Aspartame Nightmare by Dave Rietz (1998)   During the first few months in 1996 Dave Rietz, of Goose Creek, SC, gave up on the long list of doctors (21) who could not seem to cure his many painful and growing problems that had slowly developed over the course of eleven years.  His health seemed to be getting worse at an accelerating pace.  His small local library was of no assistance and with nowhere to turn he explored the Internet for something, anything, that might provide a clue to his degenerating health.    At two in the morning, after many weeks of frantic searching, he discovered a small article that claimed to be the 92 FDA acknowledged symptoms of aspartame poisoning.  Thinking that "FDA" stood for "Federal Drug Agency" and believing he was not taking any harmful drugs, along with never having heard the term "aspartame", he almost did not read the article.  Fortunately, he was so desperate that he was reading everything. Part way into the article it mentioned "Equal" and "Nutrasweet". Astonished, he continued reading about the many symptoms that covered problems from all manner of diseases... of which he seemed to have about 20%.    The gist of the article was that if a person had any number of health problems noted on the list and they also consumed aspartame in any form, just stop using the substance for 60 days and observe what happens.  Mr. Rietz followed that advice by replacing the "Equal" in his coffee with sugar, and he got mostly well.  Within three weeks he was much improved and is now 98% pain free, fully mobile again, and angry that during the many months since his discovery he did not obtain satisfactory responses from his elected officials, the national media, the medical system, the insurance system, or the FDA (responsible for approving aspartame as a "safe" food additive).    Convinced that a significant number of the over 200 million clueless aspartame users are in some stage of "aspartame disease" he created an Internet WEB site he calls "DORway to Discovery! The WHOLE truth about aspartame (a.k.a. Equal/Nutrasweet)", in September of 1996.  To date, the site has had over 80,000 visitors many of whom have taken the no- aspartame test and awakened well.    The DORway WEB site began small but now has over 200 pages of FDA, CDC, congressional testimony, position papers by respected doctors and much more that verify that aspartame is not a diet aid, and that it was never proven to be safe for human consumption.    Of significant interest is that Monsanto, the company that owns the Nutrasweet Corporation, makes regular unannounced visits to the DORway WEB site to review the contents that have been instrumental in the 17% decline in 1997 aspartame sales. There is nothing Monsanto can do to counteract the truth, as presented in the form of official government documents, notarized/sworn testimony, position papers/articles by respected doctors and scientists, along with a few case histories at: http://www.dorway.com (all information is free for the taking).    Mr. Rietz urges all users, of the over 5000 products using aspartame to sweeten the products they buy, to visit his WEB site.  If any of them have problems the doctors can't seem to cure... just remove aspartame from the diet for up to sixty days and note the difference.  Thousands of once clueless victims are taking this simple and free test... and getting well for free!.   Why should this be of concern to those who use aspartame but think they don't have any problem with it?  A very good overview (that includes what follows and a lot more) can be obtained from: http://www.dorway.com/allaspr.txt (a 51kb file that includes many commented links that serve as a good menu)    For starters, there are three main components to L-Aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester, 98% (aspartame, C14H18N2O5):    10% Methanol (when in solutions such as Kook Aid, coffee, tea, etc.)    40% Aspartic Acid (an isolated amino acid not found solo in nature)    50% Phenylalanine (another isolated amino acid in an abnormally high concentration, and the reason for the warning label "PHENYLKETONURICS: Contains phenylalanine")    All packaged beverages using aspartame have an approximate 270 day shelf life IF they are stored at or below 85% F (because additional heat accelerates its decomposition).  This is because the 10% methanol converts to formaldehyde (yes, embalming fluid) in the original UNOPENED container. Those are TWO toxic poisons that nobody needs in their body.  However, any free methanol from FRESH beverages will be converted by the liver, and then the body has a significant problem on how to eliminate the formaldehyde. Some of it is combined with water and stored in the fat (termed "weight gain"), and some of it is further converted to formic acid (same as ant sting poison).  The aspartic acid is known to play a role in triggering seizures (by as little as one stick of sugar- free gum).  The phenylalanine readily converts to  diketopiperazine (DKP), which is a known tumor agent, and this was perhaps the primary suspect in 12 of the 320 animal test subjects getting brain tumors.  The FDA's "Bressler" report confirms the brain tumors, and added mammary, ovarian and uterine tumors to the list.   So... just those three components readily create three poisons (and formaldehyde and formic acid cause cumulative damage and are known carcinogens) along with at least one seizure agent and one tumor agent.   Here is a more complete list of conversion products from the methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine that make up all aspartame: Formaldehyde (embalming fluid) Formic Acid  (ant poison) Beta Aspartame Aspartylphenylalanine Aspartylphenylalanine amide Tyrosine L-Dopa Dopamine Norepinephrine Epinephrine Phenylethylamine Phenylpyruvate Phenylactic acid Phenylacetic acid Diketopiperazine (DKP) Symptoms: Abdominal Pain, Anxiety attacks, Arthritis-like pain, Asthmatic Reactions, Bloating, Blood Sugar Control Problems, Brain Cancer (Pre- approval studies in animals), Breathing difficulties, burning eyes or throat, Burning Urination, Chest Pains, chronic cough, Chronic Fatigue, Confusion, Death, Depression, Diarrhea, Dizziness, Excessive Thirst or Hunger, fatigue, feel unreal, flushing of face, Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair, Headaches/Migraines, Hearing Loss, Heart palpitations, Hives (Urticaria), Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Impotency and Sexual Problems, inability to concentrate, Infection Susceptibility, Insomnia, Irritability, Itching, Joint Pains, laryngitis, Marked Personality Changes, Memory loss, Menstrual Problems or Changes, Muscle spasms, Nausea or Vomiting, Numbness or Tingling of Extremities, Other Allergic-Like Reactions, Panic Attacks, Phobias, poor memory, Rapid Heart Beat, Rashes, Seizures and Convulsions, Slurring of Speech, Swallowing Pain, Tachycardia, Tremors, Tinnitus, Vertigo, Vision Loss, and Weight gain. (Yes... the FDA listed "death" as a symptom) Aspartame Disease Mimics Symptoms or makes Worse the Following Diseases Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's Disease, Lupus, Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS), Diabetes and Diabetic Complications, Epilepsy, Alzheimer's Disease, Birth Defects, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lymphoma, Lyme Disease, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Panic Disorder, Depression and other Psychological Disorders.   These are listed on the FDA's list of 92 symptoms of aspartame poisoning that required a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain.   Aspartame was never and cannot be proven to be safe.  It is not and cannot be a diet aid because the formaldehyde (from the breakdown of the 10% methanol) gets stored in the fat along with some water.  The National Soft Drink Association did a 30-page protest in the '80s (Congressional Record, Senate S 5511, 5/7/85) that mentioned the fact that aspartame was unstable, and that aspartame reduced the levels of serotonin (a substance that gives one that "full" feeling) which often induces a craving for carbohydrates. Diminished serotonin is also linked to behavioral problems.    Perhaps the phrase that best applies is that "ASPARTAME is a Pandora's box of chameleon-like toxins and tumor agents that have 92 FDA acknowledged ways to ruin your life, death being one of them". ---------------------- End article -----------------------   Should anyone wish more direct contact or more background info:   Dave Rietz   122 Foxborough Road   Goose Creek, SC 29445 USA   (843)-553-7896   http://www.dorway.com   http://www.awod.com/gallery/rwav/dorietz/index.html