Hi Ken.
I certainly want to keep this friendly. There would be no reason for anyone on this board to have bad motives. It's a hikers board. So I believe everyone here is sincere.
The rates for all EXCEPT those drinking over two a day are statistically the same in that study. That is interesting. One a day or less is the same statistically, and variance of 6.8 to 6.9 is nothing. And Deaths are 60% more, 50% not 30% for just heart attacks. So add 60% more to those ratios for deaths.
So it indicates the body can handle 1 a day or less (heart only).
Everyone has to make up their own mind. All am saying is if I read this thread 5 years ago, would have never taken Aspartame again at altitude, and believe would have never ended up in hospital. Will leave it with just two sentences
bolded below in the History of Aspartame by Yahoo Health:
Aspartame's Controversial History
Aspartame, best known as NutraSweet and Equal commonly used to sweeten everything from diet sodas to yogurt, is no stranger to controversy.
The FDA approved this sugar substitute for limited food uses in 1981.
By 1995 the FDA's Epidemiology Branch chief reported aspartame complaints constituted 75 percent of all FDA reports concerning adverse reactions to food, according to Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D. in Get the Sugar Out.In 1996 it gained approval as a general sweetener, but that same year 60 Minutes reported criticisms of the approval process stating, "aspartame's approval was one of the most contested in FDA history."
That report used research published in the Journal of Neuropathology and Experimental Neurology showing possible links between drinking diet soda and developing brain tumors.
In an analysis of peer-reviewed medical literature
Dr. Ralph G. Walton, a professor at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, found that all industry-funded studies said aspartame was safe, according to a 2006 New York Times article. In independent studies, 92 percent identified one or more problems with aspartame, Walton reported."Here in the US, we allow these ingredients into our food supply until they are proven dangerous," said Robyn O'Brien, a former food industry analyst and author of The Unhealthy Truth. "In light of the fact that the President's Cancer Panel reports that 41 percent of us are expected to get cancer in our lifetimes and the burden that disease in placing on our economy, perhaps it is time to exercise precaution."
http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/aspartame-study-fuels-continued-debate So the bottom line is out of the thousands of ingredients in food, the FDA admits just one (Aspartame) causes 75% of all FDA complaints and 100% of health studies with a conflict on interest on Aspartame say its safe and 92% of studies without a conflict of interest say it causes health problems. Until this thread started I did not know either of those two facts, so this has been very educational for me, and I hope others.Cheers
