Is giving up diet soda really worth it?
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universally accepted as bad for you
You don't seem to quite have a handle on what "universally" means."My grandpa smoked for 50 years and didn't get lung cancer, so cigarettes must be safe! My cousin ate a bowl of lead paint chips each morning for breakfast when he was a child and he's in great shape! Come on, show me a study that conclusively states that cigarettes and lead paint are bad for you - and when you do, I'll still claim that they are good for you, because I'm a contrarian that that really loves to argue!"
No idea what this list of anecdotes has to do with anything. There's plenty of published science that strongly establish causative links between smoking, and lead exposure, to poor outcomes.
The same empirical evidence exists of health risks from pop as they do for tobacco and lead paint.
Absolutely and unequivocally false.
So prove it. Show me some links to some independent studies, studies that weren't funded by producers of cola, aspartame, or the government, that prove beyond a doubt that diet pop and its chemicals are safe.0 -
It is sooooo worth it! I haven't had a soda in about a month and feel so incredible! Keep it up, you won't be sorry.0
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Diet soda has sodium, which will cause you to 'inflate'. I strongly recommend you to change this 'addiction' for something that will bring less damage to your body - like coffee, or Yerba Mate (probably there is Yerba Mate there in US). good luck!! :flowerforyou:0
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Diet soda has sodium, which will cause you to 'inflate'. I strongly recommend you to change this 'addiction' for something that will bring less damage to your body - like coffee, or Yerba Mate (probably there is Yerba Mate there in US). good luck!! :flowerforyou:
A can of Diet Coke has 30 mg of sodium.
This is about 1% of normal daily sodium intake.0 -
Do you know how hard it is to prove causality? If you want to drink 10 cans a day and wait until it is proven, knock yourself out. I LOVE soda, regular, diet, any kind. But I stopped drinking it because frankly I'd rather go without than take the risk. What other people do is their business. My advice is moderation. I would never profess to know, with absolute certainty, whether or not is is safe or unsafe. I am simply presenting research that I have found. Others can read it or not, and make of it what they will. If you want to sit here all day and claim that it is perfectly safe, that is your business. But I think that it is irresponsible to advise other people based on your own soapbox. And if you knew that a correlation w/ diabetes incidence does exist, why not state that instead of just arguing that it is perfectly safe? Is this about being right, or providing information?Recent research:
Eur J Nutr. 2013 Apr 11. [Epub ahead of print]
Sugar-sweetened beverage and diet soda consumption and the 7-year risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus in middle-aged Japanese men.
Sakurai M, Nakamura K, Miura K, Takamura T, Yo****a K, Nagasawa SY, Morikawa Y, Ishizaki M, Kido T, Naruse Y, Suwazono Y, Sasaki S, Nakagawa H.
Source
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Kanazawa Medical University, 1-1 Daigaku, Uchinada, Ishikawa, 920-0293, Japan, m-sakura@kanazawa-med.ac.jp.
Abstract
PURPOSE:
This cohort study investigated the association between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and diet soda consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in Japanese men.
METHODS:
The participants were 2,037 employees of a factory in Japan. We measured consumption of SSB and diet soda using a self-administered diet history questionnaire. The incidence of diabetes was determined in annual medical examinations over a 7-year period. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for diabetes were estimated after adjusting for age, body mass index, family history, and dietary and other lifestyle factors.
RESULTS:
During the study, 170 participants developed diabetes. The crude incidence rates (/1,000 person-years) across participants who were rare/never SSB consumers, <1 serving/week, ≥1 serving/week and <1 serving/day, and ≥1 serving/day were 15.5, 12.7, 14.9, and 17.4, respectively. The multivariate-adjusted HR compared to rare/never SSB consumers was 1.35 (95 % CI 0.80-2.27) for participants who consumed ≥1 serving/day SSB. Diet soda consumption was significantly associated with the incident risk of diabetes (P for trend = 0.013), and multivariate-adjusted HRs compared to rare/never diet soda consumers were 1.05 (0.62-1.78) and 1.70 (1.13-2.55), respectively, for participants who consumed <1 serving/week and ≥1 serving/week.
CONCLUSIONS:
Consumption of diet soda was significantly associated with an increased risk for diabetes in Japanese men. Diet soda is not always effective at preventing type 2 diabetes even though it is a zero-calorie drink.
It's known that diet soda consumption is correlated with diabetes incidence.
The question is whether the diet soda causes diabetes.
What do you think? What confounding variables could be present here? What factors could explain this link?
I do.
If you want to stop drinking it just in case it eventually turns out to have some health risk, that's fine. Just don't pretend that one has been established already.
I'm not pretending, I'm presenting research. Do you have a problem with people reading for themselves and making up their own minds? Don't pretend that there are no risks associated with drinking it.0 -
I gave up all sodas, at first i gave up all regular sodas and switched to diet sodas then last year i gave up diet sodas. I don't have as much sweet cravings as i used to and no more muscle twitches and also noticed that my restless leg syndrome is not even there anymore. Never thought about that... hmm. Wonder if it has to do with it. But yeah if you can continue without soda do it, if you can't then one a day shouldn't hurt.
I read an article about some people being more sensitive to aspartame and it causing muscle twitching. My husband has always twitched a LOT right before falling asleep...until he switched from soda to SodaStream exclusively. The twitches went away completely. In the midst of moving and a hectic schedule, he's been drinking diet soda again and guess what? The twitches are back in full force.
So, yes, I'd say you're one is affected by aspartame in this way. Congrats on giving it up!0 -
universally accepted as bad for you
You don't seem to quite have a handle on what "universally" means."My grandpa smoked for 50 years and didn't get lung cancer, so cigarettes must be safe! My cousin ate a bowl of lead paint chips each morning for breakfast when he was a child and he's in great shape! Come on, show me a study that conclusively states that cigarettes and lead paint are bad for you - and when you do, I'll still claim that they are good for you, because I'm a contrarian that that really loves to argue!"
No idea what this list of anecdotes has to do with anything. There's plenty of published science that strongly establish causative links between smoking, and lead exposure, to poor outcomes.
The same empirical evidence exists of health risks from pop as they do for tobacco and lead paint.
Absolutely and unequivocally false.
So prove it. Show me some links to some independent studies, studies that weren't funded by producers of cola, aspartame, or the government, that prove beyond a doubt that diet pop and its chemicals are safe.
You can't prove something is safe. And that's not what I said is false anyway.
The poster said that there is equivalent evidence for poor health outcomes for diet soda that there are for smoking and lead paint. This is absolutely, 100%, completely false. I can't stress that enough. It's absolutely, absolutely false.0 -
I've cut back, but I consume diet soda as a caffeine delivery vehicle for the public good. I'm not fun to be around uncaffeinated and my stomach doesn't tolerate coffee often.0
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I have diet soda.. I need something to put my alcohol in..
I was thinking this the whole time reading posts! That's the only time a drink soda. You cant give up everything!0 -
I actually hate fizzy drinks and i still drink diet coke because it doesn't have calories. Sometimes it makes me hungry (so does chewing bubblegum) but sometimes it satisfies my cravings0
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I gave it up and feel better (I was drinking a lot of diet coke and energy drinks). I am forcing myself to drink coffee b/c I need the caffeine and while I don't love it, I like how I feel much better. The caffeine from coffee seems to not have that "crash" that I would get from energy drinks and I do not have the foggy/nauseated feeling that I get from Diet Coke.0
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YES IF ITS WORTH IT TO YOU /THREAD0
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On day 2 of 180 no soda . . . doing it for me . Doing it for the challenge. Wish me luck .0
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I have read that all soda, including diet soda, can raise your risk of developing diabetes. I love diet soda also, but I make myself drink water. If you need caffeine how about tea?0
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universally accepted as bad for you
You don't seem to quite have a handle on what "universally" means."My grandpa smoked for 50 years and didn't get lung cancer, so cigarettes must be safe! My cousin ate a bowl of lead paint chips each morning for breakfast when he was a child and he's in great shape! Come on, show me a study that conclusively states that cigarettes and lead paint are bad for you - and when you do, I'll still claim that they are good for you, because I'm a contrarian that that really loves to argue!"
No idea what this list of anecdotes has to do with anything. There's plenty of published science that strongly establish causative links between smoking, and lead exposure, to poor outcomes.
The same empirical evidence exists of health risks from pop as they do for tobacco and lead paint.
Absolutely and unequivocally false.
So prove it. Show me some links to some independent studies, studies that weren't funded by producers of cola, aspartame, or the government, that prove beyond a doubt that diet pop and its chemicals are safe.
You can't prove something is safe. And that's not what I said is false anyway.
The poster said that there is equivalent evidence for poor health outcomes for diet soda that there are for smoking and lead paint. This is absolutely, 100%, completely false. I can't stress that enough. It's absolutely, absolutely false.
Is it? I don't really see either one of you backing up your claims with any real proof. You can say it's false all day long, but I don't know you, so it doesn't really mean anything. If you want to be logical and credible, then I think you ought to hold yourself to the same burden of proof you are holding everyone else to. At the very least, post the links to the information that leads you to say several people in this thread are making false claims so that people can decide based on evidence, not just your say so.0 -
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No.
This guy, right here. Nailed it. /thread0 -
To each there own about diet soda however be sure to look up side effects of the artificial sweetners so you are aware that there are side effects. My Hubby and I use to drink 44oz diet sodas daily and we stopped aprox 1-2yrs ago. We drink coffee or tea now just b sure not to dump to many extra calories in the drink, I drink my coffee blk and tea unsweetened it sounds yucky but once your use to them that way and u taste sugary stuff, the sugary stuff taste yucky! I'm ver thankful for quitting/stopping. I had headaches and my throat would have red stripes like hivesI think from drinking diet soda. Also my Father inlaw passed away in feb and he had diabetes which he would drink diet soda and I wonder if diet soda triggered hi sugar and the diabetics ketoacidocis was result of high sugar Plus his blood was acidic and that sent him in full cardiac arrest.... Diabetes ketoacidosis is where the ph in the body changes and I wonder if all that diet/Acidic drinks contributed.(He was sooo thursty alot)Please drink pleanty of water when u drink diet soda, I don't think he drank much water if any. I think that they could find another way of making diet soda. Drink what ya want but be aware!0
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universally accepted as bad for you
You don't seem to quite have a handle on what "universally" means."My grandpa smoked for 50 years and didn't get lung cancer, so cigarettes must be safe! My cousin ate a bowl of lead paint chips each morning for breakfast when he was a child and he's in great shape! Come on, show me a study that conclusively states that cigarettes and lead paint are bad for you - and when you do, I'll still claim that they are good for you, because I'm a contrarian that that really loves to argue!"
No idea what this list of anecdotes has to do with anything. There's plenty of published science that strongly establish causative links between smoking, and lead exposure, to poor outcomes.
The same empirical evidence exists of health risks from pop as they do for tobacco and lead paint.
Absolutely and unequivocally false.
So prove it. Show me some links to some independent studies, studies that weren't funded by producers of cola, aspartame, or the government, that prove beyond a doubt that diet pop and its chemicals are safe.
You can't prove something is safe. And that's not what I said is false anyway.
The poster said that there is equivalent evidence for poor health outcomes for diet soda that there are for smoking and lead paint. This is absolutely, 100%, completely false. I can't stress that enough. It's absolutely, absolutely false.
Is it? I don't really see either one of you backing up your claims with any real proof. You can say it's false all day long, but I don't know you, so it doesn't really mean anything. If you want to be logical and credible, then I think you ought to hold yourself to the same burden of proof you are holding everyone else to. At the very least, post the links to the information that leads you to say several people in this thread are making false claims so that people can decide based on evidence, not just your say so.
You can't prove a negative. I can't prove there's no research out there that links diet soda to negative health outcomes the same way as research showing smoking and lead paint are bad.
The user made a positive claim: that diet soda has been proven to be bad using the same type of evidence that proves smoking and lead paint are bad. It is up to the person who made that claim to support it, by showing us the research that strongly establishes as causative link between diet soda and a negative health outcome.0 -
I have diet soda.. I need something to put my alcohol in..
Be a man and drink it straight.
Or be a woman and drink it straight. Good liquor requires nothing, not even ice.
^^ this0 -
Any thing in moderation. Whatever you eat drink if you do it to excess it's likely to cause problems even water to excess is bad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication0 -
Look at it this way, is DRINKING diet soda really worth it? What benefits do you get from it? There are many better ways to quench your thirst.0
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I gave up Diet Coke about 15 months ago. Everyone said "oh you are going to feel so much better!" Honestly, I don't feel any different than I did 15 months ago. I occasionally will have a diet soda without caffeine in a mixed drink but I don't make a habit of it. I mainly drink water. I think if you just cut back to one or two a day to start with instead of going from so many to nothing that you may feel better and it may be easier to ween yourself off instead of cold turkey. I had a horrible headache when I quit for at least a week and I only had one or two a day at the most.0
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Please elaborate with a peer reviewed clinical study showing how bad they are. Oh and make sure the dosage being used on a mouse or rat isn't equivalent to drinking a case of diet soda a day.If you knew just how bad 'diet' sodas are for you health you would not want to put them back into your body.
Over 25 years of drinking it and it seems that actual science is right.......................it ain't bad as the anti diet soda proponents make it seem.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0 -
Aspartame has, to my knowledge, not been shown to cause any negative health outcome. There's no reason to give it up if you like it.
I took this to be a positive claim from you that aspartame is safe. Perhaps you did not intend it as such.0 -
The poster said that there is equivalent evidence for poor health outcomes for diet soda that there are for smoking and lead paint. This is absolutely, 100%, completely false. I can't stress that enough. It's absolutely, absolutely false.
You must know something that every reputable medical, fitness and health organization doesn’t.
Congrats - the way that you vigorously advocate eating fast food and drinking diet pop is undoubtedly providing a valuable service to countless MFP users as they continue their journey to better health.0 -
Google the ingredients in the soda along with side effects and that should be enough to make everyone wanna stop drinking diet soda or diet food. To each there own drink what ya want but be advised of the SIDE EFFECTS. I understand even medicine has side effects that's why I said to each there own. You weigh the pros and the 90 something side effects.0
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I used to drink a pop (soda or whatever..) about 3 times a week. Nothing major, but when I wanted one, I really wanted one. I've completely given up any type of pop (unless it's in a rum & diet), and have replaced the sweet carbonated drink with Seltzer Water with 1 or 2 squirts of Liquid Crystal Light. It's just like pop to me and 0 calories. :glasses:0
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I drink diet Pepsi or diet Coke when I want soda, but not the calories. I know it is so bad for you, there is no nutrition in them, they have aspartame, and they are empty calories, but I like to drink them a few times per week. If I run out of them then I just drink whatever I have.0
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Lol, there are side effects to everything we consume in life. Quit scaremongering and if you're going to report it then post the 90 something side effects and let's compare them to some foods/drink that are "healthy" to see.Google the ingredients in the soda along with side effects and that should be enough to make everyone wanna stop drinking diet soda or diet food. To each there own drink what ya want but be advised of the SIDE EFFECTS. I understand even medicine has side effects that's why I said to each there own. You weigh the pros and the 90 something side effects.
A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition0
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