Just had this posted on Facebook, not sure if its of any help, so just posting for interest. Having said that I have always thought aspartine was dangerous. You may have to type below into a new window, as I have just tried to click, sorry not brilliant at this xx
http://rhondagessner.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/a-killer-in-your-fridge-sweet-poison-a-must-read/
As a real sugar lover, I never have the stuff, so I was actually a bit narked when a friend suggested I might not have MS but aspartamine poisoning!
There was a thread about this in the EL section a week or two back. I believe there was a general consensus that it was a nasty hoax and made people wonder what they might have done to give themselves MS…
Currently, there’s no real proof that anything causes MS, other than it being less likely if you live somewhere near the equator (plenty of D3!)
Anyway, thought I’d give you the heads up, I agree, it’s nasty (but I think MSG is the worst!) but NOT a factor in giving anyone MS.
Sonia x
I know you weren’t to know, but it’s complete nonsense, that keeps cropping up again endlessly. There seems to have been another recent spate of Facebook spam about it.
Aspartame isn’t dangerous, except to a tiny minority of people who have a rare metabolic problem - just like a very small proportion of people have an extreme nut allergy.
I will repost the link that is given in answer most times this crops up (Snopes is a reputable site that checks out the truth of many common urban/online myths, and gives you the real lowdown).
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp
If you receive any e-mail or Facebook scare-story (not just medical, but about freaky crimes, like people getting their kidneys harvested at airports), it’s worth checking Snopes before passing it on, to see if it’s already been listed as a myth/hoax/scam.
Tina
thanks for the feedback, glad I posted otherwise I would have never known it was a hoax.
Catherine
I’m also glad that you posted and somebody said it’s a hoax, somebody sent me the link on facebook the other day because they know of my symptoms and know i drink pepsi max. I wondered if i had somehow done this to myself.
This is what’s so cruel about this particular hoax - it causes people needless heartache about whether some perfectly normal, harmless activity has caused their MS. I don’t know what the motives were for starting it off, or why anyone would think it’s smart or funny, but as you can see from the Snopes site, it first started doing the rounds at least as long ago as 1998! Maybe it was originally an April fool, or something?
NICE guidelines say neurologists are supposed to tell MS patients they did nothing to cause it, as many worry needlessly about this, but too many neuros seem to forget, leaving patients wondering: “Why me?”
Mine only told me after I queried: “We don’t know what causes this, do we?”, and he was quick to say: “Nothing you did!” If I hadn’t asked the question, I’m not sure he would have remembered.
Tina
Tina, you are so right, one of my old students is a real ‘earth mother’ and her boyfriend texted my sister, talk about convoluted… I was furious, said I might not have MS, just aspartamine poisoning instead!
My worst fault was that I smoked (silk cut silver, in other words the most pointless ciggies on the planet!)… my sister said she had no idea, so just forwarded it - I had to point out that anyone that thought different might want to look at my hideously scary MRI before doubting my Dx!
Yes, honestly, I did see the MRI and the large lesion is huge compared to examples I’ve seen on the internet since.
Sonia x
Sonia,
A friend of mine (well, not so sure she was a friend, now) said, on learning of my diagnosis: “Well, you’ll have to mend your ways now, won’t you?”
Mend my ways? WHAT???
I didn’t lead an extreme lifestyle of any kind, leading up to this. Probably the worst health crimes I committed were not taking quite enough exercise - though I get more than most people, as I’ve never owned a car - and keeping late hours (which I still do). Neither causes MS. What a damn cheek, to act as if it was a judgment on me, for doing something wrong. Some people have positively medieval ideas about the origins of illness. It’s only one step away from saying it must have been the misdeeds of my ancestors!
I wonder if some of these health freaks will have to revise their thinking, if they too get something serious, and realise you CAN’T control everything through lifestyle, and sometimes sh*t happens.
Tina
x
Tina
I can certainly understand your annoyance with that, I was her fitness instructor so it felt like a double insult!
Sonia x