What do you guys think about aspartame as an artificial sweetner in soft drinks? Specifically do you think there will be some kind of future negative health implications if I continue to consume them. You drink 2 coke zeros vs. 2 coke heavys through out the day and you save about 250 calories. I've done some research on the subject and everything seems kind of up in the air on the subject since its only been used in consumer products since the early 80s. Thoughts?

9/2/2008 12:20:31 AM

how about just cutting out the soft drinks completely?

9/2/2008 12:23:26 AM

i like caffeine and i like a soda with my lunch..

also like the caffeine in the am to get me moving

9/2/2008 12:25:00 AM

Water. Preferably filtered.

I try to avoid artificial sweeteners. Can cause problems. Even if it's a small risk, why take it when you can just drink water? It really does taste good.

9/2/2008 12:27:13 AM

im pretty sure artificial sweetners have been proven to reduce bone mass

so at the very least, if you MUST drink these diet sodas, give your body some calcium

9/2/2008 12:31:51 AM

i drink a hell of a lot of milk..also take a men's health one a day pill
so im getting a good amount of calcium

9/2/2008 12:46:55 AM

It's not the calcium, it's the calcium to phos. ratio in your diet. Milk is about balanced. Same with the multi. You really need to take a calcium supplement to make up for all the extra phos. from the soda and the boneless meat in most people's diets.

9/2/2008 12:50:05 AM

If Aquafina had caffeinated water (not any flavored/electrolyte bullshit, just caffeine and water), that would be all I'd drink.

9/2/2008 2:23:06 AM

If you're drinking soda regularly, caring about your health is pointless, especially worrying about some obscure side effect of aspartame.

9/2/2008 2:43:06 AM

i drink no less than 6 diet cokes a day.

I'll let you know how it works out in 30 years.

9/2/2008 7:16:29 AM

you people

9/2/2008 9:14:26 AM

Drink Green tea if you need the caffeine.

9/2/2008 9:28:08 AM

Quote :

"im pretty sure artificial sweetners have been proven to reduce bone mass"

no, it's the phosphoric acid that does this and is found in all dark colored/cola type sodas.

9/2/2008 10:05:34 AM

Quote :

"If you're drinking soda regularly, caring about your health is pointless"

9/2/2008 10:19:48 AM

Quote :

"Drink Green tea if you need the caffeine."

black tea would be a better bet if you "need" the caffeine...green's the lowest except for white (and then, not by much)

9/2/2008 10:37:10 AM

Quote :

"i drink no less than 6 diet cokes a day. I'll let you know how it works out in 30 years."

9/2/2008 12:34:36 PM

we've all got to die somehow...

on one hand you have the potential side effects of artificial sweeteners, on the other you have the calories and sugar (HFCS ). both have carbonation, coloring, phosphorus, etc. honestly soda isn't the best option as a beverage, but moderation is key. as long as you don't have phenylketonuria you should be fine with your diet soda.

actually the mayo clinic has some really good info about it: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-diet/NU00592

9/2/2008 12:59:19 PM

^ wow "18 to 19 cans of diet cola" is a pretty big acceptable daily intake

9/2/2008 1:02:01 PM

haha. And:

Quote :

"ADIs are intended to be about 100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns."

9/2/2008 1:08:58 PM

Quote :

"If you're drinking soda regularly, caring about your health is pointless, especially worrying about some obscure side effect of aspartame."

I like this, but of course, some people can't control themselves with some kind of food/drink. If it is the caffeine you need, drink coffee or black tea. Black tea (and of course green) is highly beneficial to health, and even coffee has shown some amazing benefits in recent studies.

9/2/2008 3:34:33 PM

aspartame only affects the people who are allergic to it.

its not a big deal.

9/2/2008 3:38:52 PM

Quote :

"how about just cutting out the soft drinks completely?"

but i still drink diet sodas--not too concerned

[Edited on September 2, 2008 at 3:56 PM. Reason : ^^]

9/2/2008 3:55:52 PM

aspartame - prime irritant of internal cystitis

9/24/2008 9:39:22 AM

dont eat or drink anything. itll kill you

9/24/2008 9:42:20 AM

64oz. green tea every day FTW

i use honey in mine, because refined sugar is bad for you, too

9/24/2008 9:45:00 AM

Quote :

"aspartame only affects the people who are allergic to it. "

i thought it caused cancer in lab rats??

9/24/2008 10:06:18 AM

Aspartame is used as a laxative in hospitals. Have fun.

9/24/2008 10:10:00 AM

Quote :

"aspartamesoft drinks - prime irritant of internal cystitis "

I am one of those lucky people who is allergic to aspartame. Only allergy I have, or have ever had. Relatively annoying when I was younger, but I can actually consume a little bit now without any adverse affect.

[Edited on September 24, 2008 at 10:38 AM. Reason : .]

[Edited on September 24, 2008 at 10:38 AM. Reason : fixed, yeah...]

9/24/2008 10:22:59 AM

Quote :

"Relatively annoying when I was longer"

wat

[Edited on September 24, 2008 at 10:26 AM. Reason : ]

9/24/2008 10:26:23 AM

Quote :

"dont eat or drink anything. itll kill you"

basically, that's why calorie restriction has been shown to give people longer lives

Quote :

"Black tea (and of course green) is highly beneficial to health, and even coffee has shown some amazing benefits in recent studies."

tea isn't necessarily better for your health overall

in spite of its benefits, it still has oxalates that can give you kidney stones

9/24/2008 12:28:45 PM

I think we have a real problem in how we view food today. And that is its become a black and white issue.

Foods either cure or cause cancer / (whatever disease you currently dont like).

Most foods have mixed properties, water can be bad ectra. The media gives us fake headlines like red wine contains antioxidents. Sure it does but it also has alchohol in it which can case problems.
Or some compound in blueberries kills cancer in a petri dish. So then they extrapolate that blueberries reduce cancer risk. The fact is in many systems there is no direct link

Everything you eat is a mixed bag folk. I just wish people would stop putting food into black and white good bad areas, they change constantly.

Aspertame if you eat a rediculus remoutn im sure could cause problems, but so could most things.

The doses lab rats were given in the study was the equalavelnt of you drinking like 100 sodas a day for years. Im sure if you ate 100 times the rdi of some vitamins/minerals for years it would kill you to.

[Edited on September 24, 2008 at 1:12 PM. Reason : dd]

9/24/2008 1:07:02 PM

soft drinks in europe > here. discuss.

9/24/2008 2:24:51 PM

Quote :

"64oz. green tea every day FTW"

You know how they say drink 8 cups of water a day? You are drinking 8 cups of green tea a day?

[cup =! tea cup; cup = 8 fl. oz]

Is this full strength green tea (1 tea bag/cup)? Or lower strength? Or is this made from those instant powdered teas? (still, full or lower strength?)

Do you drink anything else during the day?

9/24/2008 11:25:15 PM

Quote :

"If Aquafina had caffeinated water (not any flavored/electrolyte bullshit, just caffeine and water), that would be all I'd drink."

Pretty much everybody I've ever met has made fun of me for taking these...but caffeine pills are still on the market.

Just take one of those with your water.

9/24/2008 11:43:43 PM

Just don't drink soda.



Coffee, green tea, sometimes sweet tea (have to every now and then, but I now have to mix it half and half), and caffeine pills for me.

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 12:51 AM. Reason : why wouldn't they be on the market? ]

9/25/2008 12:51:02 AM

Coffee ftw

9/25/2008 1:16:54 AM

^^I just said it that way because they aren't popular anymore, and it seems like people have forgotten about them.

9/25/2008 1:20:03 AM

My average day goes like this:

4 cups coffee
minimum 6 diet mountain dews or diet dr. peppers
dickel and diet coke after supper.
only water if i do something strenuous outdoors


I will let you know how it is working out after 30 years

9/25/2008 11:33:51 AM

Quote :

"i drink no less than 6 diet sodas a day. I'll let you know how it works out in 30 years."

[Edited on September 25, 2008 at 11:41 AM. Reason : sfddsfd]

9/25/2008 11:41:21 AM