I love Diet Coke. I swore by it and other sugar-free caffeinated beverages both during my military career and in college.
It seemed like I was always sleep-deprived then, and always needed something to keep me awake. A cold can of Diet Coke often fit the bill. There’s not much more to say – I’ve consumed a lot of it.
I’m not the only one. In fact, I know lots of people that love Diet Coke. They’re hooked. It has a certain taste that I like even more than regular Coke. An acquired taste, I guess.
This is where it gets disturbing. I just had the opportunity to watch a documentary about Aspartame, the sweetener used in Diet Coke. I was blown away by how convoluted this product’s history seems to be.
The history of aspartame is littered with bad karma. This is a product surrounded in controversy, and it has been for decades.
Stuff like that always makes you wonder, but it sure looks like there was some foul play along the way. You see, aspartame was originally blocked by the FDA – but, as discussed in the film Sweet Misery
According to Wikipedia, the FDA’s Empidemiology Branch Chief reported that “aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995.” That’s a lot of complaints over one product.
A total of 92 health effects associated with aspartame have been reported to the Food and Drug Administration – including death, brain cancer, neurological disorders, and dozens of other issues.
If you are as hooked on Diet Coke as I was, read more and more about this stuff. At some point you just have to ask yourself: If even 10% of all of the information out there is true, does that mean that drinking Diet Coke can kill you?
My gut tells me “yes”.
Please note, I am not a scientist. But something about this whole thing just gets my “spidey sense” tingling, if you know what I mean. I’m the guy that has started up a nuclear reactor, remember – as a qualified “Engineering Officer of the Watch” and “Officer of the Deck” on a nuclear submarine, I have actually been trained about how to use my “spidey sense”. Really.
Something is wrong here. And I don’t know what it is, but I know that the first thing I need to do is get off the Diet Coke.
Those soda cans are a ticking time bomb. I doubt most Diet Coke drinkers know it. There is no warning on the can – I checked one last night. And that means that if something more were to happen with aspartame, it could open up a world of hurt for Coca Cola, Pepsi, and other soft drink manufacturers.
I think it is just a matter of time until Diet Coke drinkers around the world figure this out – and decide to fight back. Some savvy class action lawyer will make a pretty penny in the process.
Between now and then, I do not intend to follow Buffett’s lead and invest in Coca Cola. Because when the Diet Coke class action lawsuit does happen, and it rocks the soft drink industry to the core – those shares will start falling pretty fast.
Until that day comes, caveat emptor.
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June 6th, 2006 at 10:55 pm
if it hasn’t killed you yet, you’re probably going to die of something else.
Saccharin was also on the FDA’s carcinogen list for 20yrs before being removed last year due to lack of evidence. The sugar lobby has a shrinking market share and will do anything to discredit artificial sweetners.
if you’re allergic to something, it doesn’t make the substance unsafe. ex, my friend is allergic to peanuts. doesn’t mean i’m going to stop eating them.
June 27th, 2006 at 1:09 am
Reply To Empty Spaces:
It is not the sugar lobby who is necessarily pushing back against aspartame – it is the people who have been figuring this out. Donald Rumsfeld was the head of Monsanto who owned aspartame at the time (late 70’s) and was, of course, pivotal in getting it pushed through the FDA. Monsanto’s latest is their Genetically Modified Seed and the woes they’re bringing on farmers – another story but quite related when you start to see how Monsanto’s people suddenly get jobs at the FDA, and vice-versa. I read about one where the same lady who prepared a submission for the FDA subsequently left Monsanto to work for the FDA and then passed her own report!! Google this stuff a bit further if you’d like to know more. Eat your peanuts – this isn’t about allergies Dorothy (and no, you’re not in Kansas anymore).
Cheers!… and may Die-t Coke face the music sooner than later – maybe even Rumsfeld will resurface to face his music.
November 17th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
Hi,
I've had several friends mention that they lost weight during their recovery period. What is the average amount of weight most women lose? I can
understand a few pounds for not wanting to eat, but some friends mentioned more like 15lbs. Is this true?
September 14th, 2007 at 1:27 am
You can make FDA Complaints online now, and, today, I complained regarding aspartame and depression. It is nasty stuff. Basically a neurotoxin that was illegally approved. I am guessing the FDA has been bought-out so that their poison can continue to make money for Searle and the soda companies. However, it is highly likely aspartame is causing epidemics in the country, including obesity. Oddly, this toxin blocks processes required for regular digestion and cause the body to crave carbohydrate and store fat. Fun stuff, for a diet drink.
November 9th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I used to be healthy and active before diet sodas. They left me mentally and physically handicapped. I had seizures from drinking diet sodas. It has been 15 years since I stopped, but I am in joint and muscle pain and cannot work.
November 16th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
I drank a 2 litre of Diet Coke per day during the hot summer months when I started my internet business in North Hollywood in 1996. Shortly after I experienced some bipolar disorder symptoms. Then I was diagnosed with unipolar depression. I took Prozac for one year. Went another year with no meds but still had mild depression. Then I experienced a full blown manic episode, being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder I, the most severe level of Bipolar Disorder. That manic week was followed by months of depression. I could not drive myself to the psychiatrist when I went to get diagnosed. I could only work two hours a day for the first month of the following depression. I did get better over the years. But my memory is still poor – it never heals. And I am dependent on taking an anti depressant the rest of my life. And I do suffer from mood swings occasionally, such as hypo manic mood swings which can affect my work and relationship life.
Thanks so much Ronald Reagan. I suppose it is no coincidence you aquired Alztheimers in your later years. What goes around comes around. Perhaps Donald Rumsfeld will be next.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
I am 53 years old and have been drinking Diet Coke since it became a brand. Last August I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and was given a year and a half to live. From 11/01/01 to 10/01/04 I drank a minimum of 3 liters of DC each day as part of a weight loss program. Aspartame poisoning is suspected because of the type of spontaneous nature of my brain cancer cell growth. I have grade 3-4 anaplastic astrocytoma. I live in Orange County, California and am looking for others who suspect they their brain cancer was the result of drinking DC. This is class action territory. I know the other side will be totally lawyered-up.