Sugar-free drinks: the good, the bad and the 'we should be aware'!
Urbanetta
Posts: 5 Member
There's some very useful discussion threads from MFP members about drinking alcohol - or, more accurately, trying to stop drinking alcohol and the various tricks we've all used! I either heavily dilute a white wine with ice or sparkling water or, more often, have a diet soda. And herein lies the rub.
A diet drink is, apparently, not the best way to get us on the right track. My daughter emailed me the latest info on diet sodas so just passing it on to those of us who weren't aware of the fact that a diet drink not only doesn't help but could make the weight settle again around one's middle/tum...grrrrr!!!
'It's easy to get fooled by the zero-calorie label, yet sodas made with sugar substitutes are believed by many to play a role in weight gain. A new study published this month found that people who drank diet soda gained almost three times the amount of abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn't drink the no-cal stuff.
"Sure, that study only looked at adults ages 65 and older, but consider this: Recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science found that mice drinking water with artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame and sucralose) became vulnerable to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance—two things known to lead to weight gain."
There's also a really interesting documentary on netflix about sugar. In it, it explains that artificial sweeteners tend to lead to weight gain as they trigger the body's craving for sugar - in tasting sweetness, the body expects the sugary energy 'reward'. Because it's artificial and the 'reward' never arrives, the body then craves more food in search of that gratification.
So any thoughts much appreciated and any low-calories alcohol subsititutes members enjoy for that early evening moment when willpower falters! Cheers to you all.
A diet drink is, apparently, not the best way to get us on the right track. My daughter emailed me the latest info on diet sodas so just passing it on to those of us who weren't aware of the fact that a diet drink not only doesn't help but could make the weight settle again around one's middle/tum...grrrrr!!!
'It's easy to get fooled by the zero-calorie label, yet sodas made with sugar substitutes are believed by many to play a role in weight gain. A new study published this month found that people who drank diet soda gained almost three times the amount of abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn't drink the no-cal stuff.
"Sure, that study only looked at adults ages 65 and older, but consider this: Recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science found that mice drinking water with artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame and sucralose) became vulnerable to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance—two things known to lead to weight gain."
There's also a really interesting documentary on netflix about sugar. In it, it explains that artificial sweeteners tend to lead to weight gain as they trigger the body's craving for sugar - in tasting sweetness, the body expects the sugary energy 'reward'. Because it's artificial and the 'reward' never arrives, the body then craves more food in search of that gratification.
So any thoughts much appreciated and any low-calories alcohol subsititutes members enjoy for that early evening moment when willpower falters! Cheers to you all.
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Replies
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Forget the soda AND alcohol. Enjoy a green smoothie instead!
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Nothing new here.
Fear mongering based on research that is mis represented in popsugar articles and chain emails. Did the email contain a link to the actual study? Did you read the study and make an informed decision based upon it?
Netflix documentaries are not reliable sources of non-biased information.
Also. Mice.0 -
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Apparently you gain weight with it... No. I've enjoyed plentiful amounts of Coke Zero because it satisfies my cravings for sweets and doesn't sabatoge my health track. Even with drinking Coke Zero I've lost 8 pounds so far. Nothing new here to the "beware Diet Coke".0
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So the people who experienced weight gain and increased stomach fat were all 65 and older? Not completely surprising since activity diminishes as individuals age so likely any relation to diet drinks was correlative at best.
The Netflix documentaries are pseudoscience agenda pushing films and have been debunked repeatedly.0 -
Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.0
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ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.
That would be like saying everyone should avoid peanuts because consumption of it could be fatal to some individuals.0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying.
Can you post a link to these studies?
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What other dietary information was the for the people who made up the study, what lifestyle information was taken in to account?
I think the phrase to be used here is correlation does not imply causation. There are a large number of reasons why people aged 65 and over may have large amounts of adominal fat.
Whenever you are sent or read about these sorts of studies the first thing you need to do is look in to the details given. Critical thinking is required on your part. Who did they study, do they have a vested intrest in a particular outcome. Is the study fair e.g. is the sample size big enough to be statistically important, are the range of groups large enough they outside influences wouldn't effect the results, (rich/poor backgrounds often effect health levels)
Don't just believe what people on here say or what people who send you stuff say, actually look in to the information and decide if you think it is correct and then make a post about it. You can then actually add to the discussion with your own views and opinions about what you are saying.
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ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.
I have been lucky for the last 20 years then. I only drink diet fizzy drinks because full fat ones are far to sweet and I have been having artificial sweeteners in my tea and coffee for probably 17 years and I have at least 5 or 6 cups of tea/coffee a day.
Which means I have consumed around 37230 sweeteners just in my tea and coffee alone, totally ignoring all diet soft drinks.
Perfectly heathly, losing weight, running ultra marathons....so can you link all these studies....0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.
Links to the plenty of studies please.
I assume as nutrasweet nearly killed you due to organ damage there is or has been legal action taken against the manufacturers? You know, as suffering organ damage due to consuming something in normal amounts is rather serious when not linked to an allergic reaction. I assume this story made the media? Maybe clinical papers were written about it?
Can you show us your in depth research that has led you to believe there is a problem with artificial sweeteners, I assume you have completed bleeding edge new research that is yet unknown to the regulatory bodies around the world who deem it safe.
Feel free to present your evidence or proof.0 -
Aspartame makes me cranky, Sucralose liquefies my digestive track, but I wouldn't knock anyone who uses such stuff.
I would agree, though, that too much of anything could be bad for you. A case of Diet Coke a day just doesn't sound like a good idea, I don't care who you are...0 -
I don't believe many substances have been scrutinised as much as artificial sweeteners. I've read quite a lot of scientific literature on sweeteners, and I'm prepared to take my chances.
The only three reasons I try not to drink *excessive* amounts of cola are:
1. Too much caffeine makes me jumpy.
2. The diet versions may not have sugar, but they're too acidic to be much good for your dental health.
3. Phosphorous and Calcium are regulated by your body in the same pathway. Too much phosphoric acid intake can lead to your body withdrawing Calcium, IIRC.0 -
You could take the bolded parts of your post and apply it to the Earth being flat instead of sugar / sugar substitutes - there are many people that believe, and documentaries online that claim the Earth is flat. I feel aspartame has been studied about as much as the Earth's curvature.There's some very useful discussion threads from MFP members about drinking alcohol - or, more accurately, trying to stop drinking alcohol and the various tricks we've all used! I either heavily dilute a white wine with ice or sparkling water or, more often, have a diet soda. And herein lies the rub.
A diet drink is, apparently, not the best way to get us on the right track. My daughter emailed me the latest info on diet sodas so just passing it on to those of us who weren't aware of the fact that a diet drink not only doesn't help but could make the weight settle again around one's middle/tum...grrrrr!!!
'It's easy to get fooled by the zero-calorie label, yet sodas made with sugar substitutes are believed by many to play a role in weight gain. A new study published this month found that people who drank diet soda gained almost three times the amount of abdominal fat over nine years as those who didn't drink the no-cal stuff.
"Sure, that study only looked at adults ages 65 and older, but consider this: Recent research from the Weizmann Institute of Science found that mice drinking water with artificial sweeteners (saccharin, aspartame and sucralose) became vulnerable to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance—two things known to lead to weight gain."
There's also a really interesting documentary on netflix about sugar. In it, it explains that artificial sweeteners tend to lead to weight gain as they trigger the body's craving for sugar - in tasting sweetness, the body expects the sugary energy 'reward'. Because it's artificial and the 'reward' never arrives, the body then craves more food in search of that gratification.
So any thoughts much appreciated and any low-calories alcohol subsititutes members enjoy for that early evening moment when willpower falters! Cheers to you all.
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WinoGelato wrote: »So the people who experienced weight gain and increased stomach fat were all 65 and older? Not completely surprising since activity diminishes as individuals age so likely any relation to diet drinks was correlative at best.
The Netflix documentaries are pseudoscience agenda pushing films and have been debunked repeatedly.
Hey, a calorie free coke is the perfect way to reminisce about the good times you had with young Johnny, while you're waiting for him to give you your weekly call. There's no increased stress, nor decrease in capacity to handle stress that might affect vicersal fat deposition in old age.0 -
Study makes it sound like those people never drank water.
I wonder if people that never drink water, simply don't focus on exercising and other healthy eating habits.
I can't see someone drinking a diet coke with a kale salad.
More: There are a lot of people that do not drink any daily water
I simply meant the study could be skewed by using these people for the purpose of a good article.
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I drink a diet pepsi daily. I have for going on 20 years. I do drink way more water now than I do soda but I can't drink a sugar filled soda. They're just nasty. And on the days I drink mostly diet soda or too much of it I can definitely tell a difference in how I feel because it bloats me.0
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JanetYellen wrote: »Study makes it sound like those people never drank water.
I wonder if people that never drink water, simply don't focus on exercising and other healthy eating habits.
I can't see someone drinking a diet coke with a kale salad.
Are you saying that people that consume diet soda don't exercise? The study ( which wasn't even provided just a summary) was apparently done on adults 65 and older. I'm guessing a lot of them wouldn't eat a kale salad to begin with.... But I don't know why diet soda consumption means that a person can't also exercise, drink water, and eat kale salads. I do all of the above, except the kale salad. I prefer spinach.
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I don't log my diet cokes, but I'm pretty sure I had one back February 3rd when I had 685 grams of kale as part of lunch.JanetYellen wrote: »Study makes it sound like those people never drank water.
I wonder if people that never drink water, simply don't focus on exercising and other healthy eating habits.
I can't see someone drinking a diet coke with a kale salad.
More: There are a lot of people that do not drink any daily water
I simply meant the study could be skewed by using these people for the purpose of a good article.
Just to get people to buy the magazine.0 -
It's very interesting how the email ignored the fact that the "triple" number was before controlling for various variables that may influence the result. That's what we call bad science reporting! From the study itself:
"...the analyses include adjustment for anthropometric measures and other characteristics at the outset of each follow-up interval, but other factors—including family history and perceived personal weight-gain and health-risk trajectories—that increased ΔWC [difference in waist circumference] but were not captured in the analyses may have influenced participant decisions to use DS [diet soda]. Complete dietary intake data are not available for SALSA participants; these results are thus unadjusted for caloric intake."
For reference for those interested in the science, here's a link to the actual study being discussed: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jgs.13376/full0 -
I lost over 50lbs and greatly improved my blood panels, while drinking 4-6 cans of diet soda a day. Go figure.0
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ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.
I guess if we are getting all anecdotal, I had 4 healthy babies and drank diet coke with each pregnancy. Also ate healthy, had plenty of water, stayed active. I think that the vast majority of pregnant ladies who have some diet soda will have outcomes closer to mine than yours, most people drink it in moderation as a part of an overall diet, instead of having sugared drinks.
How did diet soda damage your organs?
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Nah. Or I am some kind of super hero who drank diet soda or put Mio in my water everyday and lost all the weight I wanted.
Cool, I'm a super hero too! I drink 1 or 2 drinks with artificial sweeteners every day. Losing weight like a champ. Somehow these poisons aren't preventing my body's natural function of reducing fat because a calorie deficit. Nice to meet another genetically gifted special snowflake like me!
*fistbump*
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JanetYellen wrote: »I can't see someone drinking a diet coke with a kale salad.
Why on earth not? The most common place for me to get diet coke is in a restaurant (because I don't drink wine anymore), and I often order a kale salad (yes, I go to the sorts of restaurants with kale salad).
I was just writing on my feed about how I was sad that this silly super local place we used to go to all the time is closing (super local as in its shtick was that everything was locally sourced). They didn't have diet coke, you had to get their local diet cola brand (which was tasty enough), and they had local beers too. Pretty sure the wine wasn't local, which is something to be thankful for (for those ordering the wine). Anyway, I doubt I'm the only one who ordered the local diet soda, even in a place like that.0 -
ronjsteele1 wrote: »Wow. Just wow. There are plenty of studies that indicate exactly what OP is saying. Besides the weight gain factor, the health implications of artificial sweeteners is huge. Nutrasweet nearly killed me when I was pregnant. Literally. 7 days in a hospital on a morphine drip because of the stuff. And no, I'm not allergic to it. It just caused a lot of damage to my organs because I thought diet drinks were okay. I would suggest doing some more in depth research before you poo poo this, but then again, I don't expect it off of this website.
I guess if we are getting all anecdotal, I had 4 healthy babies and drank diet coke with each pregnancy. Also ate healthy, had plenty of water, stayed active. I think that the vast majority of pregnant ladies who have some diet soda will have outcomes closer to mine than yours, most people drink it in moderation as a part of an overall diet, instead of having sugared drinks.
How did diet soda damage your organs?
Yep, 3 healthy pregnancies/deliveries/babies-I drank diet soda throughout all of it. I have a picture of me in the delivery room drinking a 20 ounce of diet coke, while my son was getting his first bath by the nurse. The soda was part of my hospital bag
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Thank you all very much for the responses and input. Ronjsteele, that sounded one awful experience you had, so I hope you made a full recovery for the long term. I'm astonished, frankly, at the responses your comment received from some members who should learn some basic online manners, particularly when talking to other members about their health.
I am a major fan of diet drinks but I was just hoping for some alternatives to cans of diet-y fizz!
My own, highly unscientific research shows that jury does seem to be out still on the longer-term effects of artificial sweetners because....yes, far from being exhausted, more research is needed.
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/artificial-sweeteners/
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/artificial-sweeteners-fact-sheet
Thanks again and cheers.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »JanetYellen wrote: »I can't see someone drinking a diet coke with a kale salad.
Why on earth not? The most common place for me to get diet coke is in a restaurant (because I don't drink wine anymore), and I often order a kale salad (yes, I go to the sorts of restaurants with kale salad).
I was just writing on my feed about how I was sad that this silly super local place we used to go to all the time is closing (super local as in its shtick was that everything was locally sourced). They didn't have diet coke, you had to get their local diet cola brand (which was tasty enough), and they had local beers too. Pretty sure the wine wasn't local, which is something to be thankful for (for those ordering the wine). Anyway, I doubt I'm the only one who ordered the local diet soda, even in a place like that.
I'm so sad we can no longer be friends.0
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