Diet Soda Warnings

Jorra

Aspartame is a poison. Research it. I would never touch a diet soda (or anything w/nutrasweet in it).

I have researched it. Aspartame is broken down into naturally occurring components that pose virtually no unique harm to the body.

You have every right not to drink it, but it's not a "poison."

jsc4him

Thanks! This is perfect timing as I am trying to quit the diet soda addiction I have!

LeelaLosing

i stay all-natural in my beverage consumption.....water, grape/yeast/hops-based drinks and bodily fluids...no artificial anything for me

Contrarian

So aspartame is fine for your brain? Since you're an expert in neuron cell death, does she have other options? Has she been misdiagnosed? Because we'd like her back.

All we are saying is that no one knows what causes Alzheimer's. It's a horrible disease, but that doctor should not have said that it was essentially self-induced through drinking diet soda. It isn't accurate and it certainly isn't kind.

durhamity

bump to read later

tncmom

My mom's best friend drank those diet sodas for 35 years. She was there from the time I was a toddler and she helped raise me. About 6 years ago she started showing signs of dementia--in her mid 50s-- and now she has full-blown Alzheimer's. The doctor said it was from 35 years of daily aspartame consumption. She weighs about 80 pounds now and doesn't recognize me, my mother, her children, or her grandkids. You don't have to believe me, but this is reality for us.

Please don't drink those awful things. I'm not interested in my friends' waistlines. I'd rather they were able to grow old with me.

Her doctor is an idiot.

How, pray tell, did he isolate aspartame as the causal link?

plus, Alzheimer's cannot be diagnosed until death - the brain has to be autopsied for a definitive diagnosis.

TDGee

I cannot make your pain go away. I can offer that you are not alone in dealing with it. There are lots of resources available. Might I suggest starting here?
http://www.alz.org/apps/findus.asp

LabRat529

So aspartame is fine for your brain? Since you're an expert in neuron cell death, does she have other options? Has she been misdiagnosed? Because we'd like her back.

Aspartame is fine for your brain, yes. Your brain has a barrier designed to protect it. In many ways, it's a separate compartment- isolated from the rest of your body. Some things can get past that barrier, but a lot of things can't.

If I were to dump aspartame directly onto neurons, then yes, it would kill them (a lot of things kill them). But the brain never "sees" the aspartame that you drink/eat.

And unfortunately, no. Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, incurable disorder. There are medications that can help alleviate the symptoms, but they will not stop the progression of the disease.

I also can't tell you if she's been misdiagnosed... I'm not an MD. I'm a PhD. But that doesn't make me any less an expert on what causes brain cells to die.

But seriously, please don't blame the patient. Nothing upsets me more. AGE is the single greatest risk factor for the disease, and nobody can stop aging. Educate yourself... and love her while you've got her. Don't blame her for this illness. She did nothing to bring it upon herself.

If you'd like to learn more about Alzheimer's disease, I suggest: http://www.alzforum.org/ and http://www.alz.org/. The link to the mayo clinic above is also excellent.

speedycakes

This is why you should just stick to water. There is no confusion about weather it's good or bad for you. Soda has lots of sugar=bad. Diet soda has artificial sugars =Bad? Good? Who knows. I have heard more bad than good and personally i prefer REAL foods. The earth provided everything we need you don't need to eat some science project.

For people who say we need artificial because were running out of food or whatever. No, we just need to learn to eat less. Also it would help if people like kate + 8 or the octamom didn't exist. 1-2 kids is all anyone needs.

BrienJD

Condolences to IndyInk, on a loss that is not a death but for intents and purposes is, and with due respect to LPQ22, human dietary needs are so off the wall nowadays

Soda--don't drink it, it's bad - drink diet soda
Diet soda, Don't drink it, it poisonous
Butter is bad, too much fat eat margarine Margarine is good
No margarine is bad, too many chemicals eat butter
water is good,
No water is bad, too many chemicals added, especially the evil mind controlling flouride.
Salt is good, salt is bad
Etc, Etc, Ad infinitum


Sheesh, does anyone else feel like throwing up their hands and giving up sometimes?
It's just my humble opinion, but sometimes it seems like we can't eat, drink or even breath because EVERYTHING causes some sort of illness or incurable disease.

Of course if I am off-base feel free to call me on it. I'm not too stubborn to learn or value other peoples opinions.

IndyInk

LabRat... rest easy. No one is angry with her over anything, perceived or otherwise. We just miss her and take every chance to treasure her. Thanks for the info. I wish it could bring her back to us.

LabRat529

I wish it could bring her back to us.

Me too. 25 years of research and we still don't have the answers. But we're trying.

And you have my condolences, too. It is so hard to watch people fade away. I've been there too.

solpwr

This topic amuses me! Thanks people!

Derameth

Being FAT will kill you faster.....I refuse to give up my diet soda.....just like I won't give up my coffee. First they said, Coffee bad for you, then Coffee not bad for you, then Coffee Bad for you again, now they say it is good for you....Same with Diet soda, etc. One thing I know for SURE...FAT=Bad for you.... IMHO:smokin:

lissypriss

I suffered from hives nightly for years, had to take benedryl every night just to sleep. I read an article on the effects aspartame had on the body, so I quit using it. Two days later--no hives! I read labels carefully and haven't had them since. I stopped drinking diet sodas and lost a ton of water weight. I have one every once in a while, but for the most part, just water. As for people drinking them anyway, I'm reminded of the old saying.."You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

This site is full of advice for people looking to change their lives, but you can't force them to take it. Live and learn!

Jorra

Being FAT will kill you faster.....I refuse to give up my diet soda.....just like I won't give up my coffee. First they said, Coffee bad for you, then Coffee not bad for you, then Coffee Bad for you again, now they say it is good for you....Same with Diet soda, etc. One thing I know for SURE...FAT=Bad for you.... IMHO:smokin:

Coffee is NEVER bad for you. :drinker:

MaraDiaz

Anytime you put artificial crap in your body, you're taking a huge risk. Before anyone looks at my food journal and comments, what can I say? I'm a born gambler. Luckily, I think diet soda tastes disgusting.

greenblood55252

Just my 2 cents worth for the helluvit

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

michellebd1980

I've drank it for years and I agree that if you have other bad habits it can contribute to it. But, any bad behavior with regard to your health can contribute to stroke or heart attack!

Jacobu17

Ugh I've been scared into not drinking diet soda.. and that's all I had when I had those soda cravings haha Crystal Light will have to do

AntWrig

Aspartame is a poison. Research it. I would never touch a diet soda (or anything w/nutrasweet in it).

Arsenic is a poison, yet a lot of our foods have it. What's your point?

AntWrig

Ugh I've been scared into not drinking diet soda.. and that's all I had when I had those soda cravings haha Crystal Light will have to do

Crystal Light is the same thing.

Jorra

Just my 2 cents worth for the helluvit

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

I can't say anything for the DKP, but phenylalanine is only harmful to people with the genetic disorder PKU which is diagnosed at birth. Otherwise, it is a natural and necessary amino acid that is present in many proteins in your body. The methanol poisoning argument is bogus because there is more natually occurring methanol in fruit juice than comes from aspartame.

LPinTheD

Aspartame is a poison. Research it. I would never touch a diet soda (or anything w/nutrasweet in it).

Arsenic is a poison, yet a lot of our foods have it. What's your point?

Just adding to the conversation. If you want to drink/eat artificial chemical sweeteners, go for it. I choose not to because I believe they are bad for me.

BrendaLee

Aspartame is fine for your brain, yes. Your brain has a barrier designed to protect it. In many ways, it's a separate compartment- isolated from the rest of your body. Some things can get past that barrier, but a lot of things can't.

"We know aspartame damages DNA and we know it destroys neurons. Dr. James Bowen, of course, explained it so it's easy to understand. And he said: "Aspartic acid, the excitotoxic component of aspartame does not cross the blood brain barrier but is secreted into the cerebral spinal fluid by the choroid plexus located in the ventricles of the brain. There, in the brain's lower area and upper terminus of the spinal is where Lou Gehrigs, Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis damage is most prominent. These critical locations are bathed in the toxin as it removes from the blood. From the third to fourth ventricle there is a narrow canal called sylvian aqueduct which fills with this secretion and washes the roof of the hypothalamus."

http://www.wnho.net/aspartameandgulfwar.htm

I don't know anything about the doctor who stated this, but I was curious about what you said, so I Googled. From his/her perspective, it seems there could still be a disease risk.

RonSwanson66

Aspartame is fine for your brain, yes. Your brain has a barrier designed to protect it. In many ways, it's a separate compartment- isolated from the rest of your body. Some things can get past that barrier, but a lot of things can't.

"We know aspartame damages DNA and we know it destroys neurons. Dr. James Bowen, of course, explained it so it's easy to understand. And he said: "Aspartic acid, the excitotoxic component of aspartame does not cross the blood brain barrier but is secreted into the cerebral spinal fluid by the choroid plexus located in the ventricles of the brain. There, in the brain's lower area and upper terminus of the spinal is where Lou Gehrigs, Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis damage is most prominent. These critical locations are bathed in the toxin as it removes from the blood. From the third to fourth ventricle there is a narrow canal called sylvian aqueduct which fills with this secretion and washes the roof of the hypothalamus."

http://www.wnho.net/aspartameandgulfwar.htm

I don't know anything about the doctor who stated this, but I was curious about what you said, so I Googled. From his/her perspective, it seems there could still be a disease risk.

Try pubmed, rather than alarmist websites.

IndyInk

My reading comprehension isn't so bad. I have ten books on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and I write for National Geographic, after all.

BrendaLee

Aspartame is fine for your brain, yes. Your brain has a barrier designed to protect it. In many ways, it's a separate compartment- isolated from the rest of your body. Some things can get past that barrier, but a lot of things can't.

"We know aspartame damages DNA and we know it destroys neurons. Dr. James Bowen, of course, explained it so it's easy to understand. And he said: "Aspartic acid, the excitotoxic component of aspartame does not cross the blood brain barrier but is secreted into the cerebral spinal fluid by the choroid plexus located in the ventricles of the brain. There, in the brain's lower area and upper terminus of the spinal is where Lou Gehrigs, Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis damage is most prominent. These critical locations are bathed in the toxin as it removes from the blood. From the third to fourth ventricle there is a narrow canal called sylvian aqueduct which fills with this secretion and washes the roof of the hypothalamus."

http://www.wnho.net/aspartameandgulfwar.htm

I don't know anything about the doctor who stated this, but I was curious about what you said, so I Googled. From his/her perspective, it seems there could still be a disease risk.

Try pubmed, rather than alarmist websites.

I just grabbed the first thing I came across. Definitely not stating it as fact.

P.S. LabRat, I posted that to get your opinion, since you're in the know about such things.

maidentl

I suffered from hives nightly for years, had to take benedryl every night just to sleep. I read an article on the effects aspartame had on the body, so I quit using it. Two days later--no hives! I read labels carefully and haven't had them since. I stopped drinking diet sodas and lost a ton of water weight. I have one every once in a while, but for the most part, just water. As for people drinking them anyway, I'm reminded of the old saying.."You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

This site is full of advice for people looking to change their lives, but you can't force them to take it. Live and learn!

Hmm. I am allergic to penicillin. By your logic, this makes it bad for everyone else too.

I don't break out in hives when I drink diet soda and I have stopped drinking it on more than one occasion and saw no weight loss. If YOU have a reaction to it, by all means, stop drinking it, but I don't see why everyone else should follow suit.

ninerbuff

I was reading health news on msn.com and came across this. Thought I would share it with you all.

Here is the link if you would rather see it there than the copy and paste of the article I put here.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46431225/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

Diet soda may benefit the waistline, but a new study suggests that people who drink it every day have a heightened risk of heart attack and stroke.

.
The study, which followed almost 2,600 older adults for a decade, found that those who drank diet soda every day were 44 percent more likely than non-drinkers to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

The findings, reported in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, don't prove that the sugar-free drinks are actually to blame.

There may be other things about diet-soda lovers that explain the connection, researchers say.

"What we saw was an association," said lead researcher Hannah Gardener, of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "These people may tend to have more unhealthy habits."

She and her colleagues tried to account for that, Gardener told Reuters Health.

Daily diet-soda drinkers did tend to be heavier and more often have heart risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes and unhealthy cholesterol levels.

That all suggests that people who were trying to shed pounds or manage existing health problems often opted for a diet soda over the sugar-laden variety.

But even after the researchers factored in those differences -- along with people's reported diet and exercise habits -- they found that daily diet soda was linked to a 44-percent higher chance of heart attack or stroke.

Nevertheless, Gardener said, it's impossible for a study to capture all the variables that could be at work.

The findings do build on a few recent studies that also found diet-soda drinkers are more likely to have certain cardiovascular risk factors, like high blood pressure or high blood sugar.

This is the first study, Gardener said, to look at actual "vascular events" -- that is, heart attacks, strokes and deaths from cardiovascular causes.

The findings are based on 2,564 New York City adults who were 69 years old, on average, at the outset. Over the next decade, 591 men and women had a heart attack, stroke or died of cardiovascular causes.

That included 31 percent of the 163 people who were daily diet-soda drinkers at the study's start. In contrast, 22 percent of people who rarely or never drank diet soda went on to have a heart attack or stroke.

There was no increased risk linked to less-than-daily consumption. Nor was regular soda tied to heart attacks and strokes.

If diet soda, itself, somehow contributes to health risks, it's not clear how, Gardener said.

There's research in rats suggesting that artificial sweeteners can end up boosting food intake and weight. But whether results in rodents translate to humans is unknown.

"I don't think people should change their behavior based on this study," Gardener said. "And I wouldn't advocate drinking regular soda instead."

Regular soda is high in calories, and for people who need to shed pounds, experts often suggest swapping regular soda for the diet version.

A study out this month found that the advice may be sound. Obese people who were randomly assigned to drink water or diet drinks in place of sugary ones lost about five pounds over six months.

Gardener said that further studies such as hers are still needed to confirm a connection between diet soda and cardiovascular trouble.

Ultimately, she noted, clinical trials are considered the "gold standard" for proving cause-and-effect. That would mean randomly assigning people to drink diet soda or not, and then following them over time to see if there were differences in their rates of heart problems or stroke.

A study like that, Gardener said, would be "difficult and costly" -- since it would have to follow large groups of people over many years, and rely on people to stick with their assigned beverages.

Copyright 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Lol, just living in New York City would raise your risk 44%.

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