Wacky Week: Betty Martini On The Evils Of Aspartame (Episode 198)
17 11 2008
Welcome back for another fantastic…
Well, wait. Not every interview Jimmy does is fantastic. Sometimes Jimmy finds himself talking to people who are perhaps a teeny bit…what’s the word…unhinged?
Well, this is Wacky Week and we’re going to share some of the unusual conversations you’ve so far been sheltered from, right here on The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!
Wake up sheeples! It’s time to go down the rabbit hole with Dr. Betty Martini! Today, Jimmy shares an “unusual” interview with Betty Martini, a woman with an honorary doctorate in humanities who believes that food manufacturers, the FDA and, presumably the major advocacy groups for Parkinson’s disease, Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, the Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie-Woogie Flu are all in collusion to hide the horrors of not just the artificial sweetener aspartame, but many other low-carb/sugar-free sweeteners.
After conducting this interview, Jimmy was left scratching his head, but a little quick research turned up some idiosyncrasies in her belief system. Apparently the Canadian Diabetes Association and the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada consider her (and her probable pseudonym “Nancy Markle”) to be a member of the “tin-foil hat brigade.”
Sound odd yet? Dig a bit deeper. There is a “Nancy Markle” web site that claims to agree with the findings of Betty Martini, yet goes to lengths to smear her and insinuate that Dr. Martini is, in fact, Nancy Markle! Who is Nancy Markle? If you figure it out, let us know!
Come back on Thursday for Part 2 of Wacky Week as Jimmy talks with KONSTANTIN MONASTERSKY, who will explain why fiber is the root of all evil.
That is all. You can come out of your hole now.
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 198
- Betty Martini’s biography
- Mission Possible World Health International
- DORway.com
- Just Like Sugar web site
- The Media Awareness Network dissecting Martini’s information
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From over 400 pounds to 230, Jimmy Moore is 
Hi Jimmy! I have to pick some beef with you for the first time sicne I started listening to your podcast. I appreciate the tremendous work you do, but this time you made me question your comments about Dr Martini. I do believe Dr Martini went a bit far in my opinion inditing aspartame. But it is absolutely true that a large dosage of aspartame intake indeed leads to neurotoxic symptoms. There have been numerous study confirming danger of aspartame, thats why it is banned in lots of european countries. I for one think Dr Martini sounded knowledgable about subject she presented. Like I previously said, she migh have taken it a bit further than average person would swallow. But insuniating she has some screws loose was rather distasteful and a bit unprofessional. I love your work and everything you do, so do not take it the wrong way. Its just my opinion. I tend to treat people with respect, especially those that are kind enouph to share their beliefs. I was the one recomending Mr Monastyrskiy, not because i agree with him, but because in arguments truth is usually born! Some people like Dr Martini may beleive there is a conspiracy behind aspartame in medical community. Is she right? I think to some degree, but calling her unhinged and missing a screw or such remarks after the interview was over is a bit harsh and unprovoked. You might completely disagree with her, but…… I really found your comment distastefu, again one man’s opinion! i WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ANSWER, AND AGAIN IT IS NOT PERSONAL! kEEP DOING A GOOD WORK!
Jimmy, one more thing! I am very sensitive to name calling and it suprised me a lot hearing it from you. As you know I work at Suny Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY which is one of the most respectful and known medical college in the country. And you know Dr Feinman, who is a very respected and avid low carb supporter and follower. I know few people, who are very respected medical scientist who think Dr Feinman is an unhinged and insane! I know you would agree with me that lots of traditional so to speak medical doctor would call you and me loose pumpkins for following a low carb diet. I guarantee that they would call me and you mentally unhealthy before they would call Dr Martini such. So those comments coming from you about Dr Martini made it especially distasteful. One of my close friends is what I believe a racist and a segregationist, and I constanly argue with him trying to make him see the light. And he is Jewish. There is an analogy there. I think a racist statement coming from a jew is just as distasteful as a LOW CARBER calling anyone unhinged just becuase you happen to completely disagree with her, especially when you didnt uestion her sanity during interview. You thanked her for an interview and was rather professional in your comments. But when you released the interview, different story. It doesnt make me think of you any less, I know you are a nice guy and you do a lot for the low carb community. But I am a straight shooter and had to say my two sentences! By the way I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with Dr Martini or Monastrysky or Jimmy Moore! I did defend you vehemently in few posts becuase few women attcked you before, so you see I do believe I am fair!
Actually, whether or not her name is Nancy or Betty, I think she made some really good points, and if she can help someone get off aspartame permanently, then kudos to her.
I drank diet soda for a few years, and it always made my cravings for sweets and carbs a lot stronger. I’ve now tried to cut it out completely, and I’m sure I’m a lot healthier for it.
I do think Nancy/Betty makes some strong claims, but I wasn’t shocked by any of her assumptions. Even low-carb diets make a lot of claims that other people think are ‘wacky’. So we’re all wacky in a way, right? We all have our platforms that we feel strongly about, and this is hers. Other people talk about the evils of sugar…yet others feel strongly about trans fats or soy.
I am glad you did this interview, because I think it will help me resist eating or drinking sugar-free products in the future.
Thanks Vadim and Taiwan Gal! I appreciate your feedback. I readily acknowledged in the opening comments that there are some good points made in this interview. But to the degree that Betty Martini takes it is a little extreme in my estimation. Have you ever signed up for her e-mail mailing list? You get about 10-15 e-mails a week all with blaring headlines like “ASPARTAME IS KILLING CHILDREN AT A RATE OF .000003445 PERCENT DAILY” or “FDA IN CONJUNCTION WITH ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER COMPANIES BLINDING CONSUMERS.” It’s sensationalism that I believe is completely unnecessary. Yes, she has some valid arguments, but her methodology for communicating those is just bizarre. I appreciate the feedback about this interview, but you have to admit this was even more strange than anything I’ve shared before (aside from Dean Ornish, of course!).
And wait until you hear Konstantin on Thursday. Holy cow!
I have to agree with Vadim and Taiwan Jimmy. Regardless of whether she presents her information is an odd way, the information is good. Regardless, even if the information was bad, you have shown a lot of “odd” folks a lot of respect in your interviews and during the intro I just stopped and thought, “WTH?” this woman takes her time out and really tells you what she knows and how she feels about something only to be referred to as having screws loose. I’m sure a lot of mainstream media might feel that way about you or a lot of us! Yet, if you gave an interview and then that intro was added we would all be up in arms supporting you. I still adore you and will attribute this lapse to exhaustion or something.
I am glad that you guys felt the same way. Jimmy, again disagreeeing with her is one thing, calling her names is another. I know a lot of people who swear by Dr Ornish program, I and you are not in their camp. We successfully lost weight on low carb! But just because someone is diffferent then us, no matter how bazzare he or she might be, deserves a shot. If you feel like attacking the message is fine, I just have a problem of attacking the messenger! Anyway, I know you are a civil guy, and it was just a lapse in judgement, because i do believe it was.
lol, I cant wait for your interview with Konstantin! I had spoken with him on more then few occasions, and he is a challenge to communicate with, especially when you disagree with him. He did attack Dr Eades in his blog and threatened to start a wholy war with him. Until Dr Eades settled their dispute by acknowledging Monastyrsky point to some degree. Then Konstantin turned around and decided to sing a different tune and praised Dr Eades work. He is a very impatient guy and will jump the gun if anyone critisizes him. I called him on his weekly radio show, yes he does have one in NYC. I questioned his methology and point of view. I couldnt beleive the barrage of words, rather unpleasant, that he threw my way. I contacted him after the show and we settled in a civil way. I do think he is a bit unusual in his delivery and belief. I am sure, lol, you had your fun interviewing him. But I know people will like it!
THANKS for all your comments everyone! Take what you can out of the interview is all I ask.
A little off-the-wall, but I think she has some valid points. I do think she went a little overboard. I’ve found that with artificial sweetners, its YMMV. Some people have bad reactions to aspertame and even to splenda. That doesn’t mean it happens to everyone.
I try to avoid “nastytame.” When eating out, I prefer yellow (Splenda), then pink (Sweet n’ Low), but never blue (Equal). I do occasionally have some soda with nastytame, such as root beer, but try to stick with the splenda-sweetened soda as much as possible. Problem is, there isn’t that much out there with splenda. Even then, I have cut down on all diet sodas. I don’t have any reactions to nastytame. I’ve never been addicted and can take it or leave it. Others can’t. I wonder what the true percentage of “aspertame addicts” there are, compared to diet soda drinkers.
Also, if the Canadian Diabetes Association is anything like the American Diabetes Association, I’d question it’s credibility too.
Martini’s comments are all garbage and all the antiaspartame rhetoric is based on twenty year old flawed data.
Aspartame is perfectly safe used as directed in healthy people. First, all the misguided concern about aspartame has been wrongfully created by a combination of errors that started with the original Searle work, were perpetuated by a misguided aspartame internet conspiracy theory, and supported by two also wrongly designed 2006 and 2007 studies. In the eyes of misguided FDA evaluators of the original Searle work, there were tumor concerns evident in the original Searle safety study. Then the internet conspiracy theorists have kept this fable alive for twenty years. But those original results were simply false positives stemming from an error that nobody, even FDA, caught. The Searle work and everything since (including both highly quoted Soffritti et al (that is Rammazini), 2006 and 2007 studies) used a simple, yet wrong experimental design. They used control rats (fed no aspartame) and treated rats (fed different, graded doses of aspartame to get a dose response). The problem with this design is that it is simply improperly balanced. Even a high school science fair student can recognize this fact once it is made clear. Methanol from aspartame degradation is converted to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has long been known to react with and deplete a portion of the vitamin folate in exposed rats, but that issue is resolved if folate is replaced by daily and microgram sustenance supplements. But this degradation of folate only happens in the treated animals, because only they get the aspartame source of the methanol. Control animals were not given equivalent methanol. The consequence is that only the rats receiving the aspartame will show a dose-dependent increase not in tumors arising from aspartame, but from a dose-dependent induction of folate deficiency induced tumors. Proper design would involve feeding folate supplements; it would best have used three groups, control rats, aspartame treated rats, and folate supplemented, aspartame treated rats. This design would not have given rise to tumors, because the rats would not have been depleted of folate, which causes exactly those tumor types reported in the 2006 and 2007 lifetime exposures.
Second, all the matter above deals with the rat experimental studies, but there is another totally separate issue, human safety. That issue only exists because of the false claims that aspartame causes problems including tumors in humans. In a corollary of the second line, the fact of the matter is that many people in this country are not healthy; they are intrinsically susceptible to a natural cause of tumors that internet conspirators have wrongly attributed to aspartame. Many people, particularly women, are deficient in this vitamin (folate) and some are seriously deficient in it. The “health weight” trend not to eat sweet rolls, doughnuts and other grain products that have been fortified with folate since 1998 only worsens the underlying problem. Still others have biochemical issues with their folate processing enzymes called polymorphisms that raise their susceptibility to folate deficiency. Widespread folate deficiency, not aspartame, is the real problem causing much of the tumors and cancers epidemic in America today. And alcohol abuse by women is a major factor in increased folate deficiency and contributes greatly to the incidence of breast cancer today.
There have recently been calls for a second round of grain product fortification to again overcome these problems. But the only real solution to the many folate deficiency linked tumors is use of folate supplements. Folate is made not by us, but by bacteria in our gut; given even a folate rich diet (“healthy living”), we simply cannot make sufficient folate to prevent the widespread occurrence of disease associated with folate deficiency. Then, many dietary substances including antibiotics, abusive levels of ethanol, and many commonly used pharmaceuticals (antiepileptic and others) adversely affect either folate or the bugs that generate the folate; they only make us more deficient.
(Information detailing the fatal error in all rat aspartame research is new. It was presented in March, 2008 at the national Society of Toxicology meeting in Seattle and in April (2008) at the Agriculture & Food Chemistry section of the national American Chemical Society meeting in New Orleans).
John E. Garst, Ph.D. (Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Nutrition)
(FYI, I have absolutely no financial or biasing connection with the aspartame, the soft drink or related industries. However, I am just tired of people who have no understanding of the the sciences of pharmacology and toxicology trying to pass judgment by hearsay on something that they know nothing about.)
Dr. John E. Garst – I agree with you that the so-called health perils of aspartame are greatly exaggerated. Particularity in regards to cancer.
After all, about 50% of all NATURAL chemicals have proven carcinogenic in high doses – about the same ratio as artificial chemicals.
Having said that, are you as dismissive of the potential of aspartame to cause problems via excitatory reactions in the brain?
And oh yeah…sweet rolls for folate?! Would you not agree that fruits and vegetables would be a much more logical choice for supplying folate?
Regarding Martini – If indeed there are health problems associated with aspartame that the public needs to be made aware of, this lady’s antics would make it mighty hard to do so. Her obviously exaggerated hype is embarrassing and discrediting. And where did she get her “PH.d” from?
Hi Jimmy , I noticed in the past when I would eat yogurt made with aspertame , I would be scouring the cupboards for anything carby to stuff my self with . I of course stopped the aspertame and use inulin and do fine now . I loved this show , it was very informative.
Jeffrey, her PhD was an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree for her work. I agree her tactics are questionable at best and not helping the cause very much.
THANKS for listening, Cindy!
Dr. John E. Garst, Ph.D. who are you and why are you spending so much time on the internet looking for “dangers is aspartame” stories to debunk?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft%3A*%3AIE-Address&rlz=1I7GWYE&q=%22John+E.+Garst%2C+Ph.D.%22+%22aspartame%22/
I could be wrong, but I am as suspicious of your objectivity at this point as I am of Martini’s. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Ok, that link I just posted didn’t quite take.
But if you Google…
“Dr. John E. Garst” + Aspartame
…you’ll see that he’s been quite busy defending aspartame all across the internet. So I’m starting to really wonder if this guy is legit.
I’m really not trying to dominate this comment section, so I’ll post just once more then shut up. Dr. Garst, as I read your many refutations of the dangers of aspartame, they all read almost exactly the same. As in cut-and-paste – with only minor variations where you address specific comments in the article you are attempting to refute.
Are you sure you’re not a shill of Searle, Monsanto or others financially associated with aspartame?
Jeffrey, if you do a similar search of “Betty Martini” + Aspartame, then you’ll see she also uses that same cut-and-paste technique to get her message across. It’s just not the way to go about marketing what you believe IMHO. The same goes for Dr. Garst.
Dr. Garst says:
“Methanol from aspartame degradation is converted to formaldehyde. Formaldehyde has long been known to react with and deplete a portion of the vitamin folate in exposed rats, but that issue is resolved if folate is replaced by daily and microgram sustenance supplements.”
So if I get this right, he says the protocols of the experiment are invalid because folate supplements were not given?
But folate supplements would only be needed because (as stated above) as aspartame breaks down it releases a chemical that depletes folate.
So A becomes B which causes C which results in D, right? In other words, Aspartame breaks down to Formaldehyde which depletes Folate, and depleted folate levels result in tumors.
How does this support Dr. Garst’s argument? Forgive me if I’m missing something obvious.
I thought this interview was great and I don’t understand why you called her a kook. TBH Jimmy I thought you were more of a gentleman than that. That was just not nice. I thought she was very informative.
The other guy this week was actually crazy though. Even before he went off on Dr. Bernstein and Dr. A he wouldn’t stop talking and kept laughing crazily. And he never explained what he thought was wrong with any of their diets either.
I agree with Lynn, I did not find anything kooky about her delivery or position.
THANKS for your honest feedback, Lynn and Scott! I guess you just have to see it from my perspective over the past few years to know why I think Betty Martini is a bit “wacky.” Her sensationalism of this issue is a huge turnoff even if she’s right. It’s not just about the message, it’s the methodology used to promote that message that needs to be equally right in order to be effective. While it may not have been overtly apparent during this interview, do some searching around the Internet on her name and you’ll see she’s quite the viral marketing machine for the anti-sweetener movement. While she makes SOME good points, overall she’s become much too hyperbolistic in her opposition. Not a good way to communicate the truth. I appreciate your comments!
Jimmy, she came across as very well educated on the aspartame issue, passionate about it (like we are LLVLC) and, well, normal. I think, perhaps, since this is the only exposure most of us have had to her and her message that it is hard to see her as kooky.
Her behavior on the web, however, does impact the message and her credibility, as does “dr” garst. I don’t know how someone can defend something with no properly performed experiments. Saying that we know what the results will be is b.s. – SHOW the results and then I’ll pay attention.
I do think there is something to the artificial sweetener concerns. I do not know how bad it is but I have no doubt based only on personal experiences that I’m aware of that it does affect some people badly and that it is plausible that it is bad for everyone, just that some of us do not immediately manifest the problems caused by them. Just to be on the safe side, I avoid all that junk as much as possible.
Thanks for these great podcasts, Jimmy!