Is a diet soda really that good for you?

Have you noticed how popular diet sodas have become? Since the media as well as others are constantly stressing the importance of exercising and dieting, much more people are consuming diet sodas rather than the regular sodas. Some people drink diet sodas even if they are not on a diet because they feel "healthier" doing this. However, people have to realize it is not as healthy as they believe it is. Yes, it has no calories; therefore, it is "better" than the regular ones but it can cause health effects and it is important for people to realize this.
The following is an article that tells more about aspartame which the ingredient found in the diet sodas that may cause many health issues to those consuming diet sodas.



The following information comes from the Aspartame Consumer Safety Network Fact Sheet, written by Lendon Smith, MD.
Aspartame is considered to be abut 200 times as sweet as sugar. It is calorie free and when ingested and metabolized, it breaks down into three substances:

1. phenylalanine (50%) one of the amino acids needed for the production of neurotransmitters essential to brain function. While this may sound OK, it is not. People with PKU (phenylketonuria) are missing the enzymes to break down this amino acid and may end up with an excess that causes brain damage. For susceptible people, phenylalanine will become neurotoxic and may cause seizures.

2.aspartic acid (40%) which can cause brain damage in the fetus.

3. methanol (10%) an alcohol which turns into formaldehyde, a known toxic substance used, among other things, as an embalming fluid.

Early studies in the 1970 showed that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice. Monkeys fed aspartame died or had grand mal seizures. However, these studies were not submitted to the FDA when approval for aspartame was requested. The request was approved by the then FDA commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr., in 1981, after he overruled the Public Board of Inquiry's recommendation to ban this artificial sweetener. Two months before quitting his post, Hayes approved the use of aspartame in soft drinks, even though the National Soft Drink Association had warned the FDA that aspartame was breaking down body structures in warm climates.

From the early 1980's until present time, consumer complaints have been pouring into the FDA related to aspartame use. Among the symptoms reported are the following:

headaches, moon swings, anxiety attacks,
vertigo, hyperactivity, hearing loss,
heart arrthythmia, tinnitus, edema or swelling,
insomnia, gastrointestinal, disorders, seizures,
numbing/tingling of extremities, blurred vision, skin lesions,
blindness, muscle cramps, eye problems,
joint pain, memory loss, fatigue,
slurred speech, PMS, mild to suicidal depression,
menstrual irregularity, personality changes, chest pains,
violent episodes, increased appetite, skin disease;

Artificial sweeteners will increase appetite because as the sweet taste hits the mouth, a message is sent into the body that carbohydrates are coming in to be digested. Then the pancreas swings into action and sends insulin into the blood stream. As there will be no actual carbohydrates, the insulin lowers the blood sugar and appetite increases. In this manner, artificial sweeteners can contribute to hypoglycemia.

This noxious substance , so ingrained in our commercial food supply, should be recalled by the FDA and retested as a drug!

In addition to the above symptoms, aspartame can mimic a number of autoimmune diseases. Betty Martini, founder of Mission Possible, an organization dedicated to spread information about problems with aspartame, found that methanol toxicity causes metabolic acidosis, which mimics multiple sclerosis (MS). She lists the following symptoms as Aspartame disease, fibromyalgia, muscle spasms, shooting pains, joint pains, depression, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, blurred vision and memory loss. In addition to MS, aspartame may also mimic or trigger the following illnesses:

fibromyalgia, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome,
hypothyroidism, Epstein-Bar, ADD
post-polio syndrome, Meuniere's disease, Lyme disease,
Alzheimer's disease.

Fortunately, most of these symptoms are reversible and disappear once the artificial sweeteners are discontinued. In my kinesology work, whenever I test a client for body tolerance of any artificial sweeteners, they will test negative. With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chronic Depression, when the body is de-toxified, it returns to its old self within ten to fourteen days, and the client is energized, functioning and eternally grateful.