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Health

Aspartame: Methanol and the Public Health

The attached article was written in 1984 by Woodrow C. Monte, Ph.D., R.D., Director of the Food Science and Nutrition Laboratory, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, and it was published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition, Volume 36, Number 1, 1984.

See: aspartame_methanol_and_public_health

“Aspartame (NutraSweet)* is a small molecule made up of three components: Phenylalanine, aspartic acid, and methanol (wood alcohol). — Source: See Footnote 47

*NutraSweet is a trademark of G.D. Searl & Co.

Footnote 47:  Searle Food Resources, Inc. Sources and Metabolism of Aspartame and Representative Sweeteners. (1981).”

METHANOL CONTENT OF ASPARTAME SWEETENED BEVERAGES

Dr. Monte’s Article states: An average aspartame-sweetened beverage would have a conservative aspartame content of about 555 mg/liter, and therefore, a methanol equivalent of 56 mg/liter (56 ppm). For example, if a 25 kg child consumed on a warm day, after exercising, two-thirds of a two-liter bottle of soft drink sweetened with aspartame, that child would be consuming over 732 mg of aspartame (29 mg/kg). This alone exceeds what the Food and Drug Administration considers the 99 + percentile daily consumption level of aspartame.” The child would also absorb over 70 mg of methanol from that soft drink. This is almost ten times the Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended daily limit of consumption for methanol.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency in their [1977] Multimedia Environmental Goals for Environmental Assessment recommends [as of 1977] a minimum acute toxicity concentration of methanol in drinking water at 3.9 parts per million, with a recommended limit of consumption below 7.8 mg/day .[See Footnote 8]

This report clearly indicates that methanol:

“is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the
body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are
toxic.”[8]

Footnote 8 — Source:  Cleland, J.G. and Kingsbury, G.L., Multimedia Environmental Goals For Environmental Assessment. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: EPA-600/7-77-136b, E-28, November 1977.

Computers

Setup and Calibrate a Touchscreen When Using Multiple Monitors

If the touchscreen monitor (the monitor with touchscreen features) is not the primary monitor in your dual / multiple monitor configuration, then you may need to select and designate the monitor having touchscreen capabilities.

First, make sure that your USB connection between your PC and your touchscreen monitor is working. In other words, ensure that the “Flicks” icon appears in your system tray.

In Windows 7, go to Control Panel, select View by: Large Icons, [very important –>] drag the Control Panel window onto the monitor display which has touchscreen capabilities, then select Tablet PC Settings from the Control Panel list.

Control_Panel_Items

Select the Setup button from the Table PC Settings window.  Follow the instructions to identify the monitor with touch screen capabilities.

Tablet_PC_Settings

You are quite welcome.

Travel, wildlife

Leaping the Rapids at LeHardys Rapids

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Copyright © 2014 T.G.V., All rights reserved.

Dining

Pizza Dough Recipe

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  • 1 Teaspoon of Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoon of Salt
  • 1 Cup Hot (Tepid) Tap Water (not too hot or it will kill the yeast)
  • 1 Package of Dry Active Yeast

Combine these ingredients in mixing bowl (hot water and dry yeast last) and stir until all the floating yeast is dissolved.  Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let it set for 10 minutes until the yeast has fully activated (until the water surface is covered with a thin foam of air bubbles.  The sugar may help the yeast to activate.

  • Add 2 Cups of all purpose flour to the bowl and mix with a fork or spoon.  Begin to hand knead the dough mixture.
  • Add 1/4 Cup or less of all purpose flour if this dough mixture is too sticky.  Hand knead this dough mixture until it is smooth and not sticky. Only add a bit of flour to achieve the correct consistency. Knead the dough into a ball.
  • Add about a Tablespoon of Olive Oil to the sides of the bowl and roll the dough ball in the oil to seal its surface.
  • Cover the bowl with a dry dish towel and set in a warm place for the dough to rise for about 10 or 15 minutes or until doubled.
  • Preheat the oven to bake at 400-F degrees.
  • Lightly grease a pizza pan with olive oil
  • Press the raised dough into the pizza pan and spread it evenly across the pan to form the pizza shell.  This is much the same as punching down the raised dough.
  • Cover the shell with the dry towel and let the shell dough rise in the pizza pan for 5 or 10 minutes.
  • Place the pizza pan and shell in the oven for 2 or 3 minutes to precook the dough at 400-F (second to the bottom oven rack about 6 to 8 inches from the bottom of the oven).

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Now the Pizza Sauce and Toppings:

  • Remove the pizza pan and shell from the oven
  • Spread 1/2 jar of your favorite pizza sauce (Prego or Rago, etc., or your own homemade sauce)
  • Spread and top with shredded mozzarella cheese and shredded colby mild cheddar cheese.
  • Add any other toppings that you like:  sliced pepperoni, sliced mushrooms, diced green peppers, etc)
  • Bake on the second to the lowest rack at 400-F for 12 minutes (6 to 8 inches above the bottom of the oven).  Cooking times may vary.  Then check the shell crust.  Cook for an extra 1 or 2 minutes if the under side of the the shell is too soft.  (This cooking time works well with my pizza pan and oven.  Your pan may crisp the shell bottom more quickly).  Be careful not to burn the cheese.

Enjoy!

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