Diet soda may do more harm than good
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/10/diet-soda-may-do-more-harm-than-good/?hpt=hp_c3
I have talk about the dangers of diet soda before, this report is about a meta analysis of a variety of other studies. Meta analysis can sometimes really bring something into clarity and just as often further muddy the waters, so it is wise to take these reports with a grain of salt. Also, as the beverage industry was quick to point out, it is an ‘opinion’ piece and as such likely got minimal peer review (but note that Cell is a major scientific primary literature journal and as such the editors are even going to review opinion pieces). Still, the conclusions do jive with the other accumulated information, so on the other, other hand (or the gripping hand), it is worth taking note.
However, the author of the above article is clearly an airhead:
There are five FDA-approved artificial sweeteners: acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One), aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet), neotame, saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low), and sucralose (Splenda).
All of them are chemicals. “Saccharin was one of the first commercially-available artificially sweeteners, and it’s actually a derivative of tar,” says Swithers.
Natural sweeteners, like Stevia – which has no calories and is 250 times sweeter than regular sugar – is not a chemical, but is still a processed extract of a natural plant, and increases your health risks similar to artificial sweeteners.
“Just because something is natural does not always mean that it is safer,” says Jampolis.
Yep, watch out for them chemicals! As I recall from my biochemistry education (but what do I know?), all molecules are chemical, thus glucose (sugar) is a member of that dreaded chemical clan that is so dangerous.
