Diet Coke Health Risks – Exposing the Sweetener Myth

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For most of us, there is a perception that having things with the word “Diet” in it would mean that it is healthier and that includes diet sodas, diet coke, diet pepsi etc you name it. But is it really true? Most of us consume diet cokes for the fun of it and some would even say they prefer Diet Coke to normal Coke.

Now let’s see what makes up a can of Diet Coke

Ingredients of Diet Coke

Amount (% RDA Ingredients)
Calories 0
Fat 0g (0%)
Sodium 40mg (2%)
Carbohydrates 0g (0%)
Sugar 0g
Protein 0g (0%)

Diet Coke™ – Ingredients

Carbonated Water
High Fructose Corn Syrup
Caramel Color
Phosphoric Acid
Natural Flavors
Caffeine
Aspartame (NutraSweet)
Potassium Benzoate
Citric acid

It is true that Diet Coke doesn’t have sugar but haven’t you noticed the sweet flavour that comes with it?

The sweet taste of Diet Coke comes from aspartame. In the old days, there used to be sweeteners like cyclamates and saccharin. Cyclamates were banned since it has caused cancer in lab rats. Saccharin was used for a short while but nowadays diet sodas use aspartame as a sweetener.

Companies decided to use aspartame because it works really well. It is approximately 200 times sweeter than sucrose. It doesn’t take much to produce calories and the sweet taste even in very small quantities. And yes ZERO calories in each beverage. When broken down in various chemical reactions, aspartame produces:

• Methanol (by hydrolysis)
• Aspartic acid (amino acids)
• Phenylalanine (amino acids)

Methanol is broken down in the intestine into formaldehyde, diketopiperazine and formic acid.

Methanol causes problems such as

• vision problems,
• confusion,
• headache,
• nausea / vomiting,
• lethargy,
• abdominal pain,
• impaired speech,
• breathing,
• fetal alcohol syndrome,
• DNA damage and
• birth defects.

The sweetener manufacturing company may say that fruits and vegetables have methanol but they failed to mention that natural occurring products have ethanol which is an antidote. Methanol accumulates in the body more easily and is less easily excreted.

Now as you know formaldehyde is an embalming agent and a disinfectant.

Formaldehyde is also a carcinogen. When consumed there is an increased risk of getting cancers like nasopharyngeal cancer although the risk of getting leukemia remains to be substantiated. They have also been studies suggesting that it increases the risk of abortions and abnormal menstrual cycle.

Diketopiperazine is also a carcinogen.

Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid required by your body so it should be naturally safe right?

Consumed in moderate amounts, phenylalanine is safe, but in diet soda, the amount released is much more especially for those who substitute good healthy drinking water with diet coke as a daily beverage. In high concentrations, phenylalanine damages your nerves, becomes a neurotoxin, lowers seizure threshold, inhibits production of serotonin and causes mental retardation. People who are born with an inherited condition called phenylketonuria that prevents phenylalanine metabolism should stay away from diet sodas at ALL cost.

Aspartic Acid or Aspartate is also a naturally occurring amino acid in your body. It is also a neurotransmitter in the brain.

Just like everything in the body, aspartate levels are regulated well and high concentrations are also neurotoxic. It also causes endocrine problems and genetic disorders.

Final Words

So do you think Diet Coke is still safe?