fizzy drinks

[kopend]

<P>are diet &amp; sugarfree drinks worse for you than normal ones, i have heard that the artificial sweeteners, that they use in the diet ones, are not as good for you as real sugar.</P>

[Artemis]

Some use Fructrose which is fruit sugar and not as sweet as cane or beet sugar.

[ceebee007]

Look on the label and you will probably find they contain the sweetener Aspartame which, personally, I steer well clear of.  It has been alleged to cause unpleasant side effects after prolonged use which the manufacturers are quick to dispute.  However, from what I can gather, research has been done into this and naturally, the manufacturers will try to dismiss this - I accept that there will be two sides to the story but the fact that there are reports condemning Aspartame, that's good enough for me.

It's certainly something I avoid my young son having which is easier said than done.  Parents are led to believe they are doing the right thing by selecting sugar-free products for their children but instead they are giving them an undesirable (to my mind) chemical.

I suppose it's all about choice - you have to weigh up the facts for yourself and then decide but like I say, it's easy to think you are doing the right thing the way manufacturers market their products to us.

[funkychicken]

I don't think either are better or worse but in moderation either should be ok, I have diabetes so don't get the choice but I'd rather have diet over normal drinks anyway

[sandbach99]

Aspartame is a chemical not a natural product, it is also a multi=billion pound  industry.  It is said to encourage weight to stay on not help you lose it,   

I first found out about this stuff at a NHS meeting, came home and asked jeeves if only 1/4 on the web sites is true it is frightening.
At the time my husband was having trouble with some excessifly hard skin on his feet and a very itchy leg and arm rash, he had been to the doctor to no avail.
We searched every label and  stopped injesting any within days the rash eased and the hard skin started to go,
He did not eat diet foods, we found it in Robinsons ordinary orange squash, tonic water, Schweppes peppermint cordial,  and other food I can't remember.
this also goes as an E number

/Yes it has been passed for human consumption, but it had been refused, so the powers changed the committee members and chairman, it was passed on the chairs vote who 6 months later left to work for one of the main producers   

[sandbach99]

The site I used was www.DORway.org  yes it is American.    Aspartame is also Nutra-sweet, Canderal.   E951
If anyone has an illness it is easy to see if aspartame is making you worse, omit it from your diet for 60 days, yes you will feel worse at first,  then see if your symptoms have improved or not. Maybe another thread can start saying yes or no improvement
funkychicken  DORway email testamonials, there are hundreds,  show some diabetics have better blood sugar figures and weight control not taking aspartame. which I believe means less insulin