Diet soda and weight loss?

stevencloser

michaelselwyn wrote: »

I drink a fair amount of diet soda, in fact lots of drinks other than water (coffee, tea). While not ideal (water is best to prevent excess fluid retention), one danger of drinking diet soda is that it has a tendency to induce sugar cravings. The science is that the body is expecting sugar from the carbonated nature of the drink, and when that doesn't eventuate, you start to get "hangry". I tend not to experience this as I'm eating at the time of having the soft drink (usually with a moderate amount of alcohol), however if you're surviving on diet soda throughout the day then that is most definitely NOT GOOD. The sugar substitutes haven't been around long enough for proper scientific studies to be carried out on them, so if you're drinking more than one can a day who knows what you're letting yourself in for. As an alternative, I've noticed (In little old New Zealand, hi from down here!) that many drinks are now sweetened with stevia, which is a natural sweetener and plant extract. Stevia is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, so they use far less of it and you still get the great taste. As for phenylalanine, I think the jury is still out. One further thing - your teeth would take a hammering if you're always on the diet soda (or any carbonated beverage).

Stevia hasn't been used for as long as aspartame which you say hasn't been out long enough for studies to be carried out...

And it would be pretty bad if the jury was still out on phenylalanine, since that is an amino acid, soooo... almost every single thing with protein in it has it. In amounts hundreds of times higher than in diet soda.

Tacklewasher

YepItsKriss wrote: »

Noel_57 wrote: »

I add lemon water to my diet Coke, which counteracts the metabolism suppressing effect of diet soda. And detoxifies my brain. I think.

is this a sarcastic post? lol please tell me it is.

Noel is not that good at including smilies with his sarcasm.

I really don't like the taste of diet drinks so I don't drink them much. Usually only when there is something in them (rye, gin). Drink mostly coffee and bubbly water.

Aaron_K123

michaelselwyn wrote: »

As for phenylalanine, I think the jury is still out.

Unknown

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AnvilHead

michaelselwyn wrote: »

...As for phenylalanine, I think the jury is still out...

Lol. You do realize that phenylalanine is an amino acid, right? In what bizarro world is there any controversy whatsoever about an amino acid that’s found in many foods we all eat every day?

paperpudding

This objection comes up now and than and is really very misguided.

Yes people with PKU cannot drink diet soda because of the phenylaline - that is true.

They also cannot eat many many things because of the phenylaline - because phenylaline is a protein in many many foods.

People with PKU are on a very strict diet.
PKU is a genetic disease diagnosed in infancy.
You either have it or you dont - you dont develop it later or have an undiaganosed case of it or a mild case of it or anything like that.

So, for the vast majority of the population who do not have PKU - and nobody has it without knowing it - this is a complete non-issue.

SafioraLinnea

If I feel like it I might have diet pop a couple times a week. It doesn't hinder anything for me as far as weight loss is concerned.

Aaron_K123

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Wynterbourne wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Thank you for all the responses! I'm so happy to hear this. I know it's calorie free, but it does have quite a bit of sodium in it. I was just worried that I wouldn't see results on the scale as much because of the sodium/water retention.

I just looked at the diet soda in my fridge. It has 25mg per serving. Diet soda does not have quite a bit of sodium. That's a myth.

Wow! Well my A&W Root Beer has 110mg per can. What diet soda do you drink that only has 25mg?

Milk has 107mg per 8oz and a can of soda is 12oz. So milk has more sodium in it than your soda. Soda really doesn't have that much sodium in it, 110mg in a can is as high as I've ever heard most are less but even that isn't very much relative to most things you likely eat or drink.

AnvilHead

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Wynterbourne wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Thank you for all the responses! I'm so happy to hear this. I know it's calorie free, but it does have quite a bit of sodium in it. I was just worried that I wouldn't see results on the scale as much because of the sodium/water retention.

I just looked at the diet soda in my fridge. It has 25mg per serving. Diet soda does not have quite a bit of sodium. That's a myth.

Wow! Well my A&W Root Beer has 110mg per can. What diet soda do you drink that only has 25mg?

Milk has 107mg per 8oz and a can of soda is 12oz. So milk has more sodium in it than your soda. Soda really doesn't have that much sodium in it, 110mg in a can is as high as I've ever heard most are less but even that isn't very much relative to most things you likely eat or drink.

Maybe people think it has a lot of sodium because it's called "soda" and "soda" sounds kinda like "sodium" so it must have a lot of it.

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Jruzer

AnvilHead wrote: »

Aaron_K123 wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Wynterbourne wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Thank you for all the responses! I'm so happy to hear this. I know it's calorie free, but it does have quite a bit of sodium in it. I was just worried that I wouldn't see results on the scale as much because of the sodium/water retention.

I just looked at the diet soda in my fridge. It has 25mg per serving. Diet soda does not have quite a bit of sodium. That's a myth.

Wow! Well my A&W Root Beer has 110mg per can. What diet soda do you drink that only has 25mg?

Milk has 107mg per 8oz and a can of soda is 12oz. So milk has more sodium in it than your soda. Soda really doesn't have that much sodium in it, 110mg in a can is as high as I've ever heard most are less but even that isn't very much relative to most things you likely eat or drink.

Maybe people think it has a lot of sodium because it's called "soda" and "soda" sounds kinda like "sodium" so it must have a lot of it.

I think you're on to something. From etymology.com:

soda (n.)
late 15c., "sodium carbonate," an alkaline substance extracted from certain ashes (now made artificially), from Italian sida (or Medieval Latin soda) "a kind of saltwort," from which soda was obtained, of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is from a Catalan sosa, attested from late 13c., of uncertain origin. Proposed Arabic sources in a name of a variety of saltwort have not been attested and that theory is no longer considered valid. Another theory, considered far-fetched in some quarters, traces it to Medieval Latin sodanum "a headache remedy," ultimately from Arabic suda "splitting headache."

The meaning "carbonated water" is first recorded 1834, a shortening of soda water (1802) "water into which carbonic acid has been forced under pressure." "It rarely contains soda in any form; but the name originally applied when sodium carbonate was contained in it has been retained" [Century Dictionary, 1902]. Since 19c. typically flavored and sweetened with syrups. First record of soda pop is from 1863, and the most frequent modern use of the word is as a shortening of this or other terms for "flavored, sweetened soda water." Compare pop (n.1). Soda fountain is from 1824; soda jerk first attested 1915 (soda-jerker is from 1883). Colloquial pronunciation "sody" is represented in print from 1900 (U.S. Midwestern).

need2belean

AnvilHead wrote: »

DanielleGrubaugh2014 wrote: »

Thank you for all the responses! I'm so happy to hear this. I know it's calorie free, but it does have quite a bit of sodium in it. I was just worried that I wouldn't see results on the scale as much because of the sodium/water retention.

What soda are you drinking that has a lot of sodium in it? This is something I see parroted a lot by people extolling the dangers and evils of diet soda, but most I've seen are 40 mg or less - which is about equivalent to a glass of tap water, and not very much sodium at all.

I had this argument with my husband the other day about this. He asked if I was drinking soda during prep and I said of course. He said it had a lot of sodium in it and I just looked at him and said...no it doesn't. One can has 50mg which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. He said oh.. weird. He said his nutritionist friend told him it had a lot of sodium so he should stay clear. Makes me wonder what his nutritionist friend was thinking.