Put Down the Diet Coke

In 1965, American chemist and researcher James Schlatter was working for G.D. Searle & Co. on developing a stomach ulcer drug.

He took a short break from his long day and rifled through some papers.

However, maybe out of laziness, sloppiness, or forgetfulness, when the pages got stuck, he licked his fingers. He paused for a minute because he’d just tasted something 200 times sweeter than sugar.

What on Earth could that be?

He looked at the dry, powdery residue stuck to his fingertips and traced the substance back to a beaker filled with aspartic acid and phenylalanine.

He eventually refined the substance to create what we now call aspartame, and, in just a few years, G.D. Searle & Co. marketed aspartame as a miracle sweetener called NutraSweet.

Soon the sweet stuff was used in everything from diet sodas and chewing gum to cereal and ice cream, and quickly became the world’s top alternative sweetener. Today, roughly 6,000 products on the market contain aspartame.

But just two weeks ago, on July 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially classified aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic.”

Now, if you’re like me and don’t see a reason to ever eat or drink any product with aspartame, you’ve got nothing to worry about. But for the millions of people who’ve been duped into guzzling down Diet Coke their whole lives and now wonder why they’re so unhealthy, well, this could be a big problem.

But first we’ve got to understand what this WHO statement really means.

A body within the WHO called the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) chooses substances that it wants to study and evaluates them for cancer risk based on the current available scientific literature.

The IARC breaks these substances down into four categories:

• Group 1: “Carcinogenic to humans,” which means there’s enough scientific evidence to prove they cause cancer in both animals and humans
• Group 2A: “Probably carcinogenic,” which means there's sufficient evidence they cause cancer in animals but not necessarily in humans
• Group 2B: “Possibly carcinogenic,” which means there’s little evidence they cause cancer in animals and even less evidence they cause cancer in humans
• Group 3: “Not classifiable,” which means there isn’t sufficient evidence they cause cancer in either animals or humans

Now, the WHO categorized aspartame in Group 2B, the same classification as alcoholic beverages, lead, gasoline, and traditional Asian pickled vegetables.

Seems like the WHO needs to update these categories.

This categorization can be confusing because, according to Verify, “The category includes such a broad range of substances because the groups aren’t a ranking of how carcinogenic or dangerous a substance is, only a grading of how scientifically confident the WHO is that the substance causes cancer at all.”

If it’s true that aspartame causes cancer, it wouldn’t be surprising... and it wouldn’t be surprising if no one is held accountable. Aspartame isn’t the only artificial sweetener, either. While aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar, neotame is 13,000 times sweeter and advantame is 20,000 times sweeter.

Luckily, consumers are starting to rethink their drink choices because of this...

And it's causing a massive headache for the companies making products with the poison, er, sugar substitute.

That’s because they’re losing money fast.

In an effort to stave off a Bud Light-style catastrophe, a mysterious marketing campaign has been unleashed to try to limit the collateral damage from the WHO’s recent findings.

You’ve probably seen the ads defending aspartame, which are sponsored by the American Beverage Association.

The takeaway from the propaganda is not to worry and that aspartame doesn’t cause cancer. Here’s the evidence that the “experts” cite in the commercial: “Six times over 40 years, the FDA has said that aspartame is safe.”

If that’s not convincing enough for you, not to worry, because more than 100 studies by 200 scientists back up those findings.

It’s pure bunk…

Doublespeak…

Propaganda at the highest level.

Sure, aspartame can help reduce added sugars, but you know what else can do that? Not using sugar at all.

The commercials further state that the FDA, WHO, and food safety organizations around the world agree that aspartame is safe...

But didn’t the WHO just say that it wasn’t safe? What’s going on here? Why are we getting mixed messaging and doublespeak?

It’s an attempt by a controlling and corrupt government to save face and retain a sliver of trust by its citizens.

The entire U.S. population is extremely confused about the truth.

People are hearing everything from misinformation and disinformation to outright lies.

Just look at all that money the Biden administration poured into the IRS as part of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

What did that accomplish? A new law stating that income from illegal activities and stolen property must be reported on your taxes.

What’s more is the noose is slowly tightening around our whole payments system. According to a press release last week from the Fed, FedNow is now live. Chairman Jerome Powell commented:

The Federal Reserve built the FedNow Service to help make everyday payments over the coming years faster and more convenient. Over time, as more banks choose to use this new tool, the benefits to individuals and businesses will include enabling a person to immediately receive a paycheck, or a company to instantly access funds when an invoice is paid.

Skeptics are worried.

It’s why a lot of investors are turning to precious metals to offset any government-backed nonsense and Fed market manipulation.

And as gold prices continue to rise, there’s a sneaky way to play it.

We’ve uncovered an investment phenomenon that pays investors more than double the gains of physical gold! And that’s all without touching physical gold or anything complicated like options, futures, or ETFs.

It won’t be long before even more investors turn to gold, causing its price to shoot past $2,000, $3,000, and even $5,000 an ounce in the coming months.

The absolute best way to take advantage of this sudden and explosive growth is with what experts call “Gold’s Doubling Effect.” 

With this special technique, you’ll be able to take the incredible gains of gold and at least DOUBLE them for yourself in the form of stock returns.

Learn how to use it before gold prices explode even further.

Stay frosty,

Alexander Boulden
Editor, Outsider Club

After Alexander’s passion for economics and investing drew him to one of the largest financial publishers in the world, where he rubbed elbows with former Chicago Board Options Exchange floor traders, Wall Street hedge fund managers, and International Monetary Fund analysts, he decided to take up the pen and guide others through this new age of investing. Check out his editor's page here.

Want to hear more from Alexander? Sign up to receive emails directly from him ranging from market commentaries to opportunities that he has his eye on. 

P.S. I sat down with my colleague and gold bug Luke Burgess to discuss gold prices and new forms of travel coming to a city near you. Check it out here.