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07/09/2006 03:55:25 AM · #26 |
hmm... well, my mom switched to diet soda because the regular soda was really doing some horrible things to her teeth
I chew sugarfree gum because the sugared gum hurts my teeth....
But yeah, it's pretty sad to see that people drink so much soda (and consume so much of the rest of the stuff they do). There is so much stuff in it that's bad for you. I mean, it's pretty bad when everyone I've told to stop drinking soda does and then they lose about 30lbs in a month or two. Just goes to show |
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07/09/2006 03:56:42 AM · #27 |
Originally posted by Megatherian:
Originally posted by micknewton:
but if you're drinking so much soda that the sugar it contains is causing a problem, then you're simply drinking too much soda. |
Super Big gulp of Coke has around 800 calories! |
I think that qualifies as "too much soda", LOL. |
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07/09/2006 03:57:22 AM · #28 |
| oh yeah, almost forgot, anyone worried about calories should probably know that most all the mochas and things you get at coffee shops contain about half your daily recommended calorie intake, like 1,000 and more per drink! and that's sad considering that coffee alone has 0 calories |
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07/09/2006 03:59:38 AM · #29 |
Originally posted by amandalore:
hmm... well, my mom switched to diet soda because the regular soda was really doing some horrible things to her teeth
I chew sugarfree gum because the sugared gum hurts my teeth....
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I think sometimes you have to weigh the benefits.. with gum, the amount of artifical sweetner probably will not cause a problem at all, unless you're super-sensitive, if that is the only or close to the only thing you have with that artificial sweetner.
'Cause really, with all the bad things I've said about stuff in this thread, it's all about health - and being so worried about every single thing you put in your mouth to the point where you are constantly wondering if you're doing the right thing (as opposed to having a general pattern of healthy habits) is not healthy either.
edit for a bit of clarification.
goodnight all!
Message edited by author 2006-07-09 04:11:50. |
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07/09/2006 04:12:32 AM · #30 |
Originally posted by klstover:
'Cause really, with all the bad things I've said about stuff in this thread, it's all about health - and being so worried about every single thing you put in your mouth to the point where you are constantly wondering if you're doing the right thing (as opposed to a general pattern of habits) is not healthy either. |
Yup. Everything in moderation, including moderation. :D
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07/09/2006 04:13:23 AM · #31 |
Leroy - glad to hear your vision returned. I don't think you should just assume that diet coke and artificial sweetners are the blame. Your mom is a nurse - and I'm sure she would even tell you that you should be getting this checked into by your doctor!
It very well could be the sweetner - but there are also a hundred other things that could be the cause. Please take care of yourself and go visit your doctor.
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07/09/2006 06:15:40 AM · #32 |
| well ... you learn it either hard way or the other way around, i drink only water, tea, light juices and wine in last 6-7 years and i'm feeling excellent , while i was drinking CO2 stuff my stomach, eyes and brain were very much distressed ... i believe you leroy. :-| |
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07/09/2006 06:56:33 AM · #33 |
| my vision tends to go blurry when I drink lots of beer... |
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07/09/2006 09:28:06 AM · #34 |
I'll echo that some of your symptoms sound like a migraine. I've got a friend who has migraines without any pain -- just flashing lights and stuff. Right before I delivered my second child (I was between 37 and 28 weeks pregnant), I had to be rushed to the dr. when I had numbness start in my fingers and go up my arm and through my face, causing vision problems, slurred speech etc. There was concern of a stroke. (THAT was scary). BUT, every thing checked out, and the dr told me to call them if I had a headache that night (I did, not bad, but it was definitely a headache). At that point they told me it was probably a migraine.
However, I also feel aspartame is evil. I consume very little of it, and then only because there are a couple of foods that I can't seem to find without it. |
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07/09/2006 09:49:54 AM · #35 |
Originally posted by karmat:
I'll echo that some of your symptoms sound like a migraine. I've got a friend who has migraines without any pain -- just flashing lights and stuff. Right before I delivered my second child (I was between 37 and 28 weeks pregnant), I had to be rushed to the dr. when I had numbness start in my fingers and go up my arm and through my face, causing vision problems, slurred speech etc. There was concern of a stroke. (THAT was scary). BUT, every thing checked out, and the dr told me to call them if I had a headache that night (I did, not bad, but it was definitely a headache). At that point they told me it was probably a migraine.
However, I also feel aspartame is evil. I consume very little of it, and then only because there are a couple of foods that I can't seem to find without it. |
I'm one that gets migraine auras without the headache, also sometimes the stroke-like symptoms you describe (also at 38 wks pregnant the first time). They follow a set pattern usually, though, and my dr sent me to specialists and for a battery of tests to rule out anything else.
Leroy, tho' I suspect you may have found a connection, GET TO THE DR and make sure! (now, just say "yes Mother" and make that appointment :P ) |
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07/09/2006 09:50:18 AM · #36 |
Originally posted by Megatherian:
carbonation decalcifies your bones though - so if we want to get really technical here - don't drink carbonated beverages. |
better have a source for a statement like that --
the only thing i coulf find was that it was urban legend
urban legend |
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07/09/2006 09:57:34 AM · #37 |
I'm a biology grad and have to say this story is very unscientific:
I was prone to one eye blind spot migranes as a child. Doctors said I would grow out of them..and I did ! At 42 yrs old I still get a mild one now and then. However, last weekend I drank 6 Dasani Waters with lemon and sweetened with "Splendid". I awoke at 4 am with blind spots in BOTH eyes and the most severe migrane I've had in 30 years.
I looked up Splendid and see that some people report migranes when they use Splendid.
I have been using 1 splendid in my coffee each morning for about a year and have never had a headache. I can only ASSUME that the 6 bottles with Splendid was too much. I won't do it again !
KS |
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07/09/2006 09:58:21 AM · #38 |
Sorry for your scare. I know exactly what you are going through. I'm 20/200 as well!
Your problem is very similar to something I've experienced most of my life. I found out that my sudden visual disturbances were caused by fluctuations in my blood sugar. Most of those same symptoms are also those of hypgoglycemia (which is what I have). The blind spot that I get is called a scotoma. Mine manifest as a blind spot that is broken up into dots, like a newspaper photo. The entire spot is just like you get when looking at the sun. It's circular and zig-zagged like the shape of the eye's iris. I also get "halos' and shooting lights.
I described my entire experience in this thread. Perhaps it might give you some insight into what's happening to you.
During this discovery I have researched artificial sweeteners and was aghast to find that the huge corporations that manufacture them have used government influence to force them into a vast array of products around the world. (See amber's link.) There have been studies that show they are extremely dangerous and "counter studies" to show that they are very safe. It's been suggested that the scientists might have had a vested interest in convincing us that these chemicals are not dangerous.
I have attempted to remove all chemical sweeteners from my diet. I have discovered STEVIA (a natural plant extract that is much sweeter than sugar) and have been using it in my coffee. I love it. Despite the FDA's efforts to keep it off the market, it is readily available at health food stores and Wal Mart. (Yes, I'm guilty of shopping at Wal Mart:(
It's true that aspartame causes your body to react like sugar. I've been doing well on the ketogenic diet, since I started. All cravings are gone and I've lost ten pounds without increased excercise. When I have consumed aspartame, it throws me out of ketosis immediately.
If you have the problem again, you might take a look at the regimen I'm on. I was having scotomas many times a week and am virtually cured by what I stopped consuming.
Good luck, and keep us posted.
Message edited by author 2006-07-09 10:00:20. |
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07/09/2006 10:22:36 AM · #39 |
Before everyone gets all worked up, please note that these websites are heavily biased and never reference studies. I googled the doctor listed, H. J. Roberts, M.D, and he references no studies either. It's really just his opinion. Even Snopes.com has an article about aspartame and the conclusion is that while we don't know that it's as perfectly safe as we would like, neither is it the big bad ugly that the alarmists would have you believe when they blame every single thing that can go wrong with the human body on it. It's possible, and even likely, that some people have allergic reactions to it, but we don't ban peanut butter and shrimp on that basis so it doesn't follow to ban aspartame for a few allergic reactions.
I'm all for eating a healthy, organic, natural, and unprocessed diet, and sure, ask your doctor about it, but there's really no need to get all panicky about aspartame. Much of what's out there is urban legend hysteria. Deep breaths, everyone...
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07/09/2006 10:37:27 AM · #40 |
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07/09/2006 10:38:43 AM · #41 |
Maybe we should all just drink Diet Coke with Splenda instead...I hear Splenda is molecularly similar to most pesticides so maybe it's a step up! ;)
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07/09/2006 10:53:39 AM · #42 |
| Sorry you had the scare, hopefully whatever it was is easily fixed....maybe the wife is poisoning you? *grin* |
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07/09/2006 10:55:41 AM · #43 |
I've got a few years under my belt as a health consultant if anyone wants to PM... I worked closely with several PhD holders for some time and had several local nutritionists and more typical doctors who referred their patients to me. I do NOT diagnose, but I'm usually quite happy to help understand stuff like this, both on the medical and the dietary side of things.
I've also got a bit of a reputation for very long posts, so I'll keep this one brief...
Originally posted by megatherian:
carbonation decalcifies your bones though - so if we want to get really technical here - don't drink carbonated beverages. |
I've heard a few stories about carbonation. The last one I heard was that it increases the rate of absorbtion for whatever medium it was in... Effervescent Creatine was quite popular... I've been out of it for a few years...
What I was really curious about was that there didn't seem to be much to back that up...
As to carbonation having an impact on bone density? That doesn't seem to make any sense whatsoever...
Bone density is usually affected most by poor nutrition (including insufficient calcium as well as other minerals that are major components of bone or having them in forms that are difficult to absorb) OR by dietary imbalances which cause leaching of calcium (used by the body as an alkali to stabilize the body's overall PH level).
This has been related to things such as phosphoric acid which is contained in colas and some other soft drinks, but in truth, the acid/alkaline balance of the body is far more complex than small amounts of phosphoric acid in a beverage, and is not at all directly related to the acidity/alkalinity of the foods we ingest.
I'm not going to get into it here.
All artificial sweeteners that are listed as having 0 caloric value have one thing in common. They are similar in structure to sugars, so are close enough to fool the tastebuds, but are essentiall unusable by the body...
That means that the body does not use them as a nutritive source.. That does NOT mean that the body does not store them...
When the body stores something that it cannot use, it's called a foreign substance... it will travel through the body until it settles in or is cleaned out... Different substances move differently in the body. Some move right out in the digestive tract, others lodge in fat deposits.
If this sounds like a bad thing. It is. Just maybe not for the reasons you think.. or with the results that you think... If it's not being used by the body, chances are, it's not doing much there... Of course, that doesn't mean that it isn't doing harm... Lead is stored for many years in fat deposits... Doesn't do much... People with lots of lead in their bodies do tend to go insane though... Things get a bit more complicated than they sound when dealing with the body's ways of dealing with things...
Things that look like non-issues can turn out to be major problem causers... Other things that look like they are serious can actually turn out as minor setbacks...
As to artificial sweeteners, the health food store I only carried a few. They did carry products containing sucralose, so one day, I asked the supplier about it... He checked with the manufacturer. I'm a persistent dog when it comes to stuff like this and I had a bit of a reputation of not dropping an issue even if it took more than a year to get to the source. This particular issue was resolved in an afternoon.
I was told by a supplier that this product is manufactured using a somewhat natural process where typical white sugar had a bacteria added to it and it was converted... I mentioned that certain organic polymers were created in similar ways, so I could not understand how this was suitable as an assurance of quality... Remember of course that the principle of 0 calorie sweeteners is roughly the same...
His point was that at least it wasn't a by-product of the aluminum industry...
Of course there's an additional dimension to sweeteners.
This has already been mentioned. Extremely potent sugars that require only a little bit to get the sweetness required. Ounce for ounce, it's probably similar in caloric content to sugar, but it's soooo much sweeter that you only need a tiny bit... One such product is called Stevia... It grows on a short plant with small somewhat rounded leaves that you can grow yourself... It does quite well in a small plant pot and will grow to be about 6 inches to a foot in height. The leaves are very sweet, but the sugars in them is extracted to become a sweetening agent.
Most diabetics can handle this type of product, and it could effectively erase all artificial sweeteners from existence... I've heard that Japan uses it widely. Maybe as much as 50% of all non-sugar sweeteners. I haven't had this confirmed by my Japanese friends though. This is mostly because of a language barrier and the fact that many of them simply are unaware of what it is.
On the market, there are two groups of stevia based sweeteners... Pure and non-pure... The pure stuff is usually an extract in liquid form or in powder form... Both are really only appropriate for use in baking due to its extreme potency (more than 400 times sweeter than sugar, so if the recipe calls for a cup of sugar, you might only be using a few drops).
The non-pure form is usually in some type of fiber carrier. Fiber is great because it also is not generally absorbed by the body (non-soluble that is...), with that being it's primary dietary function.
There are also some other forms of natural, non-cane sources of sugar that are also in similar mixes.
The big drawback to these is the taste... Most of them do not taste like flat neutral sugar...
I've never liked the taste of artificial sweeteners myself, so I don't really see a difference in the mindset between using something artificial that doesn't taste like sugar and something natural that doesn't taste like sugar... I do go in for different sweeteners though, using maple syrup and agave (yup, there's a sugar substitute made from Sherpet's local flora too) and different 'brightnesses' of cane sugar in my beverages...
It's worth a mention too that even if you read up on the benefits of juicing, you will find that there are cautions for consuming 100% juice in large quantities. There's a lot of pretty potent sugar in there too... You can get a serious sugar buzz off of a tall glass of carrot juice... The best way is to mix complementary flavors of vegetables to bring it down a bit... Be careful of using vegetables that need a bit of cooking to counteract high oxalic acid contents such as the heavy leafy greens, or the really starchy root vegetables...
Try cucumber, carrot and lemon, but then blend that with apple with the fiber and a couple of sprigs of mint...
Or apple (without the flesh) with celery and few slices of bell pepper, with a dash of 4-day old broccoli sprouts and/or radish to bring it up a bit...
Possibly tomato juiced (and filtered depending on your juicer type) with a few sprigs of fresh basil and mint, celery TOPS and a bit of lemon....
Ok, how was that for brief?
Message edited by author 2006-07-09 11:07:20. |
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07/09/2006 11:14:40 AM · #44 |
| Dude, I'm glad you are better now. I've always believed that tha artificial sweetners are worse for us than the real thing. I refuse to consider drinking anything with them. I'd rather be responsible for my weight than poison myself. |
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07/09/2006 11:22:42 AM · #45 |
Holy smokes, Leroy!
If I were you I'd go to my doctor and have him make an appointment with whatever sort of specialist he thought I should see. That sounds a lot worse than my little floaters.
Sure, I'd try to diagnose myself first, but I'd see a doctor(s) too. Of course, doctors are free up here, so hopefully you have insurance so you can get some real medical advice/attention.
I hope you stay well.
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07/09/2006 11:23:57 AM · #46 |
Being a skeptic at heart, I think 75% of the comments about aspartame on this thread are likely unfounded. However, I don't know. After I get home from church I'll be curious to look through the scientific literature.
Leroy, the most obvious answer is a classical migraine which has an aura. The aura typically starts in the periphery of your vision and moves inward. It often precedes the headache. Lying down often helps.
Of course diagnosing things over the internet is not exactly good medicine. I'll let you know what I find out about aspartame when I get home. |
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07/09/2006 11:35:09 AM · #47 |
I complained to many doctors about my scotomas (optical migraines); there was never much concern until I had the seizure and went to an acute care clinic.
That doctor explained hypoglycemia and how it can cause visual disturbances. I used to get mine when my blood sugar dropped, I was tired and dehydrated. These things usually went together. I rarely have any problems now, but I can get rid of them by eating something and drinking lots of water.
Although I believe that artificial chemicals are terrible; I feel that the dehydration caused by drinking soda might be more dangerous than anything.
Edit: I can't drink any soda (diet or regular) without a severe reaction.
Message edited by author 2006-07-09 11:46:00. |
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07/09/2006 01:07:38 PM · #48 |
I've never had a migraine before, but my first thought last night was that I was having a migraine. It seemed to fit the description. I probably would have written it off as one, but after reading some of the other side-effects of aspartane, I found that I have too many of them on a regular basis to ignore. And, I drink a lot of diet sodas.
Leroy is sucking on a glass of ice coffee sweetened with sugar. LOL Believe me, I value what vision I have, so if I have any more issues, I will be to my eye Dr. pronto.
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07/09/2006 01:17:17 PM · #49 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Being a skeptic at heart, I think 75% of the comments about aspartame on this thread are likely unfounded. However, I don't know. After I get home from church I'll be curious to look through the scientific literature.
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My comment about it being evil is 100% unfounded. Well, 98%, anyway.
When I was pregnant with my first child (4 1/2 years ago) that was the number one "no no" on the list because they had not proven that it did not hurt unborn babies. The clinical data was just beginning to come in, and some of it showed injury, and some did not. Three years later, pregnant again, it was on the "not recommended" list, but not the "absolutely not" list. Not sure why.
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07/09/2006 01:24:14 PM · #50 |
Originally posted by fotomann_forever:
I've never had a migraine before, but my first thought last night was that I was having a migraine. It seemed to fit the description. I probably would have written it off as one, but after reading some of the other side-effects of aspartane, I found that I have too many of them on a regular basis to ignore. And, I drink a lot of diet sodas.
Leroy is sucking on a glass of ice coffee sweetened with sugar. LOL Believe me, I value what vision I have, so if I have any more issues, I will be to my eye Dr. pronto. |
Might also be caffeine-related, especially if you drink a lot of it. Caffeine is the trigger for my migraines. I clued in when I took some Excedrin Migraine and just got even sicker, since caffeine is one the the main ingredients in EM.
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