Is giving up diet soda really worth it?

twellwoman

Right here. I gave up diet sodas this spring after reading that aspartame is a neurotoxin. I realized that one of the symptoms they talked about - tingling of the extremities - was happening to me. My left arm would tingle as though it was falling asleep somewhere between soda 1 & 2. I went cold turkey & haven't had any weird nerve pains since.
What have you replaced it with? Make sure it's caffeine free. Caffeine and sugars are very, very addictive, and if you are breaking an addiction, you will feel withdrawal symptoms.
But trust me, it is worth it. No more weird pain, I sleep better, my memory is better, etc. I don't know what your benefits will be, but think of the money you'll save! My husband and I stopped for fast food on the way to the beach last weekend & I had a soda & it no longer tasted good to me - I didn't even want to get a refill to take in the car!
Good Luck! You can do it , and the worst part is already behind you!

jonnythan

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.

rachseby

Aspartame is known to cause joint issues

Nope.

I just have to ask...which soda company do you work for?

If you look through my posting history, you'd probably think I work for Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Talenti, Fitbit, Five Guys, and Kellogg's.

I don't. I value reality and intellectual integrity, and take issue with spurious claims about anything. I'm the sort of guy who, in political debates, constantly gets accused of being both a Democrat and Republican by different people at different times because I criticize invalid or illogical arguments from either side.

I actually just researched aspartame on nih.gov. It does seem that they have found it to be safe, but they also found that it could increase appetite (a side effect I can do without!) But I also wonder (without wanting to sound paranoid) about the politics behind the entire issue. Whose interests are the most served by declaring it to be safe? I think that most things are safe in moderation (except crack) and anything could have negative side effects if abused. Taco Bell is just nasty though. :happy:

I have no idea what you mean by "they have found it to be safe." Who has found it to be safe? That's not how science works, even remotely. A scientific experiment can look for a correlative and/or causative link between aspartame and some particular outcome, good or bad. You can't design an experiment to determine whether it's "safe" or not.

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.

Without going into every study I read, it has been found not to be causative for cancer or other various health problems. However, one study said that the scientific community is still very divided on the issue. To your knowledge? Based on what? What have you read that says that there are no side effects? That's fine for you, but I think that every person should come to his/her own conclusion. I would not proclaim anything to be either safe or dangerous. I did not say to give it up. I said that I would drink it in moderation (as some people talk about drinking 12 to 24 cans a day). This is true of anything. You could probably overindulge in brocoli if you tried hard enough. Also, many people are on this site trying to lose weight. Studies did find that diet pop can lead to an increase in appetite. This might not apply to every single person, but it is good to know that it could potentially have that effect.

kbcara

I gave up for 6 months (from 2-3 cans of DC a day) following a 10 day detox holiday in Thailand, had no withdrawals, felt no better, lost no weight - and it meant I couldn't enjoy my Malibu either! [and I drink so little alcohol I wanna enjoy it when I do!]

Aspartame haters aside, I saw no benefit to quitting and actually if I have a craving for snacks, or to eat post-dinner, I find a sup of calorie free DC halts that!

JennaM222

No.

peachfigs

I think the very fact that you're addicted is worth giving it up. I used to be addicted to fizzy drinks too, they were all I would drink. I managed to get kidney stones and heart palpitations. It's not healthy at all.

newmanel

I don't care if aspartame is bad for you or not, because life is too short. But I do know that drinking Coke Zero makes chips so much more appealing, and I can eat way more chips if accompanied by a Coke. (Chips and water just seems foul to me, you know?)

fat2strongbeth

I not only gave up soda 1 1/2 yrs ago, but I've also tried to cut out all artificial sweeteners. I feel so much better since removing these chemicals from my diet. I'm not perfect and on extremely stressful days still have a Dr. Pepper, but no more than 1-2 per month.

rachseby

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.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

jonnythan

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.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

Mercola, lol. Without even clicking the link, I know what it's going to say. Mercola is a quack who makes a living on scaring you into buying into his "naturalistic" or whatever books and products.

He also says that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. So, yeah.

toutmonpossible

I rarely drink it because my Registered Dietitian said to avoid it. Every now and then I'll be up late without access to coffee and I'll have a can of Diet Coke for the caffeine. That doesn't seem to be an option for you. Are you looking for a reason to stop your weaning off process? Don't.

cressievargo

Since I have quit drinking diet coke - my sweet cravings have subsided, my achy joints - gone...and that's just the beginning.

Simply because something is zero calorie does NOT mean that it doesn't create some sort of insulin response in the body - so in fact, it COULD be hindering your diet / weight loss efforts.

cressievargo

Go to nih.gov. There is a lot of research. Some says that aspartame is safe, some says it isn't. Personally, I don't think that in moderation it poses significant risks. But I don't think that I'd go crazy with it either. If I was taking any medication, or had any health issues, I would definitely discuss that with my provider.

Please, link me to some research that shows aspartame is "unsafe." In particular, please link me to some research that establishes that aspartame causes joint issues, because that's what you accused me of having an undisclosed financial bias over.

I don't need some government or pharma funded study. I'm speaking from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

knk1553

Nope, not worth it. I drink coffee every morning and a diet soda every afternoon and have had no problems with building muscle and losing fat. Granted if I decide to compete next summer I'll probably have to cut it out for that time period, but that would be my coaches decision. Until then, I'm enjoying my soda. I don't find that it makes me crave junk food or eat more junk food, thats called a psychological side effect.

As far as aspartame...YOLO. Something is gonna kill me and its most likely not going to be aspartame which hasn't even shown consistently in clinical trials or research studies that its bad for you, its more likely going to be one of the 9 million other pollutants in the environment.

jonnythan

Since I have quit drinking diet coke - my sweet cravings have subsided, my achy joints - gone...and that's just the beginning.

Simply because something is zero calorie does NOT mean that it doesn't create some sort of insulin response in the body - so in fact, it COULD be hindering your diet / weight loss efforts.

I wonder if giving up diet soda coincided with an increase in exercise and some weight loss.

rachseby

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.

Joehenny

no

bongochick45

I replaced pop (what everyone else calls soda) with soda water. It's extra fizzy and if I want some flavor I throw in some fruit. I drink a diet coke every now and again but for the most part soda water really filled that craving for me.

Joehenny

Since I have quit drinking diet coke - my sweet cravings have subsided, my achy joints - gone...and that's just the beginning.

Simply because something is zero calorie does NOT mean that it doesn't create some sort of insulin response in the body - so in fact, it COULD be hindering your diet / weight loss efforts.

No it doesn't and even if it did, your body producing insulin is a normal function.

jonnythan

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?