When all else fails I go searching on the www.atkins.com site. It is a wealth of information. From the Atkins site itself it says these things about caffiene and diet cola.

Can I have diet soda while doing Atkins?
Spring, mineral or filtered tap water and herb teas are your best fluid options. If you must have soda, avoid caffeinated colas and look for brands, such as Diet Rite, sweetened with sucralose. Be sure to add any carbohydrates in these drinks to your daily carb count.

Why is caffeine unacceptable in the Atkins Nutritional Approach?
Excess caffeine can drop blood sugar levels and leave you craving sweets. If you're addicted to caffeine, you must give it up. The best way to do this is to segue from the high-octane stuff to decaf by gradually adding decaf to your full-force brew until you are drinking straight decaf, which you can enjoy with cream. Water-processed decaf is preferable because it does not use chemicals, as other decaffeinating processes do.
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On a side not from the years of dieting (25 years) I have done the word should doesn't work for me anymore. As those things that should have helped me loose weight didn't according to different nutritionist. Even Atkins, I should be able to eat cheese and nuts and still loose weight. Not. LOL. It can get a little hard to eat meat all day But I will say I never knew how sweet water could taste.

According to eat right for my blood type I should not eat meat either. That was another diet that failed.

As far as aspartame goes, there is subtle (way subtle) research going on linking it to different nerve control diseases. But the media and science don't want to admit that.

I actually had a friend's brother one time drink a six pack of diet cola that was really warm. He wound up in the hospital. Apparently when heated aspartame turns in to formaldhide.

But I have found everyone reacts differently to different foods/toxins taken into their body. While one may not have an issue with aspartame another will. Like me One may not have issues with diary another one will.

I have found making blanket statements on diets for all people just doesn't work. Through my experiences it has been up to me to sort through and figure out how to loose weight.

Many blessings,

Sacred