Prin 1965, la compania G.D. Searle & Company se cerceta de zor in vederea crearii unui medicament anti-ulcer. Din greseala insa, descopera ca prin amestecarea acidului aspartic şi fenilaninei, doi amino-acizi naturali, noul compus are un gust dulce.
Bucurie mare in companie care avea facuta cerere sa produca un medicament – si ce daca? Au chimbat in cerere din medicament in aditiv alimentar.

Astfel s-a nascut aspartame-ul. Indulcitorul, adicatelea.

Dar vai !
Cand G.D. Searle & Company sa-si patenteze produsul, in 1973,  a inaintat prima petitie catre FDA (Food and Drug Administration) si s-a luptat ani de zile apoi pentru a castiga aprobare, punand la dispozitie propriile lor studii de sigurantă, pe care insa multi le-au contestat considerandu-le neadecvate şi dezamagitoare.

In ciuda a numeroase obiectii, inclusiv unele venite din partea propriilor cercetatori, compania reuseste in 1974 sa convingă FDA să aprobe aspartamul pentru folosirea (in scop comercial) in cateva produse, declansand astfel o serie de controverse.

De fapt ce are lumea frate cu aspartame-ul asta ? Pai, in urma procesului de metabolizare in organism, aspartamul se descompune in:

- fenilalanina (~50%), care are efecte neurotoxice si poate produce fenilcetonurie si stari de apoplexie;

- dicetopiperazina, care are potential cancerigen la nivelul creierului;

- acid aspartic (~40%), care afecteaza procesul de dezvoltare a creierului si functiile acestuia;

- metanol (~10%), care inhiba metabolismul oxigenului, produce orbire si a carui produsi secundari au efecte teratogene (pot produce mutatii genetice).

Aspartame-ul este inca folosit in multe tari, insa unele au decis sa il scoata in afara legii – in UE din cate stiu este interzisa utilizarea la orice produse pentru copii. Oricum, produsul este foarte controversat.

Dar, in 1985, Monsanto achizitioneaza firma .. G.D. Searle & Company, detinatoarea patentului si in fapt prima care a produs aspartame-ul …

Iar Monsanto, se stie, are “influenta” destula sa treaca orice rahat prin furcile caudine ale FDA-ului american .. De exemplu:

Why don’t we hear about these things? The reason many people do not hear about serious reactions to aspartame is twofold:
1) Lack of awareness by the general public. Aspartame-cause diseases are not reported in the newspapers like plane crashes. This is because these incidents occur one at a time in thousands of different locations across the country.

2) Most people do not associate their symptoms with the long-term use of aspartame. For the people who have killed a significant percentage of their brain cells and thereby caused a chronic illness, it is not likely that they would associate such an illness with Aspartame consumption.

What are the FDA, the US Congress, or the current Administration doing to protect the consumer from Aspartame dangers? Nothing!

In contrast, the FDA banned the importation of the plant Stevia, in 1991. Stevia occurs naturally, requiring no patent to produce it. As a member of the sunflower family, the powder of this leaf has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used widely in Japan with no adverse effects, scientists involved in reviewing Stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption-something that is well known in many parts of the world where it is not banned. Some people believe that Stevia was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the United States and cutting into sales of Aspartame. Due to public pressure, the ban was reversed in 1995 to allow Stevia to be sold “only” as dietary supplement rather than as a food additive which, in itself, is a contradiction in terms. Thankfully, you can now find Stevia sold in many health food stores across the United States. Hopefully, healthy alternatives such as Stevia and Xylitol will continue to be offered around the country and not be blocked by greed and corruption.

Cine are urechi de auzit si ochi pentru vazut .. cine nu, nu.

Safer Internet Day

Tuesday 9th February 2010
European Safer Internet Day (SID) is organised by Insafe and is supported by countries throughout Europe. SID is an annual event to promote safer and more responsible use of online technology and mobile phones. In the UK during the week of SID a range of activities will be taking place across the continent to help protect young people online. The theme for SID10 is ‘Think Before You Post’ and we hope to make the whole week (from Monday 8th February – Friday 12th February 2010) a week of action in the UK. For further information about internatonal activities for SID please visit www.saferinternetday.org.

Pai.. in primul rand, cea mai sigura metoda de utilizare a internetului, 100% sigura, este sa nu te conectezi. Altfel, odata ce te-ai conectat, ai intrat in JUNGLA.

In rest, sa auzim de bine.