You may think that drinking diet pop will help prevent decay but what you did not know about diet pop is that it may have deadly consequences for your health.

• Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names Nutrasweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal Measure.
• Aspartame was approved for fry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983.
• Aspartame consists of three chemical: aspartic acid ( 40% ); phenyalanine (50% ); and methanol (10% ).

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Aspartic acid acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from nerve cell to nerve cell. Aspartame kills certain nerve cells by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cell. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radical s which kills the nerve cells. Aspartame is labeled an “excitotoxin” because it excites or stimulates the nerve cell to death.

Phenyalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. It has been demonstrated that ingesting aspartame, especially with carbohydrates, can lead to excessive levels of phenyalanine in the blood. This elevated phenyalanine can cause the level of another neurotransmitter, seratonin, to decrease. The reduction in the level of seratonin can lead to emotional disorder such as depression. Therefor, long-term, excessive use of aspartame may provide a boost to sales of seratonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac.

Some people have a genetic disorder phenylketonuria, (PKU ). These people cannot metabolize phenyalanine. This disorder leads to dangerously high levels of phenyalanine in the brain; even resulting in death.

Methanol comprises 10% of aspartame. Methanol, sometimes better known as wood alcohol, is a deadly poison. You may remember methanol as the poison that caused some “skid row” alcoholics to end up blind or dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame comes in contact with the digestive enzyme chymotrypsin.

The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up with aspartame because it can become a “free” form of methanol. Free methanol is created from aspartame when it reaches a temperature above 86degrees Fahrenheit. This would occur if the food containing aspartame is improperly stored or heated (e.g., as part of a “food” product such as Jello). Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin.

Symptoms from methanol poisoning include: headaches; buzzing in the ear; dizziness; nausea; gastrointestinal disturbances; weaknes; vertigo; memory lapses; numbness and shooting pains in the extremities; behavioral disturbances; and neuritis.

The most well known problems with methanol:

• When the temperature of Aspartame exceeds 86 degree Fahrenheit, the wood alcohol in Aspartame converts to formaldehyde (formaldehyde is grouped in the same class of drugs as cyanide and arsenic- deadly poisons ), and then to formic acid, ( Formic acid is the acid found in the sting of fire ants) which in turn causes metabolic acidosis. The methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis. Many people were being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in error. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence where methanol toxicity is.
• Alternative physicians are finding that systemic lupus is very common in Diet Coke and Pepsi drinkers.
• Aspartame changes the brain’s chemistry. It changes the dopamine (a neural transmitter) levels in the brain; often resulting in neurological symptoms. There are 92 documented symptoms of aspartame: memory problems; vision problems; blindness; seizures; fibromyalgia symptoms; dizziness; vertigo; tinnitus; joint pain; depression; anxiety attacks; slurred speech; coma; birth defects; burning tongue; and even death.
• Aspartame contains phenyalanine. Phenyalanine is breaks down the seizure threshold and depletes another neurotransmitter, serotonin. This serotonin depletion causes manic depression, panic attacks, rage, and violence.

There are over 5,000 products that contain this chemical and the patent has expired! Dr. Russel Blaylock, (neurosurgeon), has written a book entitled, “ Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills” published by Health Press 1-800-643-2665. In this book he states, “the ingredients of aspartame stimulate the neurons of the brain to death causing brain damage of varying degrees. Dr. H. J. Roberts, (diabetic specialist and world expert on aspartame poisoning), has also written a book entitled, “Defense Against Alzheimers Disease”. You can obtain this book at 1-800-814-9800.

Water is one of the best liquids you could hydrate your body with; and the cost is minimal. Water is the number one nutritional deficiency in America. Most people do not drink enough water.

Dr. Kevin Flood, DDS