You can't eat healthier than I eat, Martin. Not counting these last 3 weeks because I've been messed up but for a long time now. I still think though sometimes why I bother, in the people I've known and that have died, I don't see any pattern. All very random. Everyone though my grandfather would outlive my grandmother who had everything wrong with her plus was overweight and my grandfather was slim, great shape, no health issues yet he died younger. I eat healthy because it's the food I prefer but I don't know if I want to add a few extra years to my life. I'm not one of those people that want to live to be 100. But yes, sweeteners aren't good for you.
I am not a big Diet Coke fan. However, I have become a Coke Zero drinker through my son. Diet Coke seems to have much more carbonation that Coke Zero.
I cannot recall seeing any warning on labels when product contained Aspertame, other than the Phenylketonuria thing, which is a different issue from the metabolism to wood alcohol. Saccharin had warnings way back when, I believe. My Sweet-N-Low packages of Saccharin have nothing printed on nthem but propaganda praising the stuff. Now, the new guy on the block, Splenda, Sucralose, when it came out I read extensively about it. The "cons" were saying the body does not "recognize" it to metabolize it, since it is a sugar molecule with a Chlorine atom tacked on. Implied it would not be eliminated from the body, and continue to "build up". I reasoned there are a number of substances our bodies do not recognize to eliminate, but they don't "build up". Non-reactive things, called "Inert Elements", Radon, Xenon, Argon, Neon, Krypton, all gases, all found in small amounts in the air we breathe. Radon is the only "bad" one, since it is radioactive, and contributes to lung cancer. The others? I am no physiologist, but would bet they all traverse the osmotic membranes of our air sacs, and enter our bloodstreams. They cannot be reacted chemically, all the other stuff needing to be rid of, is chemically removed by the liver, and thence eliminated via waste products. How about the inert gases? Do they "build" up in our bodies? Not likely, IMO. Pepsi-Cola has, incidentally, discontinued use of Aspartame in it's Diet Pepsi and Diet Pepsi Caffeine Free, substituting Sucralose. Often when that route is taken, Acesulfame is used in small quantity along with the Sucralose. So, now, what about Acesulfame? "Sweetener warning: Acesulfame Potassium contains methylene chloride, a known carcinogen http://www.naturalnews.com/041510_Acesulfame-K_methylene_chloride_carcinogen.html