Malcolm:  Dr. James Bowen is a physician who almost lost his life to=20
NutraSweet.  He wrote this to the FDA back in the 80's and it explains=20
the metabolism of aspartame very well.  I think it will help you see how=20
dangerous it is to consume anything with aspartame.

REgards,
Betty
STATEMENT TO THE FDA ON cooking.net">food LABELING - JAMES D. BOWEN, M.D.

                                                                         31=
18
S Logan Ste.3, Lansing, MI 48910
My statement for the public record regarding cooking.net">food labeling and the aspartam=
e
issue is serious if not somewhat facetious at times.  The reason for this i=
s
because I have found little evidence of honesty, integrity or stability on
the part of cooking.net">food & Drug Administration officials regarding the aspartame
issue, since its approval in 1981. This attitude is largely shared by the
general public.  I come in contact with approximately two new people each
week who are now being or who have in the past been poisoned by aspartame.
 All of them share the same reactions that it is not worth writing to the F=
DA
or NutraSweet, because you and your agency have run amuck and are no longer=
 a
valid public benefactor.

The recent revelations about the problems surrounding generic drug approval=
s
are compelling evidence of what happens when an agency considered itself
above the law in dealing with these matters.  In my opinion, this has
resulted in the mass poisoning of the American public as well as seventy-pl=
us
countries in the rest of the world.  Watching FDA officials walk through th=
e
=93revolving door=94 and be further rewarded by being promoted to other pos=
itions
of high public responsibility is clear evidence of a government out of
control.

For this reason, I am opposed to labeling aspartame content of cooking.net">food and
drinks.  To do so would imply that the government is taking some sort of
responsible action...when the only responsible action would be to immediate=
ly
take aspartame off the market, fully disclose its toxicities, offer full
compensation to the injured, public and criminally prosecute anyone who
participated in the fraudulent placement of aspartame on the marketplace.
 That includes those who work so diligently to keep in on the market as wel=
l.
 Further, to label the purported aspartame content of a product would cover=
 a
number of toxic flaws in the product and its allowable daily intake (ADI) a=
s
follows:  1.  That the amount stated on the label was accurate and factual
rather than theoretical.  Aspartame breaks down relatively quickly in
solution.  Given the well established modus operandi of the manufacturer,
there is no concern given the ultimate consumer.  And cover-ups seem to be =
a
part of the routine of doing business.  The public should be well advised
that the amounts really used in liquid products are relatively greater than
those stated to accomplish a relative compensation for the loss of product
sweetness occurring during storage in solution.  2.  That the ADI presently
allowed is 50% greater than that expected to cause a reversal of the
phenylalnine/tyrosine ratios in the human brain.  This has profoundly bad
implications for the human being, including dopamine and serotonin synthesi=
s
inhibition, causing depression, appetite changes, mental inabilities,
increased susceptibility to seizures and a host of neurohormonal problems.
 3.  Every known metabolite of aspartame is of marked or questionable
toxicity and patently unsafe for human use.  Methyl {*filter*} is metabolized =
to
nascent formaldehyde in the eye, nervous system and other metabolically
active organs.  It immediately attacks and denatures the tissue structure
proteins in which is metabolized to nascent formaldehyde.  This stimulates
specific organ and subcellular autoimmunity which seems to be a preponderan=
t
source of the bad experiences reported by NutraSweet victims.  Aspartic Aci=
d
is a neuroexcitotoxic present in damaging amounts, it own right, at the ADI
for aspartame.  Simple logic tells one that it will vastly increase the
metabolism of methyl {*filter*} to formaldehyde attach there.  This correspond=
s
well with the symptomalogies often experienced, such as Lou Gehrig=92s Dise=
ase
(ALS), bulbar palsies, neurohormonal disorders, diketopiperazine issue
remains totally unresolved and dangerous.  The amino acids that are release=
d
by hydrolysis, form eimers and isomers that are either not sufficiently
studied, or which are known substrates in undesirable pathological states
such as Alzheimer=92s disease.  4.  There is the issue of the approval of
aspartame for market, which has violated every principle of responsible
science and responsible government.  Everyone responsible for this hearing
should at least completely review the approval process and the comments of
the participants and observers who have so excellently elucidated all the
malfeasance for the public record, such as Dr. Adrian Gross and many, many
others (all on the public record).

In light of the above 4 points, I highly recommend that you deny in every w=
ay
possible any subterfuge of respectability that the aspartame people have
enshrouded themselves and their product within hopes of quickly denying its
access to the worldwide marketplace.  I write this, not believing that it
will do the slightest bit of good in the sense of affecting the labeling
issue per se, but that instead, it might reach some honest, concerned,
conscientious individuals in the process.