BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb aspartame is nasty !

I been reading the articles on aspartame that Lisa wrote & initally I didn't really believe on what she said but after going though a really rough patch for the last month or so & not to mention taking vitamin supplements & chocolate sweetened with Aspartame , I'm going to stop taking such products that contains it.

I never ever thought this might happen to me but I guess for safety reason/s I better stop taking products with Aspartame in them.

I think we could say that about most artificial products. Our bodies just weren't meant to take in some of these things, and it's always better to eat natural when we can. Of course some of us are allergic to peanuts - which are natural! So every one of us is different and we have to pay attention to what our body is telling us.

In the grand scheme of things there's really no reason to take in aspartame. If you're eating healthy, fresh foods, then there won't be aspartame in it. Asparagus and broccoli and cauliflower and salmon and swordfish don't have aspartame. Most sodas have aspartame - but soda really is NOT good for you. It's better to drink water and lemonade and tea and wine.

Part of why low carb diets have you do the 2 week "most basic foods you can imagine" at the start is to help you become aware of allergies you might have that you never knew about. A lot of people realize they are allergic (mildly) to wheat or milk or other things when they go through that period, and then try to add something back into their diet. They'll start drinking milk again, bloat up, and go "Woah I never knew the milk was doing that to me!"

I don't know. I agree it's great to eat natural foods and be very conscious of what we put into our bodies...But I also don't think that consuming aspartame in moderation is a bad thing. Too much of anything is probably not great for you, but I honestly believe that having a diet soda every once in a while if that's what you want is not gonna hurt you in the long run...

Aspartame is one of the foods that triggers my migraines. That and hot dogs/lunch meats (preservatives).

I can do Splenda though. I'd rather use that, honey or fructose to sweeten things.

WonderWoman13 - here's the thing. Your tongue is trained to react to foods based on what you eat. So if you were raised in a culture with low sugar intake, you wouldn't crave sugar. You would seek out foods with low sugar. But say that you train yourself with diet sodas to crave a HIGH sweet intake. Now say you end up in a situation without a diet soda. You are *far* more likely to drink sugar soda instead because it's what you're used to.

If instead you are used to drinking iced tea, for example, then you won't ever even think about asking for soda or sugar-drinks, because it's not what you do.

It's the same thing with wine and beer. If you're used to drinking wine, and love wine, then it's not a "sacrifice" to avoid high-carb beer. On the other hand if you train yourself to drink beer by drinking a ton of low carb beer, then you are much more likely to have high carb beer when you're out, because you want "a beer".

Also, sodas are *full* of preservatives and chemicals. That is what they are - a chemical stew with fake flavors and fake colors. If I had a choice of a glass of wine or a glass of soda, I'd always go for the wine. So to me, weaning off of soda seems like a really healthy choice. Never mind how expensive sodas are compared to iced teas.

So you could save a ton of money, save the influx of chemicals in your body, and save the training of your tongue to "want sweet". I don't see the up-side of buying and drinking soda <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I get what you're saying, Lisa...Having a healthy lifestyle is definitely important, and avoiding binging on sweet things, etc. I guess I just have my hangups...I'm a really healthy eater in general and I exercise a lot...When it comes down to it, I am really good about taking care of myself, and diet soda is one of the things i let myself have (i'm still a believer that it won't hurt me if I have it every once in a while)...

I remember reading something about a correlation between diet sodas and arthritis. Something about chemicals leaching calcium from the body.

Hmmm really Lynn? I have never heard that. Do you know where you read that? It's super important to get enough calcium (especially for women!) I take calcium supplements b/c I don't get enough milk in my diet on a daily basis...My doctor recommended it...always important to start early. I never heard anything about the chemicals in soda related to calcium intake...seems sort of like an "out there" correlation. Do you have more info?

Yes this is definitely shown by studies. It's three-fold.

First, caffeine leeches calcium. Most sodas have caffeine.

Second, phosphorus leeches calcium. Most sodas have phosphorus.

Finally, if you're drinking soda, you're not drinking milk. I suppose adults don't have this trade-off, but all kids should DEFINITELY be drinking milk - not soda - because their bones are growing.

Here's the article -

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art6390.asp

Thanks for the link...really interesting. It's definitely within the parental realm of responsibility to ensure that their kids are eating and drinking the things that will help their growth, development and overall health. Of course everyone has his or her own parenting style, but it's definitely key to make sure you are doing everything you can to monitor what your kids are eating/drinking/doing. That said, I absolutely don't think that soda should take the place of water or milk - of course we all need those to stay strong and healthy, etc...For me, soda is an extra treat I allow in my diet once in a while...