Aspartame, the Pill, and Love of Money

I was reading an article this morning about the dangers of aspartame which has been linked to brain tumors. Here's an excerpt:

Dr. Adrian Gross, the FDA's toxicologist who examined the aspartame research initially presented to the FDA by G.D. Searle, was "absolutely shocked" at the evidence according to Dr. Russell Blaylock, a retired neurosurgeon, showing "an enormous increase in tumors, particularly brain tumors."

"And of course that's exactly what we're seeing now is this tremendous increase in brain tumors in this country. Which is completely unexplained by the neurological profession," continues Dr. Blaylock.

Dr. Blaylock has written three books about the health dangers of excitotoxins (aspartame and MSG are excitotoxins), but has never been sued by the artificial sweetener industry over the facts he's brought to light about the dangers of using these synthetic man-made toxic chemical sweeteners. Why hasn't the aspartame industry gone after him legally? Or after me for that matter, for my expose on artificial sweeteners called "Sweet Deception"? 

According to Dr. Blaylock:

"They all realized that they couldn't answer my arguments. So they left me alone. They're afraid that if it comes to a big standoff between me and them, they're going to lose. What they're doing is the old ploy of just ignoring and hoping it will go away. Of course, they put pressure on magazines, journals and newspapers not to interview me. They are trying to keep me in the shadows where they hope most people don't hear anything I have to say. It only works for so long." Read complete article here...

I'm interested in health issues, but what set the bells off as I read the article was the fact that Searle is the pharmaceutical firm that developed and owns the patent on aspartame (and makes megabucks on it). Why did I find that interesting? Because Searle was the original developer of the birth control pill, the greatest assault on women's health in modern history. While Searle's discovery of the original progesterone blocker was "accidental," they soon saw the dollar signs:

Searle took notice of women's desires for an easy and effective female-controlled contraceptive and opened their eyes to the Pill's potential. By the late 50s, Searle was delighted with their gamble to support research that other drug companies and the government had avoided. They began exerting pressure on the Pill researchers to speed up their trials.

Within two years of government approval, the Pill passed through the lips of 1.2 million American women every day. It was a giant boon to Searle, who enjoyed a monopoly on the drug. Even after other pharmaceutical companies put out their own versions of the Pill, many women stayed loyal to Enovid, and Searle's Pill sales remained strong. In 1964 alone, Searle took in $24 million in net profits from Pill sales. The Pill, the contraceptive that no company initially wanted produce, turned out to be Searle's best selling product for years. Read more here...

Ah...love of money. How many women take a strong drug every day when they aren't sick? How many have died, unknowingly killed their babies, developed breast cancer, experienced other serious health problems, had their marriages collapse, etc. because of the pill? (Read the insert that comes with the pill identifying all its counterindications and risks. There's a heavy cost involved in swallowing that little poisoned pill!) And how many compromise their health with toxic artificial sweeteners?

According to the aspartame article, FDA approval was political. One can certainly say the same about the FDA and birth control drugs. Development of drugs these days is often more about the bottom line than the health and benefit of the consumer. And there is plenty of evidence of incestuous relations between the FDA and drug companies. USA Today in a 2000 study found massive conflict of interest. FDA advisory committees were loaded with individuals who had financial interest in the outcomes of drug approvals. See here...

This is just one more example of the biblical aphorism that love of money is the root of all evil.