If milk contains aspartame, is it still "milk?"
If the dairy industry has its way... it will be!
It's the latest chapter in the saga to keep kids drinking milk in school.
First, milk had to compete with soda in schools. That led to chocolate milk and strawberry milk being counted as "milk" in school lunch regulations.
And now that sugar consumption is FINALLY gaining some attention, all of a sudden sodas and the flavored milks don't look as favorable to parents and schools.
The soda industry responded with a rash of and low-sugar or no-sugar sodas, "nutrition waters," and other soft drinks.
And now the dairy industry has decided that if they can't beat the soda crowd, they're going to join them.
The dairy folks are petitioning the FDA to "amend the standard of identity for milk and 17 other dairy products to provide for the use of any safe and suitable sweetener as an optional ingredient."
And, of course, aspartame is considered a "safe" sweetener.
What does that mean?
There may be "sugar-free" chocolate and strawberry milk coming to schools... the problem is that very few people understand what aspartame does to the body.
The lesser problem with aspartame is that is is 40% aspartic acid, a compound that can cause problems with the central nervous system.
The larger problem is that the methanol (a problem in itself) that is used to bond other chemicals in aspartame breaks down in the body to make formaldehyde.
Yep... THAT formaldehyde. The embalming fluid.
"But," people say, "there's so little aspartame in most sugar-free foods that it couldn't possibly cause a problem, right?"
Tell that to the scientists who developed aspartame to be an allopathic medication for ulcers.
As soon as Monsanto bought the rights to aspartame in 1985 and started putting it in foods as a sweetener (remember "NutraSweet?"), the scientists wanted nothing to do with their invention because they knew it would spell trouble as a food ingredient.
In fact, there is a documentary all about this called "Sweet Misery." You can watch it free, here.
(Please note, Hallelujah Acres does not endorse this film; this is simply a reference for information only.)
So the question is... if the very people who developed the aspartame chemical want nothing to do with it, do you think that the dairy industry has really done its homework on this stuff?
Now, we're going to assume that since you're reading this blog, you're either on The Hallelujah Diet or at least trying to eat better.
Hopefully you have already removed dairy from your diet for many other reasons (read "Don't Drink Your Milk" by Dr. Frank Oski)
If not, we hope that this information helps you to make your decision. :)
What's your opinion of aspartame? Scroll below the related articles to comment!
