Diet Soda Dangerous? Monday, March 22, 2004
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Back of the Book" Segment tonight, Americans
drink billions of gallons of diet soda a year. It's incredible how much we
consume. And some believe millions of Americans are addicted to the stuff.
They have to have it.
With us now is Dr. Shari Lieberman, a certified nutrition specialist here in
New York City.
So it's -- 10 billion cases of soda sold every year in the USA,
and 30 percent of that, approximately, is diet soda, and I know people who
walk around all day long drinking diet soda. What is that all about?
SHARI LIEBERMAN, PH.D., CERTIFIED NUTRITION SPECIALIST:
It's unbelievable. It is such an addicting substance. You have both the
aspartame, the NutraSweet, combined with the caffeine. You're basically
getting a rush all day. It actually messes with your brain chemicals, Bill.
O'REILLY: Does it really?
LIEBERMAN: It really does. You know, aspartic acid actually makes what we
call excitatory neurotransmitters. Imagine we have a balance of ones that
calm us down and ones that hype us up.
So, if you're drinking something that's going to make the ones that are
excitatory or making us hyper all day long, that's why there are so many
side effects associated with NutraSweet, such as irritability and anxiety.
I mean people are basically getting a rush all day from drinking this.
O'REILLY: OK. So, if you're drinking diet soda all day long or, say, you're
drinking, you know, 48 ounces, 50 ounces a day, which a lot of people do...
LIEBERMAN: They do.
O'REILLY: ... you are basically -- it's an upper.
LIEBERMAN: It's an upper. Exactly. And guess what happens when you run out
of it? It's a crasher...
O'REILLY: Is that right?
LIEBERMAN: ... and then you need an upper.
O'REILLY: You feel bad after it.
Now is this physically addicting, do you believe, or is it psychological?
LIEBERMAN: I believe it's physically addicting. You know, we know that
caffeine is. So you've got a ton of caffeine in the diet sodas. Then you
actually have a substance that's affecting neurotransmitters. So they're
really getting a double whammy, and, of course, we're talking about people
that are drinking it all day long.
O'REILLY: Yes, and they think that, well, I can drink it all day long
because there's no calories in it, I'm not going to get fat. Go ahead.
LIEBERMAN: I have to tell you something about that. If you look at the
research, people that drink diet sodas are oftentimes eating more calories
than people drinking regular sodas.
O'REILLY: But they're eating them.
LIEBERMAN: It actually increases...
O'REILLY: You know, that's -- they're eating.
LIEBERMAN: It seems to increase...
O'REILLY: You can't get fat drinking diet soda.
LIEBERMAN: It's not that you get fat, Bill. I think it's the...
O'REILLY: Bloated.
LIEBERMAN: ... taste of the sweet. It keeps you so addicted. They seem to
eat more carbohydrates throughout the day when they're drinking diet soda.
Go figure.
O'REILLY: What other physical things -- if you're consuming a lot of diet
soda, what happens to your body?
LIEBERMAN: Well, you also can get a certain amount of methanol, which is the
more toxic alcohol. That's a byproduct of NutraSweet and aspartame, if
you're drinking a lot of it, and that's a wood alcohol that's actually
rather toxic and can cause some problems as well. So you have a substance
that, when you're taking in really large amounts, is going to affect your
chemistry, your brain chemistry, your...
O'REILLY: Your body chemistry and...
LIEBERMAN: Exactly. Your body chemistry.
O'REILLY: OK. Now there are no warnings on any of the soda labels, and
nobody says any of this. But, you know, I -- and I wanted to do the story
because, anecdotally, I've seen people, you know, in the office here and all
of that, drink diet soda after diet soda after diet soda.
LIEBERMAN: Well, who did my makeup today actually said to me she's drinking
a ton of diet soda and is suffering from migraines. There are reports of
migraines and fibromyalgia and certain illnesses disappearing when people go
off diet sodas. So, I mean, there is a relationship between taking in a lot
of this stuff -- we're not talking about the occasional user.
O'REILLY: No.
LIEBERMAN: But if -- you know, once again, you've got these excited neurons
in your head, and it is related to migraines and fibromyalgia and a number
of other illnesses that have been shown to go away.
O'REILLY: Right. And it doesn't do any -- your teeth any good either?
LIEBERMAN: It really -- it doesn't protect your teeth like Xylitol and some
of the other sweeteners.
O'REILLY: All right, Doctor. I knew drinking 50 ounces of that stuff wasn't
good.
LIEBERMAN: You were right, Bill.
________________________________________________________________________
This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," March 19, 2004 that
has been edited for clarity.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/
Watch The O'Reilly Factor weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the Radio Factor!
Artificial Sweetener [Aspartame, Advantame, Neotame, Canderel, AminoSweet, tm NutraSweet tm Equal], information from the files of Mary Nash Stoddard's Aspartame Consumer Safety Network - based in Dallas TX since 1987. Includes Scientific Research and other documentation showing the reported risk factors associated with use of these toxic aspartame-based sweeteners in humans.
BIO Mary Nash Stoddard on Twitter
Tweet
PRESENTING: MARY NASH STODDARD - Co-Founder of the massive international anti-aspartame movement in the mid 1980's, following the brain tumor death of her forty two year old husband, Mike. Ms. Stoddard suffered a life threatening aspartame-related blood disorder in 1985, whereupon, The NutraSweet Co. offered her an all-expense paid vacation for two anywhere in the world, if she would agree to be tested by their doctors. She declined, with the blessing of her doctor, and the rest is history. She has conducted multi-national lecture tours and is a popular visiting professor at colleges, universities and medical schools. "Deadly Deception - Story of Aspartame" is a toxicology sourcebook, edited by Ms. Stoddard, documenting the harmful effects of the world's most toxic artificial sweetener. The companion one hour "Deadly Deception" video is further documentation - taped at a prestigious scientific conference. Stoddard's efforts, over more than two decades, led to the present rejection of the sweetener by many of the food and beverage giants of industry, as they rush to distance themselves from the liabilities associated with use of a neuro-toxic substance in their products. She has testified in court as an Expert Medical Witness and like her counterpart, Erin Brokovitch, helped with a number of lawsuits on behalf of consumers. Her powerful message has reached millions around the world through the airwaves on radio and television, in print and through popular personal appearances.
Honors, Awards, Societies:
• Expert Medical Witness [1992-present]
* Guest Presenter Gulf War Veterans Annual Conference - [Las Vegas 1999]
* Visiting Professor: U. T. Southwestern Medical School [1997]
* Visiting Professor: American University School of Journalism [1999]
* Visiting Professor: University of North Texas at Denton Dept. of Science [1990 and 2005]
• Visiting Professor: University of Houston Bioneers Conference [2006]
* Invited speaker: Hebrew Univ. Jerusalem - [1997]
* Keynote speech: Mexican Government's Annual Conference on Sweeteners [1999]
* Appointed Judge - State of Texas [1977-1984]
* Broadcast Journalist - [1965-present]
* President's Council on Food Safety - [1998-1999]
* International Lecture Tours - [1996-present]
* Testimony Senate Committee Hearing on Safety of Aspartame - Washington [1987]
* Panelist at National News Conference Announcing Dr. John Olney's Brain Tumor/Aspartame Connection - Washington D.C. [1998]
* Inducted Member Texas Radio Hall of Fame [2002-present]
Representative of the Texas Rice Growers Association [Miss Rice]
Board member: Irving Symphony Orchestra
Board Member: Irving Community Theater
Founding Board Member Radio Station KNON [public radio], Dallas
Charter member City of Dallas Citizens Safety Committee
Board Member Dallas Mayor’s Fee Task Force
Vice President Operation Get Involved, [liaison committee of the D.P.D.]
Board member Dallas Homeowners League
President Save Open Space
Texas Steering Committee Presidential Election
Award for Public Service - Mexican Government
State of Texas Board of Adjustment
