Training & Nutrition - Diet Soda's.. are they really harmless?

So i take in as much as a gallon+ and as little as 60 ounces of water a day, it gets old sometimes and a pick me up is needed. I have my trusty bottle of diet green tea, no calories, no nothin, but even that gets old some times. My question is, alot of the diet soda's i see on the shelves have zero everything except sodium, is this really as harmless as the nutritional facts would lead you to believe, or is there a catch with the artificial sweeteners and different ingredients they use to get the desired flavor, that produces negative effects. Ive noticed most, if not all diet soda's i prefer, do not include any form of advertised corn syrup so thats gotta be a plus. I just want to know that if i throw in a few diet sodas throughout the day, if its anything to be concerned about or if its really just a zero everything drink i can drink and not feel guilty nor be concerned with it affecting performance throughout the day or dehydrating.

thanks

nick

Well, for me. I am on a diet and it Hurt my diet big time.

I used to drink 1 a day for lunch or dinner, and my weight loss basically stopped, I just recently gave up on diet sodas alltogether because of all the shiat ive been reading about them and i have started to loose weight again, dropped 5 lbs since i stopped drinking diet sodas (in 4 days)

Well, for me. I am on a diet and it Hurt my diet big time.

I used to drink 1 a day for lunch or dinner, and my weight loss basically stopped, I just recently gave up on diet sodas alltogether because of all the shiat ive been reading about them and i have started to loose weight again, dropped 5 lbs since i stopped drinking diet sodas (in 4 days)

I strongly suspect that your problem wasn't drinking a single diet soda each day.

I strongly suspect that your problem wasn't drinking a single diet soda each day.
+1

2 da OP: Diet sodas are still "empty calories". That being said, they are fine once in a while. I wouldn't drink more than one or so per day, though. If you are bored w/ water and green tea, try other things. I like hot tea at work. or coffee. try some earl grey tea, i know lots of people who "don't like tea, esp. hot tea" don't mind the taste of earl grey and even, *gasp* like it!! Or try some of the herbal teas. I have a box of rooibos tea from south africa that's really good, and my standard english breakfast and irish breakfast teas.

What I like to do at work is drink about 20-40oz of water, then make a cup of tea before lunch. Maybe have a diet soda or just water at luch (because I still taste tea, the water isn't so boring). then after lunch i'll drink another 20 oz of water and make another cup of tea. then i'll sip on water until about 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon. Then I'll make one more cup of tea, and then just drink water until it's time to leave.

Mixing it up throughout the day keeps me from getting bored with one drink

a cold beer ( or 2) a day keeps the doctor away!

a cold beer ( or 2) a day keeps the doctor away!
+a billion

that's for after work!! :D

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/13/health/webmd/main701408.shtml

It's been 30 years since the initial clinical-trials of Aspartame was conducted. The main argument rationalizing its safety was that the cancerous rats were fed 100x normal human dosages. Well, recent studies confirm it at normal level: Medical News Today - Aspartame Causes Cancer in Rats at Levels Currently Approved for Humans (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34040#) :eek:

Also do a basic google search for "aspartame methanol formaldehyde formic acid (http://www.google.com/search?q=aspartame+methanol+formaldehyde+formic+acid)" and you'll have more than enough research for your PhD.

Sure maybe it's calorie-free and you think you can indulge and not gain weight, that's fine. But you're also increasing risk of cancer. Arsenic and cyanide are also fat-free and calorie-free, doesn't mean it's safe for you.

Actually, the level of 20 mg/kg body weight is roughly equivalent of drinking 2.5 L of diet soda containing aspartame for a person that is 75 kg. While I am sure many people consume this amount of diet soda, I would not consider it a normal intake. The acceptable limit for consumption of aspartame was ridiculously high and totally unattainable anyway, now people have to practice a little more moderation with the diet sodas just the same with everything. Still unnerving but moderation is everything and having a diet soda every now and then won't hurt but then again neither would a regular soda every now and then.

Plain ol water is my staple to and it doesn't "old" as far as I'm concerned although I DO filter my water to remove chlorine, flouride and other contaminants. Pure filtered water realy does taste good. It hits the spot and on the odd occasion when I HAD to drink regular tap water I found it rather unplesant.

Britas and other such filtering jugs aren't that expensive and are a good place to start although they don't remove flouride.

Regards, Anthony

wow alot of good info here, thanks everyone

anthony, on a side note, what you said is funny i have the exact opposite reaction, i've lived off tap water for so long, if i buy any form of bottled or jug water at a store, i think it tastes funny.. whats bad is i must like the cholorine flouride and floating bacteria, i guess it gives it some excitement haha. i just thought it was funny that i actually favored tap over most bottled.... unless its from a deer park watercooler... that is by far my favorite, but talk about getting dirty looks around the office when i sneak in my 3 liter camel back insert and fill it with there high dollar cooler water haha

wow alot of good info here, thanks everyone

anthony, on a side note, what you said is funny i have the exact opposite reaction, i've lived off tap water for so long, if i buy any form of bottled or jug water at a store, i think it tastes funny.. whats bad is i must like the cholorine flouride and floating bacteria, i guess it gives it some excitement haha. i just thought it was funny that i actually favored tap over most bottled.... unless its from a deer park watercooler... that is by far my favorite, but talk about getting dirty looks around the office when i sneak in my 3 liter camel back insert and fill it with there high dollar cooler water haha

Yes a lot of bottled water is sold as mineral water so has a natural, or more often introduced mineral profile. Some I like and some I don't. I mostly drink purified water which I've home filtered with an ion exchange water filter and it has a very fresh, refreshing taste. There can supposedly be issues with drinking too much purified water although I get ample minerals and salt in my diet.

Regards, Anthony

It's been 20-30 years since the initial clinical-trials of Aspartame was conducted. The main argument rationalizing its safety was that the cancerous rats were fed 100x normal human dosages. Well, recent studies confirm it at normal level: Medical News Today - Aspartame Causes Cancer in Rats at Levels Currently Approved for Humans (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=34040#) :eek:

Also do a basic google search for "aspartame methanol formaldehyde formic acid (http://www.google.com/search?q=aspartame+methanol+formaldehyde+formic+acid)" and you'll have more than enough research for your PhD.

Sure maybe it's calorie-free and you think you can indulge and not gain weight, that's fine. But you're also increasing risk of cancer. Arsenic and cyanide are also fat-free and calorie-free, doesn't mean it's safe for you.

So maybe they'll stop putting it in yogurt to? I never liked the taste of the stuff. Don't you have a bad taste in your mouth after drinking a diet soda? I get an acidic flavor on my tounge and teeth that dosn't go away even with brushing after a diet soda. No thank you. Water / green tea/black coffee. If you want something different drink a club soda.

The "research" on weight gain and diet soda is a farse. Anyone who consumes 3 liters of diet soda per day most likely consumes gluttonous quantities of everything. I laugh when I see a guy with 6 chins drinking a diet coke with his double cheeseburger and supersize fries.

all of those studies are fatally flawed. people drink diet soda, not because they are on diets, or want to restrict calories>> but because the regular soda is too sweet.

give me a study of people on diets (or consciencious of losing or maintaining weight) who drink diet soda.

these researchers who are PhD's (Piled Higher & Deeper) disappoint me with each eye catching, get your name in an article in the liberal media begging for more inane nonsense to print instead of the important news of the day

I read when Equal was approved in 1981 FDA opposed Aspartane in quantities approved for soda's. Strange. The New head of the FDA had come from the Searle Corp. served just long enogh to get aspartane used in Soda's and quit.?
Over the years I reluctanly used Diet Soda's with aspartane, because the sweetness of regular soda's is sickening. Is it like 6 tablespoons? Think I have read. wonder why US people have health problems.
Now the new sweetner is splenda. Health reports are much less controversial and I think it tastes better. Think at the time many preferred Aspartane because remember how controversial sacrine was.
and besides, the new Splenda tastes much better.
another issue. Soda's.. in terms of nutrition. We all know they serve no purpose. In fact with as much caffeine as they have , they do not even quench the thirst of active people. pretty useless, hah?

In addition to the brain-tumor and leukemia effects of aspartame, every study I've read studying soda intake has also shown that it leeches calcium from the bone, thus lowering bone density. There is NOTHING good about soda. Sorry.

You should try drinking spring water.

I used to drink coke with every meal, then I had tooth issuses.

Every once in a while I like to feel that burn in the throat that sodas gives you. So I drink LaCroix, Poland spring or Perrier. I usually get the flavored ones if I get bored.

Over the years I reluctanly used Diet Soda's with aspartane, because the sweetness of regular soda's is sickening. Is it like 6 tablespoons? Think I have read. wonder why US people have health problems.

A 12 oz regular soft drink has 160 calories - the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar.

I find that when I drink a lot of diet soda it seems to dehydrate me.. I drink them occasionally now and drink mostly water and some green tea..

so then how about this... diet green tea is my other "im bored of water" drink, i figure at least its a zero everything green tea, but since its a "diet" does that destroy any positive effects regular green tea has on the body? or is it all the same, diet or not.

Diet green tea ?

Are you refering to a green tea flavored diet pop, or actual green tea in a diet version? Cause i've never heard of diet green tea

i don't really know if its considered a soda or not, its arizona diet green tea

i don't really know if its considered a soda or not, its arizona diet green tea

I'd be avoiding ANYTHING that has DIET on the label. It usualy means artificial sweetners.

Here's an excert about aspartimate but it apply's to other artificial sweetners as well,


Knowing all this, if a person desperately wanted to lose weight and was prepared to risk the safety problems associated with aspartame, would it make sense to use this sugar substitute as an easy and effective tool for weight control?

Hardly! Dr. Walton, who has also studied the effects of aspartame, is emphatic when he tells me, "Probably one major contributor to obesity is the widespread use of diet products!" A chorus of non-conventional health professionals echoes his statement, which can just aswell be read as a warning. The reasons are not simple; they involve complex biochemical reactions linked to hormones and brain chemicals.

Aspartame itself doesn’t have any calories, but basically, one of its ingredients, the amino acid phenylalanine, blocks production of serotonin, a nerve chemical that, among other activities, controls food cravings. As you might well imagine, a shortage of serotonin will make your brain and body scream for the foods that create more of this brain chemical—and those are the high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich snacks that can sabotage a dieter. Obviously, the more aspartame one ingests, the more heightened the effects. Simply put, aspartame appears to muddle the brain chemistry.

Nutritionist Susan Allen, RD, CCN, at Chicago’s Northwestern Center for Integrative Medicine, suspects that something additional is going on in many of her patients who have been using aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. Allen believes that when they consume them, the sweet taste of no-calorie sweeteners triggers their bodies to release insulin, even though there is no food to feed the cells. Normally, when we eat, the sugar in that food, which is derived from carbohydrates, is broken down into simple sugars, like glucose, which then enter the blood stream (we call it "blood sugar").

We depend on insulin (secreted by the pancreas) to usher that blood sugar into our cells to supply energy and maintain normal blood sugar levels. The problem Allen sees is that an "insulin-sensitive" person who uses artificial sweeteners teases his or her body into thinking food is on its way, so insulin is released. But when the body discovers it was cheated out of food, it revolts by throwing a food-craving tantrum that can only be quelled by eating blood sugar food that will more than likely be high-calorie sugary snacks. "I point out to them how it doesn’t make sense. . . they’re trying to save themselves sugar but then they eat more foods that are going to raise their blood sugar anyway."

from this link, http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/aspartame.html

Quick synopsis is that our bodies revolt if we try to trick them with low calorie sweetners so we end up with bigger sugar cravings than if we didn't use the artifical sweetners and I haven't even started on the toxic effects of artifical sweetners. See, http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/sugarfree_blues.html for more info.

Regards, Anthony

wow, so all that said, any suggestions on a good green tea that isnt full of the bad stuff? im lookin for stuff i can stuff in my lunch cooler because i work out of my vehicle.

make your own "diet" iced tea!

Buy a box of like 100 tea bags (green or otherwise) from the store. Put 5-7 bags in a pitcher. Fill pitcher with boiling water. Let it steep for about 5 minutes or so, then remove the tea bags. Put the pitcher in the fridge and drink it when it's cold enough! No calories! Good for you!! (unless you load it up w/ sugar and milk or whatever)

Well you can make green tea at night, real stuff, no additives, just tea, then stick it in a water bottle and put it in the fridge for lunch the next day.

Anythign pre made and in a bottle that you buy at 7-11 isnt going to have any of the green tea health benefits, its all going to be green tea flavored soda bascially. If you want the health benefits, make sure the ingrediants are water and green tea leaves.

Adding a little tenderness to the horse-meat, here's a study that studied the studies done on aspartame:

Survey of aspartame studies: Correlation of outcome and funding sources (http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html): ABSTRACT - Studies of aspartame in the peer reviewed medical literature were surveyed for funding source and study outcome. Of the 166 studies felt to have relevance for questions of human safety, 74 had Nutrasweet® industry related funding and 92 were independently funded. One hundred percent of the industry funded research attested to aspartame's safety, whereas 92% of the independently funded research identified a problem. A bibliography supplied by the Nutrasweet® Company included many studies of questionable validity and relevance, with multiple instances of the same study being cited up to 6 times. Questions are raised both about aspartame's safety and the broader issue of the appropriateness of industry sponsorship of medical research.


I use a quick way to make green-tea. Run it through my espresso machine! :) Takes a little more tamping pressure than espresso grind though, two clicks of a 30-lb tamper will do.

Science in general fails at least in the short term when money is added to the mix. Examples are legion. Think tobacco.

diet soda is fine. drink a ton of it.

there are 2 basic types. no calorie and some calorie. the only thing really diet
is the no calories stuff.


as I said, it is fine and equals water as far as intake goes...BUT

there are acids and flavorings in diet soda which will still rot your teeth
so rinse with water if you can after chowing diet beverages....

some of the acids and flavorings may reduce your body's ability to process
certain minerals properly, so make sure if you drink a load of diet soda, you
are also taking in enough potassium and calcium.


stay away from too much orange colored beverages that have brominated
vegetable oil, or glycerol ester of wood rosin...these ingredients only serve
to make the beverage color orange stay orange and the jury it out on
massive intake of either one.

after that, chug away

some of the acids and flavorings may reduce your body's ability to process
certain minerals properly, so make sure if you drink a load of diet soda, you
are also taking in enough potassium and calcium.

Damn - that explains the muscle cramps I've been getting of late.

I never knew that - thanks!

Damn - that explains the muscle cramps I've been getting of late.

I never knew that - thanks!

well don't go too crazy with potassium supplement until you try
stretching your legs before and after rides, and before bed and see
if that gets rid of cramps. it works for me.

I eat at least 6 bananas a day and still get cramps if i don't stretch.

I drink a lot of seltzer water. Actually I drank so much that I got my own carbonator from Soda Club. You can also add very small amounts of your own flavors.

Splenda is a good alternative. There are some sodas made with it that do not contain Aspartame. Diet Rite comes to mind right away.

Spleada is made from real sugar. It is processed in a way so that your body cannot absorb the sugar. Been used in Canada and other places for well over 20 years.

A good alternative to Aspartame. Check the labels of your soda. Many brands are offering Splenda sweetened drinks these days.

Splenda is a good alternative.

+1

I usually drink water, but I drink Diet Coke with Splenda if I want a change. It tastes great! Not quite like real coke, but no harsh aftertaste like Diet Coke.

Splenda's not so great actualy. See, http://www.mercola.com/2003/aug/23/splenda.htm

If your cycling hard enough then you can afford to consume some real sugar and fresh fruit would be preferable. Most of the time I'm on a high fat/low carb diet anyway and I simply don't have a taste for sweets anyway.

Regards, Anthony

If your cycling hard enough then you can afford to consume some real sugar and fresh fruit would be preferable. Most of the time I'm on a high fat/low carb diet anyway and I simply don't have a taste for sweets anyway.

Regards, Anthony

For swetteners I like to use honey or maple syrup. I think you need to use more, calorie wise to sweeten like sugar but I like the taste a lot better.

I think the evidence long-term will show that sucralose is worse for you than aspartame. Aspartame is at least a compound of amino acids; Sucralose is a completely unnatural 'saccharide' in which some of the alcohol groups have been replaced with covalent chlorine bonds, which is just insanity. They're like little free radical bombs that are delivered via metabolic pathways directly to where they can do the most damage.

Artificial sweeteners are a sad lot; avoid. Natural non-sugar sweeteners based on Stevia are probably okay: the fact that something is natural doesn't make it safe but there are reasons to believe steviasides are benign.

I think the evidence long-term will show that sucralose is worse for you than aspartame. Aspartame is at least a compound of amino acids; Sucralose is a completely unnatural 'saccharide' in which some of the alcohol groups have been replaced with covalent chlorine bonds, which is just insanity. They're like little free radical bombs that are delivered via metabolic pathways directly to where they can do the most damage.

Artificial sweeteners are a sad lot; avoid. Natural non-sugar sweeteners based on Stevia are probably okay: the fact that something is natural doesn't make it safe but there are reasons to believe steviasides are benign.

I think it is a matter of risks. One of the most established links to cancer other than smoking is obesity. The artificial sweeteners are a greet tool for weight loss and no link to cancer (that I now about) has yet been established. Also, I looked into this about two years ago and they seemed to be blessed by all the major health organizations, American Heart Association, American Diabetic Association, etc.

Splenda's not so great actualy. See, http://www.mercola.com/2003/aug/23/splenda.htm

Maybe Splenda is bad, maybe it's not, but I wouldn't trust anything on Mercola's site.

First, his claims about splenda are not backed up by any facts. He provides no references on his Splenda rant page that give any proof that it is harmful. He simply claims that previous research is inadequate, and then finishes with some anecdotal evidence, which as a scientist, he should know is unreliable.

Second, he makes all sort of bizarre claims on his site. For example, he claims soy is dangerous. I used to live in Japan, and I knew a lot of 80 year olds that ate tons of soy every day. The Japanese have a higher life expectancy than Americans, and they sure aren't eating a Paleolithic diet (which Mercola advocates on his site). I'm not saying that a Paleolithic diet is bad, just that it isn't unhealthy to eat something else.



If your cycling hard enough then you can afford to consume some real sugar and fresh fruit would be preferable. Most of the time I'm on a high fat/low carb diet anyway and I simply don't have a taste for sweets anyway.

I am not on a diet, I only responded to this post because it was about diet soda, and I happened to have finally found one that I like the taste of. I bicycle (and walk, and run) enough that I can eat whatever I want. My weight, bloodpressure, and cholestorol levels well within what Mercola recommends as "ideal" on his site, and I go against most of his dietary recommendations.

I just don't like regular soda because it is too sweet, and I prefer diet soda with splenda to diet soda with aspartame, because aspartame has a terrible aftertaste. Usually though, I just drink water and coffee. However some things, like pizza, don't go very well with water.

Splenda has been around longer than Aspartame. Was developed back in 1976 and has been used in other countries for years. Of all the studies I have read, it is considered the safest of the sweeteners out there.

Natural sweeteners are the best, but they are not always available and eventually you will have to choose which product you will consume.

Amazing how it took till 1998 to get approved in the USA and only then did some people start to cry evil about it. Had it been such a hazard, I am sure Canada and other European nations would have banned it during the 22 years it was in use in those countries. Aspartame is or has been proposed to be banned in some of the countries that have allowed Splenda for years.

Folks will say that one or the other causes cancer in lab rats. Truth is that ANYTHING will cause cancer in lab rats. Chicken, beef, broccoli, salt, the radiation from your computer monitor will all give you cancer and kill you according to one study or another.

Read and make your own decision. That is what it all boils down to in the end.

Maybe Splenda is bad, maybe it's not, but I wouldn't trust anything on Mercola's site.

OK lets play the ball and not the man thanks.


First, his claims about splenda are not backed up by any facts. He provides no references on his Splenda rant page that give any proof that it is harmful. He simply claims that previous research is inadequate, and then finishes with some anecdotal evidence, which as a scientist, he should know is unreliable.

Well I think he's just being honest and stating the facts as they are. When critisisms are raised against these modern frankenfoods the usual response is that they have been studied, tested and passed for use by a suitable authority. Well the facts is that this isn't always the case. Here's the WAPF article on surcralose, http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/sugarfree_blues.html#sucralose


Second, he makes all sort of bizarre claims on his site. For example, he claims soy is dangerous. I used to live in Japan, and I knew a lot of 80 year olds that ate tons of soy every day. The Japanese have a higher life expectancy than Americans, and they sure aren't eating a Paleolithic diet (which Mercola advocates on his site). I'm not saying that a Paleolithic diet is bad, just that it isn't unhealthy to eat something else.

No, Japanese DON'T eat a TON of soy a day and what they do consume is traditionaly FERMENTED soy which is prefferable to the non-fermented processed soy served in the West. See, http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/promotion.html




I am not on a diet, I only responded to this post because it was about diet soda, and I happened to have finally found one that I like the taste of. I bicycle (and walk, and run) enough that I can eat whatever I want. My weight, bloodpressure, and cholestorol levels well within what Mercola recommends as "ideal" on his site, and I go against most of his dietary recommendations.

I just don't like regular soda because it is too sweet, and I prefer diet soda with splenda to diet soda with aspartame, because aspartame has a terrible aftertaste. Usually though, I just drink water and coffee. However some things, like pizza, don't go very well with water.

If you've made an educated decision about it then that's your choice but the crap that gets foistered on the unsuspecting gets up my nose.

Regards, Anthony

Sure, we're all making educated guesses here. I look at sucralose and I see: something that can't be metabolized via ordinary pathways, something that will generate free radicals in situ as it breaks down, something that will probably bind to ordinary sugar metabolism enzymes and interfere with function...sure, all of this can be soaked by the incredible redundancy of our biochemistry, but I don't choose to stress my body that way when I know I can avoid it.

Perhaps more to the point, there are complex interactions in the body, whereby for example the liver will release glucose when the mouth tastes a sweet thing, before the food reaches the small intestine and is made available for metabolism; this is what insulin does, essentially, is regulate the blood sugar against fluctuations in available carbs from food in the small intestine. My intuition (I am not familiar with the literature on this quesiton) is that any artificial sweetener will write a check that your body might not then cash, and that this can lead to all sorts of unforseen consequences.

Most importantly, they taste wrong to me and make me feel awful when I consume them. So I don't.

OK lets play the ball and not the man thanks.

I am not trying to "play the man," I am just trying to explain why I have no reason to believe anything on his site, or similar sites like the WAP Foundation's site. He is either incompetent or (more likely) trying to play on peoples fears to sell books and dietary supplements. It doesn't mean everything he says is wrong, just that I am going to seek information elsewhere.



If you've made an educated decision about it then that's your choice but the crap that gets foistered on the unsuspecting gets up my nose.

No offense, and I truly mean that, but I feel like the Weston A Price institute and Dr. Mercola's site are "crap" being foisted on the unsuspecting. People might read his rants about everything that is wrong with conventional medicine, vaccines, etc and lose site of the comparitive advantage of modern medicine and vaccines.

I have begun drinking diet soda's with Splenda. I think healthier? and tastes better . Even though I know sodas have absolutely no nutritional value. Much prefer either a Donelei Beer or Pineapple juice.

I mentioned something earlier about honey and maple syrup as a sweetener. I use these 2 in place of white sugar whenever I can, and whenever I can afford maple syrup.

I was wondering if anybody has ever offered a soft drink using maple syrup, or honey as sweetener. Or if anybody who makes there own soft drinks has ever tried using natural sweeteners?

I used to brew beer and in may cases when I would have to feed the yeast a meal I would use maple syrup or honey, and the beer usually turned out fine.

I think reading articles is nice, but how about using them for your benefit instead of trying to prove a point?

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." Unknown

I am not trying to "play the man," I am just trying to explain why I have no reason to believe anything on his site, or similar sites like the WAP Foundation's site. He is either incompetent or (more likely) trying to play on peoples fears to sell books and dietary supplements. It doesn't mean everything he says is wrong, just that I am going to seek information elsewhere.



No offense, and I truly mean that, but I feel like the Weston A Price institute and Dr. Mercola's site are "crap" being foisted on the unsuspecting. People might read his rants about everything that is wrong with conventional medicine, vaccines, etc and lose site of the comparitive advantage of modern medicine and vaccines.

Well the work of the Weston A Price Foundation is the study of tradition. This is a CRITICALY important SCIENTIFIC function as its realy the study of the CONTROL position which is of great scientific importance. The problem is that its not valued properly in current "scientific" circles and this is a failing of current "scientific" practices.

Do current modern medicine and vaccines have advantages?

Maybe, maybe not. Its YET to be proven scientificaly.

Regards, Anthony

Tea has been suggested several times, and I would just like to give a few tips to the first timers:

1.) Always use boiling water (as in water that has been at a rolling/roaring boil). Plain "Hot" water is rarely good enough (Sub boiling water may suffice in some situations, but it's got to at least be really close to boiling)

2.) When making tea, boil the water, and remove it from the heat source (if it's an electric kettle, unplug it) BEFORE putting your tea bag in or BEFORE pouring your water over the tea leaves. If you put the leaves in while you are boiling the water, it will make for a potently strong, EXTREMELY bitter tea.

3.) It's a good idea that if you are putting your leaves/teabag in a container other than the one that the boiling water was originally in, to rinse the container up with boiling water to bring it up to temperature, and then put the rest of the water in.

4.) Tea bags (if that's what you choose) goes in after the water. Tea leaves, before. (Tea leaves will settle to the bottom and not disturb you if you use boiling water. If you don't, they will likely float on the top and bother you, unless you remove them).

5.) If it's too strong, add less leaves next time, or keep your tea bag in for a little less time next time.

6.) I don't know anything about what order to put milk in. I don't put milk or sugar or any nonsense like that into my tea. I think that's gross.

7.) As far as black or earl grey tea goes, I recommend Twinnings. Some companys like to add extra flavours that wreck the earl grey, but usually they are labled as having such extra weird ingredients.

8.) If none of the mentioned teas turns your crank, try wild tea: Find a bunch of plant life, and treat them like tea leaves (JUST MAKE SURE THEY HAVEN"T BEEN SPRAYED WITH PESTICIDES, AND MAKE SURE THEY AREN"T POISON TO BEGIN WITH. FOR EXAMPLE: I WOULDN"T WANT TO TRY POISON IVY TEA!!!). Yarrow can make for a nice minty tea. Apparently pine needles work well. I'm sure there are all kinds of other things listed on the Net on this.

If there's anything I've missed, It's possible that a Brit will come along and correct me, but I have learned my teas from very credible sources (and have had much practice and experienced the foul results of not following some of these tips ((especially tip 2))).

I take my tea very seriously.

Share, and Enjoy.

aspartame is classified as a food additive and not a food so it doesnt have to live up to all the FDA and health standards many other things do, and it makes many people sick, I myself am allergic to it, I get neurological problems from it within 1/2hr of drinking it..........methanol is bad bad news, but it makes people like Rumsfailed big big money

my general rule of thumb is, if it isnt natural, be wary, alot of this manmade crap is just as bad or worse than anything else, too much of anything can be bad, but our food/drink supplies in the US are like navigating a minefield

You cant get something for nothing...

Diet sodas are just like all these miracle 'cures' on TV, all which have serious side effects. Its just goes against nature to have your cake and be able to eat it too. Decisions always have consequences, you want to hang out with the boys and drink, you get a hang over the next morning. You want to take the day off, you lose money from your job. You want better health, time to get off your rear and put some effort in.
I get sick of this, diet soda/low fat/cholesterol drug reducing/magic magnet weight loss bracelet promoting world. Feed your body quality food, get some quality excersise and stick it to the man for shoving all this artificial stuff down your throat. He is sitting back eating his 'quality' food because americans are making him rich and giving him that luxury.
Sorry for the rant...everybody should read Nourishing Traditions, may change the way you look at food.

And by the way, the common stereotype that Japanese are the longest living culture is just that, a stereotype. They have much higher rates of stomach cancer than other places. There are many european countries that have notable long living people, including Sweden, Italy, Greece and France to name a few-