how bad are diet sodas?

rob_base

This is my one weekness. The last 4 days I have gotten down to one a day, today I am trying at least one cold turkey day, not sure if I will maintain it tomorrow, but figure just for today

anyway, how bad are they anyway? (I know its better than "regular" soda, but I think (know) it has bad effects

Jenncoc86

Carbonation is really bad for your bones.

jellybaby84

Bad.

But sooooo good!

And it depends on what you mean by bad I guess. With the exception of two periods of 10 months and 6 months where I went cold turkey I have had between 2 (an excellent day) and 20 (er, yeah ...) cans of diet coke a day. It's never impacted on my weight loss and keeps cravings for bad foods away. But my teeth are suffering, I have a minor heart problem and I dread to think what my insides look like.

fastbelly

Worst then regular sodas and that says it all!

I suggest you read on Aspartame if you think they are better then regular's.

chrisfnet

Carbonation is really bad for your bones.

How so? Your body is an amazing buffer. If anything, the phosphoric acid equilibrium could get off-balance with regular drinking of colas.

I'm one of the VERY few that thinks drinking a diet soda every once in awhile would be alright. I wouldn't go so far as to say drinking one every day would be healthy..

datguy2011

Diet soda is almost the same as real sode. Dont let anyone fool you... Ive spoken to countless number of doctors.. and even friends that are in the nutrition business...

I thought that switching to coke zero, or diet coke was better for me... I lost more weight OFF completely... your body doesnt always treat the 0 cal stuff as it should. And that shows with diet pop....

That being said.. once in a while isn't the end of the world.. (Everyday like me).. might be. lol

Dave59

They aren't that bad. Lots of bad studies being pushed out there. Try to look for reliable sources and not the fear-based hype. Here's something from the Mayo Clinic:

"Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals."

chrisfnet

They aren't that bad. Lots of bad studies being pushed out there. Try to look for reliable sources and not the fear-based hype. Here's something from the Mayo Clinic:

"Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals."

Thank you!!! I see someone else is reasonable on these forums too.

Lily0013

Bad bad bad. I normally don't post negative things, but they are worse for you than normal soda. It's the aspartame. Look it up. I say his as a Bio major not a dieter or uneducated naysayer. It activates the pleasure centers in your brain like a drug tricking you into thinking something tastes good, and making you crave another as soon as he chemical dissipates, which breaks down into methylated chemicals. (they cause malfunctions in DNA replication)

LemonSocks

Carbonation is really bad for your bones.

How so? Your body is an amazing buffer. If anything, the phosphoric acid equilibrium could get off-balance with regular drinking of colas.

I'm one of the VERY few that thinks drinking a diet soda every once in awhile would be alright. I wouldn't go so far as to say drinking one every day would be healthy..

I agree that one every now and then is fine too. We have to sacrafice so much for our weight loss goals, I don't see why I should also give up my 2 - 3 diet sodas each week.

liberaltendencies

I have been Diet Coke free for five days now. The first day I took an Excedrin to offset the MAJOR headache I had. I'm still having cravings but my teeth and skin feel and look so much better. I have more energy without caffeine and would recommend cutting out Diet Coke!

http://jezebel.com/5816114/your-diet-coke-problem-is-actually-a-problem

JennaM222

You are going to have people who say not that bad, and you are going to hear from the diet soda nazi's.


If you want one every now and then, freaking have one! For me, drinking a diet soda helps curb cravings for naughty food, and I LOVE caffine. I have probably 3 a week...GASP....yes, 3!

gdortiz

okay, this will settle it for me ...


Does diet soda have a

1. physiological effect, as in it causes your body to do certain things, in this case gain weight?

2. or is more of a mental thing, where it causes you to crave food more?

of couse, 1. is worse than 2. because you can fight off 2. but you can't really offset the effects it has on your body/organs,e tc.e tc.

does that make sense???

GypsyRose25

I love Diet Coke. I don't drink nearly as much as I used to, as I used to have about 6 cans a day. I still have one to two, and and still losing weight. I don't see an issue with having some in moderation.

chrisfnet

Bad bad bad. I normally don't post negative things, but they are worse for you than normal soda. It's the aspartame. Look it up. I say his as a Bio major not a dieter or uneducated naysayer. It activates the pleasure centers in your brain like a drug tricking you into thinking something tastes good, and making you crave another as soon as he chemical dissipates, which breaks down into methylated chemicals. (they cause malfunctions in DNA replication)

Methylation of DNA causes gene expression to be shut off. Methylated chemicals do not necessarily cause the same effect - in fact, if this were true... you wouldn't be able to eat anything. I guarantee you that I could find methyl groups on nearly any random food you picked if I had a lab where I was free to analyze it.

Lots of food items activate the "pleasure center" of your brain. Chocolate? (theobromine) Tea? (caffeine) Exercise? (enkephalins.. dopamine...) By using this logic, exercise must be a really terrible thing. Once you exercise once, you feel great and you might even want to exercise again once the surge of neurochemicals is gone..

Could you link to an aspartame study on PubMed?

missionmanshane

I am not so sure they're better than regular sodas. I have been told by a couple (precisely two) experts that a better plan than drinking diet sodas is consuming very few regular sodas. The two "experts" couldn't be more different. One is a nutritional-store-owning herbalist and the other is my physician. When they agree, I take notice. Both of them are skeptical of artificial sweeteners, believing them to be related to a whole host of potential problems.

If you are worried about corn syrup's dangers, you can consider buying sugar-based sodas which may be found in alternative food stores or "Pepsi Throwback." Some believe that sugar is a bit safer in the long run than corn syrup.

The studies on diet sodas typically show that they do not lead to weight loss and that they may lead to other health problems. The artifical sweeteners don't process through your body like a food and have been accused of a connection to migraines, cancer, etc. Sugar, however, may be burned off with a little extra exercise. The latter seems like a better option to many.

I hope you figure out your diet soda dilemma, and I hope you find a snack or refreshment that you don't have to worry about.

Take care

JennaM222

Bad bad bad. I normally don't post negative things, but they are worse for you than normal soda. It's the aspartame. Look it up. I say his as a Bio major not a dieter or uneducated naysayer. It activates the pleasure centers in your brain like a drug tricking you into thinking something tastes good, and making you crave another as soon as he chemical dissipates, which breaks down into methylated chemicals. (they cause malfunctions in DNA replication)

My first Diet coke was NOTHING like my first onnie or beer bong.

YMTaylor

All I know is that both my nutritionist and my PCP said my daily habit of 2-3 diet sodas is fine, especially when it keeps me from eating other things. My weakness is desserts so if a soda keeps me from finding brownies or cookies then they were all for it. Of course other people have their own doctors that say run away from diet soda but there are some professionals who aren't saying that.

wickedcricket

I went to an eye-opening demonstration. it was this 'system' for making your own soda at home (at the bed, bath & beyond store) long story short, soda is nothing more than carbonated sugar syrup. so - next time you want that soda, remind yourself you might as well be drinking mrs butterworth's syrup and maybe that will help you pick something better. it's helped me immensely.
try adding some sparkling water to diet cranberry juice or your fave - very refreshing and pretty close to soda.

chrisfnet

okay, this will settle it for me ...


Does diet soda have a

1. physiological effect, as in it causes your body to do certain things, in this case gain weight?

2. or is more of a mental thing, where it causes you to crave food more?

of couse, 1. is worse than 2. because you can fight off 2. but you can't really offset the effects it has on your body/organs,e tc.e tc.

does that make sense???

Anything you consume has some physiological effect. There is no real, accurate answer to this question. Regular, repeated consumption of anything acidic can, over time, cause acidosis which could have a variety of effects. However, the same could potentially be said of orange juice..

glenr79

Diet soda's are horrible for you!! If you look at studies they cause weight gain, osteoperosis, migraine headaches, increased blood pressure, increased cholesterol, etc... one of the most horrible things you can do to your body.... I am just going to post a small add here

Diet drinks and obesity

In 2005, Sharon Fowler and her colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio presented eight years of research data that explored the link between obesity risk and soft drinks. According to the WebMD summary of the study:

Fowler’s team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.

For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

26% for up to 1/2 can each day
30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.
For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.
For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%.

Obviously, there’s a difference between correlation and causation. This study is not meant to imply that diet soda causes obesity, just to point out that diet soda consumption is a “marker” for the condition.

Metabolic syndrome

More recently, researchers have reported a correlation between diet soda and metabolic syndrome, which the Mayo Clinic describes thusly:

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Having just one of these conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — isn’t diagnosed as metabolic syndrome, but it does contribute to your risk of serious disease. If more than one of these conditions occur in combination, your risk is even greater.