Doctor says no to Diet drinks!! Why?

missikay1970

just drink water.

RangerSteve

It sounds like your doctor needs to re-take his class on epidemiology so he can understand the difference between causation and correlation. Normally I would expect more from a doctor but I've had some terrible ones in my time so I'm not surprised.

Wow, overweight people drink more diet soda? No kidding. I bet overweight people also exercise less, eat worse and have generally unhealthier lifestyles than those who are not overweight. Let's make sure to say it's the diet soda causing the weight gain though. Sounds legit!

ivyjbres

Here an article based on a study at Purdue. The long and short of it is that mice fed artificial sweeteners ate more and got fatter than mice fed real sugar, when they were provided with the same amount of food. I'd like to find and post the journal article, but I no longer have access to EBSCO since I graduated.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7233459.stm

'A study which showed that rats fed on artificial sweetener still put on weight has baffled researchers.

Scientists from Purdue University in the US now believe that a sweet taste followed by no calories may make the body crave extra food.

Their research, published in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience, found that rats fed sugar subsequently had lower appetites.

But nutritionists say that low-calorie sweeteners are still best for health.


The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain
Purdue University researchers

Conventional wisdom says that, as part of a calorie controlled diet, artificial sweeteners can help people lose weight or keep it off.

But the Purdue study turns that wisdom on its head.

They gave different yoghurt to different groups of rats, some sweetened with sugar, and some with saccharin.

They were then given a plentiful supply of food, and the researchers observed the results.

The saccharin-fed mice ate more calories, put on more fat, and gained more weight than their sugar-fed counterparts.

They did not make any attempt to cut back on their food later to regulate their weight.

Sweet expectations

The researchers wrote in the journal: "The data clearly indicate that consuming a food sweetened with no-calorie saccharin can lead to greater body-weight gain and adiposity than would consuming the same food sweetened with higher calorie sugar."

One theory, they said, was that, in normal conditions, the arrival of a sweet taste in the mouth helped prime the metabolism for the arrival of a calorie-heavy, sweet meal into the digestive system.

When the meal does not arrive, they said, the body may get confused and have more trouble regulating its appetite when other food is around.

They said that if this were the case, other low-calorie sweeteners such as aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame could have a similar effect.

A spokesman for the British Nutrition Foundation, which receives funds from the food industry, said the study findings were "interesting", but did not prove that artificial sweeteners could be counterproductive in dieting humans.

"This needs far more research - as studies in humans have shown that low-calorie sweeteners can help people lose weight."'

HMonsterX

There's nothing good in soda

Yes there is.

It's called Flavour. That often-underestimated thing in those food that have so-called "empty calories".

Also, we have evolved slightly from rats and mice. We actually understand weight and fat. We have the advanced ability to control what we eat, and to resist cravings. We know when our next feed will be. I do wish people would stop using mice and rats when trying to prove something in humans!

Grokette

Before I started here, I visited my doctor. He told me that people who drink even one diet soda a day usually gain up to 20 pounds in one year!! I have been drinking diet soda for 30+ years!! What is it that makes it so bad? Is it the sodium or the sweetener? Are all sweeteners bad for you? I'm trying to understand! Anyone who knows the science behind this, please help me out!!

Thank you!!
Esterlily

In a lot of people artificial sweeteners are metabolized just like sugar and causes an insulin response just like sugar.

BrewerGeorge

Here an article based on a study at Purdue. The long and short of it is that mice fed artificial sweeteners ate more and got fatter than mice fed real sugar, ...

That is the only study I can find with a similar result. The woo sites I mentioned earlier love it. There are several others available that contradict Purdue's findings.

We all know artificial sweeteners have an aftertaste. What if the mice ate more food after artificial sweetener to drive away the bad aftertaste? We don't know. That's why it's risky to make decisions based on limited research.

You know, Folks, I'm just fulfilling my skeptic role here. I don't use much artificial sweetener myself - mostly because I don't like its taste. And there's certainly no harm that can come to anybody who decides to stop using it for whatever reason. I'm just not prepared to condemn people who've decided to use them, or to pass along bad information to convince them to change their opinions.

ivyjbres

Before I started here, I visited my doctor. He told me that people who drink even one diet soda a day usually gain up to 20 pounds in one year!! I have been drinking diet soda for 30+ years!! What is it that makes it so bad? Is it the sodium or the sweetener? Are all sweeteners bad for you? I'm trying to understand! Anyone who knows the science behind this, please help me out!!

Thank you!!
Esterlily

In a lot of people artificial sweeteners are metabolized just like sugar and causes an insulin response just like sugar.

Its not actually metabolized, but the effect is the same. The brain interprets it as sugar based on the taste, (see writeup here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/5153951/Sports-drinks-boost-performance-even-if-you-spit-them-out-research.html) and releases hormones in accordance with the expectation of sugar. And because both sugar and fat in your diet make you crave more sugar and fat in your diet, you're more likely to eat those things. So while you have the choice not to eat those things, if you aren't paying attention, you're probably going to.

BrewerGeorge

...
In a lot of people artificial sweeteners are metabolized just like sugar and causes an insulin response just like sugar.

Nope. I went looking for research to prove this a few days ago and found quite the opposite.

Think about Type I diabetics who have to externally control their blood sugar. Unanticipated insulin from artificial sweeteners would wreck havoc on them. We'd have people in insulin comas and it would be all over the news.

skcornett

There are so many arguments for/against diet sodas. I've always been good about drinking water, but was also a one-Diet-Dr. Pepper-a-day addict until August 1st. The problem, for me, was that Diet DP was my "gateway drug" into drinking regular Coke and I started drinking way too much soda. I thought I would miss it, but I don't.

atsteele

And just because there is a study doesn't mean it's a good study.

Here's a more balanced article re sweeteners IMH:. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073

Good luck on your weight loss journey!

dimoul

I drink diet coke / coke zero like water and I've lost almost 70 lbs. But I'm not saying they are good for you, or anything. On the other hand, to lose weight you have to make so many changes in your life (eating, exercise, portion control, sleeping, etc...) I say why give it all of it up at once? Especially, why give up anything you can put in your mouth that tastes good and does not have calories when you are struggling with the new challenges? Baby steps...

HMonsterX

Sodas even diet sodas are a bunch of chemicals, why put that into your body.

Because they taste good, and cause me no ill effects.

rileysowner

Aspartame metabolizes in formaldehyde in your body. Sucralose is processed with chlorine. Do you really wan to eat that stuff?

Stick with natural sweeteners... maple syrup, honey and if you need to...good old fashioned sugar ( very small amounts)

If you drink tap water you are consuming chlorine which is used to purify it. I am guessing in drinking tap water you are consuming more chlorine in parts per million than you ever get in sucralose.

rileysowner

Here an article based on a study at Purdue. The long and short of it is that mice fed artificial sweeteners ate more and got fatter than mice fed real sugar, ...

That is the only study I can find with a similar result. The woo sites I mentioned earlier love it. There are several others available that contradict Purdue's findings.

We all know artificial sweeteners have an aftertaste. What if the mice ate more food after artificial sweetener to drive away the bad aftertaste? We don't know. That's why it's risky to make decisions based on limited research.

And research on mice who we cannot ask why they are eating more. What this research does is show this happens in mice, but notice the weight gain was because they ate more CALORIES, not directly because of the artificial sweetener. It may, and I emphasize MAY, have contributed to it, but we can't tell from one study.

gwenmf

bump

BrewerGeorge

Aspartame metabolizes in formaldehyde in your body. Sucralose is processed with chlorine. Do you really wan to eat that stuff?

Stick with natural sweeteners... maple syrup, honey and if you need to...good old fashioned sugar ( very small amounts)

If you drink tap water you are consuming chlorine which is used to purify it. I am guessing in drinking tap water you are consuming more chlorine in parts per million than you ever get in sucralose.

Wellll, elemental chlorine in tap water (actually most water treatment uses chloramines now) isn't quite the same as the chrlorinated hydrocarbons in sucralose. Chlorinated hydrocarbons are the same class of chemicals that contains PCB's which cause afflictions like chloracne.

As far as I'm concerned, the jury is still out on sucralose. Not enough studies of long term effects yet. I'm waiting for more information to give it my personal all-clear. I'll have an occasional Diet Rite w/ sucralose or something, but I'm not buying the yellow packets for the house yet.

Actually, saccharine is the safest sweetener after natural sugar. 100+ years of study now.

havingitall

Personally I can't stand the nasty aftertaste that any of the artificial sweeteners have. I get a headache from aspartame and sucralose leaves a tinny taste in my mouth for hours.....

I don't know how anybody can ingest that

Troy67

I was drinking Diet Dr. Pepper the whole time I was losing weight with no problems. Several times I went a week without any and it made no difference. So I am going to still drink diet pop. I also work on the floor at the hospital that deals with the surgical weight loss patients and all of the medical staff allow the sugar free products with artificial sweeteners and have found no reasons not to.

kimiel51

Personally I can't stand the nasty aftertaste that any of the artificial sweeteners have. I get a headache from aspartame and sucralose leaves a tinny taste in my mouth for hours.....

I don't know how anybody can ingest that

I agree, but it must be that some people taste it differently,because if it tasted to everyone else like it does to me, nobody would be drinking it!!

cabaray

I have started drinking diet coke again. I stopped drinking it as an experiment. There was no change in my weight loss and no change in hunger level. Everyone's different, so you may not experience the same thing as I did. Yes it has chemicals in it. At this point in time, some study probably shows that breathing air will cause cancer. I've given up so much, diet coke is my indulgence.