There is a petition currently in front of the FDA from the dairy and milk industries to be able to alter the definition of milk to include chemical sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose. If this gets approved they will not have to tell you on food labels that deadly, poisonous chemicals are in your food.
The following is a excerpts from the petition that has been filed: "IDFA and NMPF request their proposed amendments to the milk standard of identity to allow optional characterizing flavoring ingredients used in milk (e.g., chocolate flavoring added to milk) to be sweetened with any safe and suitable sweetener -- including non-nutritive sweeteners such as aspartame."
and
"IDFA and NMPF argue that nutrient content claims such as 'reduced calorie' are not attractive to children, and maintain that consumers can more easily identify the overall nutritional value of milk products that are flavored with non-nutritive sweeteners if the labels do not include such claims. Further, the petitioners assert that consumers do not recognize milk -- including flavored milk -- as necessarily containing sugar. Accordingly, the petitioners state that milk flavored with non-nutritive sweeteners should be labeled as milk without further claims so that consumers can 'more easily identify its overall nutritional value'."
Basically this is saying people are not choosing the reduced fat/low calorie option so much and by adding chemical sweeteners that are very low in calories, they are helping the obesity epidemic that is strangling our country. This really is a big lie though. There is nothing healthy at all in these chemical sweeteners. They are dangerous and very deadly when consumed. How do I know? Well I am glad you asked that question too.
I am very sensitive to additives and chemicals that are added to pre-made and pre-packaged food. I get some very intense digestive discomfort (I will spare you a detailed description) and a very fast-setting migraine I have never been one to have these problems until I suddenly one day started having some severe reactions to the food I was eating. It took me several years to figure out what was causing these reactions but I was able to narrow it down to artificial sweeteners, like aspartame and Splenda, and additives, like MSG and nitrates. I soon as I stopped eating products that had these additives I stopped having symptoms. This is also how I can tell when any of these chemicals have been sneaked into my food.
If this bill gets passed it will affect those of us who have a very severe reaction to any kind of chemicals. How many people look at a product and see that it has milk in it and immediately think "Oh that is a poison"? And I am not just talking about milk that they want to do this with. I am talking about yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, heavy cream, and basically anything that is milk based.
Now I know that some people at this point are wondering why this is such a bad idea. Why is a low calorie sweetener added to my food so terrible? In order to help you understand that one we need to talk about aspartame.
To understand the effects aspartame has on the body we need to break down what it actually is. A molecule of aspartame is a chemical combination made up of 3 chemical parts phenylalnine, aspartic acid, and methyl ester.
1. Phenylalanine -- a common amino acid that is found in protein. When found in its natural state, this amino acid is not bad for you. It is normally found in protein sources like eggs, milk, and bananas. The problem comes when people start to mess with this amino acid and cause it to separate and stand alone. When used alone it acts as a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death. ADD/ADHD, and emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. However in aspartame it makes up 50% of the molecule. And if you consider the amount of diet and sugar free product that are consumed daily in this country it really is no surprise why our bodies are reacting the way they are. Our bodies are used to dealing with 4% of this molecule not 50%. Our bodies do not know what to do with it.
2. Aspartic Acid-- Makes up 40% of the aspartame molecule. It is a major excito-toxin. An excito-toxin is any chemical that causes the brain cells to get over-excited to the point that they burn themselves out. This chemical, aspartic acid, also passes through the blood brain barrier. What is the blood brain barrier? Simply put it does 3 main things:
- Protects the brain from "foreign substances" in the blood that may injure the brain.
- Protects the brain from hormones and neurotransmitters in the rest of the body.
- Maintains a constant environment for the brain.
3. Methyl Ester-- Makes up the remaining 10%. As soon as swallowed it turns into free methyl alcohol or methanol (which is commonly called wood alcohol--a real poison to the body). Methyl Ester is also known as formaldehyde or embalming fluid. Aspartame turns to formaldehyde at 86 degrees. Your normal body temp is 98.7. You do the math.
Reported side effects of aspartame include the following: migraines, memory loss, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease, stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, abnormal heart beat, juvenile asthma, diabetes, cancer, and fertility issues (decrease sperm count and damages the woman's eggs).
The incidence of miscarriages and low birth weight babies increases when the mother drinks aspartame when pregnant.
Here is a link that will give you a list of side effects that has been submitted to the FDA over the past few years that are associated with aspartame consumption.
Aspartame causes the body to crave carbohydrates. That is why you will always find the soda coolers next to big potato chips displays. That also clarifies why some people who drink diet soda are usually on the heavy side.
The final thing I want to share about Aspartame, is what other names it goes by. It is sometimes called NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, Equal-Measure, natural flavors, Benevia, and some forms of Stevia. Here is a link that leads to a list of every day products aspartame is found in. And if this amendment is allowed to happen you can add dairy to this list as well.
These are just some of the facts I have gathered over the past few years on this topic and it really is up to each individual to do their own research.
I guess what this really boils down to is that we need to take our health back and be in charge of what we eat and drink.Be an informed consumer. Now what is in the foods you eat and know what affects it will have on your body and health. After all ignorance is not bliss; it is usually stupidity.
Sources
Hopefully after reading all of this you have a better understanding of why this is such a bad idea. If you want to read more about aspartame and the affects it has on the body I strongly recommend you watch the documentary "Sweet Misery". I found it very informative and really got me thinking about what is in our food.
If you want to read some interesting news articles on this whole dairy fiasco here are a few link to some good articles on this subject.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/07/aspartame-milk_n_2828359.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/039244_milk_aspartame_FDA_petition.html
If you would like to let the FDA know where you stand on this issue this link will walk you through those steps.
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/02/20/2013-03835/flavored-milk-petition-to-amend-the-standard-of-identity-for-milk-and-17-additional-dairy-products
