Zero Calorie Drinks - Opinions?
ColoradoDan
Posts: 85 Member
So I want to get everyone's opinion.
Recently I have been drinking Pure Leaf (brand) Unsweetened Green Team and Black tea in the morning. Is that okay - I don't like hot tea but these are cold and something that tastes different than water!
Today someone offered me a SobeLife Water - they said have this instead - more flavor and still ) sugar, 0 calories, and 0 artificial sweeteners.
I think I have always heard to steer away from the zero calorie drinks like that because whatever they use to sweeten them still can cause weight gain. I have always heard drinking Diet Coke and Coke Zero is almost as bad for you as regular coke and that is has been proven to cause weight gain in some.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
Recently I have been drinking Pure Leaf (brand) Unsweetened Green Team and Black tea in the morning. Is that okay - I don't like hot tea but these are cold and something that tastes different than water!
Today someone offered me a SobeLife Water - they said have this instead - more flavor and still ) sugar, 0 calories, and 0 artificial sweeteners.
I think I have always heard to steer away from the zero calorie drinks like that because whatever they use to sweeten them still can cause weight gain. I have always heard drinking Diet Coke and Coke Zero is almost as bad for you as regular coke and that is has been proven to cause weight gain in some.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
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Replies
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Drink zero calorie drinks all you want. I have a diet pop everyday, still losing.0
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Why not make your own green or black tea? If you don't like it hot just pop a few ice cubes in it. If you don't put sugar or sugar substitutes in it you're all set.
Black coffee is another obvious possibility.0 -
I don't log anything with 0 calories and I'm still losing. I drink a lot of diet green tea and have a diet coke at least once a week.0
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I'm addicted to powerade zero and green tea and I'm still losing.0
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ColoradoDan wrote: »So I want to get everyone's opinion.
Recently I have been drinking Pure Leaf (brand) Unsweetened Green Team and Black tea in the morning. Is that okay - I don't like hot tea but these are cold and something that tastes different than water!
Today someone offered me a SobeLife Water - they said have this instead - more flavor and still ) sugar, 0 calories, and 0 artificial sweeteners.
I think I have always heard to steer away from the zero calorie drinks like that because whatever they use to sweeten them still can cause weight gain. I have always heard drinking Diet Coke and Coke Zero is almost as bad for you as regular coke and that is has been proven to cause weight gain in some.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
Nope. 0 calories - 0 weight gain.
Any 0 calorie drink would do the trick. I personally only drink water and herbal tea with sweeteners (the herbal tea is a cultural thing for me).
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I don't understand how something without calories could contribute to weight gain. I drank diet soda regularly while losing weight and still drink it while maintaining.0
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ColoradoDan wrote: »So I want to get everyone's opinion.
Recently I have been drinking Pure Leaf (brand) Unsweetened Green Team and Black tea in the morning. Is that okay - I don't like hot tea but these are cold and something that tastes different than water!
Today someone offered me a SobeLife Water - they said have this instead - more flavor and still ) sugar, 0 calories, and 0 artificial sweeteners.
I think I have always heard to steer away from the zero calorie drinks like that because whatever they use to sweeten them still can cause weight gain. I have always heard drinking Diet Coke and Coke Zero is almost as bad for you as regular coke and that is has been proven to cause weight gain in some.
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
Here's a currently running thread with plenty of discussion, some actual science and a lot of the usual misinformation and fearmongering about diet soda: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10354206/diet-pop
[ETA:] I drink diet soda and/or artificially sweetened coffee/tea daily, have for many, many years. It hasn't affected my weight loss or overall health in any way. The people talking about a zero-calorie drink causing weight gain are misinformed and ignorant of basic physiology. They quote useless studies which confuse correlation with causation.0 -
I have a Diet Pepsi every day, plus I use a couple squirts of water enhancer (Mio, e.g.). Plus Splenda or stevia in my coffee. I've preferred these drinks when I was overweight, and still drink them now that I'm leaner. Low/no calorie beverages have neither harmed nor helped me. I just prefer them.0
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Im drinking an extra large diet coke right now. Other than the cancer causing chemicals in it, i think its fine.0
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From everything I've read, nothing about a diet soda or zero calorie drink or artificial sweetener itself causes weight gain. The problem is that for a few people (myself included), drinking diet sodas may lead to stronger cravings and overeating, particularly of sweets. Most people don't have this problem. I cut diet soda out of my diet a few months ago and the weight has come off more steadily. I did this when I looked at my diary and noticed a definite trend of eating more on days I had Diet Coke, and particularly eating calorie dense sweets/desserts that I normally had no problem avoiding or eating in moderation.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »I don't understand how something without calories could contribute to weight gain. I drank diet soda regularly while losing weight and still drink it while maintaining.
This is how it could be bad for some people.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-change-our-gut-bacteria-in-dangerous-ways/
Even though it has no calories it doesn't have zero impact on your body. If it changes the bacteria in your digestive track it could cause problems.
That type of study doesn't prove that 100% of people are going to have issues. If you have been drinking it with no issues you probably will have no issues in the future either. But that doesn't mean others won't have problems.0 -
Excess calories cause weight gain, so someone saying a zero calorie beverage will cause you to gain weight is "wrong" (conditionally). What I mean by that, is some people have trigger foods that cause eating patterns they would not normally do. So it's possible that the more you satisfy yourself with sweetend zero calorie drinks, you will crave more sweet food and drink to satisfy that "sweet tooth", thus the potential to over eat on calorically dense sweet food or drink. So to give an example with food would be; how much plain baked potato can you eat compared to that with butter, sour creme, salt, etc... The tastier (palatable) you make it, the easier it is to overindulge. For some people, this is a non issue, for others, it is.0
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Technically they still do contain calories. Legally you can put zero calories if it's under 5 calories PER serving. So if you a hardcore addict, you could end up with an extra 50-100 cals a day, but I wouldn't track it. Just stay consistent and if you're losing weight, there's no point. Also if you're drinking 50-100 cals in sugar free drinks, you may need to see someone lol0
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Good question. Google will have you thinking diet drinks cause you to gain weight, people who drink them are heavier than people who drink regular drinks, and the artificial sweeteners in them are going to kill you. I have decided to ignore Dr. Google and enjoy my diet ginger ales.0
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kissedbythesunshine wrote: »Good question. Google will have you thinking diet drinks cause you to gain weight, people who drink them are heavier than people who drink regular drinks, and the artificial sweeteners in them are going to kill you. I have decided to ignore Dr. Google and enjoy my diet ginger ales.
That's the correlation vs. causation catch. "Fat people drink diet soda, therefore diet soda makes you fat". Using that same line of logic, I could postulate that I see a lot of fat people exercising, therefore exercise makes you fat.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
Instead of a opinion I'll give you a fact.
Calories are the only thing that can cause weight gain, and if there are zero (or near zero) calories in a product, there is no magical construct by which that product will cause a person to gain weight out of thin air.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »
WHAT ARE YOUR OPINIONS?
Instead of a opinion I'll give you a fact.
Calories are the only thing that can cause weight gain, and if there are zero (or near zero) calories in a product, there is no magical construct by which they product will cause a person to gain weight out of thin air.
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From everything I've read, nothing about a diet soda or zero calorie drink or artificial sweetener itself causes weight gain. The problem is that for a few people (myself included), drinking diet sodas may lead to stronger cravings and overeating, particularly of sweets. Most people don't have this problem. I cut diet soda out of my diet a few months ago and the weight has come off more steadily. I did this when I looked at my diary and noticed a definite trend of eating more on days I had Diet Coke, and particularly eating calorie dense sweets/desserts that I normally had no problem avoiding or eating in moderation.
Are you me?
This is my physiology, exactly. When I drink a Diet Coke, a few hours later I'll have cravings for sweets, as you do. This doesn't happen since I switched to stevia as a sweetener. 0 -
No calories but they're made of pure yuck!0
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I think water is any body's best bet. But once enough water has been had, i don't see any harm in a tea or diet soda in moderation. My current favorite is Professor Fizz from Whole Foods. Very refreshing!0
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Awesome responses - thanks - I would say 100% of people here agree to go ahead and drink away! I like that answer!!!
This is the kind of stuff I was talking about reading:
The study concluded that eating artificially-sweetened foods would eventually lead to greater weight gain than eating foods sweetened with regular sugar would. “Diet” doesn't mean calorie-free. If you still want to drink diet soda, consider that the “no calorie” claim doesn't actually mean “zero.”
Diet soft drinks were once viewed as the ultimate solution to sugar-filled, calorie-laden juice drinks and sodas. Zero calories with the same soda taste? I’ll admit it; I fell for it, too! My diet-soda addiction was basically out of control until I quit cold turkey years ago. I had no idea how harmful the artificial sweeteners and chemicals in my soda could be to my body until I did the research. Once I did, it was easy for me to give it up. Here’s what you DON’T know about diet soda and why it’s actually not helping you lose weight.
Diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and chemicals that can be harmful to your body. Most are sweetened with at least one of these sugar substitutes: acesulfame potassium (marketed under the brand names, Sunett®, Sweet One®), aspartame (Equal®, NutraSweet®), or sucralose (Splenda®). And, yes, they are approved by the FDA, but now hear this: For the past few decades, scientists have studied the effects of artificial sweeteners on both animals and humans. The scientific studies vary significantly: Some show no conclusive, harmful effects to humans, while other studies, mostly on laboratory rats, link these sugar substitutes to cancers, tumors, thyroid issues, and — ironically — even weight gain. According to the National Cancer Institute, laboratory rats that were given cyclamate and saccharin had higher rates of bladder cancer. This led the FDA to ban cyclamate in the United States in 1969. Aspartame was linked to lymphoma and leukemia in rats at very high doses (eight to 2,083 cans of diet soda daily). Although aspartame and other sweeteners including acesulfame potassium, sucralose, and neotame, are still considered safe for humans to consume, is it really worth the risk to your health?
Research has shown that artificial sweeteners may cause you to eat more. When we eat regular sugar, our bodies register the sweetness and come to understand that very sweet things contain a lot of calories. Studies suggest that using artificial sweeteners, tricks our bodies so that our internal ability to count calories is thrown way off. A study from Purdue University’s Ingestive Behavior Research Center showed that rats given “no calorie” sweetener ate more, thereby gaining more weight and body fat than rats that ate regular table sugar. The psychologists in the study reasoned that the artificial sweetener tricked the rats’ brains into thinking they would be consuming more calories, and when the calories didn't come, their metabolisms got shaken up and had trouble regulating appetite: This made them want to eat more. The study concluded that eating artificially-sweetened foods would eventually lead to greater weight gain than eating foods sweetened with regular sugar would.
“Diet” doesn’t mean calorie-free. If you still want to drink diet soda, consider that the “no calorie” claim doesn’t actually mean “zero.” Although diet sodas with aspartame may be labeled as “calorie-free,” aspartame breaks down in the body into methanol and amino acids, which generate calories. The caloric amount is small enough for beverage companies to list as “no calorie” (fewer than five calories per labeled serving, according to FDA standards), but keep in mind that drinking diet soda in excess will definitely add extra calories to your diet. For "low-calorie" sodas, by the way, the FDA standard is greater than 30 calories but no more than 40 calories per labeled serving.0 -
“Diet” doesn't mean calorie-free. If you still want to drink diet soda, consider that the “no calorie” claim doesn't actually mean “zero.”
You'd have to drink a lot of diet soda/zero calorie drinks for them to have any real effect on your weight. We're talking about <5 cals per 12 oz. serving.0 -
ColoradoDan wrote: »Awesome responses - thanks - I would say 100% of people here agree to go ahead and drink away! I like that answer!!!
This is the kind of stuff I was talking about reading:
The study concluded that eating artificially-sweetened foods would eventually lead to..... <snipped>
That's Internet blog trash. Don't fall for Internet blog trash would be my advice. There's a ton of it out there and it's written in a way to pass itself of as science and facts, but it isn't.
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ColoradoDan wrote: »Awesome responses - thanks - I would say 100% of people here agree to go ahead and drink away! I like that answer!!!
This is the kind of stuff I was talking about reading:
The study concluded that eating artificially-sweetened foods would eventually lead to..... <snipped>
That's Internet blog trash. Don't fall for Internet blog trash would be my advice. There's a ton of it out there and it's written in a way to pass itself of as science and facts, but it isn't.
+1. Nothing but scaremongering. There's a long thread here on MFP about aspartame which lists numerous studies debunking the "dangers" of it. The rat studies 1) used rats which are genetically inclined toward cancerous tumors and 2) administered artificial sweeteners in staggering amounts far beyond what any human would consume.
Since the article wasn't linked/attributed, I searched for it. Links included results by Hyman and Mercola, both noted crackpots. Not surprising in the least.0 -
Good to know.0
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Because it feels lonely all unnoticed in the other thread.
"Thus, one would ask, “Why is there a need for a comprehensive review of aspartame safety data at this point in
time?” Questions about its safety continue to be raised by a few individuals. Safety issues long ago resolved to the
satisfaction of regulatory agencies and expert committees are today resurrected by some as if new. Early on these
issues were based on scientific hypothesis, misinterpretation of data, and/or anecdotal reports of adverse health
effects. Recently spurious and imaginative, hypothetical questions that are lacking even anecdotal support or a
logical scientific rationale have compounded these issues. Given the extensive safety database and many years
of safe human exposure, the continuing debate about aspartame is most unusual."
http://seriecientifica.org/sites/default/files/scl_enc_butchko.pdf
This is a long, very, very, long review of tons of available studies on aspartame, the main sweetener which those fear mongerings are directed at. There is another good one by the EFSA, also very very long.
They both come to the conclusion that there is absolutely no dangers coming from them in the amounts considered safe and the quoted part above rips into the fear mongering already in the introduction.0 -
georgyporcupine wrote: »No calories but they're made of pure yuck!
Green tea is made of yuck? Interesting conclusion.
I love teas, but any artificial sweetener (like in your sobe drink you mention, and diet soda) gives me massive headaches, as does MSG laden foods.0 -
georgyporcupine wrote: »No calories but they're made of pure yuck!
Which is better for you than impure yuck I guess?0 -
georgyporcupine wrote: »No calories but they're made of pure yuck!
Which is better for you than impure yuck I guess?
At least if it's pure yuck, you can still consider it "clean eating".
Seeing as how any soda is about 95% water, I can't see how it could be considered "pure yuck".0
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