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Sweet Poison

We had a scare this morning, and by we I mean me.  My 3 year old would not wake up for anything today.  And I'm not talking about just sleeping in.  I had her out of bed, dressed her, changed her diaper, sat her at the kitchen table, put her in the car to take the boys to school, went to the post office and the bank all while she slumbered.  She stirred a time or two, but just wouldn't completely wake up.

So when I got home from my morning errands and she was still sleeping I was starting to worry.  She had been out of bed for nearly 3 hours and dragged around town without waking up.  The thought kept crossing my mind to check the drink mix container for ingredients.  Twice I let that thought fleet away with my many others.  On the third go around, I finally did check.  I found the warning for phenylketonurics.  I had no idea what this was, so I decided to look it up.  It was nothing that concerned anyone not having PKU, but what I did find was a link to the site SweetPoison that is all about Aspartame the artificial sweetener found in diet pop and many other diet beverages.  It just so happened that I had been giving my daughter Crystal Light that is loaded with Aspartame.

I discovered that this chemical is responsible for over 92 side effects and disease symptoms!  Just so happens one of those side effects is severe drowsiness and sleepiness!  Now, it's not to say that there aren't other reasons why my daughter was so sleepy this morning: growth spurt, virus, etc.  However, I truly feel as though I was prompted to find this information.  I highly suggest that everyone who consumes or is thinking of consuming diet products containing Aspartame check out this site.  

Still doubtful?  

Check it: Aspartame poisoning can cause aggression (having problems with one son concerning this), severe hyperactivity (another son has been struggling with this), depression (yeah, we won't go there) and headaches (another son complaining of headaches).  Ok, so I will not deny that all of the above could be attributed to a multitude of varying issues.  However, all of these 'symptoms' have been getting worse for about the last week and we switched from Kool Aid to Crystal Light about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  I'm not a doctor, I'm not here to diagnosis anyone, even my own kids, but really...  How coincidental to find an answer for all of these on one list and to be guided to that list by promptings?

All I'm saying is I really think everyone should check it out.  The end.
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Comments

kemp-y-QUA!! said…
wow! very eye opening- i had no idea the aspartame was bad for you. i thought i was doing so good with diet sodas and crystal light.
thanks mir!
October 8, 2008 at 6:00 PM
M. Leigh Marrott said…
yeah, I know. I was like what the heck, I'm trying to do us some good by kicking sugar to the curb and look what I get instead!
October 8, 2008 at 6:05 PM
michelle said…
How scary! Thanks for letting us know. There should be big red warning labels on drinks like that. We don't usually drink Crystal Light during the year but when we go to Lake Powell that's our drink of choice! Thanks for the heads up!
October 10, 2008 at 11:20 AM
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