As concerns about health epidemics plague the nation, demand and sales of diet soda have plunged as consumers try to make better choices. As WeSupportOrganic.com reported recently, Aspartame (the main sweetener for diet soda – check the labels) is regarded by scientists as one of the most dangerous ingredients used in our food supply, who have linked it to seizures and a host of other major health issues including fatal cardiovascular events.
In a newly published study [1] (presented in 2014 at the American College of Cardiology, Washington D.C.), 60,000 women were sampled over ten years. It was shown that women who drink two or more diet drinks a day have much higher cardiovascular disease rates and are more likely to die from the disease.
“30% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke, 50% more likely to die from related disease…”
In the largest study done of its kind, The University of Iowa concluded:
“…Compared to women who never or only rarely consume diet drinks, those who consume two or more a day are 30 percent more likely to have a cardiovascular event [heart attack or stroke] and 50 percent more likely to die from related disease.
This is one of the largest studies on this topic, and our findings are consistent with some previous data, especially those linking diet drinks to the metabolic syndrome,’ says Dr. Ankur Vyas… the lead investigator of the study.
…The association persisted even after researchers adjusted the data to account for demographic characteristics and other cardiovascular risk factors, including body mass index, smoking, hormone therapy use, physical activity, energy intake, salt intake, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. On average, women who consumed two or more diet drinks a day were younger, more likely to be smokers, and had a higher prevalence of diabetes, high blood pressure, and higher body mass index.”
Soda sales slipping…
Thankfully this study comes on the heels of reports of already slipping sales of diet soda, one of the largest aspartame markets.
According to Time Magazine’s 2014 report “Soda Sales Drop to Lowest Point Since 1995”:
“One reason for the decline could be a growing awareness of the obesity epidemic in the US and growing health concerns surrounding sugar-sweetened beverages. According to Reuters, industry experts say the beverage industry is shrinking under the scrutiny. Even diet-branded drinks have suffered a loss of sales with concerns over artificial sweeteners.”
Whatever the reason for the decline, this new study should only add fuel to the movement away from artificial sweeteners. There are plenty of natural sweeteners that people can choose that are regarded as much healthier than aspartame.
Another important note is that the overall sales of soda going down also means that less people are being exposed to (mostly GMO) high fructose corn syrup which carries a whole host of other health risks as well.
Article from WeSupportOrganic.com, lic. under Creative Commons.
References:
[1] http://tinyurl.com/kfqf4uk
BMSS Addendum
Gregg Prescott, M.S.
Editor, BodyMindSoulSpirit.com
Remember yesterday’s post where children literally saw what goes into chicken nuggets and still wanted to eat them? Well, we’re seeing the same type of groupthink and social conditioning but this time, with adults.
For example, here’s one of the comments on Pepsi’s Facebook page:
“Aspartame free Diet Pepsi is awful… They could have made the Aspartame free stuff a separate entity rather than ruining a good thing. In my opinion.”
According to the article, “Aspartame – Putting the ‘Die’ In Diet In Over 6,000 Food Products“:
• In 1984, 6,900,000 lbs of aspartame were consumed in the U.S.
• In 1985, G.D. Searle (NutraSweet) was bought out by Monsanto.
14,400,000 lbs. of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. that year.
• 15,700,000 lbs of aspartame were consumed in the U.S. in 1986.
• 17,100,000 lbs were consumed in 1987.
• NutraSweet stopped providing consumption data to the USDA
after 1987
• In 1996, the FDA removed all restrictions on aspartame and
authorized its use in all products, including heated and baked goods.
This was done in spite of the fact that aspartame breaks down into
formaldehyde above 86 degrees F.
• Today, aspartame accounts for over 75% of the adverse reactions
to food additives reported to the FDA.
According to Dr. Mercola:
Aspartame, also known as Nutrasweet, is an artificial sweetener used in more than 6,000 products. Experiments conducted on rats have already shown that it is capable of inducing cancer in multiple body regions, and its carcinogenic effects are increased when exposure begins in the womb.
Dr. Morando Soffritti, recipient of the the Irving J Selikoff Award for Outstanding contributions to the identification of environmental and industrial carcinogens, received the award for his groundbreaking cancer research. His research was conducted for 36 months using 1,800 rats. It forced the conclusion that aspartame is a multipotential carcinogen. Cancers aspartame produced included leukemia, lymphoma, kidney, and cranial peripheral nerves among others. Only the rats fed aspartame got malignant brain tumors. This prodigious work was peer reviewed by 7 world experts.
Despite numerous reports of the dangers of aspartame, some people would rather choose a known carcinogen-containing beverage with zero nutritional value as their beverage of choice than to drink organic juice or alkaline water. this, in part, is attributed to social conditioning as it is nearly impossible to watch television without various soda commercials influencing thoughts and behavior.
To access the full article, use source link below.
(Source: bodymindsoulspirit.com; January 13, 2016; http://tinyurl.com/zc5ftas)
