The Hard Truth

Last night I scurried over to the Hammerstein Ballroom for the Heart Truth Red Dress Collection fashion show; a parade of mostly B-list celebs, trotting down the runway in red designer dresses to raise awareness about heart disease in women. Said celebs included Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels, the less famous family members of the uber famous Kardashian sisters, a few daytime TV hosts like Savannah Guthrie and Wendy Williams, and some awkward-walking but super in-shape athletes. The highlight, I thought, was Kelly Osbourne in Zac Posen and her very purple side-swept hair.

Along with being sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the show was put on by Diet Coke. Huge logoed signs hung from the balcony, mini cans were handed out upon entering the venue, more cans were provided in the swag bags, as well as free t-shirts donning the hideous logo. 

I found this to be ironic to say the least - and extremely troubling to say some more. The third ingredient in Diet Coke, Aspartame, is an artificial sweetner made of methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid.  And guess what it's been known to cause? You guessed it, diabetes! Oh, and weight gain. Not exactly heart health friendly. Though the FDA has looked the other way, the American Diabetes Association reports:

"Aspartame is particularly toxic for diabetics because it disrupts the body’s normal response to glucose, which is to cause the pancreas to release insulin. The main symptom of diabetes is high blood sugar due to the body's inadequate production or utilization of insulin. Therefore, aspartame is doing exactly the opposite of what diabetics need. Astoundingly, Big Pharma claims that because aspartame has no calories, it is therefore an appropriate dietary supplement for diabetics. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Yeah from the HEART TRUTH! Get it? Anyway, what a shitty way to have to make your health mission heard - by partnering with the health devil. (Kind of like Beyonce joining Michelle Obama in the "Let's Move" campaign, followed by a $50-mil endorsement deal with Pepsi). 

I'm truly saddened by the whole thing. But at least I got to see that skanky chick from Friday Night Lights.