level,
which in turn would mandate the reduction of the present USA EPA level
(1999) from 1 ppm for lifetime exposure to formaldehyde in drinking water to
0.05 ppm, since the human limit is estimated by dividing the lowest harmful
animal level by 1000.

We can grasp the main picture by studying the results at a high level of
exposure:

II--50,000-20.0------5,000-36.0-1,500--46.0**
------------25.0**-----------24.0--------20.0*
------------22.5-------------30.0---------33.0

The results amount to 1.3 to 5.75 times their control group levels.
Aspartame, methanol, and formaldehyde results broadly agree.
Unknown factors are causing differences between males and females.
***************************************************************

Rich Murray, MA  Room For All  rmforall@comcast.net  505-501-2298
1943 Otowi Road    Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505   USA
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/messages
group with 147 members, 1,209 posts in a public, searchable archive

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1186
aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias in rats, free full plain text, M
Soffritti, F Belpoggi, DD Esposti, L Lambertini, 2005 April, 2005.07.14:
main results agree with their previous methanol and formaldehyde studies,
Murray 2005.07.19

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1185
Ramazzini Institute (Italy) lifetime study with 1800 rats shows aspartame at
human use levels causes cancer (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid), M
Soffritti and F Belpoggi: Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian (UK): Murray
2005.07.15

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1189
Michael F Jacobson of CSPI now and in 1985 re aspartame toxicity, letter to
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford; California OEHHA aspartame critique
2004.03.12; Center for Consumer Freedom denounces CSPI: Murray 2004.07.27

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1045
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/scf2002-response.htm
Mark Gold exhaustively critiques European Commission Scientific
Committee on Food re aspartame ( 2002.12.04 ): 59 pages, 230 references

http://www.HolisticMed.com/aspartame    mgold@holisticmed.com
Aspartame Toxicity Information Center    Mark D. Gold
12 East Side Drive #2-18 Concord, NH 03301     603-225-2100
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/abuse/methanol.html
"Scientific Abuse in Aspartame Research"

Gold points out that industry methanol assays were too insensitive to
properly measure blood methanol levels.  ]

Fully 11% of aspartame is methanol--  1,120 mg aspartame  in 2 L diet soda,
almost six 12-oz cans,  gives 123 mg methanol (wood alcohol).   If 30% of
the methanol is turned into formaldehyde, the amount of formaldehyde is 18
times the USA EPA limit for daily formaldehyde in drinking water, 2 mg in 2
L water.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999:
Murray 2002.05.30 rmforall

Aspartame is made of phenylalanine (50% by weight) and aspartic acid (39%),
both ordinary amino acids, bound loosely together by methanol (wood alcohol,
11%).   The readily released methanol from aspartame is within hours turned
by the liver into formaldehyde and then formic acid, both potent, cumulative
toxins.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1182
Joining together: short review: research on aspartame (methanol,
formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray 2005.07.08 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1071
research on aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray
2004.04.29 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1143
methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid) disposition: Bouchard M et al, full
plain text, 2001: substantial sources are degradation of fruit pectins,
liquors, aspartame, smoke: Murray 2005.04.02 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1131
genotoxicity of aspartame in human lymphocytes 2004.07.29 full plain text,
Rencuzogullari E et al, Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey 2004 Aug: Murray
2004.11.06 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1088
Murray, full plain text & critique: chronic aspartame in rats affects
memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and brain chemistry, Christian B,
McConnaughey M et al, 2004 May: 2004.06.05 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1067
eyelid contact dermatitis by formaldehyde from aspartame, AM Hill & DV
Belsito, Nov 2003: Murray 2004.03.30 rmforall

Thrasher (2001): "The major difference is that the Japanese demonstrated
the incorporation of FA and its metabolites into the placenta and fetus.
The quantity of radioactivity remaining in maternal and fetal tissues
at 48 hours was 26.9% of the administered dose." [ Ref. 14-16 ]

Arch Environ Health 2001 Jul-Aug; 56(4): 300-11.
Embryo toxicity and teratogenicity of formaldehyde. [100 references]
Thrasher JD, Kilburn KH.  toxicology@drthrasher.org
Sam-1 Trust, Alto, New Mexico, USA.
http://www.drthrasher.org/formaldehyde_embryo_toxicity.html   full text

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/939
aspartame (aspartic acid, phenylalanine) binding to DNA:
Karikas July 1998: Murray 2003.01.05 rmforall
Karikas GA, Schulpis KH, Reclos GJ, Kokotos G
Measurement of molecular interaction of aspartame and
its metabolites with DNA. Clin Biochem 1998 Jul; 31(5): 405-7.
Dept. of Chemistry, University of Athens, Greece
http://www.chem.uoa.gr   gkokotos@atlas.uoa.gr
"K.H. Schulpis" <inchildh@otenet.gr>  "G.J. Reclos" reklos@otenet.gr

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1052
DMDC: Dimethyl dicarbonate 200mg/L in drinks adds methanol 98 mg/L
[ becomes formaldehyde in body ]:  EU Scientific Committee on Foods
2001.07.12:  Murray 2004.01.22 rmforall

Clearly, Europe has placed the issue of aspartame toxicity on the table
as a legitimate, urgent issue for evidence-based public discussion.

Perhaps this shift in the climate of opinion is due to:
European Ramazzini Foundation, led by Morando Soffritti, MD.
crcfr@tin.it  Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for
Oncology and Environmental Sciences, Bentivoglio Castle, 40010
Bentivoglio (BO), Italy.  +39-051-6640460 fax +39-051-6640223

Annuals of the New York Academy of Science. 2002 Dec; Vol. 982:

The RF research program was started in 1966 by the eminent Cesare
Maltoni, (1930-2001):
p. 6  "Maltoni was known for his meticulous and carefully documented
experiments.
He studied 198 chemicals and agents and conducted 394 separate experiments
using 138,281 animals.
Of the 135 agents studied,
68.9% were found to be carcinogenic,
5.92% showed borderline carcinogenicity,
and 25.18% were found to be noncarcinogenic in the animals tested."
Often, the hundreds to thousands of rats in each study were exposed daily
for two years and then thoroughly examined for cancers after their later
natural deaths.

http://www.nyas.org/books/vols/v982.html
http://www.annalsnyas.org/content/vol982/issue1/  Table of Contents
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Carcinogenesis Bioassays and Protecting Public Health:
Commemorating the Lifework of Cesare Maltoni and Colleagues
Edited by Myron A. Mehlman (Collegium Ramazzini, Princeton, NJ);
[Dept. of Environmental Medicine, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, New
York City, mehlman@rcn.com 609-683-4750]
Eula Bingham (University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH);
Philip J. Landrigan (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY);
Morando Soffritti, Fiorella Belpoggi, European Ramazzini Foundation;
Ronald L. Melnick, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
Research Triangle Park, NC

Proceedings of an April 29-30, 2002 Academy conference.
Volume 982 ISBN 1-57331-406-4
231 pages 14 papers 0 posters  Price: $135.00
Member Price *:  $15.00   December 2002

Long-term experimental carcinogenesis studies are the cornerstone of
human health protection and risk assessment for drugs and chemicals.
Great contributions to the development of bioassay methodology and the
understanding of the mechanisms of carcinogenesis were made by Professor
Cesare Maltoni at the European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental
Sciences "B. Ramazzini," Bologna, Italy.
This volume is based on a conference that was held on the first anniversary
of Professor Maltoni's death to honor him and to celebrate the work on
carcinogenesis bioassays carried out at the Ramazzini Foundation Cancer
Research Center in Italy and at the National Toxicology Program, NIEHS, in
the United States.
Papers include reviews of previously unreported findings and discussion
of the continued utility of such studies for the protection of public
health.
Full text of volume 837 and forward is available at Annals
Online to Academy Members at Members Online and to subscribing
libraries. New York Academy of Sciences  2 East 63rd St., NY, NY 10021

"(3) formaldehyde may produce lymphomas and leukemias..."

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 26-45.
Ramazzini Foundation cancer program: history and major projects,
life-span carcinogenicity bioassay design, chemicals studied, and results.
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Minardi F, Maltoni C.
Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and
Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@tin.it

The Ramazzini Foundation research program was started over thirty years
ago.  The features of this program are:
(1) systematic and integrated project design;
(2) consistency over time;
(3) homogeneity of approach: key members of the team remain unchanged;
and (4) choice to work on new frontiers of scientific research.
The program centers mainly on three projects:
Project 1: experimental carcinogenicity bioassays;
Project 2: experimental anticarcinogenesis assays to identify factors
and active principles (compounds) capable of opposing the onset of
tumors while being suitable for preventive/chemopreventive intervention;
Project 3: epidemiological studies, both descriptive and analytical, on
tumor incidence and mortality in persons professionally and
environmentally exposed to industrial carcinogenic risks.
The project involving experimental carcinogenicity bioassays for the
identification of exogenous carcinogens (environmental and industrial
above all) began in 1966.
This project has included 398 experimental bioassays on 200
compounds/agents using some 148,000 animals monitored until their
spontaneous death.
Among the studies already concluded, 47 agents have shown "clear
evidence" of carcinogenicity.
The results have demonstrated for the first time that
(1) vinyl chloride can cause liver angiosarcoma as well as other tumors;
(2) benzene is carcinogenic in experimental animals for various tissues
and organs;
(3) formaldehyde may produce lymphomas and leukemias; and
(4) methyl-tert-butyl ether (MTBE), the most common oxygenated additive
used in gasolines, can cause lymphomas/leukemias.
Many of the results achieved have led to the introduction of norms and
measures of primary prevention.
Publication Types: Historical Article   PMID: 12562627

p. 48 "The sweetening agent aspartame hydrolyzes in the gastrointestinal
tract to become free methyl alcohol. (25)"
"(25) Medinsky MA & Dorman DC. 1994; Assessing risks of low-level
methanol exposure. CIIT Act. 14: 1-7.
(30) Monte WC. 1984; Aspartame, methanol and the public health.
Journal Applied Nutrition. Vol 36: 42-54."

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 46-69.
Results of long-term experimental studies on the carcinogenicity of
methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol in rats.
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Cevolani D, Guarino M, Padovani M, Maltoni C.
Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and
Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@tin.it

Methyl alcohol was administered in drinking water supplied ad libitum at
doses of 20,000, 5,000, 500, or 0 ppm to groups of male and female
Sprague-Dawley rats 8 weeks old at the start of the experiment.
[ Since 11% of aspartame is its methanol component, always quickly released
into the GI tract upon ingestion, the above methanol levels correspond to
about 200,000, 50,000, 5,000, and 0 ppm aspartame levels,
while the 2005 aspartame levels used
were 100,000, 50,000, 10,000, 2,000, 400, 80, and 0 ppm.

Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death.
Ethyl alcohol was administered by ingestion in drinking water at a
concentration of 10% or 0% supplied ad libitum to groups of male and
female Sprague-Dawley rats; breeders and offspring were included in the
experiment.
Treatment started at 39 weeks of age (breeders), 7 days before mating,
or from embryo life (offspring) and lasted until their spontaneous death.
Under tested experimental conditions, methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol
were demonstrated to be carcinogenic for various organs and tissues.
They must also be considered multipotential carcinogenic agents.
In addition to causing other tumors, ethyl alcohol induced malignant
tumors of the oral cavity, tongue, and lips.
These sites have been shown to be target organs in man by epidemiologic
studies.  Publication Types: Review  Review, Tutorial  PMID: 12562628

p. 88 "The sweetening agent aspartame hydrolyzes in the gastrointestinal
tract to become free methyl alcohol, which is metabolized in the liver
to formaldehyde, formic acid, and CO2. (11) [Medinsky & Dorman 1994]"

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2002 Dec; 982: 87-105.
Results of long-term experimental studies on the carcinogenicity of
formaldehyde and acetaldehyde in rats.
Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Lambertin L, Lauriola M, Padovani M, Maltoni C.
Cancer Research Center, European Ramazzini Foundation for Oncology and
Environmental Sciences, Bologna, Italy. crcfr@tin.it

Formaldehyde was administered for 104 weeks in drinking water supplied
ad libitum at concentrations of 1500, 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, or 0 mg/L
to groups of 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley rats beginning at
seven weeks of age.
Control animals (100 males and 100 females) received tap water only.
Acetaldehyde was administered to 50 male and 50 female Sprague-Dawley
rats beginning at six weeks of age at concentrations of 2,500, 1,500,
500, 250, 50, or 0 mg/L.
Animals were kept under observation until spontaneous death.
Formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were found to produce an increase in total
malignant tumors in the treated groups and showed specific carcinogenic
effects on various organs and tissues.  PMID: 12562630

Surely the authors deliberately emphasized that aspartame is well-known
to be a source of formaldehyde, which is an extremely potent, cumulative
toxin, with complex, multiple effects on all tissues and organs.

This is even more significant, considering that they have already tested
aspartame, but not yet released the results: [ comment made spring, 2003 ]

p. 29-32 Table 1: The Ramazzinni Foundation Cancer Program
Project of [200] Long-Term Carcinogenicity Bioassays: Agents Studied

No.      No. of Bioassays  Species    No.  Route of Exposure
108. "Coca-Cola"     4      Rat     1,999   Ingestion, Transplantal Route
109. "Pepsi-Cola"     1      Rat        400   Ingestion
110.  Sucrose           1      Rat        400   Ingestion
111.  Caffeine           1      Rat        800   Ingestion
112.  Aspartame       1      Rat     1,800   Ingestion

http://members.nyas.org/events/conference/conf_02_0429.html
Soffritti said that Coca-Cola showed no carcinogenicity.
*************************************************************

The various standards for methanol and formaldehyde are not in harmony:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/835
ATSDR: EPA limit 1 ppm formaldehyde in drinking water July 1999:
Murray 2002.05.30 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1108
faults in 1999 July EPA 468-page formaldehyde profile:
Elzbieta Skrzydlewska PhD, Assc. Prof., Medical U. of Bialystok, Poland,
abstracts -- ethanol, methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, acetaldehyde,
lipid peroxidation, green tea, aging: Murray 2004.08.08 2005.07.11

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1140
EPA Preliminary Remedial Goals, PRGs, 2003 Oct, air and tap water --
methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid -- not mentioned is methanol from
aspartame, dark wines and liquors: Murray 2004.11.20 rmforall

http://www.epa.gov/iris/subst/0305.htm
also  http://www.china-pops.net/enwww/IRIS-Mirror/subst/0305.htm  1998.05.05

USA Environmental Protection Agency  EPA
Integrated Risk Information System   IRIS

This site explains that the harmful rat dose of 500 mg/kg body weight per
day was divided
by 10 for "interspecies extrapolation" (the higher vulnerability of
humans than rats),
by 10 for "range of sensitivity" (the variation of individual human
vulnerability), and
by 10 for "subchronic to chronic exposure" (the increased danger from
lifetime as compared to the 3 month exposure in the rat test),
giving a total reduction of 10x10x10 = 1000 for the UF = Uncertainty Factor.

The human Oral RfD is the rat Oral RfD divided by 1000, so
500 mg/kg/day  is reduced to  0.5 mg/kg/day , so that the allowed dose for a
60 kg human is 30 mg oral methanol daily.

Moreover, a recent study found that after 4 months of moderate oral
aspartame, 12 rats took four times longer to finish a simple, one-turn
maze-- an alarming level of neurotoxicity:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1088
Murray, full plain text & critique:
chronic aspartame in rats affects memory, brain cholinergic receptors, and
brain chemistry, Christian B, McConnaughey M et al, 2004 May:
2004.06.05 rmforall

"Control and treated rats were trained in a T-maze to a particular side and
then periodically tested to see how well they retained the learned response.

Rats that had received aspartame (250 mg/kg/day) in the drinking water
for 3 or 4 months showed a significant increase in time to reach the reward
in the T-maze,  suggesting a possible effect on memory due to the artificial
sweetener."

[ The 2005 Ramazzini study found that 2 years ingested aspartame at
20, 100, 500, 2,500, and 5,000 mg/kg levels all produced a significant,
substantial increase in female rats of lymphomas and leukaemias by the time
of natural death. ]

The 11% methanol component of aspartame is immediately released in the GI
tract, so these rats were being exposed to only 27.5 mg/kg/day methanol.

The EPA IRIS on 1998.05.05 used a 1986 90 day rat study to find a
No-Observed-Effect Level (NOEL) value of 500 mg/kg/day, which, divided by
1000, became their human long-term safe methanol level of 0.5 mg per kg body
weight per day, which for a 60 kg average person is 30 mg methanol daily,
for oral exposure.

However, the rat level is 18 times greater than that for the level of
dramatic memory loss and clear-cut brain changes found by McConnaughey M,
May 2004.

This suggests reducing the human long-term safe level twenty times to
.025 mg/kg/day = 25 micrograms per kg body weight per day,
which for a 60 kg average person is 1.5 mg oral methanol per day.

Since methanol from any source, once in the human blood stream, is always
quickly and largely turned into formaldehyde and then formic acid, resulting
in durable retained cumulative complex toxic products, this implies a
somewhat smaller formaldehyde ingestion limit.  A third of the methanol
would lead to a limit of 0.5 mg ingested and inhaled formaldehyde daily for
a 60 kg average person.
***************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1141
Nurses Health Study can quickly reveal the extent of aspartame (methanol,
formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity: Murray 2004.11.21 rmforall

The Nurses Health Study is a bonanza of information about the health of
probably hundreds of nurses who use 6 or more cans daily of diet soft
drinks -- they have also stored blood and tissue samples from their immense
pool of subjects.

Dark wines and liquors, as well as aspartame, provide similar levels of
methanol, above 100 mg daily, for long-term heavy users.  Methanol is
inevitably largely turned into formaldehyde, and thence largely into formic
acid.

Both products are toxic, and at this level of use, about 2 L daily,
almost six 12-oz cans of diet drink, are above recent lifetime EPA
safety limits in tap water for methanol and formaldehyde of respectively,
for a 60 kg person,  30 mg and  9 mg daily.  The 1999 EPA level for
formaldehyde in drinking water was 1 ppm, while recent WHO levels are 2.6
ppm.

The immediate health effects for dark wines and liquors are the infamous
"morning after" hangover, for which many informed experts cite as the major
cause the conversion of the methanol impurity, over one part in ten thousand
(red wine has 128 mg/L methanol), into formaldehyde and formic acid.
Everyone knows the complex progression of symptoms at this level of
long-term, chronic toxicity.

Aspartame reactors have a very similar progression.

If 1% of all people exposed to aspartame are heavy users with symptoms, then
there would easily be about 2 million cases in the USA alone.

This is a public health emergency.

At the very least, professionals and the public should be alerted to
investigate their own exposure, and be given a chance to try a very safe,
simple, inexpensive treatment for complex, intractable, progressive
symptoms -- reducing or eliminating their intake.

There are as well, many safe substances that prevent or treat the
toxicities -- for example, high folic acid levels expedite the elimination
of formaldehyde.

These toxicities are largely uncontrolled co-factors that affect every
disease and must confuse and impede many health research programs on all
levels.

People in high-pressure, critical occupations, such as pilots, nuclear plant
operators, and national leaders, should certainly be alerted.

Also, two careful studies show substantial methanol release from degradation
of pectins by bacteria in the colon from fruits and vegetables -- a topic
that deserves careful, thorough research.

Due to my bias, based on detailed reviews by Monte WC (1984)
and by Mark D Gold (2003), for months I have been discounting the
startlingly high methanol levels reported in the abstract for Lindinger W
(1997).   I had been reducing the values in their abstract from g to mg, an
unwarrented "correction" by a factor of a thousand, only to find that
thefull text study and their many related studies supply expert, robust
results:

Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 Aug; 21(5): 939-43.
Endogenous production of methanol after the consumption of fruit.
Lindinger W, Taucher J, Jordan A, Hansel A, Vogel W.
Institut fur Ionenphysik, Leopold Franzens Universitat Innsbruck, Austria.

After the consumption of fruit, the concentration of methanol in the human
body increases by as much as an order of magnitude.
This is due to the degradation of natural pectin (which is esterified with
methyl alcohol) in the human colon.
In vivo tests performed by means of proton-transfer-reaction mass
spectrometry show that consumed pectin in either a pure form (10 to 15 g)
or a natural form (in 1 kg of apples) induces a significant increase of
methanol in the breath (and by inference in the blood) of humans.
The amount generated from pectin (0.4 to 1.4 g) [ 400 to 1400 mg ]
is approximately equivalent to the total daily endogenous production
(measured to be 0.3 to 0.6 g/day) [ 300 to 600 mg ]
or that obtained from 0.3 liters of 80-proof brandy
(calculated to be 0.5 g).  [ 500 mg ]
This dietary pectin may contribute to the development
of nonalcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. PMID: 9267548

Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1995 Oct; 19(5): 1147-50.
Methanol in human breath.
Taucher J, Lagg A, Hansel A, Vogel W, Lindinger W.
Institut fur Ionenphysik, Universitat Innsbruck, Austria.

Using proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry for trace gas analysis of
the human breath, the concentrations of methanol and ethanol have been
measured for various test persons consuming alcoholic beverages and various
amounts of fruits, respectively.
The methanol concentrations increased from a natural (physiological) level
of approximately 0.4 ppm up to approximately 2 ppm a few hours after eating
about 1/2 kg of fruits,
and about the same concentration was reached after drinking of 100 ml brandy
containing 24% volume of ethanol and 0.19% volume of methanol.
PMID: 8561283  [ Corrected 2005.07.11:
24 ml means 19 g ethanol, and 0.19 ml means 0.15 g = 150 mg  methanol.
One L diet soda has 61.5 mg methanol in the aspartame molecule, so 100 ml
diet soda has 6.15 mg methanol, so the brandy has 24.4 times more methanol
than diet soda.   A pound of fruit gives about as much methanol as 2 L
(nearly 6 cans) diet soda.  ]

I urge Channing Laboratory and its participating universities to rapidly
mount an in-house study to study the Nurses Health Study database for the
hundreds of nurses who are long-term users, above 6 cans diet drinks daily,
for correlations with every disease, as well as ubiquitous co-factors like
wine and liquor, cigarette smoke, and fruits and vegetables.  It could
vastly serve the world public health to make the initial findings widely
available immediately.  The disparaged issue of aspartame toxicity could be
swiftly made legitimate, and the resulting progress on all levels remarkably
accelerated.

A single scientist could do this.

Comments pro and con are welcome.  A convenient venue would be
the moderated Usenet group:  bionet.toxicology.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1184
corporate corruption of health sciences, International Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Health, entire issue, 2005 Oct-Dec: Gary N
Greenburg, OEM-L: aspartame (methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid) toxicity,
Murray 2005.07.14

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1155
continuing aspartame debate in British Medical Journal, John Biffra, Bob
Dowling, Nick Finer, Ian J Gordon: Murray 2005.02.09 rmforall

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/782
RTM: Smith, Terpening, Schmidt, Gums:
full text: aspartame, MSG, fibromyalgia 2002.01.17 rmforall
Jerry D Smith, Chris M Terpening, Siegfried OF Schmidt, and John G Gums
Relief of Fibromyalgia Symptoms Following
Discontinuation of Dietary Excitotoxins.
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2001; 35(6): 702-706.
Malcolm Randall Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, FL, USA.
BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a common rheumatologic disorder that is
often difficult to treat effectively.
CASE SUMMARY: Four patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome
for two to 17 years are described.
All had undergone multiple treatment
modalities with limited success. All had complete, or nearly complete,
resolution of their symptoms within months after eliminating monosodium
glutamate (MSG) or MSG plus aspartame from their diet.
All patients were women with multiple comorbidities
prior to elimination of MSG.
All have had recurrence of symptoms whenever MSG is ingested.

Siegfried O. Schmidt, MD  Asst. Clinical Prof.  siggy@shands.ufl.edu
Community Health and Family Medicine, U. Florida, Gainesville, FL
Shands Hospital West Oak Clinic Gainesville, FL 32608-3629
352-376-5071
**************************************************************

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspartameNM/message/1072
June 7 meeting of the New Mexico Environmental Board regarding the
neurotoxicity of aspartame ( NutraSweet, Equal -- the blue packets ): NM
Food Statutes: Fox: Murray 2005.06.04

Ms. Gay Dillingham, Chair
525 Camino Militar
Santa Fe, NM 87501
gayd@cnsc.com

Mr. Gregory Green
640 Running Water Circle SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
E-mail: GSGWIN@aol.com

Mr. Clifford Stroud, Vice Chair
404 W. Riverside Dr.
Carlsbad, NM 88220

Mr. Harold Tso
2513 Valencia Drive, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110

Ms. Dolores Herrera
2302 William SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
E-mail: avanzar@aol.com

Mr. Ken Marsh
P.O. Box 388
Hobbs, NM 88241
E-mail: kenmarsh@crihobbs.com

Mary H. Smith, Attorney
Assistant Attorney General
NM Attorney General's Office
111 Lomas Blvd NW Ste 300
Albuquerque NM 87102
(505) 222-9078
FAX (505) 222-9086
msmith@ago.state.nm.us
***************************************************************