Mmm…may I have some poison with that?
Heard of Diane Fleming? She is an American woman who was convicted of (and is currently serving a life sentence for) murdering her husband Charles with…you guessed it…gatorade, oh you didn’t guess that? My bad. In fact, she didn’t kill him, he slowly poisoned HIMSELF by drinking a sh*t ton of diet coke EVERY day (the gatorade was the final straw), for oh, about 18 years. Accidental suicide by methanol poisoning. It’s a long story but basically everyone around her, even her arresting officers protested her innocence… On top of that, a toxicology report and affidavits from several physicians have demonstrated the real cause of her husband’s death, but 10 years later, she is still in prison!!!!!!!
SCIENCE BIT: Aspartame was the main culprit in Charles’ death. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener. It is not a natural product, it is a chemical. The molecule is made up of three components. Two are amino acids, the so-called building blocks of protein. One is called Phenylalanine, which is about 50% of the molecule, another is Aspartic Acid, which is approximately 40% and the other 10% is so-called Methyl Ester, which as soon as it is digested becomes free methyl alcohol = methanol = wood alcohol, which is a poison. POISON?!?! Basically, when methanol is ingested in large quantities it is metabolised to formic acid/formate salts, which is poisonous to the central nervous system, and may cause blindness, coma, and death, to name but a few things. And you are not getting off that lightly, I will be naming a few more below.
In an ideal world, artificial sweeteners could have been the answer to sugar, by offering the taste of sweetness without any calories – a miracle really. But they are not the answer to anything. All they do is f*ck you up.
ADVERSE REACTIONS AND SIDE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH ASPARTAME INCLUDE:
(Holy sh*t there are so many and they are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too serious to joke about)
Eye – blindness in one or both eyes, decreased vision and/or other eye problems such as: blurring, bright flashes, squiggly lines, tunnel vision, decreased night vision, pain in one or both eyes, trouble with contact lenses, bulging eyes.
Ear – tinnitus – ringing or buzzing sound, severe intolerance of noise, marked hearing impairment.
Neurologic – epileptic seizures, headaches, migraines and (some severe), dizziness, unsteadiness, both confusion, memory loss, both severe drowsiness and sleepiness, paresthesia or numbness of the limbs, severe slurring of speech, severe hyperactivity and restless legs, atypical facial pain, severe tremors.
Psychological/Psychiatric – severe depression, irritability, aggression, anxiety, personality changes, insomnia, phobias.
Chest – palpitations, tachycardia, shortness of breath, recent high blood pressure.
Gastrointestinal – nausea, diarrhea, sometimes with blood in stools, abdominal pain, pain when swallowing.
Skin and Allergies – itching without a rash, lip and mouth reactions, hives, aggravated respiratory allergies such as asthma.
Endocrine and Metabolic – loss of control of diabetes, menstrual changes, marked thinning or loss of hair, marked weight loss, gradual weight gain, aggravated low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), severe PMS.
Other- frequency of voiding and burning during urination, excessive thirst, fluid retention, leg swelling, and bloating, increased susceptibility to infection.
Additional Symptoms of aspartame toxicity include the most critical symptoms of all – death, irreversible brain damage, birth defects, including mental retardation, peptic ulcers, aspartame addiction and increased craving for sweets, hyperactivity in children, severe depression, aggressive behavior, suicidal tendencies.
Aspartame may trigger, mimic, or cause the following illnesses – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Epstein-Barr, Post-Polio Syndrome, Lyme Disease, Grave’s Disease, Meniere’s Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, ALS, Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), EMS, Hypothyroidism, Mercury sensitivity from Amalgam fillings, Fibromyalgia, Lupus, non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).
Seriously?
[Source: www.sweetpoison.com taken from official FDA reports]
Other artificial sweeteners to stay the heck away from:
Sucralose, saccharin, acesulfame k. They can mess you up just about as much as the big gun aspartame. Check the labels of everything! You will be surprised/really p*ssed as to the amount of products these toxins/poisons/chemicals have legally(!!) made their way into.
Natural sweeteners: (that won’t kill you, or even paralyse you)
Stevia, xylitol
So why the f*ck did the FDA approve artificial sweeteners as being ‘safe’ for human consumption? There is a (another) long story to go with it and if I told you, you would most likely lose whatever faith you had left in humanity (if you want to know, google ‘donald rumsfeld aspartame‘ or click here ) but not surprisingly it comes down to just one word….
…M-O-N-E-Y.
Basically, they don’t give a d*mn about you.
So the next time you think it is a good idea to reach for a diet coke, you can go f*ck yourself. Because you have been warned.
Some extra reading:
http://www.sweetpoison.com/phenylalanine.html
http://wwwdldewey.com/columns/flemingf.htm
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/sweet-misery-a-poisoned-world/
(Source: www.thelifestyleleprechaun.com)
This is a good article, but there are very few, if any, actual studies done to confirm that artificial sweeteners are detrimental besides anecdotal evidences. The majority of studies done give mixed results, however, it is also a very under-researched topic (since sugar is such a big business with strong interest groups interested in making $$$). Also, the “complaints” associated with aspartame consumption also tend to be the most popular side effects under the placebo effect… Just playing devil’s advocate. Personally, I think people shouldn’t drink soda, regardless of a “diet” qualification
Don’t drink any soda. Be an aquaholic instead
Mixed/indeterminate results from one study:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23097267
62 scientific papers about Diet Soda in general (bottom of the page):
http://examine.com/topics/Diet+Soda/
Tyler,
Thank you for your reply. Many studies can be skewed so the findings benefit the argument being presented. This particular article was focused on the body digesting methyl ester and it basically becoming methanol- poison. There isn’t much ability to have a placebo effect as symptoms aren’t being recorded so much as chemical breakdown through digestion. I’m no scientist and won’t argue that this particular study is bullet proof and will always agree with you in that we should all be more worried about getting enough good ol’ fashion water.