According to a UK documentary, “Sweet Misery,” the National Cancer Institute identified a significant and impressive increase in brain cancer starting in about 1984. Why did brain cancer shoot up? It looks like it is because of articial sweeteners such as those found in diet drinks and food!
Some scientists identified that in 1983 humans began consuming something never before consumed by humans — aspartame, a chemically created substance acting as a sugar alternative — and this is the cause of the big increase in brain cancer. This is an artificial sweetener used in diet drinks, food, and even on the table in most restaurants (i.e. NutraSweet, Crystallite, Equal).
Increase in Aspartame, Increase in Brain Cancer
According to the documentary, in 1984, one year after its introduction, 6.9 million pounds of aspartame were consumed by Americans. In the next year, that even doubled. It continued increasing into the ’90s. This is all at the same time that brain cancer was increasing the most.
From 1984-1987, other cancers outside the brain basically remained the same or declined. However, brain cancer rates shot up.
The parallels are undeniable and chilling, if you look at the brain cancer issue alone.
Beyond the scientific research, by 1988, over 80% of food and additive complaints volunteered to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) were concerning aspartame products. The complaints were not as serious as “I have brain cancer,” perhaps, but it was another sign that something was wrong.
The effects of aspartame can be varied, but the majority of the issues are neurological and relating to the brain.
Why does aspartame have this effect?
Scientists think that it is because 10% of the chemical substance, after congestion, becomes free methyl alcohol (wood alcohol), a poison. As one scientist in the film states, it is a “real poison.” Another says, “the poisonous effect of methyl alcohol and its methyl esters are well-known.” Even small amounts of this poison can lead to blindness and death. The “miniscule” amounts in our common foods and drinks seem to lead to cancer.
Bottom line — maybe it’s time to cut artificial sweeteners out of your diet!
Scientists confirmed that the increase in brain cancers is not due to technological advancements that made diagnosing brain cancer easier and it is not a result of changes in disease classifications.
Image Credit: niallkennedy via flickr under a Creative Commons license
About Zachary Shahan
The National Cancer Institute in the US say no link (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/artificial-sweeteners). The European Food Safety Authority say no link. Truth is that there are many things that have appeared since 1973 when the rise in brian tumors began (8 years prior to the approval of aspartame) – mobile phones, the internet use, brain-training, new shampoos, zillions of things you could point the finger at with just as much justification. Read the facts first hand don’t rely on Mulder and Scully’s interpretation of them alone – The Truth Is Out There.
Interesting and not toaly surprising financial and political associations. One has to remember it took a long time for officialdom to recognise a link between smoking cigarettes and lung cancer. Some even say that the proof is still not 100%. We know where there interests lie. One thing is however for sure. If we are going to play with our chemistry balance through a high intake of nicotene, aspartame or others, our health will suffer.
Its just plain common sense.
I think most things, if not held in moderation can do bad things to your body. So I’m sure 25 Diet Cokes a day could kill you, just the sweeteners and caffeine alone can not be good for you. But one a week.. it’s probably ok. And there are conflicting articles here– some say cancer some say no.
-Sylvia
Great article – thank you for helping to get the word out. Aspartame has been well established to cause illness and disability. “Sweet Misery” is the story of one woman’s fight back to health and wellness after suffering from aspartame poisoning that crippled her for several months. “Sweet Remedy” is the sequel, addressing aspartame, msg and other additives. If your readers want to learn more or obtain the documentaries, they can visit http://www.sweetremedy.tv
Any time there is a good article about the dangers of aspartame I notice it brings out comments from industry shills. These people should watch the two films mentioned above and hear the testimony of people like neuroscientist Russell Blaylock, MD, and other doctors and research scientists.
Thank you for your kind reference to my work on aspartame disease. If you review my most recent published studies, the magnitude of the problem will be even more striking, particularly the transgenerational effects.
Best wishes!