Warning: Diet Coke is poison!!

[PaulW99]

Or so said an email that I received a year or two ago. I briefly scanned it before deleting it.

Today I was in a supermarket parking lot, loading my shopping (including Diet Coke) when a guy comes up to me and says: "I see you've bought Diet Coke, did you know that it contains aspartame and that is used to kill ants?"

Needless to say, a lively discussion followed.

I can't believe it. I know people receive these emails, I know they read these emails, I know some even believe these emails, but to go up to total strangers and tell them about it??

He also told me that margarine was originally designed for turkeys but they refused to eat it, so now they sell it to people instead.

We parted on good terms, he said it was refreshing to meet someone who trusts The System. I said: don't worry, the system works. And he shouldn't believe emails.

As Mayor Quimby said: Are the People getting dumber, or are they just getting louder?

[smudge]

Or so said an email that I received a year or two ago. I briefly scanned it before deleting it.

Today I was in a supermarket parking lot, loading my shopping (including Diet Coke) when a guy comes up to me and says: "I see you've bought Diet Coke, did you know that it contains aspartame and that is used to kill ants?"

Needless to say, a lively discussion followed.

I can't believe it. I know people receive these emails, I know they read these emails, I know some even believe these emails, but to go up to total strangers and tell them about it??

He also told me that margarine was originally designed for turkeys but they refused to eat it, so now they sell it to people instead.

We parted on good terms, he said it was refreshing to meet someone who trusts The System. I said: don't worry, the system works. And he shouldn't believe emails.

As Mayor Quimby said: Are the People getting dumber, or are they just getting louder?

Fascinating!

But I can see where the guy is coming from ( though obviously he is ill informed) !
Much of the food we are encouraged to buy is not very healthy. Big business is interested in profit rather than the well being of the public.
Once you become aware of this it is easy to be seduced by pseudo science and half baked paranoid claims. Especially when advertising is just as full of BS as some 'new age paranoid line', but is far more pervasive!
The difference between "an average Joe trying to make sense of a crazy system" and a "paranoid loony" can be a little blurry here.

When you say "the system works" I assume you mean that we won't be poisoned by supermarket food? Agreed. Is "not being poisoned" enough to describe it as "working" though? I'd argue for more health conscious foods, accurate clear labeling, and honest advertising.

[Graham Lappin]

As far as I am aware, the best methods of killing ants with coke are (a) to drown them in it or (b) to hit them with the can.

Diet coke is not particularly "good for you" but like anything else, the odd glass now and again will not kill you (unless, as with the above ant analogy, someone cracks your skull with the can).

[Croydon Bob]

Mmmmm.... aspartame. :pour:

[PaulW99]

I believe "the system works" as in: no multinational company is going to put poison in a product that is consumed by millions of people every day. For starters they have no reason to do that (they're killing their customers, risking a huge fine and/or jail time for executives and also endless lawsuits) and also the government tests and approves food additives meticulously.

A lot of people seem to have come to the conclusion that the government and "big businesss" are out to get us. They are not. They are us. We are them. Sometimes things go a bit wrong but that is the exception.

It's like with the H1N1 vaccination. The reasoning behind the objections to taking the shot seemed (to me) to be:
A. government is bad
B. flu shot comes from government
C. hence flu shot is bad

[smudge]

I believe "the system works" as in: no multinational company is going to put poison in a product that is consumed by millions of people every day. For starters they have no reason to do that (they're killing their customers, risking a huge fine and/or jail time for executives and also endless lawsuits) and also the government tests and approves food additives meticulously.

A lot of people seem to have come to the conclusion that the government and "big businesss" are out to get us. They are not. They are us. We are them. Sometimes things go a bit wrong but that is the exception.

It's like with the H1N1 vaccination. The reasoning behind the objections to taking the shot seemed (to me) to be:
A. government is bad
B. flu shot comes from government
C. hence flu shot is bad


Totally agree.

But is it enough to say that that the "system works" just because it (supermarket food) won't kill us (at least not quickly)? I think we could expect better than that!

[PaulW99]

Totally agree.

But is it enough to say that that the "system works" just because it (supermarket food) won't kill us (at least not quickly)? I think we could expect better than that!

Giving the people what they want without poisoning them is good enough for me. There has to be personal responsibility otherwise we can descend into a totalitarian state.

[smudge]

Giving the people what they want without poisoning them is good enough for me. There has to be personal responsibility otherwise we can descend into a totalitarian state.

Hmm...
So would clearer food labeling be totalitarian?
Is tobacco packet health warning totalitarian?
Does accurate information ever prevent free choice?
How much "choice" do kids have in a fast food culture?
And who's responsibility is the increase of obesity?

[PaulW99]

>So would clearer food labeling be totalitarian?
No
>Is tobacco packet health warning totalitarian?
No
>Does accurate information ever prevent free choice?
No
>How much "choice" do kids have in a fast food culture?
That's up to the parents
>And who's responsibility is the increase of obesity?
People who eat too much for their level of exercise.

I was thinking more along the lines of government banning the sale of unhealthy food.
Or forcing companies to only sell what the government deems to be healthy.
That's going too far, in my humble view.

[smudge]

>So would clearer food labeling be totalitarian?
No
>Is tobacco packet health warning totalitarian?
No
>Does accurate information ever prevent free choice?
No
>How much "choice" do kids have in a fast food culture?
That's up to the parents
>And who's responsibility is the increase of obesity?
People who eat too much for their level of exercise.

I was thinking more along the lines of government banning the sale of unhealthy food.
Or forcing companies to only sell what the government deems to be healthy.
That's going too far, in my humble view.

Sure, agreed.
Though I'd suggest culture (promoted by big business) has a huge influence on what we all eat and the choices we have. If you have kids you will be aware how unrealistic it is to suggest parents can be fully responsible for what they eat. And to blame the obese for being so is to ignore the addictive nature of certain foods and the cultural pressure to indulge.
I'd suggest we should be able to do better in this day and age than being satisfied with the fact that big business doesn't kill us. Insisting on good clear information is one way. Using the tax system is another.

[FarSideOfTheMoon]

Supermarkets are full of 'sludgey' foods. High fat/sugar/salt, melt in the mouth calorie traps optimised for eating Probably about 80% of food deals are for unhealthy empty-calorie-laden foods our bodies are just not used to eating in vast quantities.

The least of people's worries for their long term health is diet coke.

What goes into an awful lot of cheap food would make you feel sick just knowing about it. It's not going to kill you quickly as pointed out above obviously. Doesn't make as good a story over all though compared to a single issue mega-killer like diet coke. I hear diet pepsi is fine though! O0

[gorgeousgertie]

its poison all right...........but its my poison of choice!!!!

[Matt]

Strange thing is if you understand why aspartame kills ants the issue goes away. It doesn't poison them, it starves them. Being incredibly sweet the ants think they've found a wonderful food source and expend all their efforts into gathering and munching down on aspartame to the exclusion of almost everything else. Of course as we know it has no nutritional value whatsoever so they die of malnutrition.

This isn't some side effect that we're unaware of, it's the primary characteristic of aspartame and the reason we buy it. The moral here is not that aspartame is poison; it's that you can't live on aspartame alone. Anyone who doesn't know that already certainly does need an intervention. They may just possibly be an ant in disguise.

[smudge]

Strange thing is if you understand why aspartame kills ants the issue goes away. It doesn't poison them, it starves them. Being incredibly sweet the ants think they've found a wonderful food source and expend all their efforts into gathering and munching down on aspartame to the exclusion of almost everything else. Of course as we know it has no nutritional value whatsoever so they die of malnutrition.


A bit like living on BigMac and fries???!! ;)

Being serious; that's fascinating, I was not aware of that.

[Drop Bear]

Strange thing is if you understand why aspartame kills ants the issue goes away. It doesn't poison them, it starves them. Being incredibly sweet the ants think they've found a wonderful food source and expend all their efforts into gathering and munching down on aspartame to the exclusion of almost everything else. Of course as we know it has no nutritional value whatsoever so they die of malnutrition.

Thanks Matt, I didn't know that.

Some years ago,I went to a chiropractor in desperation. Physio had not helped; I was either off my face with painkillers or throwing up with the pain. The pain went and has never returned.

I started getting suspicious about the bloke when he told me " aspartane is a neuro toxin". I have been unable to find any evidence to support that claim. I understand that if you drink a bathtub full of diet Coke everyday, you will probably get sick and may die. Just as you would if you tried to live on big Macs and fries.


The nutjob then told me not to take my medication for osteoporosis as it only works enough to show up on the bone density scans,but did no good at all. AND I should eat no dairy food at all. (really)

We parted company when he tried to get me on a diet based on Atkins' dangerous woo,which caused your body to go into keto acidosis.Oh, I also needed to buy expensive dietary supplements.

Needless to say,that experience left me a bit sceptical about Chiropractic.My questioning turned to incredulity when I tried to actually find the science behind chiropractic,only to discover there isn't any.

[chaggle]

So the chiropractor helped with your backpain (I believe there is some evidence that chiropractic manipulation IS efficacious for that) but then spoiled it with woo?

I have a friend who is having a very similar experience; she went to an osteopath recently and he helped with a back problem. He then started giving her dietary advice (telling her amongst other things that she was lactose intolerant). I find this a bit worrying as this friend has had severe eating disorders for many years coming close to death on one occasion.

I looked at his website and found that he also does:



Osteopathy
Cranial Osteopathy

Soft Tissue Massage and Articulation

Acupuncture
Moxibustion
Cupping
Electrotherapy
Herbal Medicine

Nutritional Advice
Exercise Programmes

These people surely do themselves no favours mixing at least semi-believable practices with out-and-out woo?

BTW I looked up Moxibustion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moxibustion)


Moxibustion (Chinese: 灸; pinyin: jiǔ) is a traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa, or mugwort herb. It plays an important role in the traditional medical systems of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, and Mongolia. Suppliers usually age the mugwort and grind it up to a fluff; practitioners burn the fluff or process it further into a stick that resembles a (non-smokable) cigar. They can use it indirectly, with acupuncture needles, or sometimes burn it on a patient's skin.

[PaulW99]

As far as I know, chiropractic is out and out quackery.
http://www.skepdic.com/chiro.html
It's also one of the worst types of quackery - it's dangerous.

As for people claiming it helps/helped their back, I don't doubt them. But some things cure themselves, and there is the placebo effect.

[jimwalsh]

Strange thing is if you understand why aspartame kills ants the issue goes away. It doesn't poison them, it starves them. Being incredibly sweet the ants think they've found a wonderful food source and expend all their efforts into gathering and munching down on aspartame to the exclusion of almost everything else. Of course as we know it has no nutritional value whatsoever so they die of malnutrition.

This isn't some side effect that we're unaware of, it's the primary characteristic of aspartame and the reason we buy it. The moral here is not that aspartame is poison; it's that you can't live on aspartame alone. Anyone who doesn't know that already certainly does need an intervention. They may just possibly be an ant in disguise.

If I remember rightly Aspartame and other artificial sweeteners do also upregulate the mechanism of glucose ingestion through taste activated sensory stimuli.

So if you have a diet coke with your maccyds and donuts you will probably ingest a similar amount of glucose anyway (I just made the last bit up)

[Drop Bear]

So the chiropractor helped with your backpain (I believe there is some evidence that chiropractic manipulation IS efficacious for that) but then spoiled it with woo?


Well,the pain went,it seemed at the time the chiropractor had fixed my back. I really don't know for a fact one way or another.

Evidence? Really, I wasn't aware of that.Could you point me at some? (OK,any)

[chaggle]

Well,the pain went,it seemed at the time the chiropractor had fixed my back. I really don't know for a fact one way or another.

Evidence? Really, I wasn't aware of that.Could you point me at some? (OK,any)

This article (http://www.ukskeptics.com/article.php?dir=articles&article=chiropractic.php) by John Jackson implies that there is some.


The one area that there is evidence that Chiropractic can be beneficial is in treating lower-back pain (see: RAND paper - opens in a new window) although RAND are not so supportive of Chiropractic cervical (relating to the neck) spine manipulation.

Despite the fact that Chiropractors can achieve beneficial results using spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), this does not endorse Chiropractic itself: SMT is not unique to Chiropractic, it is also offered by qualified doctors and physiotherapists, for example. It is the inappropriate use of SMT that is the concern with Chiropractic.

[fotworth]

Diet soda helps prevent kidney stones,But diet coke doesn't.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64D4HO20100514

[Drop Bear]

It was upper back pain;(T5 vertebra)) turned out there was hairline crush fracture due to osteoporosis.

However,the chiropractor did seem to help at the time.

I should also mention it was the chiropractor who spotted the fracture,which led to the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis via a bone density test. He did that by having new Xrays taken (at the same facility) with with me supine instead of standing. He insisted on Xrays before doing any adjustments.Just as well.

My GP's attitude is;"I know chiropractic shouldn't work, but a good one can work wonders-----"

[PaulW99]

It's happened again! Conspiracy theories are escaping the internet and infiltrating the real world. First some guy tells me in a supermarket parking lot that Diet Coke is poison, now another guy who sends me a daily real estate listing update has included a piece about how Obama and some mysterious bankers' cartel is poisoning the Mexican Gulf on purpose!

Again I ask, what happens when the people believe who this stuff constitute the majority?