Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Matt Fisken, a freelance energy adviser and permaculturist, who blogs about electromagnetic fields and its effects on biological systems at http://smartermeters.blogspot.com.
For the 60 million Americans who consume diet soda every day [1], an ad just unleashed by Coca-Cola (featuring a picture of one woman with a sandwich and another with a Diet Coke) defending the safety of aspartame may be comforting. With 30 million people consuming at least 16 ounces of diet soda per day, it’s no surprise the company is looking to protect their sales of Diet Coke, which, just in the past year, started declining at a rate three times faster than regular Coke. [2]
Controversy surrounding aspartame, which was first synthesized in 1965 with the intention of treating ulcers, has only grown with its ubiquity. In 1983, the chemical was approved by the FDA to be added to carbonated beverages [3]. It is now found in thousands of products, from chewing gum to pickled ginger. Despite lab tests performed on rats which implicated aspartame as a carcinogenic agent and thousands of reports of adverse reactions to the chemical, the FDA stands by its original decision — which, like many product approvals, was based on research paid for and provided by the makers of the products.
Support for artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) as healthy alternatives to sugar, or high fructose corn syrup sweetened beverages (SSBs) is widespread among the medical community. The American Cancer Society [4], the American Heart Association [5] and the American Diabetes Association [6] all give aspartame their stamp of approval, simply cautioning those who wish to avoid it to read labels carefully and warning people with phenylketonuria about “possible effects.”
Despite the widely held belief that aspartame is completely safe, a number of doctors who see their patients with health problems are attributing those ailments to the sweetener.
For the past couple legislative sessions, the Alliance for a Healthier Vermont [7], with the endorsement of dozens of health providers, has been extremely supportive of a statewide excise tax on SSBs, excluding drinks containing aspartame. In January of 2012, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center began prohibiting the sale of SSBs in vending machines, the food court and cafeteria while declaring diet soda and flavored (sugar-sweetened) milk to be “healthy beverages.” (Patients still have a choice and if you work at the hospital you can “BYOS.”) [8] Even CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who has critically examined the safety of radio frequency radiation emitted by cellphones and recently reversed his position on the efficacy of using marijuana as medicine, continues to toe the line on aspartame stating, “I occasionally have diet drinks myself … like most things, you want to do it moderation.” [9]
Despite the widely held belief that aspartame is completely safe, a number of doctors who see their patients with health problems are attributing those ailments to the sweetener. Dr. Joseph Mercola has been the most outspoken physician regarding the risks of consuming ASBs and other foods containing the artificial sweetener. [10] Additionally, the FDA website hosts a document submitted in 2002 by the Aspartame Toxicity Information Center of Concord, N.H., listing dozens of reported side effects from the chemical, most notably headaches, dizziness, memory loss, vision problems and depression. [11]
Setting aside, for a moment, the debate on the safety of aspartame, it is worth considering one simple fact: sales of Diet Coke, which had risen dramatically in the past 15 years, began to drop last year with 3 percent fewer bottles, cans and fountain cups purchased. Diet Pepsi sales are down 6 percent.
This could be attributed to a number of possible reasons:
1. Diet soda drinkers have been stockpiling their favorite beverage and simply go to their pantry now instead of the store.
2. Diet soda drinkers have been frightened by the recent studies suggesting aspartame does not help fight obesity or diabetes.
3. Diet soda drinkers have been experiencing health problems that they’ve linked to their aspartame intake.
4. Diet soda drinkers have disproportionately passed away compared to regular soda consumers.
Three out of four of these scenarios would be impossible to remedy by Coca-Cola’s recent campaign defending their reliance on putting aspartame in their soft drinks. Only if — and that is a big IF — the research showing ASBs and other foods containing aspartame to be dangerous are proven to be false, will Coke’s upfront marketing plan have any impact on their declining sales of their no-calorie elixirs. More likely, Diet Coke’s artificially sweetened bubble has, in fact, burst.
Might consumers be starting to make decisions based on reasons besides “just for the taste of it?”
Notes
[1] http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db109.htm
[2] http://www.nbcnews.com/health/amid-falling-sales-coke-launches-campaign-defend-sweetener-6C10920355
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame
[4] http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame
[5] http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/Artificial-Sweeteners_UCM_305880_Article.jsp
[6] http://forecast.diabetes.org/magazine/food-thought/size-your-sweetener-options
[7] http://allianceforahealthiervt.org/
[8] https://practicegreenhealth.org/sites/default/files/uploadfiles/sugar_sweetened_beverages_dartmouth_hitchcock_dec_2012.pdf
[9] http://us.cnn.com/2013/08/15/opinion/carroll-diet-sodas/index.html
[10] http://aspartame.mercola.com/
[11] http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/dailys/03/jan03/012203/02p-0317_emc-000199.txt
