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Carbonated drinks increase hunger?

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Replies

  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    When I was anorexic I filled up on diet pop/soda, as many other anorexia suffers do if you read the ana websites.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,023 Member
    edited May 2018
    I suspect it is a sort of placebo effect when it does happen - people have read somewhere that this happens so then mentally it does.

    Bit like noticing it is 11:00 makes me crave my mid morning snack.

    I think this is a big part of it.

    Also, I find that if I really want A and I try to have B as a healthier sub but I don't really like B nearly as much, I just end up wanting A like 100 times more. I'd bet people who don't really like the taste of diet, or people who are trying to quiet a craving for something rich (rather than just sweet), have a diet soda and it doesn't do the trick. Then their original craving becomes stronger and gets mistaken for hunger.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    I don't drink carbonated beverages much. On the rare occasions I do I have not noticed a change in my hunger or eating patterns.
  • rose2_0
    rose2_0 Posts: 150 Member
    I drink a lot of carbonated and diet drinks. But I USE them to help curb my hunger and fill up my belly, because I'm knowingly "dieting".

    If I wasn't tracking my intake or trying to lose weight, I might associate a carbonated drink with a snack or a burger and mindlessly eat along with it.

    That doesn't really explain the actual increase in ghrelin shown in the study though....hm
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    rose2_0 wrote: »
    I drink a lot of carbonated and diet drinks. But I USE them to help curb my hunger and fill up my belly, because I'm knowingly "dieting".

    If I wasn't tracking my intake or trying to lose weight, I might associate a carbonated drink with a snack or a burger and mindlessly eat along with it.

    That doesn't really explain the actual increase in ghrelin shown in the study though....hm

    The study is on male rats, so unless someone here is a male rat I would take it with a grain of salt.
  • jesspen91
    jesspen91 Posts: 1,383 Member
    Diet drinks and anything with aspartame in it has been proved to increase cravings for sugar so it basically does the opposite and is no bueno for your body

    Wow, my old discussion thread was resurrected by someone looking to spread their woo :D
    The study is on male rats, so unless someone here is a male rat I would take it with a grain of salt.

    The original study was on rats but the TV show found the same with humans. Obviously only the former is the peer reviewed and controlled study but I think the researchers on the TV show are aiming to do a full scale study with humans.

    I'm not completely swayed yet especially with all the anecdotal evidence on this thread (although that may be perception rather than action)
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
    I drink a diet soda every day and haven’t noticed one way or the other. Maybe I should run an experiment lol
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 1,981 Member
    In equal quantities, I can't say if regular vs sparkling water makes a difference in my hunger levels.

    That is mostly because I simply won't drink that much plain water. Other than a few swallows at night, I really don't like it. Sparkling water keeps me from craving sodas, snacks, or other calorie dense and sweet things, gives me something to do and keeps my mouth busy and tummy not-empty.

    I wouldn't do the same with regular water, so for me, sparkling has the same effect.

    To truly test it, I would have to FORCE myself to drink that much "regular" water. Blech.
  • ShayCarver89
    ShayCarver89 Posts: 239 Member
    Once I gave up diet soda, and when I did, I had zero cravings for sugar. My sweet tooth basically disappeared. And this is coming from someone with a HIGH sugar diet. Cake, candy, goodies all day every day. When I gave up soda, the cravings and the love I had for sugar - went away. Completely.

    I drink diet soda now, and have a massive sweet tooth again.
  • Stockholm_Andy
    Stockholm_Andy Posts: 803 Member
    Hmmm I think they missed a trick with this "mini-study" because they grouped together the results of all the carbonated and flat drinks and there is very considerable overlap. So the carbonated surgery, diet and water were all presented as one set and the flat water, surgery and diet. They then concluded that on average carbonated drink lead to higher levels of Ghrelin and a slightly high appetite later in the day.

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    I would have been interested to see the results split out. To understand, for instance still water vs fizzy.

    My person n=1 is diet soda and fizzy water fill me up, however, beer and whisky lead me to hell on a hand cart.....



    bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/29tx4RFjTKZnBsPv9R4W3DV/can-fizzy-drinks-make-you-eat-more