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See also:
Aspartame kills fire ants (and so much more)
And:
Artificial Sweeteners (general article)
http://www.rense.com/general78/psych.htm
-
Aspartame & Psychiatric Disorders
By Ralph Walton, MD
9-20-7
-
- Although psychiatry is far
from an exact science, over the past half century there has been
an explosive growth in our understanding of the human brain and
consequently in our ability to diagnose and treat mental
disorders. We have also become much more sophisticated about the
impact of a variety of toxins on psychological processes.
-
- I am convinced that one
such toxin is aspartame.
-
- Two years after aspartame
was introduced onto the market I first became aware of the
negative impact of this artificial sweetener on the central
nervous system. I had been treating a then 54 year old woman
with imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant, because of
recurrent major depressive episodes. Previous psychoanalytically
based therapy had proven ineffective, but she responded
dramatically to 150mg of imipramine per day. She had done well
for 11 years on this medication, but was then suddenly
hospitalized with a grand-mal seizure and subsequent manic
episode.
-
- One could postulate that
she was bipolar, and the antidepressant had triggered the mania
- but she had been on the same medication for a total of 11
years, and for the previous 5 years at the same 150mg per day
dose. Neither the seizure nor her mania was consistent with what
we know about the clinical course of bipolar disorder or
epilepsy. Careful history revealed that the only change in her
life was a recent decision to switch from the sugar which she
had always used to sweeten her iced tea to a newly marketed
product with aspartame.
-
- Since aspartame can alter
the balance of certain neurotransmitters which we believe are
involved in mood disorders and can, in my opinion, alter the
seizure threshold, I advised my patient to avoid all aspartame
products. She did so, and had no further seizures, no further
manic or depressive episodes. I discontinued the lithium
carbonate which I had started when I mistakenly concluded that
she had a bipolar disorder, reinstated her imipramine and she
has continued to do well.
-
- After this case report was
published in the medical literature, many patients with
unexplained seizures or treatment resistant psychiatric problems
were referred to me. I became increasingly convinced that
aspartame could both trigger seizure activity and mimic or
exacerbate a variety of psychiatric disorders. I presented a
paper based on those patients at a 1987 MIT sponsored conference
on Dietary
-
- Phenylalanine and Brain
Function.
-
- Industry sponsored
criticism was made that my conclusions regarding aspartame's
toxicity could not be accepted as valid because my case reports
were "merely anecdotal" and not based on double blind research.
Unfortunately case reports do not currently have the respect in
the mainstream medical literature which they deserve
(historically much of medical progress has been based on careful
observation of individual patients).
-
- Nevertheless, I was so
convinced of aspartame's toxicity, and the need to have its
hazards more widely appreciated in the medical community, that I
did undertake a double blind study. That study -"Adverse
Reactions to Aspartame: Double- Blind Challenge in Patients from
a Vulnerable Population" was published in Biological Psychiatry
in 1993. It demonstrated that individuals with mood disorders
are particularly sensitive to aspartame and experienced
an accentuation of depression and multiple physical symptoms. I
had expected that the difficulties experienced by patients
receiving aspartame would be fairly subtle (the dose of
30mg/kg/day was well below the level of 50mg/kg/day which the
FDA considered "safe"). I was not prepared for the severity of
the reactions, and for obvious ethical reasons cannot perform
any further human studies with aspartame.
-
- Over the ensuing years I
have continued to see the multiple neurologic and psychiatric
consequences of aspartame use. It can lower the seizure
threshold and lead to an incorrect diagnosis of epilepsy, with
subsequent inappropriate prescription of anticonvulsants. It can
mimic or exacerbate symptoms of MS, it can paradoxically produce
carbohydrate craving and weight gain. The world-wide epidemic of
obesity and type 2 diabetes obviously has multiple causes, but I
am convinced aspartame is a major factor.
-
- The explosive increase in
our knowledge base in the neurosciences I referred to earlier is
a topic beyond the scope of this brief report, but to
drastically oversimplify, we know that in a variety of
psychiatric
- disorders there is a
disturbance in the balance of certain neurotransmitters.
Specifically, serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine and
acetylcholine are all major players.
-
- Aspartame can affect the
levels & balance of all these transmitters. It impairs the
absorption of L-tryptophan, the major precursor in the synthesis
of serotonin.
-
- The phenylalanine from the
dipeptide component of the aspartame molecule, is a major
precursor in the norepinephrine-dopamine synthetic pathway.
Recent research demonstrated that aspartame reduces
acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme which breaks down acetylcholine
- a key player in the central nervous system, with an important
role in cognition and memory, and with a reciprocal, inhibitory
relationship with dopamine.
-
- We are not sophisticated
enough at this point in time to fully understand all the
implications of the neurochemical changes induced by aspartame,
but as a busy clinician I see the profound impact on patients'
lives on a daily basis. It can both produce and aggravate
depression, in certain patients it can trigger manic episodes,
it can produce or aggravate panic attacks. Some of my patients
have experienced a complete cessation of panic attacks and
needed no further treatment after they completely eliminated
aspartame from their diet. Certain schizophrenic patients have
experienced fewer auditory hallucinations or needed less
antipsychotic medication after the elimination of aspartame.
-
- It is essential that there
be much greater awareness of the hazards of this highly toxic
substance!
-
- Ralph G. Walton, M.D.,
- Medical Director, Safe
Harbor Behavioral Health
- Professor of Clinical
Psychiatry, Northeastern Ohio
- Universities College of
Medicine
- Adjunct Professor Of
Psychiatry, Lake Erie College of
- Osteopathic Medicine
-
- Dr. Walton's aspartame
study: "Adverse Reactions to
- Aspartame: Double-Blind
Challenge in Patients from a
- Vulnerable Population:
-
http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Aspartame-Adverse-Reactions-1993.htm
-
- Dr. Walton's research on
Scientific Peer Reviewed
- Studies and Funding:
-
http://www.dorway.com/doctors.html#walton
-
-
- Additional data on
aspartame: http://www.mpwhi.com/
- http://www.mpwhi.com
- www.mpwhi.com
- www.dorway.com
http://www.wnho.net/
- http://www.wnho.net
- Aspartame Toxicity Center:
-
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame>www.holisticmed.com/aspartame
-
- Betty Martini, D.Hum,
Founder
- Mission Possible
International
- 9270 River Club Parkway
- Duluth, Georgia 30097
- 770 242-2599
-
- Note from Betty Martini:
-
-
- I've been out of town for
a lecture, reason no mail on lists. This excellent new paper by
Dr. Walton was distributed to an audience particularly concerned
with psychiatric and behavioral problems. Also read Dr. Walton's
comments about Abby Cormack of New Zealand who made world news
when she was poisoned by aspartame in Wrigley's gum and about to
be diagnosed as bipolar.
-
-
-
- http://www.mpwhi.com/experts_on_aspartame_and_abby_cormack.htm
Off aspartame her symptoms disappeared. In New Zealand there
were particularly sad aspartame/bipolar cases where families
were wrecked. You can see Dr. Walton in the aspartame
documentary "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" which is still
being shown to audiences in NZ. It is alarming that in NZ they
want Diet Coke sweetened with aspartame to be in "all" schools.
The Minister of Health has been provided with "Report for
Schools"
- http://www.mpwhi.com/report_on_aspartame_and_children.htm
The first article in these reports is by Dr. Walton.
-
- As to alternatives for
schools there is a new product just made available this month
called Fiber 1, by Just Like Sugar, and it won't be in plastic.
With aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful/Canderel/E951/Benevia,
etc.) triggering psychiatric and behavioral disorders it must be
immediately removed from schools. Good nutrition is so important
for children. Today they are medicated instead of educated.
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Note: babywhys.org does not necessarily
agree with all opinions offered in articles posted to this site or the yahoo
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