Aspartame

SugarandSpice:)

Hi!
Hope someone can give me a bit of advice...
I'am a major addict of diet drinks esp diet coke (have like a can a day) but someone has just told me that its loaded with aspartame which has been linked with MS! Now this freaks me out big time as my dad has MS...
I've checked a few things on the net and nothing conclusive has been found on it-so is it just like one of those things that people say is bad for you but theres no scientific proof to back this up? the possibility of a link scares the hell outa me anyway though so I'am gona give it up but does anyone know of any diet drinks that dont contain aspartame? I just really like having something sweet as I find it curbs my craving for sweet things and helps keep the weight down!
Cheers!

rubadub

I think M&S use sucralose in their soft drinks. Sucralose also will have health concerns (what doesn't?), but it is generally considered better than aspartame.

Just read the ingredients labels and the sweetners will be listed.

EileenG

Personally, I'd try to wean yourself off them. There is a very big study in American which found that just one diet soda a day tended to increase weight and diabetes risk. Why not start by diluting your drink half and half with mineral water, and gradually increasing the proportion of mineral water until you can drink it straight?

CathyMoran

EileenG wrote: »

Personally, I'd try to wean yourself off them. There is a very big study in American which found that just one diet soda a day tended to increase weight and diabetes risk. Why not start by diluting your drink half and half with mineral water, and gradually increasing the proportion of mineral water until you can drink it straight?

I am curious about that link - could not find it on the web, could you provide a link? Thanks.

Personally I am unsure about artificial sweetners in general but being a type 1 diabetic I have little choice...I try and avoid acesulfame K but that is more just gut instinct than anything else. I drink the Marks and Spencers Diet Ginger Ale as it has a bit of a kick but uses sucralose.

byhookorbycrook

Hard to know what study is what re aspartme ,my neurologist said to avoid the stuff, just because it is not a nice substance, like transfats and MSG.

OP, re MS, aspartame won't cause MS!!There is a tiny tiny genetic link in MS, but don't let that freak you out. Unless you have symptoms of MS,there is no need to panic! Hope your dad is doing ok.

ladiee24

i've heard aspartamne can stop you feeling full not too sure how accurate that is but fizzy drinks are never good but quite hard to wean off i must say i really enjoy a really cold can of full fat coke every now & again

metamorphosis

CathyMoran wrote: »

I am curious about that link - could not find it on the web, could you provide a link? Thanks.

Personally I am unsure about artificial sweetners in general but being a type 1 diabetic I have little choice...I try and avoid acesulfame K but that is more just gut instinct than anything else. I drink the Marks and Spencers Diet Ginger Ale as it has a bit of a kick but uses sucralose.

Hey Cathy have not read these yet so i don't know if they are relevant or not but seem so by the titles. Might read them in a bit, if not report back!

Cheers

http://cme.medscape.com/viewarticle/588137_print
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/13/health/webmd/main701408.shtml
http://www.naturalnews.com/025644.html

Pembily

It can cause cysts - fact!!! It is bad for you end of story!!! What I do when i want a fizzy drink is mix a fruit juice with sparkling water!!!

Try get off the diet drinks / fizzy drinks in general!!! One now and again is grand but not regularly!!

Best of luck...

barbiegirl

My sister manages a special needs centre, where a lot of her clients have issues controlling their weights as a result of their conditions. She is hugely against diet drinks, she's studied nutrition and diet for 10 years at this stage. She maintains that they are so bad for you and prefers to drink full sugar. Again fruit juice diluted with fizzy water. I know how hard it is, as I like a can of diet coke with my lunch, but when I was drinking too much I was gaining weight.