If I gave you a can of rat poison, would you drink it? What if I told you that every time you opened a can of diet soda, that's what you'd drink? I'm sure some of you here really like diet soda, but you drink it anyway because you don't think the ingredients in the soda will ever harm you. Diet sodas contain many different ingredients, some of which are very unhealthy and can cause death. Today we're all going to look at the dangerous ingredients in diet soda, some of the side effects that diet soda can cause, and some illnesses and complications you could develop. First, the main ingredients of diet soda and why they are so harmful. . The main ingredients in diet soda are aspartame and saccharin. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener and is a protein produced from aspartic acid. Aspartame is used in all foods and drinks because it is around 200 times sweeter than sugar, meaning much less can be used to give the same amount of sweetness. When aspartame is digested, it breaks down into aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. These components are also used in a selection of foods such as milk, meat, dried beans, fruits and vegetables, but much larger amounts are used in diet sodas. Another reason why aspartame is terrible for you is that when aspartame reaches a certain temperature, it is called rat poison. Additionally, 10% of aspartame consists of a methyl ester bond that includes methanol. After a few hours of ingesting aspartame, this methanol is released from the aspartame and begins to circulate throughout the body through the blood. Once loosened, the methyl ester separates into wood alcohol. The problem with this methanol is that it passes easily into your blood -...... middle of paper ...... the calories in saccharin can easily pass to the placenta and then to the baby at to be born. It is very harmful to the baby and at birth it can cause muscle dysfunction. Additionally, breastfeeding mothers should not drink saccharin, as it can be passed from mother to baby through milk. I talked about some of the harmful ingredients in diet soda, some of the side effects of diet soda, and some major illnesses and diseases. complication which are in aspartame and saccharin. Although many people think that diet soda is healthier than regular soda, it actually contains harmful ingredients that can lead to serious health problems and even death. You might also think that diet soda will make you lose weight, but trust me, that won't be the case. The information I presented today shows you why you should permanently stop drinking diet soda and just drink water..