I'm quitting Diet Coke for a month!

[Fat Tone]

I drink a lot of it. After Gurm's reminder (see - there's a symptom) I looked it up. http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/ is one place (rather biased admittedly) but I do get a lot of the symptoms mentioned. Sure, it could be a coincidence. We'll see.

Since I haven't won a prize anyway I'm gonna give up DC for a month and see how things go.

Any one care to sponsor me?

T.

[GNEP]

I'll buy you a diet coke if you do it

[az]

I'll send you healthy german tap water if you want (german tap water is really good - water is the most harshly controlled beverage here)

AZ

[Paddy]

hmmm aspartame and multiple sclerosis.... i didn't know that....

[CHHAS]

I've been drinking a lot of diet soda for a long time with no ill effects at all.

[Paddy]

yeah, but your an ass

[ayoub_ibrahim]

Originally posted by Paddy
yeah, but your an ass

LOL

[CHHAS]

Hmm... I'll get you for that *shakes fist*

[Paddy]

[James_D]

Originally posted by Paddy
hmmm aspartame and multiple sclerosis.... i didn't know that....

Neither did I, the american MS assosiation acctually advices MS patients to drink Diet Coke, or sodas with Aspartam, because it reduces the MS symptomes, and usually keeps the patient alive longer.

So... that page was a bit bullshit..

James

[Dr Mordrid]

Originally posted by Paddy
hmmm aspartame and multiple sclerosis.... i didn't know that....

It's very likely BS.

MS is an auto-immune disease where the myelin sheath covering nerve tissue deteriorates and the nerve becomes sheathed in placques. This slows the conduction of nerve impulses which in turn causes loss of muscular control.

That MS comes and goes with varying levels of serverity in each attack makes its behavior similar to diseases caused by reactivated viruses. Examples: shingles (Herpes Zoster virus), rhemuatoid arthritis (suspected Epsetin-Barr virus) etc.

This similarity has people thinking that MS may too be a disease caused by a virus with some recent studies pointing to HHV-6, a member of the Herpes family, as one possible trigger.

That dietary factors may or may not be involved in the periodicity of the attacks is possible, but such a connection to aspartame is not very likely. This is because the two amino acids its made of;

aspartic acid: a non-essential for intake amino acid; meaning its synthesized from other things we eat, but is found in many foods. It helps convert foods into energy.

phenylalanine: in the form of a methyl ester. Phenylalanine is found in meats, beans and other high protein foods. Methyl esters are found in pectin containing fruits, tomato juice etc.

A very few people have a genetic contition called PKU (phenylketonuria). People with PKU are lacking an enzyme called phenylalanine hydroxylase needed to turn phenylalanine into tyrosine so it can be eliminated in the urine. Otherwise the phenylalanine builds up (usually in children) and causes mental retardation. PKU is tested for at birth, so not being aware of it is highly unusual.

This leads me to believe that the aspartame flap is just another attempt by some to start anther class-action lawsuit.

Dr. Mordrid

[James_D]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
It's very likely BS.

This leads me to believe that the aspartame flap is just another attempt by some to start anther class-action lawsuit.

Dr. Mordrid

I do agree that most of that site is bullshit. There are research done on aspartame, and they have shown excessive amounts causes neural degeneration in labrats.

See Journal for Neuropsycobiology 43.2.01 page 66 Neuronal effect of Aspartam.


James.

[Dr Mordrid]

At what dose/gm of body weight? If we have to intake a semi truck full in a lifetime I don't think its a problem

{Edit}:

I see several things interesting in the NEUROPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROTOXICOLOGY Volume 6 1995 (PP318-320) article;

1. it was done with a culture of rat brain cells (in vitro). Hardly a test of its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier.

2. "Based on the results presented here, we cannot draw any conclusions for the in vivo (in the body) situation."

Dr. Mordrid

[James_D]

No more than 0.7g/70 kg pr day. or aprox 2.5 liters of diet coke.


James.

[Dr Mordrid]

Anyone who drinks that much diet Coke needs to reconsider water as their beverage....but oops; you can get Cryptosporidiosis from drinking water (just ask the people in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and since the FDA halted testing on nitazoxanide there is no treatment for it....you just have to suffer for two weeks

So; if you don't use aspartame beverages and instead drink similar quantities of sugared beverages you often end up diabetic or fat (or both) and either has a higher mortality than aspartame users exhibit.

Life isn't safe and never will be.

Dr. Mordrid