Why Aspartame IS scary!

Branstin

But it will still harm tooth enamel and all that caffeine can hurt your body.

This applies to every food product on the market. If people don't take care of their dental hygiene, it harms their teeth enamel. If people consume too much of anything, including water, it will have a negative affect on their bodies.

neandermagnon

Just because what OP wrote is junk science, doesn't mean diet soda is a healthy thing to put into your body. By all means, go ahead if you must. I don't really care. But it will still harm tooth enamel and all that caffeine can hurt your body. It you're serious about a lifestyle change (the only way weight will actually stay off IMO) then you will choose healthier alternatives most of the time. Water is still much healthier. The occasional diet soda won't do much harm but come on, we're former and current heavyweights here, we don't just have one of anything and occasional isn't our thing. A lot of people drink WAY too much diet soda and probably have no idea that there are still serious health risks. They aren't exactly sodium free either.

Also people using alcohol and honey (sugar) as proof that byproducts are healthy are being a bit silly. Yes, beer is just SO good for you. What a stunning example.

The acids in fruit harm tooth enamel. And the lack of sugar in diet soft drinks actually makes them better for your teeth than fruit juice, because sugar causes overgrowth of bacteria that release acids that harm tooth enamel. Granted one or two varieties contain phosphoric acid which is possibly as bad for tooth enamel as the naturally occuring acids in fruit, e.g. citric acid, malic acid, but most of them don't contain it.

And most soft drinks actually don't contain caffeine. The cola ones do (although Coke does a decaf version) but most of the others don't.

Re "we don't just have one of anything and occasional isn't our thing" - speak for yourself.... plenty of people here have learned to enjoy stuff like that in moderation. And diet soft drinks have zero calories so I'd say that makes them a pretty good choice for people who want to lose weight...

kethry70

Never mind. Beaten to it twice or thrice

Iwishyouwell

MzFyreKitty

Are you giving up your cell phone?There is a lot of evidence supporting cell phones causing brain tumors too, oh wait, no there isn't, they disproved it, no way, they proved it again... omg

Whatever you want to call it, there's a lot of evidence to support it's relationship to brain tumors.
I think any sweetener made in a chemistry lab is suspect anyways...if I need a sweetener I'll take honey. The calories are as real as the sweetener.

MzFyreKitty

OMG, is that Pia Zadora?? lol

I wonder if OP envisioned their post devolving into a discussion of pop rocks and 80s fashion. Oh internet.

I wish more 80s fashion would come back, i missed out on the terrible clothing fads by being too young the first time around.

Don't forget the headband

MzFyreKitty

I "killed" a bowl of Cereal just this morning with some blue berries and walnuts added" I am a mass murderer!!

Nice to see fear mongering among the food haters is still alive and well. Next they'll be saying peanuts cause cancer or that milk makes you a cereal killer.

kmm0034

I won't explain to ou how many things are by products (ie poop) of bacteria. I mean, if you think about it, many people poison themselves with the byproduct of a disease so deadly that a pound of it would wipe out the world. And yet they are able to safely inject themselves with the byproduct in order to induce swelling to seek beauty, and we all still live.

Please. Just because it says bacteria or virus doesn't mean it will harm you. We have genes thanks to viruses our ancestors dealt with that make us stronger, and newsflash, it's viral DNA not human DNA. Or i was until our DNA decided to say "Oh me mine!"

SomeNights246

Just because what OP wrote is junk science, doesn't mean diet soda is a healthy thing to put into your body. By all means, go ahead if you must. I don't really care. But it will still harm tooth enamel and all that caffeine can hurt your body. It you're serious about a lifestyle change (the only way weight will actually stay off IMO) hen you will choose healthier alternatives most of the time. Water is still much healthier. The occasional diet soda won't do much harm but come on, we're former and current heavyweights here, we don't just have one of anything and occasional isn't our thing. A lot of people drink WAY too much diet soda and probably have no idea that there are still serious health risks. They aren't exactly sodium free either.

Also people using alcohol and honey (sugar) as proof that byproducts are healthy are being a bit silly. Yes, beer is just SO good for you. What a stunning example.

That's not how weight loss or maintenance works. There is no "IMO" about it. You are not going to magically gain 50 lost lbs back by drinking 10 calories worth of diet pop a day. If you don't consume over the calories your body needs, you are not going to find yourself on a path to obesity. It doesn't really matter what you're consuming. And while I don't think anything is truly 0 calories - barring water - the calories consumed through diet pop wouldn't add up to more than 10 for the average soda consumer.

We can all agree that over consumption of anything (even too much lettuce is bad for you) is bad, but don't assume that it will automatically take one on the path to obesity. I knew someone who survived off nothing but hot cheetos and pepsi for a year and was 135 lbs through that year. Why? Because she didn't eat more than 2,000 cals worth of them a day and walked all the time. That's not to say she was healthy, just that it wasn't an automatic path to obesity.

SomeNights246

Honestly any fake sweatener is questionable in my mind. Stevia being the odd duck out as it's an extract from a plant [hard to be concerned there]. I had a diet pop every now and then [yes has aspartame] but otherwise keep sugars [including artificial ones] to a minimum.

I tried to like Stevia. I really did. But it's gross. It doesn't even taste sweet. It has zero redeeming qualities.

scarlettesong

If anyone is curious, I'm seeing a registered dietician and nutritionist once a week, and we just talked about aspartame this week. The scary part of aspartame is that it can cross the placenta's barrier when a woman is pregnant. The long term effects is that their babies are born with a stronger craving for sweet things, in spite of the fact that babies' range of taste is pretty terrible. I asked her to send me the study because I'd like to see at what levels per day aspartame caused these effects.

scarlettesong

My dietitian also pointed out that zero calorie drinks aren't good for you because of how the brain reacts. It's expecting calories because the drink tasted sugary. When your brain doesn't see those calories come around, you get an even stronger craving for something sweet! So, a diet drink with something to eat is probably fine, but on its own, you're better off with a small piece of fruit to kill that sweet tooth.

amwbox

This thread is a LIE for a very basic biological reason.

Bacteria are single celled organisms and do not have digestive tracts, to say nothing of "feces".

Ignorance is NOT bliss.

Our education system fails us once again.

amwbox

I won't explain to ou how many things are by products (ie poop) of bacteria. I mean, if you think about it, many people poison themselves with the byproduct of a disease so deadly that a pound of it would wipe out the world. And yet they are able to safely inject themselves with the byproduct in order to induce swelling to seek beauty, and we all still live.

Please. Just because it says bacteria or virus doesn't mean it will harm you. We have genes thanks to viruses our ancestors dealt with that make us stronger, and newsflash, it's viral DNA not human DNA. Or i was until our DNA decided to say "Oh me mine!"

This, exactly.

Of note: There are more bacterial cells in the human body than human cells. We are all walking bacterial colonies, so to speak. Bacteria are not bad things, and we use them and their massive spectrum of processes and products every single day of our lives.

paperpudding

My dietitian also pointed out that zero calorie drinks aren't good for you because of how the brain reacts. It's expecting calories because the drink tasted sugary. When your brain doesn't see those calories come around, you get an even stronger craving for something sweet! So, a diet drink with something to eat is probably fine, but on its own, you're better off with a small piece of fruit to kill that sweet tooth.

this is such a subjective personal thing - if you find diet sodas without food give your cravings - don't drink them without food.

But I often drink them without food (unless Southern Comfort counts as food LOL) and it doesn't give me cravings at all - so I will continue right on.

Aaron_K123

If anyone is curious, I'm seeing a registered dietician and nutritionist once a week, and we just talked about aspartame this week. The scary part of aspartame is that it can cross the placenta's barrier when a woman is pregnant. The long term effects is that their babies are born with a stronger craving for sweet things, in spite of the fact that babies' range of taste is pretty terrible. I asked her to send me the study because I'd like to see at what levels per day aspartame caused these effects.

Yeah well you are going to be waiting quite a while for that study I suspect because what your dietician told you doesn't make a lick of sense.

QueenBishOTUniverse

This thread is a LIE for a very basic biological reason.

Bacteria are single celled organisms and do not have digestive tracts, to say nothing of "feces".

Ignorance is NOT bliss.

Our education system fails us once again.

Hey hey hey, as a representative of said education system......... yea ok, I got nuthin. :grumble:

Libby283

Whatever you want to call it, there's a lot of evidence to support it's relationship to brain tumors.
I think any sweetener made in a chemistry lab is suspect anyways...if I need a sweetener I'll take honey. The calories are as real as the sweetener.

I agree. I would rather have real sugar then fake sweetener. Plus the fake stuff has a really gross taste. Water is more appealing than that aftertaste.

stealthq

This thread is a LIE for a very basic biological reason.

Bacteria are single celled organisms and do not have digestive tracts, to say nothing of "feces".

Ignorance is NOT bliss.

Our education system fails us once again.

Hey hey hey, as a representative of said education system......... yea ok, I got nuthin. :grumble:

I'd have left the digestive tract comment pass since vesicular trafficking in microbes is analogous enough. At least OP didn't think E. Coli is a virus. I hear that one a lot.

But feces? No. Not even close.