[JerseyGyrl]

http://health.msn.com/nutrition/arti...6887&GT1=31036
This article was on MSN today. Very interesting Indeed.

[Qualera]

I quit drinking diet soda a while back, sounds like that was a really good move.

[Luckybustert]

There was nothing here that I hadn't already read in a variety of "alternative health"-related sources, but I *am* surprised to see it finally being questioned in the mainstream media. I personally believe a lot of the illnesses and behavioral problems we see today are the result of chemical additives in our food supply.

[Heather]

I've been trying to follow this research for some time now, and last I recall, the work that suggest that diet sodas may make us eat more is from animal research (mice, I think). Does anyone know if they've actually done research like this on people. I'm looking for experimental research where they manipulate the sweeteners people receive and record food intake, not correlational studies.

[kaplods]

And of course mice and rats don't have the ability to keep a food journal to monitor their caloric intake.

[kiramira]

Mice and rats aren't necessarily appropriate models for studies on human health...but I agree that diet sodas in excess can't be good for you! The main thing for me is that diet soda triggers a snacking desire (like the peanuts and beer theory at most bars...), so I stay away from it for the most part. But I DO love my cold and fizzy drinks from time to time, especially in the summer...
Kira

[vertigoskyy]

The way I look at diet soda, from what I've read, is that when it enters your body, it basically turns into a formaldehyde. So basically, the diet soda is preserving your fat! Gross!

[lointhecity]

diet soda perserves fat in my body?!!! NOOOOO... this is truly a nightmare. I love me some diet coke

[LittleMoonRabbit]

Diet soda and other diet drinks always made me feel soooo sick after drinking them. Like, major stomach pains and headaches and just overall feeling of yuckiness. I wonder if I was just really sensitive to the stuff in there.

[UrthWurm]

Soda has all kind of yicky things in there from chemical additives to high fructose corn syrup. There are actually correlations between the addition of high fructose corn syrup into our food and the rising numbers of obesity; and believe me, they've put it in practically everything! Thank goodness for organic food. High fructose corn syrup will make you crave other things that contain it, leaving you hungry and set up for a crap filled binge.

Another issue is sweeteners. NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet & Low, Splenda; if you are drinking "diet soda", chances are it contains one of these or similar sweeteners out there. NutraSweet & Equal contain aspartame, which some of the 92 side effects (as listed by the FDA) are: 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. Sweet & Low contains saccharin, which is a coal-tar compound. Splenda is made by chlorinating sugar (or changing it's genetic structure); what you get is called sucralose, which the FDA proclaims 98% pure! The other 2% contains small amounts of heavy metals, methanol, and arsenic. Yummy. Drink up! Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys; and a decrese in fetal body weight.

"There is no clear-cut evidence that sugar substitutes are useful in weight reduction. On the contrary, there is some evidence that these substances may stimulate appetite." (Dr. Mercola, "The Potential Dangers of Sucralose")

I stopped drinking soda several months ago in accordance with my switch to an organic diet (though there are some very delicious organic sodas which don't contain so much garbage). Anyways, I tried drinking a soda after not having one for 2 or 3 months. My roommate and I experienced the same effects LittleMoonRabbit described. Stomach pains and headaches-- the headaches were the worst of all though. After discovering this information about what is actually in those sodas, I see clearly why. The choice seems to be: drink/eat crap and die young and diseased, or give up those foods and live a happier, healthier, longer life. For some it's an easy and obvious choice, at the same time difficult and uncertain for others. People are starting to get curious though, they're becoming informed-- I see more and more people shop in the organic section everyday. As the standards of what we put into our body gradually rises, I believe the producers and their large corporate companies will have to adjust to serve a healthier nation. They may try other cheap, dangerous additions to our food supplies, but most, or some, of the people will know. As their products become less popular, it will be a matter of changing their ways or losing their business altogether.

[Sheena41]

I know I felt better when I was drinking a lot of green tea, but I have slipped back into the old diet soda habit. I really need to make some tea and get back into that habit.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by vertigoskyy

The way I look at diet soda, from what I've read, is that when it enters your body, it basically turns into a formaldehyde. So basically, the diet soda is preserving your fat! Gross!

This is completely false. There's a tiny grain of truth in that aspartame does produce a tiny amount of formaldehyde in the digestion of it's two componemnt amino acids - but what is NOT said, is that one or both of these amino acids are in many, many, many foods - and they also break down into small amounts of formaldehyde.

So, while it's true, that aspartame breaks down into trace quantities of fomaldehyde - so do all other foods containing those amino acids, yet no one is afraid of the banana or thousands of other foods that have the same break down.

You've got to be very careful in assuming that small amounts of a harmful substance is harmful. Vitamin C breaks down into oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is toxic in large amounts, but perfectly safe in smaller amounts (which is why rhubarb leaves are poisonous, but the stalk is edible). Tea leaves are extremely high in oxalic acid, but because you don't eat a salad of tea leaves, tea is not considered poisonous, because the amount that transfers into the tea is significant, but not toxic.

Digestion and body processes produces a lot of "toxic substances," including formaldehyde, oxalic acid, hydrochloric (stomach) acid... There are many substances that are beneficial or benign at specific concentrations or circumstances and toxic or injurious at others.

[kiramira]

Bang on, Ms Kaplods...
I once had a cosmetics salesperson tell me that botox turns into cancer cells...ROTFLMAO!!! Cracked me right up!
Kira

[lointhecity]

kaplods, I am a fan of your research.

[UrthWurm]

Originally Posted by kaplods

So, while it's true, that aspartame breaks down into trace quantities of fomaldehyde - so do all other foods containing those amino acids, yet no one is afraid of the banana or thousands of other foods that have the same break down.

Digestion and body processes produces a lot of "toxic substances," including formaldehyde, oxalic acid, hydrochloric (stomach) acid... There are many substances that are beneficial or benign at specific concentrations or circumstances and toxic or injurious at others.

I have to disagree with your perspective. While it's true that other foods may break down in similar ways to these additives, the point is that they are artificial, they're additives. You're trying to compare compounds that occur naturally in our food to those that are manufactured into food. There is a big difference.

I'd also like to comment on what you stated about toxic substances present during our own body's processes. Again, these are substances that our body was meant to handle in certain concentrations, and that occur naturally in our system. As far as saying that toxic substances are okay in small amounts, that's about as bad as the Corn Refiner's Association advertising that High Fructose Corn Syrup is "fine in moderation". What exactly is a small acceptable amount of poison, or a moderate amount of dangerous chemicals? It's certainly not expressed in the products we consume that contain these ingredients. Also, it's a bit hard to eat such things "in moderation" when they are in practically everything we eat.

Where these compounds naturally occur such as in bananas, it is a level that is suitable for our systems to handle. However, aspartame and high fructose corn syrup are not naturally occuring in these foods. In fact, high fructose corn syrup doesn't occur anywhere in nature, it is made. They are artificial or synthetic, meaning: "a substance that is formulated or manufactured by a chemical process or by a process that chemically changes a substance extracted from naturally occurring plant, animal, or mineral sources, except that such term shall not apply to substances created by naturally occurring biological processes."

Kaplods, I hope I didn't sound too arguementative.. I've been known to get pretty passionate. Please forgive me if it comes across too harsh or rude. I value and respect your opinion, as well as the research you've done. Just my .02 cents added to the convo.