Thursday, August 23, 2007

Poison or Refreshment

I admit it. I'm addicted to Diet soda. It's probably the only consistent "diet" thing I consume - usually in combination with some yummy not-so-diet hostess treat from the vending machine.

Years ago, I heard that NutraSweet (or aspartame) had been linked to memory loss. I've been feeling a little like I have a memory issue lately and out of curiosity today, on my 4th diet Pepsi of the day, I Googled NutraSweet-memory loss. Here's what I found:

"A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2) Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.

The book, Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by James and Phyllis Balch, lists aspartame under the category of "chemical poison."

{sip}... hmmm... {sip}...hopefully this is something that I won't remember for long.

2 comments:

Mrs. Booms said...

LOL - that explains so much. If you have time to waste, which I'm sure you don't you can read my blog in detail. I have outlined both my love of diet coke (read addiction) and my memory loss issues. I write about them both from time to time, probably because I've forgotten I've done it before.

KiKi said...

LMAO - I too am a diet soda addict. Even after a scary (still undiagnosed) episode about a year ago,which was jokingly attributed to overdosing on aspartame by my doctor, I still drink it. I also chew gum with aspartame. I know I'm supposed to quit, my doctor told me something but can't remember exactly what he said.