Product Details

• Actors: Cori Brackett
• Directors: Cori Brackett, J.T. Waldron
• Writers: Cori Brackett, J.T. Waldron
• Producers: Cori Brackett, J.T. Waldron
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sound and Fury Productions, Inc.
• DVD Release Date: January 31, 2006
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BQ5IWS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,875 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

This documentary is a close examination into what some consider to be a "hoax": aspartame toxicity. This documentary attempts to look at what is definitively known about aspartame and discovers that the label "hoax" in this case is a dangerous misconception. This controversial documentary is sure to open eyes to the possible dangers of what lurks in our food.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 75 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opening Truth on Aspartame/Nutrasweet June 25, 2006

By D. Wright

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is a must see movie especially if you or someone you love are nutrasweet drinkers. I was, and I'm not now. I was appauled at how this dangerous substance was approved by the FDA in spite of the mounting evidence it caused brain tumors and other neurological problems. If you think everything approved by the FDA is safe, you need to see this movie... politics and big business are very powerful... education is power... empower yourself to take control of your health.

101 of 108 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The bitter truth about an artificial sweetener March 28, 2007

By Kyle Tolle VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Just over a year ago, I became a statistic when I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. After moving past that initial shock, it occurred to me that I could still enjoy many items because of the convenience of the `artificial sweetener' Aspartame. I took it on faith that it was tested and deemed safe by the FDA so I frequently used products that contained it. After watching Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World and realizing that I'm naďve, I should have done my homework and found out just what it was that I'd been ingesting. Needless to say, I will never again eat or drink anything containing Aspartame.

What is Aspartame exactly? Apart from it being called an artificial sweetener I mean? Well, in a word, it's poison. That may sound a little extreme but when you analyze the known information, there really is no other way to categorize it. Let's take a look.

Aspartame is broken down into 3 parts which consist of Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, and Methyl Ester. When swallowed, Methyl Ester immediately turns into Methyl Alcohol (a.k.a. Methanol, a.k.a. Wood Alcohol). This substance is very poisonous to the human body. Aspartame has been linked to 92 different medical symptoms, some of which are also associated with Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, Lupus, and Fibromyalgia. A predominant number of these symptoms are neurological problems. After discontinuing use of Aspartame laden products, individuals 'detoxifying' themselves have felt their adverse reactions decrease and show a marked improvement in health. This is strong circumstantial evidence lending credence to the fact that Aspartame is poisonous to the body. Common sense states that not everyone will have the same acute reactions to Aspartame toxicity.... Information in the documentary shows that those who consumed large quantities of products containing Aspartame were showing severe symptoms sooner rather than later. Others who use these products less frequently are probably setting themselves up for health problems in their future.

In the late 1970's, the maker of Aspartame, G.D. Searle, attempted to get it approved for public consumption. Initial tests were not favorable due to health hazards created by the substance (when tested on lab animals, brain tumors didn't prove to be very popular). This didn't fit the agenda for G.D. Searle so they decided to put the ethics aside. Upon later investigation, just some of the following information was discovered: improper lab testing, fabricated test results, destruction of medical evidence showing toxicity, tampering with medical records and scientific data, and critical study documentation purposefully withheld from the FDA.

In 1980, a public board of inquiry voted unanimously to reject the use of Aspartame for public use until more tests were conducted. Once again, this was unacceptable to the G.D. Searle Company. By way of unethical political maneuvering and a total lack of professional behavior, the FDA, the government, and G.D. Searle completely disregarded public safety and got Aspartame approved for public consumption. And this was after 3 senior scientists from the FDA pleaded with the `powers that be' not to release this product. Unbelievable but true. This entire ordeal is explained in detail in Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World and it's downright appalling. In 1983, now being approved, Aspartame was finally unleashed on the unsuspecting public for the first time. Only 6 months after Aspartame hit the streets, so to speak, the following health statistics were noticed: brain tumors were up by 10%, Diabetes was up by 30%, and brain lymphoma (a very aggressive type of brain tumor) was up by 60%. To add insult to injury, in 1988, of all the food additive complaints reported to the FDA, 80% of these concerned Aspartame.

To get an idea of how prevalent Aspartame is, it can be found in these following products (just to name a few):

Soft drinks, vitamin & herb supplements, yogurt, instant breakfasts, candy, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, coffee beverages, instant breakfasts, gelatin desserts, frozen desserts, juice beverages, laxatives, milk drinks, shake mixes, tabletop sweeteners (NutraSweet & Equal), tea beverages, instant teas and coffees, topping mixes, wine coolers.

Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World is a very straightforward documentary and while the material presented is highly informative and absolutely necessary, it is also distressing and unpleasant. I commend the producers of this work for their courage to stand up and expose the shocking behavior of big business and government and their utter disregard for the greater good...the public at large. For everyone concerned about their health and knowing that knowledge is power, I seriously recommend this documentary to all of you. Read more ›

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Take the time to see this.... April 16, 2006

By JFK

Format:DVD

I`m shocked that I`m the 1st to review this....This video is the water gate of the food BIZZ..

This documentry will make your jaw hit the floor. It features an FDA employee, Tellling you not to use this additive. Top experts weight in against this additive..Expert after expert tells all..

My inlaws are drinkers of diet pop...I bought some diet cans for them & I headed to thier house...when I walked in, I said "I bought these pops for you to drink after watching this"...they said no prob & that I full of it if I thought I could change thier minds..

We got half way through this & I stoped it...I asked have you seen enough ...or should we continue...they could not drink thier cold diet drinks...I dared them to....they said your crazy if you think we`ll touch that junk now..

This film will change forever how you view the FDA & food industry...

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars important and sobering... April 24, 2008

By Wade R. Goria

Format:DVD

In Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World, film maker Cori Brackett charts the insidious, deadly and exceedingly profitable hoax perpetrated by the pharmaceutical giant JD Searle and Company Inc., (now owned by Monsanto) to advance the global wide use of Aspartame as an artificial sweetener. Aspartame, aka Nutra Sweet, Splenda, or Equal forms the "diet" component of Pepsi, Coca Cola, Kool-Aid, Crystal Lite and countless other products routinely imbibed by people throughout the planet. Brackett details the destructive impact this chemical has had upon those who have used it and documents how greed-induced Washington insiders circumvented the banning of this substance by the FDA.

Donald Rumsfeld emerges as a key figure in this process. From 1977 to 1985, Rumsfeld served as CEO, President, then Chairman of JD Searle based in Skokie, Illinois. Along with Aspartame, Searle's products, include: Metmucil, Dramamine and the oral contraceptive Envoid. A 1980 Board of Inquiry comprising three independent scientists who, serving under Jimmy Carter concluded that Aspartame "might induce brain tumors." Rumsfeld launched a counter-attack against this report. As a former Congressman and powerful insider, Rumsfeld wielded tremendous influence in Washington and these political assets enabled him to eventually secure FDA approval of Aspartame. Rumsfeld saved a foundering JD Searle and his success in this endeavor earned for him acclaim as the Outstanding Chief Executive Officer in the Pharmaceutical industry from the Wall Street Journal (1980) and Financial World (1981). Throughout the film, we learn how Aspartame kills brain cells- particularly in the hypothalamus which controls feeding behavior.... According to experts interviewed and cited by Brackett, three hundred or more people die each year from the effects of Aspartame.

This important and sobering film does her enormous credit. I do wish Brackett had utilized the services of an editor and writer capable of re-arranging and condensing frequently long-winded and tiresome interviews into a more cohesive, comprehensible and engaging whole. These weaknesses notwithstanding, and for the sake of the health and welfare of people worldwide, Sweet Misery deserves to gain the widest possible audience so that heightened awareness may finally spearhead a movement designed to ban this highly profitable, low-cost, calorie-free mass poison from the global marketplace. Read more ›

46 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My Worst Fears Came True With This One! April 26, 2006

By Trisha From Michigan

Format:DVD

I have been reading many different articles and books about Aspartame, but nothing really came close to this expose. We cannot trust our government in any way, shape or form. We are nothing but experimental animals to them. Money is the bottom line always, and the body count doesn't matter. The American Public should be very, very afraid after seeing this DVD!