Is soda bad for me?

tigersword

The whole "in moderation" philosophy is fine, but it can be used to rationalize consuming almost anything. You could safely drink an ounce ounce of swamp water, dishwashing liquid, hand sanitizer, or anti-freeze, but that in itself is not really a rational reason to consume something, right?

No, it can't be used to rationalize eating things like swamp water, dish washing liquid or any other non consumable because then you wouldn't be rational. Anyone with an IQ over 60 and over 4 years of age inherently knows not to consume those.

Nonsense argument is nonsense.

Apparently people with sub-room temperature IQs have issues understanding the use of absurdity in proving a point. Perhaps it is something you should aspire to.

And people seem know better than to consume something that is potentially dangerous when it is blatant like the things I mentioned above - however, if something questionable is added industrially to a food product, then it seems to be rendered perfectly safe. Rationality at its best...

Using absurdity is a logical fallacy. It's not a strong argument at all.

SnuggleSmacks

Diet colas are worse than regular, you are putting harmful chemicals in your body, probably aspartame which is known to be a carcinogen. If you have to do colas go regular, or try to find a throwback version that has actual sugar. Studies also find that diet soda makes it easier for individuals to gain weight. Good luck.

If aspartame is a carcinogen, then every food that you eat is a carcinogen, because the ingredients for aspartame are in every single food, except for oil and butter.

Its probably in oil and butter too. As I type this they are probably trying to figure out a way to pump it into the air we breathe.

Aspartame and Phenylalanine aside (which by the way doesnt affect many people, but it does affect others) there is an ingredient in diet soda which is an industrial chemical used in making plastics flame retardant. In other words its a chemical used to prevent plastics from bursting into flames.

Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) - Its used primarily in citrus based beverages (not just soda) so its its in Powerades, Gatorades, Diet Mountain Dew, Squirt etc. The use of BVO has been banned in India, Japan and Europe. Pepsi was petitioned to remove it from its drinks but only has agreed to remove it from Gatorade and not Diet Mountain Dew.

So nope. No toxins at all.

Snopes has a good page on it. "However, those cases involved subjects who drank what would generally be considered an excessive amount of soda on a regular basis (i.e., between two to eight liters daily)." Problem for me is.....I drink that much of it!! (2-4 liters) So yeah, it may be toxic to me. If you only have a can or 2 you should be fine.

Wow, so because they use it as a flame retardant it's dangerous and toxic? Maybe we should stop drinking that water stuff then, after all, it's a chemical degreaser, industrial chemical solvent, and also a chemical flame retardant!

Water is therefore dangerous and it should be removed from our food chain immediately.

Or consumed in moderation? Maybe?

trying_to_burn

I'm loving all the Randomised Control Trials and Meta-Analysis' confirming a non-biased agenda, to prove everything here. lol

Although I agree aspartain is/may be bad for you (I haven't researched trials on this stuff), but there are so many things in the world that are worse for you e.g. alcohol: Liver Failure, Carcinoma (Liver, Pancreatic), Cirrhosis. If Diet drinks are so bad then isn't alcohol worse

Next you will be saying haematological cancer patients should not be taking their chemo meds because the Sunset Yellow is bad for you.

In all honesty I feel that this thread is a little futile. Those people who pass you smoking on the street are probably going to cause you more harm that a few glass of diet coke.

As in life. All things in moderation and don't do drugs....the bad kind.

Also just a quick point of interest: I believe (although you will need to verify this), that a gentleman was unfortunately killed after being forced to consume large volumes of water

alexirochellescott

Bubbles are the enemy lol.

Fullsterkur_woman

Also just a quick point of interest: I believe (although you will need to verify this), that a gentleman was unfortunately killed after being forced to consume large volumes of water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication#Notable_cases
Many people have died from too much water.

renegadegeek

Just throwing this out there...

Too Many Diet Drinks May Spell Heart Trouble for Older Women
American College of Cardiology and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
http://www.cardiosource.org/en/News-Media/Media-Center/News-Releases/2014/03/Vyas-Diet-Drinks.aspx

Funny thing about science is that they keep learning new stuff.

SnuggleSmacks

Oh, but if you drink wine, your kidneys will be safe!

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/04/23/moderate-wine-consumption-may-benefit-kidneys/

SnuggleSmacks

Just throwing this out there...

Too Many Diet Drinks May Spell Heart Trouble for Older Women
American College of Cardiology and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
http://www.cardiosource.org/en/News-Media/Media-Center/News-Releases/2014/03/Vyas-Diet-Drinks.aspx

Funny thing about science is that they keep learning new stuff.

You have to question why the numbers go back up for the last group: 7.2 percent in the zero-to-three per month group. Apparently, according to this single study, if you drink either a whole bunch, or almost none, then you're more likely to die. But if you drink a moderate amount (five-to-seven diet drinks per week or one-to-four drinks per week) you die less. Or are less dead. Or something.

renegadegeek

Hard to say as the study itself hasn't been released, so I don't have access to the primary literature for the researchers full analysis, but they mention in the release that this may be related to lifestyle issues. In other words, the type of people who tend to rely on diet soda at a certain level may have other contributing factors that cause issues for their health.

“We only found an association, so we can’t say that diet drinks cause these problems,” Vyas says, adding that there may be other factors about people who drink more diet drinks that could explain the connection.

My point is that the science is changing every day, and we regularly discover that common things, especially chemical additives, may have consequences as do the lifestyles that rely of them I mean, remember margarine? Not long ago it was touted as a low fat health food. We know more now. That's going to happen with other additives as well.

Which is, for me, personally, a good reason not to bother with them whenever possible. For me lifestyle change isn't just about counting calories and dropping a few pounds to look cute for swimsuit season.

tigersword

Actually, the science hasn't changed much at all. They were shown safe 60 years ago, and they are still shown safe today.

The fear mongering has certainly gotten out of hand however. It seems that modern education no longer includes "critical thinking" or "Occam's Razor."

mactaffy84

The whole "in moderation" philosophy is fine, but it can be used to rationalize consuming almost anything. You could safely drink an ounce ounce of swamp water, dishwashing liquid, hand sanitizer, or anti-freeze, but that in itself is not really a rational reason to consume something, right?

No, it can't be used to rationalize eating things like swamp water, dish washing liquid or any other non consumable because then you wouldn't be rational. Anyone with an IQ over 60 and over 4 years of age inherently knows not to consume those.

Nonsense argument is nonsense.

Apparently people with sub-room temperature IQs have issues understanding the use of absurdity in proving a point. Perhaps it is something you should aspire to.

And people seem know better than to consume something that is potentially dangerous when it is blatant like the things I mentioned above - however, if something questionable is added industrially to a food product, then it seems to be rendered perfectly safe. Rationality at its best...

Oh, this! Especially the " don't consume these things because it is obvious they weren't meant to be consumed because they are harmful" deal. Then why do people still smoke cigarettes?

paperpudding

This topic sure seems to bring out some crazy notions.
Such an entertaining recurring theme, it is.


But, meh ,I'll continue drinking diet coke and Pepsi max in moderation and take my chances.

Ronni66

I know this is an old post..but recently I have been told by my mother in law that I should stop drinking any diet drinks, carbonated or not because one , the government lies about zero sugar, that there really is sugar in there.. and two, that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks/foods trick your body into thinking it is actual sugar and makes you gain weight.

I am a Diabetic, so sugar for me is out..even in juice, i can maybe have a glass of orange juice a couple times a week. I don't drink diet soda , i drink diet ice tea exclusively with Splenda in it. (Walmart brand..very good! )

If there is any truth in any of this i am screwed because my only choice of drinks is water all the time and that will make me nuts. Anyone else hear about this ? Is it a fact or is it speculation?

Hornsby

I know this is an old post..but recently I have been told by my mother in law that I should stop drinking any diet drinks, carbonated or not because one , the government lies about zero sugar, that there really is sugar in there.. and two, that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks/foods trick your body into thinking it is actual sugar and makes you gain weight.

I am a Diabetic, so sugar for me is out..even in juice, i can maybe have a glass of orange juice a couple times a week. I don't drink diet soda , i drink diet ice tea exclusively with Splenda in it. (Walmart brand..very good! )

If there is any truth in any of this i am screwed because my only choice of drinks is water all the time and that will make me nuts. Anyone else hear about this ? Is it a fact or is it speculation?

No truth to that.

RllyGudTweetr

I know this is an old post..but recently I have been told by my mother in law that I should stop drinking any diet drinks, carbonated or not because one , the government lies about zero sugar, that there really is sugar in there.. and two, that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks/foods trick your body into thinking it is actual sugar and makes you gain weight.

I am a Diabetic, so sugar for me is out..even in juice, i can maybe have a glass of orange juice a couple times a week. I don't drink diet soda , i drink diet ice tea exclusively with Splenda in it. (Walmart brand..very good! )

If there is any truth in any of this i am screwed because my only choice of drinks is water all the time and that will make me nuts. Anyone else hear about this ? Is it a fact or is it speculation?

Ask your mother-in-law to cite her sources, because this is hogwash per everything I've read. If it is truth, I'd like to read her sources.

mickey9694

I drink it on occasion. I'm not a big drinker so I'll usually go for a soda if I'm out to eat or something. But I never bring it in my house

gaelicstorm26

I love an icy glass of diet Crush. I do limit my intake, but that is mostly because I already have problems with my teeth so I'm trying to avoid extra acids.

gert1985

I used to be a Mt Dew drinker. I joined Weight Watchers and couldn't justify the 5 points per can so quit 3 years ago.
I cannot drink diet due to migraines (will get one immediately from diet anything).
In all the years I was drinking Mt Dew I had cavities at every dental checkup. Since I have quit, I have not had a cavity.
I doubt that is a coincidence.
I slipped up about six months ago and had a Mt Dew and then almost got hooked again.
The one thing I noticed (besides the weight gain) was that I got canker sores every time I drank one
and now since quitting again, have not had one.
BTW, Pepsi is going back to their sugar formula (no high fructose corn syrup) in the very near future.

shmerek

I love this thread, thanks to all for the entertainment.

tigersword

I know this is an old post..but recently I have been told by my mother in law that I should stop drinking any diet drinks, carbonated or not because one , the government lies about zero sugar, that there really is sugar in there.. and two, that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks/foods trick your body into thinking it is actual sugar and makes you gain weight.

I am a Diabetic, so sugar for me is out..even in juice, i can maybe have a glass of orange juice a couple times a week. I don't drink diet soda , i drink diet ice tea exclusively with Splenda in it. (Walmart brand..very good! )

If there is any truth in any of this i am screwed because my only choice of drinks is water all the time and that will make me nuts. Anyone else hear about this ? Is it a fact or is it speculation?

What does the government have to do with the ingredients list for a private company's product? The government has nothing to do with nutrition labels, other than the fact that nutrition labels exist. That right there should tell you your mom in law has no idea what she's talking about.

feliscatus84

I stopped soda because I have bad acid reflux but I was a diet coke queen. I didn't drink water at ALL. Now that I have switched to just water I can't go back to the soda because I can just feel it burning my esophagus (weird I know). But hey if I could have some now I definitely would have it in moderation. I mean who wants a burger and fries with a water?! lol

snikkins

Actually, the science hasn't changed much at all. They were shown safe 60 years ago, and they are still shown safe today.

The fear mongering has certainly gotten out of hand however. It seems that modern education no longer includes "critical thinking" or "Occam's Razor."

+1