Question Bout Aspartame..

[w82bthin]

I used to drink about 8 or more sodas a day.:nono: I switched to diet coke about four months ago cuz I just couldn't go without the soda... not sure why.
Neway.... my family is very supportive of my weight loss but my sister the other day told me that she was proud of me but I was killing myself with the Aspartame:( . Is this true??? I've heard very little about it. Does anyone have any info they could pass along. I'm not sure if I can cut out the sodas...:tears:
Thanks.

[MaryToU]

As far as I know aspartame is fine, the only thing with it is it can cause some people to stall. If you find the scale not moving, you should try cutting the sodas out.

[Kristine]

I think there's some controversy over its safety, because both Atkins and the Eadeses recommend avoiding it (others, too, probably.) I've cut back on it quite a bit - I used to be a total Diet Pepsi junkie. :eek: I try to drink a lot more herbal tea (iced or hot, it needs little to no sweetener). I also try to mix up my artificial sweeteners so I'm not getting a huge amount of any of them.

You might want to try to cut back on the diet soda - it can make you hungrier. Mix up the sweeteners, too. Diet Rite and Diet Crush are brands are examples of brands that use Splenda. :cool:

[adkpam]

Aspartame can be regarded as a neurotoxin by your body. It is something the body produces naturally, but in not nearly in as large a quantity as several sodas would provide.
You know the blood taken from the heel of newborns to test for PKU? If your body is sensitive to its effects, you can actually create PKU in yourself by large amounts of aspartame.
This probably varies from person to person. I know people who would get a headache from a few sips. And it does have a high rate of side-effects complaints to the FDA.
Personally I wouldn't touch the stuff.
The diet sodas are probably not helping in other ways. Besides stalling you on the scale, they cause insulin release in some people, and can be keeping your cravings alive. Plus, are you drinking enough water on top of the sodas? Probably not.

[Wynter]

Hey w82bthin....

There is some controversy on the subject of aspartame safety - here's a link that helps show both sides of the points: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art14230.asp . Lots more info if you google Aspartame safety.

On the issues of getting free of the Diet Coke addiction, I just wanted to tell you that it *is* possible. I was a true Diet Coke junkie... I literally drank 2-4 L a day of Diet Coke. I could drink a case of 24 cans in under 2 days. I honestly and truly believed it was not possible for me to give up my diet coke :) I'd literally think obsessively and almost shake if I was out of it.

For induction, I promised myself that I'd go 2 weeks without my Diet Coke (planning on downing a case on day 15 ;)). Honestly, the first 3 days sucked, big time! I had a headache, I felt miserable, and I missed my diet coke. I felt totally thirsty all the time, and water couldn't quench it! However, somewhere during the 2 weeks, I seemed to have freed myself, and I haven't had a Diet Coke since Sept 8..... (I feel like an alcoholic counting days sober :)).

I now only drink water (about 1.5 gallons a day ... I think I was used to drinking the volume :)) and I don't miss my diet coke at all. *However* I DO believe that is a major trigger food for me, in that I don't let myself even have one, because I think even one would send me on to two, three .. and I"d be hooked again. I don't even want to try Diet Rite in case it sets me off :)

Anyways, long rambly post, when I only meant to give you the link.

Hope something here helps!
Wynter

[w82bthin]

I want to thank those of you that replied, I appreciate it. I probably should have made myself plainer that I used to drink a lot of real coke. Now I only drink 2 diet sodas a day. I drink somewhere around 90 oz of water a day. Kinda scarey some of the stuff i've read and heard. Thanks to everyone. I think I will try to cut myself off.:agree:

[StarOrchid]

I don't think one or two cans a day will hurt you as long as you keep up with the water intake, but if you do stall, I'd try cutting them out.

[potatofree]

I put them in the "occasional treat" category. In fact, I took a "vacation" from diet sodas altogether and I felt MUCH better. I used to drink them all day long... now, I'm fine having one with a meal. In fact, they taste obnoxiously sweet to me now.

[kevins7189]

I'm a diet dew junkie. If aspartame is gonna kill me (it doesn't stall me), I wanna make sure I am part of the class action suit

[rrmalns]

My DH is the same way about the aspartame. It suppossedly acts as an embalming agent. Yes, embalming like that do to the deceased. I still use it.

[NickFender]

I did a bunch of reading on the Aspartame controversy and found that those who decried its use were almost without exception motivated by ideology, not science.

[nursey15]

I don't know- I drank 3-4 diet cokes a day and had constant (bad) headaches, blurry minded- to the point I couldn't get my point across. I read an article on Nutra-Sweet and thought- hey I have alot of those symptoms. I cut all diet coke out of my diet about a month ago and haven't had a headache since.

Although I got an iced tea the other day from Wendy's and all they had for sweetner was the blue stuff and I used it cuz I hate unsweetened tea, and had a slight headace about an hour after I started drinking it. Now I carry Splenda packets in the car.

[NickFender]

I don't know- I drank 3-4 diet cokes a day and had constant (bad) headaches, blurry minded- to the point I couldn't get my point across. I read an article on Nutra-Sweet and thought- hey I have alot of those symptoms. I cut all diet coke out of my diet about a month ago and haven't had a headache since.

Although I got an iced tea the other day from Wendy's and all they had for sweetner was the blue stuff and I used it cuz I hate unsweetened tea, and had a slight headace about an hour after I started drinking it. Now I carry Splenda packets in the car.

Nursey:
I wouldn't discount the possibility that artificial sweetners might be the cause of your headaches, but I'd also take a close look at caffeine, which is also a common headache trigger. Since the two often go hand-in-hand it can be hard to figure out which is the real culprit.

[lasert]

dead for a long time. I have had literally gallons and gallons of Crystal Light since the early 1990s. I actually buy it by the case whenever the local groceries run their sales in the summer and I stickpile it because two or more quarts a day are not unusual for me.
I have stayed pretty much at the same level while on Atkins, maybe cutting back about 1/3 because drinking so much water, plus two 20 oz. teas (with 2 Swqeet n Low) a day gives me quite a volume of liquid each day.
Now, as far as affects to dieting are concerned, as others have pointed out......it is probably different for everyone. I have just finished my ninth month and have had a reasonable amount of success, with an average of about 6 lbs per month overall. But, looking at the loose skin I have already, I'm content with what I have accomplished and just look forward to the next 9 months.........and all the months after.
I have no desire nor need to "get off the diet" though I will enjoy the day when I don't have to focus quite so closely on each and every meal that I am plugging in to FitDay. I will keep the way of eating but at some point I will stop trying to make sure I squeeze everything into 30 or so carbs max each day and some 1800 to 2400 calories.

Perhaps I might have lost more if I had avoided aspartane