Is giving up diet soda really worth it?

Bry_Fitness70

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.

rachseby

Diet soft drink consumption is associated with an increased risk of vascular events in the Northern Manhattan Study.
Gardener H, Rundek T, Markert M, Wright CB, Elkind MS, Sacco RL.
Source
Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Clinical Research Building, Miami, FL 33136, USA. hgardener@med.miami.edu
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Diet and regular soft drinks have been associated with diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, and regular soft drinks with coronary heart disease.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the association between soft drinks and combined vascular events, including stroke.
DESIGN:
A population-based cohort study of stroke incidence and risk factors. PARTICANTS: Participants (N= 2564, 36% men, mean age 69 ± 10, 20% white, 23% black, 53% Hispanic) were from the Northern Manhattan Study.
MAIN MEASURES:
We assessed diet and regular soft drink consumption using a food frequency questionnaire at baseline, and categorized: none (<1/month, N = 1948 diet, N = 1333 regular), light (1/month-6/week, N = 453 diet, N = 995 regular), daily (≥1/day, N = 163 diet, N = 338 regular). Over a mean follow-up of 10 years, we examined the association between soft drink consumption and 591 incident vascular events (stroke, myocardial infarction, vascular death) using Cox models.
KEY RESULTS:
Controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, smoking, physical activity, alcohol consumption, BMI, daily calories, consumption of protein, carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium, those who drank diet soft drinks daily (vs. none) had an increased risk of vascular events, and this persisted after controlling further for the metabolic syndrome, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, cardiac disease, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia (HR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.06-1.94). There was no increased risk of vascular events associated with regular soft drinks or light diet soft drink consumption.
CONCLUSIONS:
Daily diet soft drink consumption was associated with several vascular risk factors and with an increased risk for vascular events. Further research is needed before any conclusions can be made regarding the potential health consequences of diet soft drink consumption.
Comment in
Causal or casual?-The association between consumption of artificially sweetened carbonated beverages and vascular disease. [J Gen Intern Med. 2012]

MelStren

I haven't given it up but I have cut way back.

I was drinking 6 cans a day and now I may drink one and start a second and never finish it.

I've slowly replaced my first can in the morning with coffee, then I'll have one about mid day. I've slowly replaced the rest of it with water and most days I prefer the water.

I don't have afternoon headaches anymore and fruits seem to taste better/sweeter to me now.

My stomach doesn't bother me as much, I used to have acid reflux and other stomach issues.

Joehenny

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.

Wow that has to be the worst case study ever.. Take a group of people bound to most likely develop diabetes and allow them to drink diet soda, when they develop it imply diet soda does not prevent diabetes (it never claimed too). Hidden premise.

potatocar

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.

You eat junk food and you're in great shape, we get it already. Why do you insist on defending fast food on here so passionately? There is practically zero chance that quitting soda will worsen this guy/girl's health and there are much more rich calories nutritionally-wise he/she could be getting.

wibutterflymagic

Do what you want. Decreasing you intake is greatly advised but it doesn't mean you can't ever have it again. It's your life, do what makes you happy. I stopped drinking soda on a regular basis last fall when I started my journey, but I still have one periodically. I drink regular, I would never touch diet. Those artificial sweetners are horrendous and you'd have to have a gun to my head to make me drink a diet soda. Make it a treat, that's what I do. I average a soda maybe once every couple months and that's all I need. Many times only 1/2 a can is enough to satisfy me.

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.

The same empirical evidence exists of health risks from pop as they do for tobacco and lead paint.

Absolutely and unequivocally false.

thisismeraw

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 isn't a picture of truth and most of his articles are just fearmongering anyways.

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.

You eat junk food and you're in great shape, we get it already. Why do you insist on defending fast food on here so passionately? There is practically zero chance that quitting soda will worsen this guy/girl's health and there are much more rich calories nutritionally-wise he/she could be getting.

Not sure what diet soda has to do with fast food.

Also, diet soda has zero calories, so I'm not sure how she could get "more rich calories nutritionally-wise" with zero calories.

kao708

I use to drink 12-24 cans of coke a day since i was about 7

Um, where the heck were your parents? I can't imagine letting a kid drink that much soda. My 15 y.o. drinks a lot but not that much. Mostly because I'd never be able to afford it! Good grief! :drinker:

Becky_Smith72

It is absolutely worth it. Pop, even diet, is horrible for you. I haven't drank it over 10 years and my body is so much happier.

amaira515

I gave up soda and fast food years ago and have never looked back. I feel so much better for it and I lost some weight afterwards also. Plus I have noticed my sweet tooth subsided considerably. I can't stomach soda anymore. I tried a sip of one when I was visiting my family a while back and it made me sick to my stomach. Same thing happened with fast food. Years ago my fiance and I went to McDonalds because we were broke and I got a cheeseburger like I used to get, took two bites and couldn't stomach it. I was amazed at how disgusting it tasted since I wasn't used to it or whatever anymore. I used to freaking love those things.

It sounds like you are suffering from caffeine withdrawals instead of soda. Try replacing the soda with tea hot and cold. Tea and flavored water, especially the fizzy water, helped me get over my soda when I first started out. Just set a rule in your head, "I will not order soda instead I will order tea." Or something similar that works for you.

annakow

I like diet coke and I am not giving up

thisismeraw

Do what you want. Decreasing you intake is greatly advised but it doesn't mean you can't ever have it again. It's your life, do what makes you happy. I stopped drinking soda on a regular basis last fall when I started my journey, but I still have one periodically. I drink regular, I would never touch diet. Those artificial sweetners are horrendous and you'd have to have a gun to my head to make me drink a diet soda. Make it a treat, that's what I do. I average a soda maybe once every couple months and that's all I need. Many times only 1/2 a can is enough to satisfy me.

Sweeteners are only bad for those who actually have an issue with them. Some people get headaches, some don't.

There has yet to be PROVEN evidence on HUMANS that sweeteners are bad. Sure, don't consume 24 cans of diet pop a day but in moderation there is nothing wrong with them.

Look at your ingredients in foods. Light yogurts normally contain sweeteners. I bet the chemicals in your shampoos, lotions, cleansers, etc that you come into contact with and are absorbed through your skin are worse for you than the sweetener in diet pop.

Achrya

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.

You eat junk food and you're in great shape, we get it already. Why do you insist on defending fast food on here so passionately? There is practically zero chance that quitting soda will worsen this guy/girl's health and there are much more rich calories nutritionally-wise he/she could be getting.

Unless it's a zero calorie diet soda, and it probably is, in which case the other nutritionally rich stuff with calories is irrelevant.

Greenrun99

Be a man and drink it straight.

I mix diet soda with the rail cheapo liquor I drink as a relaxing drink on the weekends.. the expensive stuff is all straight or on the rocks.

As for the discussion and all the threads.. I had such a good laugh at people and everything people believe.. How many of these "Studies" were done on overweight or obese individuals that drink diet soda and also have diabetes.. let me see is it the diet soda.. or their unhealthy eating/lifestyle.. I guess its the soda.

If you think having diet soda is worse for you then carrying your cell phone on you all day.. or eating veggies that are sprayed with chemicals.. or standing by the microwave when its on.. then ya..

Oh and people that see their face clear up, and stopped getting cramps.. Its because you started hydrating your body with water.. you drank tons of soda and not enough water.. it was the water that helped you not cramp up because your body was hydrated.

I guess next your going to tell me taking too many vitamins are bad too.. that is always a good argument.

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.

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?

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?

kao708

I used to have about 5 cans a day for, oh, the past 15 years. Today is day 12 cold turkey. I am irritable, unfocused, and kind of a witch to be honest. No, I can't have like, one a week or whatever the same way someone could probably not have just "a little" crack cocaine. Could someone please tell me that they felt better after giving up soda? I know all of the articles that are like "diet soda is the devil and ruins your bones and gives you cancer etc." but I'm looking for someone who experienced readily identifiable benefits of giving up this diet carbonated nectar of the gods and not just "I abstractly reduced my chance of cancer and a heart attack"

Thanks!

I'd say it depends on how it effects you. I cut back on diet soda because I can tell that it makes my arthritis flare up but I didn't cut it out totally. One of these days a new study will come out telling us that we should have been drinking more. It's like eggs...they're good, they're bad, they're good, they're bad! Whatever...everything in moderation!

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?

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?

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.

estielouise

so many people have given responses on here you may not read this.. but proof you asked for! My friend lost 15 of his teeth from drink a 2Litre bottle of diet soda per day for his cravings! Toothless not a good look!!!