Aspartame Might Be More Sour Than Sweet

msnbc.com: Anderson Cancer Center: Arthur D. Forman, MD: against aspartame

http://www.msnbc.com/local/kprc/A257844.asp

Health@msnbc.com

HOUSTON, 11:28 p.m. CST November 27, 2000 -
Do you love diet soda or hot chocolate? What
about fat-free yogurt or sugar-free gelatin?

While those products might taste good and be less filling — in the
calorie department — one M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
neurologist is warning that some of them may not be good for you.

Why?

Because among the dozens of ingredients in these products is one
called aspartame.

“I think there’s enough evidence to suggest this is not a good thing
for folks,” Dr. Arthur Forman told News2Houston.

Forman believes that aspartame may cause several serious
problems, such as headaches to seizures and irritability to birth
defects.

The doctor said that some studies, including one by Dr. John
Olney from Washington University, shows that aspartame may be
linked to brain tumors.

But one of the least known side effects, an ironic one, is that
aspartame, which is found in many diet foods, may increase your
appetite.

“Many patients find it stimulates the appetite,” Forman said.

Forman says that aspartame contains an amino acid called
phenylalanine, which causes insulin to be released, triggering
hunger.

Some people are allergic to phenylalanine and can suffer brain
damage and other complications if they take it.

Aspartame also contains aspartic acid and methanol, which breaks
down to formaldehyde in the body.

Forman believes that pregnant women and children should not
consume aspartame.

“There are mechanisms to see this is causing serious problems for
some folks,” Forman said. “I don’t recommend it for anyone,
frankly.”

But FDA spokeswoman Sheryl Baylor says consuming aspartame
is OK.

“The FDA does believe it’s safe,” Baylor said.

Baylor said that after the agency conducted studies on aspartame,
it approved it, except for people who are allergic to phenylalanine.
She acknowledged, however, that any substance can cause side
effects.

“We continue to look at the product and review complaints,”
Baylor said.

For those concerned, Baylor and Forman suggest checking labels
closely, because many products containing aspartame could
surprise you, like some laxatives and children’s vitamins.

The FDA says that it is the law that if a product contains
aspartame, it must be listed on the label.

For More Information:
Aspartame Toxicity Info Center http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

Sugar Substitutes: Americans Opt for Sweetness and Lite

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fdsugar.html

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http://www.petersons.com/sites/gradinc/83103010.html

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
HOUSTON HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
M. D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd, Houston, TX 77030
1-800-392-1611 (USA) / 1-713-792-6161

Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Program in Pharmacology
Department of Integrative Biology, Pharmacology, and Physiology
The University of Texas Medical School
P.O. Box 20708 Houston, Texas 77225-0708
Telephone: 713-500-7502 Fax: 713-500-7455

http://www2.mdanderson.org/app/peoplefinder/details.cfm?emp=3074

Arthur D Forman adforman@audumla.mdacc.tmc.edu
Associate Professor, Clinical Neuro-Oncology
Department of Neuro-Oncology
Mailing Address: 1515 Holcombe Blvd Box 0100 Houston, TX 77030
713/794-1286
Medical School: Hahnemann University School Of Medicine
Internship: Hahnemann University School Of Medicine
Residency: Brigham & Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA, )
Radcliffe Infirmary (Oxford, , England )
Fellowship: Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Degrees: MD, BA
Board Certification: Neurology
Clinical Interests: Neurologic effects of systemic cancer:
I have interests in toxic effects of therapy,
treatment of metastatic disease, stroke in cancer patients,
migraines in cancer patients.

Director, Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory
Clinical and research interests: Toxicity of therapy
to the central nervous system

Recent representative publications:
Kudelka AP, Hasenburg A, Verschraegen CF, Edwards CL,
Meyers CA, Varma D, Freedman RS, Forman
A, Conrad CA, Grove W, Grothey A, Kavanagh JJ.
Phase II study of intravenous CI-980 in patients with
advanced platinum refractory epithelial ovarian carcinoma.
Anti-Cancer Drugs 9:405-409, 1998.

van Besien K, Ha CS, Murphy S, McLaughlin P, Rodriguez A,
Amin K, Forman A, Romaguera J,
Hagemeister F, Younes A, Bachier C, Saris A,
Sobocinski KS, Cox JD, Cabanillas F. Risk factors,
treatment, and outcome of central nervous system
recurrence in adults with intermediate-grade and
immunoblastic lymphoma. Blood 91:1178-1184, 1998.

van Besien K, Forman A, Champlin RE:
Central nervous system relaps of lymphoid malignancies in
adults: The role of high-dose chemotherapy.
Annals of Oncology, 8(6):515-524, 1997

Puduvalli VK, Sella A, Austin SG, Forman AD:
Carpal tunnel syndrome associated with interleukin-2
therapy. Cancer 77(6):1189-1192, 1996

Kavanagh JJ, Kudelka AP de Leon CG, Tresukosol D,
Hord M, Finnegan MB, Kim EE, Varma D, Forman
AD, Cohen P, Edwards CL, Freedman RS, Verschraegen CF:
Phase II study of docetaxel in patients with
epithelial ovarian carcinoma refractory to platinum.
Clin Can Res 2(5):837-843, 1996

Patel SR, Forman AD, Benjamin RS:
High-dose ifosfamide induced exacerbation of peripheral neuropathy.
JNCI 86:305-306, 1994

Specialty board certification: American Board of Psychiatry and
Neurology
Societies and organizations: American Academy of Neurology
American Medical Association
Texas Medical Association
Texas Medical Foundation
Harris County Medical Society

Honors and awards: Upjohn Award, Oustanding Intern, 1977
Alpha Omega Alpha, 1975
CV Mosby Award, 1976
Honors in Anatomy and Oncology, 1976
American Cancer Society Summer Fellow, 1973
National Science Foundation Summer, 1966

Education and training:
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY:
Fellow, neuro-oncology, 1986-1988
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA:
Resident and fellow, neuropathology, 1984-1986
Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England:
Senior registrar in neurology, 1983-1984
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA:
Clinical fellow, neurophysiology, 1982-1983;
Resident, neurology, 1979-1982
Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia, PA: M.D., 1979

Forman AD.
Re: Trends in reported incidence of primary malignant brain tumors
in children in the United States.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 1999 Apr 7;91(7):648-9. No abstract available.
PMID: 10203289; UI: 99217952

Oncology (Huntingt) 1994 Apr;8(4):105-10; discussion 113, 116-7
Neurologic complications of cytokine therapy.
Forman AD
Department of Neuro-Oncology, University of Texas
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

There have been surprisingly few controlled studies
of the central nervous system actions of
cytokines in humans, although many clinical trials have
briefly reported side effects of these drugs.
Clinical trials using cytokines have chiefly involved
patients with cancer, often at an advanced
stage, and prospective formal neurologic assessment
has been infrequent. In patients with
malignancy, a host of variables can confound
neurologic evaluation, including nutritional status,
metastatic deposits, metabolic derangements,
effects of former treatments, and infection. The
effects of the cytokines on the central nervous system
are multiple and limit their clinical use.
Careful prospective clinical study of these agents is
essential and may yield insights into their
functions in the CNS and increase their efficacy as clinical tools.
PMID: 8003395, UI: 94271669

Food and Drug Administration Houston, Texas
Local Contact: Sheryl Baylor Tel: 713-802-9095 x15 Fax:
713-802-0906