Aspertame and seizures

[epileric]

There are numerous examples of well-educated, innovative doctors and scientists who have created alternative medical treatments that far supersede conventional drug treatments, and yet they are more frequently than not shunned, persecuted, or even prosecuted for their efforts.

What makes it alternative is the fact that the treatment has yet to be properly proven. Are you saying that Mercola is being persecuted when he gets in trouble for making claims that have not been proven and that it's all a conspiracy?

I have to say that I do feel safer knowing that what my doctors are doing have been tested & proven. It doesn't stop all the problems but I think it lessens them.

 

[RobinN]

There are many alternative therapies that have been found as an improvement, and some those people have been prosecuted.

Is there anything that Mercola says that you find to be truthful, or are you just out to damn the guy.

He has only been told to stop selling products with health claims. Many are being targeted this way. One only has to follow the chain from FDA to the Pharma companies to know that this is a $$ deal. If believing there are backdoor deals is a "conspiracy", then yes I believe the two are "in bed with each other".

I want options, and you subscribe to shutting down those choices.

"If you are love with the perfect, prepare to see it swept away. If you are able to dream of the impossible, it just might happen." ~Seth Godin

 

[epileric]

There are many alternative therapies that have been found as an improvement, and some those people have been prosecuted.

When you say found as an improvement you mean people said they felt better or that they were proven to work using scientific standards. The law considers things to work when they have been proven to work via the scientific method so I don't see any conspiracy there.

He has only been told to stop selling products with health claims. Many are being targeted this way. One only has to follow the chain from FDA to the Pharma companies to know that this is a $$ deal. If believing there are backdoor deals is a "conspiracy", then yes I believe the two are "in bed with each other".

You talk about "following the chain" but I've never seen any proof. Actually, medicine has to pass scientific testing that herbs & supplements don't. If there was a conspiracy wouldn't supplements be held to at least the same standards as medicines? Of course these conspiracy theories are also great marketing. I'm not saying the pharmaceutical companies are angels, the FDA has caught a few companies doing some very bad things yet because Mercola is asked to be honest & not make unproven claims you see a conspiracy & an innocent Mercola?

I can't say I like Mercola (you'd probably guessed lol) but when I see people telling others to do things that might cause physical harm & claim that they will help without warning the individual of the negative possibilities (like too much of any supplement without mentioning possible proven side-effects or that cause the person to neglect treatments that have been proven safe) then I feel that those things need to be pointed out and when someone does that consistently then I do tend to take a negative view of them. I'm sure he's told a few truths but I do see him as dangerous because of having made so many claims that have either not yet been proven, have been proven untrue or proven to be harmful.

I’ve been to his site & a lot of it I have trouble with because of the pop-up window telling me to join (which is sly marketing) and because he has numerous stories that he writes but he doesn’t substantiate his claims. He’ll talk about what was in the news but he never links to the news story to cite his claim. Even when he does have a link to something it links to another story he wrote that lacks backup (again, good marketing). I tend to be suspicious of people that make radical claims yet avoid showing proof. He’s such a good marketer that he even made “BusinessWeek” Magazine who claims he uses tactics that nobody should use if their goal is to help people stay healthy.

A 2006 BusinessWeek editorial criticized Mercola's marketing practices as "relying on slick promotion, clever use of information, and scare tactics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Mercola

I want options, and you subscribe to shutting down those choices.

I don't subscribe to shutting down those choices, I subscribe to people being informed & knowing the truth about what has been tried, tested & true. You talk about "the truth" or the trail" of Big Pharma but when I bring up what is proven you scream conspiracy at shutting down your choices.

 

[TanyaG]

So why don't the Dr's. say anything about it? My neuro said nothing or I wouldnt be drinking diet cokes!!

 

[Nakamova]

A lot of neurologists tend to downplay the role of dietary factors as seizure triggers, either through bias or ignorance. This is in part because things like aspartame are considered to be secondary triggers. Some docs are more interested in why you have a lower seizure threshold in the first place (primary trigger) as opposed to the things that push you over that threshold.

In addition, the testing of aspartame has been controversial, and it seems that majority of people aren't at immediate risk from it. What is clear is that aspartame is virtually identical to aspartic acid, and MSG is virtually identical to glutamic acid. Aspartic and glutamic acids are neurotransmitters that excite the brain, so if you are at all vulnerable to seizure activity, it's best to stay from foods that contain these additives. An adult drinking four to five aspartame-sweetened soft drinks a day is getting enough phenylalanine into the brain to disrupt neurotransmitter function, which can produce can produce depression, anxiety, sleep difficulties, headaches, high blood pressure, increased appetite and possibly seizures.

Another side effect from drinking a lot of soda, both regular and sugar-free: The phosphorus intake depletes your body of calcium and magnesium, both of which are very important for good brain health.

Bottom line, minimize your soda intake, avoid them altogether, and/or consider taking a calcium-magnesium supplement.

 

[RobinN]

I can't say I like Mercola (you'd probably guessed lol)

I don't see you targeting the Standard American Diet. There is plenty of harm there. People have the choice whether or not to pick it up and put it in their shopping carts. There are health claims on any one of those boxes, and I don't see any negative comments about that.

Kraft, Coca Cola, Hersheys... to name a few also use opt-in pages on their social sites where they are attempting to get a following. I even might begin using this smart marketing practice on my sites in order to build my list. Because he is in the health business he is not allowed for some reason to sell products and build his following. The numbers he draws is pretty darn impressive. Means to me people are hungry for alternatives, since the traditional route has failed them.

Large food companies (approved by our FDA) are harming the health of this nation, but you want to target a few who have created a smart business model working from the point of view that preventative care is far smarter than throwing drugs at the symptoms.

 

[epileric]

I don't see you targeting the Standard American Diet. There is plenty of harm there. People have the choice whether or not to pick it up and put it in their shopping carts. There are health claims on any one of those boxes, and I don't see any negative comments about that.

Putting aside the fact that I’m not familiar with the Standard American Diet, you never suggested people use it so it would be rather incongruent to discuss. Neither did I ever say I approved of questionable health claims on supermarket items. I feel they should be challenged & removed as well.

Kraft, Coca Cola, Hersheys... to name a few also use opt-in pages on their social sites where they are attempting to get a following. I even might begin using this smart marketing practice on my sites in order to build my list. Because he is in the health business he is not allowed for some reason to sell products and build his following. The numbers he draws is pretty darn impressive. Means to me people are hungry for alternatives, since the traditional route has failed them.

I also don’t particularly have a high opinion of Kraft or Coke and I never said I like them however, they don’t claim to be curative so I don't see what they have to do with this (unless it's all a big conspiracy). Are you saying that when presenting people with curative medicines that seductive marketing should be allowed? I personally feel it shouldn’t. This is one time when scientific studies & facts & its effectiveness should trump all. Science may not know everything but it is the standard that I know my medicine has been held to. Having said that I do believe there is lots of room for improvement. I also see nothing wrong with holding herb/supplements to the same minimum. I think it would bring them much more acceptance in the mainstream & maybe even teach science a thing or 2 but whenever that is proposed, the supplement industry scream “conspiracy” and refuse to raise their standard to equal that of the pharmaceutical industry. Even when I took tons of supplements that fact alone really made me question the industry.

Large food companies (approved by our FDA) are harming the health of this nation, but you want to target a few who have created a smart business model working from the point of view that preventative care is far smarter than throwing drugs at the symptoms.

I’ve never said that the FDA were without fault but having allowed unhealthy choices (that the American public demanded) does not show a conspiracy between them & Big Pharma.
I honestly feel that “business model” should be irrelevant when providing the public with medicine. As I’ve said before, my issue is with those who promote “cures” that are unproven, disproven or proven harmful.

The way you assume I’d approve of unhealthy choices or laws because they are not alternative shows how you perceive this as an “Us vs Them” issue. Personally I see enough blame to go all around, maybe just not for the same reasons you do.

 

[RobinN]

This is just crazy making.
Continue to attack Mercola... I will continue to support him
We are at odds so be it.