Diet coke/pepsi addiction...HELP!!

I believe that the human race has developed a form of collective schizophrenia in which we are not only the slaves to this imposed thought behavior, but we are also the police force of it.
David Icke

Goodbye. Yes, go ahead and cheer. I win in the end.

Yes, diet pepsi contains aspartame, something used to sweeten your drink instead of high calorie sugar. But aspartame is responsible for everything you're feeling and here is why:
SOME THINGS CAUSED BY ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION

* birth defects
* brain cancers
* diabetes
*emotional disorders
*Epilepsy

If what you're consuming has aspartame in it, don't consume it. It's a poison, like flouride. Unfortunately it can be masked with different words on the ingredient list. But the more processed a food is, the more of this stuff is in it, you can bet on that. Are people that unaware that we are being killed off or debilitated?

If you really think diabetes is caused by aspartame you really need to read up on diabetes.

Are They Linked to Diabetes?
As the sweet receptors in your esophagus and stomach are “tricked” by the zero-calorie substitutes, your pancreas is tricked into sending a false spike of insulin that can lead to insulin resistance. This can lead to diabetes. Also, since artificial sweeteners cause your body to crave more food, you can also put on weight, which further increases your risk for diabetes.

In addition to diabetes, artificial sweeteners may be contributing to a nationwide epidemic of metabolic syndrome, which includes diabetes-inducing insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and too much fat around the waistline.

It's not nice to plagiarize. If you took this information from someone else, you should credit the source. Just sayin'...

So forget what all that said, and let's focus on the fact I didn't source it. Nice distraction there, I got it from Dr.Oz's site. I finally gave you your TEXT evidence that you needed something to put me down on, well there you go.

I realised that I am addicted to diet coke/pepsi and some days I would drink over a 1 litre a day! I gave it up a week ago but my cravings got the better of me last night and I had two cans of diet pepsi. Today however I feel rubbish. I am so fatigued, head feels cloudy and I am craving high sugar foods just for some energy! Now this is kind of normal as I suffer from depression and have low energy as a symptom but it has been ok for a week.
Could the diet pepsi be causing how I feel today and why? My friend said it was aspartame as it is like poison but I have researched it and it has been proven safe to consume. And if it was aspartame then that is in other foods I consume so maybe it isn't the diet coke that is causing how I feel today!! Any info? Advice? I will be stopping diet coke again just in case it is that.

Some people have problems with aspartame.. it is the artificial sweetener that most often gives people issues healthwise. It may be perfectly safe (according to studies) to consume as far as not being a carcinogen, but that does not mean that it is good for our bodies. When it is overheated it breaks down into something similar to formaldehyde and methanol. I studied this stuff pretty intensely because, like you, I had a diet coke addiction... but got to where I felt like crap all the time. After a series of doctors visits, my doc finally looked at me and said, I give up, I don't know what is wrong with you... lets look at your diet. Bingo! He had me stop dairy... wheat... gluten.... etc and none of my symptoms stopped. Then came the aspartame drinks... and I felt worse for 3 days in the beginning as I went through detox and then it was as if heavns gates opened and angels began to sing. My blurred vision stopped, dizziness when standing, headaches, muscle aches... all of it stopped. Doc said some people are sensitive to the stuff... and just shouldn't have it. It was literally poisoning my body. It does take a few days of real discipline to stop drinking it... bujt once you are off of it you feel SO much better. I replaced it with water and splenda sweetened drinks... and haven't had any problems since. Maybe try some of the water flavors in little squirt bottles, many are made with splenda or stevia. Also, fruit20, diet rite, and many bottled preflavored waters do not contain aspartame.

I am not a scientist, but I've always thought it was just common sense that putting man-made chemicals in my body came with a certain amount of risk. That wasn't enough to deter me from my decades-long Diet Coke habit however. My nurse sister-in-law always told me 'You're going to get a brain lesion from drinking that stuff", but I chose to believe the scientific studies that said it was safe. Until 5 years ago when they discovered a growing tumor (i.e., lesion) in the left ventricle of my brain. Let me tell you having brain surgery that goes deep into your brain is very scary. Luckily I had a great surgeon at Johns Hopkins and the surgery was a complete success. I haven't touched a diet soda since I got that diagnosis. The doctor couldn't say what caused my tumor, but it was not cancer.

One thing I've learned is that many "scientific studies" (even those conducted by prestigious universities) are funded by the industry that stands to gain the most if the conclusion (or lack of conclusion) of the study goes in their favor. And anyone who is paying attention to all the health claims out there knows that many scientific studies are often proven wrong with later studies

So, bottom line is that everyone needs to decide their own risk tolerance and act accordingly. I wouldn't presume to lecture or judge anyone who chose to continue their habit. I would just caution those who have a history of consuming aspartame to be familiar with the symptoms of brain lesions and consult your doctor if you begin experiencing any of them. Luckily my tumor was not in a spot that made it "inoperable", but had it grown much larger, there was a good chance that it would become a serious situation very quickly and require life-saving emergency brain surgery.

Since my brain surgery adventure, I've learned of others who were not so lucky . A few have tumors that are not cancer but are large and/or in locations that make them impossible to remove. In the two cases I am familiar with, the tumor was going to kill them as it continued to grow. It was only a matter of time. Both are relatively young women with young families (I've since lost contact with both ladies due to a change of employment, so I'm not sure how they are today)

I feel lucky that we caught my tumor when we did, and that I now have a medical reason to get a brain MRI annually. I know that we'll be able to catch any new tumors before they get too large (hopefully not in an inoperable location).

I found this link for anyone that's interested. It includes a segment from 60 Minutes.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/01/10/aspartame-brain-cancer-and-the-fda.aspx

Here is a study from the FDA (which I believe to be a credible source) on aspartame toxicity:

http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt