Try this at home

[SpeedRacer 1]

It seems that there was NO signifcant difference in the incidence of Leukemia and lymphoma, even at the highest dose, when they looked at males or males & female together.

It looks to me as though they had an anomolously low incidence of leukemia/lymphoma in the control female cohort, thereby causing a positive P-test. And the results, even within the female cohorts don't seem to be dose dependent either.

I would not say the results are conclusive and I would bet they're not reproducible.

Having worked with mice myself I can tell you that you often will see variability that can skew the results, even with the highly-inbred strains used in these experiments.

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[kelpdiver 2]

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>I seriously doubt I would die from drinking too much water.

It's called hyponatremia. You sometimes see deaths from people drinking a lot of water as a fraternity hazing thing, or from trying to beat a drug test.

or most commonly now, running marathons and drinking too much.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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or most commonly now, running marathons and drinking too much.

On top of that, many extacy related death can be traced back to water overdose.

[tigra 0]

I'm simply pointing out that a) you're not exactly delivering new or earth shattering information and b) there's really no comparison with saturating teeny tiny ANTS with 6-10 packets of Equal and a HUMAN drinking a few diet cokes every day. I'm pretty sure there's traces of poison in lots of things we eat, drink and inhale everyday but I'm not about to lock myself up in a bubble because of it. Besides, with so many varieties of Diet Coke out there, you really can pick your poison- saccarine, aspartame or Splenda. Each with its own benefits and drawbacks.

[nanook 1]

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Does this work for wasps as well? I suspect they are trying to build a nest right next to my kitchen. If it does, I'm buy some nutrasweet today

How about Jehovas Witnesses?

"Hello, we would like to talk to about. . ."

"AAUUUGGGGHHH. . .Why did you DO th. . .GLLLUURRRRK"

"What the hell, man??"
"Can you try not to move so much, I'm trying this cool expierment. . .Now. . .what are your feelings? Do you feel some sudden urge to die right now? No?

" Probably need some more water."

_____________________________

"The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you can never know if they are genuine" - Abraham Lincoln

[cumplidor 0]

okay, you have made a point that one can die from drinking too much water. even though the definition of hyponatremia seems more related to the sodium levels in the body-

Comparing water to aspartame seems like comparing BB's to Depleted Uranium weapons. But I suppose if enough BBs hit you just right you will die, so I guess it is an okay analogy .

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The FDA knows it is not 100% safe, but has determined it is safe _enough_ to allow the public to decide on their own if they want to use it or not. (Which is why any product containing it is so marked.)

The FDA says it is safe, read here in their talk paper http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/tpaspart.html

The industry says it is safe, read here http://www.nutrasweet.com/articles/article.asp?Id=45

The problems the FDA and the industry have acknowledged deal with individuals born with PKU which affects only 1 in 15000 people. They deny cancers and brain tumors are related to this product. The PKU warning is the only package warning I am aware of. Sweet & Low says on the package it can cause cancer.

I disagree with your statement of the public having a choice in whether we use this product or not. It is currently in use in over 5000 different products ranging from gums and drinks to numerous medications and vitamins. Seems like you have to watch out for it rather than the manufacturer making certain you are aware it is in the product you are about to consume.

Stevia is a naturally occuring herb sweetner that has had tough road with the FDA and is still not approved for use in most products. This seems a more natural product, but yet it was demonized by the FDA back in the 90s and was even banned for a short time, only to be determined later to be not a danger and given limited approval.

Do you think that ants are going to eat so much sugar it will kill them? I seriously doubt it. (next experiment)
Are they gonna drink too much water, so they suffer from hyponatremia? Doubt that one too. (cant think how to make this into an experiment)
But they are guaranteed to eat too much aspartame to kill themselves.

[cumplidor 0]

I have no doubt I expose myself to many toxins all the time, but I do try to minimize them any time possible.

Well this blew me away... I would never have thought that feeding equal to ants would kill them... I had read somewhere where it was originally developed as an ant poision, but accidently discovered to be incredibly sweet. I am not sure how true that is, but it gave me the energy to try it. And it worked.

I though my skydiving brothers and sisters would value this information, but alas I fear I have been mistaken!

Oh well...

[billvon 3,132]

>The FDA says it is safe . . .

From the FDA's website:

"Certain people with the genetic disease phenylketonuria (PKU), and pregnant women with hyperphenylalanine (high levels of phenylalanine in blood) have a problem with aspartame because they do not effectively metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine, one of aspartame's components. High levels of this amino acid in body fluids can cause brain damage. Therefore, FDA has ruled that all products containing aspartame must include a warning to phenylketonurics that the sweetener contains phenylalanine."

"In large doses, phenylalanine may make some people irritable or cause insomnia. In addition, this amino acid should be avoided by people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a birth defect caused by the body's inability to metabolize phenylalanine."

Like I said, it's not completely safe, which is why it has the warning on it. But it's safe _enough._

>I disagree with your statement of the public having a choice in
>whether we use this product or not. It is currently in use in over 5000
>different products ranging from gums and drinks to numerous
>medications and vitamins.

Yep. And those products have warnings on them. If you don't want to be bothered to read, then you are at risk for accidentally getting something you don't like. That's the price of freedom. Most americans enjoy those freedoms, and are willing to read packages to determine if the food contains things they don't want.

Peanuts can kill people. Should we ban them? After all, what if someone with a peanut allergy gets a can of peanuts and doesn't read the can to see what's in it?

>This seems a more natural product . . .

Curare and arsenic are natural. Natural does NOT equal safe. That's why the FDA is testing it.

>But they are guaranteed to eat too much aspartame to kill themselves.

?? No, not at all. The aspartame doesn't kill them. They eat aspartame INSTEAD of sugar (because it's actually sweeter) and thus die of malnutrition.

Try the following experiment. Fill a room with nitrogen and go into it for about ten minutes. You won't notice anything at first, because your body is getting rid of CO2 just fine; it's just not getting any oxygen. Eventually you will pass out. If no one retrieves you, you will die of hypoxia. Does that mean nitrogen is deadly and should be avoided at all costs? Nope - just means it can't substitute for oxygen, just as aspartame can't substitute for sugar.

[Gravitymaster 0]

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I have no doubt I expose myself to many toxins all the time, but I do try to minimize them any time possible.

Well this blew me away... I would never have thought that feeding equal to ants would kill them... I had read somewhere where it was originally developed as an ant poision, but accidently discovered to be incredibly sweet. I am not sure how true that is, but it gave me the energy to try it. And it worked.

I though my skydiving brothers and sisters would value this information, but alas I fear I have been mistaken!

Oh well...

Considering this is the second or third time you've tried to get a reaction to this, I'm surprised you are surprised.

-

[SpeedRacer 1]

I don't use aspartame myself, and I've found it's pretty easy to avoid.

And well, aspartame had been in use for almost 25 years now & there is no evidence that it is causing cancers in humans. However there is plenty of evidence of other health risks, such as lack of exercise, too much high-calorie food, & smoking.

It's ridiculous when you see fat-ass, chain-smoking couch potatoes worrying about a few food additives that aren't even a blip on the radar screen.

But so many Americans have the Maraschino-cherry approach to health risks:

(refers to the old joke about the woman who walks into an ice cream parlor & orders a jumbo triple hot fudge sundae with marsmallow sauce and whipped cream. The waiter asks, "Do you want a cherry on top?" & she replies, "Oh no!! I'm on a diet!")

another example: the alar scare during the '80s. Fucking ridiculous.

People like to get worked up about shit like this. It makes life more exciting.

Plus it's much easier to point the finger at those evil corporations then it is to cut out the junk food, quit smoking, & get their fat ass of the couch & get some exercise. Even though that's what actually WOULD cause significant decreases in health risks.


But if you wanna get worked up over stuff like aspartame or alar, go have fun. After all, even maraschino cherries have health risks.

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[EricTheRed 0]

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After all, even maraschino cherries have health risks.

Ever seen how maraschino cherries are made?

illegible usually

[SpeedRacer 1]

um, let me guess: The cute little maraschino cherries are stolen from the nest & garroted with a piano-wire by underpaid workers in 3rd world countries?

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