so, we got dragged into an occupation in iraq by the former secdef, but did you know that he’s responsible for getting a neurotoxin into your diet soda?

yup, that’s right. neurotoxin. they call it “NutraSweet.” and according to one website,

Since its discovery in 1965, controversy has raged over the health risks associated with the sugar substitute. From laboratory testing of the chemical on rats, researchers have discovered that the drug induces brain tumors. On Sept 30, 1980 the Board of Inquiry of the FDA concurred and denied the petition for approval.

In 1981, the newly appointed FDA Commissioner, Arthur Hull Hayes, ignored the negative ruling and approved aspartame for dry goods. As recorded in the Congressional Record of 1985, then CEO of Searle Laboratories Donald Rumsfeld said that he would “call in his markers” to get aspartame approved. Rumsfeld was on President Reagan’s transition team and a day after taking office appointed Hayes. No FDA Commissioner in the previous sixteen years had allowed aspartame on the market.

now, i’ll admit the rummy link was what got me interested in blogging on the issue in the first place. but i wanted more than a single, potentially crackpot website to back me up, particularly on the health (rather than political) issues. so i went to pubmed and searched first on aspartame and neurotoxin, then on aspartame alone. i noticed two things:

1. most studies listed in pubmed did not seem to find any negative effects correlated with consumption of the chemical; and

2. those that did find negative effects did not have abstracts available.

fishy, i thought. i kept searching pubmed, and came across a promising-sounding back-and-forth in the BMJ enticingly titled “aspartame and its effects on health.” even more enticing because there was no abstract available.

luckily, the good folk over at the BMJ often make available full-text articles at no cost. so i headed over there, and found the article (and comments) in question.

the most fascinating (to me) factoid this quick-and-dirty online research of mine found? that an online review of peer-reviewed literature on the safety of aspartame found

that, although 100% of industry funded (either whole or in part) studies conclude that aspartame is safe, 92% of independently funded studies have found that aspartame has the potential for adverse effects.

gee. not unlike the effects of tobacco industry funding on the outcome of studies…