Diet Dr. Pepper... Friend or Foe?

A few months ago, one of my coworkers announced that she was going on a diet. I was inspired by her, and also wanted to avoid any judging during lunchtime that may be had. So! I decided I would take a HUGE risk and try Diet Dr. Pepper.

I checked the Nutrition Facts: 0 calories! No HFCS! Wow! And...

It didn't taste ALL that bad.

I know, I know. But realizing that it tasted okay enough for me to get my carbonation and sweet craving out of the way, I thought of it a good option. I announced my fortune to my friends, who immediately told me about the AWFUL AWFUL effects: bone deterioration, seizures, eyes bugging out, etc. (Ok, the last 2 aren't true). So, I decided I would do a little (reliable) internet research. Here we go.

My first stop was this snopes.com article, where I read up a bit on aspartame, the artificial sweetner that makes diet soda taste so good without HFCS. I discovered that NO, aspartame has not been shown to cause health problems such as methanol toxicity, fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, numbness in your legs, shooting pains, headaches, M.S., joint pain, arthritis, slurred speech, blurred vision, memory loss, blindness, etc. The list goes on (and is ridiculous when you actually read through it!). How could one chemical cause all that damage? Well, because it's not true. Quote from the website:

"To date, the FDA has not determined any consistent pattern of symptoms that can attributed to the use of aspartame, nor is the agency aware of any recent studies that clearly show safety problems."

My next stop was the Mayo Clinic website, which has a wealth of knowledge, and of course, all of it is reliable. This article, written by an Registered Dietician, clearly points out that while there are no known ill effects of aspartame and diet soda in general, there are better options, like water or juice.

I know that I could be drinking water, but from what I've read and heard, diet soda really isn't all that bad. Most of the websites or information that states it is bad for you does not measure up to my reputable information standard, so I can't trust it.

To satisfy my sweet tooth at lunch, I now drink some Crystal Light sweet peach tea. It has only 5 calories and satisfies that need for something sweet at the end. If I do get a craving for Dr. Pepper, which only happens once or twice a week now, I most certainly will try the diet version. Appears to be okay for me! :)