Diet Coke (Asparatame) Controversy

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dogwdots
dogwdots Posts: 146
in Food and Nutrition
I have been hearing alot about diet coke being addictive and the bad health affects of asparatame. I am not sure what to believe. I only have aboout one diet coke (20oz) per day. What do you all think about this issue?
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  • dogwdots
    dogwdots Posts: 146
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    I have been hearing alot about diet coke being addictive and the bad health affects of asparatame. I am not sure what to believe. I only have aboout one diet coke (20oz) per day. What do you all think about this issue?
  • dogwdots
    dogwdots Posts: 146
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    Wow - no responses. I really would like to hear some thoughts on this topic.
  • jessjess
    jessjess Posts: 88
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    Good question! I'm torn on that one also!

    I've never heard of diet coke being addictive...but I have heard about aspartame being really bad for you. I also heard that artificial sweeteners may possibly trick your body into thinking you are ingesting sugars...which makes it release insulin...and end up storing more fat. Geez...:frown:

    I dunno...you'd think that a calorie free drink would be ok.......
  • Cassia
    Cassia Posts: 467 Member
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    As for my self, I avoid sugar substitutes like the plague. I did the south beach diet for something like two years and was eating all the sugar free stuff. It worked for a while then i started to gain weight and it was very hard to lose, even though i was being very careful to eat very little natural sugar. But lo and behold i was gaining and could not stop. Then i heard about how bad it is for your body and i stopped eating it. Ever since then i have not been able to lose weight ( i keep on gaining!!!) for anything so i think it really messed up my insides. So i would not eat it but not every one gets to where they can't lose weight so it might just be my body that is whacked out......
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    This is a real "hot button" issue. I have some opinions on the matter, but they are just my opinions.

    The chemicals in any carbonated beverage have been linked to bone loss in women. (bad!) Caffeine is addictive (also bad). For me, and a few others I know, fake sweet makes me crave real sweet (bad while dieting). Also, the chemicals in aspartame are allegedly (I'm no chemist) similar to formaldehyde. (gross and bad).

    All that being said, I still have a can or two of the stuff a week. As I told my doctor: "It's pretty much the last vice I have left". I used to drink (no exaggeration) at least a gallon a day in the form of big/superbig/ superextra big gulps in my teens and twenties. My opinion is, if you think you're addicted, you should stop if you can. It's not good to "need" anything, right?
  • kristin217
    kristin217 Posts: 8
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    If I have too much diet pop with aspartame, I get a raging headache...
    When I was pregnant, I gave up pop.
    I felt great!
    Give birth, drink pop again, headaches resumed.
    I didn't make the connection until a few years later when I gave up caffiene.
    I realized I wasn't addicted to caffiene, it was the aspartame.
    I now drink diet coke splenda - no problems!
    Pepsi one is also made with splenda I think...
  • dogwdots
    dogwdots Posts: 146
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    So for those who were drinking it and stopped - did you notice any health changes? Better complection, hair, aches and pains going away? I am not addicted - I only drink about one a day - and not always. There is just so much info on the internet, but I would like to know more about first hand experiences.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
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    I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which I now have in remission.

    Diet coke was one of many, many things I quit. So I can't say that quitting the one thing helped, but my nutritionist is a strong believer that it is linked to chronic pain and immune suppressing conditions.

    My thing is, if you're asking about it, you have some concern. Why not quit for a few weeks, and see if you have any benefits? Everyone's different, and that's the only way you'd know for sure for you.
  • lockedcj7
    lockedcj7 Posts: 257 Member
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    I've heard of many people who experience migraine headaches if they drink/consume even a little aspartame. I've also heard (though I have no scientific evidence to support this) that the way it affects the brain is different from sugar. Sugar actually activates taste buds whereas aspartame enters your bloodstream and acts directly on your brain. No thanks.

    I never have liked the taste/aftertaste associated with artificial sweeteners. I'd rather have unsweetened tea or water. If I do have a regular drink, I just add the calories to my diary.
  • frithir
    frithir Posts: 179 Member
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    I can only speak from my own experience about whether or not diet coke and asparatame are addictive. 7 months ago, after 40+ years of drinking an average of 2 liters of diet pop (diet coke when I could afford it) a day as well as consuming things with artifical sweetener at every meal, I went cold turkey off both substances (at the same time........talk about delusions of being Super Woman!). I have worked in the field of mental health my entire adult life and as such, have had a wee bit of experience in working with chemically dependent people. Let's just say that my decision to detox from carbonated water and asparatame gave me an entirely new insight into the sheer torment that the chemically dependent go through!! :sick: Yes, I went through very real, very gawd-awful physical, mental and emotional WITHDRAWAL!! About 2 months after that, I ate something that, unbeknown to me, had asparatame in it and oh but my system let me know that that wasn't acceptable! :noway: :sick: :sad: I haven't touched anything with carbonated water in it........frankly too afraid of the same reaction I got when I unknowingly consumed asparatame again. I certainly am not in a position to tell anyone else how to manage their food choices ~ all I can do is say that at least for me, carbonated water and especially asparatame are sweet poison and the health benefits I've gained from swearing off the stuff far exceed the pain I went through to get shuck of the stuff.
  • zenmama
    zenmama Posts: 1,000
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    I consider all that stuff Rat poison. JMO>

    dd
  • dogwdots
    dogwdots Posts: 146
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    Thanks for your thoughts on this. I think I will just stop drinking the Diet Coke and see what happens. It should be easy as I don't drink it much, but what will be hard is that I don't really like plain water that much. I do drink water at meals, so I am getting water. I do drink some hebal tea - but I am not a big tea drinker either. Again thanks for everyone's thought on this.
  • frithir
    frithir Posts: 179 Member
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    Oh and as far as health benefits..............
    #1 no longer have chronic problems with boils and carbuncles
    #2 haven't had a migrane headache in 7 months (used to have them at least once every couple of weeks)
    #3 DRAMATIC decrease in insomnia ~ from 3x weekly to on average, 1x a month)
    #4 no more hot flashes!. I take HRT but still had episodes of "power surges". I was told that even with Premarin, that would still happen and learn to live with it.


    I had already been on my current food and excercise plan for about a month before I detoxed so I can't guarantee how much of these benefits were the result of diet and exercise or how much were directly related to detoxing..........just know that I sure don't miss the problems that went away :wink:
  • steev
    steev Posts: 11
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    While this isn't aspartame related I don't think it completely off-topic. About 6 months ago I quit all caffeine and while it was all from coffee ( I quit drinking soda 4 years ago) I did notice some major changes. Before when I was heavily caffeinated I would get hypoglycemic like symptoms if I ate sugary foods such as crashing and burning and getting headaches. I also had to eat regularly or I would feel like crap and get really, really mean. Once I eliminated caffeine from my diet all these problems went away. Not sure what it all means but I'm throwing it out there.
  • Cherylann402
    Cherylann402 Posts: 56
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    I have a gall bladder problem (low functioning) and also IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). With both of these issues I was told to give up artificial sweeteners. It was not until I did that I began to feel a bit better. Now I am so afraid of having and "attack", that I stay away from it altogether. To be quite honest, I don't really miss it. I really thought I would, but I don't! I do, very rarely, drink a diet soda, but only if there isn't anything else available. As long as it is VERY rarely, I don't have a problem. I could never go back to using artificial sweeteners every day though.
  • frithir
    frithir Posts: 179 Member
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    Oh if we only knew then what we know now! :noway: Maybe if I did, I WOULD still have a gall bladder and WOULDN'T have osteoporosis! :wink:
  • denmother46
    denmother46 Posts: 272 Member
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    Jillian Michaels did a big rant re: Diet Coke on her radio show here last Sunday. She quit drinking it 5 months ago and said it was the hardest thing she ever had done. Her main issue with it is that there are studies that are finding that your brain function can be severely impacted by most/some artificial sweeteners and may even have a link to Alzheimers (sp?).
    Anyway, that was her take. I have cut down to no more than one 12 oz can per day. Used to drink tons of it.....!!! Just reading all the chemicals on the label have to tell you it cant possibly be good for you.
    BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY :tongue:
  • Smilineyes
    Smilineyes Posts: 346 Member
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    My yoga guy on tv just talked about this. From his mouth "the more diet sodas you drink a day, the more likely you'll become overweight. In a large study it showed that regular soda drinkers are 32% more likely to become overweight or obese but it's even worse for diet soda drinkers whose risk of becoming overwight or obese was over 54%"

    I've heard this from many other sources as well.

    Calories aren't everything. Health is the most important thing. If studies show that it's linked to headaches and even brain tumors, I'm staying away. Seriously though, we have all these low calorie, fat free, sugar substitutes, and diet foods and drinks and our nation is huge. Obviously these things don't work. Real food works. I mean thinking about it right now, every person that I know that drinks diet soda is seriously overweight. I just think natural, real foods and drinks are the best way to go. I don't always eat the best, but I never eat things that say fat free or diet just because I don't trust them. Just my opinion though :tongue:

    :heart: Kels
  • sr2000
    sr2000 Posts: 230 Member
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    It has been very tough for me to quit drinking diet pop and cut out other forms of "fake" sugar as well. But having done so, my migraines have decreased considerably. Once in awhile I'll have a bit of diet pop and will usually end up feeling icky; headache and or stomachache. It is vey tough to give it up, but my body seems to be telling me it's for the best!
    I have recently tried using the herb stevia, it is a natural herbal sweetener that is supposed to be beneficial for the digestive track. Only a very tiny sprinkle goes a long way. I use it in tea, naturally decafinated coffee, in water with fresh lemon juice, on grapefruit, etc. It has helped get me through sugar and pop cravings.
  • dogwdots
    dogwdots Posts: 146
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    Really great information. I have heard of stavia before. I think I will give that a try in my tea. Maybe that will help me get passed some of the sweet cravings. I have a terrible sweet tooth.

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