The Vitamin Kid

Avoiding bad medicine and finding non-toxic treatments that actually work

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Friday, February 17, 2006

NutraSweet + Food Coloring can poison nerve cells?

UK's The Guardian reported last December 21 that combining the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®) with flavor-enhancer monosodium glutimate (MSG) and two food dyes produced toxic effects on nerve cells in the laboratory.

The levels used in the study were said to be comparable to those obtained by a child eating a snack and drink containing these chemicals.

Nerve cells ceased growing and the signaling factors cells use to communicate with each other were inhibited by small amounts of these food additives.

The study was published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, and the abstract can be read at this link.

The dose makes the poison -- but increasingly science is finding more examples of combinations of low-dose chemicals in our food and environment that are much more toxic than expected.

"MSG," according to the Guardian article, "is banned [in the EU] in foods for young children." MSG "is found in some pasta with sauce products, a large number of crisps, processed cheese, and prepared meals. Aspartame is found in diet drinks, some sweets, desserts and medicines."

Candies, processed peas, soft drinks, desserts, and pickles are some sources of the food dyes in the study.

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