Diet soda
Replies
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rileysowner wrote: »run2brazil wrote: »Wow people. I'm not talking my aunt into anything at all. She struggles with this, and she wants advice as to how she can cut down and stop drinking it. So, I asked for tips for her. You guys have really gotten carried away here.
And in what dictionary does "support" mean "healthy debate?"
So why does your aunt want to cut down her diet soda consumption? If it is because the various reasons that have been refuted here such as aspartame causes cancer so it will worsen her's or increase risk of recurrence, or is toxic, or is in itself unhealthy, then she can rest assured it does none of that.
This is my point. Posts like this one that flat out say it is not harmful.
The OP wasn't asking for a debate on diet soda. She was asking for tips on how to approach the issue with her aunt. Obviously she feels there is a reason to limit the amount of diet soda, as does her aunt. She has her own set of opinions on the matter just like you guys do. Rather than give her some ideas, most of you felt the need to criticize her and tell her she's wrong when she simply has her aunts health in mind. She wasn't asking for lecture on why it is fine to drink...she was just looking for helpful suggestions on how to reduce the consumption.
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rileysowner wrote: »run2brazil wrote: »Wow people. I'm not talking my aunt into anything at all. She struggles with this, and she wants advice as to how she can cut down and stop drinking it. So, I asked for tips for her. You guys have really gotten carried away here.
And in what dictionary does "support" mean "healthy debate?"
So why does your aunt want to cut down her diet soda consumption? If it is because the various reasons that have been refuted here such as aspartame causes cancer so it will worsen her's or increase risk of recurrence, or is toxic, or is in itself unhealthy, then she can rest assured it does none of that.
This is my point. Posts like this one that flat out say it is not harmful.
The OP wasn't asking for a debate on diet soda. She was asking for tips on how to approach the issue with her aunt. Obviously she feels there is a reason to limit the amount of diet soda, as does her aunt. She has her own set of opinions on the matter just like you guys do. Rather than give her some ideas, most of you felt the need to criticize her and tell her she's wrong when she simply has her aunts health in mind. She wasn't asking for lecture on why it is fine to drink...she was just looking for helpful suggestions on how to reduce the consumption.
and I think the advice most people gave was "you don't need to do that". So the suggestion is, there is no reason to try to avoid it which will therefore alleviate any stress felt from trying to avoid it.
If the person wants to avoid something that they enjoy even though they don't need to avoid it I'm just not sure what to say to that. I mean, okay, then its like with anything else. Use your willpower to consume less of it over time until it is no longer part of your routine. Everyone knows that though so I'm not really sure what advice is being sought here, just seems like support is wanted to reaffirm the belief that diet soda is somehow harmful...which I don't agree with.
What you seem to be saying is if someone wants advice on a course of action based on false information that one should either provide suggestions on how to do that course of action and ignore the fact that there is no reason to do it in the first place or one should just be quiet. How exactly is that helpful or supportive?
So, if someone asked for advice on how to hold ones breath for longer than 3 minutes because they heard that holding your breath longer than three minutes will prevent you from getting cancer are you honestly telling me that you would give them advice on how to hold their breath rather than perhaps suggesting that their really isn't a reason for them to be doing that in the first place?
To anyone who might be listening. If I ask for help or advice on something based on information that is wrong...please tell me that I am wrong and take the time to explain why. Do not "help" me do something I don't need to do that serves as distraction from what I should actually do to meet my desired outcome. Try to understand what outcome I want and advice me on how to get there in the best way possible instead.
My advice to someone whose aunt wants to lose weight and is trying to focus their effort on not drinking diet soda? It would be to stop concerning yourself with irrelevant things and focus on something that would actually help like increasing your overall activity level by setting time aside each day to go for a brisk 30 min to 1 hour walk.13 -
I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
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Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
I wouldn't call myself "pro diet soda" but I'll assume that you might class me that way so I'll respond. Honestly I'd say I'm "anti false information about health" if anything. But since I don't think diet soda is harmful or at all influential when it comes to meaningful weight loss and I do think the calories in non-diet soda are rather empty when I have a soda I drink diet. I'd say I probably have a diet soda maybe three times a week. I tend to drink coffee if I want caffeine or juice/water if I want to be hydrated. If I'm at a restaurant I might order a soda, I don't have any at home.
I do flavor my coffee with either sucralose or aspartame though so I guess that might be more of what you are getting at. In that regard I'd guess I probably average like 450mg a day of aspartame or an equivalent.4 -
2-3 cans a day.1
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Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
Me too. One would think they drink a can with every meal. Either that or they're sponsored by a brand of soda. I'm all for soda but saying it's fine in any amount seems reckless to me.12 -
NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
Me too. One would think they drink a can with every meal. Either that or they're sponsored by a brand of soda. I'm all for soda but saying it's fine in any amount seems reckless to me.
Why though? What is the ingredient that is dangerous in a concentration that you could ever get to by drinking soda even in large quantities. I mean if it is just a "feeling" that it isn't good I'm not sure how to respond to that because I don't even know what that means.
I think drinking tons of non-diet soda is a bad idea because of the rather huge number of calories you would get from that from high-fructose corn syrup which provides basically no nutritive value outside of just raw calories so I totally understand someone suggesting one should avoid lots of plain soda. But not sure why diet soda would be a problem even in large amounts. Its basically flavored water.6 -
The way you make changes in your life is through the expenditure of willpower. Changing anything costs willpower and you have a limited supply of willpower to spend. Things that are harder to change will cost more willpower than others. How do you lose weight? You spend your willpower effectively on changes that will actually affect your weight. Any changes you make that are irrelevant are a waste of willpower and effectively reduce your chance of success. People tend to lose control of their health when their willpower is overwhelmed from other sources in their life like career or family that leave not enough to spend on things for their own health.
So with that in mind I see someone who states the outcome desired is the loss of weight. They have a limited amount of willpower to spend to get there. They state their current focus is to stop drinking diet soda, which has absolutely nothing to do with weight loss or health, and on top of that they say it has been really hard for them to succeed at doing, which implies it is taking a large percentage if not ALL of their willpower.
So yeah, the advice is to stop wasting your willpower on that and focus on something more relevant like your caloric intake or your level of exercise. Doesn't mean I "love soda" or "push soda" or am "pro soda". Once you are at a healthy weight if you got some free willpower to spend and still want to kick a soda habit sure, go for it if there really is nothing better you can be spending your willpower on. But if your goal is to lose weight then your focus should be on things that will help with that...right?6 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
I'm pro virtually all water, nice tasting drinks that are very low in calories.
Probably have a diet fizzy drink once a day.
Also drink a lot of tea with milk (all that sodium!).
Also drink a lot of plain water.
Also drink a cup or two of coffee a day, black and unsweetened.
Probably the only time I go for sugar sweetened drinks is when I'm cycling and need the calories, otherwise I prefer to use my calorie allowance for nice food.5 -
Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?6
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Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
I have seen many who say just that in just the short time I have been here.3 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
I have seen many who say just that in just the short time I have been here.
Well I'd definitely be curious to see if anyone states that directly because I'd really be curious to know why they believe cutting out zero calories is going to help you lose weight. Not only that but with the idea you have a limited amount of willpower to spend on your endevour to lose weight that this is something you should be focusing on over say exercise or changing what you are eating.4 -
Before I hit my 40s I drank regular cola, 150 calories a can. And I was already arguing with people at that point that artificial sweeteners were safe. Because facts matter. I didn't drink them because I had a Diet Coke once and thought it was nasty.
Once I started actively trying to lose weight, I tried a few and realized I liked a lot of different diet sodas, just not Diet Coke. I'd say I drink 5-7 cans per week. I don't argue with mob-mentality pseudoscience because I am invested in the individual item involved, I do it because this fear-mongering is a big part of the confusion that keeps the average person overweight and ignorant about how their body works and what they need to do to take care of it. :drinker:5 -
I pour maybe 1/4 glass of diet soda a day. Just a taste. Sometimes more. Sometimes I don't drink any. It's more a matter of economy.
I do use a lot of splenda to sweeten hot drinks, and I tend to drink more of those than diet soda. I'm big on my brewing chocolate and herbal teas, but I like them sweet.
I've been drinking artificially sweetened beverages since I was a small child. My grandfather was a diabetic and started buying TAB and Fresca as soon as they were introduced to the market. We used to spend weekends with our grandparents and soda was soda!1 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.11 -
NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.
You should stop using a computer or smartphone since they can't be made from scratch in a garage.7 -
NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.
Well if no one is saying that then why would anyone want to advise someone who is trying to lose weight that they should focus their willpower on overcoming a diet soda habit? Or why, even more indirectly, would we support someone who wants to "help" someone who is trying to lose weight by putting the focus on diet soda for some reason. It is a waste of effort.4 -
NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.
You should stop using a computer or smartphone since they can't be made from scratch in a garage.
If you're seeking a reaction...7 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.
Well if no one is saying that then why would anyone want to advise someone who is trying to lose weight that they should focus their willpower on overcoming a diet soda habit?
Maybe the soda causes them to have a prominent sweet tooth which in turn makes them overeat. That's my guess. However if that were true i'd just suggest to use their willpower to not overeat rather than tackle the soda habit. That being said, if you can't withhold from consuming something you're addicted to it.8 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
One per day as my afternoon snack. What's with the passive-aggressive winkie, though?7 -
My point to posting the link was to simply show that the debate on Diet Soda still exists (whether you want to believe that or not...many people still question it). It is not a closed case. That is all I was trying to show. I'm not trying to prove it's harmful...I'm not trying to prove its safe...I'm just showing that it is not a closed case as many of you say it is.
I guess that means the jury is still out on whether the earth is round or flat since some people question it.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/b-o-b-flat-earth-gofundme-trnd/index.html
That is not how it works.7 -
rileysowner wrote: »run2brazil wrote: »Wow people. I'm not talking my aunt into anything at all. She struggles with this, and she wants advice as to how she can cut down and stop drinking it. So, I asked for tips for her. You guys have really gotten carried away here.
And in what dictionary does "support" mean "healthy debate?"
So why does your aunt want to cut down her diet soda consumption? If it is because the various reasons that have been refuted here such as aspartame causes cancer so it will worsen her's or increase risk of recurrence, or is toxic, or is in itself unhealthy, then she can rest assured it does none of that.
This is my point. Posts like this one that flat out say it is not harmful.
The OP wasn't asking for a debate on diet soda. She was asking for tips on how to approach the issue with her aunt. Obviously she feels there is a reason to limit the amount of diet soda, as does her aunt. She has her own set of opinions on the matter just like you guys do. Rather than give her some ideas, most of you felt the need to criticize her and tell her she's wrong when she simply has her aunts health in mind. She wasn't asking for lecture on why it is fine to drink...she was just looking for helpful suggestions on how to reduce the consumption.
So if you had the sort of surety of winning the lottery that we have about aspartame would you buy a ticket, I certainly would. I didn't say 100%, I said rest assured. I will next time be so precise as to make sure there are qualifications for everything, or I might not because who knows, I am not 100% reliable, but then again I am pretty reliable and people generally say I get things done, except of course people who don't know me, or those who expect things on impossible timelines, I am sure there are other caveats I should include but that would just be silly, like saying the small possibility that the huge amount of research on aspartame is horribly wrong and people cannot rest assured that it is safe.2 -
Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
I don't get that mindset. I'm in the camp of zero calories are zero calories and can not contribute to weight gain.
I can't speak for those people who claim diet sodas/artificial sweeteners spike their appetite or give them sugar cravings etc etc Nor will i ever argue against someones personal experience to any food/drink, if they say it affects them, then i'll take their word for it.0 -
NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »NoLimitAsLimit wrote: »Aaron_K123 wrote: »Just to turn that question around is there anyone here who genuinely believes that a good way to lose weight is to focus on getting over a diet soda habit?
No ones saying that. For me, anything that can't be made in a kitchen I wouldn't consume daily.
Well if no one is saying that then why would anyone want to advise someone who is trying to lose weight that they should focus their willpower on overcoming a diet soda habit?
Maybe the soda causes them to have a prominent sweet tooth which in turn makes them overeat. That's my guess. However if that were true i'd just suggest to use their willpower to not overeat rather than tackle the soda habit. That being said, if you can't withhold from consuming something you're addicted to it.
Yeah I wouldn't disagree with that. Of course if you are addicted to something that really isn't harming you in anyway I'm not sure how much that matters really. I suppose if you could have everything in life it would be best to have no addictions or hangups but given we can't have everything in life I feel its better to prioritize things that actually matter. That is all really I'm just insufferably pragmatic.
I mean I'm addicted to caffeine, largely get it through coffee. I suppose if instead of coffee I drank tons of diet soda as my caffeine source it'd be the same addiction. As a result of said addiction if I go a long stretch without coffee I tend to get headaches and if I drink my normal amount of coffee I need to make sure to drink lots of water. If I could snap my fingers and change that I guess I would as I don't particularly like being dependant on something to avoid a headache, but honestly I have more important things to put my effort into than that as it doesn't really bother me that much. If at the same time I was wanting to lose weight I certainly wouldn't waste my time trying to stop drinking coffee at the same time as it'd just be a distraction to my goal.1 -
To the question of how much diet soda I drink, it really depends on the week. Sometimes 8-10 a week, sometimes far less.
If a person finds that drinking diet soda makes they crave sweets, they can make the choice to avoid it. In my case it is the opposite. If I am craving sweet, a diet soda satisfies me so I don't want something with calories. The reason I push people to realize there is an extremely high degree of certainty that aspartame is safe, and those who talk about it being scary or bringing up all the junk google brings up about how dangerous it is without scientific support that could make someone who does not know better avoid a legitimate means of help in reducing calories, then yes, I will advocate for it being something that has a far greater certainty of being safe than many other things people deal with without a thought every day.2 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
I have one in the morning on my way to work (I don't do coffee) and one with dinner. Water in between.1 -
rileysowner wrote: »My point to posting the link was to simply show that the debate on Diet Soda still exists (whether you want to believe that or not...many people still question it). It is not a closed case. That is all I was trying to show. I'm not trying to prove it's harmful...I'm not trying to prove its safe...I'm just showing that it is not a closed case as many of you say it is.
I guess that means the jury is still out on whether the earth is round or flat since some people question it.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/b-o-b-flat-earth-gofundme-trnd/index.html
That is not how it works.
You are really hilarious...really.
Scientist, universities etc are still doing research on aspartame and artificial sweetners. Have they come to any conclusive evidence? No. But there is enough doubt that they continue to study it. That is why every month or so there is a news story on it...because some people still care to learn more. Science is always evolving...That is all I'm saying.
Diet soda may very well be safe. I won't deny that. But it also has the potential to be harmful.
Why it's so important for this forum to ALWAYS prove they are safe to anyone who questions it is a bit concerning. What's the agenda?17 -
Christine_72 wrote: »I'm genuinely curious how often/how much the vehement pro diet soda advocates drink diet soda... Everyday, regularly? Knowing this will make their position a lot easier to understand
As Aaron said, I'm "anti-false information about health/nutrition", not "vehemently pro diet soda". If somebody chooses not to drink diet soda for whatever reason, I wouldn't try to make arguments to convince them that they should. But I'll certainly call out all the junk science, woo and fearmongering about it because it's ridiculous. I don't claim that anybody should drink it, but neither do I feel there's any compelling reason one shouldn't drink it if they enjoy it. As Aaron and others have repeatedly shown (in thread after thread about diet soda), the science is abundant to support that moderate/reasonable intake is not unsafe. The "evidence" claiming that it is unsafe is weak, poorly supported and usually comes from woo sites and unhinged crackpots like Mercola.
With that said, I'll humor you - on average, I drink 1-2 cans of diet soda a day. I also drink 2-3 cups of coffee, iced tea, usually at least one cup of milk and lots of water on a daily basis.4 -
rileysowner wrote: »My point to posting the link was to simply show that the debate on Diet Soda still exists (whether you want to believe that or not...many people still question it). It is not a closed case. That is all I was trying to show. I'm not trying to prove it's harmful...I'm not trying to prove its safe...I'm just showing that it is not a closed case as many of you say it is.
I guess that means the jury is still out on whether the earth is round or flat since some people question it.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/b-o-b-flat-earth-gofundme-trnd/index.html
That is not how it works.
You are really hilarious...really.
Scientist, universities etc are still doing research on aspartame and artificial sweetners. Have they come to any conclusive evidence? No. But there is enough doubt that they continue to study it. That is why every month or so there is a news story on it...because some people still care to learn more. Science is always evolving...That is all I'm saying.
Diet soda may very well be safe. I won't deny that. But it also has the potential to be harmful.
Why it's so important for this forum to ALWAYS prove they are safe to anyone who questions it is a bit concerning. What's the agenda?
Cauliflower has the potential to be harmful too, and I'll 100% guarantee you it's been researched/tested much less rigorously than aspartame has. Show me any research which establishes cauliflower as 100% safe. If not, then by your logic nobody should eat it, ever.
The agenda is to debunk the unfounded fearmongering from people who refuse to accept the mountains of research conducted over the last 50 years as valid.
The links to multitudes of research have been posted over and over again. You choose to plug your ears and ignore it. That's your choice, but it doesn't make it go away.9
This discussion has been closed.
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