Bad Medicine: Diet soda now promoted as medicine to stop kidney stones

[bobbyw24]

(NaturalNews) The "most retarded science journal of the year" award goes to the Journal of Urology which has published an article suggesting that diet soda is actually an effective type of medicine for preventing kidney stones (April 19, 2010 issue). The research was led by Dr Brian H. Eisner, a urologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who is apparently completely clueless about human nutrition and the toxicity of aspartame.

According to Dr Eisner, diet sodas are not only good medicine for preventing kidney stones; they're also a good source of water hydration. Noting that patients need to consume 2-3 liters of water each day, Dr Eisner said in a Reuters article, "If drinking these sodas helps people reach that goal, then that may be a good thing." (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS...)

If you're thinking this is some sort of April Fools joke, it isn't. Dr Eisner and the Journal of Urology are somehow convinced this is good research and that diet sodas may actually have a positive medicinal effect on the human body. Instances of such "scientific" stupidity appear to be increasing in western medicine where doctors remain wildly ignorant of the effects on the human body caused by processed ingredients or toxic chemical additives.

Aspartame, used as the primary sweetener in diet sodas, is a potent neurotoxin according to experts like Dr Russell Blaylock. Many believe it promotes headaches, vision problems, endocrine system problems and nervous system disorders. It has never been proven safe for human consumption by any honest testing.

Most diet sodas also contain alarmingly high levels of phosphoric acid, a substance that causes a huge increase in acidity throughout the body, suppressing immune function, weakening bones and contributing to kidney stones (not preventing them).


http://www.naturalnews.com/028814_diet_soda_kidney_stones.html

[tmosley]

Yeah, aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the world, and is not toxic unless you are putting away literally POUNDS of the stuff a day (which is how much they had to shove into rats on a weight basis to get them to show any signs of toxicity).

And the premise of this whole article is stupid. Aspartame is obviously not THAT toxic, since it is used everywhere by loads of people, and they aren't dying off. Kidney stones are a real health risk, and their prevention is certainly worth anything that aspartame could possibly cause. They do have a point about phosphoric acid, though. A better study would be on the use of JUST aspartame, or whatever other component they think reduces the incidence of kidney stones.

Also, the link in the body of the paragraph is broken.

[BlackTerrel]

According to Dr Eisner, diet sodas are not only good medicine for preventing kidney stones; they're also a good source of water hydration. Noting that patients need to consume 2-3 liters of water each day, Dr Eisner said in a Reuters article, "If drinking these sodas helps people reach that goal, then that may be a good thing."...

...If you're thinking this is some sort of April Fools joke, it isn't. Dr Eisner and the Journal of Urology are somehow convinced this is good research and that diet sodas may actually have a positive medicinal effect on the human body.

And why should I be convinced that their wrong? What were the flaws in their study? Have there been other studies that do not show such a correlation between diet soda and kidney stones.

I don't know who is right or wrong. But if you want to claim a study is BS you need to back it up. You cannot dismiss out of hand that there is a link between kidney stones and diet sodas. Is it not possible?


Aspartame, used as the primary sweetener in diet sodas, is a potent neurotoxin according to experts like Dr Russell Blaylock.

So this Blaylock guy is an expert and Eisner is a retard? Again - based on what evidence?


Many believe it promotes headaches, vision problems, endocrine system problems and nervous system disorders. It has never been proven safe for human consumption by any honest testing.

"Many believe" is their evidence. So they don't have studies that prove this - but many people believe it. What kind of scientific journal is this?

[ChaosControl]

How incredibly idiotic.

[dannno]

Wow, that is ridiculous..

[Zippyjuan]

I can see how drinking lots of liquids could help with preventing kidney stones (keeping the kidneys working and flushed out) but there are better alternatives than diet sodas. The study cited in this article http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/11/diet_sodas_may_hurt_kidneys.html suggests that diet sodas may be harmful to your kidneys- including reducing their filter capabilities which could lead to kidney stones.

Diet Sodas May Hurt Kidneys
Categories: Fitness & Nutrition

12:35 pm

November 3, 2009

by Scott Hensley

You might want to think twice before gulping down that second diet soda today.

Researchers analyzing the health habits of thousands of nurses found that women who drank two or more diet sodas daily had a two-fold increase in the risk of a significantly faster drop in their kidneys' ability to filter blood compared with those who drank one or none.

Another analysis by the same pair of Harvard researchers found that eating a lot of salt also hurt kidney's filtering power over time.

"While more study is needed, our research suggests that higher sodium and artificially sweetened beverages are associated with a greater rate of decline in kidney function," Dr. Julie Lin, a kidney specialist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, said in a statement.

The analysis relied on data from a long-running project called the Nurses' Health Study that gathered all sorts of information about health and food consumption. The study shows an association between diet beverage consumption and decreased kidney function over 11 years but doesn't prove causation.

Still, the data were analyzed to account for other factors—such as high blood pressure, diabetes and physical activity—that could explain the difference. And consumption of sodas sweetened with sugar, juices, punch and iced tea wasn't associated with any unusual decrease in kidney function.

[specsaregood]

I can see how drinking lots of liquids could help with preventing kidney stones (keeping the kidneys working and flushed out) but there are better alternatives than diet sodas.

Water is the best preventive medicine. Telling people to drink more diet soda is a stupid idea, its like people that go out of their way to avoid vegetables that are prone to causing stones (spinach) instead of just adding a couple of glasses of water to their diet.

[heavenlyboy34]

soda in general is not good except in moderation.

[dannno]

soda in general is not good except in moderation.

What's wrong, exactly, with Zevia :confused:


http://www.zevia.com/products_blackcherry.html


I drink it for it's health benefits :cool: (though admittedly only one a day.. i might drink more if they had it in the vending machine at my work..)


Triple Filtered Carbonated Water, Erythritol, Citric Acid, Stevia (Leaf), Natural Flavors, Cherry Essence, Clove Leaf Oil, And Cassia Oil. No Caffeine.



Dr. Zevia and Zevia Cola have caffeine from coffee.


I also like the Ginger Root Beer.. yum..

[heavenlyboy34]

What's wrong, exactly, with Zevia :confused:


http://www.zevia.com/products_blackcherry.html


I drink it for it's health benefits :cool: (though admittedly only one a day.. i might drink more if they had it in the vending machine at my work..)


Triple Filtered Carbonated Water, Erythritol, Citric Acid, Stevia (Leaf), Natural Flavors, Cherry Essence, Clove Leaf Oil, And Cassia Oil. No Caffeine.



Dr. Zevia and Zevia Cola have caffeine from coffee.


I also like the Ginger Root Beer.. yum..

Natural soda is an exception to the rule. I like ginger beer too! :D

[EndDaFed]

Natural News has to be the most worthless website on the Internet. Check out the ramblings of Mike Adams in his hit piece on skeptics. It's so full of strawmen it would put the Scarecrow to shame.

http://www.naturalnews.com/028012_skeptics_medicine.html

[Working Poor]

I use diet soda to kill fire ant hills...