Big Food has tested countless “healthy” gimmicks on us over the years… The soda industry is no exception. These companies keep changing their formulas, trying to convince us newer means better. But look at the research…
Take diet sodas, for example. Saccharin was the first artificial zero-calorie sweetener. It was discovered when a chemist forgot to wash lab chemicals off his hands before dinner. Then Hyman Kirsch decided to use it in place of sugar in the first diet sodas. They said it “keeps your waist in shape.”2
Photo credit: Culinary Lore
Now we know artificial sweeteners actually cause weight gain. But that may be the least of your worries… These fake sugars spike blood sugar, raise your diabetes risk, and wipe out your good gut bacteria. No-Cal may have been the company that started the diet soda trend… But Pepsi is continuing it with their latest formula “improvement.”
Soda companies can’t hide plummeting sales anymore…3 So they took one look at their dismal Diet Pepsi numbers and decided to make a change. Their first move? Swap aspartame with a “safer” artificial sweetener. They did it in hopes of winning back the trust—and cash—of their more health-conscious customers.
But not so fast…
Health Watch readers know the dangers of aspartame… Like that it can cause birth defects, kidney damage, and lead to cancer. But this new addition is just as toxic as aspartame…and that’s only based on the little we know about it already. Yet the FDA has taken no action against it. Quite the contrary…
They’re still letting Big Food slip it into our drinks…
I’m talking about sucralose. You probably know it better as Splenda.
Remember their tagline “Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar”? Sucralose producers remove the hydroxyl (OH) groups of sugar molecules and replace them with chlorine (Cl)… The same chemical used to treat pools.4 It’s linked to bladder, rectal, and breast cancers.5 One study revealed it causes leukemia in mice.
Photo credit: Foodobyte
That’s not our only concern…
Sucralose may also cause depression, headaches, and weight gain. And since it hasn’t been around as long as aspartame… We still don’t know all the long-term effects.6
It’s bad enough diet sodas contain carcinogens like caramel color and sodium benzoate.7,8 But add any artificial sweetener to the mix…and you have a major health hazard on your hands.
PepsiCo thinks they’re doing you a favor… Their senior vice president, Seth Kaufman, said in a statement, “’Diet cola drinkers in the U.S. told us they wanted aspartame-free Diet Pepsi and we’re delivering.’”9
If what they’re delivering is one deadly artificial sweetener to replace another… Count us out.
Your safest choice is to forget diet drinks altogether. If Big Food has to transform the chemical structure of a product just to market it as healthier… Then it never was—and never will be—safe to put in your body.
Switch out diet sodas for fruit-infused sparkling water. It’s low in calories and high in cancer-fighting antioxidants. It’s easy, too. Just cut up your favorite fruits and add them to a glass of plain sparkling water.
What do you reach for when you’re craving a bubbly drink? Tell us about your healthy suggestions below.
In Good Health,
Angela Salerno
Publisher, INH Health Watch
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References:
1http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/09/invented-diet-soda/
2http://www.culinarylore.com/drinks:what-was-the-first-diet-soda
3http://www.wsj.com/articles/pepsi-cola-replaces-diet-coke-as-no-2-soda-1427388559
4http://www.truthaboutsplenda.com/resources/faqs.html
5http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/earth-talks-tapped-out/
6http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/8846759/Nill,_Ashley_-_The_History_of_Aspartame.pdf?sequence=3
7http://www.medicaldaily.com/caramel-coloring-soda-may-increase-cancer-risk-regulations-fail-protect-consumers-323132
8http://www.livestrong.com/article/507364-sodium-benzoate-cancer/
9http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/08/10/diet-pepsi-aspartame-free-pepsico/31418635/