Why Not Diet Soda

2

Replies

  • 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!
    Thank you for clearing some of the muck. I really wish more people would educate themselves to protect their bodies and mainly the bodies of their children.
  • 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 have always thought that. If that diet 'pill' etc.. really worked then we would all be thin!
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    Can anyone show me where it was without a doubt proved that it causes cancer in humans,like cigarretes?
    Or that it causes adhd
    Not just studies that say it MIGHT cause all these things?
    Also you better stop using deoderant,pain relievers, drinking water out of a plastic bottle,makeup,breathing the air outside,living in a mobil home or trailer home.Because all of these have been linked to cancers and illness
    Ever seen a brand new tailer home with the warnings posted in it about the dangers of the formaldehyde used in the building materials?
    Also if you live near any high tension power lines you might want to worry
  • britishstar41
    britishstar41 Posts: 140 Member
    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.

    I used to get those yogurts too, but stopped after reading up on the effects of the artificial sweeteners. Plus I didn't like the after taste. Why don't you tell her to put them back and get regular yogurt? You're buying them, you get the final say, right?

    I'm with you on the question about gum. I chew a piece every afternoon - oh, I just checked the ingredients - sugar AND aspartame! What's a girl to do?
  • sbwood888
    sbwood888 Posts: 953 Member
    I've heard diet sodas are bad too, but I am hooked on them. I am giving up so much else right now that I'm not going to sweat the diet coke. :drinker:


    Agreed. It's Diet Mountain Dew for me. :drinker:
  • Mayor_West
    Mayor_West Posts: 246 Member
    Don't believe everything you read on the internet, kids.

    http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp


    Sheesh..... :noway:
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    they are usually very high in soduim which is not good

    I see people say this all the time, but what's funny is that a bottle of Propel Fitness Water is labeled as "low sodium" and contains MUCH more per serving (140 or under per 8oz) than a Diet Pepsi (25 per 8oz).
  • Aspynmom
    Aspynmom Posts: 166 Member
    Can anyone show me where it was without a doubt proved that it causes cancer in humans,like cigarretes?
    Or that it causes adhd
    Not just studies that say it MIGHT cause all these things?
    Also you better stop using deoderant,pain relievers, drinking water out of a plastic bottle,makeup,breathing the air outside,living in a mobil home or trailer home.Because all of these have been linked to cancers and illness
    Ever seen a brand new tailer home with the warnings posted in it about the dangers of the formaldehyde used in the building materials?
    Also if you live near any high tension power lines you might want to worry

    AMEN sister!!!
  • NittyGrittyBritty
    NittyGrittyBritty Posts: 31 Member
    Is one slice of cake per day considered moderation? No, neither is one can of diet pop per day. If you want to drink aspartame, it should really be moderated because it is terrible for you and it doesn't belong in food.
  • SammieGetsFit
    SammieGetsFit Posts: 432 Member
    Leaving aside the medical aspects of artificial sweeteners (since I'm neither a doctor nor scientist), I can only speak to personal experience. I've found that when I'm cutting out nearly everything I see on TV (aka the "good stuff") my brain feels very betrayed, and I crave candy, cookies, potato chips much more than I do when they're part of my diet occasionally (gee, I wonder why). I use Diet Coke (my weapon of choice) as a way to trick my brain into thinking it's having something naughty -- which it is, but you take my point. I only have it when my cravings for junk get too tempting, and I try to drink it slowly enough that I don't even want to finish it.

    I don't think that it can be said enough (because fundamentally it's the only thing everyone can agree is true): EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

    If you can give it up, why not. If you can't, drink responsibly. :)

    Good luck!
  • MichelleB69
    MichelleB69 Posts: 213 Member
    Don't believe everything you read on the internet, kids.

    http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp


    Sheesh..... :noway:

    Thank you! For me, it's more a question of preference. I LOVE Diet Coke, but found once I started drinking adequate amounts of water (for me 100 oz/day), I didn't crave it like I did before. I prefer to eat foods that are in a form closer to their natural state, ie fresh over canned or frozen & the less processed the better. Diet Coke is a treat for me; I know it has no nutritional value, but I enjoy the relatively small amount of caffiene and carbonation.

    FWIW, there are all kinds of urban legends out there about EVERYTHING! I'm not saying that I believe that aspartame is 100% safe, but I also do not believe that I am drinking rat poison...anymore than I believe in a diet that suggests I take HCG (a compound found in pregnant females urine) to promote weight loss.
  • KelliH729
    KelliH729 Posts: 208 Member
    I have never personally been able to drink diet soda, it gives me the shakes which is really odd. But I gave up regular soda back in January and haven't gone back which is awesome :)
    I think the reason that diet soda is deemed "bad" for you is because it makes you crave sweets for some reason. Also there isn't really any nutrition factor to it. If I ever need the caffine help, I just drink regular iced tea.
  • I used to drink 3 to 4 cans of diet soda a day. Consuming that much could not have been good for my health. Reading the postings on MFP over the last few months confirmed this for me.

    I gave up diet soda three weeks ago when the fridge ran out. I was craving for a can at first.Now I don't even think twice about it.
    I stick with water or unsweetened ice tea's.
  • BFab24
    BFab24 Posts: 66
    Just checking in so I can follow this conversation.

    I am, however, on the side of everything in moderation. A diet soda here and there is NOT going to kill you or give you cancer or ADHD. That's just silly. If you personally have health issues that need to be treated and you're at a higher risk for these things if you did put those chemicals in your body, then of course don't do it.

    Also I agree with the idea that people are "sicker" now because modern medicine is amazing and can help catch diseases better and faster than even 25 years ago, much less 100 years ago. Yes more people nowadays are diagnosed with diabetes and the like, but years and years ago the average age of death was around 50.

    And just being a watcher on this topic until now, those of you that are all serious about 100% non processed, all vegan all the time, who say they are just trying to "help" ... What you're doing is just confirming the thoughts of those people who think it's a ridiculous idea instead of helping people see the good in your choices ... Just sayin.
  • KWSR16
    KWSR16 Posts: 91
    So you all are telling me that the diet pop I have once, MAYBE twice a week is going to give me cancer, dimentia, diabetes and make me unable to walk................

    BLAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    That is ABOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! And I'm sorry but I dont believe it for a SECOND! Maybe if you drink like a 12 pack a day or something crazy, but not one every couple days. I don't see the people around me dropping like flies with cancer and diabetes.. Actually they are quite healthy. And they dont gorge themselves on diet pop every day either, maybe every couple days, same as me.

    I think you all have taken the simple topic about "WHY NOT DIET SODA" and have run wild. I understand that you yourselves do not drink diet pop's. Totally cool. Whatever you think is best for you. This MFP-er just wanted to know why you should or should not drink it. And did not need to hear all of your preaching...YES PREACHING!!! Remember that when people post things in a forum they are NOT LOOKING FOR YOU TO TELL THEM WHAT TO DO. They are asking you about your opinion. BIG FREAKIN DIFFERENCE. You dont need to get into the whole thing about "Oh you drink diet pop...then I guess you just dont care about your body, or real weight loss" WTF?? REALLY??

    I'm sorry but there is a place and time for rude comments to be made about someone trying to lose weight and not sure how to go about doing it so they ask questions on a weight loss website where jerks like you comment back practically yelling at them about the choices they are making in their lives. Whew...Oh I'm sorry did I just write all of that. HMM....

    Cheers to a world of diet pop and less people who think yelling at others is the best way to get through to them.
    :drinker:
    (See that wasn't so nice now was it....take note for the next time you feel like going off on some other unsuspecting person with a simple question)
  • pmarti5
    pmarti5 Posts: 38 Member
    I have two friends who were diagnosed with rare autoimmune disorders (one is in the lupus family) both were told to stop drinking and using artificial sweeteners from their doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital. My one friend has done extensive research on diet soda and sweeteners and has stop using them completely, she has no symptoms now from her disorder. My other friend refused to give up the sweeteners and she has tons of symptoms and is very sick.
  • mrb_9110
    mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
    Anyone who has taken a basic nutrition class can tell you that when you ingest artificial sweeteners, your body doesn't recognize them and passes them right through your system. They are never absorbed and taken in to the bloodstream, therefore they have no calories. Because it never enters the bloodstream, it can never get to the brain.

    Until I see some solid proof that artificial sweeteners CAUSE all of these 'side effects" then I'll continue to use them in moderation. Also, all chemicals have side effects when taken in large doses. The amount of sweetener in a diet soda will have no effect on most people.
  • westcoastSW
    westcoastSW Posts: 320 Member
    Just checking in so I can follow this conversation.

    I am, however, on the side of everything in moderation. A diet soda here and there is NOT going to kill you or give you cancer or ADHD. That's just silly. If you personally have health issues that need to be treated and you're at a higher risk for these things if you did put those chemicals in your body, then of course don't do it.

    Also I agree with the idea that people are "sicker" now because modern medicine is amazing and can help catch diseases better and faster than even 25 years ago, much less 100 years ago. Yes more people nowadays are diagnosed with diabetes and the like, but years and years ago the average age of death was around 50.

    And just being a watcher on this topic until now, those of you that are all serious about 100% non processed, all vegan all the time, who say they are just trying to "help" ... What you're doing is just confirming the thoughts of those people who think it's a ridiculous idea instead of helping people see the good in your choices ... Just sayin.
    This. Thank you, and well said.
    Also, for everyone with a friend and a grandma who did or did not drink diet soda and did or did not die, "one example a statistic does not make." (That is, wonderful for you and yours, but no need to assume a universal truth.)
  • HollyRutledge
    HollyRutledge Posts: 250 Member
    I've heard diet sodas are bad too, but I am hooked on them. I am giving up so much else right now that I'm not going to sweat the diet coke. :drinker:


    Yep, this the way I feel about it :drinker:
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
    I just want to comment on the Yelling and preaching.... Hoping I can get this point across with out defeating the whole post. It is really difficult to grasp emotion and intent by reading someone typing you something. Such as email and text messages etc. What you feel is yelling or preaching may simply be sarcasm, humor or as you say preaching or yelling. I have been in management for quite sometime and emails have been the demise of the human interaction of either the telephone or direct eye to eye communication. All I am saying is everyone needs to stop and "respond" and not instictively "react" to what they feel was being said in the first place or how it was percieved.

    Now a truth story that I wanted to share with everyone in regards to nutrition... A trainer I work out with three times a week 4 years ago was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. She started working with a nutritionist and changed her diet completely to natural stopped the chemo treatments and 4 years later is cancer free. The doctors didnt even want to know what she did to make the tumor stop growing..So I am not saying what we eat and drink is causing this..and of course moderation is key to anything. Just use the information you see and read on this website as a grain of salt.. If you believe it that is fine if you dont well that is ok too. Everyone has an opinion and some are just more up to expressing their opinions than others. We are all here for the same ultimate goal.

    Have a wonderful day everyone!! =0)
  • Hi Guys,

    I don't really want to get into the heated debate but I don't drink diet drinks due to aspartme.
    I suffer with IBS and went to see a food specialist a few years ago - she said to cut out egg whites ( but funnily enough not the yolks ), wheat and aspartme. She also said to eat real butter instead of diet spreads.
    I now eat wheat now and again ( but have learnt to be aware of when my body says not to ) and rarely eat eggs.
    I cut out aspartme and it has helped me loads. I do struggle with just drinking water so will have a vimto cordial ( UK fruit flavoured squash you mix with water ) or "shock horror" a Red bull. Red bull funnily enough does not have aspartme in it although I am sure there is plenty more chemicals I shouldn't be having. I also only eat real butter.
    I am not saying this is what you should do, just that it works for me and hopefully gives some advice for IBS sufferers.
  • Carbonated water drinks do not hydrate your cells or your GI tract. They just make your fluid go into your tissue and become puffy. In other words, they dehydrate you.
  • Carbonated water drinks do not hydrate your cells or your GI tract. They just make your fluid go into your tissue and become puffy. In other words, they dehydrate you.
  • TamDTam
    TamDTam Posts: 115
    I dont really like soda AT ALL...and Diet Sodas always have given me an immediate migraine..... I dont know if it is the aspertame or not but once I discovered the correlation between the immediate headache and diet drinks I avoid ALL products with aspertame ( including these 0 calorie salad dressings, etc)

    I do use Truvia( Stevia) and learned yesterday that the Crystal Light Fitness ( made with Stevia, not Aspertame) doesnt mix well with Sodium free seltzer water, as I am still cleaning up the mess caused by the funnel affect. ( but what I did get to taste, did taste pretty well so if you can avoid making the mess I did, this may be a viable option for the soda addict)
  • I'm not sure why they are saying it's not good for you all I know is when I stopped drinking diet soda I managed to drop 25 pounds and that was the start to my loss of 75 pounds. So now I'm a true water person.
  • JoEllen92
    JoEllen92 Posts: 58 Member
    I can't stand the taste of full sugar fizzy drinks
    and I'll only go for them if there's no alternative.
    I tend not to drink diet fizzy stuff that often anyway but it curbs my hunger when I do ,I've heard it makes you crave more but it tends to make me feel quite full and bloated and therefore I don't really feel like eating that much.
  • realme56
    realme56 Posts: 1,093 Member
    I don't think having a diet soda once in a while is going to kill me and it does satisfy the need for something sweet. Not a big fan of Crystal Light because of the residue it leaves behind in glasses and pitchers, I can't believe that something that coats a container like that can be that good for you.
    Everything in moderation.
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    i dont know , but my grandma is 75 years old and has been drinking diet soda for as long as they've been selling them. she doesnt have dementia, diabetes, adhd, shes not overweight, and she doesnt have MS or any other disease the studies say it causes. and she drinks like 3 a day probably. I myself drink diet soda, but not often, about 2 a week. i drink water mostly.
  • edwards
    edwards Posts: 9 Member
    Not saying that the processed item we put in our bodies are good or bad for us but like most say moderation is key. To all that think that grabbing bottled water or even city water from the tap is safer than processed liquids be aware. While the water may seem clean you should maybe talk to some of the engineers that actually work at water treament places and ask about all the chemicals that are used to clean our water. I personally know one that will take a diet soda over bottled water or city tap water due to all the chemicals that are put into this water. Also for those bottled water drinkers that think it is so much better than tap water. The normal bottle of water is usually filtered maybe one more time than the same thing that is coming from the sink in your kitchen.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    Hi Guys,

    I don't really want to get into the heated debate but I don't drink diet drinks due to aspartme.
    I suffer with IBS and went to see a food specialist a few years ago - she said to cut out egg whites ( but funnily enough not the yolks ), wheat and aspartme. She also said to eat real butter instead of diet spreads.
    I now eat wheat now and again ( but have learnt to be aware of when my body says not to ) and rarely eat eggs.
    I cut out aspartme and it has helped me loads. I do struggle with just drinking water so will have a vimto cordial ( UK fruit flavoured squash you mix with water ) or "shock horror" a Red bull. Red bull funnily enough does not have aspartme in it although I am sure there is plenty more chemicals I shouldn't be having. I also only eat real butter.
    I am not saying this is what you should do, just that it works for me and hopefully gives some advice for IBS sufferers.

    I've dealt with IBS for almost 20 years now (probably longer since I had issues for years before seeing a specialist). I was never really a diet soda drinker. I try and stay away from artificial sweeteners but some foods I eat do contain some. I wish I could eat all natural but that just isn't going to happen.

    Things changed when I started eating healthier but when I gave up breads - even whole wheat - I emptied out. It was wonderful. I still have oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain things. I also use real butter. Our bodies know real butter and there are nutrients in butter. I don't use much of it though. But that's interesting about the eggs. I have been eating hard boiled egg whites lately (usually 2 or 3). I have noticed more bloating and issues and stomach pain. I wonder if that is part of the problem.
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