Yeah Sodium is theorized to increase blood pressure (not proven though). Most of the western world has blood pressure problems, but no one else does this, that's why I was wondering.

Sodium doesn't fuck you up. Getting your shit out of balance fucks you up. Too much potassium can do ugly things to your body as well.

So don't eat so much processed food. And blood pressure is an extremely complex thing dude, a shitload of processes influence it, that's why they can't prevent it as they don't know what exactly causes it. Sodium is *theorized* to be one factor that influences.

Well we clearly shouldn't start labelling high-sodium foods until it's absolutely proven. Imagine all of the sodium people are prevented from enjoying by labelling based on mere theory.

Okay that wan't really the point of my question. We shouldn't eat so much salt but what I was trying to say is why is it labelled in America and nowhere else?

International underlabelling crisis.

But really it's just that we have much more active and strident consumer unions. And are more litigious.

That's the answer I was looking for Haq.

I like to drink the Tab because the flavor says 'cool death' across my tastebuds.

Ditto Fresca.

I agree that we are more litigious to a ridiculous degree, but can't some of the labeling be attributed to marketing?

Look at how many Americans will foolishly dive into all sorts of foods that are labled with some sort of healthy sounding adjectives like "all-natural". Of course, cocaine and cobra venom are also natural, but that doesn't really make them safe to consume.

Or, take a look at the entire food supplement industry that is full of bullshit, shady claims and outright lies, yet people will still go out and drop their cash on it because it sounds healthier.

Also, because there are many people under physician's orders to eat less sodium for whatever the reason, this labeling makes it easier to reach that market and sell more of your product. This could go in the litigious category, since American doctors are more pessimistic than the doctors of nations with national health care programs, since American doctors are more likely to get their asses sued.

Japan labels for low-sodium soy products. Soy sauce in particular. I imagine Canada might also label certain products. Is there a low-sodium version of Vegemite or Marmite?

Mmmm. Fresca is delicious.

Not here. And I eat Marmite for breakfast every day.

I'm so sorry.

You're missing out my friend. Vegemite, however, is for the dogs.

Marmite + Butter + Toast = My breakfast 6 days out of 7

And yes the spread is naturally black.

All Natural Lo Carb Cobra Venom flavored Cocaine...sign me up!

Nutella and Marshmallow Creme was about as adventurous as I could get in my youth. I've tried spread-ites numerous times, but can only finish about two bites. Too much sodium.

I just had a Coke Zero, and now I'm gonna wash it down with a Diet Coke with Splenda.

Yes. Now, add to that, 50/50 -- which may not be available to most of you, since you don't live in 'Sconsin (I have yet to see it anywhere but the home-state) -- and Fanta, and we have a party.

That is, if we're mixing the 50/50 with brandy.

Exactly what about the website are you disputing?

You should read the testimonials from people who were just drinking 3-4 cans a day of the stuff.

Believe it or not, formaldehyde, fire ant venom and two neurotoxins can actually have quite a debilitating effect on the human body.

It may be technically right I just don't like the way they overstate the dangers.

Formaldehyde! Methanol!

If you're drinking a sane amount of diet coke then you will be able to handle a small amount of aspartame.

Study reaffirms safety of aspartame

Even daily large doses of the high-intensity sweetener aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, had no adverse effect on study subjects' health and well-being, a visiting scientist at MIT reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last week.

"We conclude that aspartame is safe for the general population," said Paul A. Spiers, visiting scientist in the Clinical Research Center (CRC).

Mood, aggression and selected cognitive functions were tested during a study in which some of the subjects consumed doses of aspartame nearly 20 times the daily amount taken by the vast majority of the general population.

During a four-month period, subjects received either aspartame, sugar or a placebo and underwent physical and psychological testing. Some subjects were given doses of up to 45 milligrams per kilogram of body weight--the equivalent of 17 to 24 12-ounce diet beverages for males and 14 to 19 12-ounce drinks for females. In the general population, most Americans who consume aspartame take in 3 milligrams per kilogram of body weight a day, the equivalent of one or less 12-ounce diet beverage.

Despite the high consumption of aspartame, the 48 normal subjects showed no changes in mood, memory, behavior, electroencephalograms (which record the electrical signals of the brain) or physiology that could be tied to aspartame, Dr. Spiers found. Although some subjects reported headaches, fatigue, nausea and acne, the same number of incidences were reported by subjects taking placebo and sugar as those taking aspartame.

-----------------------------

Aspartame and the Internet

The following letter appeared in The Lancet on 3 July 1999. It is reproduced here with the permission of the publishers of this respected journal.

Sir - Patients at our diabetes clinic have raised concerns about information on the internet about a link between the artificial sweetener aspartame and various diseases. Our research revealed over 6000 web sites that mention aspartame, with many hundreds alleging aspartame to be the cause of multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosis, Gulf War Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, brain tumours, and diabetes mellitus, among many others. Virtually all of the information offered is anecdotal, from anonymous sources and is scientifically implausible.

Aspartame, a dipeptide composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid linked by a methyl ester bond, is not absorbed, and is completely hydrolysed in the intestine to yield the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents of aspartame suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol so released are dangerous. In particular, they assert that methanol can be converted to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, and thus cause metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity.

Although a 330 ml can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink will yield about 20 mg methanol, an equivalent volume of fruit juice produces 40 mg methanol, and an alcoholic beverage about 60-100 mg. The yield of phenylalanine is about 100 mg for a can of diet soft drink, compared with 300 mg for an egg, 500 mg for a glass of milk, and 900 mg for a large hamburger (1). Thus, the amount of phenylalanine or methanol ingested from consumption of aspartame is trivial, compared with other dietary sources. Clinical studies have shown no evidence of toxic effects and no increase in plasma concentrations of methanol, formic acid, or phenylalanine with daily consumption of 50 mg/kg aspartame (equivalent to 17 cans of diet soft drink daily for a 70 kg adult) (1, 2).

The anti aspartame campaign purports to offer an explanation for illnesses that are prominent in the public eye. By targeting a manufactured chemical agent, and combining this with pseudo-science and selective reporting, the campaign makes complex issues deceptively simple. Sensational web site names (eg, aspartamekills.com) grab the browser's attention and this misinformation is also widely disseminated via chat groups and chain e-mail.

People consult the internet about medical issues for various reasons and many users regard online sources as being authoritative and valid. The medical profession has a role in teaching our patients to be discriminating consumers of the information offered there.

Anthony Zehetner, Mark McLean

Department of Endocrinology, Westmead Hospital,
Sydney NSW 2145, Australia

Basically the scientific community just likes to fuck with us every now and then.

Steve

Example: All ants secrete formic acid, but it has much more effect if you write Fire Ant Venom! right?

A 4 month period is not nearly long enough a period of time to discuss long term health factors...

The website I originally cited referred to such industry-sponsored short-term tests.

Were they given these doses daily? Weekly? Monthly? This data is conspicuously absent from this report.

Given "up to 45". Okay, how many were given that? How many were given significantly less?

Yes, a one-time dosage of this stuff will not kill you. Wow, I had no idea.

I would love to know where Spiers got the funding to do this research.