There are 92 known side effects from consuming the artificial sweetener aspartame, the worst of which is death. I have over 30 of them. Symptoms include everything from problems wearing contacts to memory loss to joint pain to serious diseases like Alzheimer’s, ALS or MS. Aspartame was denied by the FDA eight times, EIGHT before some creative lobbying and personnel shifting got it approved. Oh, and it was approved for soft drinks despite the fact that the National Soft Drink Association wanted to wait for more tests. If you don’t know where I’m going with this, I’ll tell you outright. Aspartame is some badass shit that has apparently been screwing with my health for years and yet I can’t seem to say no.
I love Diet Coke. I’ve never been one of those people that drink tons of soda all day long, but I always have at least one Diet Coke, or these days Cherry Zero, once a day. It picks me up, fills me up and makes me feel like I’ve indulged in a treat. Apparently, it may also be the reason for my restless legs, sleep issues, memory loss, dizziness, joint pain, and weight gain – just to name a few of my own symptoms. Up until now I’ve known it was rumored to be bad for you, but without serious and condemning proof I assumed it must be safe enough. Well, it’s not and I’m a jackass. There are support groups for victims of aspartame poisoning, websites devoted to spreading the word, lawsuits past and pending and a litany of other examples of how this has been going on for decades and I was too busy sucking down my next fix to notice.
What if all your problems could miraculously go away? What if bloating, hypothyroidism, hair loss and decreased night vision, and constipation were all just symptoms of your addiction to diet drinks sweetened with aspartame? Are we that lazy as a species that we’d rather risk symptoms like frickin’ death just to enjoy a diet soda? Um, yeah, looks like we probably are. I’m trying so hard to kick my addiction and this week I managed to limit to one small soda a day and even skipped a day entirely. The withdrawal process can be difficult and that, in and of itself, should be a warning bell. When was the last time you heard someone say they were addicted to nasty ass brussel sprouts? Never! You know why, because good, whole foods do not cause addiction. Chemicals cause addiction and sugary, processed and artificially sweetened foods are chock full of chemicals that fuck with your head and body.
I’m trying to make all these positive changes and while I tried to quit soda last week, it didn’t take. Well, now that I’ve read some of this stuff I think I’ve finally made that connection. What’s the point of working out, eating healthy, cutting out sugar and processed foods only to keep a toxic substance routinely in my system? It’s like going through all the training, putting on the protective gear, parachute pack and jumping without actually bringing the parachute itself. Good health is an all or nothing game. Healthy eating only to sit on your ass all day isn’t going to help nor is working out all the time without good nutrition. Ever seen those muscle heads at the gym. They show up every day pound heavy weights for an hour or two, but instead of looking cut and bulked up like, say Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, they look like the Michelin man, all fat and lumpy.
So here it is, my blog to announce I am officially off diet soda. I have drank my last artificially sweetened beverage of any kind. If I break down and feel I must have the Coke, I’m going full sugar. I have a feeling that too many bouts with chemical and fructose-laden soda will have an adverse affect on the beltline and that is always the best motivator. True, headaches are a symptom of caffeine withdrawal, but I’ll combat those with green tea or even coffee (Mmm, skinny vanilla soy latte – wait, I bet those sugar free syrups are loaded with crap. Aw, crap!) The point is, I made the connection and now I’m going to act on it. I don’t want to be healthy through diet only to develop brain lesions or a nervous system disorder. Goodbye beloved Cherry Zero, you were a bright star while you shined, but you’ve gone a bit dim so I’m moving on. Hopefully with all the memory loss I’ve been experiencing I’ll remember.
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