Why Aspartame Isn't Scary
Replies
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Nice post. Way too much fear mongering and too little sense goes into that anti aspartame agenda.0
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The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Did you read the footnoted primary sources yourself? Yes or no.
I'm really tired of people reading a 1 page news article that footnotes 12 primary studies that they haven't themselves read and then expect me to go through the trouble of commenting.
I do not comment on things I haven't read, to comment on this I would have to read through all those footnotes. If you have done that yourself and can highlight the specific portions you want me to address then fine but if all you did was read the article and not the primary sources yet want me to read the primary sources myself I find that a bit annoying.
At first I did that but after 17 pages of this happening I'm getting a little tired of it. Sorry but yeah.
So have you read those footnotes yourself or did you only read the Op Ed piece?
I have been following this story for a number of years and I am familiar with the basis of the footnoted objections and those which are cited in the comments section under the article. But you have sidestepped my two questions. I understand that you may not have the answer to those two questions but they need to be answered before anyone can make the bold statement that "Aspartame isn't Scary". I'm not advocating that anyone should think of it as "scary" but caution may well be in order.0 -
your post and follow up responses to each persons questions and comments are very much appreciated, OP. thank you. the amount of scientific illiteracy in the world, as well as the general predilection toward pseudoscience and confirmation bias is just so terrible.0
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The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Say you and your friends. G.D. Searle was similarly disposed to slander those who did not agree with them as "unscientific". I repeat: I have two questions. Why did the FDA's own toxicologist insist that aspartame was unsafe? Why are so many other neuroscientists and physicians convinced that it is harmful? There are a number of PubMed articles on its questionable safety. Here is just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684524
ETA: Why crucify medical reporters? How can Mercola be "discredited"? He, as far as I know, is not engaged in any research efforts of his own. He functions as a medical reporter who highlights news from the world of science. You may not agree with the findings of any individual researcher but you are obligated to provide your own scientific findings in refuting any individual research findings.2 -
There are SO many more....my point is, for all the studies saying aspartame is safe, there are just as many (maybe more) saying it's not. To conclude, then, that it's "safe" overall, and has no negative effects, seems, to put it gently...rather short-sighted.
Any of these that don't involve administering supraphysiological doses to cancer-prone rats?
Yep. Like I said just enter the search term "aspartame" in PubMed. There are literally 50+ pages of results. Read through just a few.
"There are many examples of X, hundreds even! I won't be providing them myself of course in order to back up my claim and odds are if you say you can't find any I'll just say you didn't look/are lying."
Apparently you missed my original post where I provided the names of multiple studies, all found on PubMed. I can give you only so much help, I can't spoon feed you. And I have a feeling, in your case, it wouldn't make any difference..1 -
Just for the fun of it, I wanted to see how many studies I could find that show a correlation between aspartame consumption and negative health effects. Here are just a few, all found on PubMed:
Aspartame administered in feed, beginning prenatally through life span, induces cancers of the liver and lung in male Swiss mice
Life-span exposure to low doses of aspartame beginning during prenatal life increases cancer effects in rats.
First experimental demonstration of the multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley rats.
Chronic Effect of Aspartame on Ionic Homeostasis and Monoamine Neurotransmitters in the Rat Brain
Neurobehavioral effects of aspartame consumption
Ameliorative effect of Pimpinella anisum oil on immunohistochemical and ultrastuctural changes of cerebellum of albino rats induced by aspartame
Rate of atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- mice long after discontinuation of cola beverage drinking
Cognitive and biochemical effects of monosodium glutamate and aspartame, administered individually and in combination in male albino mice
Aspartame-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells
Cytotoxic effect of aspartame (diet sweet) on the histological and genetic structures of female albino rats and their offspring
Shall I go on? Gosh, I love PubMEd! Incidentally, just enter the search word "aspartame" and see what comes up.
Here is my original post citing just a small fraction of the studies available. The source for all is PubMed, so no need to waste my time posting all the links, unless you're simply too stupid or lazy to use a simple search engine.1 -
The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Say you and your friends. G.D. Searle was similarly disposed to slander those who did not agree with them as "unscientific". I repeat: I have two questions. Why did the FDA's own toxicologist insist that aspartame was unsafe? Why are so many other neuroscientists and physicians convinced that it is harmful? There are a number of PubMed articles on its questionable safety. Here is just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684524
ETA: Why crucify medical reporters? How can Mercola be "discredited"? He, as far as I know, is not engaged in any research efforts of his own. He functions as a medical reporter who highlights news from the world of science. You may not agree with the findings of any individual researcher but you are obligated to provide your own scientific findings in refuting any individual research findings.
Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.2 -
Hi,
I've really enjoyed reading this thread, it's been good to actually read a rational, logical and scientific thread.... I personally don't drink a great deal of diet pop, not because of the artificial sweetener debate, but because I don't really like it much - but just to maybe put the cat among the pigeons, I tried using Stevia (you know, the natural sweetener) and it had a couple of nasty side effects on me - wind, bloating, belly ache and head aches, once I stopped using Stevia and went back to Canderel, Hermesetas and the likes, I was fine.... Also I can't eat much fruit because it has a similar effect on my digestive system.
Just because it's "natural" doesn't always make it the best, just saying xXx0 -
The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Say you and your friends. G.D. Searle was similarly disposed to slander those who did not agree with them as "unscientific". I repeat: I have two questions. Why did the FDA's own toxicologist insist that aspartame was unsafe? Why are so many other neuroscientists and physicians convinced that it is harmful? There are a number of PubMed articles on its questionable safety. Here is just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684524
ETA: Why crucify medical reporters? How can Mercola be "discredited"? He, as far as I know, is not engaged in any research efforts of his own. He functions as a medical reporter who highlights news from the world of science. You may not agree with the findings of any individual researcher but you are obligated to provide your own scientific findings in refuting any individual research findings.
Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.
^^. Confirmed for mad. Also the Soffriti studies contained numerous design and ethical flaws that would call results into question.3 -
By far the most *facepalm* article I've read on MFP.... Why is this flagged?0
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The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Say you and your friends. G.D. Searle was similarly disposed to slander those who did not agree with them as "unscientific". I repeat: I have two questions. Why did the FDA's own toxicologist insist that aspartame was unsafe? Why are so many other neuroscientists and physicians convinced that it is harmful? There are a number of PubMed articles on its questionable safety. Here is just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684524
ETA: Why crucify medical reporters? How can Mercola be "discredited"? He, as far as I know, is not engaged in any research efforts of his own. He functions as a medical reporter who highlights news from the world of science. You may not agree with the findings of any individual researcher but you are obligated to provide your own scientific findings in refuting any individual research findings.
Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.
Wow, so you get to be snippy after one or two posts, but the OP has responded reasonably and patiently for 17 PAGES and he's the one displaying bias........riiiiiiiight. :noway:4 -
By far the most *facepalm* article I've read on MFP.... Why is this flagged?
What do you take issue with?0 -
By far the most *facepalm* article I've read on MFP.... Why is this flagged?
Because clearly, someone disagrees with you, but please enlighten us.....0 -
I'm probably going to take a break from this thread. Wasn't expecting to still be at it this long and I feel like I'm mostly just repeating myself. If I keep at it I will likely become more clipped more terse and more annoyed and just be accused of bullying or ignoring or bias.
Need a break at least.0 -
Thanks for the post! Obviously people who won't accept real scientific proof for the way things work in world, will still avoid aspartame. Did you also know that it is the MOST STUDIED SUBSTANCE ON THE PLANET? My crazy sister is convinced that it causes cancer and has my nieces and nephew paranoid about it. When the kids come to my house, they read the labels of my syrup, yogurt, pudding, etc to see if it's in there. Of course it is because I choose to buy products that are lower in calories. They say "no thank you" when I offer it to them. I think people who believe aspartame is a carcinogenic must also believe in the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus...'cause they exist too, right? Good grief people!!0
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I have been following this story for a number of years and I am familiar with the basis of the footnoted objections and those which are cited in the comments section under the article. But you have sidestepped my two questions. I understand that you may not have the answer to those two questions but they need to be answered before anyone can make the bold statement that "Aspartame isn't Scary". I'm not advocating that anyone should think of it as "scary" but caution may well be in order.
Caution may be in order for EVERTHING though. Too much of just about anything can be bad for certain people. There is no reason at all for aspartame to be due any more caution than anything else.
So far so good. Hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, have been eating the stuff for decades now to no ill effect. Longer than my entire life, worldwide, and so far no conclusive evidence of any bad health effects. Aspartame is just about the most exhaustively tested and studied food additive in existence. And still...no dice. Its been repeatedly examined, and repeatedly approved in more than 90 countries.
People will decry aspartame while stirring sugar into their coffee instead, causing an insulin spike. People will decry aspartame while waiting for the next tanning bed to open up. People will decry aspartame and then smoke a cigarette.
Honestly, the whole thing boggles the mind. People just LOVE food boogie men to feel smug and self righteous about avoiding, regardless of the facts.0 -
I'm probably going to take a break from this thread. Wasn't expecting to still be at it this long and I feel like I'm mostly just repeating myself. If I keep at it I will likely become more clipped more terse and more annoyed and just be accused of bullying or ignoring or bias.
Need a break at least.
:flowerforyou:
If you'd like I can gif bomb it until it rolls and then it won't keep popping up in your topics list.0 -
To those saying that in their personal experience that aspartame or artificial sweeteners give them headaches.
I really cannot comment on that. Its your personal experience, it is anecdote. I'm not going to tell you you are wrong but at the same time without knowing a mechanism I'm not going to say you are right either. I see a lot of reasonable sounding people posting about this who seem to recognize that the correlation doesn't demonstrate causation so I don't really have much to add there.
The point of my post was to say why I think the preponderance of evidence shows that aspartame is safe for consumption in the general population and that claims that it is "toxic" or "carcinogenic" are false. That is all really that I mean and I get the sense that no one really strongly disagrees with that.
For example I would also say that there is no reason to consider peanuts not safe for consumption in the general population and no one calls peanuts "toxic" or "carcinogenic" and yet some people are so allergic to them that touching the oil residue from a peanut could be fatal.
I am not going to claim it is utterly impossible that the body could react to a molecule in an unusual and undefined way. Causes of migraines and headaches are very ill defined and perhaps for some people it is a trigger, I don't know.
I don't think that connection, if genuine, means that aspartame is somehow dangerous or unsafe though. People have migraine or headache triggers for any number of things and as of yet there are so many triggers and the causes so vague that nothing is really known about it.
Could aspartame cause headaches for some people? I don't see how really but that is just to say I don't see how (in the literal sense). That doesn't mean it doesn't, I just don't see what the mechanism would be and I haven't heard anyone or any study propose or substantiate a mechanism.
In these cases I'd agree with the doctor who responds toa patient that says "Doctor, it hurts when I do this" by saying "Then don't do that."
As to WHY, no one knows for sure yet. Certain amino acids are thought to have the ability to change levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, causing an alteration in transmission. For individuals with issues like migraine, seizures, etc., they would be more susceptible to these changes. Although this theory is being questioned, if it does ring true, then it's possible that in a sensitive individual the breakdown of aspartame could act as a trigger in some. That said, just the same as people with a peanut allergy or someone taking an MAOI that has to avoid tyramine, labeling the item "toxic" or "evil" because a special population has an issue with it seems over the top to me.
I also find it odd that people use the "aspartame gives me headaches so I don't trust it" argument, even though oranges, chocolate, and other "safe" and "natural" food items often do the same thing. FWIW, I am one who cannot drink aspartame containing drinks on heavy trigger days, but the same goes for orange juice and Parmesan cheese1 -
I'm probably going to take a break from this thread. Wasn't expecting to still be at it this long and I feel like I'm mostly just repeating myself. If I keep at it I will likely become more clipped more terse and more annoyed and just be accused of bullying or ignoring or bias.
Need a break at least.
I don't blame you. You have been unbelievably patient and I have learned a crap-ton from your posts. While I think Monsanto corp is not exactly altruistic (duh! Corporation), I am glad to have the myths about aspartame debunked and learn a ton about science shizz too. Science wasn't my fav subject - cause math!!!
Anyway, here is some anecdotal evidence. My grandmother was an admin for someone at Monsanto when equal came out. She has been putting equal in her 10 cups of tea a day since the stuff was made available (yes, she really drinks that much tea. Not sure I've ever seen any water pass her lips). She is now 93 - in 30+ years, no lupus, ms, or cancer has kicked her butt. Go figure- she must be a medical miracle0 -
I have been following this story for a number of years and I am familiar with the basis of the footnoted objections and those which are cited in the comments section under the article. But you have sidestepped my two questions. I understand that you may not have the answer to those two questions but they need to be answered before anyone can make the bold statement that "Aspartame isn't Scary". I'm not advocating that anyone should think of it as "scary" but caution may well be in order.
So far so good. Hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, have been eating the stuff for decades now to no ill effect. Longer than my entire life, worldwide, and so far no conclusive evidence of any bad health effects. Aspartame is just about the most exhaustively tested and studied food additive in existence. And still...no dice. Its been repeatedly examined, and repeatedly approved in more than 90 countries.
Just because something has been approved doesn't mean that it is safe. Thalidomide was approved in Germany and other countries worldwide (resulting in the death and deformity of about 10,000 infants). It was only an alert pharmacologist at the FDA (Frances Oldham Kelsey M.D. Ph.D) that saved the U.S. from such a clear disaster. However, since Richardson-Merrell had already distributed millions of tablets to physicians in preparation for clinical trials, it is impossible to know how many were affected, since that possible use of the drug was never tracked.2 -
"...Honestly, the whole thing boggles the mind. People just LOVE food boogie men to feel smug and self righteous about avoiding, regardless of the facts..."
And THAT is a ridiculous assertion. Most of us would just be happy if we could always buy food that is free of added chemicals and genetic modification. Cancer has edged out heart disease as the number one cause of death. Just how can you be certain that it is not due to changes in the food supply?2 -
I have been following this story for a number of years and I am familiar with the basis of the footnoted objections and those which are cited in the comments section under the article. But you have sidestepped my two questions. I understand that you may not have the answer to those two questions but they need to be answered before anyone can make the bold statement that "Aspartame isn't Scary". I'm not advocating that anyone should think of it as "scary" but caution may well be in order.
So far so good. Hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, have been eating the stuff for decades now to no ill effect. Longer than my entire life, worldwide, and so far no conclusive evidence of any bad health effects. Aspartame is just about the most exhaustively tested and studied food additive in existence. And still...no dice. Its been repeatedly examined, and repeatedly approved in more than 90 countries.
Just because something has been approved doesn't mean that it is safe. Thalidomide was approved in Germany and other countries worldwide (resulting in the death and deformity of about 10,000 infants). It was only an alert pharmacologist at the FDA (Frances Oldham Kelsey M.D. Ph.D) that saved the U.S. from such a clear disaster. However, since Richardson-Merrell had already distributed millions of tablets to physicians in preparation for clinical trials, it is impossible to know how many were affected, since that possible use of the drug was never tracked.
It isn't safe because its approved, its safe because its safe, and decades of time and hundreds of millions of people stand as testament to that. Unlike thalidomide, which is of course totally irrelevant to this discussion. Same goes for tuna salad, in case you were thinking of bring that up as well.0 -
And THAT is a ridiculous assertion. Most of us would just be happy if we could always buy food that is free of added chemicals and genetic modification. Cancer has edged out heart disease as the number one cause of death. Just how can you be certain that it is not due to changes in the food supply?
No, actually, its entirely correct. Every week its a new boogie man that is later found to be just fine. Butter is bad! Eat margarine!....oh wait, nevermind, transfats...our bad for killing a bunch of you. MSG is bad, don't eat it!....oh wait nevermind glutamic acid is actually an ever present amino acid, our bad...Carbs! Carbs are the devil and they're killing us all!....oh wait, nevermind,...its GLUTEN!...but nevermind that its a protein.
Oh...and don't vaccinate children!
And so on and so forth. We want to know that there are bad guys in the food world, and that we can avoid them. It makes us feel empowered and in control of our health destiny, at least to a small degree. So...things that are biochemically verified over and over again to be acceptable, especially in comparison to the other things that actually ARE bad and that we refuse to stop doing anyways, are continued to be vilified by those of us desperate to believe that we are in control of our destinies if only we eat certain things and don't eat other things...which of course are sure to change later on as the vogue continues to shift.
Personally, as to cancer rates, I suspect its more to do with a combination of increased lifespan, decreased mortality from other causes that can be more effectively treated than in the past, and all the household chemicals, industrial chemicals, air quality, pesticides, fertilizers, etc, etc, rather than the food itself. Also...scope out how the cancer rate increase correlates with everyone being massively over-chem'ed on prescription drugs. Almost 3/4 of Americans are on prescriptions drugs even as I write this.2 -
The story of the approval process for aspartame (in spite of the many objections from the medical community) is an entertaining read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/donald-rumsfeld-and-the-s_b_805581.html
I have just two questions: If aspartame is so safe, why was the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross convinced that it was indeed toxic? And why are so many other physicians and neuroscientists convinced that it is harmful?
Can't comment without a citation, too vague.
People please, if you want a comment about something provide some sort of link to what you are talking about. Don't just hand-wave.
If where you got this information is someones blog then at least try to dig deeper to find the original source material and cite that, I don't want to have to dig for you. It has been 17 pages of thread and I am admittedly getting a bit tired of this.
Um, if you will check the link, it is an article from the Huffington Post and it is footnoted.
Say you and your friends. G.D. Searle was similarly disposed to slander those who did not agree with them as "unscientific". I repeat: I have two questions. Why did the FDA's own toxicologist insist that aspartame was unsafe? Why are so many other neuroscientists and physicians convinced that it is harmful? There are a number of PubMed articles on its questionable safety. Here is just one: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17684524
ETA: Why crucify medical reporters? How can Mercola be "discredited"? He, as far as I know, is not engaged in any research efforts of his own. He functions as a medical reporter who highlights news from the world of science. You may not agree with the findings of any individual researcher but you are obligated to provide your own scientific findings in refuting any individual research findings.
Here:
http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html2 -
Just for the fun of it, I wanted to see how many studies I could find that show a correlation between aspartame consumption and negative health effects. Here are just a few, all found on PubMed:
Aspartame administered in feed, beginning prenatally through life span, induces cancers of the liver and lung in male Swiss mice
Life-span exposure to low doses of aspartame beginning during prenatal life increases cancer effects in rats.
First experimental demonstration of the multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley rats.
Chronic Effect of Aspartame on Ionic Homeostasis and Monoamine Neurotransmitters in the Rat Brain
Neurobehavioral effects of aspartame consumption
Ameliorative effect of Pimpinella anisum oil on immunohistochemical and ultrastuctural changes of cerebellum of albino rats induced by aspartame
Rate of atherosclerosis progression in ApoE-/- mice long after discontinuation of cola beverage drinking
Cognitive and biochemical effects of monosodium glutamate and aspartame, administered individually and in combination in male albino mice
Aspartame-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells
Cytotoxic effect of aspartame (diet sweet) on the histological and genetic structures of female albino rats and their offspring
Shall I go on? Gosh, I love PubMEd! Incidentally, just enter the search word "aspartame" and see what comes up.
Here is my original post citing just a small fraction of the studies available. The source for all is PubMed, so no need to waste my time posting all the links, unless you're simply too stupid or lazy to use a simple search engine.
Still waiting for the studies that DON'T involve cancer-prone rats and supraphysiological doses.1 -
And THAT is a ridiculous assertion. Most of us would just be happy if we could always buy food that is free of added chemicals and genetic modification. Cancer has edged out heart disease as the number one cause of death. Just how can you be certain that it is not due to changes in the food supply?
No, actually, its entirely correct. Every week its a new boogie man that is later found to be just fine. Butter is bad! Eat margarine!....oh wait, nevermind, transfats...our bad for killing a bunch of you. MSG is bad, don't eat it!....oh wait nevermind glutamic acid is actually an ever present amino acid, our bad...Carbs! Carbs are the devil and they're killing us all!....oh wait, nevermind,...its GLUTEN!...but nevermind that its a protein.
Oh...and don't vaccinate children!
And so on and so forth. We want to know that there are bad guys in the food world, and that we can avoid them. It makes us feel empowered and in control of our health destiny, at least to a small degree. So...things that are biochemically verified over and over again to be acceptable, especially in comparison to the other things that actually ARE bad and that we refuse to stop doing anyways, are continued to be vilified by those of us desperate to believe that we are in control of our destinies if only we eat certain things and don't eat other things...which of course are sure to change later on as the vogue continues to shift.
Personally, as to cancer rates, I suspect its more to do with a combination of increased lifespan, decreased mortality from other causes that can be more effectively treated than in the past, and all the household chemicals, industrial chemicals, air quality, pesticides, fertilizers, etc, etc, rather than the food itself. Also...scope out how the cancer rate increase correlates with everyone being massively over-chem'ed on prescription drugs. Almost 3/4 of Americans are on prescriptions drugs even as I write this.
What makes you think that we are not also concerned about many of the concerns you have expressed? I am VERY opposed to the "pill for every ill" mentality. I think it is a national disgrace that possibly 40% of the population is on prescription psychotropics. But we were looking at aspartame. It is just one more chemical (among the estimated 80,000 synthetic chemicals that we are exposed to every year). Ever wonder how all those chemicals are messing with the gene pool? The science of epigenetics looks at that and what they report isn't very encouraging.0 -
Bump* Great post!0
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Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.
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Yeah....that was the impression I was getting. I find it rather obnoxious to accuse someone of not reading a study he or she references because that person doesn't agree with him, and therefore he or she MUST be a moron who is incapable of reading a scientific study. This is a diet and weight loss forum. It isn't peer-reviewed, and citations in proper format aren't required to participate. You are all allowed to chime in without writing a bloody dissertation (been there, done that....) and being subject to the inquisition (or what those of us in the scholarly community might call a dissertation defense). What I originally thought would be a interesting read has been spoiled by condescension. Good gracious...I may go find one of those forums about rating the person's picture above you that the teenagers on here make just to face a bit less criticism.2 -
Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.Yeah....that was the impression I was getting. I find it rather obnoxious to accuse someone of not reading a study he or she references because that person doesn't agree with him, and therefore he or she MUST be a moron who is incapable of reading a scientific study. This is a diet and weight loss forum. It isn't peer-reviewed, and citations in proper format aren't required to participate. You are all allowed to chime in without writing a bloody dissertation (been there, done that....) and being subject to the inquisition (or what those of us in the scholarly community might call a dissertation defense). What I originally thought would be a interesting read has been spoiled by condescension. Good gracious...I may go find one of those forums about rating the person's picture above you that the teenagers on here make just to face a bit less criticism.
He's been debating this for nearly two weeks now and clearly stated that he was no longer able to do so in a fair and professional manner because it was becoming tiring, but sure, throw stones after he leaves.5 -
Don't bother, the OP doesn't care. He will claim you didn't actually read that study (because he's the only one that reads studies), and that the studies that support his claim, are of course, some how better than any you found.Yeah....that was the impression I was getting. I find it rather obnoxious to accuse someone of not reading a study he or she references because that person doesn't agree with him, and therefore he or she MUST be a moron who is incapable of reading a scientific study. This is a diet and weight loss forum. It isn't peer-reviewed, and citations in proper format aren't required to participate. You are all allowed to chime in without writing a bloody dissertation (been there, done that....) and being subject to the inquisition (or what those of us in the scholarly community might call a dissertation defense). What I originally thought would be a interesting read has been spoiled by condescension. Good gracious...I may go find one of those forums about rating the person's picture above you that the teenagers on here make just to face a bit less criticism.
I got the exact opposite impression.1
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