But its diet soda!!!

Several years ago I had a patient with a severe weight problem and I mean severe.  Above the belt line she appeared to be the normal average build of a young woman in her mid 20s. Below the belt line was a very different story. Of the 250lbs she carried 180 of it was below the waist.  She waddled into my office and had to force herself through the door sideways, mind we were wheel chair capable and she didn't fit through the door without a squeeze...sideways.   

 Her initial complaint was low back pain caused by carrying such a heavy load.  After several visits I began to address her weight.  I asked her to make out a diet diary.  I was amazed to see that she ate rather light given her weight though I took issue with her use of 'diet' soda which she stated as drinking only 'one' bottle per day.  So I assumed it was a regular 16oz bottle of zero calorie diet pepsi. She corrected my assumption when she told me that she was drinking an entire 2 liter bottle of diet pepsi..per day.  I do not recommend that anyone drink diet soda...EVER!!!!!! My reason for this is that the sweetener in diet soda when digested becomes formaldehyde.  That's right, the stuff used to embalm a dead body and is most definitely NOT recommended as a dietary supplement.

 When I suggested that she lay off the diet soda, I was met with a rather harsh response. "But its diet soda!!! It has zero calories. How can it be making me fat?"  Upon explaining the process to her she shook her head "No, doctor they wouldn't allow it on the market if it were that bad"  She then stormed out of the office, squeezed back through the door again and never returned.  We later learned that she began suffering from kidney failure caused by her excessive consumption of diet soda.

So...if you are among the dedicated diet soda drinkers and you happen to read this...remember that when you ingest that artificial sweetener...you are ingesting a poison that when consumed is as deadly as any poison known to mankind...consider that as you swallow that sweet, zero calorie toxic sludge known as diet soda!!!

 Be responsible...drink water...it has Zero calories...and isn't toxic. 

  Dr. B