you know aspartame is poison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspartame#Health_risks_controversy) that worsens depression in a significant percentage of patients (http://www.mindfully.org/Health/Aspartame-Adverse-Reactions-1993.htm), right?
(yes, i genuinely believe this. no, i am not a gullible idiot who believes everything she reads on the internet. from wikipedia: "In 1995, FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief, Thomas Wilcox reported that aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995." consider the probabilities. i'm sure as fuck not ingesting that shit. i won't even use toothpaste that contains it.)
I've gone "fooditarian" the last 3 days (eating only ACTUAL FOOD) and I've been going nuts wanting something sweet. That news should keep me out of the diet Coke supply for at least another day or two.
i don't know anything about splenda. in general i just think artificial sweeteners are a bad idea. if i want sweets, i have real sweets. my basic M.O. is this: don't bring home junk food and sweets. if i don't have them around, i'm almost always too lazy to go get them. if i want them badly enough to go out for them, i'm allowed.
in general i just don't believe in 'diet' food. in my experience, i'll eat twice as much of something less satisfying trying to feed a craving for the real thing, so if i've really gotta have it, i just go ahead and have it.
The laziness thing doesn't work for me, for a couple of reasons. One, I live with someone else who is free to bring home anything & everything. Two, I work in one of those offices where new employees pretty much instantly gain 15 pounds due to all the free snacks.
I agree that in general, "diet" food is a poor substitute for the real thing. Right now though, I'm trying to stick to a pretty hard-core low carb diet, so "better living through chemistry" is my friend. (*That* part of the laziness thing, I do have.) Unfortunately I've come to rely too much on the fake-food bars, and at the same time my shrinking process has completely stalled. Coincidence? @$#%^$!!, I hope not.
if i've really gotta have it, i just go ahead and have it.
I have heard, BTW, that that's the real answer to the French Paradox. How can they eat all those "unhealthy" things and stay slim and healthy? Easy. They just go ahead and have it: real food, in non-enormous amounts.
take a look sometime. almost all toothpaste contains saccharin, aspartame, or both.
i always read ingredient labels these days. you'd be amazed how many things aspartame shows up in, even things that aren't labeled 'sugar-free'. while i do go on the occasional junk food spree, in general these days i try to stick to the food-only diet.
I (heart) the food-only diet. But at this point, sugar is just about as bad for me as most chemicals are. And I can't survive PMS without my chocolate! Or at least, no one else would. Survive, that is.
Sigh. On the topic of chemicals, I made a joke at lunch yesterday about stuff being made in "vats in New Jersey" ... no one got it. I miss the right coast.
*plots to go check the ingredients on stuartc's toothpaste tonight*
I note with some amusement that the Wikipedia article solemnly refers to both "Reports of symptoms and health conditions in the media" and "Self-reported cases on the Internet" as major sources of the controversy.
Having said that, the stuff is definitely addictive and definitely messes with MY head (don't know about anybody else's). There's really no conceivable benefit to my consuming it, unless it's attached to the only available caffeine source. (-:
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momijizukamori
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no subject
Date: 2006-06-08 10:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 03:27 am (UTC)(yes, i genuinely believe this. no, i am not a gullible idiot who believes everything she reads on the internet. from wikipedia: "In 1995, FDA Epidemiology Branch Chief, Thomas Wilcox reported that aspartame complaints represented 75% of all reports of adverse reactions to substances in the food supply from 1981 to 1995." consider the probabilities. i'm sure as fuck not ingesting that shit. i won't even use toothpaste that contains it.)
distracted enough?
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 03:50 am (UTC)I've gone "fooditarian" the last 3 days (eating only ACTUAL FOOD) and I've been going nuts wanting something sweet. That news should keep me out of the diet Coke supply for at least another day or two.
Got any good dirt on Splenda?
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 06:17 am (UTC)in general i just don't believe in 'diet' food. in my experience, i'll eat twice as much of something less satisfying trying to feed a craving for the real thing, so if i've really gotta have it, i just go ahead and have it.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 06:47 pm (UTC)I agree that in general, "diet" food is a poor substitute for the real thing. Right now though, I'm trying to stick to a pretty hard-core low carb diet, so "better living through chemistry" is my friend. (*That* part of the laziness thing, I do have.) Unfortunately I've come to rely too much on the fake-food bars, and at the same time my shrinking process has completely stalled. Coincidence? @$#%^$!!, I hope not.
I have heard, BTW, that that's the real answer to the French Paradox. How can they eat all those "unhealthy" things and stay slim and healthy? Easy. They just go ahead and have it: real food, in non-enormous amounts.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 03:51 am (UTC)I hope Tom's of Maine never goes out of business.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 04:50 am (UTC)i always read ingredient labels these days. you'd be amazed how many things aspartame shows up in, even things that aren't labeled 'sugar-free'. while i do go on the occasional junk food spree, in general these days i try to stick to the food-only diet.
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 05:27 pm (UTC)Sigh. On the topic of chemicals, I made a joke at lunch yesterday about stuff being made in "vats in New Jersey" ... no one got it. I miss the right coast.
*plots to go check the ingredients on
no subject
Date: 2006-06-09 08:34 pm (UTC)Having said that, the stuff is definitely addictive and definitely messes with MY head (don't know about anybody else's). There's really no conceivable benefit to my consuming it, unless it's attached to the only available caffeine source. (-: