Do You Really Want To Drink That Diet Soda?
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
June 27, 2007 2:09am CST
I'm not much of a soda drinker to begin with, but if I had a choice I'd rather drink regular soda than diet..I just heard on the news that the FDA "suspects" serious complications of those who drink diet soda or consume any food that has aspartame..a sugar substitute....The study says upon investigating this common sugar substitute ingredient can cause a whole host of health problems...including Fibromyalgia Syndrome, leukemia, cancers, etc...
I did a check and came up with this website which lists all the possible side effects of consuming aspartame...makes you think twice of that diet Coke--doesn't it??
http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/aspartame-side-effects-include-cancer.html
21 people like this
53 responses
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
27 Jun 07
Lets see if I got this right:
Beef - no good
Chicken - no good
Cat & Dog food - no good
lettuce - no good
toothpaste - no good
Diet Soda - no good
Organic Food - not really organic
Right now I am going to the kitchen and making a tall glass of Diet Pepsi then I will brush my teeth with some African Colgate. The hell with it all!
7 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Jun 07
LOL--You're a riot!! I laughed so hard at this--Let's see what can be added to this list?
Our tap water..no good..full of chemicals
Aluminum cookware..no good
Teflon coated cookware..no good
air conditioners.. no good (bad for the protective ozone layer)
So I'll go and and grab a tall glass of tap water, cook some soup in an aluminum stock pot, make my scrambled eggs tomorrow in a teflon skillet, and turn of the air conditioner creating my contribution to the global warming effect
5 people like this
@Withoutwings (6992)
• United States
27 Jun 07
Don't forget Carefree gum or whatever that sugarless gum is that causes cancer
and microwaves
and cell phones
1 person likes this
@howard96h (11640)
• New York, New York
27 Jun 07
Hahahahahaha You just made me spit diet pepsi on my keyboard, I haven't laughed so hard in days - thanks, I really needed that!
3 people like this
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I got an e-mail stating that Aspartame was causing all sorts of problems, from a dear friend of mine. After reading that e-mail it scared the crap out of me, even though I don't eat or drink foods that contain Aspartame in them. I never could get use to the taste of artificial sweetners or diet sodas. Something about them, just tasted very wrong to me.
It also kind of creeped me out, knowing that in some manner living people were in a sense converting Aspartame into Formaldehyde, which would store in a person's body fat. *Shivers* In a sense people who use sweetners with aspartame in them are pickling themselves. ICK!
So very glad I stay away from aspartame.
@jeweledbluerose (3061)
• United States
30 Jun 07
Yeppers pretty gross. And apparently it can cause more than a truck load of problems as well. Here's an article I found on it. http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html
It outlines all the side effects of an over indulgence of foods that have aspartame as one of the included ingredients.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Yuk--formaldehyde...that's what they use to embalm bodies...shivers is right
@brendalee (6082)
• United States
27 Jun 07
That was very interesting and scary. I drink diet soda all the time. But like you have been saying, it seems like everything is bad for you nowadays. I don't think it will scare me into not drinking it yet but I will think about it.
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I think the less "natural" food is, the more "stuff" is added to it...for instance...I'd rather get "real" sour cream, or real cheese rather than the lower fat, low chloresterol one--you have to be a scientist to understand the ingredients in it
@texasclassygal (5305)
• United States
27 Jun 07
And all these years I have been putting up with slack from the diet coke drinkers saying I should drink them, I never really liked them either, always had a bad after taste, I am true to my regular Coke and have not touched a diet coke but to only take a sip years ago.
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
You're right..I'd rather have the "real" product as it has less chemicals added--for years they've been saying how bad now margarine is...it can actually raise chloresterol levels
@yuanchang (474)
• Philippines
27 Jun 07
yes even artificial sugars like splenda or equal has its side effects. i also doubt pepsi max. it is the "don't worry there's no sugar" product of pepsi. so for sweets we only use brown sugar in moderation as it is more natural than other sugars and artifical sugars out there. besides softdrink is not really good for the health. i suggest we take it out of our system.
5 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I remember hearing years ago, that if one wanted to unclog drains...just pour Coca cola...LOL...gee wonder what that's doing to our insides...thank goodness...I don't drink soda to begin with..haven't in years
@magikrose (5429)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I prefer not to drink the diet sodas because Ihave noticed that they tasted diffrent because of the sugar substitute. Any way we dont drink much soda any more. We are trying to cut out the sugary things as much as possible and eat and drink healthier. We would rather make koolaid and controll the sugar our selves, plus we get seltzer water and make soda with the koolaid that way the kids get to have soda and my husband and I can keep there sugar under controll.
4 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I do that too--I drink half seltzer, half juice...thus making my own grape soda, or punch soda, orange soda...and so forth
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I will start believing more of these articles when I seem them published under .edu or .gov domains.. Face it anyone can say what they want on a .com.
And as for these studies, I will put more faith in them when I can read how the actual study was done, remember a few years ago when hair dye caused cancer...the poor lab rats were forced to drink it. And then in the 60s or 70s , it was cyclamates, where a human would have had to drink 100s or 1000s of cans of a diet beverage a day to reach these levels.
Leukemia and cancer were areound long before aspartame or anyother artificial sweetener.
4 people like this
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
30 Jun 07
Do they actually trigger it more? Or are we just detecting it better. People are living longer, they will get more cancers.
Of course, we can look at it this way...we can not drink diet beverages...and gain weight and become diabetic - risk becoming blind or losing limbs...and the probablity of this happening is pretty dang high, just about a sure thing...Face it diabetes is an epidemic.
Or we can chance getting cancer. The odds of this are lower and the thing is...cure rates for cancer are increasing...there is no cure for diabetes.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Well I know leukemia and cancer has been around prior to any of these chemicals...but they all seem to trigger it off more....We actually, each one of us do have cancer cells in us at all times...its when our system goes haywire that will cause problems and full blown cancers...so why trigger it with manmade chemicals??
@saigonwarrior (1331)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I drink diet everything. My kids are constantly fussing at me to not drink that stuff. I probably should listen since Splenda makes me horribly ill.
I just try to stay away from sugar products, but I love sweet drinks.
I don't know. What is a person to do? I love soda but there are so many calories in the regular soda.
*Sigh*
Another habit I probably need to give up.
At this point I am going to be a nun by December.
4 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Can't wonder if a lot of our health problems are related to all these diet foods...aww...you don't want to become a nun do you?? LOL
@BarBaraPrz (47308)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
27 Jun 07
I rarely drink carbonated beverages, either, and certainly not "diet" ones. -- can't stand the taste of the aspartame. The only thing I don't notice it in is chewing gum, which is practically impossible to buy WITHOUT the aspartame.
4 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
The only carbonated drink I do drink is selzter--I drink mainly juices but watered down...so half juice half seltzer..thus making my own "soda"
@dlkuku (1935)
• United States
27 Jun 07
As someone else stated, everything is bad for us, so we might as well just stop eating, and drinking. Hey, we might as well stop breathing because even the air is polluted.
The way I look at it is that we are all eventually going to die, there is no getting away from it no matter how much we try not to.
MY FIL was on a strict diet after he had a quadruple bypass several years ago. He couldn't have salt, sugar, fats, carbs and on and on. He finally got to the point where he threw the diet in the trash and said, 'You only live once, and I am at least going to enjoy my food now while I am alive.'
4 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Yeah, but what I'm talking about is the consumption in a way of anything artificial...so many of the diet foods are so laced up with chemicals that aren't good for you in general--and many are known to be cancer producing...yes, we all do die, but why die from something we're eating/drinking when we don't need to
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
27 Jun 07
i've never liked diet drinks anyway *bleh*
saccharin in general makes me sick..as do most of the sugar substitutes.
4 people like this
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
30 Jun 07
i've heard splenda isn't too bad,but i'd just rather cut down on the real deal,if i must.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Something inside me said years ago to stay away from sugar substitutes...guess my hunches were right
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I can't even remember the last time I drank soda...usually drink juices or just plain water
@rockingmom (885)
• Philippines
27 Jun 07
oh, thanks, when i drink soda(rare or very uncommon) i would rather choose that diet coke, but based on what you said, it is bad, how sure are you it is worse than the ordinary soda?, thanks just curious, i think i will just stick to water and juices(not instant), maybe i will have to make my lifestyle upgrades again, thanks..good!!^^
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
Well it seems that the more unnatural chemicals that are added to anything the worse it is for you health wise...rather go with the original product than drink a chemistry concoction
1 person likes this
@rockingmom (885)
• Philippines
30 Jun 07
yes, just use the natural products, or be in the natural way, thanks for the comment, i hope you too will be more onto the natural drink, i wish you good health, thanks!!^^
@TerryZ (22076)
• United States
27 Jun 07
Im with you I dont drink much soda either. And I cant stand that diet soda. I rather drink nothing at all.LOL Thats pretty scary stuff about what it can cause. Oh yes I would definetly think twice maybe even 3 or 4 times. I dont like any sugar substitute anyway. I like regular old sugar.LOL
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I prefer good ole fashioned regular sugar too--though I don't or hardly use anyway
@rosie_123 (6113)
•
27 Jun 07
Well none of this surprises me, I have to say. It doesn't really apply to me as I avoid fizzy, soft drinks (what you call soda), like the plague, just as I do with "junk" food. Too many "e" numbers and chemicals and additives can't be good for you - so I just stick to drinking plain water, or fresh, natural fruit juices with no additives. Thanks for the link though - it made interesting reading.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
I have eliminated junk foods too...although I do confess to an ice cream addiction--LOL--but will get the regular kind, not the "no-sugar" ones
@charms88 (7538)
• Philippines
27 Jun 07
Hello black cat. I did heard about this aspartame before. This is widely available in the form of sugar substitute like equals. I'm not a big fan of diet soda either. I find the taste too sugary for my gustatory senses.
A friend once told me that diet soda is not really healthy and the aspartame can cause cancer. I will go through the link you provided. Need to bookmark it for future references as well. Thanks for sharing it.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
The few, rare ocassions I have had something with artificial sweetner I thought it tasted horrible---unfortunately sometimes it's hard to avoid in simple things like cough drops!!
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I'm so glad you brought this subject up, pyewacket. I learned this about a year ago and have been trying to warn my friends about diet sodas. I have a friend who lives downstairs and she drinks 6 to 8 of these drinks every day. I told her that I am worried for her health if she continues doing this. She rationalizes by pointing out that she is a diabetic. I told her that she would be better off drinking 1 or 2 regular sodas than all of that diet crap. I have never drank diet sodas(can't stand the aftertaste), but I would give up soda completely if I had to drink diet soda.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
The thing is...sugar is sugar....even artificial...it will react the same way in one's system regardless...so even a diabetic should avoid "diet" sodas, etc.
@castleghost (1304)
• United States
27 Jun 07
To be honest with you everyday I read some article that tells me something isn't good for me. By the time science gets done studying everything we will find out that no matter what we do it is bad for us. I don't drink diet soda because I can't stand the taste of it. I don't use artificial sweeteners at all because again I believe it taste nasty. I don't really pay much attention to the studies that all of these organizations do because I truly believe that the results will be what they want them to be. I say we only live once so lets live the way that we want to live.
3 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
For me personally I just try to eat/drink things that are in their more natural state without any added chemicals as much as possible
@sweetmimzim3 (261)
• United States
27 Jun 07
I have Multiple Sclerosis..a neurological disorder. I read about sugar substitutes a long time ago..I heard about the implications that they cause neurological problems and can worsen the symptoms or certain disorders. I have tried to tell my friends and family of these things..why can't people give up their sodas? I heed this warnings..and take these kinda implications seriously. I would not purposely drink poison..so why would I ingest something that could make me sick? Why doesn't the FDA pull this stuff from the shelves? Money...that's the reason. Why does the FDA turn a blind eye to these things? It baffles me!!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
29 Jun 07
The FDA has a blind eye to a lot of things, even our medications that have horrific side effects
