Welcome to my "Cheers and Jeers" page. This is where I post some feedback, flames, and whatnot that I've received from visitors to my website. If you wish, feel free to put in your own two cents worth by sending me an email.

Note: Due to limited space on my account, I will only be showing the most recent cheers and jeers. I will also no longer be showing my replies, as these take up more space than I can afford. Sorry!

Cheers

(January 4th, 2008):

Wow, Just read about your research, thank you, I have a friend who is into Isogenics, he swears i am killing myself by drinking diet soda, i try to tell him i am insulin resistant and I don't have a choice. I don't feel like it is hurting me, but after all if his psuedofacts, I ran into some of your research, and was greatly relieved.

[Oh whoopie, *another* Markle email! Reference the entire new-and-improved text here.]

(June 16th, 2005):

Just wanted to thank you for your site, you guys put a lot of effort into it -- I am one of few people that validly can't consume aspartame without having some mighty odd symptoms after consuming it.

But, I appreciate that you try to approach your site and the situation logically without exaggeration. =) It's *damn* hard for me to find accurate information about MSG and Aspartame issues - I wish more people who did have the issues with it had sites that weren't so exaggerated!

(March 20th, 2005):

... it was my cousin who forwarded this [Markle] email to me. She has Lupus. I was so pissed that an email could have her thinking that if she stopped drinking diet softdrinks it would go away. That was what got me the most. Thank you for the link [to your site].

(March 11th, 2005):

I received the Markle email today... My first reaction was Urban Legend!!! My father in law is a world reknowned Bio Chemist, and has invented some 30 different diagnostic reagent tests. I will talk to him when I get a chance about the email. I am relieved to know that your site exists. Totally not cool to scare people when there are bigger fish-to-fry in the world: like world hunger, the homeless, terrorists (which scare mongers are), wars...should I go on.

(December 8th, 2004): Another email exchange between the previous food reviewer and the infamous Betty Martini.

I just ended a week-long exchange with Betty. She reached hysterical pitch when I calmly refuted each of her tirades.

The exchange became disturbing, though, because there was a man and his wife who stuck up for me, and wrote in e-mails that Betty and her buddies' accusations against me were unfounded and a form of verbal terrorism. Betty sent an e-mail to the couples' employers, accusing the husband and wife of verbally attacking HER and her followers. The couple's arguments were reasonable, and Betty couldn't take it and resorted to dirty tricks.

Following is a copy of the header of the final message I sent her this morning. Hopefully she'll leave me alone.

=====================

Dear Ms. Martini,

I did research, and I draw conclusions different from yours. Below is small amount of the data I have read, which contains information both pro and con regarding aspartame. One of the articles is by Ellen Guthrie of Multiple Sclerosis Focus. Since you are so vehement about aspartame causing multiple sclerosis, I especially wanted to check out that claim because my brother, mother and both of my grandmothers had MS.

My conclusion is that the data you cite, and that you have on your Web site, is not as convincing as the case for the safety of aspartame for the general public. I do not doubt that some people have problems with it, just like some people can't eat peanuts or shellfish without experiencing adverse reactions.

I also have reservations about some of the medical doctors you cite. They have their own agendas, such as selling books, holistic medicines and related products. You are doing a great job creating a hysteria and fear that drives people to buy their products and services.

This is the last e-mail I will send you personally. Do not send me any more e-mails or any other form of communication, because if you do I will consider it harrassment.

(November 30th, 2004): An email from a writer who writes food product reviews who has been harassed about aspartame...

I have found your site extremely helpful, and appreciate the voice of reason it provides.

I actually got an e-mail from Betty Martini herself today, ranting that I need to get "closer to my God" and realize that I'm killing innocent people with my article. She demanded that I retract it, and said I shouldn't be writing if I know nothing about the subject.

Whew.

I wrote her back and told her she didn't know what she was talking about, and that she owed me an apology.

Surprise surprise, she didn't answer.

Take care, and keep up the good work.

(July 29th, 2004):

THANK YOU for a fair, truthful, and balanced view on a controversial topic (which really shouldn't be).

All these persons who are "having reactions" to aspartame-containing drinks really need to stop and ask themselves some questions to pin down the true problem triggering their "symptoms". Perhaps the beverage was very cold and they drank quickly----maybe triggering a headache similar to the headaches triggered by eating ice cream too quickly?

I haven't a clue if the carbon dioxide that provides the bubbles in soft drinks might cause some type of reaction in some persons' bodies (besides belching ), but blaming aspartame so quickly merely detracts from identifying the "true culprit(s)".

I have multiple sclerosis, and I am a wheelchair-bound veteran from the "first" Gulf War in the early '90s. I was, and still am, repeatedly told by well-meaning persons, including doctors, that one or a combination of the following applied to my medical state:

1) I had heavy metal poisoning. (I have never, ever, been exposed to heavy metals, unless you count my grandparents' cast iron stove )
2) I needed to have all the silver fillings in my mouth removed, ASAP. (Funny, I've never heard of anyone exploding into flames from drinking water or eating salt . Didn't anyone stay awake in chemistry class?)
3) I had "aspartame poisoning" from consuming diet drinks while deployed to Saudi Arabia. (I don't drink colas, preferring iced tea, water, and milk)
4) I had "Gulf War Syndrome". (This term was coined in 1998 by Time magazine. Gee, I thought most persons would see this for what it was--a conflict of interest. Guess I was wrong. Then again, a good friend of mine claims she has a "bad back"--because a chiropractor IN A MALL told her so. Hmmm, perhaps "conflict of interest" is too difficult a topic to grasp )

Thank you again for your very refreshing "goldmine" found on the "Internet rainbow".

(July 9th, 2004):

Just a comment on coincidences - and "proof" of aspartame's side effects based on anecdotal evidence.

One in a million - a one in a million chance seems to be pretty rare until you realize that there are 318 million people in the US which means there are 318 one-in-a-million chance events occurring every day. And given the self-promoting, sensation seeking, and @%6&43 media combined with the wonders of modern communications, its no wonder we hear about all of them.

Aspirin is poison to some people, yet it is the wonder drug of the century. Aspartame is probably safe for some people and dangerous for others, but as yet, we have no way to predict its effect on a particular person.

FYI - I am a professor of aviation science and a neurofeedback practitioner/therapist. I have patients for whom MSG and aspartame are migraine triggers. Some other migraine suffers have no reaction to either. Go figure. I do recommend they discontinue using artificial sweetners just as I recommend they discontinue red dye, etc a la the Goldfein elimination diet used for ADD kids. We are all unique individuals and have different sensitivities / allergies to different things - if something causes you a problem, just stop doing it.

(March 12th, 2004):

Bravo for your web site. Like you, I am seeking to debunk the anti-aspartame spammers, who came to my attention recently after having been diagnosed as a diabetic. At first I believed them, until a wee bit of research revealed too many flaws in their arguments. A friend of mine, who buys into the Betty Martini rap hook line and sinker, insists that H.J. Roberts presents irrefutable evidence, but I cannot find much truth in Dr. Roberts' biography. The Order of St. George, for example, seems to have been conferred upon him by some crazy guy who goes around Palm Beach knighting people at cocktail parties...

(January 29th, 2004):

... thank you for this Web site. The industry Web sites are all skewed in one direction, the conspiracy theorists are skewed in the opposite direction, but this site seems to have no agenda, except for informing people in an honest way.

(December 1st, 2003):

After receiving the infamous markle e-mail from my mother, I decided to do a little digging. My first stop was www.snopes.com , which informed that the e-mail was, as I suspected, a hoax. After learning this, and knowing that my mom believed the email for at least a few days, I got a little angry and decided to do some digging. The e-mail forward originated from this website:

http://crazynut.theshoppe.com/feature-dietcokeornot.html

where it was posted as recently as 6-17-03. Crazy nuts indeed. I will be sending them an e-mail after this one. It gets me a little ticked off when sites like this advocate a known internet myth and get my mom to stop enjoying the things that she did for no good reason. She is aware now that is a hoax and things, but it still makes me a little mad. After some more digging, I found the aspatame.com site hosted by our friend, Jon Baum. This guy is most likely just motivated by an easy dollar, no mystery there.

The oddest character of the bunch by far is Edward Bryant Holman. I first saw his name under the registrar information for the nancymarkle.com website. After visiting a few more anti-aspartame websites, I noticed that this site and the aspartame support group shared a common religious theme. Namely, little pictures of angels with swords along the left border. I noticed the aspartame support group was hosted under the domain presidiotex.com, so I went to the root domain, http://www.presidiotex.com and found all kinds of information on the town of Presidio, Texas. This guy must really love his town to create a website devoted to it, when there already is one here, http://www.presidiotx.com which is actually owned by the city and offers almost identical content to Holman's page, minus the aspartame support group. Of interest here is that the town was founded by Frangelican monks, possibly where Holman gets his religious fanaticism. Also of interest, note the painting on the official Presidio homepage by Laurie Holman, which I can only assume is Edward's wife, who seems to share his fanatacism. God help thier child!

Anyway, this is just something I was doing in the past 30 minutes or so in between my classes hoping to find a little more information and someone to point the finger at for getting this false information forwarded to my mom. I was eventually led to your website and found you have done much more reasearch and investigation then I could ever hope to do. Thanks for helping to debunk this myth!

(May 19th, 2003):

I am in agreement that it is irresponsible for anyone to make blanket claims that aspartame kills, or to be over dramatic. But I also think it is just as irresponsible for anyone to conclude that it is definitely not the case. There is so little research (with any substantial sample sizes) to draw any positive conclusions. While it seems glaringly obvious that aspartame does not kill in the general population, I think it is also fair to say that it may have an impact on some sub-populations.

I am also a skeptic, but being in research I am forced to live by the policy that if I cannot prove without a doubt that it is true in 100% of all cases, then I must take a scientific / mathematical approach and limit what I say to what we can prove about affects on the general population with x% confidence level. Let us be clear about a false positive conclusion...No one has proven that this chemical has no effect on anyone.

I am in social research, and I will admit to knowing almost nothing about the chemistry of aspartame - or the politics behind any anti-aspartame sentiment. However, about 4 months ago I went to the emergency room because of dizziness, disorientation and increased blood pressure. No diagnosis was reached. A few weeks later the symptoms were significantly reduced, and during my follow-up visit my doctor attributed it to a possible virus. Last week the symptoms returned to a point where I again was in the emergency room and clearly having a panic attack. I have no history of anything of the sort, and I've always thought this type of behavior as lame and weak. My blood pressure maintained raised for over 10 hours at 50% of it's normal level. My pulse went from 62 to 95 over this same time frame. I am an incredibly cerebral person, so to be at a loss of my faculties for this period of time was the most scary thing I've ever experienced.

Obviously I am leading to trace my steps in these 2 instances and both involve extreme increases in the amount of aspartame that I ingested. (Of course you knew where this was going.) I probably drink about 2 carbonated beverages a year (I'm no organic fruit cake...I just don't care for most of them), and I just don't have the occasion to use Nutrasweet on anything I normally eat either. But last week I had been on a diet dr. pepper kick, and also had been delving into strawberries with Nutrasweet pretty hard. And thinking back to the first episode I happened to be on a little diet cream soda binge. Since I so abnormally drink soda, it jumped out at me that this coincided with the only 2 times that I can remember over the course of the last few years that I have indulged in aspartame to that degree.

Within a week I am now back to normal, aside from slight lingering dizziness which is lessening each day. I realize this evidence is circumstantial (with a sample size of 1), but I just think that it is worth noting that it is possible that some people may have a tolerance, or some people may just be more susceptible to affects. Any panic or anxiety sites warn of aspartame ingestion - the same way they warn about caffeine or other stimulants which have been proven safe for the masses.

Skepticism it be admired, so long as you remember to keep an open mind.

(May 23rd, 2002):

Good site guys, more power to you. I got that email 3 or 4 (heck it may have been longer) years ago I dutifully researched it and found it to be bogus. I actually sent back to every one on that particular list what i had found. Most were appreciative but there were a couple of people that couldn't be convinced that Monsanto wasn't trying to kill everyone on the planet.

(March 28th, 2002):

I'm a student at a community college in Fort Myers, Florida, and my assigned research paper topic in my English Composition class is "The Dangers of NutraSweet". I find your website very useful in my search for information, and I appreciate that the things I read on your site agree the info on NutraSweet's own website. I still have a lot of work to do, but I was wondering if there was any specific thing you felt should be highlighted in the paper. The main things I was going to focus on were the excess of fraudulent info and the abudant lies about aspartame and NutraSweet. Do you have any suggestions? Don't feel obligated to reply if you're busy. I just wanted to let you know I appreciated your site. Thanks.

(March 24th, 2002):

I have had a quick look at your site after having read a lot of the anti-aspartame stuff. I'll have to agree with the possibility that it may be a scare story concocted by competing companies - I've always wondered where the urban myths about "the MacDonald's chicken burger which wasn't ordered without mayonaise" or the "Kentucky Fried Rat" really originated from.

However - anything that releases Methanol can't really be good for you can it? This site gives a pretty objective view about the science behind the Aspartame fear:

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question536.htm

Drinking one tin of diet coke might not be enought to harm you, but I have occasionally sat down with a bottle of vodka and easily got through 2 litres of diet coke in one evening - so how much methanol would that make? I would agree with you that gullible scare mongering is very dangerous -but I think that you may be going to the other extreme here - total dismissal of people's fears can be just as dangerous as blind acceptance that there is a conspiracy. We have a problem in Britain at the minute with the MMR vaccine - scare stories are rife - but the government's attitude: "you're just being silly and we're going to force you to have it" is making things MUCH worse.

Funnily enough I HAVE been suffering from damaged eyesight, dry eyes, confusion, foggy head, aching joints and poor memory in the past few years - as to whether this is caused by Aspartame or by too much vodka remains to be seen ........

(February 23rd, 2002):

I want to tell you that I am tired of people telling me how dangerous Aspartame is, when I know that not to be true. It is amazing how gullible people are; they will believe anything as long as it is in print.

I get internet hoaxes in my email from time to time, and they are easy to spot because they usually tell you that this REALLY happened or is happening. They never give you reliable sources to check their claims out.

I lead a weight loss group, and we were discussing aspartame. I found your web site, and sent out the url to all of the people in my group.

Thanks for your web site.

(December 11th, 2001):

Thank goodness for a site like yours, where someone uses the sense that God gave them. It's very difficult to explain the difference between "correlation" and "causation" to most people, especially people who want to believe that their every ache and pain is related to a dread disease, a syndrome or a government plot. It's really exhausting. Maybe you could also tackle Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia? And maybe you could mention that exercise and PSYCHOTHERAPY are great ways to alleviate many of these symptoms. I'm not being facetious. Being a happier, fitter and less stressed person can reduce back and neck pain, headaches, gastrointestinal distress, memory loss, etc. Anyway, keep up the good work.

(August 12th, 2001):

Hi there, I just wanted to say that there are a lot of drugs, foods, etc that have been classified by agencies as carcinogens or unsafe or having considerable side effects that millions of people STILL use every day. I believe that these anti-aspertame people need to also look into these items to see if THEY are causing their problems!! Let's just not eat or drink anything anymore, and see how long we survive on good old water!

(July 31st, 2001):

Thanks for the time and effort you took to develop this information. I received that dreaded e-mail that convinced me that my fuzzy memory to my chubby thighs were caused by my little Diet Dr. Pepper and occasional Sween N Low habit. Luckily, I’ve gotten several hard to believe but very convincing such emails and was not taken in.(But it did inspire me to research a little on my own.) I’m also a teacher and like to teach my students to think for themselves and not believe everything they hear or read.

(July 23rd, 2001):

I saw a posting for one of the many "aspartame kills" article and became suspicious...though I have to admit I did panic for a moment given the amount of Diet Coke I consume. :)

After reading quite a bit from both sides, I came across your website. Thanks to your website, I can now reply to the posting with one website disputing the article rather than many.

While I believe that Diet Coke and the aspartame it contains certainly do not provide great nutritional benefits to me (and water would be so much better), it's good to know there are others out there willing to stand up to unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.

(June 6th, 2001) From someone who sent a good joke to the anti-aspartame support e-list...

I read some of your info on aspartame and I thank you for combatting some of the information out there. I sent this message out to the Aspartame Victims Support Group e-mail list. I thought you would get a kick out of it.

Sincerely,

"Mary Hogan" (not my real name)

Dear Aspartame Victims Support Group,

I really admire how everyone is trying to get the word out about aspartame. The internet has given us a powerful new tool to raise awareness about the harmful health affects of this common sweetener. We need to be especially mindful of the great injury aspartame can do to young people and teenagers, whose nervous systems are still developing and who are self-conscious about their weight and therefore prone to consuming aspartame-containing products. I think we need to undertake a special effort to reach youth and educate them about the dangers of NutraSweet and related products. I have written a brief story that I hope you can pass around to your loved ones and young people in your lives to teach them about the effects of this drug. Thanks everybody.

Best, Mary Hogan

Please, God, I Only Had 16 Cans of Diet Coke

What's wrong? Why is everything so black? I remember convincing my Mom to let me have that case of Diet Coke. All the other kids at school would be so impressed by how long I could hold my belches. She didn't want to let me have it at first, but eventually I managed to convince her. How proud I was when I popped open the silver-and-red cans, watching the sweet brown liquid effervesce from the aluminum cylinders. I felt so mature, so adult, as if I knew everything and nothing could ever harm me. So when a "friend" persuaded me to down the whole case, I didn't care about the risk...I thought only about the sweetness. Sure, I had read on the internet about all the side effects of aspartame. I read about the headaches, dizziness, loss of vision, brain tumors, numbness, and anxiety attacks. But what did they know? I only felt the cool liquid running down my throat faster and faster. I'm a young Diet Coke drinker; I'm invincible. Finally I had drunk the whole case. Finally, I was a winner. What's happening now? Everything's blurry. I can't feel my toes. My head is pounding; I'm can't hold my urine any longer. What's that noise? All I can hear is the sound of my parents sobbing, gasping, "Why? Why?" The Monsanto executives are all walking around like zombies. No, no, now I can't see anything at all. No! Please, God, I only drank 16 cans of Diet Coke!

(May 19th, 2001):

Thank you for having the courage of your convictions! I just received the Markle e-mail from a concerned friend, who, like me, prefers not to use artificial sweeteners and what have you. However, I am more than a little suspicious when I do not see proof that the "information" has been endorsed by a particular medical/scientific society, and no references are available for the supposed studies which have been done. As you already tell people, if they don't want to use Aspartame, then no-one is twisting their arms to make them do so! As a ex-pat European, I do believe herbal remedies have a place, but let's not throw out "modern medicine". People do not research anything for themselves, but blithely believe all the hype put out there by various "vendors". Herbs can help with lots of maladies, but not all. And just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it is harmless. Thanks again for your website.

(April 7th, 2001) From a recipient of the Markle email:

Greetings: I would like to thank you for your informative and sensible website. Like so many people, I was sent the infamous nutrasweet article. I am a drinker of diet soft drinks, averaging one diet drink per day. I do not believe that I have suffered any ill effects from drinks containing aspartame despite my having had almost all the symptoms described in the e-mail. Almost everyone I know has had these very vague symptoms at one point or another. Your website has given me some "ammunition" for the other side of the argument. Keep up the good work.

Wishing you well.

(March 22nd, 2001):

I am very glad that you have put so much effort into the defense of critical thinking. My mother swears that aspartame causes alzheimer's and cancer (probably even earthquakes!). I am going to send her to your site and hopefully it will easy some of her ungrounded fears.

(March 15th, 2001):

Your website is impressive, unfortunately I am too ill to read all of the important information. I don't know what to think now because I guess I have a more serious illness after reading just some of your comments on aspartame. I thought I was allergic to this chemical, but you have convinced me that I probably am not.

I was never one to drink diet cokes or use a sweetener. For one reason, many years ago I saw a PBS documentary about a woman who was (or was diagnosed as) poisoned by aspartame. She was in bad shape.

My unknown use of aspartame started a few months ago when I worked for a company that supplied free soft drinks, diet drinks. I began having vision problems, very scaring ones but only on two occasions. I stopped drinking the sodas only because it tasted so bad. I made no correlation that the vision problem stopped.

About two months ago our physical fitness son brought us some health bars. I did not look at the ingredients because they were "health" bars. I started having vision problems again, only in a different way. My husband had one episode of temporary loss of vision after eating a complete bar. These bars have aspartame which I did not know at the time. I never ate an entire bar at one time. Fast-forward to three weeks ago when we were having a visitor once a week who preferred a diet drink. For three weeks I indulged in an occasional diet drink, forgetting all that I suspected of aspartame and not realizing it was an ingredient in the drink. Again, I had the vision episode but worse ended up in the ER with a terrible pain in my head, nausea, weakness, and my limbs were trembling. They did a scan of my brain and could find nothing. MS was told to me... two letters I did not want to hear. Go have a battery of tests for MS.

Now after reading your article I am very depressed because a few moments before I had this terrible attack and ended up in the ER I had ingested a diet drink with aspartame. So, since your brother is a doctor and you are both so convinced that aspartame does not have these side effects I'm in trouble with my future health.

My sister drinks a lot of diet drinks and has had many episodes of passing out and pretty much the same symptoms that I thought were related to aspartame after this happened to me last week. Now, it seems that we both have a more serious problem to deal with, if you are right and all the thousands of people on the Internet are wrong. (I did some research but it seems like a waste of my time now.)

So, please put my long email on your small stack of people that have experienced what they thought was aspartame reaction just in case you learn something new -- and let me know if possible.

ARE THERE ANY CASES WHERE A PERSON DRINKS A CAN OF DIET SPRITE AND IMMEDIATELY ENDS UP IN THE ER? IF NOT, THEN I GUESS I AM THE FIRST TO FIND OUT I MAY HAVE MS IN SUCH A STRANGE WAY. I'M VERY DEPRESSED NOW. (By the way I took a Synthroid pill with the Sprite and my head immediately felt as if it was exploding -- and then I ended up in the ER with extremely high blood pressure.)

Thank you for your website. I apologize for this long email.

(February 27th, 2001) A few remarks from a heavy Diet Coke drinker...

Like most of the people who contact you, I too was a heavy drinker of diet sodas. I had heard all of the news about what aspartame products could do to humans...but I thought that only happened with people who had an allergic reaction to it. I felt that since I didn't have any symptoms of allergy, that I was okay. Well, after a period of time, I started going through serious headaches that would sometimes last for days. I took Tylenol and chased it with Diet Coke!!! My short term memory was fading...I began suffering from depression and bouts of anxiety...especially around my time of the month. My doctor put me on anti-anxiety medication...it calmed me, but I still had problems with memory and headaches.

After months of enduring this, I decided to start researching aspartame a little more. To my surprise, I read about the very symptoms I was experiencing! So...at that point, it was time to take the 60 day test. I am at a week now without it. I've got some withdrawal symptoms...but it sure seems like my memory is getting better....

Thanks for the info!!!!

(January 7th, 2001) Some comments from a skeptical storm-chaser.

I've heard persistent rumors linking Aspartame and brain cancer for several years now. However, being a naturally skeptical person, I presumed that those rumors were just that.....rumors. It's hard enough getting products approved by the FDA as it is, not to mention having to overcome people getting brain tumors. But then at breakfast this morning as I was reaching for a packet of Equal for my coffee a friend became so distraught that I ended up switching to Stevia just so she wouldn't start crying! It seems that her uncle is a Doctor and has been telling her about how Nutrasweet turns into wood alcohol at 86 degrees and causes blindness.

One of my pet peeves in life lately is urban legends, specifically those spread by email, so I was naturally suspicious of this latest Nutrasweet scare. I came across your web site after having already discovered several other web sites on this topic this afternoon. I am going to point her to your site as a starting point as you have a good summary and presentation on the topic. Then I think I will do some experimenting at the bar and come up with some particularly potent concoction of adult beverage that includes at least one packet of Nutrasweet and name it in honor of it's inspiration -- the Betty Martini...

(November 9th, 2000):

I have read your website and some of the references. Based on that and some additional research (although obviously not as thorough as yours) I concur with your position.

My question is: what is the objective of those who attack people like yourself and seem driven to scare people? I can understand misinterpretation but, other than the PKU issue, I can see no reason to be an alarmist about this issue.

Thanks for an informative site.

(October 29th, 2000):

Thank you for caring enough to research this issue and provide links to get to the real facts.

(October 23rd, 2000) From someone whose son was "educated" about aspartame via the Markle email.

I couldn't help but to respond to your email--I just came back from hearing... Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and when I read your words about being harassed, I thought of the contrast between the beauty of Beethoven's music... and the ugly behavior of those who try to intimidate or prey on the fears/ignorance of others. From the best of humanity to the worst...Be proud of yourself for speaking out when it would be far easier to be silent. I believe that is the definition of courage...

(October 22nd, 2000) From a lovely lady who loves both cats and her Diet Pepsi.

Thanks for trying to set the record straight about aspartame. I found it hard to believe that my beloved Diet Pepsi could cause all that heartache. ;) Just a few days ago I attended a weight-loss seminar and was again reminded that if I didn't give up my Diet Pepsi and other foods laced with aspartame I would not only be unsuccessful at losing weight, but might also be contributing to my early death from a mind-numbing array of aspartame induced illnesses. Give me a break!!! I have lost almost 80 lbs. in the last 18 months with the help of that sweet little product, aspartame. I also enjoy Wow potato chips often and haven't had an accidental bowel movement in my panties even once. But that's another, perhaps more valid, but no less hysterical subject.

I really appreciate the work you put into debunking this pseudoscientific hoax.

Jeers

(August 11th, 2007):

Too bad you never drank aspartame "diet " drinks for over fifteen years like I did, then you might have suffered some of those symptoms which you deride so much.

I had serious vision problems occurring spasmodically, stinging eyes, sudden interruptions in consciousness accompanied by gaps in memory, severe weariness in morning plus great drowsiness, all of which are listed aspartame symptoms which you mock, mister. I didn't get them psychosomatically, either, since they were all well defined by experience before I ever heard anything about aspartame or knew what the symptoms were supposed to be.

Then, on July 7, 2007, I saw a WND warning on aspartame: "Stop poisoning yourself--this sweetener could kill you!" So, I stopped! Now, just a month later, all those symptoms have disappeared.

Don't try to tell me aspartame didn't cause every one of those systems, fellow!

You'd better take another good look at an Alta Vista search for "Doctor Aspartame" [no quote marks in URL window]. Take a look at all those established medical professionals who warn "aspartame is one of the most dangerous additives on the market." I know, I was there! Then, you can start being honest and admit that many medical professionals DO condemn aspartame as highly toxic and dangerous to human health. It killed a monkey on an early toxic test, too. Funny, you never mentioned that.

--A knowledgeable retired engineer who knows what he's talking about, though you don't!

http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/aspartame.html
http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/sugarfree_blues.html

If you are a true skeptic, I would encourage you to be skeptical of the science of big interests, also.

(March 25th, 2006):

You can very well be smug about Aspartame and how safe it is. You are probably not eating or drinking anything with aspartame since you did put your little disclaimer at the end of your web page. But if you actually believe that in this day and age a rich corporation cannot control the federal government and cannot sneak a dangerous product onto the mass market then I have some land I want to sell you in the Everglades.

I can tell you from personal experience that stopping the use of aspartame for about the last two months has made me feel tremendously better. I have drunk diet coke for years thinking I was doing something good for myself. I have experienced several of the of the complaints shown in those supposed "scare web-sites". I am a locomotive engineer responsible for running passenger trains. It was getting to the point that my mind felt like a cement block when I tried to use it. I was sleeping very little at night. I was experiencing rage at the drop of a hat. I was experiencing chronic fatigue. I have experienced pain and lost muscle mass. This is no way to run high speed trains. I kept asking my family physician why. He could determine no reason for my health. The information on the aspartame poisoning hit every nail on the head! My wife's cousin and her husband drank diet coke constantly. Her husband had started going blind. They stopped drinking diet coke and his sight returned. These are real sir. So you go on and play the devil's advocate thinking you are really accomplishing something here. But unless you are totally devoid of any integrity or conscious you have to consider with all of the anecdotal evidence that has come in on this issue your stand may be telling people to go right ahead and keep poisoning yourself and worst of all your children. If you can slough off the poisoning of a poor defenseless child who cannot protect itself. Then God have mercy on your soul!

(March 4th, 2006):

So it turns out aspartame might kill after all. A study published this month has demonstrated that aspartame is carcinogenic in rats and therefore may pose a serious risk of cancer for humans as well. See the abstract below for the details. It's pretty compelling evidence supporting the serious health risk posed by aspartame. Who really needs that nasty tasting stuff anyway, a few extra calories from real sucrose isn't going to kill people...sheesh. It's the constant overload of calories from fatty junk foods and excessive carbohydrates combined with physical inactivity (and maybe a genetic predisposition) that is causing the obesity epidemic. Using artificial sweeteners to reduce a miniscule amount of calories is not going to help anyone lose weight. Even diabetics can eat regular sugar as long as they properly count carbs and administer correct insulin dosages. So why do we need artificial sweeteners, especially if they may cause cancer? The answer is we don't!

(January 1st, 2006):

,I am 66 and my body will reject the taste of phony sugar. So I am so glad to see the studies on the American Public the memory loss, only long term ,the young men drinking the stuff ,becoming hero's and wondering what war. That memory should be lost , it is a new year and I do hope it isn't aspertame for your sake. for you would blame yourself for helping kill a whole population of young people. Happy New Year .P.S. do take a look on the internet under this one word, and tell me you are so right. God bless

(November 13th, 2004):

Good luck selling this theory to the thousands of people who have reactions to the consumption of products with aspartame. They don't need your conclusions OR the conclusions of anti-aspartame websites, their "valid" evidence is their own undeniable first hand experience. You can run tests all day long, but if you're going to tell someone who just burnt themselves on an open flame, that fire isn't hot or dangerous... your wasting your time. The fact that your brother is a doctor doesn't amount to much when many doctors and specialists have been advising their patients against aspartame for years.

(May 26th, 2004):

While at an epilepsy foundation meeting I personally had a neurologist that I did not know stop me as I reached for a packet of aspertame and tell me that I "did not want to do that". He told me it was like "styrofoam at a garbage dump". It stays in the body forever. I know of several people who have had violent headache reactions to aspertame. I will not put this chemical in my body.

(April 13th, 2004):

Did you do any independent research or did you rely on published studies? I assume you actually fact-checked the research done by others. Strange that at the hospital where I work, our neurosurgeon will not touch aspartame, saying that it is linked to brain tumours. What of the allegations that aspartame, when heated to the temperature of the body during normal digestion, splits into formaldehyde and methanol? Again, have you done any independent work, or are you simply stating your opinion?

It seems intellectually dishonest to claim to debunk the myths about aspartame when you have done absolutely zero independent research. I'm not fan of pseudoscience - but I also hold a BA in Chemical Engineering - and from my review of the independent research, I can see no errors in their methodology. Of course - I have not independently verified the results, but I find a myth this persistent and ubiquitious usually has at it's heart a kernel of truth.

(October 31st, 2003):

I have read that nutrisweet has been found in brain tissues of cadavers. What do you think of this bit of information? Also personally the sweetner initiates migraines in me. This was not always true but with aging, I have directly linked the consumption of cola with aspartane to a headache within 30-60 minutes. This has been a historical study for me alone but I am assured it is due to a sensitization to the ingredient since there are no other connects.

Why are the opposition characterized as "rumor mongers" because they do not believe the benefits of this ingredient? i am double mastered prepared and work in the health field. I would not place my beliefs on another but I would address elimination of such items as aspartane if this were the only variable to determine if s/s improve. these can be complaints of headache, nausea to vision problems. We are a nation that wants our cake and eat it too and will select any tool to help us achieve that goal.

(September 25th, 2003):

My father is a chemist who was put in charge of setting up and running labs at both DuPont and Good Year. He retired from DuPont. I believe that my father serves as more of an expert on the chemical make up of Aspartame and its potential harms than do you or your brother. So, I will respect his many, many years of chemistry (he also was put in charge of Quality Control for a Nasa shuttle project) and his conclusion that Aspartame would have to have a negative impact to the human body just based on knowing the ingredients that make up Aspartame (phenylalanine and methanol). Common sense is all one needs to realize that there can be some real dangers by ingesting embalming fluids day after day, month after month, year after year. I believe that you do a disservice to those seeking real substantive answers to their health problems. Heck, you don’t even have to be an expert to understand that a combination of phenylalanine and methanol are a real nasty combination. One day, when all of the scientific studies do come out and show the tragedy of what Aspartame did to millions of peoples’ lives, you will have to live with yourself each and every day for how you intentionally influenced people to continue ingesting Aspartame. Of course, maybe you don’t have a conscience. With so much controversy about Aspartame, it seems to me that a rational thinking person would realize that Aspartame isn’t worth the chance of such potentially harmful effects to ones health. We have one body and one lifetime on this earth. Is Aspartame so important to ones food or drink that they would continue to take the risk of harming their bodies?

(June 19th, 2002):

Well I appreciate that not all persons may have their facts straight, but I can personally trace my Fibromyalgia back almost 18 years when I first started drinking soft drinks with Aspartame added. I have been off Aspartame for close to two years now...and no more Fibromyalgia! I was at the point of having to face a disability as I could barely walk...now I am once again a healthy human being. Regardless of some of the "untruths" in the research of this additive, there is obviously something not healthy about it.

(December 2nd, 2001):

I am writing my concerned toward this product. I just recently had a bad reaction with an Aspartame product. I drink the Myoplex drinks for fitness, well recently I've found out I needed to go low carb. The Myoplex Low Carb drink has Apartame in it. I have had headaches, extreme mood changes to the point that recently I cried for 4 days straight and had thoughts of suicide and wanted to die. I was in a extreme depression. This is and was no joke. I look back at my diet to evaluate what the change was and the product has that substance in to the point you can taste it and only it. I'm still recovering from this but had to change protein shakes again with no Aspartame. This stuff is mind altering . I was told it's mind altering like Cocaine or Morphine. Never Again!

(September 24th, 2001):

How much are you being paid to promote Aspartame and to disrupt anti-Aspartame discussion?

(September 1st, 2001):

50 years ago we were told that tobacco didn't kill and that was just a scare. We now know that tobacco does kill. I don't believe there is enough long term research where one can stand on the certainty that nutra sweet doesn't kill. Think about it.

(August 27th, 2001) Betty Martini, the anti-aspartame "super activist" chides us for bad behavior...

[Who pays you to lie?]

Aspartame Disease has been declared a global plague and the new medical text, 1038 pages titled Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, is at www.sunsentpress.com

We are now taking case histories for class action.

Shame on you as a physician misleading the public. Its against the law, Title 18, Section 1001.

A lady called who believed you and started using aspartame only to have a grand mal seizure. She said: "My doctor said aspartame is a seizure triggering drug but I read something from some doctor by the name of Lowry who said it was safe."

She almost died because of your misinformation!

Further Note: Ah, so Ms. Martini thinks that this woman is suffering from yet another unsubstantiated manifestation of aspartame disease! You know folks, there's a reason why Betty Martini isn't a doctor or scientist... because she doesn't analyze things in a rational manner.

For more information on this "global plague" and the author of the book Betty mentions, check out this link.

(June 28th, 2001):

Just happened upon your website during reserch....

I have recently had this whole aspartame conflict brought to my attention... and am conducting my own reserch into the saftey... Until I have a result I am satisfied with, I will aviod those products... I am pregnant and have two young children, and you can never be too cautious... However

my criticism is not related to the argument, more to your handeling of it..

For Starters, anyone who is anti-aspartame is in your jeers section, and you generally flame them in your initial comment of their email... no matter the content... Like... An email from someone who claims that aspartame put her kid into a coma. or the obviously callous From the Aspartame Kills webmaster, Jon Baum, where he denies any conflict-of-interest (yeah, sure...) There was NO obvious venom in his email... so what gives with the venom in reply? In addition... you state they have sent you nasty emails, and duped sites and all that crap.. but i see as much evidence of that as you state they have on their sites against aspartame...

In addition you and Al both stick in up front disclaimers of This is not a pro-aspartame site, it is not associated with Nutrasweet or Monsanto in any way, nor do I advocate for the use (or non-use) of aspartame in addition to both using freeserve as your hosts... pretty coinkydinkle if you ask me... we are also here having to believe you arent on the payroll of nutrasweet... with the same amount of evidence... besides... if you werent... why waste your time on a website, just to give these 'three' people the shits??

Honestly... I dont believe after reading your site, Al's, Marks and all the rest of them, i aint gonna get any answers on here... mind you... I shouldnt have expected much more than some childish fight between immiture people... after all.. thats all you find online these days... Why dont you guys just take it to a yahoo chat room (because you find nothing else but this kind of immaturity there) and leave the people who are trying to find answers out of it..

No doubt you will enjoy putting this in jeers with some derogitory comment in front of it... or maybe it wont make it there at all.. censorship and all that crap... Hell I dont even know why I am bothing writing it... not like you are going to think about anything I have said with anything but contempt...

After all... Your not on my payroll...

(June 1st, 2001):

Here are your peer reviewed studies on aspartame:

http://www.dorway.com/nonindus.html

You can find his full report here:

http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html

Further Note: This guy did exactly what I told him not to do... he referenced DORway to Discovery rather than actually cough up the hard-core peer-reviewed study that says "Aspartame causes ___________ in humans!" Wow, I must say that I'm not surprised.

(May 25th, 2001):

I just happened upon your web page and wanted to let you know that I am an aspartame survivor. I have suffered for years because of aspartame and have only recently discovered the link between the aspartame and my health problems. Unless you have suffered the debilitating effects of this toxin you cannot possibly understand the torment and pain endured by people like myself.

I had almost daily migraines for the last 7 years. I had chronic fatigue to the point of not being able to dress my daughter for school without being exhausted. I had major light sensitivity to the point of tears in the sunlight. I had constant neck and back pain. I had excessive thirst and hunger all the time...that was NEVER satisfied.

You can say what you will about people having a "placebo effect" from removing aspartame from their diet. I'll take the relief and health I now have, after removing aspartame, by any "label" you want to use...I AM NOW SYMPTOM FREE AND HEALTHY for the first time in nearly 20 years!!

Can you explain how I no longer have light sensitivity and exhaustion, etc? I have energy to spare everyday!! By the way, I'm 39 years old.

And as a footnote:

One little footnote...Both my kids were suffering because of aspartame too! My 7 year old daughter's hair was falling out and my son had violent temper tantrums and a rough, bright red facial rash. Now, my daughter's hair is filling back in and my son's facial rash is gone and his rages are all but gone!!

Oh, I've lost 15 lbs in the last 5 weeks since being off aspartame too!! Tell me....what is the benefit of a "diet" product that caused me and many others to gain weight???

Just food for thought...

(March 30th, 2001) Another email from the previous flamer:

I have found over 500 pages of case studies with people with similar symptoms. All of these people have a single thread of common ground. ASPARTAME. I have a sister in law who is married to a Surgeon in Atlanta. She has at least 10 symptoms that have been equated with Aspertame poisoning. She was thought to have lupus but after reading the logs of hundreds of people who have the same symptoms, has stopped using Aspartame products. Amazingly her symptoms have subsided. Hmmm...are you a Monsanto Hack?..hmmmm

just maybe?.

Follow-Up: Be watching this space to see if this person actually puts up or shuts up. My guess is that they'll reference something that is definitely not peer-reviewed medical research, and they will also continue to label me as a Monsanto-paid flunkie. Again, there's that iron-clad logic that my brother and I are so used to encountering when interacting with so many anti-aspartamers.

(February 4th, 2001) The esteemed Dave Oliver Rietz, author of the DORway.com website, reveals his true feelings for me:

[Don't look now,] but you name-calling disinformation artists ARE losing!

For folks like you... I really hope you DO consume the hell out of aspartame, MSG and cow's milk and dairy. That goes for Gorman, Barrett and all the other folks who TRY to trash the only thing we promote:

"If one has medical problems that their doctors cannot seem to cure (or they are too young to have old-age related problems) *AND* they consume products laced with aspartame, then try the FREE at-home 60-day NO-aspartame self-test... and simply observe the results".

Now... if you have no vested interest in aspartame remaining on the market...why does this offend/scare/trouble/panic (take your choice) you and your ilk so much?

You and your brother Raetz/shadow/whatever are most deserving of the end results.

Your web site at: http://doesaspartamekill.iwarp.com/about.html looks like a copyright infringement on Raetz's site.

(January 12th, 2001):

I had looked at a couple of web sites claiming that there is no proof of aspartame causing headaches.Well you need to talk to me. When aspartame first came out I thought it was great.If it had aspartame instead of sugar I bought it because I thought it was better for my family.My children (all four) complained of headaches and being dizzy,I felt the same way.My husband was not effected.I told my sister and she said that she read something about aspartame causing headaches.I stopped using it and the the dizzy spells and headaches went away.This was in 1983/1984.I haven't used it since. Just after christmas of 2000 I bought Folgers Cafe Late.I was drinking 3-4 cups aday.I started getting headaches,losing the vision in one eye and very bad dizzy spells.I thought I had the flu.After 2 weeks of this I read the ingredients on the cafe latte and it said it contained aspartame.NO WHERE on ! the label did it say contains aspartame.When i buy a new product I always look for that.I'm starting to feel better now but I still have a slight headache it's been 4 days when I had my last cup.I guess I'll have to read the ingredients in everything I buy since manufactures don't have to put that warning on the front of the label.I called Folgers to let them know and their health and safty dept. will be getting back to me.The operator asked alot of medical questions and want to know if I saw a doctor etc..I did not know that aspartame was in this product and I still got the headaches etc.Don't tell me that aspartame doesn't cause headaches,dizziness.In some people it does.

P.S. the operator at Folgers said that phenylalanine can be very harmful to some people.