question about beverages

[amanda in CA]

Hi, just a question out of interest? Whenever I drink anything these days I make sure that I read the ingredients label first. Why? Well, I have discovered that some drinks will leave a horrible sweet taste in my mouth that persists for about 24 hours afterwards. The culprit? the sweetener aspartmane (not sure if I've spelt it right). I don't have problems with any other artificial sweeteners only this one. If I am out and there is only Pepsi available, I go for the 'fat' one rather than the diet one which has this stuff in it. Diet Coke doesn't do it but there are other diet soda that do. Does anyone else experience this with this sweetener? Amanda

[Anne in Va]

Hi Amanda,

Sometime before I began PD I tried aspartame sodas when they first came out and I found them to have a sweet aftertaste. However the taste did not persist as long as it does with you. Perhaps dialysis causes it to last longer in the body.

However I had another problem with aspartame. It would give me a painful bladder, just like a urinary tract infection but no bacteria. YUCK! It took a while before I put two and two together and realized what was causing my problem. I also had the same problem with saccharin.

I am able to take Splenda without any ill effects - so far!

Best Wishes, Anne

[Goldie]

Both me and Rachel are heavily addicted to Diet Pepsi. We don't experience that aftertaste at all, as a matter of fact, we prefer the taste of diet pepsi over the regular version sweetened with sugar.

Have you tried Pepsi One or Pepsi Edge? These are second generation Pepsi's, that are sweetened with a variety of sweeteners for a 'low' but not 'no' sugar drink.

Everyone experiences chemicals like aspartame differnetly. Some people cannot tolerate it and get ill from it or experience odd effects. Headaches, gastric distress, etc. Hey some people cannot tolerate sugar either! If people cannot tolerate a substance, they should not use it. Those that don't have effects - I'd say enjoy it, in moderation of course.

So back to this taste thing, Splenda on the other hand is in actuality a sugar. They take sugar molecules and through several processes they remove hydrogen atoms and replace it with chlorine atoms which is okay to eat. In that process, its chemical structure becomes so altered, the body doesn't recognize it as a sugar, so it has no effects on the body like sugar does. That said, splenda tastes & behaves like regular sugar. There are some soda's out there using Splenda. Diet Rite, RC Cola, and some others I can't recall offhand. Give those a try.

I can't imagine a life without soft drink.

-g

[JMan]

I too used to experience the lingering aftertaste of artificial sweeteners when on dialysis..

On transplant I don't get this so I can only assume they 'hang about' in the body. I actually found the flavour cloying and over sweet and the only time I used to drink colas or 7-up was during the first part of dialysis (usually after the can had been in the freezer for a good hour:D I liked it COLD:D)
Nothing worse than being close to your fluid limit, getting the 'dry mouth' because of it, AND having a nasty cloying lingering taste as well..

For those who can't have any sugar. eg diabetics. Yes OK. use it when you need to,

the rest of ya.. stop trying to kid your bodies.. you don't NEED that much sugar anyway.. If you must have it then be honest about it and have the damn sugar:D

I'm not right or necessarily wrong, but thats my 2p's worth:D:D:D

[Pam]

I was told not to eat or drink products with aspartame because I used to have migraines and it is supposed to be a trigger...my sister said she heard that it could "pickle your brain" but I have never heard any research to back this up. I think if you are sensitive to it it could cause problems.
I personally don't like the taste of artificial sweeteners and I don't drink any kind of soda very often. JMan is right-you don't need all that sugar! I like carbonated water (fizzy like soda!) which has no calories, sugar or artificial sweeteners of any kind...it comes in flavors and if you add a twist of lemon, it is very refreshing. It is a taste you have to "learn" to like...a lot of people don't care for it, although my seven year old niece will drink it! I don't know what that says about me!
-Pam

[amanda in CA]

this has only happened when I have been on dialysis, it stopped when I had my transplant so it must be something that dialysis doesn't clear. I find that Splenda is ok too. To be honest, I don't drink that much soda but if I'm out I quite like to. Can be a bit annoying if I order a diet Coke and then someone brings me a substitute. I may not realise it at the time, but do later when I get that annoying aftertaste. I'm not overly keen on the flavored waters, I tend to stick to plain water. Amanda

[LadySycamore]

Do you know what's in your soft drinks?
http://www.nsda.org/softdrinks/History/whatsin.html

Artificial sweetners

A Tale of Two Sweetners
http://www.vegsource.com/davis/sweeteners.htm

Aspartame (Nutrasweet) Toxicity Information Center
http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/

Stevia Leaf - Too Good To Be Legal?
http://www.holisticmed.com/sweet/stv-faq.txt

What About Artificial Sweeteners
By Albert Grazia, M.S.,N.D.
http://nutritioninfo.tripod.com/Nutritioninfo/id13.html


New sodas on the market

7UP Plus:
http://www.7up.com/index.aspx

Diet Sprite Zero:
http://www.sprite.com/

Stevia flavored drinks:

Stevita Stevia Drinks - Sugar-Free Punch Mix
http://www.steviasmart.com/stevbrig28oz.html

[Rik]

Hey Trac'r Girl ...
your obviously used to a more refreshing drink without all that artifical muck in ... saw this and thought of you ....
http://www.badgerbrewery.com/index.asp

doubt if they have heard of aspartame in Dorset ... lets face it ... Missionaries still havent reached the deepest parts of Dorset yet have they!!!!!!

[JMan]

Oh Rik... the badgers got to him ....

http://www.badgerbadgerbadger.com/

Now to stop this becoming the badger thread, how about www.fentimans.com Its very very drinkable:D

[Mike]

Hey Trac'r Girl ...
your obviously used to a more refreshing drink without all that artifical muck in ... saw this and thought of you ....
http://www.badgerbrewery.com/index.asp

doubt if they have heard of aspartame in Dorset ... lets face it ... Missionaries still havent reached the deepest parts of Dorset yet have they!!!!!!

lol sounds about right

click the local life link on the badger site and it pretty much sums up life in dorset

most of the pubs in my home town of wimborne are badger pubs !!

[oldborris]

my home town of wimborne

Much sympathy

[Mike]

well actually I was born in Wallington, surrey and spent the first five years of my life in Croydon

Wimborne is a strange place though, but not as strange as some of the other places in dorset.......ever been to sixpenny handley?

[Michele in TN]

When I was on pd I had a really hard time stomaching anything with a real sweet taste. Especially if I had a dwell in.

[Hal]

Hi,

The stuff with artificial sweeteners in drives me mad - it just tastes sickly sweet to me.

Thats except Diet Coke for some reason, but I've given up on this too because lets just say fizzy drinks didn't help with the old digestion ... and this isn't good for PD.

I tend to drink still mineral water when out or cranberry juice (Ocean Spray Cranberry Classic) diluted with water or the still water with a shot of lime cordial... or ocasionally we get these J20 drinks here, which have a fairly decent fruit content (Apple & Mango etc).


Hal

[JMan]

I don't drink colas (including coka cola) for a number of reasons mentioned, plus a lot of the manufacturers have an appalling environmental and ethical record.

However I recently discovered another in the Rock's range of cordials. They do Cranberry:D And its nice:)

http://www.rocksorganic.com/rocksfullrange.htm