Study Links Aspartame To Cancer

A study of rats links low doses of aspartame -- the sweetener in NutraSweet, Equal, and thousands of consumer products -- to leukemia and lymphoma.

But food industry officials point out that many other studies have found no link between aspartame and cancer.

The rats in the study were fed various doses of aspartame throughout their lives. In female but not male rats, lymphoma and leukemia were significantly associated with daily aspartame doses as low as 20 milligrams (mg) per kilogram (kg) of body weight. And there was a trend toward these cancers at doses as low as 4 mg/kg of body weight.

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http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500368_162-712605.html

Dr. Betty Martini - New Study - Low Doses Of Aspartame Cause Cancer

Dear Betty,

My review of the first Ramazzini Study concluded that the study was one of the best designed, comprehensive and conclusive studies done to date on the multipotent carcinogenic potential of aspartame.

This second study is even more conclusive, in that it shows a dose-dependent statistically significant increase in lymphomas/ leukemia in both male and female rats exposed to aspartame. These two cancers are the fastest growing cancers in people under age 30.

Also, of major concern is their finding of statistically significant increases in breast cancer in animals exposed to aspartame. With newer studies clearly indicating that toxic exposures during fetal development can dramatically increase the cancer risk of the offspring, this study takes on a very important meaning to all pregnant women consuming aspartame products. Likewise, small children are at considerable risk of the later development of these highly fatal cancers.

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http://www.rense.com/general77/lowdoses.htm

Artificial Sweeteners Linked To Weight Gain

Want to lose weight? It might help to pour that diet soda down the drain. Researchers have laboratory evidence that the widespread use of no-calorie sweeteners may actually make it harder for people to control their intake and body weight.

Psychologists at Purdue University's Ingestive Behavior Research Center reported that relative to rats that ate yogurt sweetened with glucose (a simple sugar with 15 calories/teaspoon, the same as table sugar), rats given yogurt sweetened with zero-calorie saccharin later consumed more calories, gained more weight, put on more body fat, and didn't make up for it by cutting back later, all at levels of statistical significance.

Authors Susan Swithers, PhD, and Terry Davidson, PhD, surmised that by breaking the connection between a sweet sensation and high-calorie food, the use of saccharin changes the body's ability to regulate intake. That change depends on experience. Problems with self-regulation might explain in part why obesity has risen in parallel with the use of artificial sweeteners. It also might explain why, says Swithers, scientific consensus on human use of artificial sweeteners is inconclusive, with various studies finding evidence of weight loss, weight gain or little effect. Because people may have different experiences with artificial and natural sweeteners, human studies that don't take into account prior consumption may produce a variety of outcomes.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080210183902.htm

Shannon Clark - Help for Those With Blood Sugar Issues

Even if you aren't a full-blown diabetic, you can still have blood sugar issues that keep you from feeling your best.

If you find that you experience wide fluctuations in blood sugar levels throughout the day, going from high's to low's in a matter of minutes, it's no doubt that you're a little bit frustrated.

Luckily, there are things you can do with your diet and lifestyle to help control your blood sugar level and feel better throughout the day.

Here are some things to consider.

Always Have Some Fat With Your Meal

One way to help control your blood sugar is to try and make sure you are always having some fat with every meal you eat.

While protein will help to slow the release of the carbohydrates in the body, it's not going to do the same job that fat will. Fat takes a great deal more time to digest, so if it's included in the meal, it's going to slow the release of those carbohydrates into the blood. For you, this means less fluctuation in blood sugar levels.

Furthermore, because fat has a higher satiety effect, the chances that you are reaching for food a short time later are reduced as well.

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http://shannonclark.hubpages.com/hub/Help-for-Those-With-Blood-Sugar-Issues

Problems and Issues with Sugar

Sugar is empty calories that raise the insulin level as soon as we eat it. Too much sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin. Insulin is a hormone with extensive effects on both metabolism and several other body systems (e.g., vascular compliance). 

When we eat, our bodies break food down into organic compounds, one of which is glucose. The cells of our bodies use glucose as a source of energy for movement, growth, repair, and other functions. But before the cells can use glucose, it must move from the bloodstream into the individual cells. This process requires insulin.

Refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into just about every item we consume each day. This result in an elevated level of glucose in our blood stream and elevated levels of insulin is required. 

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http://www.mamahealthy.com/sweeteners-spices-ingredients/problems-and-issues-sugar

What are Common Health Issues Related to Sugar?

Health issues associated with the consumption of sugar are numerous. Since refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup are two simple sugars that are the most common additives in food, it is helpful to know just how many health conditions one is risking by over-consuming sugar.

Naturally, one of the big health issues related to the consumption of sugar is obesity. Refinedsugar, and sugars in simple carbohydrates like white flour bread, account for most of the weight gain people experience after reaching maturity. Especially since level of physical activity has decreased among many in the Western world, and the level of sugar consumption has increased, sugar is definitely a weapon that will result in excess weight.

Sugar consumption has also been indicated in raising bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol. Weight gain from sugar is indicated in hardening of the arteries which directly contributes to heart disease. Further, sugar definitely plays a role in developing some types of diabetes.

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http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-common-health-issues-related-to-sugar.htm

Anup Shah - Sugar

The first sweetened cup of hot tea to be drunk by an English worker was a significant historical event, because it prefigured the transformation of an entire society, a total remaking of its economic and social basis. We must struggle to understand fully the consequences of that and kindred events for upon them was erected an entirely different conception of the relationship between producers and consumers, of the meaning of work, of the definition of self, of the nature of things.

— Sydney Mintz, Sweetness and Power, quoted by Richard H. Robbins, in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, (Allyn and Bacon, 1999), p.208.

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http://www.globalissues.org/article/239/sugar

Adjuvanted Flu Vaccine Associated With Child Narcolepsy In Finland

A sudden increase in narcolepsy in Finnish children at the beginning of 2010 was likely related to the Pandemrix vaccine used in response to the H1N1 2009 flu pandemic, according to two reports published in the open access journal PLoS ONE. 

The authors of the studies, led by Markku Partinen of the Helsinki Sleep Clinic and Hanna Nohynek of the National Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland, found that the average annual incidence of narcolepsy between 2002 and 2009 among children younger than 17 was 0.31 per 100,000, and in 2010, this incidence was about 17 times higher, at 5.3 cases per 100,000. In contrast, the incidence rate for adults over 20 was essentially unchanged over that same time period. 

To further evaluate the potential connection between the vaccine and narcolepsy, the researchers collected vaccination and childhood narcolepsy data for children born between January 1991 and December 2005. 

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http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/243530.php

Mike Barrett - Cancer Rates Can be Cut in Half with Lifestyle Changes

Although cancer cures do exist – no, not in the form of mainstream medical treatment – these cures are still perceived as non-existent by many in the mainstream health community and abroad. Along with these lesser known cures, though, comes the ability to prevent cancer from developing in the first place, which most people would not argue with. In fact, cancer rates in the U.S. and other nations could be cut in half or more with the knowledge we have today. 

Pushed by many drug companies as the only ‘scientific’ method of combating cancer alongside chemotherapy, cancer drugs have been found to actually make cancer worse by causing tumors to ‘metasize’ aggressively and kill patients more quickly. Chemotherapy and radiation treatments are notorious for causing extreme damage to the body, and doctors know it. In fact, 3 out of 4 doctors wouldcompletely refuse chemotherapy due to its ineffectiveness, according to polls and questionnaires. Unfortunately for those accepting this treatment, not only will it cost thousands or 10′s of thousands of dollars while failing to solve the problem, but the treatment may even cause DNA mutations extending to offspring.

Read More:

http://naturalsociety.com/cancer-rates-can-be-cut-in-half-with-lifestyle-changes/