SWEET MISERY: a Poisoned World by JT Waldron and Cori Brackett of Sound and Fury Productions in Tucson, AZ, is an eye-opening documentary on aspartame, the most pervasive artificial sweetener in processed food and drink in the U.S.  (Aspartame is also known as the name brands, NutraSweet, and Equal.)  This film is also one of the most widely viewed documentaries on the internet and can be seen in it's entirety here.

Cori Brackett was inspired to research this topic after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2002.  She started this documentary in Tucson and traveled the country interviewing doctors and researchers who studied the connection between patient ailments and aspartame use. Victims of apparent aspartame poisoning were interviewed as well.  This informative film is well-organized, well-supported with diagrams and straightforward in it's expose on this controversial topic.  

The many doctors and researchers that were interviewed included, Dr. John W. Olney,  Jim Bowen, MD, H.J. Roberts, Arthur Evangelista, former FDA investigator, Russell A. Blaylock, MD, Board-Certified Neurosurgeon as well as many others.  Among their findings they found that in 1983, Aspartame was widely introduced into mainstream processed foods and was connected to a rise in neurological disorders.  Six months later, brain tumor incidents increased by 10%, the diabetes rate jumped 30%, and brain lymphoma jumped by 60%. It was also found that aspartame effects DNA.  So symptoms can seem unrelated, but most turn out to be similar in that they are neurological in nature.

The film also revealed that aspartame taken with carbohydrates interferes with production of tryptophan, a building block of serotonin and other important neurotransmitters. (Great, have some diet drinks with your fast food carbs!) The film goes on to explain that aspartame is a chemical not naturally made.  So when ingested, one of its molecular components easily breaks free and can become methyl or wood alcohol. As a result people who habitually ingest Aspartame products can actually suffer from wood alcohol poisoning.  Dizziness, double vision, lack of muscular control, neurotransmitter depletion, neural hearing loss, itching, loss of short-term memory all indicate methyl alcohol poisoning.

The habitual users of artificial sweeteners interviewed all reported extreme neurological disorders.  Their stories are amazing.  Many suffered seizures, blindness, MS-like symptoms and some were incorrectly diagnosed with Lupus.  Luckily when these users and their loved ones saw the correlations between their symptoms and eating habits, they stopped the artificial sweeteners and the symptoms receded in most cases. I realize not all people who use aspartame products are susceptible to extreme symptoms, but these sensitive users interviewed in the film are like canaries in the mineshaft, alerting us to the inherent dangers of long-term use of artificial sweeteners. 

General Foods is the main customer of Aspartame, manufactured by GD Searle.  The FDA approved limited use of Aspartame in 1974 in spite of the research on monkeys showing extensive brain damage after being fed this sweetner.  GD Searle didn’t reveal test results to the FDA until after they were given approval.  Their data showed bad lab practices; so the FDA insisted Searle redo their research.  They did, but since Searle paid for it themselves, the hired researchers’ tests results were influenced.  Searle’s law firm bought off lawyers working on the Supreme Court case against Searle.  And the case was dropped. 

Donald Rumsfeld was originally part of the Rand Corp, a military think tank which contained the best and the brightest.  He was basically a get'er-done-no-matter-what kind of personality. Rumsfeld became president of Searle in 1977 and with a full team of politicians, saved Searle from going under after the financial beating they received during their trials with the Supreme Court.  Under Rumsfeld's leadership in Searle, there were no requirements to study brain effects; the only concern was with getting Aspartame on the market.   Reagan also helped by suspending the FDA’s authority to take action on preventing aspartame’s approval.

The film ends with an amazing story of a woman who was imprisoned for murder for poisoning her husband.  Her side of the story is that her hubby was very concerned about his weight and regularly consumed diet drinks & weight-loss supplements.  His autopsy revealed that he had methanol or wood alcohol poisoning.  It is a powerful interview and very revealing of our drugged culture especially when she apologizes for crying by offering the excuse that she's not taking Zoloft anymore.

This is an important film for everyone that values their health.  I highly recommend this documentary and wish it were required viewing in schools.  A lot of corporations would lose money if everyone decided to quit eating and drinking artificial sweeteners which are in just about every food in regular grocery stores and offered in restaurants everywhere.  If you are in doubt, there are plenty of facts and research to verify for yourself in this film.

The sequel to Sweet Misery is Sweet Remedy.  Watch the first 25 minutes here. Sound and Fury Productions has committed themselves to creating documentaries that ferret out the truth in various issues concerning health and politics.  Sweet Misery can be rented at Netflix or your local DVD rental store, if you still have one.