Article: FDA Approves Modified Version of Aspartame: Neotame
FDA Approves Modified Version of Aspartame: Neotame
by: Dr. Janet Starr Hull, Ph.D., CN
http://www.sweetpoison.com/newsletter/
October 2002, the FDA approved Neotame, a modified version of aspartame. Neotame may prove more troublesome than aspartame as it is suspected of causing similar health problems, learning and behavioral problems with more potency.
Neotame has gone from Monsanto Chemical Company (original patent holder) to The NutraSweet Company to J.W. Childs Partnership to Pharmacia to Pfizer.
Neotame contains all the dangerous elements of aspartame and
more: the two original amino acids found in aspartame L-aspartic
acid and L-phenylalanine, and two organic functional groups: one
a methyl ester group (methanol) and the other a neohexyl group.
Joined together, these components form sweetness 13,000 times
sweeter
than sugar, equaling 8,000 teaspoons of sugar. Like aspartame,
it is a very potent and dangerous compound.
First petitioned in 1997, Neotame was approved in 2002 as safe for chewing gum, carbonated soft drinks, refrigerated and non-refrigerated ready-to-drink beverages, frozen desserts and novelties, puddings and fillings, yogurt products, baked goods, and candies.
Phenylalanine and aspartic acid are essential amino acids found
in foods, but there is a big difference between natural amino
acids found in combination and man-made laboratory replicas split
into isolated form. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid enable our
neurotransmitters to function normally, and our bodies are designed
to handle 'normal' amounts of these amino acids. Nevertheless,
when
we take in large amounts of them, the delicate balance in our
bodies is disrupted and they become toxic to the nervous system.
Both phenylalanine and aspartic acid interfere with the production
of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that drives many important functions
in a normal body, such as enabling us to concentrate and learn.
Serotonin is also a calming agent, and a person deficient in serotonin
is prone to behave violently.
Neotame appears to be the 'next generation' of aspartame problems plaguing people today. Now, the aspartame issue continues 13,000 times more dangerously.
