After learning that 15 years of Equal in my coffee was the prime
cause of 11 years of progressively worse suffering, and that the
carcinogens and tumor agents in the breakdown of aspartame are
prime suspects for my surprise case of prostate cancer... I vowed
to read all labels and attempt to insure that I would never
knowingly ingest aspartame in any of its forms, ever again.
But... time goes on and one tends to get "sloppy".
After getting my SoyToy plant milk making machine and learning of the
many benefits of soy (and other grains/nuts/beans) I decided to shop around
and find something made from soy to make my soymilk drinks thicker and more
like a shake. I found a product called "Naturade Total Soy Meal Replacement",
the Bavarian Chocolate version, at SAMS. There is no mention of aspartame on
the label, no mandatory phenylalanine warning, and with Fructose as the second
ingredient there was no reason to think aspartame was in this product. As a
matter of fact, in bold letters at the bottom is says NO ASPARTAME, no artificial
sweeteners or flavors, no preservatives, no MSG, lactose, yeast, egg or animal
derivatives.
When SAMS added the vanilla version I bought it WITHOUT reading the label.
After some time I began to have familiar arthritis-like pains and limitations
in my knees and fingers. After many months of this I happened to be sitting
down sipping my soy beverage and decided to read the ingredients label on the
vanilla version. MY GOD! It had ASPARTAME!!!
Within a week after removing this surprise source of aspartame from my diet
all those arthritis-like pains disappeared. At 66... I am now 95% pain free
again.
After attempting to return the unused 44 ounce jar for a refund (refused
because they had changed labels and stock numbers) I sent off a detailed Email
to the manufacturer...
Naturade, Inc. Irving, CA via http://www.naturade.com
Their response was typical... a mindless commentary:
-----------------------------------------------
We are sorry to hear of your dissatisfaction with this new
Naturade Total Soy formula. Over the last several years, we
have received feedback from hundreds of Naturade Total Soy
users. We worked diligently to respond to customers who
were looking for more robust flavors and an increase in
sweetness at great price.
All of the Naturade Total Soy products are meal replacements
as Soy protein has been proven to be an effective weight
management tool. This change to our product was brought
about by overwhelming responses to in-pack surveys and
write-ins. More than 45% of the respondents were using the
product as a weight management vehicle and the # 1 requested
improvement by far was to change the flavors and make a
sweeter product.
In good health,
Stacey E. Zaug (szaug@naturade.com)
Customer Service
Naturade, Inc
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I should not have wasted my time!
So... I threw out all their stuff... and told them they ruined a decent
product that I would never touch again nor promote in any way.
