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I found out today that I'm drinking a Diet Mountain Dew that has Phenylalanine in it and now wondering if I should stick to plain old water drinks instead of drinking diet pop?
Here some news about Phenylalanine,
Phenylalanine is found naturally in foods such as eggs, milk, bananas, and meat. If you are PKU (Phenylketonuric) or sensitive to phenylalanine, you will react to the phenylalanine in aspartame. You may want to get a blood test to check for this condition. Over the past 20 years, humans have become more aware of PKU reactions because human beings began using isolated phenylalanine to the degree it is harmful to some individuals, many as aspartame side effects. My suggestion would be to research PKU and phenylalanine extensively. Phenylalanine can be very harmful to diabetics.
Just drink water and plenty of it. Diet drinks are not good for you - just google and see the info that's out there, especially on kidney disease as we are prone to that to start with! They actually don't hydrate you at all, quite the opposite in fact.
Last edited by SouthernBelleInUtah; 02-17-2010 at 02:22 PM..
Well if you google it you'll see a lot of negative info that looks like BS. It's not. The stuff is harmful and I don't care how many magazine articles tell you it's the most researched product on the shelves--they're lying. I know too many people who've had adverse reactions to it. My brother is a pilot and he told me he knows a lot of pilots who won't touch it b/c of memory problems associated with it. I had seizures for years b/c of it and almost made a decision to not have children b/c of that--it came very close to ruining my life and did ruin my career. Others have had terrible headaches b/c of it. Why take the risk for something that your body does not need? I just drink water and coffee these days and feel no need for soda at all. Hahh. Rant over.
Try some of the Tazo flavored teas- they're zero fat/calories/sugar/etc and are really tasty- you'll swear you're drinking a soda. My favorite is the Passion tea with lemon spritzer water and ice.
Well, water is better than diet pop by a long country mile, but sometimes you just gotta have it.
Anything sweetened with Splenda does not have phenyl ... in it. Lately I've been drinking flavored seltzer water, which is just carbonated water and flavoring. Very refreshing.
Just drink water and plenty of it. Diet drinks are not good for you - just google and see the info that's out there, especially on kidney disease as we are prone to that to start with! They actually don't hydrate you at all, quite the opposite in fact.
Allow me to add this thought to the call to drink more water which is very good for all......
Most, if not all, water today has many pollutants that no filter system known today can remove (read prescription drugs & heavy metals) so IMO the single best thing you can do it only drink home filtered water via Brita or Pur home filters.
Now I know these filters can't do a better job than municipal water filters BUT since you control how often their filters get changed they do help bunches in removing at least a little more of the junk on our water.
As a side note.....I never drink bottled water since I have no idea how, or if, it's been cleaned before bottling not to mention that the plastic bottles are a pox on the earth.
I agree with the general sentiment here...natural is better. It's true that some people exaggerate the dangers of artificial sweeteners, but there are definitely some people who have bad experiences with them--and not just the dangers from aspartame being metabolized into phenylalanine.
I think a good alternative is tea--unsweetened tea. Yes, tea is naturally bitter and not sweet. You can learn to develop a taste for it, and if you have diabetes, you would do well to do so. Why? Because you're training your taste buds to prefer bitter flavors over sweet ones. As a diabetic, you need to avoid sugars--and retraining your tastes in this way will make your life so much more enjoyable. Believe me, you can learn to love food and drink that have very little or no sweetness whatsoever. Learn to enjoy the savory qualities and the complex aromas.
You can also find teas that are naturally less bitter. If you just buy stuff at the supermarket like Lipton, it's not the best quality. There are some high-end loose teas which are naturally much less bitter. Then you can get your fix of caffeine without any sugar, and in the meanwhile, you can retrain your taste buds to prefer foods that are healthier for you. There is also some evidence that certain herbal teas can be good for people with type II Diabetes. Let me know if you'd be interested in some recommendations!
I've been drinking teas ( good source of antioxidants) with Splenda for two years now. NO diet drinks and no regular sodas. Also, water is what is best for your body. Kidneys love the stuff.
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