Wednesday, April 9, 2008

How Much Diet Soda Have You Been Drinking?

By Christine Thackeray

I have this close friend that hasn't been feeling well for months now. It started with muscle weakness with her hands. She would just drop things. One day she was holding one of those small bottle of bleach and it suddenly felt too heavy. She dropped it on her family room carpet and ruined it. Then she began to be sick to her stomach. At first is was just loose stools but soon it was full-out diarhea for week, into months, which made her feel tired all the time.

Then her eyes felt funny. She was worried something was seriously wrong with them. They felt itchy and swollen and soon after she woke up and couldn't see at all. She thought she was blind. It happened three times. She started to get really scared and finally went to the ER who told her she probably had MS. She made an appointment with a neurologist a few months out and then she started having episodes where she couldn't talk. She knew the words but it was like her body was off-line for a few minutes. At this point she kept telling me she thought she had cancer, like a tumor in her brain and was going to die.

From her ER visit they told her that her potasium levels were low. She should eat banana's and have no caffeine. She began feeling much better and assumed it was the potassium until today. This morning her daughter was sick with a low grade fever but no other symptoms. When she called the pediatrician, she asked if my friends daughter was drinking any diet drinks or aspartame products. When my friend asked why, she told her there had been at least four reported deaths from aspartame poisoning and probably many more. In some people it can cause muscle weakness, seizures, lethargy, diarhea and blindness.

So it wasn't the caffiene, it was the ASPARTAME! I know with me that I really liked black cherry Fresca when I first tried it but after a handful of cans, I couldn't put one near my head without gagging. It is incredible to me that this product could be that bad for you and not be pulled from the shelves. I was in shock.

I just want to say that when people talk about many of these health alerts, I roll my eyes but this, I saw with my own eyes. For some people ASPARTAME is a POISON and the fact that two sets of doctors never caught it is scary. How many people feel weak, tired, said or depressed- it could be caused by your favorite drink.

So right now put down that diet soda and swear to me you will not have another- or your children.

3 comments:

Sandra said...

My sister had a horrible rash that would not go away. She figured out the Aspartame connection, stopped the drinks and it too FOUR months for the rash to totally dissapear from her body.

Anna Maria Junus said...

I've started to avoid aspertame.

I'm trying to avoid pop all together, but I need the cola products when I get a headache. Then I drink the real full sugar stuff.

Anonymous said...

I've inherited a very rare condition from my mother - it causes artificial sweeteners to directly attack the central nervous system. Within minutes of drinking or eating anything sugar-free, my mother is completely out of control of her emotions - weeping, and shaking. She gets violently sick to her stomach, and is fairly well out of commission for an hour or more till it works its way out of her system. My reactions aren't that strong, but it will trigger panic attacks for me. So rah for you for this post - kudos for posting! I do hope your friend fully recovers.