Is Diet Soda (Pop) Safe and Healthy for Diabetics?

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Whenever I ask diabetics why they drink diet soda (pop), most of them will respond with an answer similar to this, “it is healthier than regular soda.” Once in a while some diabetics would even say, “because doctors recommend diet soda for diabetics.”

So, is diet soda really healthier for diabetics? Before I answer this question, let us look at the general ingredients in a regular soda and a diet soda. Please keep in mind that the ingredients listed below are general ingredients and not specific ingredients.

Common soda ingredients

• Carbonated water
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Phosphoric acid
• Natural flavors
• Caffeine

Common diet soda ingredients

• Carbonated water
• Aspartame (sometimes sucralose is used)
• Phosphoric acid
• Potassium benzoate
• Citric acid
• Caffeine

The main difference between a regular soda and a diet soda is the calories. To reduce the calories in soda, artificial sweeteners are used to replace refined sugar (sucrose) or high-fructose corn syrup.

Most of us have been conditioned at an early age to believe that low calorie drinks are healthy and good for us. Because of this, it is also not surprising that most diabetics think that diet soda is good for them. To understand if diet soda is healthy for diabetics, we need to turn our attention to the artificial sweetener called aspartame.

What is aspartame?

Aspartame is a synthetic substance made up of methanol (wood alcohol), aspartic acid and phenylalanine. When aspartame reaches the small intestine, it reacts to certain enzyme which causes it to release methanol. Methanol is considered very toxic to the human body and can cause blindness or even death. (Source: Russell L. Blaylock, M.D., Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills)

Nowadays, most of the aspartame is made from the fecal matter of genetically modified bacteria. Studies have linked aspartame to diabetes, migraines, kidney failure, seizures, blindness, obesity, neurological disorders, mental illness and brain tumors.

Studies has also shown that aspartame is linked to autoimmune disorder. Below is an excerpt from one of my earlier articles about how diabetes is an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune disorders occur when the body’s immune system becomes impaired and starts attacking healthy cells. In the case of low insulin, the beta cells of the pancreatic islets are attacked by the immune system. These cells are the producer of the hormone insulin. Without them the body loses its ability to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body’s cells become resistance to insulin. Type 2 diabetes is usually caused by unhealthy diets that are too high in fat and refined sugar, and are contaminated with harmful synthetic chemicals and genetically modified ingredients. The lack of exercise, too much stress and being overweight can also contribute to type 2 diabetes.

So far we have discuss the toxic health effects of diet soda. What about the toxic health effects of regular soda?

Hidden dangers of high-fructose corn syrup

The ingredient you should be wary of in regular soda is high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The paragraphs below are excerpts from my earlier article titled Health Hazards of High-Fructose Corn Syrup.

HFCS is a synthetic sugar that is very destructive to the body and have been linked to heart disease, liver damage, cancer, obesity and diabetes. One of the dangerous properties of HFCS is that it may be genetically modified. Most of the corn grown in the U.S. is genetically modified. Since HFCS is a byproduct of corn, if it is made in the U.S., there is a very high chance that it is also genetically modified. Genetically modified food has been linked to many chronic diseases, such as cancer, sterility, premature aging, birth defects and obesity.

Another hazardous substance found in a good portion of HFCS is mercury. Below is a quote from washingtonpost.com.

Almost half of tested samples of commercial high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) contained mercury, which was also found in nearly a third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first- or second-highest labeled ingredient, according to two new U.S. studies.

Now, let us turn our attention back to the title of this article. Do you still think diet soda is safe for diabetics? If your doctor tells you that diet soda is safe to consume, would you still consume it?

Doctors who encourage their patients to drink diet soda do not understand how unhealthy it is. Doctors only know what they are taught in school. Most of the higher education institutions in Western society have been infiltrated by very rich and greedy people who care more about money than your health.

The Western conventional health industry is designed to make money by treating sick people; therefore, it could care less about your health. This is why most doctors know very little about nutrition and why some even encourage diabetics to drink diet soda. Fortunately, not all doctors are easily manipulated by the destructive Western conventional health industry.

Sources:

• http://naturalsociety.com/1999-investigation-finds-aspartame-is-made-with-genetically-modified-bacteria/
• http://www.naturalnews.com/035070_diet_soda_weight_loss_aspartame.html
• http://www.naturalnews.com/011804_aspartame_NutraSweet.html
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012601831.html

Related Posts:

• Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days – Review
• Natural Treatments for Diabetes

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Tags: Artificial Sweetener, Aspartame, Diabetes, Diabetics, Diet Soda

Category: Physical Energy