Read this very interesting article this morning - diet soda drinkers are 33% more likely to develop diabetes than those who drank regular soda, and they are attributing a large portion of that to aspartame. If you were curious why IP is so anti-aspartame, it's worth the read

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-livin...192600358.html

Thank you for posting...dang I miss my aspartame! You mentioned some info on how each artificial sweetener is processed in the body. If you can find it again would you mind linking to it?

I have tried to switch to stevia, but even the IP products have a bunch of sweeteners I think are not good. I am mapping my way to a new eating plan in March and want to take this info into account. Thanks for all of your knowledge Scorbett!

Scorbett,

I read this yesterday and I couldn't believe 1/week, YIKES! I admit this time on IP, I have snuck (on mondays. long commute) 1 diet Pepsi lime. I almost cried when I read it. lol

I think this is the post:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/3656631-post2.html

Thanks! I guess I wont be going back to drinking diet sodas after IP. I will also be telling my brother in law about this, who is already a diabetic and drinks TONS of diet soda!

Great article, thanks for sharing. Since IP I have cured my addiction to diet soda. Don't see myself drinking it again.

Thanks so much!

I had ONE can of diet doctor pepper last week and now I want it ALL THE TIME! That stuff is VERY addictive for me! No mas

This study tells us nothing new. There is absolutely no causial link in this study, which is a epidemiological one.

Beyond that - aspartame has been shown to increase hunger, and affect blood sugar level, in rats. We are not rats. Research in humans has shown no such thing.

The authors of the study say... "We cannot rule out that factors other than ASB (artificially sweetened beverages)... are responsible for the association with diabetes."

Correllation is not causation. We are not rats.

Re: "With respect, in particular, to 'light' or 'diet' drinks, the relationship with diabetes can be explained partially by a greater craving for sugar in general by female consumers of this type of soft drink," and "Translation: Drinking artificially sweetened drinks makes you crave other sweet things (hello, chocolate!)."

I've seen this a few times and for me it's not true. Maybe for some of the people in the study they are sweets eaters regardless of whether they drink diet soda. Diet soda does not make me crave anything except in the case of Diet Coke just makes me thirstier so I "crave" water. I don't have a sweet tooth and I don't find diet sodas or artificial/alternative sweeteners sweet. I certainly don't want a chocolate bar, ice cream or cake after a diet soda.

As for the article it is hard to tell what the study was. Not sure if everyone was tracked for 14 years or just that they tracked different people at various times in those 14 years. I'm sure they ate and exercised differently then the next person, different genes, etc. Unless everyone is similar in health, age, environment, etc and exercise and food and beverages are tightly controlled including same time of day then to me it would be difficult to pinpoint any exact cause. I can't imagine that 66,000 people for 14 years, exercised and ate and lived in the exact same way. And the 33 % and 66 % "more likely" well that doesn't give an actual number or % of the group or a starting point as to what more likely is referring too.