Somewhat Radical Theories about Kids - Part 1

I have a couple of radical theories about the state of our children. I don't have a medical degree, but I consider myself to be a reasonably good observer. Who knows if any of my ideas make sense? Someday, research will show something concrete about all of this. In the meantime, here is the first of my theories:

Sometime ago, probably about six years or so, I read an article which stated that if an infant consumed an entire diet soda (rich in sugar-replacement chemical compounds), the child would be severely brain damaged. This led me through an interesting thought process.

If sugar substitutes were indeed that harmful to a baby, could they not also be harmful to a fetus? Personally, I avoided all sugar substitutes while pregnant (along with avoiding being near running microwaves and anyone who was inhaling carcinogenic smoke). But I knew of lots of women who LIVED on diet soda.

Then I thought about the dramatic rise in ADD diagnoses in the late 80's. Was there a correlation between that and diet soda?

Prior to 1982, there were few diet sodas on the market: tab and fresca were the most popular. In 1982, diet coke was introduced, followed quickly by a diet version of pretty much every soda on the market. Is it a coincidence that six years later (when all the previously unborn children of diet-soda-drinking-mothers-to-be were hitting school age), we saw a dramatic increase in the number of ADD diagnoses?

Hmmm.