What you don't know about the ingredients in Diet Soft Drinks can hurt you plenty

by K. Alexander J.D.

Next time you’re thirsty and find yourself reaching for a diet soda, hoping to stay at your fighting weight, consider this information. Your aspartameloaded drink will likely have you craving carbohydrates and packing on the fat, not to mention setting you up for depression, insomnia and a host of life-wrecking and deadly diseases, once you become addicted. Yes, that’s right— addicted. Let’s take a look at this stuff, and see why BFS President Dr. Greg Shepard refers to soda as one of the “BFS Five Lethal Foods.” Sure, you’ve heard many times aspartame is safe and just consists of a combination of two amino acids that are found in your food anyway, right? Not exactly.

The artificial sweetener aspartame is a chemical compound consisting of 40 percent aspartic acid, 50 percent phenylalanine and 10 percent methanol or wood alcohol (that stuff coaches used to pour on scrapes that stung like crazy and that ignorant drunks would drink in desperation, causing them to go blind).

Aspartic acid is classified as an excitotoxin, meaning it overstimulates neurons to the point that they die, especially in the memory and L-dopa-producing areas of the brain. Poisoning your brain cells is what these excitotoxins are doing. When these amino acids are eaten in foods, the many other amino acids and other nutrients also Have you ever read the side of a can of diet soda? Phenylalanine depresses levels of serotonin—the “feelgood neurotransmitter” and a natural substance in the body that helps you sleep. It also degrades at room temperature, and rapidly above 86 degrees F., into a tumor-causing agent, diketopiperazine. enough for the job, it will make sure to make more.

Tiny amounts of methanol can be found in fruit, but phenylalanine aspartic acid the ethanol in them protects you against this damage. The EPA maximum daily intake level is 7.8 mgs. You will ingest around 25 wood alcohol mgs of methanol in that medium combo drink at the local fast food joint. That’s just one drink. Many teenagers and young adults drink 4-6 diet sodas per day. The European Union is now re-evaluating aspartame based on Aspartame is a chemical compound consisting of 40 these safety concerns. It’s time percent aspartic acid, 50 percent phenylalanine and 10 the FDA did the same.

Here are a few examples from the list of 92 percent methanol or wood alcohol which metabolizes symptoms related to aspartame to formic acid and formaldehyde. reported by the FDA—muscle spasms, fatigue, depression, seizures, memory loss (trying to present in the foods protect against increase. Because these two amino pass a test?), vision damage, acids affect your brain chemicals, this type of damage. Alone, the anxiety attacks, blood sugar you will find yourself addicted to amino acids are dangerous. Take problems, multiple sclerosis, them and not wanting to accept that destruction to its inevitable Parkinson’s, and on and on.

Do this as truth because it would conclusion down the road and you really need this processed, mean you have to give up that you’re stuck with Alzheimer’s, acidic, chemical garbage? And we soda you love. You will crave Parkinson’s and Lou Gherig’s won’t even get into what colas do sugars (even fake sugars, as in disease (ALS). According to to your bones. BFS more aspartame), as your body aspartame researcher H. J. tries to increase serotonin levels Roberts, MD, the incidence of Alzheimer’s alone has skyrocketed and balance your insulin levels, Editor’s note: If you decide which are all over the place trying over the last 15 years.

to balance that quantity of Phenylalanine degrades at to quit drinking diet soft artificial sugar. So, most likely, room temperature, and rapidly drinks, give yourself 60 you will want to eat more, above 86 degrees F., into a tumordays to recover from mild especially Ding Dongs and French causing agent, diketopiperazine. A fries. And drink more soda, of can of Diet Coke in the summer, problems due to chronic course. anyone? According to former US aspartame ingestion and As for that wood alcohol—it Food and Drug Administration don’t expect it to be easy. is metabolized into two scary toxicologist Dr.

Adrian Gross, components—formic acid (what “The cancer-causing potential of For more information, see aspartame is a matter that has been ants inject when they bite you) “Excitotoxins: The Taste established beyond any reasonable and formaldehyde (what your lab That Kills” by neurologist frog was pickled in—yep, that’s doubt.” right). Both of these chemicals are Additionally, phenylalanine Russell L. Blaylock on the (and possibly aspartic acid as well) strong metabolic poisons. Your Web at www.dorway.com liver will try to keep up with you depresses levels of serotonin—the /offasprt.html or “feel-good neurotransmitter”

and a in metabolizing these dangerous chemicals, but your body will try natural substance in the body that www.presidiotex.com to protect you from the remaining helps you sleep. It is circulating /bressler amounts by stubbornly encasing levels of this neurotransmitter that them in fat. If you don’t have SSRI antidepressants seek to

From BFS Magazine — Spring 2004. Part of the BFS Magazine Archive (1980–2014).