 |
8 Diet Coke Claims You’ll Want to Know About
8 Diet Coke Claims You’ll Want to Know About
Diet Coke -- the best-selling sugar-free soft drink in the country -- has spawned a cult-like following among Americans. Some even swear they’re addicted to the stuff. But rumors abound about the drink’s health effects, some blatantly false and some surprisingly true. Can you separate fact from urban legend?
1. People have grown deathly ill from drinking cans of Diet Coke with dirty tops.
Myth. Legend has it that the lethal hantavirus spreads to humans when they drink soda contaminated by the droppings of warehouse rats or mice. True, humans can catch the hantavirus from rodent waste, but there are no known cases of a person getting it from unclean Diet Coke cans (or any food packaging). Still, it’s a good idea to wipe icky stuff off the top before popping it.
2. Diet Coke is 99% water.
Fact. One Diet Coke ad actually brags about this. The marketing strategy behind the ad hinges on the idea that anything that is mostly water can’t be bad for you. (Not true. Insecticides are often mostly water.) What’s important is what makes up that other 1%.
3. Diet Coke’s sweetener was developed as an ant poison and is therefore hazardous.
Myth. Aspartame, the artificial sweetener in Diet Coke, was created by a chemist working on an ulcer drug. The compound doesn’t kill ants or short-circuit their nervous systems, as legend has it. Even if those things were true, they wouldn’t prove that aspartame is dangerous to humans, since many products that aren’t toxic to us (like black pepper) do repel ants.
4. Diet Coke exacerbates arthritis.
Myth. In fact, the aspartame in Diet Coke may actually ease arthritis! Studies of people with osteoarthritis or a mix of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis found that aspartame relieved their pain and helped their joints move more fluidly. (Note: The studies weren’t done specifically with Diet Coke.)
5. Drinking Diet Coke while eating Mentos candies can create a mildly explosive reaction in your body.
Fact! Luckily, you can’t consume enough to cause a major internal eruption. Yet some very sticky people have had a wild and crazy time creating geysers that shoot over 10 feet high, including a mini version of the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas that involved hundreds of candies and 200 liters of Diet Coke (we’re not kidding). How does it work? Certain types of Mentos have a microscopically rough surface that, when combined with the carbon dioxide in Diet Coke (or any soda), seems to create an insane number of bubbles. Pressure builds FAST and -- boom! Watch it happen.
6. Drinking Diet Coke can cause or worsen multiple sclerosis symptoms.
Myth. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation has debunked this falsehood, as have the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other organizations. The notion that Diet Coke can cause neurological disorders may be based on an observation years ago by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which found that, in some people, aspartame seemed linked to mild neurological problems, such as headaches and moodiness. However, the CDC found that these symptoms are mild and affect most people, not just diet soda drinkers.
7. Diet Coke isn’t 0 calorie.
Myth. Contrary to Web rumors, Diet Coke does not have 40 or more calories, and the company does not get to call its drink calorie-free in exchange for paying big ol’ fines to the FDA. Drinks can only be called “calorie-free” if they have fewer than 5 calories; Diet Coke has less than 1.
8. Diet Coke may cause cancer.
A big maybe. Arguments about an aspartame–cancer connection have flared for years. Recently, Italian researchers concluded that aspartame does increase certain cancers in rats, including breast cancer. But the scientific truism applies: Rats aren't people. And more than 200 studies, including one conducted by the National Cancer Institute in 2006 that involved humans, have found no evidence of this. Still, suspicious groups remain, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an ardent consumer-advocacy group. What to do? Drink responsibly -- and we don't mean downing the FDA's "acceptable" max of 21 cans of aspartame-sweetened soda a day for a 165-pound adult. Inside all the research, there's an informal consensus that, for adults, a can a day is likely to do no harm.
Tons of cola drinkers have switched to diet formulas to slash their sugar intake. And avoiding foods that list simple sugars among the first five ingredients can make your RealAge 3.6 years younger. Sweet!
What about Red Bull? Find out what's really inside these other caffeine fixes.
Permalink
: Comments (17)
Comments
I agree with Donna: I have been drinking Diet Coke almost exclusively (vs. any other sodas or "convenience" drinks) since they first came out with aspartame in the 1980's - and I am MORE healthy than most people, look at least 10 years younger than my age, and have never had any problems due to drinking it. Granted, I only drink 1 to 2 cans per day, if that.
Maybe some people out there have a personal sensitivity to aspartame or caramel coloring or some other ingredient, just as some people are sensitive to monosodium glutamate, or eggwhites in vaccines: that does not mean that the rest of the world cannot enjoy a sugar-free drink, eat Chinese food, or get inoculated against diseases!
Given the widely KNOWN bad effects of being overweight, such as diabetes and heart attacks, and the merely questionable possibility that aspartame MIGHT be bad for you -- I will take the "possible" bad over the definite bad, any day! Posted by: Julia | May 30, 2008 at 10:15 AM
I too am *VERY* disappointed in Real Age. Although I have only been reading it for about 1 month, It is becoming apparent that their main concern is financial - It appears they take the money from big pharm, the FDA, not to mention anyone else who is cashing in on the healthier lifestyle demands of the consumer, has money to spend and a product to push Posted by: Jeanne C | May 09, 2008 at 03:17 PM
Now I am confused here.....I was under the impression that any pop disables the immune system for hours after it is consumed...ok...death is inevitable...use common sense I guess. Moderation. Listen to your own body and act accordingly. The greedy say many things. Posted by: Franny | April 28, 2008 at 07:17 AM
OK... so, now RealAge is on the take? Is Coke a sponsor? I'm really disappointed in their blatant promotion of something that can't possibly be healthy! Bleh. Posted by: Willow Shines | March 31, 2008 at 01:41 PM
Aspartame, splenda and other chemical sweeteners also train your body to hold onto more stuff to make you gain weight, not to mention a health risk. Honey, Agave Nectar for diabetics, and Stevia along with xylitol are all natural sweeteners that for most people should not cause the chemical brain reaction that nutrasweet/aspartame does. I know several people who suffer horrible problems when exposed to aspartame. I quit drinking it myself and have noticed that the funny taste on my tongue I get from Splenda, and the spaciness I get from diet sodas is virtually gone. Posted by: lisa | March 24, 2008 at 02:12 PM
I have been drinking diet coke since the 1980's and I have NEVER had any health problems as a result of drinking it. I am very healthy, I look at least 10 years younger than my real age, and I am living proof that diet sodas are not bad for you.
I do not work for this web site, the FDA or a soda company. I am an EMT and I deal with major illnesses and accidents every day I work.
Don't sweat the small stuff - enjoy life and your diet soda! :-) Posted by: Donna | March 18, 2008 at 07:47 AM
Wow -and I thought this web site was cool. It's now obvious after I've read through about 3 different topics, that this site fully endorses the FDA,certain pharmaceutical companies,and often provides some misleading information. It's a FACT aspartame is no good for people. No,we're not rats as stated above,but doesn't that contradict every lab test for pharmaceutical drugs? Get what I'm saying?
People - check out other websites which tend to be more "on the ball" and aren't so swayed towards the FDA. They are a money making industry,as too are the "coke" manufacturers and the pharmaceutical industry. There's no doubt medications are needed for some,however, the whole cholesterol,osteoporosis campaign is a scam - and people who don't do their research follow like sheep.Listen up people - we need cholesterol!!! Research through some websites and you'll find most of those drugs do far more harm than good.
As for the diet coke...stay away from everything "diet"! This website it too swayed for me - and I thought it was cool. Posted by: Bondgirl | March 17, 2008 at 11:29 AM
If you'd like to read more of my suggestions on food, nutrition, and healthy eating, visit my blog at www.hermanncomm.com! Posted by: Mindy Hermann | March 17, 2008 at 09:48 AM
IS SPLENDA BAD FOR YOU? COMPARED TO THE OTHER SWEETNERS, WHAT DOES IT RATE??? LOLA LEFFLER Posted by: LOLA | March 17, 2008 at 06:07 AM
Yes never take in by enhancer like sweetener, diet coke, diet coffee etc all these are sales gimmicks and want you to consume their products without looking into our health. Just rule of thumb, pure is good any enhancer is bad Posted by: Magdeline | March 17, 2008 at 04:00 AM
Please check out this amazing private study about aspartame, by a private citizen. Warning... the photos are very graphic.
http://myaspartameexperiment.
com Posted by: Bryanth | March 13, 2008 at 08:21 AM
I drink 3 cans of Diet Coke per day. It seems to give me a lift, and since it is mostly water, I consider it as part of the water I should drink. If it has a health hazard, I would like to know, or if there is some reason it is not "good" for me, or could exascerbate some of my health problems. Posted by: Jean | March 13, 2008 at 05:21 AM
I drink 3 cans of Diet Coke per day. It seems to give me a lift, and since it is mostly water, I consider it as part of the water I should drink. If it has a health hazard, I would like to know, or if there is some reason it is not "good" for me, or could exascerbate some of my health problems. Posted by: Jean | March 13, 2008 at 05:19 AM
long ago I learned not to drink soft drinks.diet coke left a bad taste.I believe that gave me mood swing.I hae limited my self to water, juices and some teas. thank you.A..F. Posted by: Aretta Farmer | March 13, 2008 at 05:13 AM
|
|
 |
