SODA – DIET OR REGULAR? NEITHER!!

By Dr. Susan Burger

While I don’t want to take advantage of this e-mail list, I do find myself more and more wanting to share bits of information with you that you may not be getting elsewhere.
My pet peeve for today??? SODA, and DIET SODA.

Just last week a patient came in that I have been seeing for several years, and she reported that her arms and legs were feeling numb. Hmmmm – these hadn’t been symptoms that she had in the past.

Awhile ago I had a woman in her 30’s come in, an avid tennis player, with similar symptoms – generalized numbness in her arms and legs, and even on the trunk of her body.

As I mentioned this subject to another patient just this morning, she told me that when she has nutrasweet, even in small quantities, she loses her peripheral vision.
What do these people have in common?? They were drinking increased amounts of diet soda. When they stopped all the neurological symptoms went away.

NutraSweet/aspartame is a dangerous chemical and should be avoided! Even if you are dieting, and yes, even if you are diabetic. Did you know aspartame can actually increase your appetite? And has been found to increase the fat around your waist, increase cholesterol and high blood pressure (metabolic syndrome) all of which can raise your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

And what about regular soda?? One statistic says that for every soft drink or sugar-sweetened beverage a child drinks every day, their obesity risk appears to jump 60%. There are from 8 to 12 teaspoons or more of sugar in every soda.

“But I use Splenda”, some people say to me. Sorry, but Splenda has been marketed well as being more natural, but it too is a poisonous chemical. It is chemically treated with chlorine and phosgene which is a poisonous gas, and one ingredient is a major chemical used to make plastics and pesticides.

So what is better? Water. It is the best substance to hydrate you and makes your body happy!