Is Diet Soda bad for you?

mamabravo · October 17th, 2005, 05:19 AM

IF YOU LIKE ICE CREAM I NOW EVERYONE DOES READ THIS:

Ice Cream, Anyone?

The average American consumes 24 quarts of ice cream every year. He thinks he is only eating cream, sugar, and vanilla. But he is actually putting a lot of very strange things into his body.

There are over 1,400 flavorings, stabilizers, colors, and emulsifiers available to the commercial producer of ice cream.

Unfortunately, ice cream manufacturers are not required by law to list the additives used in making their product. As a result, most ice creams are synthetic from start to finish.

Ice cream makers are giving us a wide variety of delicious flavors, but are they fit to eat?

There is hardly any ice cream flavor that does not have a chemical substitute. Some of the artificial flavors are potent poisons which are powerful enough to cause liver, kidney, and heart disease.

Some ice creams contain natural flavorings; some contain a mixture of natural and artificial flavors, and some are entirely artificially flavored. The artificial flavors are favored by the manufacturers because, since they cost less, the profit is increased.

For example, consider "vanilla": Category I is commercial vanilla flavoring made entirely of vanilla. Category II is a combination of natural and artificial flavors; and the package may read, "vanilla flavored." Category III is entirely artificial; and the label may read, "artificially flavored vanilla."

What is in artificial vanilla flavoring? It is peperonal or vanillin. Peperonal is a chemical used to kill lice. Vanillin is made from the wastes of wood pulp and has no relationship to the vanilla bean.

Natural vanilla (which is pureed vanilla beans or vanilla extract) is much more expensive than artificial vanilla. Today it is only rarely found in the ice cream you buy at the store.

Then there is strawberry flavor. How nice fresh, ripe strawberries taste! But in your dish of "strawberry" ice cream, you will find benzyl acetate—a synthetic chemical that tastes like strawberries.

According to the Merck Index, an encyclopedia for chemists, this substance is extremely dangerous and can cause vomiting and diarrhea. It is a nitrate solvent.

Would you rather have pineapple flavoring in your ice cream? Ethyl acetate is used to give that flavor. It can cause liver, kidney, and heart damage. It is also used as a cleaner for leather and textiles. Its vapors have been known to cause chronic lung, liver, and heart damage.

What about banana flavoring? It is amylbutyrate, which is also used as an oil paint solvent.

Cherries anyone? Aldehydec 17 is used to provide the cherry flavor in your ice cream. This is an inflammable liquid which is used as aniline dyes, and the manufacture of plastic and rubber.

Perhaps nuts is what you want in your ice cream? Butraldehyde is the chemical used to provide the nut flavoring in ice cream. It is one of the ingredients in rubber cement.

The problem is that nearly all our artificial food flavors and food colors—come from coal tar! This is a substance in coal and also petroleum. We would never think of putting coal or gasoline in our bodies; yet that is what is put into all the processed food which contains, what the label calls "pure food colors" or "artificial flavorings." Coal tar is notorious as a causative agent in producing cancers of the stomach, bowel, kidney, liver, and other organs.

Back in the old days, fresh eggs would be added to ice cream as an emulsifier, to make it more textured. Today diethyl glycol is used instead. This is the same chemical used in antifreeze and paint removers. Like all the other chemicals, it is dangerous. You do not want even small amounts of these chemicals in your body. According to the Merck Index, it is sufficiently toxic to cause liver and kidney damage.

Stabilizers make ice cream smooth; and emulsifiers make it stiff, so it can retain air. Here are some of the chemicals used to stabilize and emulsify the ice cream you eat:

Propylene glycol (also used in antifreeze), glycerin, sodium carboxyl methylcellulose, monoglycerides, diglycerides, disodium phosphates, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, polysorbate 80, and dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate.

Government regulations permit all these things to be placed in your ice cream.

Last but not least, ice cream makers pump air into the product. Homemade ice cream weighs 7 to 8½ pounds per gallon. Store-bought ice cream weighs 4.5 pounds or less. So you are paying a lot for a smaller amount of cream; but you are still getting a heavy dose of chemical additives. Is it really worth it?

The next time you are tempted by a nice-looking banana split, think of it as a mixture of oil and nitrate solvent, antifreeze, and lice killer.

YUK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

troutman · October 22nd, 2005, 09:53 PM

Diet Coke is dear to my heart. I drink a Min. of a 12 pack a day. Approx. 2 months ago it came to me drinking that much diet coke could not be good for me. I went cold turkey. Not one soda from that day on. Hardest thing I ever did.

1_day_at_a_time · October 22nd, 2005, 10:08 PM

I tried drinking every diet drink you can think of and cannot get past that nutra sweet taste. I have even tried the new ones out with the splenda. ICK

Korrie · October 23rd, 2005, 05:47 AM

Wow, troutman, good for you!

I agree, 1 day at a time....I can't STAND the aftertaste of diet pop! Yuck!

The best thing I've had is this new 7 up w/ calcium...Its not diet...its only 10 cal's a can, and their cherry flavor is really good!

Babyfroggz · 07:21 AM

This post was interesting. I drink a lot of diet soda. I did not know it was so bad for me. i am going to start drinking more green tea and water.
i currently weigh 180 and I am trying to get down to 145-150.
I had no idea there was formaldahyde in diet soda. Maybe I will be well preserved! LOL!
Babyfroggz

in it to thin i · October 23rd, 2005, 02:17 PM

thank you for all the info on diet pop - also I just recently learned that the carbonation in pop depletes calcium in our bodies - and us women need all we can get!!

It it to thin it -

Terrilynnemiller@comcast.net
lost 35 lbs maintaining for 3 years - yahooooooooooooo

MommyOf2 · October 30th, 2005, 09:22 PM

So why does drinking diet soda keep you from losing weight?

wonderwoman · November 2nd, 2005, 05:37 PM

i have heard this too...part of the reason is because caffeine leads to an increase of insulin in your body that retards the burning of your stored fat.

also, aspertame kills your serotonin levels which affects your moods drastically (depression) and can increase your cravings for carbs and even increase your appetite overall (due to lowered serotonin). plus, all that carbonation can make you tired and then you may not feel motivated to do your cardio.

your better off with water!

NewLeaf · December 21st, 2005, 01:56 PM

Ok. As of tomorrow I am cutting out all diet soda from my diet. This is going to absolutely get a roll of laughter from my FH. But its true. I'm going cold turkey... oh someone have mercy on me. This will be INTERESTING!

houstontrainer · January 12th, 2006, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamabravo

ok i was a little harsh

but after i found out what different side effect aspartame does to you i have not been using or drinking it for a bout a year.

Here read this it will change your mind:

Aspartame Side Effects:

The components of aspartame can lead to a number of health problems, as you have read. Side effects can occur gradually, can be immediate, or can be acute reactions. According to Lendon Smith, M.D. there is an enormous population suffering from side effects associated with aspartame, yet have no idea why drugs, supplements and herbs don’t relieve their symptoms. Then, there are users who don’t ‘appear’ to suffer immediate reactions at all. Even these individuals are susceptible to the long-term damage caused by excitatory amino acids, phenylalanine, methanol, and DKP.

Adverse reactions and side effects of aspartame include:

Eye
blindness in one or both eyes
decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision
pain in one or both eyes
decreased tears
trouble with contact lenses
bulging eyes

Ear
tinnitus - ringing or buzzing sound
severe intolerance of noise
marked hearing impairment

Neurologic
epileptic seizures
headaches, migraines and some severe
dizziness, unsteadiness, both
confusion, memory loss, both
severe drowsiness and sleepiness
paresthesia or numbness of the limbs
severe slurring of speech
severe hyperactivity and restless legs
atypical facial pain
severe tremors

Psychological/Psychiatric
severe depression
irritability
aggression
anxiety
personality changes
insomnia
phobias

Chest
palpitations, tachycardia
shortness of breath
recent high blood pressure

Gastrointestinal
nausea
diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools
abdominal pain
pain when swallowing

Skin and Allergies
itching without a rash
lip and mouth reactions
hives
aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma

Endocrine and Metabolic
loss of control of diabetes
menstrual changes
marked thinning or loss of hair
marked weight loss

*****GRADUAL WEIGHT GAIN****** (I FIND THAT FUNNY)

aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
severe PMS

Other
frequency of voiding and burning during urination
excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating
increased susceptibility to infection

Additional Symptoms of Aspartame Toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all
death
irreversible brain damage
birth defects, including mental retardation
peptic ulcers
aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets
hyperactivity in children
severe depression
aggressive behavior
suicidal tendencies

Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses:
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Epstein-Barr
Post-Polio Syndrome
Lyme Disease
Grave’s Disease
Meniere’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease
ALS
Epilepsy
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
EMS
Hypothyroidism
Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings
Fibromyalgia
Lupus
non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)

These are not allergies or sensitivities, but diseases and disease syndromes. Aspartame poisoning is commonly misdiagnosed because aspartame symptoms mock textbook ‘disease’ symptoms, such as Grave’s Disease.

Aspartame changes the ratio of amino acids in the blood, blocking or lowering the levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. Therefore, it is typical that aspartame symptoms cannot be detected in lab tests and on x-rays. Textbook disorders and diseases may actually be a toxic load as a result of aspartame poisoning.

Ever gone to the doctor with real, physical symptoms, but he/she can’t find the cause? Well, it’s probably your diet, your environment, or both.

Aspartame is the common denominator for over 92 different health symptoms at the root of modern disease. The Aspartame Detoxification Program demonstrates the most effective way to reverse disease symptoms is removing the underlying cause - aspartame.

I counsel aspartame victims worldwide and have witnessed nine out of 10 clients restore their health by following the Aspartame Detoxification Program. Begin with detoxifying your body of all residual chemical toxins from aspartame's chemical make up of phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol and their toxic by-products, and see if any adverse health symptoms remain. Try the Aspartame Detoxification Program, and within 30 days your symptoms should disappear.

Steps:

Remove all sugar-free products with aspartame from your diet.
Learn to 'read' your body. Begin recording any health changes.
Get a hair analysis.
Be happy with yourself.
******Detoxify. ******
Restore depleted nutrients.
Exercise and get plenty of rest.
Eat 75% raw foods at every meal.
Drink water, water, water.
Get control of your life.

*****READ THIS****

Formaldehyde in Aspartame/Nutrasweet - will the diet pop you are drinking 'embalm' you?

This experiment was conducted in 1997. It has been repeated many times and yet, ignored by Monsanto and the FDA. The study proves that there are significant amounts of the chemical, formaldehyde in Diet Coke - more if the pop has been stored at room temperatures or higher (and it's often stored in hot warehouses in the South and Southwest). A 2000 JAMA study established that intaking even trace amounts of formaldehyde, can cause damage to several areas of the body, yet this is Monsanto's excuse - "yes we know diet pop has formaldehyde in it but it's in such small amounts as to not be dangerous". Aspartame/Nutrasweet is in some 6000 foods and OTC medications. Formaldehyde is on the FDA list of cancer causing chemicals. On some foods, nutrasweet is not listed however, all foods having nutrasweet in them must carry a warning about "phenoketinuria". If you see this warning, you might want to say "no" to the food or medication.

***** PRETTY GROSSE EH!****

The other compound is Formic acid - the poison from fire ant bites!

excerpt from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/your...pinionid=7453:

aspartame carcinogenicity via its methanol (formaldehyde, formic acid): Murray 2005.12.25

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Any unsuspected source of methanol, which the body always quickly
and largely turns into formaldehyde and then formic acid, must be
monitored, especially for high responsibility occupations, often with
night shifts, such as pilots and nuclear reactor operators.

In particular, the next review gives many recent mainstream
peer-reviewed studies that show formaldehyde,
always inevitably derived in the body from any methanol source,
including aspartame, causes endothelial injury,
ie, diabetic neuropathy -- among the most serious and complex
complications of diabetes.

Ewww!

Susansmum · January 16th, 2006, 07:25 PM

I've actually got graves disease,(it appears to be in remission now) but not from drinking diet drinks. I can't stand them, I will have a full strength coke over diet coke any day. It;s funny that aspartmine can cause both graves disease and hypothyroidism...

Sara06 · January 16th, 2006, 09:16 PM

In prenatal class they say the only sweetner safe to drink is aspertame. What's up with that?

maleficent · June 25th, 2006, 06:42 PM

Taken from teh Jan issue of Women's Health Magazine
diet soda may make you gain weight

Quote:

Stop where you are. Stay calm and, very slowly now, put down the can of diet soda. A study at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio has reached a stunning conclusion: Diet soft drinks don't help you lose weight — they may actually promote weight gain. Researchers analyzed 8 years of data on 1,550 people. Participants who drank one diet soda per day were 65 percent more likely to become overweight during the next 7 to 8 years and 41 percent more likely to become obese than non-diet-soda drinkers. "Some studies suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite," says study coauthor SharonP. Fowler. One theory is that diet sodas tease taste buds with the promise of sugar but then don't deliver real sweetness, causing drinkers to look for the missed calories elsewhere. For a low-calorie alternative, brew some iced tea and add a spoonful of honey (about 25 calories).

Manaloa · June 26th, 2006, 01:11 PM

All I have to go by is my own reaction. Around 2-3 years ago I started drinking diet soda, because that's what my husband drinks and it's "healthier". Since then I've gained around 50lbs and had some really bad digestive issues. Both of these I attributed to lack of exercise, eating patterns and lactose intolerance. I have cut out any kind of artificial sweetener in the last couple weeks and I feel amazing!!!! I no longer have any digestive problems and I've lost some weight (which might also be due to the fact that I'm consuming gallons of water a day) Since cutting out the artificial sweeteners I have also had some fried foods (which I thought was causing some of the problems) and I now believe that it was the diet soda with the foods that I was eating with it which were causing the problems. It could be entirely subjective but personally I'll never consume anything with any kind of artificial sweetener in ever again if I can help it.