What's wrong with diet coke?
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You get out of your body what you put in. What's really in Diet Coke, anyway?0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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?
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:0 -
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.
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.0 -
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.0
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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
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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:
Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.
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! 0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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When I go out, I have vodka and instead of normal coke with it I have diet coke, I do not drink it at any other time anymore.
Regarding sweeteners, unsweetened tea and coffee tastes like poison to me, I want something sweet in it otherwise I do not enjoy it, I drink upto five cups per day, I will have sweeteners in each cup.
Compared to what my dietary habits used to be like, I am now an angel :laugh:
I have given up practically every other vice in eating and drinking, if diet coke when I go out and sweeteners are the only ones left for me, I feel I am not doing too bad.0 -
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:
Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.
thats a bit dramatic............:huh:
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.
Yes, it is a bit dramatic. You look hard enough and you can find 100 people saying that grass will kill you if you walk on it too long. It's ridiculous. And the cleaning supply thing...seriously give me a break. I run a cleaning company and the difference between "green" cleaning supplies and regular is very miniscule. You're just buying into the hype. Here's the jist of it. "green" cleaning chemicals basically just have a higher water content and less chemical in them. And I promise you that water is not filtered. So they're selling you 70-80% water and charging you more for it. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with having a diet coke every once in a while or slice of pizza, or a burger for that matter. If you believe everything every bell ringer says about what's good and bad for you, you will be eating rice paddies and drinking water for the rest of your life. And guess what, when someone quits everything cold turkey, most of them fall off the wagon big time like an A.A. member in a liquor store. Do it in moderation and watch your calorie intake and drink your water. And speaking of bad habits, a horrible one is being afraid of every little germ that walks the earth.0 -
I think she said she makes her own cleaning products. I try to stay away from the chemicals not only for my health, but because i have eczema and it irritates it really bad. I try to clean with white vinigar and salt, or jsut water and dish soap. i leaned a lot of new tricks from watching the british show How Clean Is Your House. I think to each their own. If someone wants to be dramatic and extreme about something that benifits their health, i don't see the problem with it. And if someone chooses to take in their body something that can eventually harm them down the road, that is their problem. We are all individuals who make our own choices. I think we are all guilty of putting harmful stuff in our body, whether it be chemicals or food or something else, and thus the reason we are here:)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:
Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.
thats a bit dramatic............:huh:
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.
Yes, it is a bit dramatic. You look hard enough and you can find 100 people saying that grass will kill you if you walk on it too long. It's ridiculous. And the cleaning supply thing...seriously give me a break. I run a cleaning company and the difference between "green" cleaning supplies and regular is very miniscule. You're just buying into the hype. Here's the jist of it. "green" cleaning chemicals basically just have a higher water content and less chemical in them. And I promise you that water is not filtered. So they're selling you 70-80% water and charging you more for it. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with having a diet coke every once in a while or slice of pizza, or a burger for that matter. If you believe everything every bell ringer says about what's good and bad for you, you will be eating rice paddies and drinking water for the rest of your life. And guess what, when someone quits everything cold turkey, most of them fall off the wagon big time like an A.A. member in a liquor store. Do it in moderation and watch your calorie intake and drink your water. And speaking of bad habits, a horrible one is being afraid of every little germ that walks the earth.
As far as the tea tasting like poisen, you should try mixing it with some lemon juice, or even some honey....it makes a HUGE difference. I'm one of those "weirdos" that drinks tea straight up naked, which is waaaay different from what i grew up with.We would add a cup of sugar(or 2) to a gallon...so it wasn't hardcore sweet tea, but it was full of sugar.0 -
I think a lot of people are being way too hard on you. I congratulate you on attempting to improve your diet. I think that replacing sugary soft drinks with diet ones is a great first step! You may, at some point down the road, attempt to cut those out as well. One crisis at a time, ya know? Personally, I enjoy a diet Coke from time to time myself. I think the morbid obesity will kill you long before the artificial sweeteners will, but, as you can see, there are 50 people on here who would disagree with me.
You have to wade through the truths, half-truths, rumors, and marketing ploys to decide for yourself what works best for you. The rest is just noise...............
Good luck to you! 0 -
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:
Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.
thats a bit dramatic............:huh:
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.
Yes, it is a bit dramatic. You look hard enough and you can find 100 people saying that grass will kill you if you walk on it too long. It's ridiculous. And the cleaning supply thing...seriously give me a break. I run a cleaning company and the difference between "green" cleaning supplies and regular is very miniscule. You're just buying into the hype. Here's the jist of it. "green" cleaning chemicals basically just have a higher water content and less chemical in them. And I promise you that water is not filtered. So they're selling you 70-80% water and charging you more for it. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with having a diet coke every once in a while or slice of pizza, or a burger for that matter. If you believe everything every bell ringer says about what's good and bad for you, you will be eating rice paddies and drinking water for the rest of your life. And guess what, when someone quits everything cold turkey, most of them fall off the wagon big time like an A.A. member in a liquor store. Do it in moderation and watch your calorie intake and drink your water. And speaking of bad habits, a horrible one is being afraid of every little germ that walks the earth.
It is not being over dramatic at all.
Those sweeteners are not natural occurring at all, chemicals made in a lab. There is a difference between man made chemicals and natural occurring chemicals.
I NO longer want those chemicals in my body. If it didn't grow from its mama or from the earth I don't want to consume it.
I am merely going back to the way I grew up. Natural and living off the land pretty much.
My meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, nuts and honey all come from local farmers or family members.
My cleaning supplies are made from baking soda, lemon and vinegar and water. I don't use the so called green products.
I use either soap nuts or home made laundry detergent from a recipe given to me by a poster on this website.
If my husband eats bread, it is because I made it home made. If he asks for cookies, cake or some other treat, again it is because I have made it from scratch, not a store bought mix..............
I think I have consumed the equivalent of a 6 pack with in the last 8 months. And it is Zevia Brand root beer.0 -
wow that must take a lot of time and effort making cleaning products from scratch and cooking everything you can from scratch too especially for other people's demands. I couldnt manage that with a full time job, daily chores to do and going to the gym.
Apart from that we are getting off topic from what the original post was about and someone not so far above this post said something about congratulating the thread starter for switching from coke to diet coke and so do i. Its the first step. Next is cutting down and of course everything in moderation. 0 -
oh boy............0
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I definitely thinking Diet Coke is an improvement from a liter or more of regular Coke. Congrats on making changes for the better! All of us have room for improvement, so I think the important thing is to keep on making those good changes. Today, it's switching from regular to diet soda. Tomorrow, it may be cutting back on your diet soda and replacing it with plain water. Keep on keeping on! :flowerforyou:0
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yes Pjilly I do agree that it was a wise switch. I was by no means trying to put you down in any way poster....You just asked why people thought diet soda was bad and i said why i thought it was bad. All in all, this world is full of "lesser evils" and that switch happens to be one of them. Congrats on becomming more health concious and hope your journey goes as smoothly as possible!0
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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
If that were true, then drinking water is just as bad.
There is a lot of crazy here. Don't let the extremists get you down. Removing 150 calories per drink is a good thing, and do a google search if you want, but I don't think anyone has died of diet coke poisoning. Lots of people die every day from being obese.
If you feel that it is something you need to cut out of your diet later, feel free, but if drinking a diet coke makes you happy go for it!
I am off to make some laundry detergent!0
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