Are you poisoning your kids?

CLIFTON PARK (Feb. 21) — How many of you have felt uneasy about the amount of soft drinks your children consume each day? If your intuition has given you internal “warnings,” you are correct.

As a chiropractor who has taken care of hundreds of children over the past 5 years and done extensive research into wellness nutrition, I am very concerned with the increasing use of artificial sweeteners — especially by children. The most widely used of these is aspartame — marketed as NutraSweet and Equal and found in a lot of reduced-calorie products. Aspartame containing products can also be identified by the information statement “Phenylketonurics: contains phenylalanine” on the package.

Dr. John FergusonAt a World Environmental Conference in the late ’90s, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that there was an increasing epidemic of multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic lupus caused by an unknown toxin. It was soon discovered that the toxin in question was aspartame.

When the temperature of aspartame exceeds 86° Fahrenheit, the wood alcohol (methanol) in aspartame converts to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, which then causes metabolic acidosis. If you think this is not a problem, think again. Body temperature hovers around 98.6°F — perfect conditions for aspartame to be converted to formaldehyde. This affects the retina of the eye — not a pleasant side effect.

Formaldehyde is in the same drug class as arsenic and cyanide — deadly poisons. It is also used to embalm corpses and as a preservative in vaccines. It has no business being in your child.

Aspartame changes the brain’s chemistry and has been responsible for many neurological problems such as seizures, manic depression, rage and violence. This methanol toxicity mimics multiple sclerosis, so people were diagnosed with MS in error.

In the case of systemic lupus, it is becoming rampant — especially among Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers. It is triggered by aspartame. With continued use, it can be life-threatening. When kids get off aspartame, those with systemic lupus usually become asymptomatic, but the disease cannot be reversed. Those diagnosed with MS, when in reality the disease is methanol toxicity, have noticed most of their symptoms disappear.

Justin Dumais, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, suffered with Grave’s disease, an autoimmune disorder, caused by use of diet colas with aspartame. Just months before the Olympic trials, Justin began to actively seek nutritional help in recovering from his diagnosis. He cured his disease in six weeks by simply removing aspartame from his diet, cleansing and restoring his depleted nutrients. Did Justin really have Grave’s or merely aspartame disease?

If your children are suffering from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting pains, numbness in the legs, cramping, dizziness, headaches, joint pains, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision or memory loss, they may be suffering from aspartame disease.

This product is being marketed to children as a weight-loss sweetener. Nothing could be further from the truth. Aspartame actually makes one crave carbohydrates. Dr. H.J. Roberts, a diabetic specialist who is an expert on aspartame poisoning, stated at a congressional hearing that the average weight loss was 19.75 pounds in people who stopped taking this chemical.

Dr. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon, said it stimulates the brain — causing brain damage of varying degrees.

Why has this chemical not been taken off the market? The manufacturer funds the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association, the American Congress and the Conference of the American College of Physicians. Need I say more?

For safe and sweet alternatives to aspartame, you can try: fructose, stevia, brown rice syrup, barley malt, honey, dark molasses and saccharin. These are all available at your local health food store or aisle.

Be aware of the following products that commonly contain aspartame: breath mints, carbonated soft drinks, cereals, chewing gum, flavored syrups for coffee, flavored water products, frozen ice, frozen ice cream novelties, fruit spreads, sugar-free gelatin, hard candies, ice cream toppings, no sugar added or sugar-free ice creams, powdered iced tea, ready to drink iced tea, instant cocoa mix, jams, jellies, juice blends, juice drinks, maple-flavored syrups, meal replacements, mousse, no sugar added pies, non-carbonated diet drinks, nutritional bars, powdered soft drinks, protein nutritional drinks, pudding, soft candy chews, sugar-free chocolate syrup, sugar-free cookies, sugar-free ketchup, table-top sweeteners, vegetable drinks and drinkable, fat-free and sugar-free yogurts.

For additional reading, I recommend “Sweet Poison” by Dr. Janet Starr Hull.

The best advice is to read all the labels on anything you buy for your safety and your children’s safety. Let’s take care of our kids.

John Ferguson D.C. is a wellness chiropractor in Clifton Park and a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

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