The Tripod

Media Credit: Tripod Staff Tripod's Ask Annie examines the "diet drink" phenomenon. [Click to enlarge]

Dear Annie,

I have been hearing rumors both ways - is Diet Coke actually bad for me?

--Interested Imbiber

Dear Interested Imbiber,

It is no surprise that diet soda, or any product containing artificial sweetener, is destructive to your body. Yet, from the massive consumption of sugar-free syrups, Diet Cokes, and light beverages we notice every day, it looks like no one (including myself) cares what we put into our bodies. Aspartame, the main ingredient in diet sodas, is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, but the lack of calories are made up for by the presence of serious toxins. I guess most of us would rather get sick than get fat. The aspartame in diet foods and beverages has become a major source of contention. The main problem, it seems, is that artificial sweeteners are a new phenomenon.

Dr. Joseph Mercola, (Web site: www.mercola.com), author of Sweet Deception, a book about how people were deceived into believing that artificial sweeteners are safe, says, "Aspartame is, by far, the most dangerous substance on the market that is added to foods." Aspartame contains 40 percent aspartic acid, which is known to kill brain cells by overstimulating them. Aspartame also contains 50 percent Phenylalanine. The excessive consumption of phenylalanine decreases seratonin levels, which is the chemical in your brain that keeps you happy. The last ingredient in aspartame is methanol. Inside the body, methanol becomes formaldehyde and formic acid, both of which are toxic.

Aspartame is poisonous. "It is essentially a chemical weapon designed to impact populations en masse," Mercola said. Since every body is unique, aspartame effects seem to vary from person to person. Some people get headaches from drinking a diet beverage, while others basically live on them.

Anyone involved in the aspartame industry is making a whole bunch of money off uneducated weight-watchers. Even though there are extensive reports about the dangers of aspartame, there are also many reports (like ones from the Aspartame Resource Center) that insist aspartame is just fine.

The fact still stands that aspartame has not been around long enough to be able to research any real long-term effects. Marketing has also played a large role in artifical sweetener consumption. Many would argue that Splenda is safe because on the box it says that it is "made from real sugar." Its main ingredient, sucralose, is not natural and is not healthy.

Like many other products, aspartame has been politicized, and the real information is hard to come by. Although aspartame has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), this does not mean it is safe. Even though one would think to put their trust in the FDA, remember that the organization is subject to corruption and lobbying like any other governmental institution. As a result, aspartame has been linked with pressures that have been placed by the soft drink industry, as well as several scandals, such as fraudulent test results. Here is just one excerpt from Mercola's history of aspartame information:

"In 1985, Searle Company was bought by Monsanto, the maker of other insidious substances that manage to find their way into human food, including Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). Senator [Howard] Metzenbaum, commenting on the FDA relative to the aspartame issue in 1985 said, 'the FDA is content to have Searle conduct all safety tests on aspartame. That's absurd ... In 1986, The Washington Post reported that the Supreme Court refused to consider arguments that the FDA had not followed proper procedures in approving aspartame, despite arguments that the product 'may cause brain damage.' ... Since Bush-nominated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a former attorney for Monsanto, it is unlikely that hundreds of millions of people will find redress. There are also indications of ties between Monsanto and elements in the CIA." This is evidence that the food relguations industry is riddled with corruption and a seeming lack of caring about public health.

Recent findings actually link even the Clinton family to the aspartame phenomenon. According to www.DailyKos.com, "Monsanto owned NutraSweet during the Clinton Administration. Bill's FDA commissioner, David Kessler, not only didn't study Aspartame despite years of concerns about four kinds of seizures and other illnesses, but worked to keep Stevia, a natural sweetener, out of the U.S., despite over 900 Stevia studies, none of which indicated any safety concerns regarding human health." This connection has recently been exposed because of Hillary's campaign.

Here's another thing that really gets me about aspartame. After all the negative health effects, aspartame does not help you lose weight. Although you may be saving calories by choosing the light drink, you will likely get hungrier and make them up, plus some. Those who believe that calorie-free sweeteners are the key to their diets should look elsewhere for sweet indulgences. When you ingest something artificially sweet, your body will think it's sugar and process it faster, possibly increasing your appetite because the energy that you consumed was fake.

I wonder - have any effects on my body begun to take place? Am I going to grow a tumor because I like sugar-free syrup in my coffee? If I stop my aspartame consumption now, will the effects go away? We are all guinea pigs here - in 50 years we will be able to understand the implications of our excessive aspartame intake, but now, we can only hope that it's not too dangerous.

So is Diet Coke bad for you? Of course, and for more reasons than just that it contains aspartame. I wouldn't believe that only one sugar-free item will hurt you, however, it is clear that long-term consumption of these products will most likely have a negative effect on your body. After all, they are "artificial."

Please e-mail me at anne.benjamin@trincoll.edu with any questions. Any question is valid, and I would love to help!

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