Diet Soda?

skylarayers

I heard that although diet soda has 0 calories, it is actually worse for your body because your body doesn't know how to digest it and it ends up ruining your kidneys and ultimately slowing down your metabolism. Not to mention it has cancer causing ingredients in it.

My problem is, I have an addiction to Diet Pepsi. I absolutely love it. More than desserts. I could live on Diet Pepsi and nothing else. I mean, I like it even more than regular Pepsi or Diet Coke. I don't know what it is about it, but I think you get the point.

So should I start restricting myself on Diet Pepsi or just not indulge in it at all?

In this case, is an all natural soda (even though they add extra calories) going to be better for me in the long run than diet soda?

Any and all advice is welcome!

Rae6503

I drink it. I hasn't effected my weight loss as far as I can tell.

sblair77

I've never been able to drink more than half a can without getting sick. So I am one of those people who always ask my hubby for a sip. The first part before it gets all watered down is the best anyways!

solpwr

I drink it, in moderation. Probably 3 or 4 per week. I mostly drink Diet Snapple and Ice (lightly carbonated artificially sweetened fruit drink). If putting down a 6 pack per day you might want to cut back.

arc918

You'll have to pry the empty Diet Mtn Dew can from my cold, dead hand!

Now make room for the haters, because they'll be here soon...

bcweisen

Limiting soda is always a good thing. It's just not that great for you, diet or otherwise. If you are addicted, start with cutting down and see how your body reacts.

Artemis_Acorn

It should not be part of a daily diet - the phosphoric acid is brutal to your body. I drink the occasional diet Mountain Dew though - maybe a couple a month.

filmfanatic29

I know other people who love diet soda that limit it to certain meals or days. One friend will not drink a diet soda for dinner if she had one for lunch. I'm not sure how well it's working but maybe that model can help you indulge a little without drinking too much of it.

arhzon

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's not good for you, but it isn't likely to restrict your weight loss. It will leave you feeling like crap if you have too much of it, but I definitely understand the withdrawals you can go through too; I'm a Diet Dr. Pepper guy. Most soda, regular or diet, has chemicals that, while they may not be bad for you, aren't helpful to you at all. The trouble that diet soda has is the aspartame, which can cause a million and one health problems. Ultimately, it's up to you. My rule is to try to get a gallon of water every day, and if I can squeeze in a Diet Dr. Pepper, I'll take the risk. :-)

ShrinkingNinja

I was the same way with Coke Zero.... But the weight really came off once I gave it up.

I had to just go cold turkey.

Now my addiction is for iced green tea with liquid stevia.

jgic2009

Giving myself a diet soda allowance doesn't work for me. I have to cut it out completely or I fall prey to the slippery slope.

lausa22

I don't drink it every day, in fact I hardly drink fizzy drinks at all.
But I don't see why you can't drink them!
I don't believe it 'makes you crave sugary things' there's this thing called allowing yourself a treat every so often and a diet soda isn't a gateway drink to cake and chocolate!

Pangui

I don't know if I believe all the bad things you just wrote about diet sodas, but I do feel instinctively that consuming them excessively cannot be good. I was drinking 4-5 diet green teas every day and I knew that just couldn't be good for me.

The first thing I did was to focus on water consumption. I made sure to get at least the 8 glasses of water suggested, and oftentimes, I exceeded 12 glasses. You can make it a goal not to drink any diet sodas until AFTER you have met your water goal. That should automatically decrease your intake.

For awhile, I gave up all sodas and teas. Then, once I was confident about my water consumption, I decided to allow myself one diet soda a week and up to three or four glasses of tea a week. Most days I now only drink water and it is saving me a TON of money!

girlypop

um well i dunno about how bad it is for.... ppl think it causes kidney problems, liver problems, digestion problems not to mention cancer. I'm really not sure that I believe any of it. Besides which, you're in all likely hood ingest tons of other garbage without even knowing it. Ever had an apple without washing it? They use pesticides which literally kills other living things. So ya I drink diet coke and no i'm not giving it up. I like it too much.

Now on the other hand, how much do u drink? If you're having more than a can a day I would say that it's likely not good for you so cut back, but 3-5cans a week, well that's not so bad.

Circa1964

I can't seem to kick the Full-On, Hard-Core, Regular PEPSI. I love it with Crown Royal or Southern Comfort also on occasion. There...I said it. I'm owning it...and I'm logging it. And...I'm going over my calories many days per week because of it. DAMN YOU PEPSI!

NemesisJRM

Read the following I got an email about it a few months back. Personally tho, I still drink diet soda :-)

Is Diet Coke---specifically its artificial sweetener, aspartame---linked to multiple sclerosis or its symptoms? There's plenty of disagreement. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration don't see any such danger. Yet many people and groups believe otherwise, and hundreds of websites contain the "Nancy Markle letter," a widely disputed piece that prominently mentions Diet Coke and claims the sweetener causes symptoms that mimic MS.

Theories/Speculation

Methanol---commonly called wood alcohol---is released into the body during digestion of aspartame. Methanol gets much blame among those who see a link to MS-like symptoms. Another aspartame component, aspartic acid, is seen as a culprit, as described in an article by neurosurgeon Russell L. Blaylock on the rense.com website. He wrote that aspartame "can greatly magnify the damage produced in multiple sclerosis" and can trigger full-blown MS in people who have a benign level of MS lesions on nerve cells.

Raising Fears

The influential "Nancy Markle letter" dates to the mid-1990s. The anti-aspartame piece by "Nancy Markle"---which the Aspartame Victims Support Group attributed to former member Betty Martini---purports to be from a lecturer to a "World Environmental Conference." The letter had the effect of a "shot fired around the world," said the support group, which referred to Martini's "alleged credibility problems." On her Mission Possible World Health International website, Martini said an "unknown plagiarist" pirated her report. The letter made several references to Diet Coke, such as, "during a visit to a hospice, a nurse said that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence."

Other Accusations

Gary G. Kohls, a retired Minnesota physician, wrote on the Online Journal website that aspartame can cause MS. His "Duty to Warn" also quotes an article by Martini about an alleged corporate/political deal for aspartame's approval that "let slip the hounds of disease, disability and death." Florida physician H.J. Roberts, in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, wrote about "mounting evidence" that products containing aspartame cause or aggravate "many neurologic disorders (most notably multiple sclerosis)."

Reassurances

Ellen Whipple Guthrie, a doctor of pharmacy, wrote on the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation website: "With the exception of a few very mild side effects, aspartame appears to be quite safe." An editor's note refers to the "Nancy Merkle (sic) hoax," and says people circulating the letter had added a false claim that the foundation was suing the FDA over aspartame.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has taken the position that "no scientific evidence supports the claims on several Web sites that aspartame, an artificial sweetener used in many diet soft drinks and other foods, causes MS," and the FDA has a Q&A page in which the first sentence after the question "Do low-calorie sweeteners cause adverse reactions?" is "No."
Upshot

In the battle over whether the sweetener in Diet Coke is linked to multiple sclerosis, heavyweights in the scientific community tend toward finding aspartame to be safe, but there's enough disagreement to keep the fight going. Many people and some experts see aspartame as a danger; many don't; and many, many people drink Diet Coke.


Read more: Diet Coke & MS Symptoms | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5195321_diet-coke-ms-symptoms.html#ixzz1Y42LoYbK


Judge the truth for yourself.......

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2004/06/10/aspartame_and_multiple_sclerosis_neurosurgeons_warning.htm <<<another similar article

maidentl

You'll have to pry the empty Diet Mtn Dew can from my cold, dead hand!

Now make room for the haters, because they'll be here soon...

I'll sit next to you then, but please make mine a Coke Zero! :laugh:

UrbanRunner81

I don't want to drink it. I rather live my life without it. But I get diet coke cravings every once in awhile. I can go weeks without it and then all of sudden I crave it.

mccgivens

I won't give up my Diet Coke but I have cut waaaaaay down. I used to drink a 24oz bottle every day or every other day. Depending on my level of activity. Now, I will drink a 24oz bottle in a week. Let me tell you , that puppy is flat by the time I get to the bottom of it. I didn't intentionally cut down but I had to push the water so inadvertently, I slowed down on it.

ohamberx0

I refuse to give up coke zero. It stops my sweet cravings anyway. Sooo delicious.

blue4myeyes

Giving myself a diet soda allowance doesn't work for me. I have to cut it out completely or I fall prey to the slippery slope.

I am the same way. I was literally addicted, drinking two liters a day -- wow! I stopped cold turkey, and have never felt better. I will have an occasional sip for a friend's diet coke...but I don't buy it or keep it around me anymore or else I know I can't control it.

It is all about knowing yourself and what works for you (or what temptations you cannot handle.) Best of luck whatever you decide!

jayliospecky

I used to drink alot of diet soda, and tried cutting back for a variety of reasons. One was just to save money. I definitely noticed, though, that I didn't seem nearly as hungry once I was drinking less...I just honestly didn't have nearly such a ravenous appetite. I still didn't want to give it up completely, so I often let myself have one or two on a weekend or special occasion, but even then I am aware that often the rest of the day or the next day, even, I will find sticking to my recommended calories much more challenging. In any case, I say do what works for you.