Quitting diet soda today

tigersword

fair enough. why do you feel that if something isn't supported by multiple peer-reviewed studies, that it's necessarily wrong? that's a fallacy as well.

It's a little thing called "preponderance of evidence".

If you make a claim (ie "aspartame is harmful"), and the preponderance of evidence shows this claim to be false, then your claim is most-likely false.

Science does not deal in absolutes, so although there may be a chance that your claim is true despite the evidence to the contrary, there is no reason to believe it to be so.

but to say flat out that aspartame is "safe" is just as fallacious as saying it absolutely isn't. the truth is that - yes, scientific studies have shown it to be safe in normal doses, and unsafe in large doses, but NO STUDY has been done as to the LONG-TERM affects of a lifetime of drinking diet coke!

I've always said that it's the better logical choice not to drink it, given that drinking it can only possibly cause harm (even if the possibility is remote), while not drinking it, cannot cause harm.

but this argument's being had in another thread. so... OP... I'll say it again - good for you.

Saying "drinking it can only possibly cause harm," is one hell of an assumption, and also a fallacy.

How do you know it can only cause harm? Do you know how long people were told drinking coffee was bad for them, until they actually did studies and found that heavy coffee drinkers have much lower risks of serious diseases like Diabetes, stroke, heart attacks, and hypertension? Turns out, coffee has lots of health benefits.

So, you stating that drinking diet soda can only possibly cause harm is just as fallacious as somebody stating that aspartame is 100% completely, perfectly safe (which is not true for any substance, even water can be harmful under certain conditions, at certain doses.)