Diet Soda Linked to Diabetes, Heart disease, Cancer...or Not

I read a book recently that pointed out that  - when we want to prove a point, we present all information that supports our position, and ignore or hide all evidence to the contrary.

I've thought for a long time that diet soda is bad for you.  I was certain of it.  It tastes bad, its artificial, and I like sugar.  Plus - I'm pretty good at research and I have access to a ton of medical journals.  So I could prove it all if I wanted.

I sat down to write this post and I found articles that show that Diet Soda may cause, Heart Disease, Cancer, and Diabetes.  These are all valid articles.  I'm pretty sure I could write this up pretty convincingly and make a few people think twice before drinking more diet soda.

ie:
1st study: Those who drank diet soda had 70% greater increases in waistline growth than non-drinkers 9.5 years later.
Among frequent drinkers (2+ diet sodas a day) waistline growth was 500% greater than among non-drinkers.
2nd Study: Aspartame is carginogenic and causes increased rates of Carcinoma, Leukemia, and Lymphoma
3rd Study: Even without causing diabetes, diet sodas increase your risk of stroke, heart attack, and death.

But that's wrong.  If I want any credibility, if I ever want people to trust what I write - I need to present both sides.  So I decided to research the other side.  Is there evidence that shows that the previous 3 links are All Crap?

Yep.  There's a lot.  The link above is to my favorite which shows:

1: Aspartame gets broken down in your stomach into two common amino acids and a tiny bit of methanol (which you get more of by eating a banana)

2. Studies did show an increase in blood methanol from aspartame.  But the participants were given 40X more than you get from drinking diet soda.  Oh, and the increase in methanol was 100X less than what's needed to cause methanol poisoning.

3.  It isn't just aspartame producers refuting the bad press: the US National Toxicology Program and the US National Cancer Institute both found that aspartame is not a carcinogen.

SO - is Aspartame bad for you or not?  The real answer is - I have no idea.  But at least I now have evidence to back up my indecision.  I may not know the answer, but it isn't because of ignorance.