March 3 - Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?

How many of you have chosen diet soda because you thought it was the healthy choice? Lots of hands going up! Now those with their hands up, how many of you have heard someone say or said yourself, "I'm on a diet so I better choose the diet soda", or "I can drink as much diet soda as I want because its calorie and sugar free." Lots of hands still up. (Now put them down, you look silly waving your hands at a screen)

Well here's the bad news. There is evidence to prove that diet foods can actually cause you to gain weight.

Did you know that it is NOT the number of calories you eat and drink every day that causes you to gain weight? It is actually your body’s HORMONAL RESPONSE to the calories you ingest.

In the case of diet soda there are no calories, but the chemicals you are drinking trick the body into believing it’s eating something sweet.

Let’s take Aspartame for example (found in Diet Coke). This chemical actually blocks your brain’s production of serotonin (controls mood and appetite amongst other things).

And what does your body do when it is suffering from low serotonin levels? It tells your body to go and get some of the foods that it knows will stimulate the release of the chemical.

So sugar free sodas are actually fueling your sugar and junk food cravings.

March 2 - Aspartame - What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

I want to share with you info from an article from Dr. Merola that I think sums up nicely the effects of aspartame.

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 can see, that is exactly what it is.

More info to come on why you should not be consuming this terrible chemical.

March 1 - Aspartame - What Is It?

NutraSweet® is the NutraSweet Company's brand name for the low-calorie sweetener aspartame. It is used to sweeten a variety of foods and beverages and is about 200 times sweeter than sugar.

Studies conducted with taste-test panels show that aspartame's taste is very similar to the taste of sugar. In addition, aspartame has the ability to intensify and extend fruit flavors, such as cherry, strawberry and citrus flavors such as orange, in foods and beverages. For example, aspartame makes chewing gum taste sweet and more flavorful longer than sugar-sweetened gum.

Aspartame (L-a aspartyl -L-phenylalanine methyl ester) was discovered in 1965. After more than 100 scientific studies were conducted and reviewed, it was granted approval for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1981.

First detail to note: it took FDA 16 years to be approved. Second detail to note: this chemical is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Third detail to note: this is not a natural substance. It's processed.

I will talk a lot about Aspartame and other chemical ingredients in the food we eat. But for now, your homework is to go through your cupboards and refrigerator and look for all products containing Aspartame. Over the next few days I will tell you why you should think twice before you eat them.