In 1990 and 1991, while working as a safety engineer in Prudhoe Bay on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, two notable events occurred in my life. The American Society of Safety Engineers selected me as one of the first ten men to be honored in the “Who’s Who of Safety Engineers from Alaska.” The second event occurred two months later when my employers blackballed me from ever working there again.

While serving as a safety engineer, it had been my responsibility to identify the safety and health hazards facing all employees. State and federal law requires that when hazards are recognized, the safety engineer must do everything he can do to eliminate the risk. If it can not be eliminated, steps must be taken to reduce the exposure and the risk itself.

Along with others, I became extremely ill after eating most every meal at Prudhoe Bay. Acute gas, diarrhea, headaches and a heartbeat gone wild were some of the symptoms I endured. Through a process of exclusion and with the help of Dr. Schwartz’s book In Bad Taste, I was able to determine that MSG and aspartame were causing my problems. What I did not know was that the companies responsible for the foods the employees ate had gone through an MSG crisis just months before my arrival.

These events occurred while the Arctic oil industry was coping with political and legal fallout from the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The last thing they wanted to have happen from a Public Relations’ viewpoint was to be hit by litigation accusing them of knowingly feeding their own people toxin-laden foods. Instead, they chose to go along with the glutamate industry’s assurance that MSG was safe and recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

I had insisted that Marriott, Arco and British Petroleum set up an education program regarding MSG and aspartame. I knew that the problems were most severe when I drank or ate a diet food that contained both MSG and aspartame (NutraSweet). When in a dry state, aspartame is stable but as soon as it is ingested, it begins to break down into a variety of toxic chemicals. One of these chemicals is methanol (wood alcohol), which in turn becomes formaldehyde (used in the oil fields to kill bacteria and also in the preservation of dead bodies). The major danger of formaldehyde ingestion is death, but it also causes blackouts and seizures as well as many of the symptoms of MSG poisoning. I proposed that an education program begin with those who prepared the foods, providing them knowledge so as to not use MSG, Accent or other contaminated foods improperly labeled with vague terms such as “natural flavor” or simply “flavoring.”

Although officials instructed the cooks not to use pure MSG, it was left in the kitchen. Nothing was done to reduce the exposure of either MSG (Accent) or aspartame (NutraSweet) in food and drink.

Then a fortuitous set of circumstances arose and my 4-year-old grandson, Michael, was left in my care while my son and his wife made a 1000-mile snowmobile trip to Nome. As we lived close to Michael’s school, I would drive Michael to school in the morning and meet him at the school bus stop in the afternoon. One of his close friends, Jaren, lived only a few houses away from the bus stop. If Michael and I did not make connections at the bus stop, we arranged to meet at Jaren’s home where his charming grandmother, Ruby, would be there babysitting.

On one occasion, I noted a pamphlet about ADD and ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Ruby told me that Jaren was having some problems with ADD, and that his parents had gone through several doctors and tried as many cures, including the drug Ritalin. I told her of my effort researching MSG and aspartame since my toxin-induced stroke. Because of that, I was also familiar with ADD and ADHD. I told Ruby how renowned scientists had evidence that these disorders were often precipitated by overexposure to MSG and aspartame.

Ruby was surprised, for she knew that none of the doctors consulted had ever mentioned that as a possibility. She asked for more information and I shared a series of articles I had written and published in Alaska Wellness magazine.

Two days later, I met Jaren’s mother, Tonya. She had read the literature and wanted more answers. I told her about the 30-minute presentation I had worked up over the past year to summarize my seven-year research effort. I also told her how others had been relieved of ADD and ADHD symptoms when MSG and aspartame had been eliminated from their diet.

Tonya shared the emotional hell she and her husband were going through trying to find something that would help Jaren. He had trouble in school academically and personally, with both teachers and fellow classmates. Jaren would sometimes go on wild emotional swings and become mentally, emotionally and physically uncontrollable. I had noted that with his shirt off, his young body looked as if he was suffering from severe malnutrition - a condition some doctors attribute to overexposure to Ritalin.

Tonya noted that with Ritalin Jaren would calm down. However, Ritalin created other problems as bad or worse than the ADHD. Though sedate, Jaren sometimes became overly withdrawn from his environment. In addition, other health problems arose. Tonya was near tears, confiding that she and her husband had begun to fear for Jaren’s life. She said the doctors now had him on a variety of different pills, including antibiotics and antidepressants. None of these seemed to help and they had almost given up hope for a cure.

When I later met Jaren’s father, David, I sensed I already knew him though I could not recall where we had met. I later learned that he had been working as a chef in the same complex where I had lived while working on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. We had been there at the same time, and David had been one of the chefs who never learned about the dangers of aspartame and MSG. It is ironic that if David had received the training information I had fought for, his son might not be having the problems he now faced.

As I presented my information to David and Tonya, I explained the physical as well as the political and economic problems associated with the use of these toxins. I also explained that there is but one way to determine if they were indeed Jaren’s problems. A plan would have to be set up to avoid any more exposure. If they could do that, they might see definite progress within five to ten days.

Tonya and David agreed, and immediately started the process of going through everything in the house that Jaren might eat, drink or otherwise come in contact with, including toothpaste, shampoo and chewing gum. They removed anything that had aspartame, NutraSweet or Equal in it. Then they worked on locating all products containing MSG or its 40-some other names, which is much more difficult. The pile of toxic food and drinks became very impressive, but not much different from what I had found in many homes. These were the products, which would be off limits to Jaren.

I called David and Tonya daily for the first five days. To their surprise and delight, they saw definite positive effects within three days and expressed joy at the emotional and mental progress made. By the tenth day, they told me that they considered the results near miraculous. Jaren seemed much more stable, appeared to be gaining weight and had, on his own initiative, taken to shoveling snow off the driveway.

Tonya and David began reducing the amount of Ritalin they gave to Jaren. They based this decision on the fact that the reason he was originally given it no longer existed. Some of their doctors refused to recognize MSG and aspartame as the villains, while others said Jaren’s body was dependent upon the use of Ritalin and that he needed to be committed to its use for an undefined period of time. All seemed to agree, however, that Ritalin is a drug and, like alcohol or cocaine, Jaren might suffer withdrawal symptoms if reduction was too abrupt.

I then introduced Tonya and David to what the Indians in Wyoming have used as a cure-all for decades. They called it “The Healing Mud.” It is now known as Pascalite, after Emile Pascal, the 1930’s prospector who rediscovered it.

When I first read about Pascalite, I found substantial anecdotal data that this healing mud not only draws toxic material out of the body if taken internally, but also reduces pain and infection in open wounds on both humans and animals. I ordered some. As had been my policy when evaluating conflicting reports on the harmful affects of MSG and aspartame, I followed a doctor friend’s advice: “Use your own body for the ultimate testing ground as to the truth of the arguments. Your body will tell you the truth if you listen to it.” The Mayo Clinic calls this “The Golden Test” and considers it the only true test for food sensitivity.

Anecdotal data on MSG and aspartame toxicity indicates that one of the sensitivity symptoms can be the swelling of cartilage and tendons, causing extreme pain in joints and muscles, especially the feet and legs. Although I had done everything I could to avoid MSG for eight years, I had not always been completely successful for false labeling would sometimes catch me by surprise. As the pain in my legs was ever increasing, I began using Pascalite while maintaining my vigil to avoid further exposure to the toxins. Within three days, the pain in my feet and legs had appreciably decreased. By the fifth day, the pain was gone. I can now walk freely with no pain or support.

One theory regarding the benefits of Pascalite is that its broad base of minerals serves as an excellent mineral supplement. Technically, Pascalite is a calcium-based bentonite. Pascalite is believed to not only remove toxins from the body but also to build up the immune system. It is thus possible - perhaps even probable - that this combination may reduce the body’s sensitivity to toxins.

Jaren’s parents are continuing to eliminate any exposure to MSG and aspartame. They are also beginning to give him some Pascalite, but have decided not to attempt to withdraw him from Ritalin and other medications until school is out for the year. They want to monitor the effects of these changes closely. I have suggested to them that they find a doctor they can work with under this program, as well as the professional help of a psychiatrist and a pediatrician. I and most laymen do not know what the residual effects will be when Jaren is withdrawn from the broad assortment of toxic chemical and drugs he has been exposed to.

It is my belief that a young body, such as Jaren’s, can fight the proven toxins of MSG, aspartame and Ritalin. This fight can be dangerous and difficult. It is nearly impossible for even the most competent of doctors to determine what, if any, other physical problems exist as long as the proven toxins MSG and aspartame remain in the equation. I believe this is true for the four and half million children now on prescription Ritalin, as well as the near equal number of teenagers and adults.

For the moment, Jaren’s family basks in the joy of having finally won their first major victory. We do not know that Pascalite will be an aid to all children or for any specific ailment. All I can assure anyone is that it has worked for me. There are no adverse health problems known to arise from its use.

If permanent change and a cure for the majority of ADD and ADHD victims is to happen, we must look to the political and economic forces which allowed such things as MSG and aspartame to be even introduced to the public. Is the FDA, a budgeted billion dollar a year government agency, living up to the mission statement upon which it was founded - to “enforce the laws which assures the people of this nation honesty in labeling of the food and drink used - and - that there shall be no deleterious substances used in them.”

As Jaren’s true story illustrates, there are millions of children and parents who face a living hell from ADD and/or ADHD. They represent a major political force in a nation that is beginning to stagger from the economic load created by the unnecessarily ill effects caused by MSG, aspartame and Ritalin.

It is necessary, for all of our health, that all variations of MSG are honestly labeled and people such as Jaren’s family can use their freedom of choice to avoid use. Furthermore, why not ban MSG, aspartame and Ritalin from our food, drink, cosmetics, vaccines and medicines forever? They are not needed. Safe alternatives are available.

I can only hope that “Jaren’s Story” will help a few of the other Jaren’s of the world. Together, we can bring about change.

J. Wayne Erickson is noted as a “Professional Safety Engineer” in the American Society of Safety Engineers with extensive experience in the mining, construction and petroleum industries. He is the author of several articles on aspartame and MSG poisoning. Readers may contact him at (907) 561-0977 or via e-mail at ericadv@arctic.net