"Aspartame is poison"

[TZ]

I was told this recently, IRL. Also that apparantly it was developed an offshoot of some bioweapon research..:wtf: I know there is some Donald Rumsfeld connection (he was an investor in the company who invented it right?) Apparantly even in RL, my creds as a biologist count for nothing. This person also insisted that saccharine is teh evul as well, not realizing its been cleared as a carcinogen.
Interesting though, this person gave away the food with Aspartame away to friends. If you were convinced it was poison wouldn't you throw it away?:shrug:

On edit: commentating on this, my boss with a PhD in neurolgy commentated that it can't hurt you unless you have no blood brain barrier...but who trusts a biologist?:eyes:

[madinmaryland]

1. I don't know about the Rumsfeld connection, but it does trigger migraines

for my wife. She can't eat anything with that shit in it. Don't know if it affects others that way, though. My feeling is if it ain't real (ie sugar) then don't eat it!

Been in teh lounge recently?

[TZ]

3. Welcome to the skeptics group, MiM!

Aspartame IS a form of sugar, just not one made in nature. Sugars are actually very complex molecules. I do know that some people don't react well to it, like MSG (which is what my boss compared it to). And certainly I don't advocate eating a ton of it. But moderate amounts are fine.

I was too busy to spend much time in the lounge today. With temeah on vacation this week, its a little boring, IMO.
Haven't seen you in there today..:hi:

[madinmaryland]

11. Funny that you mention MSG, as that is also another trigger for

her migraines. My wife has had migraines for at least 25 years, and has been tracked what has caused them, and those are a couple of things that do trigger them, in addition to gin. :shrug:

I've accidently tried it, and it tastes like ***t! I can't believe people can drink the stuff in sodas, etc.

I had Fri and mon off, and there wasn't much going on the lounge over teh weekend.

This..

[TZ]

12. I think that Aspartame and MSG are similar chemically

which is why your wife gets migraines to both. What scares people about Aspartame is that benzene ring on there, which makes people equate it to benzene, a known carcinogen but really the way its bonded makes it fairly harmless.

By the way, you have been missing the fun in GDP of late. Its really gone bonkers!!

[madinmaryland]

17. Didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

BTW, I just can't get worked up to even sample what's going on in there. Most of the shit over there is just inane and un-funny to quote a favorite poster in teh lounge! Just lost a bit of motivation to post much. :shrug:

[semillama]

2. Well, your boss's comment neglects one thing:

those who have no dumb-brain barrier - an increasingly common occurrence!

[LeftishBrit]

4. What about those who simply have no brain?

[TZ]

8. sadly

the person who said this is a blood relative.

[lizerdbits]

5. My mom says it gives her headaches

It doesn't do that for me. However the dr who gave me antidepressants said aspartame made depression worse in people with a history of it, although I never looked into it myself. He also believed that saccharin was better than aspartame because the huge doses they gave rats was the equivalent of a railroad car of saccharin for a person per day.

I've heard the Rumsfeld stuff before. I've also heard the 'aspartame causes obesity' stuff from people who don't understand the correlation/causation difference. I don't have numbers but I'd guess that most people who drink diet are overweight people since it tastes funny. If you're thin you'll drink the good stuff. I mostly drink water since I don't like the taste of it but if I need caffeine I'll drink some since I don't like coffee.

[lightningandsnow]

6. Well, it does taste like ass...

but that doesn't mean it's poison.

Still. I hate artificial sweeteners.

[NoodleBoy]

7. I know a freshman in college who constantly drinks diet coke

she seriously lives off of them-- it's probably the only thing she drinks all day.

so I'm just wondering why she isn't dead.

[salvorhardin]

9. Maybe she's UNdead

Sounds like you have a zombie infestation on your hands son. I'd keep my brain safe at night if I were you and for heaven's sake keep that coed out of shopping malls. We don't know what it is about zombies and shopping malls but they sure do seem to love them. Perhaps it's because all the brains at shopping malls come pre-tenderized from incessant marketing.

Anyhow, it's a well known fact that all artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup and those orange colored cheese crackers with peanut butter in the middle all promote zombieism. It's true! I read it on Dr. Mercola's site. Fortunately you can protect yourself by eating an optimal diet for healthy zombie-free living of raw milk and raw eggs plus Dr. Mercola's special formula detoxifying brain wash (only $179.95 for a ten day supply).

[NoodleBoy]

13. hm... you may be on to something. better get my flashlight.

That's the way you tell the difference between a zombie and a living person-- if a living person gets a light shone in their eyes suddenly, they'll involuntarily blink. zombies won't, because that function has been shut down.

[salvorhardin]

14. What?

The stumbling about and constant moaning of, "Brains, brains, brains..." doesn't give them away?

[NoodleBoy]

15. well some undead hide it well. unintentionally, of course

and then there's the issue of Q's-- people whose mental or emotional state is so overwhelmed by the presence of zombies that they start acting like zombies, even though they are perfectly alive and more or less healthy.

And remember, we are talking about a college freshman, so stumbling around and moaning is not something unusual for them. Also, be realistic-- zombies don't say "brains," that's just an invention by Hollywood.

Read this for more info:

[salvorhardin]

16. Pfft! More zombie FUD from the anti-zombie conspiracy theorists

Sure, in an ideal world there wouldn't be any zombies. There also wouldn't be any tornadoes or tsunamis and Tokyo wouldn't be overridden with giant monsters either. But we live in the real world and zombies are just an unfortunate fact of life that are easily detectable and managed. Zombies should be treated like any other public health issue instead of demonized.

[NoodleBoy]

18. Well I hold my PhD in Zombology and I currently hold the George A. Romero Chair

of Advanced Necrotic Issues at the University of Pennsylvania, and my extensive research has indicated that people who hold ideas similar to yours are the reason zombies remain a real threat in our society.

If you were as skeptical of your sources as you claim to be about mine, you'd know that, but I guess you're too busy reading The Secret and balancing green tea enemas and ear candling therapy to care about real science.

[Deep13]

10. Also, Soylent Green is people. ...

Elton John is gay.

Paul Atreides is Mau'dib.

Dark Vader is Luke's father.