Japanese don't drink any Diet pop, juice, ect..Aspartame is susupect..

Soda in general is not all that popular here - but there most definitely are a couple of "diet" colas readily available. I've accidentally bought diet sprite on occasion, so I know it's not limited to colas.

If a place sells coke, there will almost always be the full range - Coke, coke light and coke zero. Can't say I've ever seen a place where they did not sell the stuff. Apparently a new one is out that's zero calorie plus a vitamin boost.

I'm wondering where your friend was shopping...

Originally posted by bizone


or is it just scientific studies that propose a "possible link" between aspartame and brain tumors? is possible to even pin point a brain tumor to anything? how much aspartame do you have to consume before a tumor develops?

A thirty second google search does wonders -

www.healthdangers.com...

This is just a tiny sample of the data out there - and it's not just brain tumors that it's been linked to. Just because it doesn't "seem" to effect someone it doesn't mean it's not doing damage.

reply to post by ThePiemaker


I do not drink anything that is manufactured, only water.

Stevia is not banned in the US, as you can find it in natural foods stores, Wal-Mart started to sell it but then one day it was taken out of the shelves.

I use stevia or raw brown sugar depnding what is needed for.

Thank you vox2442 for the reply! I was really hoping to see someone from there to post as a confirmation.

Harajuku is where he spent most of his time but, I'll have to ask where all he did go. He just uploaded a cell video of the WTC train station from his cell that shows some the vending machines there. I was surprised to see how many there are and there are even more than what he showed; as you might already know. However, since he doesn't speak hardly any Japanese, he couldn't tell if there were any diet on display or not when viewing the shelves.

Here's his short video. (sorry I can never remember how to embed a vid)

Originally posted by vox2442
Soda in general is not all that popular here - but there most definitely are a couple of "diet" colas readily available. I've accidentally bought diet sprite on occasion, so I know it's not limited to colas.

If a place sells coke, there will almost always be the full range - Coke, coke light and coke zero. Can't say I've ever seen a place where they did not sell the stuff. Apparently a new one is out that's zero calorie plus a vitamin boost.

I'm wondering where your friend was shopping...

[edit on 15-7-2008 by Komodo]

Originally posted by DevolutionEvolvd

Originally posted by Nammu
I'd have a bit of sugar and brush my teeth afterwards any day, rather than poison myself.

That one gave me a chuckle. Fluoride anyone???

Anyway, back on topic. I think there is a strong case for drinks and foods containing these artificial sweeteners being more detrimental to your health than sugar. The alternative I use is either honey or Xylitol(sugar alcohol).

[edit on 14-7-2008 by DevolutionEvolvd]

[edit on 14-7-2008 by DevolutionEvolvd]

Why did it make you chuckle, do you ingest toothpaste?

reply to post by jprophet420


i know that when i brush my teeth, if even the slightest bit makes its way into my throat while brushing i have the irrepressable urge to vomit. which sucks cuz i probably just had a delicious breakfast of bacon n eggs or something! never really understood why other than the fact that my body really doesnt want the stuff in my body, but it will take me 15 - 20 minutes for my stomach to calm down and my mouth to stop salivating profusely. also, the membranes in your mouth are likely to absorb things without you having to actually ingest it, plus sometimes you dont necessarily rinse as thoroughly after as you could to get all the traces of flouride from off of your teeth leaving them to be taken into your system as the day goes on.

But on topic: not that i am fat or even close to overweight but Ive never willingly drank a full can/glass/whatever of diet soda, not only because the taste is absolutely disgusting, but because of the psychological warfare it plays on my friends and others that i have seen who feel they can Only drink diet soda. they seem to rely on the fact that the soda says Diet on the can, reinforcing the thought that they need to be on a diet and that they are fat and a burden on the cosmetically-focused society we live in. In the end, doesnt it make sense that if you feel you need to be on a diet, to not drink soda at all, diet or otherwise?? huh, fatty? ever think of that? try some friggin water or juice!
Just more products using addictions to keep their product selling; instead of the physical addictions that many products and drugs use, diet soda relies on the hooking you mentally, preying on your insecurities. get on a treadmill instead, sucker, before its too late.

I've unleashed my fair share of rants on aspartame at work as well. Originally I just got strange looks and sarcastic comments mixed with rhetorical questions, but a few people actually started doing more research and have thanked me. I couple of others have mentioned that they notice a lot more people/articles discussing aspartame, that they had overlooked before and are now more interested in it.

The only "healthy" alternative to sugar that I have found is stevia, although it's not a direct replacement, and takes getting used to. It doesn't work with all types of foods either.

I have managed to completely kick soda out of my diet for going on 3 years now. The concept of "diet" foot, or sugar-free food is just crazy in my opinion - tricking yourself into thinking you are eating something sweet is just the wrong approach. You need to re-train your palette and move away from sugar (just use in moderation), as opposed to finding replacements for it.

The Japanese also don't use MSG(monosodium-glutamate) in their foods(from my understanding). I believe it's supposed to be banned there or restricted somehow.
It's supposed to act like a drug making the food you eat taste better than it really is, and a lot of fastfood joints like to make widescale use of it.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

www.nationmaster.com...

How about the 'Miracle Berry', a berry, that, when eaten before meals, makes sour food taste sweet! this is an entry from wikimedia.org, one article on its controversial history in respect with research/approval, and another on its properties. From Wikimedia.org on miracle berry

An attempt was made in the 1970s to commercialize the ability of the fruit to turn non-sweet foods into sweet foods without a caloric penalty, but ended in failure in controversial circumstances with accusations that the project was sabotaged and the research burgled by the sugar industry to prevent loss of business caused by a drop in the need for sugar.[4] The FDA has always denied that pressure was put on it by the sugar industry, but refused to release any files on the subject.[5] Similar arguments are noted for FDA's regulation on stevia now labeled as a "dietary supplement" instead of a "sweetener".

Recently, the fruit has become popular in Bacchanalian-like food tasting events, referred to as "flavor tripping parties" by some.[1] The tasters consume sour and bitter foods, such as lemons, radishes, and beer, to experience the taste changes that occur. A blog dedicated to the phenomenon of "flavor tripping" describes the miracle fruit "like a candy Willy Wonka would have invented." [6]

'The Miracle Fruit plant produces berries that, when eaten, cause bitter and sour foods (such as lemons and limes) consumed later to taste sweet. The berry, also known as Miracle Berry, Magic Berry, or Flavor Berry (Sideroxylon dulcificum/Synsepalum dulcificum)[1] was first documented by explorer Chevalier des Marchais[2] during a 1725 excursion to its native West Africa. Marchais noticed that local tribes picked the berry from shrubs and chewed it before meals. The plant grows in bushes up to 20-feet high in its native habitat, but does not usually grow higher than ten feet in cultivation, and it produces two crops per year, after the end of the rainy season. It is an evergreen plant that produces small red berries, with flowers that are white and which are produced for many months of the year. The seeds are about the size of coffee beans.

The berry contains an active glycoprotein molecule, with some trailing carbohydrate chains, called miraculin.[3] When the fleshy part of the fruit is eaten, this molecule binds to the tongue's taste buds, causing bitter and sour foods to taste sweet. This effect lasts between thirty minutes and two hours. It is not a sweetener, as its effects depend on what is eaten afterwards, but has been used to cause bitter medicine to taste sweet.'

[edit on 15-7-2008 by star in a jar]

reply to post by ThePiemaker


STEVIA is BANNED by you?

where do you live?

for those that are interested in the evil stuff, and want to learn more, here's a link to a few articles by my faverite new zealand magazine

some other alternatives to sugar are live sweeteners, such as live cane, or maple syrup (not maple flavored syrup)....as to results from use of aspartame, i know its anecdotal, but i work alot with alternative medicine, and i have talked to many people and patients who were diagnosed with such things as MS, ADD, and other such things, which greatly decreased or disappeared when they discontinued use of artificial sweeteners.

I've travelled extensively throughout Japan and can say that Japanese drink lots of bottled beverages but that bottled tea or water are their primary choices. The tea is always unsweetened, so there is no need for sugar or any sugar substitutes. Sweetened carbonated beverages do exist, but one of the more popular of such items is high vitamin C lemon soda that all the major beverage companies sell a version of (sort of like a healthy trist to Mountain Dew). There are diet colas in Japan. In fact, there is a version of Diet Pepsi called Pepsi NEX. It is a strong tasting cola flavored with some citrus and actually something I wish was available in the US. Another twist on citrus flavored beverages in Japan is Chuhi, which is mildly alcoholic and sort of a mix of Mountain Dew and sochu liquor. But, in any event, sumitai ocha (cold tea) is the beverage of choice and is not sweetened at all.

That would explain why I was always eating so much as a teenager (even more than most teenagers), my sister was diabetic so we always had diet coke, I remember drinking like 6 cans a day. Diet coke also has preservative 211 (Sodium Benzoate), which is supposed to be really bad as well.

Also, here's some food additive lists I found.

www.mfcd.net...
www.traditionaloven.com... s-to-avoid


[edit on 15/7/08 by Cthulwho]

Originally posted by spec_ops_wannabe
The Japanese also don't use MSG(monosodium-glutamate) in their foods(from my understanding). I believe it's supposed to be banned there or restricted somehow.

Nope.

MSG was first isolated and patented by Ajnomoto - and it's very common in Japanese food. Many restaurants will have a shaker of it on the table beside the salt.

Interesting stuff star and flagged.

Good thing I'm very health oriented so this doesn't effect me in any way. Thank god for juice makers : )



Best Regards,
Richie

my friend had these pricise same symptoms, and it always happened about an hour after he ate or drank anything that had aspartame (951) in it, once he stopped having anything with it in it he has never had a problem.

I have been watching videos on the dangers of aspartame and I took a look at what the ingredients were in the Ice Breaker mints I have....and what a shocker.. aspartame! I wonder if it would be best to switch over to Altoids instead.

Meh I have epilepsy, and I read somewhere that aspartame triggers epileptic attacks, or at least causes the brain to start functioning worse than it is.

I don't wanna take the risk.

Diet taste terrible anyways. Why would anyone want to drink that crap?

Aspartame is a nerve agent that cooks the brain. It is deadly.

If you look into it you find the legalization of aspartame as one of the first acts as President of Ronald Reagan as a pay back to Donald Rumsfeld, that execrable miscreant.

The Japanese like so many around the world use Stevia.

Stevia can be purchased as a supplement in the USA, but it cannot be advertised as a sweetener. That is thanks to the corn syrup folks as much as it is to the peddlers of aspartame and saccharine.

The USA has a long list of truly evil people at the top of the political heap, but Donald Rumsfeld is one of the most evil (right up there with Phil Graham, Karl Rove, Cardinal Mahony, Barbara Bush (and her "beautiful mind"), Bill Clinton, etcetera