Back in my early 20s (before I knew much about good health), I was addicted to Diet Coke – and in fact used to drink 1.5 litres of the stuff every day! I also suffered from bad health – headaches daily, chronic fatigue, and lots of weird neurological type symptoms which no Doctor could get to the bottom of. I would get tingling and numbness down one arm or on one side of my face, and I was sure I had some kind of disease like Multiple Sclerosis which the Doctors were not picking up!
One day in a book shop I saw a book called “Sweet Poison” by Janet Starr. I don’t quite know what drew me to buy it, but I did, and it was a book all about the artificial sweetener Aspartame (which is used in almost all the diet sodas). As I read Janet’s story I realised she had similar symptoms to mine, and when she gave up her Diet Soda’s the symptoms disappeared. I was inspired to go “cold turkey” off my addictive Diet Coke, and after a few days of strong headaches, I felt better. After 2-3 weeks all of the neurological symptoms and headaches disappeared and my energy levels improved significantly. I also lost weight!
Aspartame (or NutraSweet as it is commonly called) is an “excitotoxin” which means it reacts to specialised receptors in the brain in such a way which leads to the death of certain types of brain cells. It is reported that this highly addictive substance can be a major factor in diseases such as migraines, tumours, vision loss, neurological disorders and endocrine disorders. It is also reported that Aspartame can worsen conditions such as MS, fibromyalgia, ADD, Lupus, Alzheimer’s, Chronic Fatigue, and Depression.
But aren’t diet drinks good for weight loss? Well, no! In fact Aspartame makes us crave carbohydrates. The reason for this is because Aspartame suppresses Dopamine and Serotonin (Brain Neurotransmitters). When your serotonin levels are not allowed to raise as they normally do when you eat carbohydrates you crave more and more food. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that lets you feel satisfied, so when you use aspartame you have unsatisfiable cravings. The aspartame also poisons your metabolism so you cannot burn calories.
Look around you at all the people you know who drink a lot of diet drinks – chances are they are overweight! One of the best things you can do for your health and your weight is to shun “diet drinks” and any other diet products containing this nasty sweetener. Start drinking more water, exercise and eat and clean, unprocessed diet !
