Health Dangers of Soft Drinks; Especially Diet

With more than 35 percent of adults in America alone have a BMI greater than, or equal to 30, it seems that everyone is concentrating on reducing this rate. Study after study has been done concerning soft drinks and their adverse health effects they have on the human body. Every week it seems that there is a new study linking soda consumption to poor health, and it does not matter whether you choose the sugary soda, or the diet. The data shows that you are putting yourself at risk for everything from heart attack to osteoporosis. The most recent studies do link these sugary sodas to heart attacks in men.

We can all admit that full sugar sodas are high in calories, and can contribute to weight gain, however, it has been well documented that liquid sugar consumption can lead to a high level of fasting glucose, which is a precursor to diabetes. But what else can this sugary soda do to us? Over the years soda has been blamed for the rising obesity epidemic, and with it the rising healthcare costs. In fact, some public health experts have asked for a soda tax to help deter people from drinking so much of it. While diabetes and a larger waistline are obvious side effects of drinking soda, there are other hidden dangers as well.With more than 35 percent of adults in America alone have a BMI greater than, or equal to 30, it seems that everyone is concentrating on reducing this rate. Study after study has been done concerning soft drinks and their adverse health effects they have on the human body. Every week it seems that there is a new study linking soda consumption to poor health, and it does not matter whether you choose the sugary soda, or the diet. The data shows that you are putting yourself at risk for everything from heart attack to osteoporosis. The most recent studies do link these sugary sodas to heart attacks in men.

We can all admit that full sugar sodas are high in calories, and can contribute to weight gain, however, it has been well documented that liquid sugar consumption can lead to a high level of fasting glucose, which is a precursor to diabetes. But what else can this sugary soda do to us? Over the years soda has been blamed for the rising obesity epidemic, and with it the rising healthcare costs. In fact, some public health experts have asked for a soda tax to help deter people from drinking so much of it. While diabetes and a larger waistline are obvious side effects of drinking soda, there are other hidden dangers as well.

I would wager that you did not know soda can cause invisible fat buildup around your organs. Danish researchers discovered that drinking just one regular soda can lead to a dramatic increase in dangerous hidden fats. Researchers asked participants to drink either soda sweetened with 50 percent glucose and 50 high fructose corn syrup, milk containing the same amount of calories as the regular soda, diet cola, or water every day for six months. Researchers found that the total fat mass remained the same across all beverage consuming groups, however found that there was a dramatic increase in fats that are hard to detect with the naked eye for those who drank the regular soda. They discovered that those who drank regular soda had a 132 to 142 percent increase in liver fat, a 117 to 221 percent jump in skeletal fat, and a 30 percent increase in both triglyceride blood fats, and other organ fat. These people also experienced an 11 percent increase in cholesterol compared to those who drank other beverages. One thing that consumers are not told is that some sodas, like Mountain Dew, uses a toxic flame retardant chemical ingredient in order to keep the artificial flavor from separating from the rest of the liquid. Brominated vegetable oil, listed as BVO on soda and sports drink, can cause bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions and memory loss, as well as nerve disorders. Also, here in America, the sodas are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, which has been shown to cause the worse fat buildup.

High fructose is a heart harming genetically engineered food (GE). GE technology was first introduced to us in the 1990’s, and the long term impacts of the ingestion of these foods have never been put to the test. 

That is because the corporations that developed the crops never had to test them to make sure they were safe for us to consume over the long term. However, independent researchers have found the GE crops are linked to digestive tract damage, accelerated aging, and even infertility. HFCS is found in many processed foods you eat today, not just soft drinks, you can find it in candy bars, crackers, hot dog buns, ketchup, and much more. On average, the amount of HFCS people eat, from all its sources, has increased by over 50 percent over the past 30 years. Research has shown that the growing dependence on HFCS, here in the US is fueling the obesity rate, can increase energy intake, decrease resting energy expenditure, excess fat deposition, and insulin resistance, which for them shows that HFCS plays a direct role in the epidemics of insulin resistance, and obesity in humans.

One reason for the rise in the use of HFCS is the low price, the abundance of it, and the sweetness. It is the low cost that has made it available to everyone, especially those in low income groups. It may have become popular with the companies that use it because of the low cost; however HFCS is not popular with our bodies. Our bodies metabolize HFCS significantly different than it does glucose. Glucose is a simple sugar, a carbohydrate found in starch that is transported through the body in the blood. Glucose is what gives our body energy, and when a diabetic tests his/her blood sugar, it is the glucose that is being measured. HFCS is absorbed in the intestine and enters the liver without insulin regulation. Once it is there, it enters the glycolytic, energy breakdown pathway. This leads to an excessive accumulation of citrate outside the mitochondria, the fuel burning factories in cells, which then undergoes fat buildup, and is reassembled into free fatty acids. This causes insulin resistance, promotes atherosclerosis, and serves as a conductor for obesity. Since HFCS does not stimulate insulin secretion, or require insulin to be transported into the cells, and requires a different metabolic path than other carbohydrates, it skips the normal process of carbohydrate metabolism. As a result, HFCS is an unregulated source of the starting material for fatty acids to form, and thus leads to over eating and excessive weight gain, which is very dangerous to diabetics. HFCS can also cause triglycerides (type of fat found in blood), which can hasten fat in the liver, and cause fatty liver disease. HFCS can also cause all of the manifestations of what is referred to as “Metabolic Syndrome.” Metabolic syndrome is a collection of heart disease risk factors that can increase your chance of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. An increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels, all occur together to increase this risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. According to a national survey, more than one in five Americans has metabolic syndrome.

Normally when we eat or drink natural foods, it suppresses the secretion of our bodies hunger hormone, however HFCS does not do this, and when we drink soda our body still believe we are hungry even if we have just eaten. HFCS is not just a sweetener; it is a preservative as well, which is another reason why companies use it so much in just about all of their products. It is produced through a process that changes the form of sugar in cornstarch from glucose to fructose. This may sound natural to you, however it is not, and causes numerous health risks. HFCS corn syrup may be the main culprit in the obesity epidemic, not just for being in the sodas we drink, it is the overconsumption of it because it is also in just about everything consume on a daily basis. It is in breakfast cereals, snack foods, fruit drinks, sauces, spread, dips, salad dressings, condiments, jams, yogurts, etc. Read the food labels, you will be surprised how many foods you find that has HFCS in them. Research is ongoing too, to verify the addictive properties of HFCS. HFCS is actually monopolizing the food industry, economics, and politics, it seems that we no longer have the freedom of choice to control what we eat since HFCS is found in just about everything on the grocery store shelves. As for sodas, people usually avoid these sugary drinks for the diet, however you may not be as safe as you think, research has shown that these zero calorie drinks may too increase your risk of heart disease, and may in fact cause diabetes instead of help it. This may be an unhealthy habit.

In a University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, found that even just one diet soda a day was linked to 34 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome, this group was found to have symptoms which include belly fat and high cholesterol, which can put them at risk for heart disease, and kick start kidney problems to adding inches to your waistlines. The worst thing is, people are drinking diet sodas in record numbers, kids consuming diet soda has more than doubled since the last decade, and according to research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, adult consumption has grown almost 25 percent. Another study done by the University of Texas Health Science Center, found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. A study by Purdue University showed that drinking just two or more cans a day increased the participants’ waistlines by 500 percent. They found that the artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods. It is because of this that people who consumes diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it is eating sugar, and you crave more. Adding alcohol to your diet soda is a bad idea as well. Research by the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia, has shown that cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker faster, because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar.

Diet sodas contain something regular sodas do not; mold inhibitors with the names sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and you can find them in just about all diet sodas. These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to a person’s DNA in the mitochondria, to the point that the soda totally inactivates it. Research by the University of Sheffield, in the U.K., told a British newspaper in 1999 that these preservative have been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions. The Food Commission in the UK has listed these preservatives as mild irritants to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. Both sugary sodas, and diet sodas alike has a pH balance of 3.2, which makes sodas very acidic (The pH of battery acid is 1, water is 7). Acid is what can dissolves enamel, and just because a soda is diet, does not make it acid-light. Adults who drink three or more soda a day have the worse dental health, according to a University of Michigan analysis of dental checkup data. You can find that the cans that sodas come in can be just as harmful. The cans are coated with the an endocrine disruptor called biphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to everything from heart disease, obesity, even reproductive problems. That’s not all, there is new research that shows that not only is diet soda bad for you, but it also makes you gain weight as well. Aspartame, which is the common artificial sweetener has been linked to sleep disorders, high blood pressure, dizziness, fatigue, and in some cases arthritis flare-ups. Those who drink diet soda are also at a higher risk for heart attack and stroke. This is really bad, since research has shown that, since these diet sodas show they are zero calories, people drink more of them. Also, zero calories can lead to binge eating, and over eating. Our bodies on the inside have a pH balance of 75 percent alkaline, and 25 percent acid. PH levels are extremely important, to keep a healthy body. Doctors and dietitians have linked an unbalanced pH level to cancer and other medical problems. Diet soda is extremely acidic, with a pH level of 2.5. Battery acid has an acidic pH of 1 on the pH scale. Components in diet sodas can block certain things your body needs, like magnesium, calcium, and can block the excretion of certain hormones. Aspartame was discovered by accident in 1965, when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug. He discovered that this drug was sweet when he licked his finger to turn a page of his notebook. He traced this sweetness back to a simple molecule of two amino acids.

Aspartame was set to be released in 1974 but was withheld until 1981 due to a neuroscience researcher, Dr. John Olney, and James Turner, a consumer attorney, filing objections against its release. During this time the research practices of G.D. Searle was being investigated, which convinced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the delay. The FDA’s toxicologists, Dr. Adrian Gross and Dr. Jacqueline Verrett, both vigorously objected to aspartame’s approval for 16 years because the original studies triggered brain tumors, seizures, and all sorts of other tumors. They were powerless when aspartame was finally approved by presidential order May 7, 1985. The question I have is why would President Reagan intervene for aspartame, did he know the research showing just how bad this sweetener was for people? Or was this a favor he did for G.D. Searle Company. Whatever the reasons, aspartame was now on the market, and had ample opportunity to harm unsuspecting people who depended upon it from weight loss, to those with diabetes who had to substitute it for sugar.

Aspartame is more like a protein than a sugar; it is formed of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, and a methyl ester. It is metabolized completely in the intestinal tract to its amino acid components and methanol. Both are reduced in the body to formaldehyde, and then formic acid. The first problem researchers see is that aspartame metabolites into methanol, which accounts for about 10 percent of the broken down molecule. Methanol is poisonous to the human body; however our bodies are equipped to deal with it in small amounts. Once methanol enters the liver, it is converted enzymatically into formaldehyde, which is then mostly converted to formic acid, the substance to which all aspects of methanol poisoning are attributed. We can find methanol naturally in many fruits and vegetables, however it is found in conjunction with higher amounts of ethanol, which utilizes the same enzyme as methanol. Since the methanol is unsuccessfully converted, it is then excreted harmlessly through our urine. Advocates of aspartame argue that our bodies are equipped to rapidly metabolize methanol and formaldehyde, and that formaldehyde is actually a useful building block in small amounts. That is like saying arsenic can be a useful building block since both formaldehyde and arsenic are used by our bodies in extremely small amounts. The problem is that both are toxic when these amounts rise.

Research that was done on smokers, that inhaled formaldehyde directly into their system, shows the dangers of even a very small amount of excess formaldehyde to our bodies. Cigarettes contain roughly 20 micrograms of formaldehyde, and once inhaled, the formaldehyde completely metabolizes within 1-2 minutes. This can be a problem because formaldehyde also very rapidly forms compounds known as formaldehyde-DNA adducts, this means that the formaldehyde attaches itself irreversibly to our DNA. For healthy people these compounds would rarely form, and be destroyed by safety mechanisms built into our system. However for those who form a lot of these compounds, because they have been overly exposed to formaldehyde, they may end up building up and can play a role in the onset of so many different cancers. Research has shown that is doesn’t take much, or long to damage our DNA.

There was a study done that shows exactly what happens when aspartame is ingested. In the study, the methanol portion of the molecule was labeled, so it could be tracked. The label was designed to remain even after the methanol is converted into formaldehyde or formic acid. The study showed that 20 mg, or 5 percent of the labeled molecule remained after five hours, half of that in the liver. They increased the dose to 200 mg, and they found that even more of the labeled molecule was found. This study discovered that the effect is thought to be dose-dependent and a contributor to the amounts of formaldehyde-DNA adducts formed. 20 mg of aspartame is a lot, which is equal to 9 to 10 cans of diet soda a day for an average-weight female. Once you drink these sodas, the formaldehyde-DNA adducts are formed irreversibly, and once formaldehyde binds to the DNA of a cell, the only way to get rid of it is for the cell to die. Even a small amount daily can contribute to a growing effect of DNA adducts, and 5 percent of 3500 micrograms, the methanol content of one pack of Nutrasweet, is 175 micrograms, which suggests that when all of the metabolizing is done, there is 175 micrograms of formaldehyde that is left behind to bind do your DNA. Remember the cigarette mentioned earlier? It only contained 20 micrograms.

This is not the only worry we have where diet sodas are concerned, when drinking diet sodas you are loading your blood with a higher concentration of phenylalanine, an amino acid used to biochemically form proteins coded for by DNA. There are some who believe there is no danger, and argue that we get significantly more phenylalanine from so many other foods that we eat. However, the issue with this argument is that we also get a significant amount of other amino acids as well, and when our blood is loaded with only phenylalanine there is documented research that shows it causes a depletion of essential amino acids in our brain. For those who suffer from phenylketonuria (metabolic genetic disorder characterized by a mutation in the gene for the hepatic enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase), this issue is one of utmost seriousness since their body cannot effectively metabolize phenylalanine. This condition may be rare, and most people will most likely not intake enough phenylalanine from aspartame to load their blood, especially since most people will metabolize it to tyrosine, which is less harmful. However, for habitual users the risk is greater than for those who only consume Nutrasweet, Equal, or other aspartame-containing products only now and then. What all of this means, is that aspartame carries with it a risk to your health, and there is evidence that even in small amounts, people have side-effects like headaches and gastric upset. Of course, there is the risk that it can contribute to carcinogenic formaldehyde-DNA adduct formation, and for children it requires a lot less to be considered high doses. Last, but not least, there are studies that show aspartame can interact with all drug, like prescription and nonprescription, vaccines, and other toxins you may come in contact with. Thus causing more harm for your body in the long run. There are over 90 different symptoms research contributes to aspartame, here a just a few of them.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:

With all that is wrong with aspartame, we all thought there was a saving grace, Splenda, unfortunately look can be deceiving. Distributed by McNeil Nutritionals, Splenda was approved in the United States in 1998. Discovered in 1976, in the U.K. by a group of scientists who were actually trying to create a new pesticide, in fact Splenda’s chemical structure resembles that of pesticides rather than sugars or salts. Marketed as a natural sweetener, claiming that is is derived from sugar, and aimed towards health conscious moms who fed this product to their children, became the new zero calorie sweetener. There is “some” truth behind the fact that Splenda is derived from sugar, however what they fail to disclose is that during the manufacturing process three of the hydroxyl groups in the molecule have been replaced by chlorine atoms. This means that even though it is derived from sugar, the chemical structure of this sugar has changed significantly, and many experts argue that the chemical structure of Splenda is eerily similar to that of pesticides in the way their carbon and chlorine bonds are held together, as a chlorocarbon, rather than a salt like McNeil claims.

If you do not know chlorine’s impact on your body, it is time to learn. In fact, you can suffer from toxicity from too much chlorine in the body from eating and baking too much with Splenda. What bothers me is that these manufactures can claim that the products are all natural, they can do so because the FDA has not standard for what is considered “all natural”. With no parameters to meet, a company can claim their product is all natural when it is not. In natural foods, the chloride is connected with ionic bonds that easily dissociates, with Splenda, there is a covalent bond, and it does not dissociate. In fact, No covalent chloride bonds are organic compounds in nature, only ionic. Covalent chloride bonds only exist in synthetic, man-made molecules, other examples of synthetic covalently bound chloride compounds are DDT, PCBs, and Agent Orange. Our bodies do not have enzymes that can breakdown this covalently bound chloride, it would not since it does not exist in nature, so nature never made our bodies to address it. Since our bodies cannot break down this chemical, so it can be metabolized, research shows that about 15 percent of sucralose is absorbed into the digestive system, and ultimately stored in the body.

There have not been any long term studies on Splenda, which is another problem we have. The longest lasting study was just six months, and there are no large population studies to get a true picture of the side effects and health risks of Splenda. The largest study I could find was one with 128 people, and many of these studies only focused on the very low amounts of Splenda in the human diet, like when you drink a small amount in your coffee or tea. However today you can see Splenda in so many baked goods, fruit snacks, fruit juices, flavored waters, and much, much more. This list only continues to grow, which means the use of Splends in our diets increase, which can have an impact on our health, and this impact is fairly unknown. In one of the manufacturers own studies, rats were fed large amounts of this artificial sweetener, and the results were very scary. Researchers found that there were problems with the thymus glands, enlarged livers, and kidney disorders. The rats metabolized sucralose (Splenda) in a similar manner as humans, which is why they were used, however the FDA wrote off the study saying that the rats were different than humans. What was wrong about this is that the FDA first approved the study using rats because they were the most similar to humans, then when the results showed serious problems they disregarded the studies saying the rats were different than humans. Unfortunately, they cannot have it both ways, can they? It seems now that the general public is now the guinea pigs for the testing of Splenda, another chemically altered artificial sweetener, which follows a long line all of whom claimed to produce no ill health effect, but later proved they did.

The Sucralose Toxicity Information Center states more side effects from sucralose being reported daily. Which are:

With limited scientific evidence about Splenda’s side effects, what little research that exists does indicate that there are potential health problems associated with this sweetener. Even the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is suggesting people avoid Splenda. This watchdog group focuses on nutrition and food safety, and has downgraded Splenda from “safe” to “caution, following an unpublished study by an independent Italian laboratory that found splenda may cause leukemia in mice. According to CSPI, “The only previous long-term feeding studies in animals were conducted by the compound's manufacturers.”

A study from Duke University shows that Splenda suppresses the beneficial bacteria, and directly affects the expression of the transporter P-gp and cytochrome P-450 isozymes that are known to interfere with the bioavailability of drugs and nutrients. This study demonstrated what happens with Splenda does that are approved by the FDA for use in the food supply. Another study published in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health found that Splenda also affected the expression of certain enzymes known to interfere with the absorption of nutrients and pharmaceuticals. A 2008 study verified this, and added that Splenda increases the pH level in your intestines, and affects a glycoprotein in your body that can have crucial health effects, particularly if you are on certain medications like chemotherapy, or treatments for AIDS and certain heart conditions. Other studies show that Splenda decreased red blood cells, a sign of anemia, at levels above 1,500 mg a day. It can also increase male infertility by interfering with sperm production and vitality, as well as brain lesions at higher doses. It can enlarge and calcify kidneys, and showed spontaneous abortions in nearly half of the rabbit population given sucralose, compared to zero aborted pregnancies in the control group. This same study showed a 23 percent death rate in rabbits, compared to a 6 percent rate in the control group.

You see, manufactures primary tricks used to hide the toxicity of their products is to use short-term trials, with the longest study being 4.5 months, it was far too short to reveal any toxicity from chronic exposure. It is because of these short trials, that manufacturers can get away with saying that these artificial sweeteners have not health concerns. However, there are reports of these following reactions after the consumption of Splenda, and these are:

Believe or not, Splenda, like other artificial sweeteners can actually cause weight gain. Splenda is advertised that it can help you lose weight, since it does not contain any calories, however, it can cause you to gain calories. Everytime you eat or drink something that includes sugar, your body recognizes the calories and heats up in order to begin burning them. But when you eat or drink something with artificial sweetener, your body does not recognize the calories in it, because there are none. Your body does not heat up or begin to burn away the calories, which can cause you to overeat in an attempt to feel full. In turn, this will cause you to gain weight.

The chlorine in Splenda has been shown to cause stomach ulcers in some people, and because our bodies do not digest Splenda, as well as other artificial sweeteners, they can stay in our systems up to four days. This can eventually place a strain on our digestive system. Too, manufacturers of these artificial sweeteners claim that you cannot get diabetes as a result of using them, however this is untrue, your body reacts the same way it reacts to too much sugar, and can cause you to gain weight. Weight gain is a side effect of obesity, so you actually increase your chances of getting diabetes by using these artificial sweeteners. For those of you who thought that diet sodas were a safe choice from these sugary sodas, I am sorry to tell you that you were wrong. There is plenty of research out there showing just how wrong you are, another study from the University of Texas Health Science Center, and Harvard Medical School, shows that diet soda is in fact linked to a number of health issues, including obesity, one reason is the artificial sweeteners. These studies also show that these beverages may cause changes in overall behavior and mental health, and may lead to further addiction for sugary drinks and foods. The study at the University of Texas Health Science Center, found that the more diet sodas are consumed, the greater the risk for weight gain. This study does not show that diet soda does not help you lose weight; essentially, artificial sweeteners disturb the body’s ability to control calorie intake and sugar, due to crossed signals from chemically improper sweeteners driving metabolisms the wrong way. Harvard’s study was done on 3,000 women to determine the effects of diet soda; these women drank two or more diet sodas per day as part of the study. This was to mimic the average consumption of diet drinks among a large demographic of women in the U.S. Published in Prevention 2012, this study indicated that these women demonstrated a palpable loss of kidney function, however the women in this study who drank regular sodas did not. I am not advocating drinking regular sodas, I say run far, far away from them, but this study does show a serious health problem associated with diet sodas. Beyond bringing about metabolic disturbances, diet soda also contributes to dental problems as well, since diet sodas are found to be so acidic, drinking three or more daily contributes to dental problems, along with the weight gain, liver function issues, and behavioral health. If you need more reasons why you should stay away from all diet sodas, all you need to do is look at the back of the bottle: carbonated water, caramel color, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium citrate, natural flavors, citric acid, and caffeine. You already know about carbonated water aspartame, and caffeine, let me break the other ingredients down for you.

Caramel color, it sounds innocent enough, after all it is made by a process of heating corn or cane sugar and other carbohydrates to achieve the desired color. However, research published by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program showed that long-term exposure to 4-methylimidazole, a contaminant in the caramel coloring, and leads to an increase in lung cancer in males and female mice. As a result, it has been added to California’s Proposition 65 list of carcinogens. Another study, in 2011 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer has also concluded that caramel coloring is possibly carcinogenic to humans. Unfortunately you can find caramel coloring in so many other products besides sodas like baked goods, and soy sauces.

Phosphoric acid is used to add tartness to the beverage, and contains phosphorus, one of the basic elements of nature that in some ways is an essential nutrient. However, this ingredient is what erodes tooth enamel. Additional research has also linked this ingredient, with excessive exposure, to additional adverse health issues. A study found in the Journal Epidemiology, drinking two or more colas a day, diet or regular, was associated with a twofold risk of developing kidney disease, they indicated that phosphoric acid in colas has been associated with urinary changes that can promote kidney stones., and if left untreated can lead to chronic kidney disease.

Bottom line, just because something claims to be natural, from nature, or zero-calorie, it does not mean that it is wise to drink it. When it comes to any type of soda, the fewer the better, and as far as diet drink, water, or water mixed with juice would be the best.

References

International Business, T. (2002) Diet Soda: Research Sparks Debate on Risks of Heart Disease, Stroke. International Business Times.

SAWYER, D. (2008). GMA MEDICAL ALERT. Good Morning America (ABC), 1.

Maugh,Thomas H.,,II. (2007) New health risks from soft drinks; even diet soda increases risk of metabolic syndrome. Edmonton Journal.

Study: Diet soda associated with same heart risks as regular soda. (2007) Northwest Florida Daily News.

Mieszkowski, K. (2007) Life will kill you; can diet soda, cellphones and makeup give you cancer? the author of the secret history of the war on cancer discusses the health risks of, well, living. The Ottawa Citizen.

This world health day let's say no to aspartame. (2013) The Northlines.

As sugar substitutes proliferate, so do worries about health risks. (1991) Pantagraph.

American association of clinical endocrinologists AACE; cause and effect: Case report shows an association between sugar substitutes and common thyroid disorder. (2013). Diabetes Week, , 17.

Seriously?. (2009) Scientists of two minds on aspartame and the brain. The Globe and Mail.

Elston, S. (2006) Aspartame may not be as harmless as you think. The Intelligencer

Parker, H. (2010) A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain

Splenda Alters Gut Microflora and Increases Intestinal P-Glycoprotein and Cytochrome P-450 in Male Rats (2008) Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues, Volume 71, Issue
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