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January 19, 2000
Subject: Aspartame was only able to be approved because the FDA violated the law
Hello again
If you can spare a few minutes to read this through you'll understand why the FDA should be held responsible for the premature death and untold suffering of millions of people around the world...
Here is Betty Martini's conclusion at the end of this brilliant esposé of years of campaigning and research to find out and expose the truth about this humongous and deadly scam...
"I believe that the FDA should be indicted for malfeasance, and Monsanto for genocide."
Jean Hudon Earth Rainbow Network Coordinator http://www.cybernaute.com/earthconcert2000
From: Betty Martini <Mission-Possible-USA@Altavista.net>,
At 10:40 AM 1/17/00 -0500, DrSterns@aol.com wrote: >Hello, > I got a confused looking E-mail asking about myself from your address. I >am Dr. Stillwell and an expert in brain malignancy. Aspartame has not been >linked to human brain tumors, but with all that is being consumed, any >linkage would be apparent over time. Grade III astrocytoma is NOT >glioblastoma, only grade IV is. I'm sorry to hear that a cousing passed away >from a brain tumor. > Best Wishes, Dr. Stillwell
Dear Dr. Stillwell,
Thank you for getting in touch. I can understand you not knowing that aspartame has been linked with brain malignancy because Monsanto and the FDA have targeted physicians for misinformation. The FDA sends out the IFIC brochure on aspartame that reads like it was written by Mother Goose. You will see it rebutted by Mark Gold with medical references on http://www.dorway.com
In reality aspartame was kept off the market for 16 years because of the brain tumor issue. If you check out the secret trade information on http://www.dorway.com you will notice that the original manufacturer, Searle, (Monsanto bought them in l985) said they had to consider complete conversion to DKP, and if the FDA found out they wouldn't approve it. John Olney, M.D., who founded the field of neuroscience known as excitotoxicity, made world news over the aspartame/brain tumor association in l996. He mentioned that DKP or diketopiperazine is a brain tumor agent. It is literally a cyclization of the entire aspartame molecule. And it arises from one of the carboxyl groups of the aspartic acid molecule reacting with the amine group of the phenylalanine molecule which is the way the amino acids always react with each.
So, if this is a brain tumor agent as Dr. Olney says, then you would expect it to trigger brain tumors in studies. It did. In fact, aspartame was kept off the market for 16 years because of the brain tumor issue, as it triggered astrocytomas in rats. Searle even excised tumors from the rats and put them back in the study. One rat was alive one day, then dead and then alive again. Interesting, this "resurrection" on paper. In fact, in August l974 Consumer attorney James Turner and Dr. John Olney, Washington University researcher, filed objections to FDA's approval of aspartame citing evidence of brain lesions and neuroendocrine disorders in animal studies and concerns that aspartame could cause brain damage and mental retardation in humans.
On July 23, l975, FDA Commissioner Schmidt appointed a task force to investigate Searle's animal studies on aspartame to determine if Searle submitted false information to FDA. On Dec 5, l975 Turner and Olney waved their right to a public hearing and agreed to a Public Board of Inquiry to hear safety concerns. The FDA task force concluded that some of Searle's research practices were so severely flawed that test results were unreliable. Yet, based on this conclusion the FDA upheld aspartame approval and the Public Board of Inquiry was delayed.
On March 24, l976 the FDA task force reported "At the heart of the FDA's regulatory process is its ability to rely upon the integrity of the basic safety data submitted by sponsors of regulated products. Our investigation clearly demonstrates that, in the G. D. Searle Company, we have no basis for such reliance now." The Task force further said, "Some of our findings suggest an attitude of disregard for FDA's mission of protection of the public health by selectively reporting the results of studies in a manner which allays the concerns of questions of an FDA reviewer." (FDA Searle Investigation Task Force Chaired by Carlton Sharp. "Final Report of Investigation of G. D. Searle company" March 24, l976)
In July l976 in response to the task force findings, FDA decided to investigate aspartame studies to determine whether they could rely on these studies to assess aspartame's safety. On January 10, l977 in a 33 page letter, FDA Chief Counsel Richard Merrill recommended to U.S. Attorney Sam Skinner that a grand jury investigate Searle for "apparent violations of the Federal Food, Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.>S.C. 331 and the False Reports to the Government Act, 18 U.S.C. 1001 for "their willful and knowing failure to make reports to the FDA required by the Act, 21 U.S.C. 355 and for concealing material facts and making false statements in reports of animal studies conducted to establish the safety of aspartame." The FDA called special attention to studies investigating the effect of NutraSweet on monkeys an hamsters.
Why were they not indicted. Because two U.S. Prosecutors, Sam Skinner and William Conlon hired on with the defense team, Sidley
Austin, and the statute of limitations expired. Let's face it, Dr. Stillwell, if the District Attorney goes to work for the godfather expect acquittal!
NutraSweet was kept off the market by the FDA because of the brain tumor issue until l981 when President Reagan appointed Dr. Arthur Hull Hayes to do the deadly deed. On September 30, l980 The Public Board of Inquiry had concluded that NutraSweet should not be approved pending further investigations of brain tumors in animals. The board stated it "has not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive."
Dr. Hayes over-ruled the Board of Inquiry and approved aspartame in l981. He resigned and then went to work for Burson-Marsteller, Searle's public relation firm. And he has refused to speak to the press ever since including a few weeks ago when Fox News in Washington, D.C. did an expose on aspartame and went to his house. If you have audio you can hear the 12 minute news report on http://www.dorway.com and http://www.aspartamekills.com
There were two heros of the FDA, their senior toxicologists, Dr. Verrett, and the late Dr. Adrian Gross who was on site. They tried to prevent the approval of this neurotoxin. Dr. Verrett said the studies were built on a foundation of sand and should be thrown out. Dr. Adrian Gross testified before Congress and his words are very profound. (8/1/85. Remember he took part in on-site investigations at Searle laboratories. He said: "at least one of those studies has established beyond any reasonable doubt that aspartame is capable of inducing brain tumors in experimental animals and that this .. is of extremely high significance." He also testified that because aspartame was capable of producing brain tumors and brain cancer, FDA should not have been able to set an allowable daily intake of the substance at any level. And even the FDA Commissioner admitted that the ADI was set for rats and not humans.
Dr. Gross said "In view of these indications that the cancer causing potential of aspartame i a matter that has been established WAY BEYOND ANY REASONABLE DOUBT ONE CAN ASK: What is the reason for the apparent refusal by the FDA to invoke for this food additive the so-called Delaney Amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act?"
The Delaney Amendment makes it illegal to allow any residues of cancer causing chemicals in foods. In his concluding testimony Gross asked, "Give the (cancer causing potential of aspartame) how would the FDA justify its position that it views a certain amount of aspartame as constituting an allowable daily intake or 'safe' level of it? Is that position in effect not equivalent to setting a 'tolerance' for this food additive and thus a violation of that law? AND IF THE FDA ITSELF ELECTS TO VIOLATE THE LAW, WHO IS LEFT TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE PUBLIC?" (Congressional Record SID835:131 (August 1, l985)
So, I'm sure you get the point, aspartame was only able to be approved because the FDA violated the law. They can't get around that, so now the Delaney Amendment has been repealed. Industry has it ways.
If you will go to http://www.dorway.com and read two of Dr. Gross' letters to Senator Metzenbaum, about 12 pages each, you will see all the brain tumors triggered by aspartame in original studies. And you can read the FDA's own audit, the Bressler Report, one study. Aspartame in original studies triggered brain, mammary, ovarian, uterine, testicular and pancreatic tumors. It also triggered pituitary adenomas and grand mal seizures.
Also, one study considered pivotal and used in the approval of aspartame was SC-18862, a 52 week oral toxicity infant monkey study. Seven infant monkeys were fed aspartame, 5 had grand mal seizures and 1 died. I wish someone would explain to me how this shows safety for humans. Perhaps it just because 84% of the monkeys had grand mal seizures, no people! Also, if you look at the FDA report of 92 symptoms triggered by aspartame you will note four types of seizures triggered by aspartame. There have been in excess of 1000 complaints from pilots and a great number are having grand mal seizures in the cockpits of commercial airliners. See Dr. Russell Blaylock's interview on Mission Possible Radio on http://www.dorway.com He discusses the effects of aspartame on the brains of pilots and these seizures.
Dr. Adrian Gross analyzed a study on rats listing 14 blunders, unreported tumors, incomplete examinations, hiding deaths, destroying rats before they were analyzed, etc. He wrote Senator Howard Metzenbaum: "The views of the FDA's Center for Food Safety read like a script for Abbott
Costello, perceptions inside-out and upside down.. 329 fetuses examined in 2 days by a single person, a clear impossibility" Imagine an Abbott
Costello play called Malice in Blunderland.
Here's another point, doctor. At the time of aspartame approval brain lymphoma was rare. Today it is projected to be the third most common brain tumor. See Dr. H. J. Roberts peer reviewed research on aspartame and brain tumor on http://www.dorway.com Also see Dr. John Olney's update from his original paper in l996 when he made world news.
Today we have these brain tumors escalating in the population as Dr. John Olney stated. Would you say, the FDA knows? Would you believe, Dr. Michael Friedman, of the FDA actually got on 60 Minutes and defended Monsanto? Maybe Monsanto told him to do them a favor and they would take care of him later. We've been sending Dr. Friedman the case histories pouring in from all over the world for years. In June, Monsanto did take care of Dr. Friedman. THEY HIRED HIM! Think about it, how could you read those case histories daily of shattered lives by this chemical poison, and then go to work for the manufacturer? I told him the FDA no longer needed a revolving door - they could just build bridge to take care of the traffic!
There was a young girl who died of a brain tumor in the UK and a trust fund was set up. Seems the trust fund won the lottery but however the money became available it was given to Kings College in London to do research on possible links between aspartame and brain tumor. This is being headed by neurochemist Dr. Peter Nunn there. Well, you should have heard Monsanto's denials. They actually said "It is physiologically impossible for aspartame to cause brain tumors because it never enters the bloodstream and thus cannot travel to essential organs, including the brain." I wonder of they sit up at night thinking of denials. Of course, it enters the blood stream. As Dr. Roberts says in his book "Aspartame (NutraSweet) Is It Safe? "After ingestion there is a rapid breakdown and absorption of aspartame within the upper gastrointestinal tract. This results is a prompt rise of the two amino acids in the blood stream."
However, in order to rebut this absurdity I used industry material. Go to http://www.dorway.com and read Answering Monsanto's Denial Of The Aspartame/Brain Tumor Issue. We put the facts all over England in one night, sending it to the media. Iceland in the UK has now banned it in their foods. And back on June 20, the Independent in the UK ran a front page story above the Royal Wedding on aspartame being a GM product.
Someone said to me recently, "It seems like everyone knows somebody with a brain tumor". I find that to be the case. I know even in talking to the receptionist in a dental office and providing them with warning flyers, she said: "We have four people in our family who are diet soda addicts." I replied "I would imagine they have medical problems." She said: "Well, they are definitely not healthy, our four have brain tumors." I do not believe that all of them are being reported and even CDC admitted to me some years ago that only 10% of what they ask to be reported actually are reported. I helped them in some research on leukemia many years ago, and that was the case. Also, while this is simply hearsay, I did try to check out the statistics one year on astrocytomas. In calling one tumor registry I was told by a young girl "I can't give you the statistics on astrocytomas because I was told if anyone asks do not give them out". I said to the young girl, "Is there a reason ?" She replied, "I guess they just don't want the public to have the records". I think if someone went door to door they would shocked at the amount of brain tumors, because everywhere you go you hear about them.
And Monsanto certainly has their bases covered. They fund the trade organizations and write their material. One IFIC document said "no way aspartame can trigger cancer". Monsanto even funds Congress like Senator Orrin Hatch who is running for President. There have been three congressional hearings because of the outrage of the symptoms on this neurotoxin. Because of heavy Monsanto lobbying and funding of Congressmen even a bill by Senator Metzenbaum requiring independent studies on the problems being seen in the population never got out of committee. And there is connections with people in high places and facilities. Judge Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court was once a Monsanto attorney. John Hopkins continues to say aspartame is safe, so in looking on Monsanto's Board, yes there is someone from John Hopkins. I remember some years ago a man by the name of Short got in touch with me. He said he had a friend, a very wealthy woman, who knew there was a connection between aspartame and brain tumors and wanted it discussed at John Hopkins. Why? Because she only had two daughters, both Diet Coke addicts, and both had brain tumors, astrocytomas and glioblastomas. I sent the records by Federal Express and they were flown to John Hopkins. The head neurosurgeon came in drinking his Diet Coke and put a stop to the meeting. By this time I suspect both girls are dead.
And yes, aspartame is an addicting drug that interacts with other drugs and changes brain chemistry. A six page report is now in the January issue of Townsend Letter for Doctors on Aspartame Addiction by Dr. H. J. Roberts. It will soon be transferred to the http://www.dorway.com web site. Incidentally, Dr. Roberts has now declared Aspartame Disease to be a world epidemic. He has completed a 700 page medical text on the world plague that is ready for publication. It just may be the largest epidemic in world history.
So what is the FDA doing about all this? Just lying and denying and telling people aspartame studies proved safety! Be assured I'm not saying anything behind their back that I haven't said to their face. Please note above that a copy is going to Dr. Jane Henney, FDA Commissioner, who has yet to answer one of my letters. And what are her credentials. They are quite high - in fact, Dr. Henney is an oncologist. So you would think she would be concerned and as a woman with maternal instincts care that babies are being born with brain tumors, no eye balls, autistic, mentally retarded and all sorts of birth defects because there is no warning for pregnant women. And we as consumers have to warn OB-GYN physicians and physicians like yourself. Obviously, those responsible to solve the problem ARE the problem.
The misinformation put out by the FDA is a crime because when you target physicians with this propaganda, they cannot accurately diagnose their patients. And now the FDA is asking Congress for an astronomical amount of money to prevent misinformation on the Internet. And who is putting out that misinformation? The FDA and trade organizations, girl friends for hire, those who have their hand out for funding to endorse industry's products regardless of safety.
Dr. James Bowen told the FDA years ago that aspartame is mass poisoning of the American public and more than 70+ countries of the world, and that everyone involved in the marketing of aspartame or helping to keep it on the market should be criminally prosecuted. Also read Dr. Schwartz (world famous toxicologist) letter to the NutraSweet Team . Both on http://www.dorway.com Today Dr. Bowen, a NutraSweet victim himself suffers with Lou Gehrigs Disease.
The FDA just doesn't care. Aspartame hardens the synovial fluids and triggers agonizing joint pain. So Monsanto decides they will make some more money on the agony of the public and get approved Celebrex for this problem. In the first 13 weeks 10 people died and others suffered gastrointestinal problems. I keep hearing case after case of people bleeding big time from the dangerous drug. And it could be interacting with aspartame which originally had a drug application and is a drug, of course, that also triggers gastrointestinal problems big time. I understand a lot more people have now died but I would probably have to file a Freedom of Information document to get the amount. What does the FDA do about it? They just approved it for other uses. What loyalty to Monsanto!
I think doctor, you will agree that if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck, quacks like a duck, hangs around with other ducks, and people call it a duck, there is a good possibility its a duck. What we have here is the drug aspartame masquerading as an additive that breaks down to a brain tumor agent, triggered brain tumors in lab animals, was kept off the market for 16 years because of the brain tumor issue, violated the Delaney Amendment because it triggered brain tumors, and a Board of Inquiry said not to approve it because of the brain tumor issue. Do you think there is a relationship between aspartame and brain tumors? Does 2 plus 2 equal 4?
It is also of interest that virtually 100% of independent research NOT FUNDED BY THE MANUFACTURER shows problems with aspartame. Dr. Ralph Walton discussed this on 60 Minutes with Dr. John Olney and is peer reviewed research is on http://www.dorway.com Who will you believe? Back in the late 80's, Dr. Paul Spiers did an independent study on aspartame and found that it reduced intelligence, triggered memory loss, and loss of concentration, etc. He was very adamant it. Yet in l999 it repeats the study and this time he says the study showed safety. What was the difference between the study in the late 80's and the study in the late 90's? The one in the 90's was funded by Monsanto! If you guessed that, you get an A for logical reasoning.
I would be very interested in information you have on astrocytomas. I have done some research and did think that Grade III and IV were glioblastomas. You say here that only grade IV is a glioblastoma. I would like some more information. When you said that I looked it up in the Tabers Medical Dictionary. I have edition 16. Here's what it says under astrocytoma:
"Tumor composed of astrocytes. Classified in order of increasing malignancy as: Grade I, consisting of fibrillary or protoplasmic astrocytes; Grade II, astroblastoma, q.v.; and Grades III and IV, glioblastoma multiforme, q.v., consisting of a mixture of spongioblasts, astroblasts and astrocytes."
I take the case histories and I can tell you we are seeing a lot of glioblastomas. Kelli Motluck started out with astrocytomas and eventually she had glioblastomas. She was a heavy user of aspartame. Left a grieving husband and young child. Her last words to me were: "I want to live, I want to live, and if I don't you promise me you will let the world know that Monsanto caused my death." I also wept when young Cyndi Veth died. And when Captain Paul Callahan, an American Airline Pilot, died of one of these tumors we dedicated a radio program, Mission Possible Radio, to his name. He was a heavy user of aspartame, was grounded because of a grand mal seizure and then developed these brain tumors. I especially weep for them when they were so young and had little children who will grow up without a parent.
I believe that the FDA should be indicted for malfeasance, and Monsanto for genocide. Mission Possible International is a worldwide unpaid volunteer force warning all consumers off this neurotoxin. On the back of Dr. Blaylock's book, Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills it says that the ingredients in aspartame literally stimulate the neurons of the brain to death causing brain damage of varying degrees.
I hope you will access http://www.dorway.com You can send an empty email to help@dorway.com for a map of the 500 pages on aspartame that prints out to 8000 pages including the damning CDC investigation, the protest of the National Soft Drink Association, the Bressler Report (FDA audit), FDA report of documented symptoms triggered by aspartame, and a river of information by physicians who are experts in aspartame. Be sure to read the recent aspartame expose in the UK paper, the Sunday Express. If you wish to speak to any of the aspartame experts mentioned in this note advise and I will give you their numbers.
All my best,
Betty Martini,
Founder Mission Possible International
Mission Possible Aviation
770 242-2599