Why Not Diet Soda

I've read a few reports recently in places like MSN Health and Reader's Digest that suggest the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks actually trigger sugar cravings in your brain. The chemicals are not good for you, and though they used to think copious amounts might lead to cancer, it's now being linked to mental health illnesses such as dementia.

I think mainly because of all the "chemicals" that are used to make the soda taste good are not really things you should be taking internally as far as the long term health of your body. Sure they have no sugar no calories etc...but in return for that your getting things like aspartame etc...

I am not against diet sodas but I just don't drink them.

some can have upwards of 85 mg of sodium in them, some like the waist watchers brand has 0 sodium, I think anything in moderation is fine, like having one a day. alot of people think the nutrasweet or splenda that they have can be a huge negative. it's not like you're drinking a two liter bottle a day though.

Just because the FDA deemed it was safe I would not drink it. First off when pairing carbs with a aspartame (the ingredient in your zero calorie diet drinks) is the worse thing you can do for your body. Off the top of my head aspartame raises your chance of developing ADHD. Also, there is NO NUTRIENTs come pop or diet pop. How can you lose weight if you want to put things like diet pop in your body. You should be fueling your body with fruits and veggies not soda. If you want to lose weight you shouldn't drink pop even diet. Because diet is bad for your health. Just because it makes it 0 calories does not mean you should drink...that is UNNATURAL to make something 0 calories.
From Skinny ***** about aspartame:::::::::::::::::

When aspartame was put before the FDA for approval, it was denied eight times. g.d. Searle, founder of aspartame, tried to get FDA approval in 1973. clearly, he wasn't bothered by reports from neuroscientist Dr. John Olney and researcher Ann reynolds (hired by Searle himself) that aspartame was dangerous. Dr. Martha Freeman, a scientist from the FDA division of Metabolic and endocrine drug Products, declared, "The information submitted for review is inadequate to permit a scientific evaluation of clinical safety." Freeman recommended that until the safety of aspartame was proven, marketing the product should not be permitted. Alas, her recommendations were ignored. Somehow, in 1974, Searle got approval to use aspartame in dry foods. However, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. In 1975, the FDA put together a task force to review Searle's testing methods. Task force team leader Phillip Brodsky said he "had never seen anything as bas as Searle's testing" and called the tests results "manipulated." Before aspartame actually made it into dry foods, Olney and attorney and consumer advocate Jim Turner filed objections against the approval.

In 1977, the FDA asked the U.S. attorney's office to start grand jury proceedings against Searle for "knowingly misrepresenting findings and concealing material facts and making false statements in aspartame safety tests." shortly after, the U.S. attorney leading the investigation against Searle was offered a job by the law firm that was representing Searle. Later that same year, he resigned as U.S. attorney and withdrew from the case, delaying the grand jury's investigation. This caused the statute of limitations on the charges to run out, and the investigation was dropped. And he accepted the job with Searle's law firm. Stunning.

In 1980, a review by the Public Board of Inquiry set up by the FDA determined that aspartame should not be approved. The board said it had not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive." In 1981, new FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed. Despite the fact that three out of six scientists advised against approval, Hayes decided to overrule the scientific review panel and allow aspartame into limited dry goods. In 1983, he got it approved for beverages, even though the National Soft Drink Association urged the FDA to delay approval until further testing could be done. That same year, Hayes left the FDA amid charges of impropriety. The Internal Department of Health and Human services was investigating Hayes for accepting gratuities from FDA-regulated companies. He went to work as a consultant for Searle's public relations firm. Interesting. The FDA finally urged Congress to prosecute Searle for giving the government false or incomplete test results on aspartame. However, the two government attorneys assigned to the case decided not to prosecute. Later, they went to work for the law firm that represented Searle. Fascinating. Despite recognizing ninety-two different symptoms that result from ingesting aspartame, the FDA approved it for use, without restriction in 1996. Brilliant.

So many people have been sickened from this **** that there are aspartame victim support groups. Some of the ninety-two aspartame side effects listed by the FDA include memory loss, nerve cell damage, migraines, reproductive disorders, mental confusion, brain lesions, blindness, joint pain, Alzheimer's, bloating, nervous system disorders, hair loss, food cravings, and weight gain.

Aspartame is a $1 billion industry. The National Justice League has filed a series of lawsuits against food companies using aspartame, claiming they are poisoning the public. In September 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed for $350 million against NutraSweet and the American Diabetics Association. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is named in the suit for using political muscle to get aspartame approved by the FDA.

Nutrasweet and Equil contain aspartame. When ingested, one of aspartames ingredients, methyl alcohol, converts into formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin. In addition to aspartame, Equal contains the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine occurs naturally in the brain. But high levels can increase the chance of seizures and lead to depression and schizophrenia. There is no lesser of the two evils. NutraSweet and Equal are both evil. Sweet and Low is no saint, either. It is an artificial sweetener that contains saccharin, a coal-tar compound. Stay away.

Because we're having so much fun, lets bash the **** out of Splenda, one of the newer sweeteners. Splenda is made by chlorinated sugar, changing its molecular structure. The finished product is called sucralose. The makers of this poison tout its lack of calories and claim it's safe for diabetics. The FDA calls sucralose 98 percent pure. The other 2 percent contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. Well gee, at least it doesn't have any calories. So what if it has a little arsenic? Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys: and a decrease in fetal body weight. What a splendid product!

I'm right with you--I drink diet soda and Crystal Light and I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think you should either if you are only drinking one a day. Sure there are chemicals in it, but there are chemicals in almost every processed thing we eat. Also, in comparison to all of the risks associated with being obese, I'll take the chance.

Another problem with diet drinks is that your brain and taste buds think you're getting something with calories, because it tastes like it does. Therefore, since it doesn't get calories, your body then wants calories, and you eat more as a result.

Over here in the UK, there was a show on TV recently where they took two rugby teams and one team drank a bunch of diet soda, the other team drank regular soda. Then, each team was given food and told to eat as much as they want, but they had to write everything down that they ate. The team that drank the diet soda ate, on average, 150 calories more than the team that drank regular soda.

I try not to drink it for the same reasons the others have mentioned, there is NOTHING in a diet drink your body needs apart from the water, but if I do decide to have one, I try and have it with a meal instead of on it's own.

I'm right with you--I drink diet soda and Crystal Light and I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think you should either if you are only drinking one a day. Sure there are chemicals in it, but there are chemicals in almost every processed thing we eat. Also, in comparison to all of the risks associated with being obese, I'll take the chance.

Well said!

I personally don't based on my own research.... (not that I am a scientist or brilliant thinker) There is so much inconclusive findings that, diet soda, like lots of things (aspartame, high fructose corn syrup, sat fat, hydrogentated fat ect) I TRY to limit are not worth the risk. We are bombarded daily with enviornmental toxins and have no choice in the matter, so I TRY to be careful on what I put in.... (please see I put emphasis on try, every now and then I succumb to a dr. pepper, or the like) All that being said, as you get healthier on your journey I think you will find (at least I did) that I don't crave or want those things. So dont sweat it too much, (if you were putting down 12 a day I would be concerned) but just try to make everyday a healthy day. Good luck and best wishes.

I think your preachy attitude is coming off as rude and judgmental. just because people don't want to eat all organic foods doesn't make them any less committed than you. Your really not going to convince anyone of anything talking to people like that. We are here to help each other and give knowledge but when you start to pass judgement on another person just because they don't share your same views it turns into a preach fest instead of you honestly trying to help. I understand what your saying but there is another way to get your point across.

I'm right with you--I drink diet soda and Crystal Light and I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think you should either if you are only drinking one a day. Sure there are chemicals in it, but there are chemicals in almost every processed thing we eat. Also, in comparison to all of the risks associated with being obese, I'll take the chance.

You want to take the chance of what? We wouldnt get chronic diseases if we had that attitude ill take the chance. Why not buy organic? You cant diet and keep the weight off if you continue to eat the chemical filled food...also you may be hitting your calories that this website says you should have but if you getting your calories meant by eating that processed you are indeed malnutrished. so when you crave salt it does not mean go eat a pringle.

its really sad to me that people just dont care what goes into our bodies. its like we car more about what gasoline we put in our cars but no problem eating a bag of doritos. our bodies can selfheal within the need of medicine. most cases when you pair medicine with the ingredients of processed foods YOU ACTUALLY GET ILL-ER faster.

we truly are what we eat...and one day everyone will see that. its not more expensive to eat healthy.

for instnace , when someone gets cancer..that was not airborne unless it was from cigs. we are what we eat the food we eat well either make us sick or make us fine. this is way the united states is number 38 for our health and longetivity. CUBA is even beating us on this list. Japan is number 1. the united states is doing everything wrong when it comes to our food and we all been brain washed to think that vegans or organic eaters are the weirdos. it should be a fad that is catching on but its not becasuse it requires wisdom.

i am not preaching. and i am not judging anyone. i am the only one in my huge family this eats the way i do so i deal with it everday. when i try to offer advice to my overweight sister or to my sister who has a sick child they just dont care. and they say they dont care. my niece has a immuntity problem and one of things they say is to not eat red meat and she still lets her daughter eat red meat. because her daughter wants the food and she doesnt understand is her excuse. i know people dont care. and it makes me sad probably more than you would think. of course i am not trying to be rude to anyone. but there are facts about things and i brought them to the table. i have had people tell me i was retarded for the way i eat or if i didnt eat meat that cows would take over the world or they blamed overweight people on television and not the foods we eat.

Let me just put this all in a very easy marketing ploy that is being used here and it will make perfect sense in many perspectives.

If every work out program made everyone skinny and in shape they wouldnt be able to come up with a new one for everyone to try and give up on.

Or sell you a total gym, bow flex etc

If everything that you bought did what it said it did then we wouldnt need them anymore and they would be out of business.

So with Diet stuff food drinks etc if they actually DID make you thin healthy and in shape then they would be of course out of business or not making any money because everyone that needed them wouldnt need them for very long.

Thats all I am saying...

I AGREE with you 100%. and taken this a little bit further this is the same why for the medical industry if the fda produced all perfectly 'good' food then there would be a more healthy people which means healthcare would lose SO.MUCH.MONEY. everything is about $$$$ . .. the truth is they need you sick. they need us overweight.

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QUOTE: I TOTALLY 100% AGREE WITH YOU!!!! What is wrong with our society to think this way. what is OK about processed GMO food. Why do we have so much more cancer now, why do we have so much more diabetes.. I mean who even seen a commercial for diabetes 20 years ago. It was a random disease that effected some not the entire country. We really need to start thinking more about what we put into our bodies.. People care more about giving their pets the best of the best food to eat and then feed themselves garbage. Makes no sense! """""

not to stir the pot, but i am just wondering.. could more people have cancer and diabites (spelling?) these days because medical technology is better now and doctors can diagnose it, as where years back people were just sick, and that was that.... kind of like dogs, now days i hear more and more about dogs having dogs having cancer and diabites and being blind and whatnot, but is that because they are eating worse, or just because vets can recognize when a dog does have something wrong with it? ...

I gave up diet soda early last summer. I am so glad I did!

I'm right with you--I drink diet soda and Crystal Light and I don't feel bad about it, and I don't think you should either if you are only drinking one a day. Sure there are chemicals in it, but there are chemicals in almost every processed thing we eat. Also, in comparison to all of the risks associated with being obese, I'll take the chance.

You want to take the chance of what? We wouldnt get chronic diseases if we had that attitude ill take the chance. Why not buy organic? You cant diet and keep the weight off if you continue to eat the chemical filled food...also you may be hitting your calories that this website says you should have but if you getting your calories meant by eating that processed you are indeed malnutrished. so when you crave salt it does not mean go eat a pringle.

its really sad to me that people just dont care what goes into our bodies. its like we car more about what gasoline we put in our cars but no problem eating a bag of doritos. our bodies can selfheal within the need of medicine. most cases when you pair medicine with the ingredients of processed foods YOU ACTUALLY GET ILL-ER faster.

we truly are what we eat...and one day everyone will see that. its not more expensive to eat healthy.

for instnace , when someone gets cancer..that was not airborne unless it was from cigs. we are what we eat the food we eat well either make us sick or make us fine. this is way the united states is number 38 for our health and longetivity. CUBA is even beating us on this list. Japan is number 1. the united states is doing everything wrong when it comes to our food and we all been brain washed to think that vegans or organic eaters are the weirdos. it should be a fad that is catching on but its not becasuse it requires wisdom.

I drink diet soda ive lost 46 pounds,I eat some proccesed food,And guess what i am perfectly healthy.My great grandma drank diet soda from the day it hit the market to the day she died at 104 she was healthy as horse and clear thinking at a healthy weight.She died in a car accident and not from any health problems.She drank anywhere from 5 to 8 A DAY.Mabey if you want to get your point across more you should step down of the soap box.And stop being so preachy

Saying someone drank diet pop and lived a long healthy life is the same as saying someone smoked and lived a long healthy life.
Somet things affect people different. I would rather not chance it.

I have a question. My teenage daughter loves those diet yogurts. I don't buy them when I shop by myself, but when she goes with me she throws them in the cart. That is the only time she gets them. How bad it is to have a couple sugar free yogurts a week? We never drink diet pop. I can't stand the after taste of fake sugar. How about chewing gum? I use it to keep me from over eating, and I don't want to get the kind with sugar in it.