Artificial sweetener alert

[achilles2]

The FDA just did everyone a huge disservice. They have said that neotame (an offshoot of aspartame but more potent) does not need to be labeled in the ingredients-- including organic!!! This is absolutely appalling!!

[FurballsMom]

Your guess is as good as mine on that one, but that's what I was thinking.  My other guess would be that if people actually knew what was in the foods they were eating, they wouldn't buy them.  Yeah, well a lot of us aren't buying all that junk anyway.  Going back to real foods and whole foods takes people out of the danger zone.  Just make sure you go organic, because there is another threat coming to the conventionally grown crops very soon.  And, if you think GMO is really bad, that's nothing compared to what I read in Dr. Mercola's article I read about how now they want to sneak Agent Orange into our food.  And, they won't have to label it or tell anyone!  The only guarantee is to buy organically grown produce and grass fed beef, which is also organic.  This is certainly pathetic.  I am more sure than ever that not only is this about profit, they're trying to kill off as much of the population as they can get away with.  After all, no one will know why they're getting sick and won't be able to link it back to this dastardly plan to pollute the food supply even further.

[ChitChatNine]

What I don't understand is why ANY ingredient doesn't have to appear on labels? Does it keep it "secret" from the companies' competition?

[FurballsMom]

Thanks for the suggestion about telling my friend about the pancreatic cancer link and "My doctor says..."  I don't know if it will do any good, but it's worth a try.  It's better than sitting back and saying nothing and watching something happen to her.  It's ultimately still up to her, but at least if I say something like this to her I'll have made a good effort to warn her.

[achilles2]

I read Mercola's news letters as well.  So I know the FDA is in bed w/big pharma and other gmo companies. I avoid HFCS "like the plague". I know what you mean about artificial and people thinking that it is only the thing they can have. There is a brand-- Walden Farms, that uses splenda and I see all these people getting excited "A brand for diabetics!" I have heard more than once. I want to tell them NO it will damage your pancreas, but I can't because I am employee at the grocery store where it is being sold. Tell your friend, my doctor-- an MD, who is tops in his field and older, says that artificial sweetener causes pancreatic cancer. Makes sense you hardly ever heard of it until the increased used of artificial sweetener.

[FurballsMom]

Absolutely!  Please remember, too, that high fructose corn syrup is also an artificial sweetener.  There is nothing natural about it.  It goes through many chemical processes to become that sticky mess.  It also does something that prevents your body to feel satiated, so you end up eating so much more of the stuff than you would if you were to consume something with cane sugar.

Naturally, the best thing to do is to avoid all forms of obvious sugar as much as one can reasonably do, instead of reaching for these sweeteners.

I also get rather sick with the artificial sweeteners myself, so I know exactly what you're talking about.  I was getting migraines and body pain from the stuff myself.  So, I know you are absolutely correct that the FDA did a huge disservice for the people it's supposed to be serving.

One thing to keep in mind with the FDA is that they aren't always really there to protect us.  True, they pull stuff off the market, but it's usually stuff that wasn't tested sufficiently or via third party (It's also an illusion if they claim it's a third party.).  The doctors who are supposedly writing in third party journals often aren't even involved with the actual process of testing and are paid by the drug companies to write the articles doctors read in places like the JAMA.  So, it appears to be third party, but it's not.  I read several articles about this on Dr. Mercola's website.  The FDA is really more about supporting Big Pharma.

So, we have to take control and self-advocate.  Many in the public have no idea that certain things are making them sick, though, that the FDA approves of that should never have been approved.

I am also appalled at doctors recommending patients use the artificial sweeteners.  The coffee places that are in the hospital campus are full of the artificial stuff.  I won't touch it.  If I only see white table sugar, I won't add any kind of sweetener in my coffee or tea at all.  It's definitely safer that way.  Mercola is correct that cane sugar is still high glycemic, but high fructose corn syrup is actually the worst.  I still prefer a limited amount of something real, like cane sugar than the chemical alternatives that are the worst poison out there.

And, yes, this sort of approval by the FDA is awful.  I know someone who believes that she can only have the artificial stuff, because of being diabetic.  Because that's what her doctor tells her.  She doesn't believe any of her friends who try to help her just use a common sense approach to the whole sugar and carbs thing.  So, she continues to put those chemicals in her body, because she thinks it's good for her.  Actually, diabetics really can have a very limited amount of the real stuff.  The majority of it should still come from real fruit and not fruit juice or sweets or carbs.  But, this sort of information actually applies to everyone, so the friends and I really do wish she would try the more moderate approach that all of us are supposed to take in regards to the whole sugar and carbs thing.

[specialmom]

Ugh, I'll write too.  That is ridiculous that this isn't seen as dangerous and those of us that know it is due to past experience are subjected to it as it's not disclosed.  Poo on them!

[achilles2]

ere's more from a quick search on the internet by punching in "neotame and FDA".  

Monsanto developed Neotame as their Aspartame patent was expiring, and they added 3-dimethylbutyl, a chemical listed as hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to Aspartame, making it both sweeter and more toxic.

Both Aspartame and Neotame contain substances that are metabolized into formaldehyde, a highly toxic poison, and an excitotoxic amino acid that agitates, thereby damaging, nerves.

[achilles2]

Artificial sweeteners also give me horrible migraines so I agree. When I get the chance I believe my states representatives are going be hearing from me. Google neotame and FDA you can learn a lot of info to send your reps.

[specialmom]

Years ago I suffered horrible debilitating migraines.  I went to a headache clinic and entered a study.  They tracked one of the top triggers-----  artificial sweetener.  I will not eat or drink anything with artificial sweetener in it and now have kids and know that they too may have this issue so don't let them have anything artificially sweetened.  If they sneak it in and don't disclose it, that is an issue for me.  That is terrible.