Is drinking sodas laced with artificial sweetners really that bad for you?
First, I have to address the issue of “taste” and the role it plays in this question. Some taste like watered down Listerene (not mentioning any names here, but let’s call one of them “D. Coke”, no no, too obvious, how about “Diet C.”) and others taste better than their full sugared brothers. Everyone has a different preference to their “fake” drink of choice, so let’s remove the issue of taste preference from the equation and move onto the arguments of nutrition and effects on one’s long term health.
Issue 1 – Nutrition
Clearly there is none. Looking at the nutritional stats on any can of soda, it is plain to see that there is a whole lot of zero’s listed. So if it doesn’t have any fat, energy, fibre, sodium, carbohydrates or protein, does that mean you are really drinking nothing? I wouldn’t think so, I do feel a wonderful velvety fizz sweep past my tonsils as I slurp down one of these beverages, so it must contain something right? Next guess, is it flavoured water? If so, does that mean it’s as good for me as water? All signs point to yes, except for the ones (and there are many) that point to no. I choose to be an optimist and hence head in the yes direction.
Issue 2 – Effects on health
From the 1950s saccharin was initially used as a artificial sugar replacement, but in the 1980s they discovered along with smoking and wearing DT swimwear, that it is carcinogenic. Since then industry has generally swapped over to aspartame for fake sugary goodness, and now 20 years into its usage, everything seems to be coming up roses.
Looking back over film footage from the 50s I can see now that film stars looked pale and sickly, almost always without colour,
a kind of grey, and as such I have to agree with the scientific findings on saccharin being a naughty subsitute for sugar.
Now call it co-incidence, but with the adoption of aspartame and technological advancements in colour televisions, I’ve noticed from film footage of later decades that film stars are looking a whole lot more colourful, radiant and healthy. And now as we have entered the 21st century, reviewing film footage on my HD TV only goes further to prove that the long term positive effects of artifical sweetners is looking good.
In conclusion, Morgan Spurlock – from Supersize Me – proves that drinking full sugared drinks makes you fat – and Calista Flockhart
proves that drinking Diet drinks makes you skinny. Do either have cancer? Nope (warning: information not verified).
So make what you will with this sound scientific evidence.
Although I have never ever met a single Australian who has actually drunk a Foster’s beer, I can say with almost 100% certainty that I have also never met an Australian who likes to drink Foster’s.