Good! I'll be looking forward to hearing!!! You go!!

I did an extensive study on aspertame and nutrasweet, etc... since then I will hardly touch the stuff!!

Misti, I worked in a laboratory (yes, these are where all those scientific studies come from, those publications, those in depth statistics that go into the NYTIMES) and found nothing wrong with aspartame or splenda. This is the only reason why the FDA approves of it. As chemicals, there ARE POTENTIAL reactions due to the properties they exhibit but to say that you stay away from them since you've read articles...... well I'm telling you now that it may or may not be true. As an inspiring statistician, I can tell you that 1 experiment done by 2 different people can very well yield different events. In that case, I can understand your refrain from sweeteners, but seriously-

90.0% cases of all aspartame related side effects are headaches. People DO get cancer whether or not they have sweetener. I don't understand where people get this "IT CAUSES" or "_____ is LINKED with _____" Statistics mean something and nothing at the same time- when a case is in an isolated environment and every factor is controlled, thats only when something can be proven with statistics. BUT WHEN YOU ALL KNOW THAT BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS ARE MULTIFACTORIAL AND NON-ISOLATED, how can anything be relevant without it being over 66% in correlation tests??? I'm almost going to give up trying to convince you guys that science isnt always consistent. It's funny, because if I told you that 95% of aspartame cases were headaches but 5% reported they had cancer even if they had genetic history, everyone will have linger in their heads "OH MY GOD!! I MIGHT BE THAT 5%!!!!"

Thats fine. Whatever, I'd rather have my aspartame and not get DIABETES.
(you see, if anyone can use the aspartame-cancer argument, I can use the sugar-diabetes argument. And you know what? SUGAR INTAKE IS correlated with diabetes, unlike the aspartame-cancer . And in BOTH CASES, you must consume a crap load of the chemical to see a side effect- and I guarantee you that you'll have to consume a lottttttt more aspartame to see any effect then consuming a large amount of sugar regularly to get diabetes.)

Well...I'm one who has flip-flopped on the asparthame issue. I cut it out 100% and after looking into it further I think that it's ok in moderation (like most other things) I certainly don't think you should live on it but occasionally I think that most legitimate research has cleared it. Yes, some people do get headaches etc. directly from asparthame so it's unfair to say there is NO correlation. It's in the same way that I get a sore stomach from drinking milk but not everyone does. Some people have sensitivities to certain foods. I believe it's also being reccomended that pregnant women not consume asparthame as it can be harmful to the baby's development. Well, in my opinion, if a small dose can be bad for a baby obviously I don't want to take it in unlimited qualities.

Not sure if I actually said anything in this post but I just had a few thoughts on it. Anyway, veggie lover weighs 110 pounds so I'm probably pretty likely to do whatever she says will get me down to size 1. (Just kidding...mostly )

It all boils down to personal choice. If you want to drink it, then drink it. If you don't, then don't.

i agree. personally i have to have a glass in the morning to get a boost of energy.

I love that there are people here who have the same thoughts on this as I do. I don't believe all the hype about sweeteners causing this disease or that disease. I just don't see that anyone has done enough research to prove anything.

I used to drink about 4-5 diet Cokes a day. Then I changed my lifestyle and cut out all drinks except water. I just now, after 17 weeks, have brought back diet sodas. I only drink one can a day. I drink 34 oz of water in the morning. I then drink my one can of soda. Then I drink another 34 oz of water the rest of the day. Some days I may want my soda with dinner, then I'll drink my 68 oz of water before dinner. I don't have any problems, no headaches, etc.

There are alot of different cancers out there. Some are genetic, some are caused by viruses, and some are caused by unknown things. I had HPV about 4 years ago. That caused me to get early stages of cervical cancer. I do NOT blame this on what I ate or drank. It's caused by a virus. I'm doing really well now with it. On a side note: I do highly recommed getting pap smears every year since that is the only way to know if you have HPV. Sorry about the tangent... I just had to say it.

<<<<raises her diet Dr Pepper and says "Here! Here!"

I agree, I've never had an issue with it either.

I was one of the biggest soda fiends in history - Mountain Dew all the way baby. I probably drank 1 1/2 Liters by myself.

When I switched off soda, I went to Propel Flavored Fitness Water (grape or black cherry).

WAYYYY few calories than soda, and no caffeine or carbonation. It has some nutrients (or so it says) - I just loved the taste. Eventually switched to plain water to save money - also, I felt ready to.

Now I have a sip of DH's soda once every 3 months or so - and don't even like it.

It helped lose weight, feel better and look better - also, way less heartburn.

I'm addicted to caffiene and soda is my favorite way to get it. I haven't had any soda for almost a week. It's hard because it's too hot to drink coffee right now for most of the day. I love "energy" drinks too. There was a 12 pack of Vault on sale at Target the other day, it was so hard not to buy it. It was a really good deal.
Giving up soda and "energy" drinks is going to be the hardest part of my new healthier life style.

It was hard for me too Jeremiah but soooooo worth it!! One of the best things I ever did healthwise. And saves a lot of $$$ too LOL