@QMS As the Republicans are currently working on repealing the Estate Tax for the wealthiest 500 people in the country every year, we should consider renaming the US Healthcare system the "Poor People's 100% Estate Tax". Seems far too many are forced to spend their meager life savings on healthcare leaving their heirs, absolutely nothing. With the possible exception of unpaid medical bills.

#1.1.1 the god zillions spent on cancer cure research should have solved the disease many times over by now. It is way more lucrative to postpone death by injecting, inspecting, and generally making the last years of the afflicted as sick and painful as is "not" morally feasible. The sickness is not so much in the dying patients as it is in the profit making machine presently known as "health care". Makes me sad and angry. I've lost too many in this meat grinder to think otherwise.

@Alligator Ed

Many of these curative issues are taken for granted by most people. Surgical procedures are not cheap but, once again, we come down to "what's your life worth?"

As a society, we do NOT need to be making those decisions in that fashion. This is why medical care is a right, equally available to all, in every civilized, developed nation.

Now when will we in the USA join that worthwhile club? Cat only knows.

#3.1.2 Antibiotics for bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases CURE the infections in a high percentage of cases. Chemotherapies CURE many childhood leukemias.

Surgical procedures can CURE some movement disorders and localized cancers.

Many of these curative issues are taken for granted by most people. Surgical procedures are not cheap but, once again, we come down to "what's your life worth?"

@Deja If one is allergic to several unrelated medications, look at the so-called inert ingredients to see if they are shared between the two medications. I had a patient allergic to red dye 40 only discoverable by looking at the shared so-called inert ingredients. You don't have to know how to pronounce it or spell it, if you see the same inert ingredient in two different medications, it is wise to see if there is a connection.

#3.2.2
I am severely allergic to mold, and slightly allergic to other things like dust and pet dander. I also have a respiratory reaction when I drink anything with aspartame in it, despite it supposedly only being an enzyme or whatever, and the same reaction when I eat frozen hash browns - but not fresh ones. Other than that, I don't know what else I might be allergic to, and I don't even know the scientific names of the things I DO know I'm allergic to.

Those product inserts might as well be written in Russian. And which ingredient caused the reaction if one occurs?

@Deja (Republicans have likely ceased maturing before the social consciousness phase of prefrontal development occurs).

#3.3.1
It's a low budget documentary about aspartame. Ronald Reagan and Donald Rumsfeld pushed aspartame through when Carter's FDA (or whatever it was called then) people had beem saying, "Wait! This isn't adding up."

After watching it, I wondered if its presence in so many drinks (which is something it wasn't supposed to be allowed to be put in), had anything to do with the uptick in autism cases. The primates in the original study had seizures and at least one died. Humans had seizures too. What does it do to developing brains?

@Deja @Deja

Edit: sorry, was thinking of another comment and have no idea how I managed to click on yours, which I read just after posting, to see that you'd posted what's here. {probably waaaaaay too tired to be commenting, but have to stay up, even if not awake, drat it...)

You have to read the whole thing, (very long and detailed, year by year; I skimmed much of it, as I've read it before, years back, and at least had a general idea) which reveals the political corruption involved as well, (you probably knew about Rumsfeld's involvement, but there's more) and if you haven't read much on what such polluting (and other) industries get away with, this'll give you an idea...

Just to touch on a few of the issues:

http://www.wnho.net/history_of_aspartame.htm

HISTORY OF ASPARTAME
Modified and Additional Material by Arthur M. Evangelista, a former FDA Investigator
Original Authors of the Two Main Components: Alex Constantine and Gregory Gordon
Web Site: http://www.qualityassurance.synthasite.com

Posted: 12 March 2004

... Aspartame (C14H18N2O5 ) is a compound of three components. These components are methanol, aspartic acid and phenylalanine (the latter being free form amino acids).

Methanol (methyl alcohol or wood alcohol) is a colorless, poisonous, and flammable liquid. It is used for making formaldehyde, acetic acid, methyl t-butyl ether (a gasoline additive), paint strippers, carburetor cleaners for your car's engine, and chloromethanes, et al. This poison can be inhaled from vapors, absorbed through the skin, and ingested.

Methanol is the type of alcohol you read about when people become blind from drinking it. In aspartame, methanol poisoning and poisoning from methanol's breakdown components (formaldehyde and formic acid) can have widespread and devastating effects. This occurs in even small amounts, and is especially damaging when introduced with toxic, free-form amino acids, called excitotoxins.

Methanol is quickly absorbed through the stomach and small intestine mucosa. The methanol is converted into formaldehyde (a known carcinogen). Then, via aldehyde hydrogenase, the formaldehyde is converted to formic acid. These two metabolites of methanol are toxic and cumulative.

Phenylalanine is an amino acid. Well, amino acids are good for us, right? Don't they keep us healthy? The answer is yes, amino acids are necessary for good health, EXCEPT when you separate the individual amino acid from its protein chain, and use it as an "isolate" or by itself.

The Aspartic acid, in aspartame, is also an excitotoxin. An excitotoxin, is a deleterious substance that excites or over-stimulates nerve cells. This occurs in the brain, as well as the peripheral nerves, because aspartic acid, in free form, is an absorption accelerant & easily crosses the blood-brain barrier.

This pathological excitation of nerve cells creates a breakdown of nerve function, as we will see. Basically, they are a group of compounds that can cause special neurons within the nervous system to become overexcited to the point that these cells will die.

That's right, they are excited to death. Excitotoxins include such things as monosodium glutamate (MSG), aspartate, (a main ingredient in NutraSweet), L-cysteine (found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein) and related compounds.

What makes this all the more intriguing is that "excitotoxins" appear to play a key role in degenerative nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and many others.

But the story doesn't stop there. It appears that an imbalance of these excitotoxins during critical periods of brain development can result in an abnormal formation of brain pathways; that is, a "miswiring of the brain." This may lead to serious disorders such as behavioral problems (hyperactivity, aggression, attention deficit disorders, learning disorders, poor learning ability, and ADD)-and a lifetime of endocrine problems such as menstrual difficulties, infertility, and premature puberty.

One of the earliest observations seen in animals exposed to large doses was gross obesity. Some neuroscienttists have voiced concern that America's explosion of childhood obesity may be related to excitotoxins in food.

Aspartame creates altered brain function, nerve damage, and systemic organ complications. Information collected reveals that aspartame clinically exacerbates any borderline (even yet undetected) predisposing illness, and absolutely complicates certain known medical illnesses like Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's, diabetes, retinopathies, allergies, mentation disorders, etc. (See list of symptoms 1)

Aspartame is a toxin, and is unique in this hazardous respect. This in NOT an allergic reaction, but rather a true toxin. No other food can be provided as a comparison to the toxic nature of NutraSweet. Upon closer examination, the available research revealed that the manufacturer (Monsanto) and the FDA are manipulating the public (via the media) into thinking that aspartame is safe. It is not. As an American who trusted the system we all created, as an American who worked for the system, it made me angry that public health has taken a backseat to greed. This is the "engine" that perpetuated this epidemic: the collusion of our government with multi-national conglomerate influence.

G.D. Searle approached Dr. Harry Waisman, Biochemist, Professor of Pediatrics, Director of the University of Wisconsin's Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Laboratory of Mental Retardation Research and a respected expert in phenylalanine toxicity, to conduct a study of the effects of aspartame on primates. The study was initiated on January 15, 1970 and was terminated on or about April 25, 1971. Dr. Waisman died unexpectedly in March, 1971.

Seven infant monkeys were given aspartame with milk. One died after 300 days. Five others (out of seven total) had grad mal seizures. The actual results were hidden from the FDA when G.D. Searle submitted its initial applications.

G.D. Searle denied knowledge of or involvement with the initiation, design or performance of the study. Yet, false results were submitted to the FDA like the rest of the 150 G.D. Searle studies (on aspartame and other products), bearing a Searle Pathology-Toxicology project number. Both Dr. Waisman and G.D. Searle were responsible for the study design. A number of false statements were made by G.D. Searle including that the animals were unavailable for purchase for autopsy after the termination of the study.

The FDA banned the sweetener cyclamate, 1969. Robert Scheuplein, who was the acting Director of FDA's Toxicological Services Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition was quoted as saying "the decision was more a matter of politics than science."

Neuroscientist and researcher John W. Olney found that oral intake of glutamate, aspartate and cysteine, all excitotoxic amino acids, cause brain damage in mice (Olney 1970). Dr. John W. Olney informed G.D. Searle that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice.

Ann Reynolds, a researcher who was hired by G.D. Searle and who has done research for the Glutamate (MSG) Association, and was asked to confirm Dr. Olney's tests. Dr. Reynolds confirmed aspartame's neurotoxicity in infant mice.

Excitotoxic compounds like MSG, aspartate, cysteine seem to create hypothalamic lesions, particularly in young animals. The reason for the latter is likely the fact that the blood brain barrier closes most slowly (if ever completely) around structures like hypothalamus. The outcome for such animals (rats) was obesity,severe behavioral changes, etc. ...

... 1977 OUR POLITICAL PROCESS AT WORK:

Donald Rumsfeld, who was a former member of the U.S. Congress and the Chief of Staff in the Gerald Ford Administration, was hired as G.D. Searle's President. Attorney James Turner, Esq. alleged that G.D. Searle hired Rumsfeld to handle the aspartame approval difficulties as a "legal problem rather than a scientific problem." (US Senate 1987).

Rumsfeld hired: John Robson as Executive Vice President. He was a former lawyer with Sidley and Austin, Searle's Law Firm and also served as chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, which was then connect to the Department of Transportation.

Robert Shapiro as General Counsel. He is now head of Searle's NutraSweet Division. He had been Robson's Special Assistant at the Department of Transportation.

William Greener, Jr., as Chief Spokesman. He was a former spokesman in the [Gerald] Ford White House.

Donald Rumsfeld is now on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Tribune which recently wrote a glowing article about the NutraSweet Company.

On January 10, 1977, FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill recommended to U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner in a 33-page letter detailing violations of the law that a grand jury be set up to investigate G.D. Searle. In the letter, Merrill stated:

"We request that your office convene a Grand Jury investigation into apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S..C. 331(e), and the False Reports to the Government Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001, by G.D. Searle and Company and three of its responsible officers for their willful and knowing failure to make reports to the Food and Drug Administration required by the Act, 21 U.S.C. 355(i), and for concealing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of the drug Aldactone and the food additive Aspartame."

BRESSLER:

All of the G.D. Searle studies were abysmal as discussed earlier. However, there were two studies where the violations of the law appeared to be especially flagrant. The two studies cited by Merrill were the 52-week toxicity study on infant monkeys performed by Dr. Waisman which G.D. Searle withheld key information from the FDA and the 46-week toxicity study of hamsters where G.D. Searle had taken blood from healthy animals at the 26th week and claimed that the tests had actually been performed at the 38th week.

Many of the animals from which G.D. Searle claimed had blood drawn from were actually dead at the 38th week. See earlier discussion for references.

On January 26, 1977, G.D. Searle's law firm, Sidley & Austin, requested a meeting with U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner before a grand jury is convened. One representative of Sidley & Austin at that meeting was Newton Minow who is currently on the Board of Directors at the Chicago Tribune.

On March 8, 1977, in a confidential memo to aides, while he was supposed to be pushing for fraud indictments against G.D. Searle, U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner stated that he had begun preliminary employment discussions with G.D. Searle's law firm Sidley & Austin. page 497 of US Senate 1987;

On April 13, 1977, a U.S. Justice Department memo urged U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner to proceed with grand jury investigations of G.D. Searle. The memo points out that the Statute of limitations on prosecution would run out shortly (October 10, 1977 for the Waisman monkey study and December 8, 1977 for the hamster study.

Samual Skinner withdrew from the G.D. Searle case and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Conlon was then assigned to the Grand Jury investigation (Gordon 1987, page 497 of US Senate 1987).

On July 1, 1977, U.S. Attorney Samuel Skinner left his job to work for the G.D. Searle law firm Sidley & Austin. Thomas Sullivan was appointed as Samuel Skinner's successor page 497 of US Senate 1987).

Meanwhile, Much like the earlier team, the five-member FDA task force, headed by veteran Chicago inspector Jerome Bressler, assailed the quality of animal tests into whether the substance might cause birth defects and tumors. The report said Searle laboratory employee Raymond Schroeder, who worked on related research, first told investigators the feed in the study of the aspartame breakdown product DKP (diketopiperazine) was so inadequately mixed it appeared the rats could "discriminate" and avoid eating the DKP. Schroeder, who has worked for another company since 1975, later backed off his statement. He told UPI, "I just didn't feel qualified to speak on something I didn't work on...There's no one twisting my arm." ...

Please note that at least some of the findings (even if greatly reduced from those actually appearing, still very nasty) were eventually reported to the FDA up to several years after they'd passed aspartame and that the poison was not pulled from the market. This is not an unusual situation.

This stuff is in all sorts of things, from those coated Tylenol tablets to Centrum (petrochemical=based) vitamin tablets...

#3.3.1
It's a low budget documentary about aspartame. Ronald Reagan and Donald Rumsfeld pushed aspartame through when Carter's FDA (or whatever it was called then) people had beem saying, "Wait! This isn't adding up."

After watching it, I wondered if its presence in so many drinks (which is something it wasn't supposed to be allowed to be put in), had anything to do with the uptick in autism cases. The primates in the original study had seizures and at least one died. Humans had seizures too. What does it do to developing brains?