Why Are So Many People Sick?

You know how it is, the holiday period of good cheer and you eat and drink waaay too much and the next morning you wake up feeling like shite but you still have work to do?

The old head aches and the tummy rumbles around like a semi-dormant volcano looking for somewhere to eject from but you just got to carry on.

If you are like me you reach for the good old Berocca. Been around for years and seems to work toward making you feel better. Throw one into the biggest glass you can find and top up with water and watch the fizzy bubbles.

While waiting for this made in Indonesia product to fizz up I read the nutritional information. Poor old Australia, can't even make an effervescent hangover tablet anymore! Now I am interested to see what kind of vitamins, minerals, etc contained in this majical little tablet are going to make me feel better.

Well, FMD, the first thing I see is a warning:

"Contains aspartame. Phenylketonurics are warned that this product contains phenylalanine."

The words are big and chemically sounding so before I belt it down my grumbling guts I decide to google "phenylalanine". I know aspartame, the sweetening chemical in so called diet drinks is not good for you so this other ingrediant may be similar.

Here is what I found, not on a drug company site that manufactures Berocca, but on a Dr Hull's website.

"Phenylalanine is a hidden danger to anyone consuming aspartame. Most consumers don't know that too much Phenylalanine is a neurotoxin and excites the neurons in the brain to the point of cellular death.

ADD/ADHD, emotional and behavioral disorders can all be triggered by too much Phenylalanine in the daily diet. If you are one in ten thousand people who are PKU or carry the PKU gene, Phenylalanine can cause irreversible brain damage and death, especially when used in high quantities or during pregnancy. 

Phenylalanine is 50% of aspartame, and to the degree humans consume diet products, Phenylalanine levels are reaching a dangerous peak."

Here is a quick heads up on aspartame:

"There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption. It seems surreal, but true. How can one chemical create such chaos?

Some adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye:   Blindness in one or both eyes,decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision, pain in one or both eyes, decreased tears, trouble with contact lenses, bulging eyes.

Ear:     Ttinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound, severe intolerance of noise, marked hearing impairment, 

Neurologic:     Epileptic seizures, headaches, migraines and (some severe), dizziness, unsteadiness, confusion, memory loss, severe drowsiness and sleepiness, paresthesia or numbness of the limbs, severe slurring of speech, severe hyperactivity and restless legs, atypical facial pain, severe tremors, 

Psychological/Psychiatric:    severe depression, irritability, aggression,anxiety, personality changes, insomnia, phobias, chest palpitations, tachycardia, shortness of breath, recent high blood pressure, 

Gastrointestinal problems, nausea, diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools, abdominal pain, pain when swallowing."

Welcome to the world of diet soft drinks friends! The above is only a short list of side effects.

But WTF, don't believe me.

Look it up, do some research for yourself. Start at Dr Hull's site here.

Geez you may just get better?