it in their ads they say that the safety of aspartame is supported by more than two hundred studies over the last fall. thirty years as sources they list the beverage institute and the international food information council foundation coca-cola shows the former and the us government as a partner for the latter for further information about the safety of aspartame you can visit aspartame dot org which is owned by the calorie control council which is an international association that represents the food and beverage industry in other words the safety information about this sweetener food is controlled by those who profit most from it hardly unbiased while there are hundreds of studies which link aspartame to the kamya lymphoma other cancers liver damage you name it so if you're trying to decide whether or not you should ingest aspartame consider using this as a rule of thumb if it's literally made from chemically altered g.m.o. crap it might be crappy for your body tonight to talk about that by following me on twitter at the red but. that does it for now for more on the stories we cov

aspartame is not harmful. there is nothing conclusive.eason it seems, this is on the american cancer society website. seems people believe it is harmful there was a study that was discredited years ago, it was discredited because the people who had developed cancer, most likely they deveped caer years prior to aspartame ing introduced into the market. >> they're not, again, is this going, the real question is this going to affect sales or people who drink diet coke? the answer is no. if you have a diet coke addiction they could tell you grind up children and put them in and exactly, if you have a diet coke addiction you will not stop. same people who smoke cigarette and don't want to quit. they know it is bad for you. this stuff is not even proven bad. adam: this is not defense for them. >> that's the point. adam: if 20 years from now god forbid it is proven these products are harmful, coke said you should drink in moderation. >>f they're harmful 20 years from now they're in trouble. >> if the science says theyre not harmful you and are h

in the long run, aspartame doesn't benefit you. >> that's absolutely right.here's an example of the irresistible tide against soft drinks in this country. to the last 15 years, straight, soft drink sales have been deescalating, steadily deteriorating. in a public relation sense there have been a stealth war on soft drinks as more people equate drinking carbon natured beverages with getting fatted. coke and pepsi have a real problem. >> shepard: they've expanded product lines and bought other nonsoft drink products but this feels like campaigns in the past where they tell you, this is bad, this is not doing what you think. then the company fights back and always seems to lose. >> these ads are a ban dade. what they have done, they're in to teas, sports drinks. water, when i was a kid there was one flavor of water. you know what it was? water. it was water. today you got guava and guacamole. they have a problem and the only thing that's going to get them out is discovering a national, healthier, safer, better tasting, natural sweetener which is what they're wor

i downloaded recent report online about aspartame. this is what the american cancer society is saying. both fda and european equivalent called these results into question, that found aspartame possibly dangerous, lacking important data in other studies and other concerns. they go on to say the largest study of the issue looked at rates of cancer in 500,000 older adults so they didn't find risk in aspartame some what's the problem? >> so, adam, the data is still fairly suspect there is no direct correlation in terms of aspartame in the incidents of cancer. this goes back quite some time. when you talk about the word, is it safe? there's enougher of implications for that. coca-cola is here as a part of coca-cola is in a campaign of fighting childhood obesity worn erred into the that people get fat because of drinking a lot of soft drinks. this is part of a broader campaign, that not our soft drinks causing the problem whether regular soda or diet soda. people need to exercise. that is why people are obese. that is why you see the big pu

of "usa today" it touts the benefits of its low and no-calorie sweeteners, saying the safety of aspartame used in diet coke is supported by more than 200 studies over the last 40 years. this is a far cry from diet coke's more glitzy campaign, using taylor swift today and in the '90s a handsome construction worker to sell the product. ♪ i just want to make love to you ♪ >> reporter: the federal government long ago declared aspartame safe. now the biggest debate in the beverage aisle is whether diet drinks really help you lose weight. some doctors say artificial sweeteners may backfire by convincing your brain it's getting real sugar. >> however, the calories don't follow so, as a result, you're left hungry. and when you're presented with a high-fat, high-sweet tweet, you're going to gobble it down. >> reporter: the american beverage association says that science is in dispute. what's not in dispute is that coke is making an aggressive push to win back consumers who truly want the real thing. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> we're back in a moment with a question every parent can rela

lori: what is your opinion coca-cola defending the use of aspartame in this ad campaign?> you know the soft drink companies they're in the indulgence business and, you know, truly the, the difference between synthetic sweeteners and all natural sweeteners, you know, are truly the fact that they come either from a plant-based or manmade. for us in our product we chose to use natural good for us ingredients which comes from a leaf. we know what parents are looking for especially bying their family drinks. lori: so awwa ball, we're showing -- aqua ball, very cute packagings. my 6 and 4-year-olds will snap that up because the characters on the packages and bottles. >> great. lori: you said you are sweetened by stivia but from what i understand, in its raw form it is not fda approved but purified versions are permitted right now. can you differentiate for me and what type are you using in these beverages. >> we use astiva. we use raba-astivia it has been around many years. it has been in japan for 20 years. it is used like salt in that country. there has been a lost tests. it

we know that people have questions about aspartame.and make it easier to get the fact. in your opinion, should we drink diet coke? >> you know, i occasionally have diet drinks myself. i think like with most things you want to do it with moderation. look, i think people who are concerned about taking in a lot of calories, this may be a way to get fewer calories for them. if you're drinking regularly sugary difference and you're looking to get the sweet taste, it could be an option for you. i think if the question is, is this going to help me not develop obesity or diabetes, the science is still sort of answering that question. if the question is, is this going to possibly lead to cancer s. there a safety issue in that regar regard, i think the science is much clearer in that regard. i don't think there's a link between cancer and aspartame, for example. >> thank you, dr. sanjay gupta. >>> two tweets and apple's stock is sent soaring. we'll talk about that next. ♪ [ crashing ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite food starts a fight, fi

. >> are there times when you want to get down with your mom and get real about aspartame?tastic productions they had over the years. one of the advertisements that sparked imaginations and told great stories about refreshment and happiness. this looks like something in health class in eighth grade that was covering up something they didn't want to talk about. it looks like it's more for asbestos than coke and managing a crisis i didn't know they were having. i know they were lobbying against bloomberg's rule about the two-liter stuff, but nobody was mentioning aspartame, nobody knows how to proceed nounce it. if you were worried, this ad is not going to persuade you. they're the new tobacco. here they are policing themselves ahead of something, i don't know what. >> being this is confounding. it's only a print ad, and only being published in atlanta and chicago? is this like a trial balloon? they want to see the reaction? >> it's more of a political ad, i guess, and it's -- you know there could be so many reasons they're doing it, maybe some bottlers complained, who knows.

the ad tells us the safety of aspartame is supported by more than 240 stud tease.s follows coke's campaign earlier this year touting commitment to antiobesity programs. according to the beverage digest sales of diet sodas are are down even more than their sugary counterparts. a mom and dad said they heard strange man's voice coming from their child's baby monitor. the man was saying very inappropriate things. not only that the couple says the hacker, it was a hacker though got into the baby monitor you can now tell knew the baby's name. we will tell you how that went down. first a wildfire that's already burned at least 13 homes is spreading and threatening another 250 homes. it's happening about 35 miles east of salt lake city. fire officials there say wind gusts are helping push the flames it's about 25% contained now. let's get to rick reichmuth in the weather center. any help from you. >> rains across mexico and arizona. southern part of the four corners area. the northern rockies haven't gotten in on this. that salt lake city fire there is a very large fire ju

the company says diet soda can help people manage their weight and evidence shows aspartame is safe.to you. >> thank you. i'm no health expert, i don't know about diet soda, how about good exercise and good diet? >> eat less, exercise more maybe. let's see if you can get out and enjoy great weather today. >> you know if you want that exercise in today, do it early. do it early. especially inland. do you notice that heat yesterday? >> yes. thank you very much. >> a little bit warmer. you know what? there's a give and take. san francisco was stuck in the fog for most of the month until yesterday. finally that fog cleared up. we had a beautiful day in the city. no flight delays yesterday. that was the first time out of all month in the morning without those delays due to the thick fog. yeah, good, good improvement at the coast. a trade-off and have the hot weather inland. temperatures are going to stay hot throughout the end of the week. we'll get a break. for this morning, high pressure still stays with us. sizzle is going to continue for today. headed back to school today or kids who

and coke isn't just defending aspartame.long with its rival pepsi, both companies are working to come up with a drink that uses natural, low-calorie sweeteners. george and lara, they're trying to defend themselves here against a totally different market. things have changed. there are more options. people are going organic. they're going all-natural. and coca-cola and pepsi are playing catchup. >> they want to get that market share back. okay, rebecca, thanks very much. >> we'll see if it works. >>> we turn now to the 15-year-old boy who was denied a heart transplant, getting a second chance, though. an atlanta hospital is reversing its decision, putting him back on the transplant list, after his outraged parents went public, claiming he was singled out because of bad grades and bad behavior. abc's gio benitez is here. good morning, gio. this is disturbing. >> reporter: and complicated. good morning to you, lara. just hours after abc news began looking into this, the mother says the hospital reversed course and had a change

50 mg of aspartame kilogram of body weight every year. 120 lb. woman. and it's back-to-school time for a lot of kids. and that usually means new clothes and school supplies. but j-c penny, who has been struggling to re-make its image, is under fire for a "back-to-school" television ad. let's take a look at it. the ad features a mom saying her son's clothes could "make or break" him. the ad then shows the student sitting alone at a lunch table. some parents say the spot promotes bullying and puts pressure on cash-strapped parents to buy the latest the criticism comes after the company is already in turmoil. sales are down and the company is looking for a new c-e-o. j-c penney announced the ad in question is no longer part of its current tv campaign. the company says its ad was not intended to "trivialize or promote bullying." we'll be keeping tabs on back to school schedules. we also have a 'back to school' section on our new kron-4 mobile app. it includes slideshows, stories, and links to test people can use the submit story feature on th

people had concerns for a long time and despite aspartame not causing cancer there is people believingselling point for a product. >> that's true. >> but that's where they're coming from to michaela's point. it causes cancer and safety problems. it may have some of the other issues, which the science is still trying to deal with. the science we do know, this is 30-ye 30-year. >>> how to be a perfect spouse because this is a gift from a wife who missed her husband. a little carpet and paint and tiles, the basics. but he never got to because he was sent away to the battlefields of afghanistan. you see, joe, is a die-hard green bay packers fan. his wife started with green paint and then the pesky ceiling so friends chipped in. but the real change put word of the project on facebook. mentioned joe was in afghanistan and the packer stuff came in. and, of course, lots and lots and lots of beer. it took months, but by the time mary was done it went from zero to green and gold and this is what joe came home to. >> why is the carpet and tile done already? what? what did you do? what did you do?

sanjay gupta says why it's true aspartame is safe, studies have looked at a link of diet o sodas andinsulin level. could it be when you eat or drunk something so sweet that your body getting duped and you need to go find the calories now with that sweetness. those have not been proven but that's sort of what scientists are trying to unravel. >>> coming up right here on news room, a family in texas heard someone speaking to their daughter through a baby monitor. how this story is changing the way people look at wireless monitoring systems. this could affect you and your baby. we'll tell you how to stay safe after this break. i'm only in my 60's... i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance compan

a newspaper ad campaign from coca-cola is defending aspartame, aka nutrasweet.ritic who push say its drinks and food products help promote obesity. >>> more legal trouble for chris brown. the singer is being sued by a cousin of r and b start frank ocean. the cousin claiming that the star beat him up last january. outside an l.a. reporting studio apparently started after brown parked in ocean's parking space. and a source for chris brown tells the associated press the suit is frivolous and amounts to a shakedown. >>> aol ceo is apologizing for a very public firing of an employee. tim armstrong sent a note to the staff there yelling to get out. it was a mistake and emotional response. you'll recall armstrong was in the middle of a conference call discussing layouts at aol's sites when he apparently tried to take a picture. armstrong told him, you're fired. "the new york times" says armstrong has called lenz to apologize. but this very important. he will not be hiring him back. >> i'm really, really sorry, you're still fired. sorry, pal, fired. >>> all right. check

aspartame is a chemical combination of two different kind of amino acids i can't even pronounce as well. there are studies that say it's safe. there are studies that say it's not safe. you can cross your fingers and hope that the studies that say it's safe are right, or you can back off and try to not have it in your diet at all. >> i majored in rocket science, but then i ended up here. i don't know how it all happened. as we look at what soda makers are facing, because they are facing the numbers and the cash and the sales are down. as we look at last year, for example, sales for regular coke fell by 1%. diet coke fell by 3%. pepsi fell by 3.4%. diet pepsi fell by 6.2%. is there a correlation to more conversations, healthier conversations about how we're living, what we're introducing our kids to that could be the direct correlation for why they're seeing those numbers dip? >> i think we got to a point where we hit absolute rock bottom as far as how fat of a society we were willing to become. you're starting to see that shift. the consumers have gotten smarter. they're questioning, hey

this time it's over aspartame.rchase soft drinks. they've been fighting back on people saying, hey, this is causing obesity. they're saying we have low-calorie options and they're safe. aspartame, nutrasweet, as you may know, is safe. so the company actually took out a full-page ad this past week. they are going to, i believe, put it in atlanta papers because they are based here in atlanta. and that's really their concern. that some people are shying away from artificial sweeteners. so we'll be looking for that. >> yeah, a lot of people, just as a change of lifestyle, have decided maybe soft drinks, us specially the sugary ones, trying to get away from them. >>> are you in the market for a new car? >> well i'm always in the market. >> are you kind of a gear head at all? >> i like looking at cars. all cars. doesn't to be muscle cars but i like those, too. >> you're going to appreciate this one. this is the 2014 chevy corvette stingray. it's a beautiful, beautiful car. so sleek. hitting showrooms in october. >> there

and the ad stresses scientific evidence showing the safety of aspartame, you probably know aspartameas nutrasweet. >> i don't know. i guess the viewers do know this, sometimes you see it -- i drink it every morning. this crazy hour, i know some people think that's disgusting that you're supposed to be drinking coffee or something else like that. i can't figure out if these ads are meant for me or for real consumers or meant to say something to government officials and sort of public policy. i can't really figure out what's going on here. >> criticism has moved. it has gone after not just the sugary drinks, but in some cases the low calorie version, the diet version of some of the drinks too. and if you actually look at what the consumer is doing, it is reflecting a change in consumer taste. i think the diet coke and diet pepsi, sales have fallen much more quickly than the sales of regular coke and regular pepsi. i think it was down 1% for coke last year in terms of volume sale, down 3% for diet coke in the united states. if you looked at pepsi, down 3% for regular, and down 6% for th

kalle swietenser aefrs a great way for people to manage their calories people have suggestions about aspartamed this print ad to address their concerns. >> broccoli is healthy. >> what about the idea that people think diet sodas will help me lose weight. yes or no? >> probably not. if you look ar the parallels, it's pretty significant. and the artificial sweeteners appeal to alter our biology that in ways may increase our desire to eat more. so i don't think they help request weight loss. >> you're a nutritionist. what do you tell patients? >> i had a patient tell me he drinkings 8 to 10 diet sodas a day. he's morbidly obese. i told him to cut it in half. >> where do you put sugar in the ranking of those things that cause obesity? >> we believe that sugar sweetsened beverages, we're talking about soda and -- >> it appears in other things too. >> sure. they can contribute. >> is it a villain, sugar? >> i don't think it is. if you eat to much it is. you need it to live. healthy diet in mod ralgs with sugar is a good thing. >> don't you nink you're drinking diet cokes all day, what you're not dri