Mate Match

Harinder Singh sent us this true? story. Long one this, but worth it!!

This got the whole of Sydney laughing.....

Just imagine sitting in traffic on your way to work and hearing this. Many Sydney folks heard this on the FOX FM morning show in Sydney.

The DJs play a game called 'Mate Match'. The DJ calls someone at work and asks if they are married or seriously involved with someone. If the contestant answers 'yes', he or she is then asked 3 random yet highly personal questions.

The person is also asked to divulge the name of their partner with (phone number) for verification.

If their partner answers those same three questions correctly, the couple wins a holiday to Bali.

The Harbour City dropped to its knees with laughter and is possibly the funniest thing you've heard yet.

Anyway, here's how it all went down:

DJ: Gidday, Ed on FOX-FM. Have you ever heard of 'Mate Match'?

Contestant: Yeah, sure.

DJ: Great! Then you know we're giving away a trip to the Bali if you win. What is your name? First only please.

Contestant: Brian.

DJ: Brian, are you married or what?'

Brian: (laughing nervously) Yes, I am married.

DJ: Thank you. Now, what is your wife's name? First only please.

Brian: Sarah.'

DJ: Is Sarah at work, Brian?

Brian: She is gonna kill me.

DJ: Stay with me here, Brian! Is she at work?

Brian: (laughing) Yes, she's at work.

DJ: Okay, first question - when was the last time you had sex?

Brian: Ohhh, maaaate. Ha ha, well, about 8 o'clock this morning.

DJ: And how long did it go for Brian?

Brian: Orrrrr . . . about 10 minutes.

DJ: Wow! Final question. Where did you do it mate?

Brian: Ohhhh maaaaate, I can't say that.

DJ: There's a holiday to Bali at stake here Brian!

Brian: O.K. . . . O.K. . . . On the kitchen table.

DJ: (and others in the room - much laughter) Good one Brian, now is it O.K. for us to call your wife?

Brian: Yeah, alright.

DJ: Hi Sarah, how are you?

Sarah: Hi. Good, thanks.

DJ: (Explains competition again.) We've got Brian on the other line. Say Hello.

Sarah: Hi, Brian.

Brian: Hi, Sarah.

DJ: Now Sarah, we're going to ask you the same three questions we asked Brian, and if you give the same answers, you win a trip for two to Bali.

Sarah: (laughing) Brian, what the hell are you up to?'

Brian: (laughing) Just answer his questions honestly, okay? Be completely honest.

Sarah: O.K.

DJ: Sarah, when was the last time you had sex?

Sarah: Oohhhh, noooooo. I can't say that on radio.

Brian: Sarah, it doesn't matter. I've already told them.

Sarah: O.K. . . . About 8:00 this morning before Brian went to work.

DJ: Good, nice start ! Next question: How long did it go for, Sarah?

Sarah: (giggling) About 12, maybe 15 minutes.

Co-DJ: Hmmmm. That's close enough. I am sure she is trying to protect his manhood. We've got one last question, Sarah. You are one question away from a trip to Bali. Are you ready?

Sarah: (laughing) Yes.

DJ: Where did you have it?

Sarah: OH MY GOD, BRIAN!! You didn't tell them that did you?

DJ: There's a trip to Bali on the line here.

Brian: Sarah, I've already told them so it doesn't matter anyway. Just tell him, honey.

DJ: What is bothering you so much, Sarah?

Sarah: Well...

DJ: Come on Sarah.....where did you have it?

Sarah: Up the arse.....

Radio Silence

[ 3 minutes of commercials follow. ]

DJ: Sorry if anyone was offended before. We're going live here, and sometimes these things happen. We've given Brian and Sarah the holiday. Now we'll take a music break.

The above started in 1993 as the Newlywed Game in the States, quickly morphed into an Australian Mate Match and busted in 1998 but still giving lots of laughs around the world

Zestz Snopes: Semen Proven to Increase Life Expectancy

Picture credit : http://pics.myspew.com

Mr Z, another unemployed, err retired pharmacist (we shall keep his identity confidential for reasons which becomes obvious when he opens his mouth) fresh from a trip to the UK sent us the May 12, 2007 Daily Squib headline screaming “Semen Proven to Increase Life Expectancy”

He attested just as loudly “I been telling them this and they don't believe me. Taste like sashimi anyway unless they don't like raw fish”. The “them” probably refers to the many SYTs that had slipped through his snares in his youth.

He got us all very excited, of course. But once the euphoria is spent (we climaxed?), we embarked on a little fact-finding tour. We “googled” the wonders of semen and got the abstract of a not so depressing treatise “Does semen have antidepressant properties?” by Gallup GG Jnr, Burch RL and Platek SM, published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour in June 2002. You can access the abstract HERE.

The connection between semen and depression got Tiffany Kary of Psychology Today interested and she published a review of the paper HERE in September 2002.

We are quite sure that Eileen Dover of the Daily Squib had written “Semen Proven to Increase Life Expectancy” as a satire when we compared her article (in blue) with Tiffany's, as seen below. We have also not been able to locate Dr Clifford J. Ponsonby at the State University of Washington in Saint Louis nor his research paper “Why Women Need More Semen”.

Women who make regular contact with semen live longer and age less than women who do not, scientists have discovered.

The finding that women who swallow semen and do not use condoms during vaginal sex, live longer and have reduced signs of ageing, has led one researcher to conclude that semen is a miracle potion that should be treasured by every woman.

The finding that women who do not use condoms during sex are less depressed and less likely to attempt suicide than are women who have sex with condoms and women who are not sexually active, leads one researcher to conclude that semen contains powerful—and potentially addictive—mood-altering chemicals.

Male sperm contains vital chemicals that slow down the ageing process and increases life expectancy by up to 35%.

Study author Clifford J. Ponsonby, Ph.D, a psychologist at the State University of Washington in Saint Louis, also found that women who routinely had intercourse without condoms or had facials had better skin quality and wrinkled less plus also had the ability to ingest fatty foods without putting on weight.

Study author Gordon G. Gallup, Ph.D., a psychologist at the State University of New York in Albany, also found that women who routinely had intercourse without condoms became increasingly depressed as more time elapsed since their last sexual encounter. There was no such correlation for women whose partners regularly used condoms.

Ponsonby's survey of 753 college women and eastern European prostitute's over a 45 year period, also found that those who ingested semen regularly either orally or through vaginal intercourse had a better over all quality of life and would be wealthier in jobs/life.

"These women have a remarkable ability to achieve serious longevity without showing any signs of ageing, this is the key to life," says Ponsonby.

Gallup's survey of 293 college women also found that those who did not use condoms were most likely to initiate sex and to seek out new partners as soon as a relationship ended. "These women are more vulnerable to the rebound effect, which suggests that there is a chemical dependency," says Gallup.

Semen contains powerful hormones including testosterone, oestrogen, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and prostaglandins. Once these chemicals are absorbed through the vaginal walls they inhibit weight gain and slow down the ageing process.

Semen contains hormones including testosterone, estrogen, prolactin, luteinizing hormone and prostaglandins, and some of these are absorbed through the walls of the vagina and are known to elevate mood.

Women who ingested semen orally were also found to increase their ability to succeed in jobs and wealth as well as brain power and have beautiful ageless glowing skin.

Ponsonby controlled for variables including method of semen extraction, frequency of sexual intercourse, as well as the women's perception of their relationship.

Gallup controlled for variables including method of contraception, frequency of sexual intercourse, as well as the women's perception of their relationship.

The longer that women went without ingesting semen the more accelerated the ageing process was found to be. Furthermore, there was an immense risk of obesity and heart disease by abstaining from semen as well as increased depression.

He concedes that women who regularly have sex without condoms might share personality traits that make them less susceptible to depression. But the behavior most often associated with non-condom users is sexual risk-taking, and studies have found no correlation between high-risk sexual behavior and lower rates of depression.

Ponsonby's study, which he deems "the first serious attempt to investigate the effect of semen chemistry on women," has underlined his fascinating findings in the research treatise Why Women Need More Semen .

Gallup's study, which he deems "the first serious attempt to investigate the effect of semen chemistry on women," titillated the public and rankled some academics upon publication in Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Ponsonby says he has seriously enjoyed working with all his female subjects in the study and would like to replicate the study but this time with 5000 women.

Gallup says he has since replicated the findings with a sample of 700 women and will examine whether "semen withdrawal" places women at an increased risk for depression when they are premenstrual, menopausal or have just given birth, as many women abstain from sex during these periods.

"If you are a woman and wish to increase your life expectancy and overall health plus reduce any signs of ageing you must utilize the magical properties of semen," the groundbreaking study concludes.

Well, Mr Z may have been misled over the power of semen but do you think he is right about its "sashimi" taste?

Remedy for "Heart Vein Opening"

No Need Now for Angioplastty or Bypass?

That is a chain email about a brew of lemon, ginger, garlic and apple cidar vinegar to “open heart vein”.

For authenticity the chain email quotes Prof. Dr. S. Vikineswary Sabaratnam of the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Malaya.

Unsubstantiated Claims

Mathew Simon contacted the good professor to verify the authenticity of this claim. She responded stating that it is a hoax and that the claim is not substantiated.

Half Truths

This brew may have some benefits in helping prevent cardiovascular disease. Certainly it has not been clinically proven to be able to clear clogged arteries; personal accounts cannot replace peer-reviewed rigorous clinical studies.

So what do we know about

GINGER , APPLE, GARLIC, LEMON and APPLE CIDAR VINEGAR

These can be considered functional foods.

Unlike herbal products many of which contain potentially toxic substances, particularly in relation to interactions with drugs, functional foods are components of the usual human diet that may have special disease prevention attributes and are the topic of current traditional scientific investigation.

Working with rats, Morihara, Hayama and Fujii, have shown that showed that aged garlic extract scavenged superoxide radicals in a dose-dependent manner suggesting that aged garlic extract may be useful for preventing diseases associated with reactive oxygen species.

Also working on rats, Ansari, Bhandari and Pillai, discovered that an alcoholic extract of ginger exhibits cardioprotective property.

Still with rats, Budak NH et al has reported that apple cider vinegar given to the animals decreased triglyceride and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) levels in all groups when compared to animals on high-cholesterol diets without vinegar supplementation

Carol Johnston’s treatise on functional food mentioned that antioxidants in citrus can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Carol Johnston, PhD, RD of the Department of Nutrition, Arizona State University, explains:

There is growing consensus that systemic inflammation is at the heart of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Inflammation is a key feature of the immune system, functioning to defend tissue integrity and function. However, chronic stimulation of inflammatory mediators leads to lasting vascular reactivity, insulin resistance, hyperlipidemia, and, subsequently, chronic disease.

Dietary practices to minimize inflammatory stimuli and CVD risk include regular intakes of fatty fish rich in the EPA and DHA (Omega 3 fatty acids) that compete with the more pervasive membrane fatty acid, arachidonic acid acid (Omega 6 fatty acid), disrupting the metabolic cascades that stimulate inflammation. Another effective dietary strategy is to consume less arachidonic by reducing beef, poultry, fish, and eggs from the diet (e.g., adopting a vegetarian-like diet).

Since oxidative stress plays a prominent role in immune system activation, regular ingestion of ample amounts of fruits and vegetables (8+ servings per day) rich in antioxidant compounds, the polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamin C (e.g., citrus, tomatoes, berries, carrots, and greens), lowers inflammatory mediators and risk for chronic disease.

Whole grains, legumes, and nuts have also been demonstrated in clinical trials to effectively reduce inflammatory mediators and risk for CVD. Hence, as proclaimed in antiquity, 'let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food'.

Dr Johnston’s paper entitled “Functional Foods as Modifiers of Cardiovascular Disease” in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine in July 2009. You can read the full text HERE

Functional Foods for Health Maintenance

Remember, functional foods are simply intended for maintaining human health.

You can make this brew of lemon, ginger, garlic and apple cidar vinegar part of your diet for health maintenance.

If you are at risk of stroke you should see your regular doctor for regular check-ups. This will help early diagnosis and management of diseases known to increase stroke risk, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, irregular heart beats or diabetes.

How to Reduce Your Risk of Stroke

Exercise and lifestyle change in addition to dietary discretion and stress reduction are amongst the principal positive steps that you can take now to reduce your risk of stroke.

CLICK HERE for more details in this website maintained by the Stroke Center, Stanford Unviersity School of Medicine.

Additional References

Morihara N, Hayama M, Fujii H. Aged garlic extract scavenges superoxide radicals. Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2011 Mar;66(1):17-21.

Ansari MN, Bhandari U, Pillai KK. Ethanolic Zingiber officinale R. extract pretreatment alleviates isoproterenol-induced oxidative myocardial necrosis in rats. Indian J Exp Biol. 2006 Nov;44(11):892-7.

Budak NH, Kumbul Doguc D, Savas CM, Seydim AC, Kok Tas T, Ciris MI, Guzel-Seydim ZB. Effects of apple cider vinegars produced with different techniques on blood lipids in high-cholesterol-fed rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2011 Jun 22;59(12):6638-44.

Aspartame - The Killer In Your Fridge?

The Sweet "Poison"

We wrote about aspartame last year.

Now, a good friend has forwarded us a new version of the Nancy Markle letter that includes a lengthy preamble of a "miracle cure" that brought a loved one back from the brink of death.

He strongly advised that we forward this serious health message to our friends and relatives. But we decided to do a little checking first.

Wah! We found many Web sites that discuss the possible side effects of aspartame and try to link it, through mostly anecdotal evidence, to Alzheimer's, birth defects, brain cancer, diabetes, Gulf War syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis and seizures. Straight away, the long list warrants skepticism. Just as no single chemical cures everything, none causes everything.

So we went to a reliable health site, the US National Library of Medicine, to search for the latest peer-reviewed scientific papers on aspartame.

We found “Aspartame—facts and fiction” by Bernadene Magnuson and published in the March 19, 2010 issue of the New Zealand Medical Journal. A summary obtained from the website of the New Zealand Medical Association is reproduced below.

Dr Magnusson has declared that her presentation was funded by Coca-Cola Oceania. However, she has no financial interests in any of the companies that produce or use aspartame or any other high intensity sweetener.

If you are skeptical about this toxicologist, which is quite understandable, you can look up these other authoritative sites recommended by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority:

European Food Safety Authority

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) – Aspartame fact sheet

Health Canada

New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), Aspartame – what is it and why is it used in our food?

New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) submission to the Health Select Committee 2007

UK Food Standards Agency

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)

As always, if you have questions about the safety of the foods and other substances you ingest, your best source for answers are health professionals. If you are concerned about negative effects from aspartame or other artificial sweeteners, consult your doctor, pharmacist or a registered dietitian. Recommended this article to your friends and relatives and break this outdated and questionable chain!

The Sweet Poison?

Aspartame—facts and fiction

by Bernadene Magnuson

In September of 2008, I was invited to New Zealand by the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation to discuss the results of a recent review on the safety of aspartame published in the scientific journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology.1 Unfortunately urban myths surrounding this sweetener are causing undue concern and many New Zealanders are choosing to switch from diet versions of products to high calorie sugar-sweetened versions. This is of concern in a nation where obesity and diabetes, which have well-document health risks, are on the rise. Therefore, I welcomed the opportunity to present the scientific facts about aspartame, in order to help New Zealanders make informed decisions.

As lead author for a team of nine independent internationally esteemed toxicologists, I reviewed hundreds of studies on aspartame safety, providing me with a clear understanding of the science. This review was powerful because as a team, we arrived at our conclusions based on the totality of all safety studies available—published and unpublished (pre-market safety evaluation studies).

The key findings of the review1 with respect to aspartame safety were:

• Aspartame is completely broken down in the intestine to components found in other foods.
• Aspartame consumption (even at levels much higher than consumed by the highest users) has virtually no impact on blood levels of amino acids, methanol or glucose.
• Aspartame safety is clearly documented and well established through extensive laboratory testing, animal experiments, human clinical trials and epidemiological (population) studies.
• There is no evidence from numerous well conducted studies that consumption of aspartame at levels found in the human diet are associated with conditions of nervous system, behaviour, or other illness.
• Aspartame does not cause mutations, and there is no credible evidence that it causes cancer.

Therefore, the overall conclusion of the study is that, based on the current information available, aspartame is safe to consume even at levels much higher than the highest users are currently consuming.

The problem with many of the "aspartame toxin" stories is that they contain just enough science to make them sound plausible, so I wasn’t surprised to hear that even some medical professionals have been questioning the safety of aspartame.

To counter some of the misinformation, I make five key points:

• Firstly, when aspartame undergoes digestion in the gut lumen and epithelial cells lining the gut, the breakdown products are phenylalanine and aspartic acid (two amino acids present in many protein-containing foods) and a small amount of methanol (also present in most fruits and vegetables).2,3 The amounts of these are much less than found in other foods. For example, aspartame from a can of diet soft drink provides less methanol than a banana, and far less (only 20%) than from the same amount of tomato juice.2,4 Because aspartame never enters the bloodstream as a whole,3,5 studies where aspartame is directly injected into the body, or added to cells grown in a dish, cannot be used to assess safety for humans. This also explains why aspartame cannot possibly cross into the fetus during pregnancy or into breast milk. In fact studies show that amounts normally consumed in the diet are safe during pregnancy and lactation.6-12
• Secondly, it is necessary to explain how our body deals with the methanol produced when the body digests aspartame. The human body is well-equipped to use small amounts of methanol routinely produced from foods and drugs. First, alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver converts it into formaldehyde, which is used within seconds or converted to formic acid, which in turn is used by the body or converted into water and carbon dioxide for excretion.13 The fact that formaldehyde and formic acid are breakdown products of aspartame sounds scary. But the body is very efficient at using up formaldehdye (it actually needs it for some reactions and therefore produces it endogenously in much greater amounts than we could ever produce by ingesting aspartame),14 and so formaldehdye never builds up in the body. If the body doesn't need it, it converts formaldehye to formic acid within minutes. In most cases the formic acid will be either excreted in the urine, or broken down to carbon dioxide and water. However, this takes more time and if there is a lot of methanol (or formaldehye) coming into the body, formic acid can build up and that causes the adverse effects seen in methanol poisoning.13

So when the safety of aspartame was being assessed, many studies were conducted to examine whether the consumption of aspartame would affect blood methanol, formaldehyde or formic acid levels in humans. People consuming up to 200 mg aspartame/kg body weight (the normal daily consumption is 5 mg/kg) had a small increase in blood methanol, but this was 100X lower than the amount needed to cause methanol poisoning), no change in formic acid levels (there is always a small amount in blood) and formaldehyde was not detected. Studies in infants and children showed the same thing. People given 10 mg aspartame /kg body weight (about double a normal daily amount), every hour for 6 hours were monitored and there was no change in blood methanol, or any other metabolites.3,5 So, the amount of aspartame in diet drinks or foods produces so little methanol that there is no chance it could cause a build up of formic acid and cause adverse effects.

• Thirdly, another urban myth is that the methanol in aspartame is handled differently from the methanol in foods, because it is not consumed with ethanol, as it often is in other foods. As I’ve already explained, there isn’t enough methanol produced from consuming aspartame to cause methanol toxicity. However the statement is worthy of discussion because it is based on science, but is incorrectly extrapolated. Ethanol is also metabolised in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase. This is why methanol poisoning (high blood methanol, high blood formic acid), is treated clinically by administering ethanol. This stops further production of formic acid as alcohol dehydrogenase will preferentially metabolise ethanol, and slow the methanol metabolism. This gives the body time to breakdown the excess levels of formic acid before more is produced.

So the argument that the ethanol protects against methanol poisoning is correct, but this only is relevant when there is sufficient levels of methanol to cause a build-up of formic acid, and when there is sufficient ethanol to offset the metabolism of methanol. When people consume foods and drinks containing aspartame, such a small amount of methanol is released and metabolized, that there is no change in blood methanol or blood formic acid levels, so it makes absolutely no difference if you concomitantly consume ethanol or not.

• Fourth, allegations have been made that industry-funded studies always find no adverse effects while “independent” studies find adverse effects. This argument is both misleading and false. For example, three studies in mice conducted by the US National Toxicology Program (an independent group) concluded that aspartame is not a carcinogen.15 And a recent large scale US National Cancer Institute epidemiological study (also independent) came to the same conclusion.16 In addition, industry-initiated research most often examines the effects of ingesting aspartame—so as to test what happens when aspartame is consumed in foods and drinks. Many “independent” researchers study unrealistic situations such as injecting aspartame directly into the bloodstream, brain or other organs, and/or use doses far beyond what anybody could conceivably consume. At doses thousand of times what human consume, as with any compound, adverse effects will be seen. This is often a result of creating an unnatural and imbalanced intake of amino acids.
• Lastly, two studies in rats conducted by the Ramazzini Foundation17–19 are often upheld as scientific proof of adverse effects due to aspartame. The first study reported an association between aspartame and leukaemia and lymphomas, and the second reported increased cancers in rats fed aspartame for their lifetime, and whose mother was fed aspartame during pregnancy. This research, which is in contrast to all previous studies finding no effect of aspartame on cancer, has been carefully reviewed by numerous international food safety authorities and other experts. All found serious flaws in the research methodology and interpretation of results, which are discussed at length in our most recent review1 as well as a subsequent letter to the editor.20

Some of the flaws included:

• The experimental animals were housed unconventionally, without the treatment groups being in the same environment. This resulted in some groups contracting high rates of respiratory infection—a known risk factor for lymphoma and leukaemia.
• When the pathology slides used to draw conclusions about the rates of leukaemia and lymphoma by the researchers were examined by independent reviewers, they did not draw the same conclusions.
• The researchers did not provide information about the baseline rat diet used in their studies. It is known that it is not the conventional “rat chow” diet, and that nutrient levels were not re-adjusted depending on dose of aspartame used, as they are in conventional studies. Therefore there is a possibility that some findings could have been due to nutritional deficiencies in some groups.
• The researchers most recently reported a cancer risk from prenatal exposure to aspartame, without providing any data on aspartame intake (or indeed any other parameter) during pregnancy in rats.

In addition, 14 previous studies in various animal models found no evidence of aspartame causing or promoting cancer development.1 Thus the independent reviews all agree that there is no credible evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic.

I hope that this article helps clarify the scientific facts about aspartame so that New Zealanders can make fully informed choices about their consumption of aspartame sweetened foods and beverages in future.

Competing interest:. Funding for this summary of Dr Magnusson's presentations in New Zealand was provided by Coca-Cola Oceania, however the author has no financial interests in any of the companies that produce or use aspartame or any other high intensity sweetener.

Author information: Bernadene Magnuson, Adjunct Professor in Nutritional Sciences (also toxicologist who works as consultant to the food and dietary supplement industries on safety and regulatory issues), University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence: Bernadene Magnuson, PhD, Senior Scientific & Regulatory Consultant, Cantox Health Sciences International, 2233 Argentia Road, Suite 308, Mississaunga, ON, Canada L5N 2X7. Fax: +1 905 5421011; email: bmagnuson@cantox.com

References

1. Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, et al. Aspartame: A safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2007;37(8):629-727.
2. Stegink LD. The aspartame story: a model for the clinical testing of a food additive. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987;46:204-15.
3. Butchko HH, Stargel WW, Comer CP, et al. Aspartame: review of safety. Reg Toxicol and Pharmacol. 2002;35:S1-93.
4. Butchko HH, Kotsonis FN. Acceptable daily intake vs actual intake: the aspartame example. J Am Coll Nutr. 1991;10:258-66.
5. Renwick AG. The metabolism of intense sweeteners. Xenobiotica. 1986;16:1057-71.
6. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). Aspartame. Toxicological evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants. World Health Organisation Technical Report Series No.653. Prepared by the 23rd report of JECFA. Food Additive Series 15. World Health Organisation: Geneva; 1980.
7. Brunner RL, Vorhees CV, Kinney L, Butcher RE. Aspartame: assessment of developmental psychotoxicity of a new artificial sweetener. Neurobehavioural Toxicology. 1979:1;79-86.
8. Holder MD. Effects of perinatal exposure to aspartame on rat pups. Neurotoxicol and Teratol. 1989;11:1-6.
9. Lennon HD, Metcalf LE, Mares SE, et al. The biological properties of aspartame. IV. Effects on reproduction and lactation. J Environ Pathol and Toxicol. 1980;3:375-86.
10. Ranney RE, Mares SE, Schroeder RE, et al. The phenylalanine and tyrosine content of maternal and fetal body fluids from rabbits fed aspartame. Toxicol and Appl Pharmacol. 1975;32:339-46.
11. Lederer J, Bodin J, Colson A. Aspartame and its effects on gestation in rats. Journal de Toxicologie Clin et Experimentale. 1985;5:7-14 [in French].
12. Kotsonis FN, Hjelle JJ. The safety assessment of aspartame: Scientific and regulatory considerations. In: Tschanz C, Butchko HH, Stargel WW, Kotsonis FN (Eds). The clinical evaluation of a food additive assessment of aspartame. CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 1996:23-41.
13. Kostic MA, Dart RC. Rethinking the toxic methanol level. Review. J Toxicol Clin Toxicol, 2003; 41: 793-800.
14. Clary JJ, Sullivan JB. Formaldehyde. In: Sullivan JB, Krieger GR (Eds). Clinical environmental health and toxic exposures. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins: Philadelphia, PA, 1999: 1007-14.
15. National Toxicology Program (NTP). NTP report on the toxicology studies of aspartame in genetically modified (FVB Tg.AC hemizygous) and B6.129-Cdkn2a (N2) deficient mice and carcinogenicity studies of aspartame in genetically modified [B6.129 Trp53tm1Brd (N5) haploinsufficient] mice (feed studies). National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, NZ. Report 06-4459, 2005:1-224.
16. Lim U, Subar AF, Mouw T, et al. Consumption of aspartame-containing beverages and incidence of hematopoietic and brain malignancies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2006 Sep;15(9):1654-9.
17. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Esposti DD, Lambertini L. Aspartame induces lymphomas and leukaemias in rats. Eur J Oncology. 2005;10:107-16.
18. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Esposti DD, et al. First experimental demonstration of the multipotential carcinogenic effects of aspartame administered in the feed to Sprague-Dawley rats. Env Health Perspect. 2006;114:379-85.
19. Soffritti M, Belpoggi F, Tibaldi E, et al. Lifespan exposure to low doses of aspartame beginning during prenatal life increases cancer effects in rats. Env Health Perspect. 2007;115:1293-7.
20. Magnuson B, Williams GN. Carcinogenicity of aspartame in rats not proven. Env Health Perspect. 2008;116:A239-40.

Is the ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas zamiifolia) poisonous?

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (Loddiges)Engl.

Synonyms: Zamioculcas loddigesii, Zamiacaulcas zamiafolia, Zamioculcas lanceolata,
Z. "lancifolia" and strangely Caladium zamiaefolium (the basionym)

Common names:

Aroid Palm, Arum Fern, ZZ Plant, Zee Zee plant, ZeZe plant, Zeezee Plant, Zu Zu Plant, Money Tree, Fat Boy, Eternity Plant, Zanzibar Gem, Chinese New Year Festive Plant, Chinese Gold Coin Plant and incorrectly "Succulent Philodendron", Emerald FrondsSometimes incorrectly spelled "Zamioculcus" using a second "u"

In Malaysia it is more commonly known as Money Plant.
It is believed that it will bring wealth to the owner thus it can be found many homes and offices.

Visitors to our home in Teluk Pulai, Klang have never failed to question whether this 'Money Plant" is really dangerous. In desperation, we looked up Steve Lucas in the net and here's what he has to say:

"Please let me start this off with I am well aware some folks on plant forums like this don’t like my posts. I try to share and teach the science of plants, not rumors. When I try to explain some things growers often don’t like to learn what they’ve been led to believe is a rumor, not fact. If you don’t care about the facts of plants please click the “X” up in the corner right now. You won’t like reading this.

Because I maintain a fairly large website that offers scientific information in what I hope is an easy to understand format I get tons of questions in my email box. Lately the big one is people wanting to know if they touch a ceramic pot containing a ZZ plant (scientifically Zamioculcas zamiifolia) from Africa is it possible to die of severe poisoning. My first answer: hogwash! My first question is “Where did you read this?”

The ZZ plant is an aroid. Aroids are distinguished by the production of a spathe and spadix known as an inflorescence in order to reproduce. The ZZ is found in East Africa and the Internet is completely filled with false information about the plant. It does not grow in a desert; no aroid grows in a desert. It does like water and has a roughly equal period of extreme wet followed by a period of extreme dry. The plant needs regular water.

A new plant can be started from a single leaf by following simple instructions but it does not happen quickly. But most important, neither the ZZ, a Philodendron, an Anthurium and not even the Dieffenbachia (CLICK HERE for our report on "pisang tanah") are poisonous! I can hear you screaming at me right now! Did you know people around the world eat some aroids including Dieffenbachia on a regular basis? I have eaten many of them and am still quite alive.

All aroids contain calcium oxalate crystals but calcium oxalate is not a poison. It just tastes bad in many cases and in a great enough concentration can cause your mouth and throat to be very irritated. Did you know calcium oxalate crystals are found in Parsley, Chives, Cassava, Spinach, Beet leaves, Carrot, Radish, Collards, Bean, Brussels sprouts, Garlic, Lettuce, Watercress, Sweet potato, Turnip, Broccoli, Celery, Eggplant, Cauliflower, Asparagus, Cabbage, Tomato, Pea, Turnip greens, Potato, Onion, Okra, Pepper, Squash, Cucumbers, Corn and many other vegetables? Promise, that is a scientific fact. Have you ever wondered why kids don’t like spinach? They don’t like the taste of the calcium oxalate!

So how does such junk science as the “pot of a ZZ plant can poison you” get started? People read something they don’t understand and repeat it. Just like a rumor the next person adds some embellishment and so does the next. Finally someone decides to post what they “heard” on the internet and the rumor just grows and grows and grows. Suddenly even the pot of a plant can kill you!"

Steve Lucas of Exotic Rainforest serves on the board of the International Aroid Society

Photo: besides the ZZ plant we have the carving of a "grass-hopper man" by a Jahut from Pahang (CLICK HERE and HERE for information on the Jahut, a subgroup of the Senoi, the indegenous people of Malaysia) and of course our Good Luck Biawak (iguana) from HERE

Aspartame

Aspartame is a methyl ester of a dipeptide used as a synthetic nonnutritive sweetener in over 90 countries worldwide in over 6000 products.

Aspartame has been the subject of much controversy in recent times.

Animal studies have failed to show a carcinogenic activity in aspartame. Only two recent studies on rats treated with variable doses of aspartame and followed until natural death found an excess of malignant neoplams, mainly lymphomas and leukemias in females, but not in males. Such an apparent excess can, however, be explained by the longer life of animals treated with aspartame, as well as by the higher rates of infections in the study animals (1).

Current use levels of aspartame, even by high users in special subgroups, remains well below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Food Safety Authority established acceptable daily intake levels of 50 and 40 mg/kg body weight/day, respectively. Consumption of large doses of aspartame in a single bolus dose will have an effect on some biochemical parameters, including plasma amino acid levels and brain neurotransmitter levels. The rise in plasma levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid following administration of aspartame at doses less than or equal to 50 mg/kg body weight do not exceed those observed postprandially (2).

Recently, a team of nine independent internationally esteemed toxicologists led by Bernadene Magnuson, reviewed hundreds of studies on aspartame safety (3).

The key findings of the review with respect to aspartame safety were:

- Aspartame is completely broken down in the intestine to components found in other foods.

- Aspartame consumption (even at levels much higher than consumed by the highest users) has virtually no impact on blood levels of amino acids, methanol or glucose.

- Aspartame safety is clearly documented and well established through extensive laboratory testing, animal experiments, human clinical trials and epidemiological (population) studies.

There is no evidence from numerous well conducted studies that consumption of aspartame at levels found in the human diet are associated with conditions of nervous system, behaviour, or other illness.

Aspartame does not cause mutations, and there is no credible evidence that it causes cancer.

Journal Reference

Bosetti C, Gallus S, Talamini R, Montella M, Franceschi S, Negri E, La Vecchia C. Artificial sweeteners and the risk of gastric, pancreatic, and endometrial cancers in Italy. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention 2009;18(8):2235-8.

Magnuson BA, Burdock GA, Doull J, Kroes RM, Marsh GM, Pariza MW, Spencer PS, Waddell WJ, Walker R, Williams GM. Aspartame: a safety evaluation based on current use levels, regulations, and toxicological and epidemiological studies. Critical Reviews in Toxicology. 2007;37(8):629-727.

Magnuson BA. Aspartame--facts and fiction. Journal of the New Zealand Medical Association. 2010 Mar 19;123(1311):53-7.

Bernadene Magnuson, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, and Senior Scientific & Regulatory Consultant for Cantox Health Sciences International, a leading international consulting firm providing regulatory and toxicology expertise. Recently, her work is focused on safety assessments of various dietary ingredients and supplements.

Dr Magnuson has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts and professional articles, is on the editorial board of two journals and is an active member of various committees of the Institute of Food Technologists and the Society of Toxicology. Picture Credit 1. Picture Credit 2.

Pisang Tanah, Dumb Cane

Pernah melihat gambar ini dalam e-mel anda? Ia datang bersama amaran dari Dr. Kivumby dimana ia boleh "membunuh" seorang anak dalam waktu kurang dari satu minit dan orang dewasa dalam 15 minit.

Setiap orang dari kami di sini telah menerima email ini dari teman-teman kami dengan tujuan yang baik. Jadi benarkan kami menerangkan mengenai tanaman ini dalam perspektif yang lebih baik.

Ini adalah Dieffenbachia, juga disebut 'dumbcane' dalam Bahasa Inggeris dan 'kotakimbula' di Sri Lanka. Di sini ia dikenali sebagai 'Pisang Tanah' kerana ia mempunyai batang segar yang tebal.

Dieffenbachia merupakan tanaman hiasan yang umum. Tanaman ini ada di sekitar kita. Kita menggunakannya untuk meningkatkan keindahan persekitaran kita. Hampir setiap tumbuh-tumbuhan, sayuran dan buah-buahan memiliki sifat penyembuhan. Ekstrak tanaman banyak digunakan dalam kosmetik. Disebalik kegunaannya yang pelbagai, beberapa tanaman juga berpotensi menjadi sumber keracunan bagi kanak-kanak yang mempunyai perasaan ingin tahu dan juga haiwan peliharaan.

Pusat Racun Indiana telah mengklasifikasikan tanaman ini sebagai berpotensi untuk menjadi agak beracun dengan gejala yang umumnya tidak mengancam kehidupan secara umum, seperti mual, muntah, cirit birit, atau ruam kulit.

Kemaskini terbaru dari Medline Plus, sebuah perkhidmatan Perpustakaan Perubatan Nasional Amerika Syarikat dan National Institutes of Health, mengesahkan asid oksalat dan Asparagina sebagai bahan beracun dalam tanaman ini.

Menariknya, asid oksalat juga ditemui di belimbing dan bayam sedangkan Asparagina, suatu asid amino, ditemui dalam kentang, kacang soya dan asparagus dan disenaraikan sebagai aditif makanan yang ada di Jepun. Dieffenbachia mungkin menjadi beracun hasil dari tindakbalas gabungan asparagines dan oksalat.

Namun, Bernard Kuballa et al1 melaporkan bahawa efek yg menjengkelkan ini adalah disebabkan oleh kombinasi kristal oksalat dan enzim mirip tripsin. Hal ini dipercayai bahawa kristal berbentuk jarum menembusi rangkaian sel kerongkong dan mulut sehingga memudahkan masuknya enzim proteolitik.

Pengambilan secara oral tanaman ini biasanya mempunyai akibat yang minimum. Namun, dalam kes yang jarang berlaku, mengunyah batang atau daun Dieffenbachia boleh menyebabkan pembengkakan cukup parah sehingga menyekat saluran udara dan menjejaskan kemampuan untuk bercakap atau mengendalikan rembesan ( 'dumbcane moniker').

Kebanyakan kes keracunan melibatkan haiwan peliharaan2. Kirk L Cumpston et al3 melaporkan kes di mana seorang dewasa telah menggigit batang tumbuhan tersebut kerana berfikir ia adalah tebu. Dia segera meludahkan sisa batang tersebut dan walaupun kejadian ini pantas, akibatnya saluran pernafasan oral menjadi bengkak dan tidak memberi tindakbalas terhadap terapi ubat, sehingga memerlukan pengurusan salur pernafasan melalui pembedahan. Para penulis mengaku tidak mengetahui mekanisma yang tepat terjadinya edema tetapi memberi amaran bahawa pesakit yang awalnya tampak stabil mungkin mempunyai nafas yang cepat menjadi bertambah buruk.

Jika anda mengalami pendedahan, anda perlu membuat panggilan ke nombor kecemasan di tempat anda atau Nasional Poison Control Center di 1-800-88-8099.

Tanaman hiasan sangat bermanfaat di rumah kita dan kehidupan kita. Tanaman hiasan ini tidak hanya menapis dan memperbaharui udara dalam bilik kita dengan menukarkan karbon dioksida yang kita lepaskan dengan oksigen untuk mempertahankan kehidupan, tetapi mereka juga memerangkap banyak pencemaran yang hadir di rumah dan pejabat.

Anda boleh memilih untuk tidak memiliki Dieffenbachia di rumah. Tapi, jangan terus membuang tanaman dalam rumah dan kebun anda.

Ikuti tip-tip berikut untuk mengurangkan risiko keracunan dari tanaman di rumah anda:

• Jauhkan semua tanaman dari lantai sehingga tidak tercapai oleh kanak-kanak dan haiwan peliharaan.
• Fikirkan tentang penggunaan tanaman palsu sebagai ganti bunga hidup dan tanaman jika anak-anak atau haiwan kesayangan tinggal di dalam atau mengunjungi rumah anda.
• Simpan umbi dan biji ditempat berkunci, jauh dari penglihatan dan capaian kanak-kanak.
• Jangan makan setiap bahagian dari tanaman yang tidak diketahui.
• Ajarkan anak-anak untuk menunjukkan semua tanaman dan buah-buahan kepada orang dewasa sebelum memakannya.
• Jangan mengunyah perhiasan dan sebagainya yang terbuat dari bahan tanaman atau membiarkan anak-anak untuk melakukannya.
• Jangan menganggap bahawa memasak boleh menghapuskan racun di dalam tanaman.
• Ingat bahawa tanaman juga boleh menjadi bahaya jika kanak-kanak dan haiwan peliharaan tersedak dengannya.

Jurnal Rujukan:

Kuballa B, Lugnier AA, Anton R. Study of Dieffenbachia-induced edma in mouse and rat hindpaw: respective role of oxalate needles an trypsin-like protease. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1981 May;58(3):444-51.

Peterson K, Beymer J, Rudloff E, O'Brien M. Airway obstruction in a dog after Dieffenbachia ingestion. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio). 2009 Dec;19(6):635-9.

Cumpston KL, Vogel SN, Leikin JB, Erickson TB. Acute airway compromise after brief exposure to a Dieffenbachia plant. J Emerg Med. 2003 Nov;25(4):391-7.