what is the problem with diet soda?

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Replies

  • littlelexical
    littlelexical Posts: 146 Member
    I think its an individual thing, depending on why you are choosing to drink it, so long as people are informed & listen to their bodies - if there is no issues for you, that's fabulous.
    Unfortunately I react quite badly to it (not just in fizzy drinks) So would prefer to make a caloric allowance for a 'sugar' option if i feel the need to indulge (once in a blue moon).

    Im not in the 'dont drink it' camp - I'm just in the 'i'd prefer not to drink it' (for previously mentioned reasons) camp :)
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Aspartame is an excitatory amino acid that affects the pituitary regulation of the ovary cycles, as someone with PCOS (and thyroid issues - as it effects that too!) - that is personally why i avoid it. I dont need anything that messes with my already messed up body ;)

    There are many other issues with it though, such as your body taking it in and responding as though it is taking in something which is sweet (and your body recognises sweet as energy source) and not finding any energy/nutrition there - which can mess with all sorts of neurological/hormonal/metabolic things.

    Some info in regards to sweetners & PCOS
    http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0207/q_a_with_dr_hull.php

    I know there are supposedly lots ot other "bad' points to Aspartame... but... for me personally - that was enough. Sugar is also bad for PCOS - but, I would prefer to enjoy a full 'sugar,' full calorie drink if i must indulge :)

    I'm hypothroid and I've had on'/off coke zero habits with no ill effects. we're only talking a glass a day though.

    I found the exact opposite cutting out calorie drinks and switching to diet +4 sodas/day helped me lose 70lbs and ultimately get pregnant this is with typical PCOS a year of amenorrhea before the weight loss. Of course if it bothers one then avoid.
  • trudijoy
    trudijoy Posts: 1,685 Member
    Aspartame is an excitatory amino acid that affects the pituitary regulation of the ovary cycles, as someone with PCOS (and thyroid issues - as it effects that too!) - that is personally why i avoid it. I dont need anything that messes with my already messed up body ;)

    There are many other issues with it though, such as your body taking it in and responding as though it is taking in something which is sweet (and your body recognises sweet as energy source) and not finding any energy/nutrition there - which can mess with all sorts of neurological/hormonal/metabolic things.

    Some info in regards to sweetners & PCOS
    http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0207/q_a_with_dr_hull.php

    I know there are supposedly lots ot other "bad' points to Aspartame... but... for me personally - that was enough. Sugar is also bad for PCOS - but, I would prefer to enjoy a full 'sugar,' full calorie drink if i must indulge :)

    I'm hypothroid and I've had on'/off coke zero habits with no ill effects. we're only talking a glass a day though.

    I found the exact opposite cutting out calorie drinks and switching to diet +4 sodas/day helped me lose 70lbs and ultimately get pregnant this is with typical PCOS a year of amenorrhea before the weight loss. Of course if it bothers one then avoid.

    I think it's one of those 'CAN' cause issues, proceed with caution until you know if you're okay with it deals.....
  • ajaxe432
    ajaxe432 Posts: 608 Member
    In moderation, it's not going to pose a threat.
    Just keep telling yourself that.
    Most doctors will tell you that, including mine. I trust him over your and the internet's conspiratorial hunch.
    If everyone were healthy, your doctor would be broke.
    haha! Clever response, I have not heard this one. Very true!
  • OddballExtreme
    OddballExtreme Posts: 296 Member
    I just avoid aspartame, plus it just tastes nasty.
    This is why I DON'T like sugar-free ANYTHING. It leaves a horrible aftertaste in my mouth. Besides, I rarely drink soda, period, since I am diabetic and each can of regular Sprite has practically an entire meal's worth of carbohydrates.
  • misschoppo
    misschoppo Posts: 463 Member
    From a diet perspective, if you are purely meaning calories, I guess there is nothing wrong with it as it is low cal. But there is nothing healthy or nutritious about it.
  • antitek
    antitek Posts: 121 Member
    I recently read some things about diet soda and it quoted real medical studies as opposed to the nutty ones where one person had a reaction one time and it set the bar for the tin-foil wearing masses. Here's what I've learned:

    1. Kidney Problems

    An 11 year study at Harvard Medical school with over 3000 women shows a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Two 12 oz diet sodas a day will effect kidney function. Sugar-sweetened sodas cause no issues. At this point they suspect diet sweeteners are responsible.

    2. Messed-up Metabolism

    A study of almost 10,000 adults show even 1 diet soda per day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, more belly fat, and high cholesterol.

    3. Obesity

    The University of Texas Health Science Center study sows the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Two or more cans a day can increase waistlines by 500%. Artificial sweeteners disrupt the body's natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods. People are more likely to overeat because the body is being tricked into thinking it's eating sugar and you crave more.

    4. Cellular Damage

    Diet sodas contain mold inhibitors. Sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate. These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA to the point they totally inactivate the mitochondria. They are linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions. Sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate are classified as mild irritants to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

    5. Rotting teeth

    Personally I think this one is stupid. They say the acid in diet soda dissolves tooth enamel. pH of diet soda is 3.2. Compared to battery acid which has a pH of 1. It sounds like a valid argument until you consider the soda doesn't have a pH any higher than that of an orange.
  • ajaxe432
    ajaxe432 Posts: 608 Member
    Just read it causes unatural hair growth in different places......ru oh:huh:
  • Quieau
    Quieau Posts: 428 Member
    Because yeah, would the FDA EVER sell us out to corporate lobbies? NEVVVAAAAHHHH!

    (HINT: The brain tumors that developed in the original testing for FDA approval were removed and the rats magically reintroduced into the studies! It's that indomitable American spirit that says, We will do as we wish regardless of who it hurts as long as it makes money!)

    FDA STUDIES SHOW ASPARTAME LINK TO BRAIN TUMORS

    By Dr. Betty Martini
    Mission Possible International
    9270 River Club Parkway
    Duluth, Georgia 30097
    Telephone: 770-242-2599
    E-Mail: BettyM19@mindspring.com
    Web Site: http://www.dorway.com


    Posted: 13 April 2005


    Mission Possible is seeking New York and New Jersey plaintiffs for litigation on aspartame.

    ATLANTA (PRWEB) April 12, 2005 -- Consumer rights advocacy group Mission Possible is leading a campaign to fill a product liability lawsuit with New York and New Jersey residents whose brain tumors may be linked to the consumption of the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful, etc.).

    "Neither congressional hearings or repeated petitions calling for a ban have stopped aspartame manufacturers from exposing the public to this sweet poison. In fact, aspartame producers are reporting increased sales and boasting the marketplace addition of 'neotame,' a new aspartame product," explained Mission Possible International Founder Betty Martini.

    For 16 years, the FDA resisted pressure to approve aspartame due to safety studies linking the artificial sweetener to numerous adverse reactions, including the development of brain tumors in animal studies. In 1977, FDA investigator Jerome Bressler released a report describing how, in clinical studies submitted to the FDA, Searle removed aspartame-induced brain tumors that developed in lab rats and placed them back into the study. If the rats died, Bressler reported, Searle would resurrect them on paper.

    In a personal conversation with Martini and prominent aspartame experts, Doctors H. J. Roberts and Russell Blaylock he admitted the studies were so bad FDA removed 20% of the most damaging data of his report. Three years after Donald Rumsfeld became CEO of Searle, aspartame was approved for use in dry goods. To find out how he accomplished this feat, click into the new movie, "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" and hear the words of renowned Washington Consumer Attorney James Turner as he speaks about President Reagan's Executive Order: http://www.soundandfury.tv/pages/Rumsfeld2.html

    Since its 1981 approval, the FDA has published a list of 92 symptoms of aspartame poisoning, which includes headaches, vision loss including blindness, seizures, neurological problems, cardiovascular problems and death. The FDA admits adverse reactions to aspartame comprise about 80 percent of consumer complaints it receives each year. Martini has been networking victims, scientists, and physicians under an umbrella of scientific data and published medical literature that has been growing since Mission Possible formed in 1992.

    Having exhausted her executive and administrative remedies regarding the removal of aspartame from the marketplace, Martini is convinced that, "Litigation is the only way to spare consumers the misery of aspartame poisoning." Martini's reasoning is supported in the outcomes of recent product liability controversies. It was class action lawsuits -- not government agency intervention -- that forced the epidemic of Vioxx-induced heart attacks out into the open where the FDA had to take administrative action, banning sales of the dangerous pain relief drug. Information from the experts and in medical texts show aspartame is actually a neurotoxic drug that interacts with other drugs and vaccinations.

    The story of how aspartame was discovered and approved by the FDA has been pieced together over the years through documents obtained by Mission Possible. That aspartame overcame FDA neurotoxicity concerns and is now found in over 7,000 commonly consumed foods, beverages and medical preparations is a case study of how power politics trumps science and public safety in the product approval process.

    In one set of documents, aspartame producer G.D. Searle used poor people from six third-world countries as test subjects for a study conducted in 1983/84. The data shows that, over the 18-month duration of the study, some of the subjects developed brain tumors; others began to experience seizures. In one case, a pregnant woman spontaneously aborted, began hemorrhaging and then disappeared from the study.

    The study showed that the numbers of people whose brains and central nervous systems are adversely affected by aspartame are statistically significant enough to warrant a review of its status as an FDA-approved artificial sweetener. But the FDA was not provided with the results of the Searle study nor was it allowed to review the clinical data.

    A study was done at Kings College in England by Dr. Peter Nunn in 1999 on aspartame and brain tumors. Monsanto insisted that aspartame could not cause brain tumors because it doesn't get in the blood stream even though Martini says industry's own studies shows it does and released this information in a report, which can be read at http://www.rense.com/health3/asptumor.htm

    In the result of this study it said: "Interestingly, when we exposed human brain tumor cells to nitrosated DKP the cells became more motile and their rate of proliferation was significantly elevated. While it is somewhat early to speculate, it is possible that the aspartame breakdown product may be capable of enhancing the rate of malignant progression of pre-existing (and possibly clinically silent, undiagnosed) tumors in the brain." This was exactly what the famed neuroscientist Dr. John Olney said when he made world news in l996 over the aspartame/brain tumor association.

    Monsanto, the maker of the controversial bovine growth hormone that has been linked to the development of cancer in humans and cattle, bought Searle (and the rights to produce aspartame) in 1985. They sold in l999 to other companies.

    The prevalence of brain tumors in the U.S. has been increasing steadily since the early 1980s. Today, about 70 percent of adults and 40 percent of children are regular consumers of products that contain aspartame.

    "There is not one shred of evidence to suggest that aspartame is safe. Yet, our files are overflowing with studies and reports proving that aspartame is a not a food additive but a neurotoxic drug that breaks down to a brain tumor agent, DKP. And now, 25 years later, we have epidemic proportions of people developing brain tumors and a full spectrum of other neurological disorders," Martini said.

    Aspartame's road to marketplace approval and its effect on public health is extremely well documented. The aspartame story has been described in the 1,038-page medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" by H.J. Roberts, MD. (http://www.sunsentpress.com). Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills by neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., also describes these problems. http://www.russellblaylockmd.com

    Former aspartame-induced multiple-sclerosis sufferer Cori Brackett traveled over 7,000 miles to interview physicians, scientists, attorneys and FDA investigators about aspartame neurotoxicity and how then former (and now current) Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used his political muscle to achieve aspartame's FDA approval. The result is the powerful video documentary "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" (www.soundandfuryproductions.com). Also see the page at http://www.wnho.net/sweet_misery_movie.htm

    The largest collection of aspartame-related studies, reports and case histories available anywhere in the world can be found online at http://www.dorway.com, the Mission Possible website. Aspartame Toxicity Center is http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame

    New York and New Jersey residents who believe they may qualify as a plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit against aspartame producers are encouraged to contact Mission Possible at (770) 242-2599. To qualify, one must be able to establish themselves as an aspartame consumer prior to developing a brain tumor and fall within the three-year statute of limitations.

    Contact:

    Dr. Betty Martini
    Founder, Mission Possible International
    9270 River Club Parkway
    Duluth, Georgia 30097
    770-242-2599
    http://www.dorway.com
    http://www.wnho.net

    New Aspartame Information List - click on banner on http://www.wnho.net

    SOURCE: http://www.wnho.net/fda_study_asp_brain_tumors.htm
  • Diet_Soda
    Diet_Soda Posts: 124 Member
    Not a darn thing!
  • prattiger65
    prattiger65 Posts: 1,657 Member
    Dr. Martini, is that you?
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,224 Member
    Because yeah, would the FDA EVER sell us out to corporate lobbies? NEVVVAAAAHHHH!

    (HINT: The brain tumors that developed in the original testing for FDA approval were removed and the rats magically reintroduced into the studies! It's that indomitable American spirit that says, We will do as we wish regardless of who it hurts as long as it makes money!)

    FDA STUDIES SHOW ASPARTAME LINK TO BRAIN TUMORS

    By Dr. Betty Martini
    Mission Possible International
    9270 River Club Parkway
    Duluth, Georgia 30097
    Telephone: 770-242-2599
    E-Mail: BettyM19@mindspring.com
    Web Site: http://www.dorway.com


    Posted: 13 April 2005


    Mission Possible is seeking New York and New Jersey plaintiffs for litigation on aspartame.

    ATLANTA (PRWEB) April 12, 2005 -- Consumer rights advocacy group Mission Possible is leading a campaign to fill a product liability lawsuit with New York and New Jersey residents whose brain tumors may be linked to the consumption of the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet/Equal/Spoonful, etc.).

    "Neither congressional hearings or repeated petitions calling for a ban have stopped aspartame manufacturers from exposing the public to this sweet poison. In fact, aspartame producers are reporting increased sales and boasting the marketplace addition of 'neotame,' a new aspartame product," explained Mission Possible International Founder Betty Martini.

    For 16 years, the FDA resisted pressure to approve aspartame due to safety studies linking the artificial sweetener to numerous adverse reactions, including the development of brain tumors in animal studies. In 1977, FDA investigator Jerome Bressler released a report describing how, in clinical studies submitted to the FDA, Searle removed aspartame-induced brain tumors that developed in lab rats and placed them back into the study. If the rats died, Bressler reported, Searle would resurrect them on paper.

    In a personal conversation with Martini and prominent aspartame experts, Doctors H. J. Roberts and Russell Blaylock he admitted the studies were so bad FDA removed 20% of the most damaging data of his report. Three years after Donald Rumsfeld became CEO of Searle, aspartame was approved for use in dry goods. To find out how he accomplished this feat, click into the new movie, "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" and hear the words of renowned Washington Consumer Attorney James Turner as he speaks about President Reagan's Executive Order: http://www.soundandfury.tv/pages/Rumsfeld2.html

    Since its 1981 approval, the FDA has published a list of 92 symptoms of aspartame poisoning, which includes headaches, vision loss including blindness, seizures, neurological problems, cardiovascular problems and death. The FDA admits adverse reactions to aspartame comprise about 80 percent of consumer complaints it receives each year. Martini has been networking victims, scientists, and physicians under an umbrella of scientific data and published medical literature that has been growing since Mission Possible formed in 1992.

    Having exhausted her executive and administrative remedies regarding the removal of aspartame from the marketplace, Martini is convinced that, "Litigation is the only way to spare consumers the misery of aspartame poisoning." Martini's reasoning is supported in the outcomes of recent product liability controversies. It was class action lawsuits -- not government agency intervention -- that forced the epidemic of Vioxx-induced heart attacks out into the open where the FDA had to take administrative action, banning sales of the dangerous pain relief drug. Information from the experts and in medical texts show aspartame is actually a neurotoxic drug that interacts with other drugs and vaccinations.

    The story of how aspartame was discovered and approved by the FDA has been pieced together over the years through documents obtained by Mission Possible. That aspartame overcame FDA neurotoxicity concerns and is now found in over 7,000 commonly consumed foods, beverages and medical preparations is a case study of how power politics trumps science and public safety in the product approval process.

    In one set of documents, aspartame producer G.D. Searle used poor people from six third-world countries as test subjects for a study conducted in 1983/84. The data shows that, over the 18-month duration of the study, some of the subjects developed brain tumors; others began to experience seizures. In one case, a pregnant woman spontaneously aborted, began hemorrhaging and then disappeared from the study.

    The study showed that the numbers of people whose brains and central nervous systems are adversely affected by aspartame are statistically significant enough to warrant a review of its status as an FDA-approved artificial sweetener. But the FDA was not provided with the results of the Searle study nor was it allowed to review the clinical data.

    A study was done at Kings College in England by Dr. Peter Nunn in 1999 on aspartame and brain tumors. Monsanto insisted that aspartame could not cause brain tumors because it doesn't get in the blood stream even though Martini says industry's own studies shows it does and released this information in a report, which can be read at http://www.rense.com/health3/asptumor.htm

    In the result of this study it said: "Interestingly, when we exposed human brain tumor cells to nitrosated DKP the cells became more motile and their rate of proliferation was significantly elevated. While it is somewhat early to speculate, it is possible that the aspartame breakdown product may be capable of enhancing the rate of malignant progression of pre-existing (and possibly clinically silent, undiagnosed) tumors in the brain." This was exactly what the famed neuroscientist Dr. John Olney said when he made world news in l996 over the aspartame/brain tumor association.

    Monsanto, the maker of the controversial bovine growth hormone that has been linked to the development of cancer in humans and cattle, bought Searle (and the rights to produce aspartame) in 1985. They sold in l999 to other companies.

    The prevalence of brain tumors in the U.S. has been increasing steadily since the early 1980s. Today, about 70 percent of adults and 40 percent of children are regular consumers of products that contain aspartame.

    "There is not one shred of evidence to suggest that aspartame is safe. Yet, our files are overflowing with studies and reports proving that aspartame is a not a food additive but a neurotoxic drug that breaks down to a brain tumor agent, DKP. And now, 25 years later, we have epidemic proportions of people developing brain tumors and a full spectrum of other neurological disorders," Martini said.

    Aspartame's road to marketplace approval and its effect on public health is extremely well documented. The aspartame story has been described in the 1,038-page medical text "Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic" by H.J. Roberts, MD. (http://www.sunsentpress.com). Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills by neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D., also describes these problems. http://www.russellblaylockmd.com

    Former aspartame-induced multiple-sclerosis sufferer Cori Brackett traveled over 7,000 miles to interview physicians, scientists, attorneys and FDA investigators about aspartame neurotoxicity and how then former (and now current) Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used his political muscle to achieve aspartame's FDA approval. The result is the powerful video documentary "Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World" (www.soundandfuryproductions.com). Also see the page at http://www.wnho.net/sweet_misery_movie.htm

    The largest collection of aspartame-related studies, reports and case histories available anywhere in the world can be found online at http://www.dorway.com, the Mission Possible website. Aspartame Toxicity Center is http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame

    New York and New Jersey residents who believe they may qualify as a plaintiff in a product liability lawsuit against aspartame producers are encouraged to contact Mission Possible at (770) 242-2599. To qualify, one must be able to establish themselves as an aspartame consumer prior to developing a brain tumor and fall within the three-year statute of limitations.

    Contact:

    Dr. Betty Martini
    Founder, Mission Possible International
    9270 River Club Parkway
    Duluth, Georgia 30097
    770-242-2599
    http://www.dorway.com
    http://www.wnho.net

    New Aspartame Information List - click on banner on http://www.wnho.net

    SOURCE: http://www.wnho.net/fda_study_asp_brain_tumors.htm
    That was 2005, so what happened with the law suit and do you think the FDA payed off the other 95 Countries that have also approved aspartame for consumption.........probably, right?
  • Huffdogg
    Huffdogg Posts: 1,934 Member
    The biggest problem with artificial sweetener is that in many cases it can trigger the same kind of insulin response that real sugars create, which is generally undesirable. You REALLY don't want an insulin response when there is no actual carbohydrates for the hormone to work with.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
    I know it's only anecdotal, but a year after my dad switched to diet everything and began consuming aspartame regularly...he did get a brain tumor, and die. So, yeah, logically I know there's probably 100 contributing factors to the situation, but there will always be a part of me that wonders...so I avoid it and other artificial sweeteners most of the time.

    Also, it tastes gross!

    (I do agree that if someone has a habit of drinking full calorie soda every day, the switch to diet will help with weight loss and that goal may take priority. I mostly just stopped drinking anything other than water except on special occasions...or sometimes with pizza because hell yeah, pizza and a coke is delicious)
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    The main problem with diet soda, and I have a ton of scientific evidence to back this up if you need it, is that it gets in the way of putting more alcohol in your body; beer, wine and vodka specifically. Sure. you can have a vodka and diet soda, but that too just takes away room for more vodka!

    In all seriousness, I actually think soda is bad for you. I have a highly addictive personality to it, and I do drink like a liter a day(working on quitting after turkey day) but, to each their own. When i don't drink the soda I do feel a lot better, i have less sugar cravings, I feel WAY less bloated, and my stomach actually feels like its slimmer when I stay away from soda, and my teeth stay whiter! I'm trying to lean towards a more "earth to mouth" lifestyle, meaning staying away from man made chemicals and whatnot, which is not the lifestyle for everyone, so thus if you feel ok drinking a soda, then freaking do it. If you want to stay more towards the liquids our bodies were created to intake, then don't freaking do it
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Apart from the taste you mean?

    Nothing.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    Of course soda can probably be safely consumed in moderation, but so can damn near anything; if that is your benchmark for your food standards, I have a house full of child-safe household cleaners, lotions, and shampoos that you could do a shot or two a of each day without any sort of health issues. Bottoms up.
  • Cinflo58
    Cinflo58 Posts: 326 Member
    Lots of people on this site think they are experts on nutrition. They copy and paste all kinds of crap. Bottom line, if you are trying to lose weight or if you are diabetic avoid drinks with added sugar and fruit juices. Liquid calories add calories and do not fill you up.

    Artificial sweeteners will not cause cancer, will not cause neurolgical problems and can help you lose weight.

    That said, it is best to drink water or seltzer because all the additives in the above are not good for humans.

    As far as the "clean diet" fanatics, it's all about calories in vs calories out, baby.
  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
    I drink a lot of it. My dentists have never had a problem with it. I've never even heard of it being some dental threat. My doctor says it can cause caffeine rebound headaches or heartburn. I have no problems with it.

    If you have weak enamel like I do it actually erodes the rest of it making it thinner. Enamel doesn't regenerate and it's the only protection your teeth have against acid, cold and heat.

    As long as you drink it with a straw though it greatly reduces the amount of time the acid is touching your teeth and you won't have the issues of further weakening your enamel. Without the straw my front teeth hurt big time.
  • dumb_blondes_rock
    dumb_blondes_rock Posts: 1,568 Member
    The main problem with diet soda, and I have a ton of scientific evidence to back this up if you need it, is that it gets in the way of putting more alcohol in your body; beer, wine and vodka specifically. Sure. you can have a vodka and diet soda, but that too just takes away room for more vodka!

    In all seriousness, I actually think soda is bad for you. I have a highly addictive personality to it, and I do drink like a liter a day(working on quitting after turkey day) but, to each their own. When i don't drink the soda I do feel a lot better, i have less sugar cravings, I feel WAY less bloated, and my stomach actually feels like its slimmer when I stay away from soda, and my teeth stay whiter! I'm trying to lean towards a more "earth to mouth" lifestyle, meaning staying away from man made chemicals and whatnot, which is not the lifestyle for everyone, so thus if you feel ok drinking a soda, then freaking do it. If you want to stay more towards the liquids our bodies were created to intake, then don't freaking do it



    I need the scientific evidence.
    I feel better when I avoid Coke, but I still like to drink it.
    BTW, the coco plant is used in the making of Coke's secret syrup. That which is STRICTLY DEFINED as cocaine is take out at the processing plant.
    So Coke probably has a very cocaine-like substance still in it.

    Well the scientific evidence is mainly the fact that I have done many scientific studies in the drinking department, I call these studies and my hypothesis "the weekend". After doing a lot of drinking for "the weekend" my deduction was the theory of law that the less liquids of lame-ness, or of the "non-alcoholic" kind, you consume, the more room in your belly for the wonderful alcoholic kind, and perhaps some great buffalo wings:). The wings are considered in the alcoholic category because they go hand in hand. Bacon also goes in this category because bacon is the center of the universe, so it must be applied in all scientific theories

    Not that I'm proud, but I've done cocaine before and wasn't really my cup of tea. But soda is my downfall:(
  • sakuragreenlily
    sakuragreenlily Posts: 334 Member
    Aside from some of the other bad things mentioned there have been studies that suggest that folks who drink diet soda have an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. And, because artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter than real sugar, they can dull your sense of taste as far as what tastes sweet and what doesn't. This can help add to cravings for increasingly sweet things and make you feel like naturally sweet foods (e.g., fruits, some vegetables, etc.) aren't sweet enough.

    Go to google scholar and look for some scientific research articles on the subject. I'm sure there are some aggregate studies in there somewhere. I'm happy that diet sodas (and soda in general) is not one of my bad habits... all-in-all though, there are probably worse things you could do.
  • jmp463
    jmp463 Posts: 266 Member
    I cannot cite the specifics but I have read a lot on the subject. The net of what I read was the diet soda can make you crave sweeter foods. The simple explanation for this is that when you drink diet soda your body is expecting the calories that come from the sweet taste - and since those calories do not come it can lead to you craving additional sweets.

    Whether you believe that or not is up to each person.

    As for me I use to drink 2-4 diet Sodas a day for years. In that time I gained 40lbs. Now I also ate a lot of pizza and everything in that time also. So I am not about to blame soda for it but I am sure it did not help. However I quit soda cold turkey about 8 months ago. I also have lost all those 40lbs. I also cut back eating a lot of junk. So again - not sure soda had a thing to do with it.

    But I will say this. Since I stopped drinking soda. My cravings for sweets has gone way down. Doesnt mean that I dont want those things from time to time - but before I truly would crave choc and the such a lot. Now those cravings are not nearly as strong.

    Not sure if there is a true connection but that has been my experience.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    In moderation, it's not going to pose a threat.
    Just keep telling yourself that.

    Okay, I will. Scientific experimentation has got my back.
  • cuinboston2014
    cuinboston2014 Posts: 848 Member
    I haven't read all of the posts but this is what I have read. I am an avid Diet Coke drinker. I used to drink multiple sodas a day and then cut back to none which I couldn't handle. Now it's as I see fit - usually one or two a week. I tried to switch to regular soda and found it too "heavy" as I've always drank Diet.

    However, it's not good for you by any means. No, there are no calories, but you are mistaken to believe there are no health issues this can cause. Check out the book killer cola. It's an eye opener.

    All of the artificial crap that is put in soda has to go through different steps of digestion for your body to break it down and sort through it. Breaking down soda will actually cause your body to pull vitamins and minerals from other sources, such as your bones. This is why it can help contribute to osteoperosis.

    The steps your body needs to take to process fake sugar is also mind blowing. It doesn't know how to react to it and it doesn't break it down like it does for normal sugar.

    yes, there are chemicals and additives in everything. Eat and drink at your own risk. But don't be fooled into thinking there is nothing wrong with it

    personally, the less soda I drink, I do feel like I crave less sweets. My skin is also a lot clearer on my face.
  • Keep_The_Laughter
    Keep_The_Laughter Posts: 183 Member
    Of course soda can probably be safely consumed in moderation, but so can damn near anything; if that is your benchmark for your food standards, I have a house full of child-safe household cleaners, lotions, and shampoos that you could do a shot or two a of each day without any sort of health issues. Bottoms up.

    ^^^This^^^ I take my hat off to you for summing this dabate up so nicely! :laugh: