Coca Cola Defends Aspartame

exohglo
exohglo Posts: 49 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Coca Cola is about to launch a campaign defending Aspartame and the use of artificial sweeteners in diet pop or soda for my American friends :)

Here's a link to the article I just read about it: http://metronews.ca/health/765424/coca-cola-to-defend-safety-of-aspartame-in-new-ad/

What's your view on diet pop? Do you drink it? Do you think DIET pop has an effect on weight gain / loss??
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Replies

  • Achrya
    Achrya Posts: 16,913 Member
    I stand steadfast in my belief that 0 calorie drinks have no effect on my weight loss or gain. If they did then water would have the same effect.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    I love diet soda--cherry diet pepsi, cherry zero.

    I don't think it has helped or hurt my weight loss. Trying to give it up because I am tired of caffeine withdrawal headaches though! Switching to flavored water.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    You know why that is because America, Coke's biggest consumer, has drastically cut down on their consumption of diet and regular soda.
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
    For the last time, Diet Coke is the nectar of the Gods, and I don't care what is or isn't in it.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    Drink 2 or 3 Diet Pepsi's a day and have lost a few pounds... The amount of aspartame you would have to ingest before it became an issue is way more than I would ever drink in a day (for me it would be 20+ cans a day for an extended period of time) so I will continue to enjoy it and drink my 100+ ounce of water a day..... Best of Luck
  • Tiznonay
    Tiznonay Posts: 124 Member
    Good for Coke. I love diet soda, drink one pretty much every day, sometimes more. Moderation's always a good thing, but cutting out 30-40 grams of sugar in just one beverage is pretty amazing :drinker:
  • evileen99
    evileen99 Posts: 1,564 Member
    For the last time, Diet Coke is the nectar of the Gods, and I don't care what is or isn't in it.

    QFT
  • vienna_h
    vienna_h Posts: 428 Member
    Defending aspartame is not gonna change the fact the soda (or pop, coke, soft drinks, whatever youcall it) is icky.

    i'll have water please!
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    I drink diet soda. I think it helps my weight loss because it keeps me from eating or drinking something that has calories when I want something sweet.
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
    They can defend it until they are blue in the face. Aspartame only means two things for me, instant throbbing headache and horrific nausea. If I accidentally eat or drink something with aspartame in it it can knock me on my *kitten* for a couple of hours of feeling like complete crap.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,030 Member
    Have drank diet soda for 25+ years now in moderation. And ain't stopping now.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ritchiedrama
    ritchiedrama Posts: 1,304 Member
    I <3 Aspartame, I'd take it in a drip if it was the only way I could have Pepsi Max.
  • FrayaLace
    FrayaLace Posts: 14
    I drink Zevia or Blue sky zero, both of which are sweetened with stivia and total out at 0 calories. I highly recommend both of them.

    I try not to have aspartame, although its in a hell of a lot more then just diet coke products, but every now and then I cave.
  • lj8576
    lj8576 Posts: 156
    I love Diet Coke but what pisses me off is where I live they are just selling the 20 pack instead of the 24 pack for $1 less. I, of course still pay for it because I love it dammit!!
  • Cranquistador
    Cranquistador Posts: 39,744 Member
    IN
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    I'm pretty certain I started drinking Diet coke when it first came out because the taste beat the heck out of any soda out there aside from Nu-Grape which is just too freaking sickly sweet to drink very often.

    As to the ad campaign, I kind of think it's a waste of their time and money. It's going to take more than advertising to sway the public from their views.
  • ebgbjo
    ebgbjo Posts: 821 Member
    I lost so much weight when I kicked the soda habit. Lost even more when I ditch diet soda. I also stopped getting migraines as much as I had.
  • nomeejerome
    nomeejerome Posts: 2,616 Member
    Eh. A diet lemon-lime goes well with a good vodka if you run out of lime juice for a gimlet.
  • Jesstruhan
    Jesstruhan Posts: 331 Member
    I drink Zevia or Blue sky zero, both of which are sweetened with stivia and total out at 0 calories. I highly recommend both of them.

    I try not to have aspartame, although its in a hell of a lot more then just diet coke products, but every now and then I cave.

    Ditto here. Zevia Cherry Cola hits the spot and has ZERO guilt or aspartame. I find the artificial sweetener ones too sweet now.
  • KristysLosing
    KristysLosing Posts: 683
    I generally don't drink soda at all. Sometimes I might get some if we go out, but generally not.
  • MeRoHa
    MeRoHa Posts: 95 Member
    I started buying the Diet Coke with Splenda. It is kind of hard to find in our area, but it is worth finding. I can not stand the aspertame.
  • MamaCatO
    MamaCatO Posts: 100
    Diet soda makes me hungry. So I don't drink it. I'll have water.
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,334 Member
    I dont like the taste of diet coke...never have. I do like diet ginger ale ....both use aspartame. I think diet coke would taste better with Stevia.

    But most of the time I drink diet Snapple. Ten calories is nothing.
  • TheDarlingOne
    TheDarlingOne Posts: 255 Member
    ... The amount of aspartame you would have to ingest before it became an issue is way more than I would ever drink in a day (for me it would be 20+ cans a day for an extended period of time) so I will continue to enjoy it and drink my 100+ ounce of water a day..... Best of Luck

    Exactly what my endocrinologist told me when I was in for my last thyroid and PCOS appointment. I had told her I went back to regular sodas, because I was reading such 'bad stuff' about diet drinks on the myfitnesspal threads - or the 'confusing stuff' rather....and she explained the same thing to me as guy said above....so back to diets for me :)
  • mlrodgers381
    mlrodgers381 Posts: 71 Member
    I think it's an individual thing. Some people artificial sweeteners will NEVER effect...some people it will. I have developed several problems with ALL artificial sweeteners. So I am slowly giving them all up. I have decided to just have "less" of stuff rather than drinking diet versions. But that's me. In the end artificial sweeteners are chemicals, and no matter HOW much they try to convince the public they are totally safe...I don't feel that they are. After a prolonged use they could cause many health problems...or not. So again, it comes down to a personal choice.
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
    There is a lot of scientific study on the effects of aspartame, rather than rehash it all here, I'll just dump a link to the american cancer society and quote a bit of relevant information:

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame
    In the United States, artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These products must be tested for safety and approved by the FDA before they can be used. The FDA also sets an acceptable daily intake (ADI) for each sweetener, which is the maximum amount considered safe to consume each day during a person's lifetime. The ADI is set to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns, based on studies done in lab animals.

    The FDA has set the ADI for aspartame at 50 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) of body weight. (In the European Union, the European Food Safety Authority has recommended a slightly lower ADI for aspartame, at 40 mg/kg.)

    To put the ADI for aspartame in perspective, this would be 3,750 milligrams per day for a typical adult weighing 75 kilograms (about 165 pounds), far more than most adults take in daily. A can of diet soda usually contains about 180 milligrams of aspartame, so a typical adult would have to drink about 21 cans of diet soda a day to go over the recommended level.
    Researchers from the NCI looked at cancer rates in more than 500,000 older adults. The study found that, compared to people who did not drink aspartame-containing beverages, those who did drink them did not have an increased risk of lymphomas, leukemias, or brain tumors.
    Expert agencies in the United States and elsewhere that have evaluated aspartame have found it safe for use.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the use of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners in the United States. In 2007, the FDA stated:

    Considering results from the large number of studies on aspartame's safety, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food.

    The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assesses the safety of sweeteners such as aspartame in the European Union. According to a 2009 report from its Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food:

    Overall, the Panel concluded, on the basis of all the evidence currently available… that there is no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic potential of aspartame and that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for aspartame of 40 mg/kg [body weight].

    Though research into a possible link between aspartame and cancer continues, these agencies agree that studies done so far have not found such a link.

    Basically, TL;DR - It's considered safe as long as you're not getting more than about 20 cans of diet pop a day and all current peer-reviewed science supports that conclusion and more is piling up constantly in support of that conclusion.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I stand steadfast in my belief that 0 calorie drinks have no effect on my weight loss or gain. If they did then water would have the same effect.

    BUT THE TOXINZ ARE TRICKING YOUR BODY INTO EXPECTING SUGAR AND STORING EXTRA FATZ
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I don't drink sodas very often anymore, but when I did it was Coke and then eventually Diet Coke. I remember being pretty annoyed with the company when they announced "New Coke" and relieved when "Classic Coke" came back.

    Oh, aspartame? Meh, don't care. It has zero calories, tastes sweet, and has been studied inside and out. Avoid drinking 20+ Diet Cokes a day, every day, and you should be fine. And no, gaining weight from a 0 calorie beverage? Not happening.
  • shadus
    shadus Posts: 424 Member
    ... The amount of aspartame you would have to ingest before it became an issue is way more than I would ever drink in a day (for me it would be 20+ cans a day for an extended period of time) so I will continue to enjoy it and drink my 100+ ounce of water a day..... Best of Luck

    Exactly what my endocrinologist told me when I was in for my last thyroid and PCOS appointment. I had told her I went back to regular sodas, because I was reading such 'bad stuff' about diet drinks on the myfitnesspal threads - or the 'confusing stuff' rather....and she explained the same thing to me as guy said above....so back to diets for me :)

    Ed is one of the good guys on here, he generally does his research and keeps current. Also a huge inspiration to a lot of us with a lot of weight to lose.
  • Blitz_40
    Blitz_40 Posts: 110 Member
    They can defend it until they are blue in the face. Aspartame only means two things for me, instant throbbing headache and horrific nausea. If I accidentally eat or drink something with aspartame in it it can knock me on my *kitten* for a couple of hours of feeling like complete crap.

    This!! Whether it's soda or any other food, aspartame is poison to me. I won't let my kids have it either.

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