Nutrasweet Aspartame cancer risk.

bmj.com -- UK health news 20050715: "Sweetener's link to cancer" .
Source: Daily Mail Date: 15/07/2005
The Daily Mail and others report today on new claims surrounding the artificial sweetner NutraSweet. The artificial additive, also known as Aspartame, that is used in 6,000 diet food and pharmaceutical products, has been linked to cancer by the European Foundation of Oncology and Environmental Sciences. The research has suggested that cancer could be triggered by chemicals created by aspartame as it is broken down in the body, such formaldehyde and methanol. The report has now prompted the European Food Safety Authority to call for an expert review of the EFOE data. "

FOODS FOR LIFE says Use a natural sweetener like Stevia or Xylitol. Low GI/GL Xylitol is usually made from Birch Tree bark and has been used extensively since the Second World War. Dentists love it as it actually supresses bacteria unlike many artificial sweeteners. Due to it's low GI/GL low carb rating it's great for weight management, it also tastes great.

Xylitol was first extracted in the 1890’s by a German chemist. It was first manufactured shortly after the Second World War in Finland where there was a shortage of sweeteners following the war. In the 1950’s it was found to be a normal part of our metabolism. It has been used in foodstuffs since the 1960’s in Japan, the former Soviet Union, Germany and Switzerland. In 1963 the American Foods and Drugs Administration approved its use for special dietary uses such as diabetic diets. In 1988 they allowed it to be classified as a food additive.

Buy Xylitol USA $7.99 - UK £4.99 - Australia - Canada $8.75

Aspartame studies show cancer and obesity risk - False Claims? Hoax? You decide.- Details about Splenda (sucralose) - Splenda is not Splendid

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KRT Wire | 07/14/2005 | Food, advertising industries tout new strategy on junk food

KRT Wire | 07/14/2005 | Food, advertising industries tout new strategy on junk food: "WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Faced with mounting criticism of food marketing directed at increasingly obese children, the food and advertising industry on Thursday fired back by touting its healthier new products and vowing a get-tough strategy on children's ads.

The industries' response reflects an effort to ward off government regulation of advertising aimed at children and a growing consumer demand for healthier products.

At a government-sponsored program entitled Marketing, Self Regulation and Childhood Obesity, the Nickelodeon children's television network announced that the SpongeBob SquarePants character would soon appear on the side of spinach packages. McDonald's touted its apple dippers. And General Mills promoted the health benefits of its whole-grain cereals for kids.

Meanwhile, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which represents many major food companies, said that on Friday it would unveil beefed-up guidelines for advertising aimed at children. The new guidelines would significantly increase the scope of the industry-funded Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), which was established in 1974 to review children's advertising. They include a prohibition on product placement in children's shows, scrutiny of advertising on such new media as Internet Web sites and video games and a review of licensed characters used to tout food products.

Despite those efforts, critics noted that children are fatter than ever, with the rates of obesity among kids ages 6 to 11 tripling during the last three decades and doubling for children ages 2 to 5 and among adolescents 12 to 19 years old. They also argued that the industry has failed at regulating itself during the last three decades, as evidenced by the proliferation of junk food ads."

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GSK Asthma Drug Could Kill

bmj.com -- UK health news 20050714: "Asthma drug scare at GSK

Source: Daily Mail

Date: 14/07/2005

The Mail also features a brief item on new concerns for GlaxoSmithKline's popular drug Advair, used to treat asthma. There have been fears for the safety of the drug folloiwng a number of premature deaths linked to the active ingredient in the drug. The drug could now be cleared from pharmacy shelves in the US. "

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