With the obesity epidemic the number of diet foods and foods containing artificial sweeteners is rising. Just the other day I went to go buy whey protein powder and found a bunch of them contained Splenda. Anyways, below are 2 excerpts from two books I have read. One is quite length so I will highlight key words in that one. And, if you decide not to read it all the key message is that artificial sweeteners are very bad for your body, very unhealthy, and should never be ingested.

From the book Skinny Bit**, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

"When aspartame was put before the FDA for approval, it was denied eight times. G.D. Searle, founder of aspartame tried to get FDA approval in 1973. Clearly, he wasn't bothered by reports from nueroscientist Dr. John Olney and researches Ann Reynolds (hired by Searle himself) that aspartame was dangerous. Dr. Martha Freeman, a scientist from the FDA Division of Metabolic and Endocrine Drug Products, declared, 'The information submitted for review is inadequate to permit a scientific evaluation of clinical safety.' Freeman recommended that until the safety of aspartame was proven, marketing the product should not be permitted. Alas, her recommendations were ignored. Somehow, in 1974, Searle go approval to use aspartame in dry foods. However, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. In 1975, the FDA put together a task force to review Searle's testing methods. Task force team leader Philip Brodsky said he 'had never seen anything as bad as Searle's testing' and called the test results 'manipulated.' Before aspartame actually made it into dry foods, Olney and attorney and consumer advocate Jim Turner filed objections against the approval. In 1977, the FDA asked the U.S. attorney's office to start grand jury proceedings against Searle for 'knowingly misrepresenting findings and concealing material facts and making false statements in aspartame safety tests." Shortly after, the U.S. attorney leading the investigation against Searle was offered a job by the law firm representing Searle. Later the same year, he resigned as U.S. attorney and withdrew from the case, delaying the grand jury's investigation. This caused the statute of limitations on the charges to run out, and the investigation was dropped. And he accepted the job with Searle's law firm. Stunning. In 1980, a review by the Public Board of Inquiry set up by the FDA determined that aspartame should not be approved. The board said it had 'not been presented with proof of reasonable certainty that aspartame is safe for use as a food additive.' In 1981, new FDA Commissioner Arthur Hull Hayes was appointed. Despite the fact that 3 out of 6 scientists advised against approval, Hayes decided to overrule the scientific review panel and allow aspartame into limited dry goods. In 1983, he got it approved for beverages, even though the National Soft Drink Association urged the FDA to delay approval until further testing could be done. That same year, Hayes left the FDA amid charges of impropriety. The Internal Department of Health and Human Services was investigating Hayes for accepting gratuities from FDA-regulated companies. He went to work as a consultant for Searle's public relations firm. Interesting. The FDA finally urged Congress to prosecute Searle for giving the government false or incomplete test results on aspartame. However, the two government attorneys assigned to the case decided not to prosecute. Later, they went to work for the law firm that represented Searle. Fascinating. Despite recognizing 92 different symptoms that result from ingesting aspartame, the FDA approved it for use, without restriction, in 1999. Brilliant. So many people have been sickened from this sh*t that there are aspartame victim support groups. Some of the 92 aspartame effects listed by the FDA include memory loss, nerve cell damage, migraines, reproductive disorders, mental confusion, brain lesions, blindness, joint pain, Alzheimer's, bloating, nervous system disorders, hair loss, food cravings, and weight gain. Aspartame is a $1 billion industry. The National Justice League has filed a series of lawsuits against food companies using aspartame, claiming they are poisoning the public. In September 2004, a class action lawsuit was filed for $350 million against NutraSweet and the American Diabetics Association. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfelt is named in the suit for using political muscle to get aspartame approved by the FDA. NutraSweet and Equal contain aspartame. When ingested, one of aspartame's ingredients, methyl alcohol, converts into formaldehyde, a deadly neurotoxin. In addition to aspartame, Equal contains the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine occurs naturally in the brain. But high levels can increase the chance of seizures and lead to depression and schizophrenia. There are no lesser of the 2 evils. NutraSweet and Equal are both evil. Sweet & Low is no saint, either. It is an artificial sweetener that contains saccharin, a coal-tar compound. Stay away. Because we're having so much fun, let's bash the sh*t out of Splenda, 1 of the newer sweeteners. Splenda is made by chlorinating sugar, changing its molecular structure. The finished product is called sucralose. The makers of this poison tout its lack of calories and claim it's safe for diabetics. The FDA calls sucralose 98% methanol, and arsenic. Well, gee, at least it doesn't have calories. So what if it has a little arsenic? Sucralose has been found to cause diarrhea; organ, genetic, immune system, and reproductive damage; swelling of the liver and kidneys; and a decrease in fetal body weight. What a splendid product! According to Dr. Joseph Mercola in Consumer Research magazine's article "The Potential Dangers of Sucralose," "There is no clear-cut evidence that sugar substitutes are useful in weight reduction. On the contrary, there is some evidence that these substances stimulate appetite." Not only have multiple class action lawsuits been filed, but even the president of the National Sugar Association and the manufacturer of Equal are up in arms about Splenda. They each filed suit, claiming that Splenda manufacturers are misleading consumers into thinking the product is natural when it is "a highly processed chemical compound." Don't think that the giants behind artificial sweeteners and the sugar industry suddenly started caring about public health. Splenda's clever marketing is just totally screwing up their sales. But even executive director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Dr. Michael F. Jacobson, who normally criticizes The National Sugar Association, had to agree: "Advertising and labeling, whether for products that are healthful or unhealthful, should be truthful and not misleading." Clearly, artificial sweeteners and refined sugars are bad for many reasons. Here's one more. We have a delicate balancing act occurring in our bodies at all times-pH balance. Basically, everything we eat has its own pH balance. When food is digested, it leaves an acid or alkaline "ash" in the body, depending on the food's mineral content. Surprise, surprise: Artificial sweeteners are highly acid forming. (Coffee, excessive protein, meat, pasteurized dairy, refined sugars, and fatty foods are, too.) When our bodies get too acidic, we are much more prone to illness. Sometimes, we don't even know we're sick until it's too late. But we can notice mild maladies, like skin problems, allergies, headaches, colds, or yeast infections. Or, we can experience major trauma-severe damage to our thyroid gland, liver, and adrenal glands. If our pH balance becomes to acidic, our bodies will react to protect themselves. To neutralize the acid, they will take alkalizing minerals from our reserves. If our reserves are low, the body will withdraw minerals from our bones and muscles. If that doesn't scare you, consider this: It is commonly believed that cancer cells thrive in acid environments. Now, logically, you would think that citrus fruits are acidic, but actually, when they enter the body, they are alkalizing. We know this goes against the "use your own head" idea because they seem like they'd be acidic. But they contain potassium and calcium which are alkalizing minerals. They also have a high percentage of alkaline salts. Nearly all fruits, vegetables, and legumes are alkaline when they enter the body."

From the book The Schwarzbein Principle 2 by Diana Schwarzbein, M.D. with Marilyn Brown

"Artificially sweetened beverages: Avoid all beverages with artificial sweeteners. Aspartame, saccharine, sucralose and other artificial sugars all damage the cells of your body. Keep these toxic chemicals out of your system because they will age you faster."

"Artificial Sweeteners: You can stop these chemicals cold turkey because they do not affect your adrenal glands like refined sugars do. The only alternative sugar that I recommend is a product called Stevia because it is not a toxic chemical. I do not endorse or recommend that you use any type of artificial sweetener. I do not like aspartame, acesulfame K, sorbitol, sucralose or saccharine because they are all harmful. Alternatively, use a small amount of real honey instead of artificial sweeteners. Although honey causes a rise in insulin levels, it is always better to ingest real food."

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Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Charlotte E. Grayson Mathis, MD



June 13, 2005 -- People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.
The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."
In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.
"There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.
More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain

Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.
For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

• 26% for up to 1/2 can each day
• 30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
• 32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
• 47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.

For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

• 36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
• 37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
• 54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
• 57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.

For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person's risk of obesity went up 41%.
Diet Soda No Smoking Gun

Fowler is quick to note that a study of this kind does not prove that diet soda causes obesity. More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity.
"One possible part of the explanation is that people who see they are beginning to gain weight may be more likely to switch from regular to diet soda," Fowler suggests. "But despite their switching, their weight may continue to grow for other reasons. So diet soft-drink use is a marker for overweight and obesity."
Why? Nutrition expert Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, puts it in a nutshell.
"You have to look at what's on your plate, not just what's in your glass," Bonci tells WebMD.
People often mistake diet drinks for diets, says Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and nutrition consultant to college and professional sports teams and to the Pittsburgh Ballet.
"A lot of people say, 'I am drinking a diet soft drink because that is better for me. But soft drinks by themselves are not the root of America's obesity problem," she says. "You can't go into a fast-food restaurant and say, 'Oh, it's OK because I had diet soda.' If you don't do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight."

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Russian/Chinese, from planet NARS, age 45. "If its pink and sparkley I will shoot it...."

I think they do stimulate the appetite, because they taste sweeter than regular sweetened products. I don't where I heard this, but people don't always change their diet with diet drinks. In fact, they will eat more junk foods, because they think they are dieting just by drinking diet drinks.

Example: I can have a large Hersey bar or a big bowl of ice cream, because I didn't drink a regular coke. (Ah, it doesn't work that way). I worked with people that would have a diet coke and four large pieces of stuffed cheese pizza and couldn't figure out why they weren't losing weight.

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I drink a LOT of diet coke. I'm going to try to stop. There are so many risks involved I don't know why I didn't stop ages ago. Alzheimer's terrifies me more than anything, not to mention all the others. 92 symptoms....

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:dance:

Ya, I've stopped too.
So far instead of diet coke, because wow I used to drink TONS of it, I'm now drinking nothing with artificial sweeteners. But, I have allowed myself to drink a maximum of 2 cans of regular soda just for now. In a few weeks I will then stop drinking regular soda, by drinking more fruit juice and eating more fruits. And then from their I will just slowly reduce the fruit juice and fruits a little lower. If I don't do it gradually I'll go crazy lol.

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Thanks for the info guys, this is a very informative thread. I've always been wary of artificial sweeteners, aspartame in particular gives me these sick headaches.

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MAC Addict - - Megs

Thank you very much for posting this! I had heard about this but I didnt know this much information about it.

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thanks for posting. It was a lot to read--I skimmed

I drink diet drinks...will definitely be trying to cut them out! plus I hate when looking for yogurt, nearly all has some kind of splenda or some other aspartame sweetener--YUCK! I cannot stand that flavour in yogurt.

I'm thinking of going cold turkey at the start of next month--no soda, no artificial sweeteners. Just water and brewed tea. If anything a bit of plain old sugar (I'm interested in that Stevia--have to see if its available where I am. I heard Whoopi talk about it this week on the View--yes I occasionally watch that show! Hot topics are my vice!)

Thanks!

Yeah I've never ingested any of these. I stay away from any/everything that has anything artificial in it. It just screams death! Thanks for posting for others to see.

Ya wow like seriously tons of stuff has artificial sweetener in it...some tell you on the front of the label, but a lot of them don't. I skim the ingredient sections of everything I buy now and I'm amazed at how much food has sucralose or sorbitol or etc in it.

And, I'm interested in experimenting with Stevia too!

Some info on it from Dana Carpender's Every-Calorie-Counts Cookbook (totally recommend this cookbook, 500 sugar-free healthy recipes!):
Stevia is short for Stevia rebaudiana, a South American shrub with very sweet leaves. Stevia extract, a white powder from stevia leaves, is growing in popularity with people who don't care to eat sugar but who are nervous about artificial sweeteners. However, stevia extract has a couple of faults: first, it's so extremely sweet that it's hard to know just how much to use in any given recipe, and second, it often has a bitter taste, as well as a sweet one. This is why some smart food packagers have started blending stevia with fructooligosaccharide, also known as FOS. FOS is a sugar, but it's a sugar molecule so large that the human gut can neither digest nor absorb it, so it doesn't raise blood sugar or cause an insulin release. This makes it the perfect partner for the too-sweet stevia. I have been experimenting more and more with stevia/FOS because I know that many of my readers are uncomfortable with using artificial sweeteners. My experiences have been somewhat hit-or-miss. For instance, stevia/FOS works very well in my ketchup recipe, but made truly vile teriyaki sauce. The stevia bitterness comes through in some reecipes and not in thers. If you would like to try experimenting, the conversion factors are:

1/4 tsp Stevia/FOS = 1 tsp sugar or Splenda
3/4 tsp Stevia/FOS = 1 tbsp sugar or Splenda
1 tbsp Stevia/FOS = 1/2 cup sugar or Splenda
2 tbsps Stevia/FOS = 1 cup sugar or Splenda


*Okay so personally I'm a bit weary of her suggesting FOS since I know little about it and she also likes artificial sweeteners. Plus, I usually stay away from ingredients with really long scientist sounding names lol. Maybe I'll do some searching on the internet tonight and find you all some information on it.

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Yeah when she mentioned the FOS I was like--that sounds like a scientific lets-manipulate-the-natural-stuff. Ugh. Interesting, but I thank you for keeping us informed!

I've always stayed away from the artificial sweeteners. I knew a gal that had headaches all the time until she read information like above and stopped drinking liquids that had them in - then the headaches stopped. Its poison.

Never been a fan of soft drinks. They also cause bone deterioration.