17 February 2004
In reviewing the Congressional Record there is an interesting comment by Dr. Richard Wurtman of MIT. If you go to http://www.dorway.com and read the United Press International investigation of aspartame you will see Dr. Wurtman says he was threatened by the VP of Searle if he did studies on seizures his research funds would be rejected. They were. Today MIT gets research funds but Dr. Wurtman no longer speaks out against aspartame. Fortunately he left a paper trail including a book with some of his papers on the phenylalanine in aspartame, Dietary Phenylalanine and Brain Function, edited by Richard J. Wurtman and Eva Ritter-Walker, Birkhauser. I got my copy at Barnes & Noble on line.
You may note the propaganda the aspartame industry puts out includes saying these amino acids in aspartame are the building blocks of life. They fail to tell you as isolates, aspartic acid (an excitotoxin) and phenylalanine (a neurotoxin) are very deadly.
In looking at some testimony in the Congressional Record, and it says page 132 and 133, the l985 congressional record are these remarks:
The Chairman: As I understand it, the amino acid components of aspartame occur naturally in foods. Therefore, why would not individuals show the same effects from consumption of aspartame as they would from consumption of these same amino acids in other food products?
Dr. Wurtman: When you have aspartame, you are not obtaining any of the other amino acids...which are present in all proteins (aspartame is not a protein) that block phenylalanine's ability to pass from the blood to the brain. So even a small increase in blood phenylalanine will cause a very large increase in brain phenylalanine. To my knowledge, NO OTHER FOOD THAT MANKIND HAS EVER EATEN CAUSES THE CHANGES IN BRAIN CHEMISTRY THAT ARE PROVIDED BY ASPARTAME.
The Chairman: In view of the fact that phenylalanine occurs naturally in foods, does it follow, that you would recommend that these foods be labeled, also?
Dr. Wurtman: No, no. Because once again, the phenylalanine in foods has virtually no effect on brain phenylalanine levels because those foods also have the other amino acids that keep it from getting into the brain.
So when you hear all that poppycock about the building blocks of life know that is exactly what it is. The phenylalanine as an isolate goes directly into the brain as Dr. Wurtman told Congress. It lowers the seizure threshold and depletes serotonin. Lowered serotonin triggers manic depression (bipolar), mood swings, anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, paranoia, hallucinations, etc. And these are the horrors our kids are experiencing in schools all over the world.
Phenylalanine is unique in terms of brain metabolism and neurotransmitter function. It has the highest affinity for crossing the blood-brain barrier of all the circulating amino acids. Furthermore, the exit time required for brain levels to decrease by half is longer for phenylalanine than for several other amino acids (Lajtha l962). From Defense Against Alzheimers Disease, H. J. Roberts, M.D., http:// www.sunsentpress.com
Aspartame also interacts with all antidepressants as per Dr. H. J. Roberts in Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, http://www.sunsentpress.com or 1-800-827-7991. And our kids are medicated instead of educated.
Dr. Betty Martini
Founder, Mission Possible International
9270 River Club Parkway
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770-242-2599
http://www.dorway.com
http://www.wnho.net
Addendum: May 28, 2005: The book on Phenylalanine mentioned in this post has now been withdrawn from the MIT Library since Wurtman no longer speaks out against aspartame. However, we maintain research on these studies and information.