Diet soda

TheVimFuego

I used to be a big Coke Zero fan (especially the vanilla stuff).

Not now though, I read up on Aspartame (the artificial sweentener used in most diet drinks) and the whole thing looks like a messy business from the process of approving it to the list of side-effects attributed to it. No surprise people get headaches and migranes at the very least.

Even if the thing is found safe (by an independant inqury, not one funded by commercial interests) then there is also the question of whether 'tricking' your brain into thinking you a drinking something sweet is a good idea.

I guess there is an element of 'scare story' about all this but anyone consuming this stuff should watch this and then say there isn't reasonable doubt:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/sweet-misery-a-poisoned-world/

As to where I get my caffeine fix, I don't need one, I have plenty of energy and drive without it.

If I did want something fizzy and 'sweet' I would get some Zevia:

http://www.aussiehealthproducts.com.au/zevia.php

jagonthedestroyr

As a doctor I do not understand the "I can drink soda, but not coffee part because I am Mormon." From my understanding you can not drink ANY caffeine and soda is the worse part you can get caffeine, unless it's artificial than it would fit your strict religious concept of anything without caffeine. Although, based on physiology in today's standards I'd say artificial are much worse than caffeine, but that is a philosophical debate which I'd prefer to avoid. I'd like to address the coffee/caffeine issues though.

Coffee is actually beneficial to you because in laymen terms without getting too technical it "wakes up" some parts of your body which tend to start up slow in the morning. This is completely natural, and there is no "added" chemical to coffee that wasn't already there unless you are drinking some sort of synthetic crap from Starbucks. I can not think of anything worse to drink than soda as one of the reader's mentions all the chemicals alone in Soda, not to mention soda often uses artificial sweeteners which are 1000x stronger than normal sugar, let alone anything found in nature.

Why this is a problem is that even though artificial sweeteners might have ZERO calories, they desensitize your taste buds meaning your sense of what is sweet is skewed, which often means you will crave some this sweet, or sweeter. There is nothing naturally out there that mimics the intensity of artificial sweeteners. A side note, getting medical jargon, in copious amounts artificial sweeteners CAN be turned into a toxic chemical (same chemical we use to embalm bodies - formaldehyde). Now this takes massive amounts, but it is possible at lesser amounts if for some reason you body was not able to process it.

Now to the caffeine answer and "speeding up your GIT." Caffeine naturally breaks down an enzyme in your body called PDE, PDE is used to break down your energy c-AMP which is a a second messenger. What this means is that c-AMP signals many things to turn on. At low concentrations c-AMP acts as sympathetic stimulus, while higher its acts as parasympathetic response. Think 'Fight and Flight' versus 'rest and digest.' ALL these processes are naturally occurring in your body, therefore the whole caffeine is this terrible chemical versus soda in a strictly medical opinion based on body physiology is BS.

I just wanted to illustrate this because as a physician it is my job to educate based on the body. Now, if your particular belief states to refrain from it, everybody has a right to follow their own belief. But as I said based on physiology that caffeine is some terrible monster is simply not true. As everything, moderation is the key with anything. Sorry I had to digress to a little hard core physiology, but I just wanted people to understand a few misconceptions they might have had about caffeine.

Any other medical questions based on body physiology I'd be happy to answer as this is my specialty.

AmyRhubarb

Never been a diet soda drinker because I didn't like the taste. Got myself off of regular soda a few years ago, and although I am a coffee drinker and get my morning caffeine fix from that,for an afternoon pick-me-up I drink unsweetened iced tea.

ChrissyRMiller

[/quote]
Any other medical questions based on body physiology I'd be happy to answer as this is my specialty.
[/quote]

Is it possible that the artificial sweetners in diet soda can aggravate chronic anemia? My "normal" hemoglobin is 10-11. It has been this way my entire life (never found a reason why) even before I started drinking diet sodas (which has been in the last 5 years).

HMonsterX

Is aspartame safe?

Yes. Aspartame has been tested for more than three decades, in more than 200 studies, with the same result: Aspartame is safe. In fact, the FDA Commissioner, upon approving aspartame, noted, “Few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated, close scrutiny, and the process through which aspartame has gone should provide the public with additional confidence of its safety.”


Have other regulatory bodies reviewed aspartame's safety?

Yes. In addition to FDA, aspartame has been reviewed and determined to be safe by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization, the Scientific Committee on Food of the European Commission, and the regulatory bodies of over 100 countries.


Have independent health organizations reviewed the safety of aspartame?

Yes. The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) have reviewed research on aspartame and found it to be safe. In fact, the ADA’s 2004 updated position paper states, “A comprehensive review of the safety of aspartame has recently been published. The review covers previous publications as well as new information that support the safety of aspartame as a food additive and negates claims of its association with a range of health problems...” Links to numerous other health organizations, which have confirmed the safety of aspartame, can be found at www.aspartame.org.

ChrissyRMiller

As a doctor I do not understand the "I can drink soda, but not coffee part because I am Mormon." From my understanding you can not drink ANY caffeine and soda is the worse part you can get caffeine, unless it's artificial than it would fit your strict religious concept of anything without caffeine. Although, based on physiology in today's standards I'd say artificial are much worse than caffeine, but that is a philosophical debate which I'd prefer to avoid. I'd like to address the coffee/caffeine issues though.

Coffee is actually beneficial to you because in laymen terms without getting too technical it "wakes up" some parts of your body which tend to start up slow in the morning. This is completely natural, and there is no "added" chemical to coffee that wasn't already there unless you are drinking some sort of synthetic crap from Starbucks. I can not think of anything worse to drink than soda as one of the reader's mentions all the chemicals alone in Soda, not to mention soda often uses artificial sweeteners which are 1000x stronger than normal sugar, let alone anything found in nature.

Why this is a problem is that even though artificial sweeteners might have ZERO calories, they desensitize your taste buds meaning your sense of what is sweet is skewed, which often means you will crave some this sweet, or sweeter. There is nothing naturally out there that mimics the intensity of artificial sweeteners. A side note, getting medical jargon, in copious amounts artificial sweeteners CAN be turned into a toxic chemical (same chemical we use to embalm bodies - formaldehyde). Now this takes massive amounts, but it is possible at lesser amounts if for some reason you body was not able to process it.

Now to the caffeine answer and "speeding up your GIT." Caffeine naturally breaks down an enzyme in your body called PDE, PDE is used to break down your energy c-AMP which is a a second messenger. What this means is that c-AMP signals many things to turn on. At low concentrations c-AMP acts as sympathetic stimulus, while higher its acts as parasympathetic response. Think 'Fight and Flight' versus 'rest and digest.' ALL these processes are naturally occurring in your body, therefore the whole caffeine is this terrible chemical versus soda in a strictly medical opinion based on body physiology is BS.

I just wanted to illustrate this because as a physician it is my job to educate based on the body. Now, if your particular belief states to refrain from it, everybody has a right to follow their own belief. But as I said based on physiology that caffeine is some terrible monster is simply not true. As everything, moderation is the key with anything. Sorry I had to digress to a little hard core physiology, but I just wanted people to understand a few misconceptions they might have had about caffeine.

Any other medical questions based on body physiology I'd be happy to answer as this is my specialty.

Is it possible that the artificial sweetners in diet soda can aggravate chronic anemia? My "normal" hemoglobin is 10-11. It has been this way my entire life (never found a reason why) even before I started drinking diet sodas (which has been in the last 5 years).

Catjag

I enjoy Coke Zero but yesterday tried Zevia and quite enjoyed it. I love bubbles in my drink yet despise gassy water. I plan on testing more flavors of Zevia though I still make the bulk of the liquids I drink straight water.

Sabine_Stroehm

I drink zip fizz first thing (a bit before my workout, a bit after). (It's a powdered vitamin pack that mixes with water)
Then one green tea latte (in the colder months), or one iced tea (hotter months)
Other wise...water, or my glass of wine.

tbushjr

I'm not LDS but my wife's family is and I asked about this. I was told that it is the hotness of the drink that is a problem not the drink it's self. So that being said I suggest you drink cold tea. You can make your own and control what you use as a sweetener. Lipton makes one that works in cold water and can be made in a snap.

One other suggestion I have is to take B12 Complex. That is what is in 5 hour energy. It will pick you up but it can make you hungry too so be careful with that. Also 5 hour energy tastes a lot better very cold.

I drink a Diet coke everyday with breakfast and switch to ice tea for lunch then follow the rest of the day with water. What I have found is that the soda tends to dehydrate me but tea does not. I asked a doctor about it and was told that Diet Coke is a diuretic. Drink one and it will make you want to drink more. It also makes me hungry even when I'm not. Not good when you want to control what you eat.

It is all about moderation!

sashatranett

green tea. and add some stevia if you need some sweetness. stevia is a natural sweetener with no cals

hurleycutie142

soda is soda and i have had a hard past with it... i was drinking a 2 liter a day for a good portion of my life... dont ask me why i let it get that bad... but recently (its been a month) i totally gave it up... i quit cold turkey which was the best option in my opinion and since reading this http://www.rodale.com/facts-about-soda i havent looked back.... sodas have so many negatives that its not worth it to me anymore... i love being able to eat and drink things that i know exactly is in there...

jagonthedestroyr

[/quote]

Is it possible that the artificial sweetners in diet soda can aggravate chronic anemia? My "normal" hemoglobin is 10-11. It has been this way my entire life (never found a reason why) even before I started drinking diet sodas (which has been in the last 5 years).
[/quote]

Chronic anemia can be cause by so many things. Women in general tend to have a lower hct than men due to normal physiologic workings. Basically i would deduce that if you are not a water drinker, the fact there alone can cause you to become anemic since it puts you in a "low volume state." There are many things that can cause you to be anemic, but drinking water in general, staying adequately hydrated aka not drinking soda can possible alleviate some of that. Although this is something that needs to be brought up with your primary care doctor if it hasn't already. There is an endless list that can cause chronic anemia.

An excellent history taken by a doctor can usually tease out the problem, even when other doctors do not find the cause. I must stress in the US with time constricts many physicians take terrible histories with many simple diagnosis left undiagnosed as the result.

To the reader that quoted Aspartame is safe, at this time studies do say this, but medical information is ALWAYS changing. You CAN NOT change body physiology, and if you understand physiology, than you'd understand that Artificial sweetener can be converted into phenylalanine. Now what I said is IF the body is functioning properly there is no need to worry since there is a very small chance this can happen. For me, i try to stay away from ALL processed food and consuming any sort of chemical unless needed. Why roll the dice on something like this.

The Harvard study also proves what I already said, "By providing a sweet taste without any calories, artificial sweeteners could confuse these intricate feedback loops that involve the brain, stomach, nerves, and hormones." This is basically centered on the pancreas. You see the pancreas is not as smart as people think. By stimulating the pancreas it releases 'X amount of Insulin,' but it is not always the desired amount. This could mean too much was released, aka over stimulating do to the intense artificially sweeteners causing hypoglycemic triggering hunger again. All the processes I am talking about are all based on basic body physiology.

We are trained to evaluate research, since not all research results are helpful, especially if they contradict what basic physiology says.

wellbert

I do about a gallon of diet mtn dew per day. Trying to stop though.

not worried about aspartame until actual science says it's bad.

rmk20togo

Any other medical questions based on body physiology I'd be happy to answer as this is my specialty.

I have one I bet you can answer. I went cold turkey off all carbonated beverages 3 years ago because (1) I was officially addicted :drinker: (2) I wanted to eliminate as many chemicals from my diet as possible, and (3) I read articles indicating that carbonated beverages lower bone mineral density. Is there any validity to the bone mineral density - carbonation article?

I'm a 50 year old female with a family history of osteoporosis and, having seen what my mom's been through, I'm fighting it tooth and nail! I do know that soda is great for cutting through the road gunk on your windshield!

cydonian

I don't like artificial sweeteners, they often give me headaches and stomach troubles. If I'm going to drink a soda that is terrible for me, I'd rather have sugar. At least it comes from the ground.

carebear9703

I am new to MFP and have had no success thus far. Although, I lost a significant amount of weight in the previous few years on the original weight watchers points plan. I drank diet soda all through my weight loss with no problems. I only drink maybe 3-4 cans a week now. I'm thinking about drinking coffee in the morning so I won't have and soda in the afternoon but it is getting hotter and I don't think i would want a hot drink so early. Everyone's body is differant but there are no problems with diet soda as long as you use moderation.

P.S. Any suggestions on why I have had no success on this plan? I tried it because I wanted to save money and not sign up for weight watchers. I have about 15-20 more lbs I want to lose.

myfitnessnmhoy

For me, it's not the soda itself, it's the sweetness. I find that if I drink things that taste sweet, whether they have sugar or not, I crave sugar all the more. Your mileage may vary.

If you feel that it's getting in the way of weight loss, try giving it up for a while or cutting back. Otherwise, understand that you are designing a lifestyle here, and if your weight loss is dependent o giving something up, your weight maintenance will probably be based on the same principle. If you re-add all your old favorites the day you meet your goal, you'll re-add all the pounds that come with them.