peoples opinions of diet coke/pepsi? good or bad?

CyberEd312

I don't buy into the fear mongering so I will continue to drink my 2 or 3 diet pepsi a day.... hasn't effected my weightloss whatsoever...... Best of Luck

SideSteel

If you don't have PKU I wouldn't be concerned about consuming diet soda in moderation.

cindyhoney2

I don't drink them since I have cared what I put into my body. I even got my husband to stop w/the Mt Dew's, he was really addicted. Anything FULL of processed crap shouldn't be consumed. Moderation is the key IMO, anything in moderation

vaporhockey83

Exactly. Most of the testing they do with sweeteners is pumping mice with the human equivalent of 2,000 cans of diet soda a day. The FDA's recommendation is no more than 22 cans for a male or 15 for a female. Again, like you're saying here, moderation and no allergies/reactions to the sweeteners, and I think everything is just fine. I understand those who are against the unnatural products as well. High fructose corn syrup is no better.

If you don't have PKU I wouldn't be concerned about consuming diet soda in moderation.

hzliiz

I drink a bottle of Sparkling Ice every day and a diet coke or coke zero here and there. My metabolism works fine and I'm healthy and have not yet sprouted a second head from the chemicals. Enjoy, as with everything, in moderation.

bert16

I used to drink diet pop (soda) all the time; at least one per day for a lot of years. About two years ago, I went to a health and fitness spa where they weren't served and I didn't really miss them. After returning home, rather than researching and trying to reach a conclusion about whether or not they were really bad for me, I changed the question: instead, I asked whether they were really any good for me. For me, the answer was "no" - they don't contain anything that helps feed my training or provides me with any nutrients I need.

Now, that's what made sense for me. I know that many people really heart their soda and I don't think it's the devil; I just decided that I'd rather consume things that help me, rather than those that are, at best, neutral, and, at worst, potentially harmful. Just figured I'd share this as a potentially different way to consider this!

Kittyvicious1

there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings

hacker1234

Cut back if you drink alot of it by substituting water. I don't think 1-2 a day is harmful if you can get to that, you can likely get to 0 and go water all the time

SideSteel

there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings

Here's a recent study done in 2013 that suggests otherwise:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/01/30/ajcn.112.048405

fitnessbuff1234

Diet Coke has Methanol in it , very dangerous to your health .

Kaylee_law_123

water>diet coke

diet coke>pigging out

This ... although my body can't take diet coke, but it can diet pepsi, weird!!

I know it's something that I will need to deal with and stop eventually, but at the moment I want to focus on the diet and then deal with this, as it is helping me get through it all.

Some people have some very very strong opinions about it, just do what you think is best in your weight loss journey :-)

SideSteel

Diet Coke has Methanol in it , very dangerous to your health .

No it doesn't, and no it isn't.


Methanol is a digestive byproduct of aspartame and it's also a digestive byproduct of other food sources such as fruit. If methanol is your reason to stay away from diet soda then you're going to want to stay away from plenty of whole food sources as well.

(But in closing, you don't need to fear methanol as your body is very well equipped to handle it).

NovemberJune

Yes I drink about 20 oz/day of diet coke and it hasn't hindered my weight loss

JUDDDing

Diet Coke has Methanol in it , very dangerous to your health .

http://www.inchem.org/documents/ehc/ehc/ehc196.htm#SubSectionNumber:5.1.3

The amount of methanol present in an average serving of beverage
sweetened by aspartame alone is considerably less than in the same
volume of many fruit and vegetable juices. For instance, tomato juice
will result in 6 times the amount of methanol exposure than
consumption of an equivalent volume of aspartame sweetened beverage
(Wucherpfennig et al., 1983).

Wucherpfennig K, Dietrich H, & Bechtel J (1983) Alcohol actual, total
and potential methyl alcohol of fruit juices. Flussiges Obst, 8:
348-354.

MB_Positif

My opinion is that it tastes gross. I refuse to drink diet soda. I only drink regular soda if it has alcohol in it.

HeidiCooksSupper

there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings

Here's a recent study done in 2013 that suggests otherwise:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/01/30/ajcn.112.048405

This seems to differ from person to person. I used to be a heavy diet coke drinker but recently stopped because just one can and I want to chew my arm off. So, rather than fight the cravings I just stopped drinking it. Funny thing is, after a few weeks without it and consuming no artificial sweeteners, I took two sips of one and it tasted disgusting to me. Go figure. It used to be my go to drink.

SideSteel

there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings

Here's a recent study done in 2013 that suggests otherwise:
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/01/30/ajcn.112.048405

This seems to differ from person to person.

That seems intuitive to me as well, and even if it's just placebo it would be reasonable for people to see whether or not diet soda makes them hungry or makes them satisfied and make their decisions based on it. For some people, diet soda may be the thing that keeps them from consuming extra calories. And if it does the opposite (makes them eat more) then obviously that would be counterproductive to dieting efforts.

Fortunately on MFP, we track our intake and can readily see if we are over-eating.

I_Will_End_You

diet coke- delicious
diet pepsi- dookie

^ What he said.

littlesis4321

Thanks for updating the info, Side Steel! :-)
As a nurse, I get irritated at people who quote ambiguous research or research that is faulty. Question for everyone: what other sweeteners are out there for someone diagnosed with Diabetes? Remember Saccharine? It was out there for several years. My grandmother had to use it as a sugar substitute as she had diabetes "back in those days." She died of complications from her diabetes (10 years of dialysis/loss of limbs), not cancer caused by the saccharine. I agree with those who state in moderation, if you choose to have it, go for it. Since joining roughly 3 months ago, I have lost 19 pounds, and I have diet soda included in my diet. I used to drink 8 cans of regular soda a day. That is more dangerous than the aspartame in diet soda. I've gotten myself to diet soda, now I'm trying to wean it down so I don't drink as much of it. I have no desire for water due to no flavor. As a result, it's a relearning process for my body - by adding lemon or orange wedges, or buying flavored waters to at least help with the substitution. However, if there was a serious link to aspartame and cancer, the FDA would have pulled it by now. By the way, saccharine is still out there. Those who substitute their sugar with Sweet & Low? It's saccharine.
There are getting to be a few more sweeteners out on the market, but on a limited budget they are very expensive still. While news sites (CNN, etc) are fair places to get information, if you want accurate information regarding health issues I suggest using medical sites (mayo clinic, WebMD, National Institutes of Health, CDC, CINAHL just to name a few). They are more reliable sources when it comes to health/medicine than some of the sites I've seen. Yes, even the National Cancer Society is a bit suspect - they're going to try and put a fear in you to change your lifestyle for fear of getting cancer. While I'd use them as a resource, I'd double check my information from a secondary source.
Like I said, just my opinion. However, when I educate patients, I make sure they know what websites to go to when needing additional information. Then, with that information, they can discuss whatever their concerns are with their doctor. Good luck to you in whatever you choose, and good luck with your lifestyle change.

There is no such thing as a "diet" or "dieting".....it is a change you make for your lifetime if you're serious about being healthy.

whitebalance

I will not give up my Diet Coke. But because I'm prone to dependency on it (well over a six-pack a day when I was buying it at Sam's Club) and because I like to drink it with salty, crunchy, high-calorie, carb-laden snacks and tend to eat more of those items when there's a Diet Coke to drink with them... I no longer keep it in the house. The deal with myself is that if I want a Diet Coke, most of the time I have to walk or run for it. To and from one of the stores within a 3-mile or so radius (the nearest is about half a mile away). As a result, I drink less and move more.