• The Aspartame (Nutrasweet®), Methanol and Formaldehyde Connection
• Hormones and Sleep
• Good Supplementation Habits Mean Good Health!
• Is Taking Brewer’s Yeast Safe?

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Dear Health Conscious Individual,

Welcome to House Calls with Dr. Cutler!

You might be surprised to learn that aspartame (Nutrasweet^®) has been linked to serious health problems. In today’s issue I’ll share information about the research that confirms this, and about symptoms associated with aspartame. I urge you to read this article; aspartame is part of so many products, and even medications, it is essential that you understand its side effects!

This issue also includes an explanation of the link between the hormone melatonin and good sleep, and information on how to supplement
melatonin.

Regarding supplements, I’ve also included a guide for how to use supplements correctly—something I find most people don’t do!

And finally, in the Q&A section, I’ll talk about yeast as a health danger and whether supplementation with brewer’s yeast can be hazardous to
your health.

Yours for healthy
living,

Michael Cutler, M.D.
Medical Advisor, True Health™

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The Aspartame (Nutrasweet®), Methanol and Formaldehyde Connection

Did you know that aspartame turns into methanol and formaldehyde when heated? Were you also aware that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) supports the use of aspartame (NutraSweet®) as an acceptable replacement for sugar for people with diabetes? This is despite the fact that aspartame has generated the largest volume of consumer reports (75% of them) describing adverse reactions.

To me, this means the ADA is not willing to look at healthier alternatives to sugar and aspartame, such as whole food alternatives like stevia. The ADA’s official statement reads: “The American Diabetic Association considers aspartame—as well as the other FDA-approved non nutritive sweeteners (saccharin, acesulfame k and sucralose)—acceptable sugar substitutes and a safe part of a diabetic meal plan.” Interestingly, Monsanto (producer of NutraSweet®) donates $250,000 a year to the ADA and is a Platinum Corporate Sponsor.

But worse is the FDA’s support of aspartame. Aspartame can be found in breath mints, gum, cereals, frozen desserts, coffee, juice, synthetic vitamins, pharmaceutical drugs, tea, wine coolers, yogurt supplements, and of course, diet soft drinks.

That doesn’t sound so bad until you meet people who have linked their health problems to aspartame consumption.

Aside from all the political and scandalous implications behind the supposed “safety” of aspartame, it’s equally appalling that Monsanto’s commercial brags that 200 million people are now consuming NutraSweet® in more than 4,000 different products. Don’t think for a minute that they cannot afford the best lawyers and lobbyists to keep their product “legally safe,” despite rising evidence to the contrary.

For example: A review of 164 studies on the safety of aspartame conducted by Ralph G. Walton, M.D., Chairman of the Center for Behavioral Medicine and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, revealed that 100% of the 74 industry-sponsored studies of aspartame claimed that no problems were found.

However, he also found that of the 90 studies funded by non-aspartame industry money, 92% identified one or more serious health problems. And if you consider that the remaining 8% of the studies (which found no problems with aspartame) were FDA-sponsored and not really independent, it means that in reality, 100% of the independent studies found serious health problems with aspartame!

Incidentally, a number of FDA officials were hired by the aspartame industry immediately following the FDA’s approval of aspartame use in the food industry, including the former FDA Commissioner.

You should eliminate aspartame from your diet—especially if you are experiencing these symptoms:

Headaches	Nausea	Vertigo
Hearing Loss	Tinnitus	Insomnia
Numbness of Extremities	Depression	Blindness/Eye Problems
Memory Loss	Seizures	Blurred Vision
Slurred Speech	Skin Lesions	Chest Pain
Mild to Suicidal Personality Changes	Muscle Cramps	Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Mood Changes	Joint Pain	Edema
Hyperactivity (child or adult)	Fatigue	Gastrointestinal Disorders
Anxiety Attacks	PMS	Increased Appetite
	Menstrual Irregularities

While you may not be able to eliminate Nutrasweet® from everything you consume (considering its widespread use in medicines) go as far as you can toward that goal to ensure you don’t experience serious health problems!.

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Hormones and Sleep

Our bodies are controlled to a large extent by the hormones that are produced by glands throughout our bodies. Sleep, like most other body
processes, is also controlled by hormones.

Have you heard of melatonin? It is a hormone that controls our sleep patterns and is produced naturally by our bodies!

The Pineal gland, a small hormone-secreting gland located in the center of our brains, primarily secretes melatonin to help our bodies
regulate our sleep-wake cycles.

Synthesis and release of melatonin by the pineal gland is stimulated by darkness. Even without
darkness, there still is a circadian cycle in which melatonin levels peak in the wee hours of the morning and drop by midday.

Unfortunately, as we grow older, our body produces less and less melatonin. Scientists believe this may be the reason we have trouble sleeping as we age.

Supplementing with melatonin, dosed from 0.5 to 5 mg at bedtime (start low), can be very effective in improving your sleep patterns without the hazards or side effects of prescription sleeping pills.

But it seems to work best for short-term treatments (three months) followed by a melatonin-free period (about a week) to reset your own melatonin production. It works even better for jet lag, especially when you can get some sun exposure at your destination before going to
bed.

Good Supplementation Habits Mean Good
Health!

I live a busy lifestyle. With my family, community, church and medical practice activities, I rely on nutritional supplementation to help maintain my health. Participating in any kind of supplement regime means you will be faced with a few decisions in order to get started on the right path.

You will notice that most supplements are just vitamins and minerals. Please know that there are several other, even more important
supplementation items to consider.

For example, Americans are increasingly experiencing pancreas, thyroid and adrenal gland fatigue or burn-out. The pancreas makes digestive enzymes in combination with timed stomach acid secretion. When both of these become depleted (very common) we experience stomach acid pain, bloating or irritable bowel symptoms, and an unhealthy shift in bowel flora (the microbiological types of yeast or unfriendly
bacteria instead of the healthy Lactobacillus bacteria so important for digestion).

With thyroid and adrenal weakness we experience fatigue, hormone and sugar metabolism disorders, to name just a few.

Why does this occur? One of several reasons is when cell membranes (made of partially hydrogenated oils, which are found in so many man-made foods) become dysfunctional, and glucose transport into the cell for processing is impaired, we experience a host of symptoms or “diseases” such as obesity, diabetes, allergies, hypertension and even cancer.

Another reason for organ weakness is the destructive emotions of worry, anger or depression. These change the body’s acid-base balance, nutrient absorption, enzyme activity and adrenal gland secretion of adrenaline, shifting away from its other functions of sex hormones, growth hormones and blood pressure-controlling hormones.

The thyroid gland is also enzyme- and nutrient-dependant and down-regulates in response to the above listed factors. It is dependant upon certain nutrients such as naturally occurring iodine, which can be found in kelp.

Therefore, be aware of “other” supplements which are important, or perhaps even required, to allow the vitamins you consume to actually work.

Here are the most important of the “other” supplements to consider:

Essential fatty acids such as EPA and DHA. These build healthy cell membranes (nearly 100 trillion in the human body) and brain tissue (made of approximately 90% fat).

• Proteolytic and digestive enzymes make every biochemical process in your body work.
• Anti-oxidation from phytonutrients (plant sources) keep the electron-seeking molecules (dangerous molecular by-products of metabolism) controlled, allowing repair enzymes to reverse disease processes.
• Amino acids are the protein building blocks must be are part of your nutrient intake.

Here’s a quick summary of good habits to follow when supplementing:

• Take your supplements with food for proper digestion and assimilation
• Keep all supplements out of direct sunlight; UV rays destroy their chemical quality
• Create a regular routine for your supplement taking, like at breakfast and dinner
• Keep supplements in the same place, to reinforce your habit; remember, it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit, so give it a little
  time

For proper nutrition, you need a balance of:

• vitamins
• minerals
• essential fatty acids & oils
• phytonutrients
• amino acids
• enzymes

Follow these recommendations and you’ll get the most from your supplements!

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Q & A

Each week in the Q & Asection of House Calls with Dr. Cutler, I will share with you some of the many questions I get every week from subscribers to my monthly advisory newsletter, Easy Health Options”. For more information on Easy Health Options”, visit www.easyhealthoptions.com

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Is Taking Brewer’s Yeast Safe?

Dear Dr. Cutler,

I am a 91-year-old reader of your newsletter. I have been having some stress problems and took your advice—brewer’s yeast for
insomnia. It’s been working beautifully. Today I’ve been reading the book, Food Enzymes—the Missing Link to Radiant Health by
Hombart Santillo, N.D. pages 75-76 concerning yeast. This of course concerns me. I look to you for advice.—R. P. Frodahl

Dear Mrs. Frodahl,

Thank you for your confidence in me. And your question is a good one because there is still a controversy as to whether yeast hypersensitivity conditions can really cause as broad a range of symptoms as some authors claim.

First, let me explain brewer’s yeast (also known as baker’s yeast) just a bit, and clarify the difference between it and infection with the yeast called Candida albicans.

Brewer’s yeast is special yeast used to ferment beer and bake bread. As bad as taking yeast for therapy may sound, medicinally it is considered by the Chinese Pharmacopoeia as a vitamin, and by our American authoritative source, The Merck Index, as being a beneficial source of protein and B vitamins. More specifically, brewer’s yeast is officially approved in both Germany and by the American Botanical Council for the treatment
of chronic acne and loss of appetite.

In America we use it for these conditions and others, even though it is not a prescription medication.

It is used to help people sleep better, as you know. This effect probably comes from the Niacin (vitamin B3) and Pyridoxine (vitamin B6) present in the yeast working together to enhance serotonin in the brain.

In contrast to this beneficial yeast, overgrowth by the Candida yeast species is known to cause a long list of symptoms, some of which I know are real. Certainly we know that localized Candida yeast infections can cause the skin to itch, rash and swell. In the mouth it is known as
thrush.

But more insidiously, Candida overgrowth can and does occur when a patient is found to have even a mild immune weakness or overindulges in simple sugar forming foods. Mostly Candida overgrowth manifests as fatigue, urinary pain, irritable bowel syndrome and clouded thinking, and it also plays into allergies and other low-grade inflammatory conditions.

So don’t worry, the two yeasts in question are very different. Keep taking the brewer’s yeast if it works for you. If nothing else, it is a source of nutrition that some people call “nature’s wonder food.”

All the Best!

Respectfully,
Michael Cutler, M.D.