What's wrong with diet coke?

lordrahvin · July 2010

I just started caring about my fitness. I'm not exactly dieting so much as logging my nutrition and trying to make more reasonable nutrition choices. I'm using myfitnesspal to cut down my calories and log my daily excersise.

I drink about 4-6 bottles of water per day, especially with the southern california summer heat, but I'm also used to drinking a liter or more of cola per day. I can't be doing that anymore. Waaaay too many calories.

Are the various diet cola drinks (diet coke, diet pepsi, coke zero, etc. etc.) a reasonable substitute to help wean me off my Coca Cola habit? What about the various 0-calorie green teas and such, like Lipton and Diet Snapple?

I've heard of people who try to give up diet cola and tea drinks and I don't really understand the reasoning there. They're 0 calories... couldn't I drink a liter or more of that per day if I can get used to the taste?

dumb_blondes_rock · July 2010

there is a documentary called sweet misery.....i would def watch that to see for yourself why people are so worried about artificial sweetners.

smuehlbauer · July 2010

Blah - I love me some aspertame!
I am a diet Pepsi girl - I don't drink a liter a day - but I'll still have a can or two.
My thinking is - if I am drinking my 64+ ounces of water a day - I'm gonna have a pop if I want one.
Aspertam is gonna kill you. Grilling your food is going to kill you. Drinking out of plastic water bottles it going to kill you.
LOL
Have some diet Coke. You gotta have one vice.
Steph
:flowerforyou:

skinney1357 · July 2010

I think it is better and healthier to just drink water or the green teas. I have tried the Diet Lipton Green Tea before and it wasn't bad. I like to add the Crystal Light to my water if I get sick of plain old water. I think many people aren't into the diet drinks because of all the artificial stuff in it. I used to be a big diet coke fan and after not drinking it for about a month, I never craved it anyway anymore...

cullensbrunette · July 2010

I agree!!

dragonfarie · July 2010

I think its more about how many unnatural chemicals you are putting in your body.

I read an article once that said that zero calorie drinks make you eat more calories during the day because your body is expecting a certain amount of calories from the drink. http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/article/252409

Plus diet sodas (and diet food in general) tend to have more sodium than non diet ones.

Scncartist · July 2010

I don't care what anyone says. I will never give up my diet coke!

Now, keep in mind I NEVER drank water, opting instead for some DC. Since starting MFP I make sure I drink my 8+ cups a day of water and pretty much only drink one or two cans of soda a week.

For those who say aspartame will kill you: I say breathing air will kill me, so hey I might as well enjoy a little something. :-)

lilmissy2 · July 2010

Usually people will be anti-diet-coke for one of 3 reasons:

a) They are against 'chemicals' in food which is kind of oxymoronic since foods are made up of chemicals
b) They believe sweeteners are harmful - there was a lot of hype back in the day that sweeteners caused brain tumours and some people still believe that even though it has been researched to death and basically dis-proven. There is however some new research that suggests people who drink diet softdrinks have more sugar cravings than those who don't (although to be fair, I don't think most of the studies compared it to people who drink regular softdrinks but rather to people who don't drink softdrinks).
c) They are very acidic and therefore terrible for your teeth

Personally, I'm on the fence. I think it's an ok substitute but I wouldn't really recommend that you have a litre per day as you give as your example. I think coke should be a 'sometimes' food and I also think diet coke should be. For the people that avoid diet coke - I am not saying that is a bad thing at all, unless of course you are using it as an excuse to drink regular coke and therefore not lose weight.

antiadipose · July 2010

im sipping some right NOW.

i dont have it everyday.... and i DEF will not have the regular one with 40gms of sugar. im not where as much of an addict as i used to be.. i used to use like 20 splendas a day! now im down to ZERO splenda and maybe a diet pepsi glass?!?!? i think ill be ok!

schnarfo · July 2010

i am another diet pepsi/coke fan and i dont drink it everyday but on occasions I will for example if I go to the pub or if I buy a drink in a shop. I dont see anything wrong with it

Bit of everything in moderation

Rebecca__Lynn · July 2010

There's tons of reasons Diet Sodas and artificial sweetners are not good for you and inhibit weight loss.... Take a look at people that exercise and exercise and exercise ....that you "always" see in the gym!! Your diet is SO critical in weight loss, should I say "more than exercise"....there's alot to this statement, but that's the short. Also, diet sodas....I'm pretty sure leach the calcium out of your bones....big cause of osteoperosis...but so does smoking and I'm sure other factors. There's plenty of research and medical facts out there --- about LOTS of products we eat and drink out there that cause health problems. Basically you want a healthy strong body, healthy cells etc....best chance of fighting off illnesses, cancers etc...... Keep what goes into your body clean and pure.

4myheartnsoul · July 2010

I alternate- first drink of the day is 40oz of water, then a can of diet dr pepper (with lunch) then 40 oz of water, then a can of diet dr pepper (with afternoon snack) then my last 20 oz of water.

If we stopped to worry about everything in our food...yes we should go organic. Then the fumes from the car we follow to the farmers market to buy the organic food and the smoker in line behind you while you shop will kill you...in my opinion...something is going to get you no matter how "good" you try to be.

dumb_blondes_rock · July 2010

exactly....I'm almost positive that everyone in here that is saying "whatever" to the sweetners would think twice if they ended up with cancer, knowing they could have prevented it from happening just by cutting off that vice. And i do agree, there are a lot fo things that can cause badness to come health wise, but it's everyones decision as to what they want to put in there body. Personally, i'm trying to live a healthy life, and i have a lot of hangups, but eventually i want to be the healthiest i can, because i can't afford if i ever got cancer or something serious because i don't have insurance haha. But also some downfalls form the soda is it makes you BLOATED...i stopped drinking diet soda(i was a 1 liter a day girl) and i can def feel a difference in the way my stomach feels. And at the rate i was drinking it, it was a major water retainer. But, no matter what decision you make, just be sure to drinks LOTS of water

dumb_blondes_rock · July 2010

I hear you girl....I live in the 2nd worst air pollution city in the u.s....I went to Iowa for a week and my skinb never looked so beautiful, then came back here and it was all nasty again

Dreaj79 · July 2010

What's wrong with diet coke? Absolutely nothing. If you used to drink a liter of regular coke a day and have switched to diet, I applaud you for taking a step in the right direction. I think the most important thing to remember is that we are on a journey. I can't just get off my couch tomorrow and run a marathon. It takes preparation and training and time. I feel the same way about my diet. When I first started, I couldn't stomach drinking plain water, so I used crystal light. Then as time went on I weaned off the crystal light and started drinking plain water. I eventually did it, but it took time. So if diet coke is making you feel better since kicking the regular coke habit, drink up! And if as you go on you get the notion to stop then cheers to that to! :drinker:

July24Lioness · July 2010

Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.

AshleyMaire · July 2010

diet green tea and crystal light would be just as bad as having a diet soda...if you're against artificial sweeteners at all you really have to read labels....sobe 0 is sweetened with stevia - which is all natural - if you're looking for a better option.

antiadipose · July 2010

thats a bit dramatic............:huh:

anotheryearolder · July 2010

I used to drink diet coke all day long; now I don't. I kept hearing bad stuff about it. Bad for your teeth, bad for your bones, chemicals etc etc. It just wasn't worth it anymore to me. I say pick your battles. If the diet coke helps you right now, go for it. Maybe later you'll address the soda habit, or not.

It truly didn't take me long to get over the craving and I really don't like the taste anymore. I did have a headache for several days when I first quit.

I still want the soda pick-me-up so I now drink a couple cups of coffee most days. Funny thing is I don't get the headache when I miss my daily coffee, so it wasn't just caffeine deprivation that gave me the headaches when I stopped the diet coke. Some say coffee is bad, some say coffee is moderation is actually good for you. We can go nuts if we listen to everyone. Just my 2 cents worth.

glfprncs2 · July 2010

I was a HUGE Diet Coke drinker up until 18 months ago. When I decided to start this fitness journey, I went in full steam ahead, and gave up the soda. I will admit, however, that I do drink one cup of coffee every morning (plain and black), and water the remainder of the day.

However, I recently ran across this very informative video, and it's making me rethink my morning coffee as well. Your body works very hard to stay in a neutral ph balance. Sodas (and coffee) are very acidic, and from what I understand, your body has to utilize many nutrients in order to get your body back to a neutral Ph. Many of those same nutrients are the ones that also help us maintain bone health. As a woman who is only growing older every year, I don't want brittle bones.

If you're interested in watching the video, it's only about 8 minutes long, is very easy to understand, and can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

July24Lioness · July 2010

No its not. The mentality that artificial sweeteners are OK for you is just enabling each other to continue bad habits, not break them.

That is not the definition of a lifestyle change. It is trading one bad habit for another.

I don't even buy cleaning supplies any longer, I make them. I am getting as far away from harmful chemicals as I can.

questionablemethods · August 2010

You get out of your body what you put in. What's really in Diet Coke, anyway?

dgroulx · August 2010

Aspartame is made from two essential amino acids. In combination, they produce a sweet taste. Normally amino acids are the building blocks of protein. It was an accidental discovery. I wrote a paper on it for my senior thesis.

Spenda is natural sugar with chlorine atoms added which keep it from being absorbed in the intestine. Sugar that turns into poop.

Saccharine has been shown to cause cancer in rats when they were given extremely large doses.

Everything should be taken in moderation. The US has a much higher incidence of colon cancer, which is attributed to the over consumption of red meat here.

A couple of diet drinks each day will not hurt you.

lordrahvin · August 2010

Thank you all for your help. This has been very informative. I've very impressed with the community here and how helpful everyone is.

The general consensus seems to be that a diet coke is okay once in awhile or in small amounts, which I suppose is true for everything. But what I really wanted to know is what's the reason I shouldn't drink it in large amounts... why is it a "bad habit" that I should eventually kick or reduce...? It seems like consuming large quantities of 0-calorie drinks should be a good thing...

I'm not sure that I believe that everything that is unnatural/artificial must be bad for you so that my itself doesn't strike me as a proper reason to give it up. I know that such things usually *are* bad for you, but I was kind of hoping for some solid reasons to help convince myself.

Two people have mentioned that drinking large quantities of diet colas may impair my bones and another mentioned it could be bad for my teeth. One person mentioned sodium. These seem like more concrete reasons I should work on reducing my diet coke intake, either today, or sometime in the near future as part of my fitness journey.

Both of these seem to be a result of the acidity of diet coke. So are non-acidic 0-calorie drinks okay? Can I continue to drink a liter or more per day? Is it acidic because its carbonated or because of the sweetener?

edit: I haven't seen those documentaries yet, but I plan to check them out this week.

lilmissy2 · August 2010

I would say non-acidic are definitely better if you want to hold onto your teeth for as long as possible. The acid people are talking about is or phosphoric acid and I'm pretty sure that as long as you don't have kidney problems it shouldn't affect your bones too much (otherwise all of you high protein people better start cutting back because that's where the super high sources of phosphate are!). The reason I would say drink in moderation is because sweeteners have been shown to be safe to a certain level... now I couldn't tell you exactly what that level is but I doubt it's enough for a litre of diet drink per day. They COULD be safe at any level, but because we don't know that, it's safer to recommend moderation. Hope that helps :flowerforyou:

dgroulx · August 2010

Just brush your teeth after something really acidic. Your saliva is a base which will neutralize acids. It's the first step in digestion. Your stomach contains hydrochloric acid with a really low pH (strong acid). Soda pop is a weak acid.

I drink 48 ounces of Mountain Dew during my work shift. All of that only contains 210mg of sodium. Not bad at all. This most acidic part is the concentrated orange juice (citric acid). People seem to get hung up over "natural" and "artificial". Your body just sees molecules. Natural occuring cyanide is not good for you. Neither is arsenic, hemlock and various other "natural" poisons. Bottom line: don't worry about artificial sweeteners.

lilmissy2 · August 2010

Oops I forgot to say in my post (and it won't let me edit) that phosphate is only really in coke as far as diet drinks go, there may be a little citric acid in some other fruit based drinks but it is unlikely to be a large amount.

tommygirl15 · August 2010

I would love to drink diet pepsi but I bloat SO easily, and if I want to get my stomach flatter I have to avoid pop altogether

However, I'm a big fan of 'everything in moderation' though I don't tend to follow with that 100%, lol (major coffee addict here). My personally opinion is that there's nothing horribly wrong with drinking diet drinks, so have yourself some low-cal goodness and stay happy

jlizgar · August 2010

Im fairly new around here but im going to have to agree....ive been pretty shocked at how many folks here drink diet sodas packed with artificial sweeteners and other chemicals that arent good for your body at all, how many folks use diet pills and other medications and seem to think there is just nothing wrong with it and that it is perfectly healthy to consume and use these things

I am here because FINALLY after 29 years im giving half a crud about what I put in my body, I want to be in the best shape of my life when I turn 30, I want to be around to see all 3 of my kids get married and have kids and still be able to run around and frolic with my grandkids....I used to drink a LOT of soda, a LOT, but I quit COLD TURKEY! I havent had any in nearly a month, it hasnt been super easy but Im serious about being more healthy and substituting my regular soda for one chocked full of more artificials seemed to make no good sense at all so I just cut it all out for good!

LainMac · August 2010

I occasionally drink the "diet stuff". Hubby bought me a 2 liter bottle 2 weeks ago and it is still sitting in the down stair refrigerator.
My consumption would average 1 can a week over the course of the month. Mostly "out in the world" when the water is suspect.

I'm a big believe in slow and steady weaning. Years and years ago when I was a teen, I wean myself off of 1 heaping teaspoon of sugar in my tea to nothing. I drank like 6 cups a day. It took two months and literally each cup of tea had a few grains less of sugar.

So in your case, my advice would be:

Switch to diet for a week or two.

Drink less of it in the next week or two (I personally like the "drink lots of water before indulging" advice.)

"Cut" it with something else. I personally have done 50/50 with lemon flavored seltzer to start.

After cutting 50/50, change the percentages to 25/75.

Then reassess and see if you can't live with out the "fake stuff".

My suggestions come as a person who struggles with getting the 8 classes of water. Partially 8 glasses of plain water isn't appealing to me. Partially because I simply haven't made it a habit yet. Right now I'm cutting my plain water with raspberry seltzer that has gone flat.

I hope you find this useful.

JBennis1013 · August 2010

I still drink diet soda because I'm not much of a green tea drinker or just a plain water drinker. I still drink my 8 glasses of water a day, but I do sometimes feel that I need to have something else to drink. While Diet soda has 0 calories a lot of people forget to log it in and forget that it does have sodium. So if drinking a liter of diet soda is your thing remember to log it in because it does have the sodium. I bought soda at Shop Rite that is called Waist Watchers which is 0 everything including sodium and I have bought diet soda from Trader Joes which is 0 everything and Splenda is used.

What's wrong with diet coke?

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