No Poison Served...

I was in my son’s high school this week and I noticed a person drinking a diet soda. I became irritated that we allow this in schools. I remember my days when I was a school teacher and teachers smoked in the school lunch room and all around the school grounds. In only 15 years, we have gone from designated smoking areas in public buildings to banning smoking in public places.

Perhaps, I can be hopeful that we will see diet sodas and sodas eliminated from public places and imagine a policy for such?

When I see my staff drinking a diet soda (or even a regular soda) I remind them that I love them and then tear into my poison rant: “That stuff really is poison.” - or - “We don’t serve poison” (I even tell clients this when they ask for the Splenda).

Products containing aspartame are poison.

Aspartame - a derivative of phenylanaline (other names for this group of sweeteners include Sweetex, Nutrasweet and Acesculfame K). These sweeteners are all mild neurotoxins, which means that in daily quantities, in certain people they can affect the brain and nervous system leading to MS or Parkinson's-like symptoms including tingling, shaking and reduced vision.

Upon ingestion and upon heating, aspartame breaks down into Methanol and further breakdowns into Formaldehyde. Aspartame is addictive and has multiple debilitating affects on the brain.

I have a compelling interest in protecting children from a product which is not safe. There is scientific and documentary evidence that aspartame is a neurotoxic agent.

In 1980, the FDA recommended against approving aspartame, citing unanswered questions about cancer in laboratory rats.

In my catering business we serve raw fair trade cane sugar and stevia for those that must have something other than sugar!

Back to schools and diet sodas:  The only place aspartame should be is in science labs as a toxic chemical.

Photo Credit:  Steve Snodgrass