Ask Me Help Desk - Governor Patterson Drinks Diet Soda

http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories...StoryID=750267

The plan will come with a host of revenue raisers — increased taxes on hospitals and insurance policies, for instance — and at least one new assessment, a so-called obesity tax on non-diet soda to raise $404 million. The governor also is contemplating requiring new license plates to raise cash, reviving sales tax on clothing purchases, removing the tax cap on gasoline and threatening to require Indian retailers to collect taxes on sales to non-Indians by signing into law a bill passed earlier this year by the Legislature.

But... Diet soda, besides being bad for you ,makes it more likely that you will gain weight.

In 2005, Sharon Fowler and her colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio presented eight years of research data that explored the link between obesity risk and soft drinks.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050...in-more-weight

For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

26% for up to 1/2 can each day
30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.
For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.
For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person's risk of obesity went up 41%.

Me... I think I'll stick with beer .

I always tell people about diet soda actually causing you to gain weight. They think I am crazy and keep drinking it and wondering why they can't lose.
Thanks for the link :D

"I'll have a double Big Mac meal, supersize it...and a diet soda."
It's the double Big Mac that's making you obese dude!

I drink regular Pepsi and eat double mc's and I am not fat.
My friends drink diet sodas and they are getting fatter and fatter

Well then it's official.

Quote:

"I'll have a double Big Mac meal, supersize it...and a diet soda."
It's the double Big Mac that's making you obese dude!

That and the cr*p artificial sweetners added to the brew. Aspartame contributes to weight gain.. When you ingest aspartame it is absorbed from the intestines and passes immediately to the Liver where it is metabolized to its toxic components - phenylalanine, aspartic acid and methanol. This process requires a lot of energy from the liver which means there will be less energy remaining in the liver cells for fat burning and metabolism, which will result in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside the liver cells causing "fatty liver" and when this starts to occur it is extremely difficult to lose weight.

What Tom just said AND the diet tricks your body into actually retaining weight.

Many studies have made it official

In the Purdue study, the rats whose diets contained artificial sweeteners appeared to experience a physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, which drove them to overeat.

"The taste buds taste sweet, but there's no calorie load that comes with it. There's a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way," Savard said. "Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It's much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism."

The information may come as a surprise to the 59 percent of Americans who consume diet soft drinks, making them the second-most-popular low-calorie, sugar-free products in the nation, according to a consumer survey from the Calorie Control Council, a nonprofit association that represents the low-calorie and reduced-fat food and beverage industry.

Because so many foods today contain artificial sweeteners, the study results may go beyond diet drinks.

"The truth is, we're putting artificial sweetener in so many different things in water, in yogurt," Savard said. It's unclear if the results only adhere to diet sodas, she said.

"We have to rethink what this artificial stuff does to us. If we put this in water it might not be so good," she added.
(WebMD) People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.

The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at this week's annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain

Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became

Aspartame is the technical name for the brand names NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, and Equal-Measure. It was discovered by accident in 1965 when James Schlatter, a chemist of G.D. Searle Company, was testing an anti-ulcer drug.

Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. It was originally approved for dry goods on July 26, 1974, but objections filed by neuroscience researcher Dr John W. Olney and Consumer attorney James Turner in August 1974 as well as investigations of G.D. Searle's research practices caused the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to put approval of aspartame on hold (December 5, 1974). In 1985, Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle and made Searle Pharmaceuticals and The NutraSweet Company separate subsidiaries.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death.(1) A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

According to researchers and physicians studying the adverse effects of aspartame, the following chronic illnesses can be triggered or worsened by ingesting of aspartame:(2) Brain tumors, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, chronic fatigue syndrome, parkinson's disease, alzheimer's, mental retardation, lymphoma, birth defects, fibromyalgia, and diabetes.

Aspartame is made up of three chemicals: aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. The book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing," by James and Phyllis Balch, lists aspartame under the category of "chemical poison." As you shall see, that is exactly what it is.

What Is Aspartame Made Of?

Aspartic Acid (40 percent of aspartame)

Dr. Russell L. Blaylock, a professor of neurosurgery at the Medical University of Mississippi, recently published a book thoroughly detailing the damage that is caused by the ingestion of excessive aspartic acid from aspartame. Blaylock makes use of almost 500 scientific references to show how excess free excitatory amino acids such as aspartic acid and glutamic acid (about 99 percent of monosodium glutamate (MSG) is glutamic acid) in our food supply are causing serious chronic neurological disorders and a myriad of other acute symptoms.(3)

How Aspartate (and Glutamate) Cause Damage

Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in the brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate or glutamate in the brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into the cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill the cells. The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate and glutamate is why they are referred to as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate the neural cells to death.

Aspartic acid is an amino acid. Taken in its free form (unbound to proteins) it significantly raises the blood plasma level of aspartate and glutamate. The excess aspartate and glutamate in the blood plasma shortly after ingesting aspartame or products with free glutamic acid (glutamate precursor) leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of the brain.

The blood brain barrier (BBB), which normally protects the brain from excess glutamate and aspartate as well as toxins, 1) is not fully developed during childhood, 2) does not fully protect all areas of the brain, 3) is damaged by numerous chronic and acute conditions, and 4) allows seepage of excess glutamate and aspartate into the brain even when intact.

The excess glutamate and aspartate slowly begin to destroy neurons. The large majority (75 percent or more) of neural cells in a particular area of the brain are killed before any clinical symptoms of a chronic illness are noticed. A few of the many chronic illnesses that have been shown to be contributed to by long-term exposure to excitatory amino acid damage include:

* Multiple sclerosis (MS)
* ALS
* Memory loss
* Hormonal problems
* Hearing loss
* Epilepsy
* Alzheimer's disease
* Parkinson's disease
* Hypoglycemia
* AIDS
* Dementia
* Brain lesions
* Neuroendocrine disorders

The risk to infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly and persons with certain chronic health problems from excitotoxins are great. Even the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), which usually understates problems and mimics the FDA party-line, recently stated in a review that:

"It is prudent to avoid the use of dietary supplements of L-glutamic acid by pregnant women, infants, and children. The existence of evidence of potential endocrine responses, i.e., elevated cortisol and prolactin, and differential responses between males and females, would also suggest a neuroendocrine link and that supplemental L-glutamic acid should be avoided by women of childbearing age and individuals with affective disorders."(4)

Aspartic acid from aspartame has the same deleterious effects on the body as glutamic acid.

The exact mechanism of acute reactions to excess free glutamate and aspartate is currently being debated. As reported to the FDA, those reactions include:(5)

* Headaches/migraines
* Nausea
* Abdominal pains
* Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into brain)
* Sleep problems
* Vision problems
* Anxiety attacks
* Depression
* Asthma/chest tightness.

One common complaint of persons suffering from the effect of aspartame is memory loss. Ironically, in 1987, G.D. Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame, undertook a search for a drug to combat memory loss caused by excitatory amino acid damage. Blaylock is one of many scientists and physicians who are concerned about excitatory amino acid damage caused by ingestion of aspartame and MSG.

A few of the many experts who have spoken out against the damage being caused by aspartate and glutamate include Adrienne Samuels, Ph.D. an experimental psychologist specializing in research design. Another is Olney, a professor in the department of psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University, a neuroscientist and researcher, and one of the world's foremost authorities on excitotoxins. (He informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice.)

Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in the brain. Persons with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize phenylalanine. This leads to dangerously high levels of phenylalanine in the brain (sometimes lethal). It has been shown that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in the brain even in persons who do not have PKU.

This is not just a theory, as many people who have eaten large amounts of aspartame over a long period and do not have PKU have been shown to have excessive levels of phenylalanine in the blood. Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of seratonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It was shown in human testing that phenylalanine levels of the blood were increased significantly in human subjects who chronically used aspartame.(6)

Even a single use of aspartame raised the blood phenylalanine levels. In his testimony before the U.S. Congress, Dr. Louis J. Elsas showed that high blood phenylalanine can be concentrated in parts of the brain and is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses. He also showed that phenylalanine is metabolised much more efficiently by rodents than by humans.(7)

One account of a case of extremely high phenylalanine levels caused by aspartame was recently published the "Wednesday Journal" in an article titled "An Aspartame Nightmare." John Cook began drinking six to eight diet drinks every day. His symptoms started as memory loss and frequent headaches. He began to crave more aspartame-sweetened drinks. His condition deteriorated so much that he experienced wide mood swings and violent rages. Even though he did not suffer from PKU, a blood test revealed a phenylalanine level of 80 mg/dl. He also showed abnormal brain function and brain damage. After he kicked his aspartame habit, his symptoms improved dramatically.(8)

As Blaylock points out in his book, early studies measuring phenylalanine buildup in the brain were flawed. Investigators who measured specific brain regions and not the average throughout the brain notice significant rises in phenylalanine levels. Specifically the hypothalamus, medulla oblongata, and corpus striatum areas of the brain had the largest increases in phenylalanine. Blaylock goes on to point out that excessive buildup of phenylalanine in the brain can cause schizophrenia or make one more susceptible to seizures.

Therefore, long-term, excessive use of aspartame may provid a boost to sales of seratonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac and drugs to control schizophrenia and seizures.

Methanol (aka wood alcohol/poison) (10 percent of aspartame)

Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison. Some people may remember methanol as the poison that has caused some "skid row" alcoholics to end up blind or dead. Methanol is gradually released in the small intestine when the methyl group of aspartame encounter the enzyme chymotrypsin.

The absorption of methanol into the body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when aspartame-containing product is improperly stored or when it is heated (e.g. as part of a "food" product such as Jello).

Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin. An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.(9)

Symptoms from methanol poisoning include headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances, weakness, vertigo, chills, memory lapses, numbness and shooting pains in the extremities, behavioral disturbances, and neuritis. The most well known problems from methanol poisoning are vision problems including misty vision, progressive contraction of visual fields, blurring of vision, obscuration of vision, retinal damage, and blindness. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects.(10)

Due to the lack of a couple of key enzymes, humans are many times more sensitive to the toxic effects of methanol than animals. Therefore, tests of aspartame or methanol on animals do not accurately reflect the danger for humans. As pointed out by Dr. Woodrow C. Monte, director of the food science and nutrition laboratory at Arizona State University, "There are no human or mammalian studies to evaluate the possible mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic effects of chronic administration of methyl alcohol."(11)

He was so concerned about the unresolved safety issues that he filed suit with the FDA requesting a hearing to address these issues. He asked the FDA to "slow down on this soft drink issue long enough to answer some of the important questions. It's not fair that you are leaving the full burden of proof on the few of us who are concerned and have such limited resources. You must remember that you are the American public's last defense. Once you allow usage (of aspartame) there is literally nothing I or my colleagues can do to reverse the course. Aspartame will then join saccharin, the sulfiting agents, and God knows how many other questionable compounds enjoined to insult the human constitution with governmental approval."(10) Shortly thereafter, the Commissioner of the FDA, Arthur Hull Hayes, Jr. approved the use of aspartame in carbonated beverages, he then left for a position with G.D. Searle's public relations firm.(11)

It has been pointed out that some fruit juices and alcoholic beverages contain small amounts of methanol. It is important to remember, however, that methanol never appears alone. In every case, ethanol is present, usually in much higher amounts. Ethanol is an antidote for methanol toxicity in humans.(9) The troops of Desert Storm were "treated" to large amounts of aspartame-sweetened beverages, which had been heated to over 86 degrees F in the Saudi Arabian sun. Many of them returned home with numerous disorders similar to what has been seen in persons who have been chemically poisoned by formaldehyde. The free methanol in the beverages may have been a contributing factor in these illnesses. Other breakdown products of aspartame such as DKP (discussed below) may also have been a factor.

In a 1993 act that can only be described as "unconscionable," the FDA approved aspartame as an ingredient in numerous food items that would always be heated to above 86 degree F (30 degree C).

Diketopiperazine (DKP)

DKP is a byproduct of aspartame metabolism. DKP has been implicated in the occurrence of brain tumors. Olney noticed that DKP, when nitrosated in the gut, produced a compound that was similar to N-nitrosourea, a powerful brain tumor causing chemical. Some have said that DKP is produced after aspartame ingestion.

First of all, for all that this is being dubbed a "fat tax", it really has nothing to do with obesity. Patterson doesn't give a crp about fat people. This is about raising money for the state. Anything that he can tax he will. So far, nobody has thought of taxing sodas. Now somebody has.

If Patterson were really worried about obesity, he'd try to do what Bloomberg did with trans-fats and cigarretts in restaurants... make 'em illegal.

It's all about the Benjamins not the fatties.

As for diet vs. non-diet sodas, I agree with NoHelp... people consume more of something when they believe that it is not as bad for them. Since people believe that diet soda is better for you than regular, they consume more of it.

And at the same time they consume more of EVERYTHING... because they think that the diet soda cancels out the calories of the supersized Big Mac, fries, and frosty. They think that if they drink "diet soda" then they must be on a diet... and if they are on a diet, then they deserve to splurge "every once in a while"... like maybe three meals a day. (And I say this as a tubbo with a sweet tooth myself.)

However, there are some good dietary rules that I'm sure you will all agree can help us all lose weight.

The Breakage Rule:
If you break a food in half, all the calories fall out. So you can eat that entire bag of cookies without guilt, as long as you break them in half before eating them.

The Color Rule:
Foods of the same color have the same number of calories. Thus pistachio ice-cream has the same number of calories as a piece of lettuce. Brownies and pumpernickle bread...

The Jewish Sabbath Rule:
Orthodox Jews believe that on Sabbath we are given a "second soul" ("Neshamah Yeterah" in Hebrew, literally "extra soul". This is based on Midrashic sources.) On Sabbath, all the calories we eat that day connect to this second soul, which disappears when Sabbath ends. So you can eat anything you want on Sabbath (as long as it is kosher) and not have to worry about gaining weight. Feel free to pig out on Sabbath.

Elliot

They are also trying to ban 'obese' people from restaurants.

Where will they draw the lines for the guidelines?
I can't imagine how awful it will be for two people going to a restaurant and the 180 lb person is told they are allowed in but their 185 lb friend is turned away.
They are also doing the global warming thing with the intention of
Turning it into a way to tax us for breathing through the carbon footprint.

Where does it stop?

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

They are also trying to ban 'obese' people from restaurants.

Where will they draw the lines for the guidelines?
I can't imagine how awful it will be for two people going to a restaurant and the 180 lb person is told they are allowed in but their 185 lb friend is turned away.
They are also doing the global warming thing with the intention of
turning it into a way to tax us for breathing through the carbon footprint.

Where does it stop?

Yeah, and how are they going to know how much you weigh? Are they going to put a scale at the entrance of these restaurants?

Edit: not only that, but people can eat just as much garbage at home. What's the point?

Yeah that is what I figure they will have to do have a scale at the entrance. They also want to fine parents that take an obese child to fast food restaurants.
They are also trying to make doggie bags illegal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZoeMarie

edit: not only that, but people can eat just as much garbage at home. what's the point?

Just think you can afford to buy MORE food eating at home than the cost of a restaurant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by N0help4u

They also want to fine parents that take an obese child to fast food restaurants.
They are also trying to make doggie bags illegal.

Who? Post a link!

I heard people calling radio stations saying that Children's Services is getting parents in trouble when they see a fat kid in a fast food restaurant. Here is an article about it happening in England.

Pajamas Media Â» Parents of Obese Children Charged with Abuse in Britain

This is banning overweight people in Mississippi but they always start a test program on a proposed bill in one area FIRST
Proposal to Ban Obese People From Restaurants

In NY there is a place where the restaurant adds a surcharge if you don't finish what's in your plate .

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomder55

In NY there is a place where the restaurant adds a surcharge if you don't finish what's in your plate .

And what does that tell people? Continue to eat if you're not hungry anymore. Genius. Lol

NOHelp,
That first link is about child protection services in the UK and the second link refers to a bill that won't go anywhere for sure. No where is it mentioned that "they" want to make doggie bags illegal. Where do you get this info??

But a state with 67% of the residents being obese or overweight needs to do something. Maybe teaching them about personal responsibility would help.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ETWolverine

So you can eat anything you want on Sabbath (as long as it is kosher) and not have to worry about gaining weight. Feel free to pig out on Sabbath.

Do they have kosher pork now, Elliot?

You forgot to mention that diet soda literally rots your brain. A friend of mine a few years ago drank upwards of 8 diet Cokes during her work day. She would line up the empty cans of Diet Coke like they were empty beer cans. Hilarious. What was not so funny was the fact that for a woman in her 50's she was worse than absent minded. She was downright stupid and could barely do her job without asking everybody else at the company what they thought she could do. (true story).

I think the Gov has had wayyyy toooo many Diet sodas as his brain has rotted away completely.