[MacosNerd]

I came across various articles on the net like this one - wiki nutrasweet That postulates that aspartame causes cancer and other physical ailments. From what I've read not just the wiki but other sites, just google nutrasweet.

It was enough for me to stop drinking diet coke cold turkey. I used to drink about 16 ounces a day once in a while 36 ounces.

I started doing a search on this because I had heard that for children it could effect their development so I started googling it for that and low and behold its a little more disturbing.

Now I'll be the first to admit that we've had plenty of news stories about how this and that causes cancer, for example, coffee. First it was reported that it causes it, then it was reported that coffee can prevent it. Unlike coffee which is a natural product, aspartame is an engineered chemical. As reported in the wikipedia it was initially denied use by the FDA because of those cancer concerns but money talks and somebody's palm was greased so it was approved.

So with that said, what do you all think of this, much ado about nothing, or a serious threat to our health (its not just in diet coke).

[design219]

I've had friends tell me the same thing, but I find it hard to believe that something so common and on the market for so long has not been studied extensively and proven harmful if it really is. It sure smells like an urban rumor to me.

Anyway, I think Splenda is a much better tasting sugar substitute. A lot of diet sodas are moving to it. I recently tried the old Diet-Rite... now made with Splenda, and it is really good.

[Dork.]

I can certainly believe that something that has been extensively studied might still show some ill effects in the long-term. Check out the backlash against trans-fats: a few years ago, we were barely aware they existed, and now they're banned in many places. And some people have linked the obesity epidemic in the US to the point where cola companies substituted corn syrup for sugar. Everything that goes into your body does something, no matter whether it's low-calorie or not.

Personally, I avoid artificial sweeteners, but that's just because I think they taste nasty. I never felt better since I ditched the vast majority of my cola intake for water (and the occasional Guinness).

[design219]

Originally Posted by Dork. 

(and the occasional Guinness).

When some company invents a diet beer that doesn't taste like crap, they will be instant gods.

[SirCastor]

One of my favorite little tests to do in a restaurant is to take a pack of sugar, stick it on your tongue, and hold it there for about a minute. Swallow it, and then put some artificial sweetener on your tongue.
Because your tongue has "become familiar" to the sweet, it ignores that and you get to taste all the crap in the sweetener. This works well with Sweet n' Low, I don't know about Nutrasweet.

Personally, I don't think there's any safe road regarding food. We're a bit obsessed with having everything our way. We want to eat donuts in the morning, fast food for lunch and dinner, and still lose a couple pounds every day. This kind of thing doesn't work because it violates natural laws. Because of the sugar, and the caffine, and the acid, I gave up soda a couple weeks ago. So far so good.

Out of unrelated Curiosty, where were you getting 16oz of Coke? Cans are 12, bottles are 20. Or are you just pouring from a 2 liter?

[MacosNerd]

I also don't necessarily believe everything I read or hear, and that includes the FDA saying its safe. On the flip side, I also take the various reports of health issues with some grain of salt.

The issue for me now is that there's too much corroborating articles to ignore and to be honest its a heck of lot easier to be safe and not drink it then to take a chance only to find out 5 or 10 years later I should not have.

From what I've read when the body breaks down aspartame, it breaks it down to its residual chemicals and that is methanol and formaldehyde. Some of the controversy is that people who say its safe argue that the trace amounts of formaldehyde can easily be purged by the body before any issues arise while the other side of the argument disagrees with that assessment. They also point to the lab tests that show that lab animals contracting cancer from what would be deemed normal ingestion (what that is I have no idea).

[cjrivera]

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Aspartame and MS and Lupus

[gradient]

Originally Posted by design219 

a diet beer that doesn't taste like crap...

Well then it wouldn't actually be beer would it? That said... I LOVE crap.

[design219]

Originally Posted by cjrivera 

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Aspartame and MS and Lupus

Thanks! I thought it smelled like an urban rumor.

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by MacosNerd 

I also take the various reports of health issues with some grain of salt.

Not too much, salt is bad for you!

[MacosNerd]

I'm still not going to take a chance, its not worth the risk and while I lot of the evidence is anecdotal the FDA did initially reject it, and their were tests that showed in increase in brain cancer. That's enough for me to avoid the stuff. Like I said why find out after 10 years its not an urban legand.

[JellyBeen]

Aspertame was created by Searle pharma. Donald Rumsfeld is the one that got it approved through his contacts in Washington. Searle was bought by Monsanto...shall I say more?

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Dork. 

Not too much, salt is bad for you!

That's just an urban legend.

[iLikebeer]

If you only drink one coke per day, try to find a Mexican market that sells coke with SUGAR instead of partially hydrogenated corn syrup. It's natural, has no trans fats, and one a day won't make you fat. If none of the Mexican markets carry it, see if any places that carry Kosher foods have it.

A quick warning though, once you've gotten used to the taste of corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, sugar sweetened soda doesn't taste as good as it used to.

[Rumor]

Soda taste like crap to me. Only time I drink it is if I feel like mixing it with alcohol.

[iMOTOR]

Originally Posted by design219 

When some company invents a diet beer that doesn't taste like crap, they will be instant gods.

Michelob Ultra tastes pretty darn good for being a light beer.

[Rumor]

Originally Posted by iMOTOR 

Michelob Ultra tastes pretty darn good for being a light beer.

My piss has more alcohol content...

[iMOTOR]

I said it tastes pretty good.

[SSharon]

Originally Posted by iLikebeer 

If you only drink one coke per day, try to find a Mexican market that sells coke with SUGAR instead of partially hydrogenated corn syrup. It's natural, has no trans fats, and one a day won't make you fat. If none of the Mexican markets carry it, see if any places that carry Kosher foods have it.

A quick warning though, once you've gotten used to the taste of corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, sugar sweetened soda doesn't taste as good as it used to.

Only the Kosher for Passover varieties will be made with Sugar so they should be easy to find around Passover time, but that's about it.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by iLikebeer 

If you only drink one coke per day, try to find a Mexican market that sells coke with SUGAR instead of partially hydrogenated corn syrup. It's natural, has no trans fats, and one a day won't make you fat. If none of the Mexican markets carry it, see if any places that carry Kosher foods have it.

A quick warning though, once you've gotten used to the taste of corn syrup or artificial sweeteners, sugar sweetened soda doesn't taste as good as it used to.

I think all Jones Sodas are made from cane sugar. Jones Soda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia