diet coke and memory loss

[ronni]

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I drink tons of diet coke-UPWARDS of 6 cans a day. I've recently heard that the artificial sweeteners can affect memory in addition to other stuff. Anyone seen an actual study???

 

[evajaclynn]

I drink tons of diet coke-UPWARDS of 6 cans a day. I've recently heard that the artificial sweeteners can affect memory in addition to other stuff. Anyone seen an actual study???

I also drink around that many cans of diet coke or ddp (diet dr. pepper) each day - but I think that in those studies they use HUGE amounts of artificial sweetner - more than you could possibly consume in a day.

 

[cooldreams]

the biggest thing i heard about artificial sweetners is they are cancerous...

 

[OzDDS]

I also drink around that many cans of diet coke or ddp (diet dr. pepper) each day - but I think that in those studies they use HUGE amounts of artificial sweetner - more than you could possibly consume in a day.

Ton's of diet coke.. although it may not be cariogenic.. the acid will still erode all your teeth away. 😀

 

[jeffsleepy]

any concerns about so much caffiene resulting in shaky hands thus harming a career in surgery? I could always switch to diet sprite I suppose.

 

[evajaclynn]

Ton's of diet coke.. although it may not be cariogenic.. the acid will still erode all your teeth away. 😀

yummy 🙂

 

[Enkindu]

I drink tons of diet coke-UPWARDS of 6 cans a day. I've recently heard that the artificial sweeteners can affect memory in addition to other stuff. Anyone seen an actual study???

I heard something about this once but I can't remember what it was. What was the question again?

😉

 

[Siggy]

any concerns about so much caffiene resulting in shaky hands thus harming a career in surgery? I could always switch to diet sprite I suppose.

Actually, diet soda generally has more caffine then regular soda. You would want to go with diet, caffine free soda. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777440.html

But in your case, it looks like sprite doesn't have caffine anyways.

 

[Blake]

I wouldn't know, I rarely drink soda, and I haven't had a cup of coffee in years. Coffee is overrated in my opinion...

 

[jeffsleepy]

I meant going from diet coke to diet sprite, but I guess I need the caffine to keep me going sometimes.

Actually, diet soda generally has more caffine then regular soda. You would want to go with diet, caffine free soda. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0777440.html

But in your case, it looks like sprite doesn't have caffine anyways.

 

[U4iA]

tea is the way to go.... has a lot of health benefits, none of the artificial stuff they put in sodas, a moderate amount of caffeine, and it's naturally sugarfree... if you need your sugar and caffeine, start off by adding all the sugar you want and drink as often as you like, then slowly cut back til you enjoy drinking the plain tea moderately.. i dropped a pretty nasty coffee habit that way..

 

[Dr.Bevo]

I drink tons of diet coke-UPWARDS of 6 cans a day. I've recently heard that the artificial sweeteners can affect memory in addition to other stuff. Anyone seen an actual study???

I remember my biochem teacher talking about this in undergrad. Nutrasweet is a two amino acid peptide. One of these amino acids is phenylalanine, a precursor for neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Supposedly, an abnormally high intake of phenylalanine can lead to abnormally high levels of synthesis of those neurotransmitters. So theoretically, you could cause brain damage with a grossly abnormal intake of nutrasweet. I've never seen any studies that show how much diet coke you would have to drink and for how long you'd have to do it. So, while it may be bad theoretically, there may not be any proof to show it.

Seriously though - six cans? That can't be healthy. Try drinking more juice/milk/or plain old water.

 

[vikaskoth]

drinking lots of soft drinks are supposed to increase your risk of esophageal cancer.

 

[12R34Y]

got a study you can cite to back that one up.........in regards to esophageal cancer?

later

 

[azzarah]

I drink 4 cups of coffee a day with 5 packs of AS in each....better quit now, huh?

 

[vikaskoth]

got a study you can cite to back that one up.........in regards to esophageal cancer?

later

i heard it on nbc or abc news, it was just their short daily health alert to freak everyone out.

Although 6 cokes a day sounds a little excessive.

 

[Tiki]

Awhile back, there was rumors that artificial sweeteners may be linked to alzheimer's. I'm too lazy to find proof though, but I remember them talking about it on the news.

 

[krabmas]

My nutrition professor says that the artificial sweetners cause memory loss. He tells stories of students that stop drinking diet soda and start getting better grades.

Probably 6 a day is enough to cause this. However 1 or 2 a day might not be so bad.

 

[Baditude]

There was a study awhile ago about cola's both diet and regular causing osteoporosis in even smaller daily dosages than 6 cans a day.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

There was a study awhile ago about cola's both diet and regular causing osteoporosis in even smaller daily dosages than 6 cans a day.

Something about the phosphates in soda liberating Ca from the bone stores? Can't remember ...

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Something about the phosphates in soda liberating Ca from the bone stores? Can't remember ...

Too much diet soda!

 

[phoenixsupra]

Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners triger an insulin spike causing slight hypoglycemia. That probably doesn't help your memory much. 🙂

 

[babyruth]

Actually, just had esophageal cancer lecture and he said that hot beverages and lack of selenium in the diet, along with tons of other risk factors (etoh, tobacco, obesity, etc.) can cause esophageal cancer. He didn't mention AS, but like etoh, could be due to the acid in the soda that is an irritant.

 

[Fermata]

If you live long enough you will get cancer.

It's really just a matter of what kind.

 

[ucsb101]

My dad was saying that there was this lady at his work....who drank diet soda non-stop and that she started developing MS like symptoms....and when she went to the doctor...her doc said...."naa diet coke or artificial sweetners have nothing to do with it" so she went to another doc....and the new doc said that...he had two other patients who had similar symptoms and they too were artificial sweetner addicts!!.....crazy stuff

 

[phoenixsupra]

I hope anyone who reads this thread will quit using the stuff. But IMHO the best reason not to drink diet coke is that it TASTES really bad. 😀

 

[Siggy]

^
But diet pepsi isn't that bad.

 

[evajaclynn]

I have a cousin who was having wierd symptons like described above. Once she stopped drinking diet soda, she was fine again. Of course, I haven't taken the 'good advice' and still drink a great deal of it. Then again, I don't have wierd shaking symptoms, etc. At least, not yet!

And neither Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi win - its Diet Dr. Pepper, all the way!

 

[phoenixsupra]

^
But diet pepsi isn't that bad.

Maybe, but it's still real bad. 😀

 

[Leforte]

Large use of carbonated beverages has been associated with increased esophageal cancer due to increased reflux and predisposition to barretts esophagus from "burping" the carbonation. Moreover, caffeine has been demonstrated to cause lower esophageal relaxation further contributing to this phenomena.

If you are interested in a study demonstrating this - try pubmed with the appropriate key words.

 

[blueoval]

I read the same thing somewhere about diet sodas causing MS. Can't remember exactly where, but it also said that the people followed drank six or more diet cokes in a day. It also said something about diet cokes that sit in temps over 80 deg F develope formic acid and when metabolized by the body it turns to formaldahyde. The formaldahyde is then stored in the retinas and fat tissue leading to vision loss and weight gain. Then again any studies that say Equal is safe have been done by the Monsanto Corp. and if any of this were true they'd tell us right...

 

[SoulRFlare]

Actually, it's not the caffeine and/or the aspartame. numerous studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between medical school and memory/IQ loss...in one study, 90% of students reported that knowledge retained is inversely proportional to the number of hours spent learning the material. these findings were particularly evident in the areas colloquially known as "biochemistry" and "gross anatomy", though investigators found compelling evidence that "histology" elicited a statistically relevant coefficent of refraction using the Dingleberg Test of Significant Excrutiation.
In other words, its normal to feel dumb in medical school 😉
So suck down that caffeine, study hard, keep your eye on the ball, because Turkey Day, and not long after Santa Claus, is on the way!

 

[phoenixsupra]

Actually, it's not the caffeine and/or the aspartame. numerous studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between medical school and memory/IQ loss...in one study, 90% of students reported that knowledge retained is inversely proportional to the number of hours spent learning the material. these findings were particularly evident in the areas colloquially known as "biochemistry" and "gross anatomy", though investigators found compelling evidence that "histology" elicited a statistically relevant coefficent of refraction using the Dingleberg Test of Significant Excrutiation.
In other words, its normal to feel dumb in medical school 😉
So suck down that caffeine, study hard, keep your eye on the ball, because Turkey Day, and not long after Santa Claus, is on the way!

Yeah, I bet you're right about that. But still, diet soda is total piss and is not good for you. 😉

 

[Siggy]

Actually, it's not the caffeine and/or the aspartame. numerous studies have demonstrated a strong correlation between medical school and memory/IQ loss...in one study, 90% of students reported that knowledge retained is inversely proportional to the number of hours spent learning the material. these findings were particularly evident in the areas colloquially known as "biochemistry" and "gross anatomy", though investigators found compelling evidence that "histology" elicited a statistically relevant coefficent of refraction using the Dingleberg Test of Significant Excrutiation.
In other words, its normal to feel dumb in medical school 😉
So suck down that caffeine, study hard, keep your eye on the ball, because Turkey Day, and not long after Santa Claus, is on the way!

No linky, no care'y.

For example, we should ban dihydrogen-monoxide... http://www.dhmo.org/
/sarcasm

 

[v-tach]

I remember my biochem teacher talking about this in undergrad. Nutrasweet is a two amino acid peptide. One of these amino acids is phenylalanine, a precursor for neurotransmitters like dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine. Supposedly, an abnormally high intake of phenylalanine can lead to abnormally high levels of synthesis of those neurotransmitters. So theoretically, you could cause brain damage with a grossly abnormal intake of nutrasweet. I've never seen any studies that show how much diet coke you would have to drink and for how long you'd have to do it. So, while it may be bad theoretically, there may not be any proof to show it.

Seriously though - six cans? That can't be healthy. Try drinking more juice/milk/or plain old water.

That does make sense, in light of the fact that people with PKU can't process phenylalanine normally and therefore must limit their intake to prevent brain damage. However, I do not know how much one would have to consume to have an effect in the absence of such a disorder. Personally, I just don't trust the stuff and I think it tastes kind of bad anyway--I'm not a big soda drinker but when I do drink it, it's always the regular stuff.

 

[kenmc3]

Haven?t you guys figured out that just about anything in excess is bad for the body...

 

[nicholonious]

Took a gastro class a while back, heard that soda (not sure if diet or non-diet makes a difference) can cause GERD (gastroesophogeal reflux disease), probably leading to the esophogeal cancers spoken about earlier. Just reinforcing what some of you guys said earlier cause boy, keep drinking excessively and you're sure to feel burning pain up in your chest.