Artificial sweetener junkies and diet soda drinkers read on

Thanks for the post. This will generate alot of discussion. It seems the evidence is building.

I think this is the key:

"It’s hard to make a blanket statement on whether or not you should drink diet soda," Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., the nutrition editor for EatingWell Magazine, says. "At the end of the day what I think it comes down to is how are you using diet soda—is it truly a substitute for a higher calorie beverage or is it just an excuse to order the fries with your burger or a cookie for dessert? If it’s the former, go ahead. If it’s the latter, perhaps think twice."

I think this is the key:

"It’s hard to make a blanket statement on whether or not you should drink diet soda," Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., the nutrition editor for EatingWell Magazine, says. "At the end of the day what I think it comes down to is how are you using diet soda—is it truly a substitute for a higher calorie beverage or is it just an excuse to order the fries with your burger or a cookie for dessert? If it’s the former, go ahead. If it’s the latter, perhaps think twice."

I agree 100%!!!

I personally usually only have 1 can a day at most (unless I'm going out to a movie where I'll have a large diet soda so I don't binge on popcorn or candy or if I'm going for a long night out and need to be a designated driver or something) so I'm not too concerned about my current intake.

Stay away from any artificial sweeteners and diet soda! They may contain aspartame (most sugar-free things do). Aspartame has been denied by the FDA 8 times! It was finally approved but under very suspicious conditions. Aspartame has 92 different side effects including memory loss, reproductive disorders, brain lesions, Alzheimer's, etc. Aspartame contains methyl alcohol and when ingested, is converted into formaldehyde which is a neurotoxin. Other "zero-calorie sweeteners" are much more difficult for you body to break down because it is chemically altered in order to have zero calories. Because your body doesn't properly know how to break it down, it's stored in your cells and makes it much more difficult to lose weight. Bottom line....CUT OUT THE DIET SODA AND SWEETENERS. Try using Stevia, Truvia, Honey or Agave Nectar as alternative sweeteners. best of luck to everyone!

Natural and organic. Huh. Those words to used to market tobacco products, among a whole host of food products. Does that make a "natural" plant like tobacco (without additives, preservatives, etc) something you should partake in? Nope. That naturally occurring plant contains chemicals that are harmful. Then, a naturally occurring substance like sucrose, concentrated down to the point of crystallization, has become unnatural and processed.

I am not saying you should or should not consume artificial sweeteners, but much of what is presented here is simply bunk and reactionary.

Chemicals are what food is made of.... you just never get to see the compositional data.
Consider this the next time you eat an orange. "Contains 100% orange juice..." uh huh.

These are the naturally occurring chemicals in an orange....

Water, glucose, fructose, galactose, phenolic glycosides, 6-deoxyaldohexoses (fuctose and rhamnose), saccharose, galacturonans, (1-4) linked D-galactopiranuronic acid, pectin, pectinic acids, polygalacturonic acids, pectinestarase, Citric Acid, L-Malic Acid, D-Isocitric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Succinic Acid, Malonic Acid, Quinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Adipic Acid, 2-ketogluratic Acid, praline, asparagines, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine. oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases and lyases, isomerases and ligases, glucosilglucerides, Carotenoids, tetraterpenes, limonin, aslimonoic acid A-ring lactone, neohesperidosides, flavones (3-hydroxyflavanones, 3-dydroxyflavones, O-glycosyl, aglycones C-glycosylflavones, Anthocyanins, (hesperidin, naringin, poncirin, neoheriocitrin, neohesperidin, rhoifolin, rutin, diosmin, sinensetin, auranetin, tangeritin, hydroxyethylrutinosideres, nobiletin cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidina-3.5-diglucoside, peonidin-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Pholacine, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Biotin, Pantotenic acid, Vitamin A.

Natural and organic. Huh. Those words to used to market tobacco products, among a whole host of food products. Does that make a "natural" plant like tobacco (without additives, preservatives, etc) something you should partake in? Nope. That naturally occurring plant contains chemicals that are harmful. Then, a naturally occurring substance like sucrose, concentrated down to the point of crystallization, has become unnatural and processed.

I am not saying you should or should not consume artificial sweeteners, but much of what is presented here is simply bunk and reactionary.

Chemicals are what food is made of.... you just never get to see the compositional data.
Consider this the next time you eat an orange. "Contains 100% orange juice..." uh huh.

These are the naturally occurring chemicals in an orange....

Water, glucose, fructose, galactose, phenolic glycosides, 6-deoxyaldohexoses (fuctose and rhamnose), saccharose, galacturonans, (1-4) linked D-galactopiranuronic acid, pectin, pectinic acids, polygalacturonic acids, pectinestarase, Citric Acid, L-Malic Acid, D-Isocitric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Succinic Acid, Malonic Acid, Quinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Adipic Acid, 2-ketogluratic Acid, praline, asparagines, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine. oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases and lyases, isomerases and ligases, glucosilglucerides, Carotenoids, tetraterpenes, limonin, aslimonoic acid A-ring lactone, neohesperidosides, flavones (3-hydroxyflavanones, 3-dydroxyflavones, O-glycosyl, aglycones C-glycosylflavones, Anthocyanins, (hesperidin, naringin, poncirin, neoheriocitrin, neohesperidin, rhoifolin, rutin, diosmin, sinensetin, auranetin, tangeritin, hydroxyethylrutinosideres, nobiletin cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidina-3.5-diglucoside, peonidin-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Pholacine, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Biotin, Pantotenic acid, Vitamin A.

Your argument about the orange (which you seem to post everywhere) is a straw man fallacy. Perhaps all those fancily named "chemicals" occur naturally in oranges, but the key words are OCCUR NATURALLY. . . . They are completely different from artificial chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc. created in a laboratory, or carcinogenic pesticides used on non-organic crops.

I choose not to live in fear.

I also know how quickly Purina acted when some cans of Friskies killed a few cats a few years back. Massive recall and news out the wazoo about getting the bad stuff off the shelves. And that's just cat food. I don't put a lot of faith in the government or big corporations, but I'm pretty sure I'm more valuable as a tax payer, voter and consumer than I am as a dead person.

Nobody wants you to live in fear. And in fact, my lack of faith in government and corporations is one of the reasons I don't trust artificial anything in food.

The only thing I trust about them is that I trust they want my money. :laugh: But because of that... they need me alive. They need us - the consumer, the voter, the tax payer - more than we need them. That's why they have such cutthroat tactics and spend so much in advertising. So while I don't believe they have my best interests at heart, ever, I don't believe they're out to kill me.

I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist. But don't you think there may be some truth in the thought that government and corporations don't want you to be healthy, because the more unhealthy stuff you buy the more money in their pockets and the pockets of the insurance companies?

Thanks for holding a mature discussion. Not everyone here does.

The only thing I trust about them is that I trust they want my money. :laugh: But because of that... they need me alive. They need us - the consumer, the voter, the tax payer - more than we need them. That's why they have such cutthroat tactics and spend so much in advertising. So while I don't believe they have my best interests at heart, ever, I don't believe they're out to kill me.

I don't mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist. But don't you think there may be some truth in the thought that government and corporations don't want you to be healthy, because the more unhealthy stuff you buy the more money in their pockets and the pockets of the insurance companies?

Thanks for holding a mature discussion. Not everyone here does.

But the unhealthier I am, the more I cost the insurance companies and eventually the government. Insurance companies don't make money on sick people. One hospital stay will rack up more expenses than you ever paid in insurance premiums. And if I'm sick enough, I won't be able to work and will have to go on disability... not only costing the government money but also not having a taxable income.

Natural and organic. Huh. Those words to used to market tobacco products, among a whole host of food products. Does that make a "natural" plant like tobacco (without additives, preservatives, etc) something you should partake in? Nope. That naturally occurring plant contains chemicals that are harmful. Then, a naturally occurring substance like sucrose, concentrated down to the point of crystallization, has become unnatural and processed.

I am not saying you should or should not consume artificial sweeteners, but much of what is presented here is simply bunk and reactionary.

Chemicals are what food is made of.... you just never get to see the compositional data.
Consider this the next time you eat an orange. "Contains 100% orange juice..." uh huh.

These are the naturally occurring chemicals in an orange....

Water, glucose, fructose, galactose, phenolic glycosides, 6-deoxyaldohexoses (fuctose and rhamnose), saccharose, galacturonans, (1-4) linked D-galactopiranuronic acid, pectin, pectinic acids, polygalacturonic acids, pectinestarase, Citric Acid, L-Malic Acid, D-Isocitric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Succinic Acid, Malonic Acid, Quinic Acid, Tartaric Acid, Adipic Acid, 2-ketogluratic Acid, praline, asparagines, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid and arginine. oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases and lyases, isomerases and ligases, glucosilglucerides, Carotenoids, tetraterpenes, limonin, aslimonoic acid A-ring lactone, neohesperidosides, flavones (3-hydroxyflavanones, 3-dydroxyflavones, O-glycosyl, aglycones C-glycosylflavones, Anthocyanins, (hesperidin, naringin, poncirin, neoheriocitrin, neohesperidin, rhoifolin, rutin, diosmin, sinensetin, auranetin, tangeritin, hydroxyethylrutinosideres, nobiletin cyanidin-3-glucoside, cyanidina-3.5-diglucoside, peonidin-5-glucoside, delphinidin-3-glucoside, petunidin-3-glucoside, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), Pholacine, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Biotin, Pantotenic acid, Vitamin A.

Your argument about the orange (which you seem to post everywhere) is a straw man fallacy. Perhaps all those fancily named "chemicals" occur naturally in oranges, but the key words are OCCUR NATURALLY. . . . They are completely different from artificial chemicals, additives, preservatives, etc. created in a laboratory, or carcinogenic pesticides used on non-organic crops.

Nicotine occurs naturally. Arsenic and cyanide occur naturally. Does it mean these are OK to consume? At what concentration and body burden?

Structurally there is no difference between what is made in a lab and what is made by a plant. That is a simple fact that is hard to ignore.

All I am trying to present is that chemicals are all around us, some we need to be careful about, others not so much.
There is no epidemiological evidence that average consumption of artificial sweeteners presents unnecessary risk... whether it is chlorinated sucrose or asparatame made from a naturally occurring amino acid.

I typically have one soda a day (which could be a 12 oz can to a 24 oz bottle), and one packet of Crystal Light type mix per 32 oz. of water three or four times a day.

Since I'm leaner, more fit and healthier now than I was before I switched to artificial sweeteners, I have to say that it's not making me fat.

It's about "health" not fat.

interesting. thanks for the post!