How Sweet it Isn't

Shawn | October 7, 2007 in General, Journal | Comments (0)

Tags: aspartame, diet, diet soda, nutrasweet, toxin

I drink diet soda. Diet Pepsi, it’s good stuff. I like soda, I loved it as a kid. It was never in our refrigerator at home, it was milk, Cool-aid, or water in our house. Soda was a treat that I bought on my own, and as an adult it made it’s way into heavy rotation in my diet.

Maybe it’s because it was so special, or so discouraged as a child, that I’ve become such a regular drinker of it. I think that lately it has a lot to do with the sweet tooth I’ve developed after quitting drinking as well. Not to mention that after drinking beer like water for over 10 years, anything with a carbonated bite to it has a welcome sensation that I’ve recently become aware that I enjoy. Either way, I have made a decision to cut it out of my diet. Specifically diet soda, or anything for that matter containing the chemical aspartame.

For what it does to the body, I might as well continue to drink myself to death, at least I could enjoy the buzz on my way there. It is alarming what this stuff is doing to people and it will be even moreso when the long term effects become more pronounced. It scares the hell out of me that I’ve been swilling so much of this nasty shit. Everyone should be concerned about this, because it is in nearly everything.

How do I know it is definately hazardous to my health? Well, I don’t. I do know however that if I thought something may be harmful that I am ingesting, and there was a pile of evidence on either side supporting it’s safety and toxicity, that I should probably just err on the side of caution. Wouldn’t that stand to reason? The fizzy allure of carb-free pop isn’t that strong of a force in my life that I can’t separate myself from a host of potentially life-threatening illnesses it allegedly causes.

There is a bunch of info out there supporting both sides on this particular argument. Have a look and decide for yourself.

www.aspartame.net
www.aboutaspartame.com
www.aspartame.org
Wikipedia’s Aspartame Entry
www.ific.org article
Great paper written on Aspartame
www.webmd.com article
www.fda.gov entry