Thoughts on Diet Coke

finchase

I love diet coke, but I've really tried to move away from it, based on the advice of my doctor and my personal trainer. I still drink a can occasionally, but it's more of a treat once or twice a week now, rather than having a can every day as I used to. I also keep small bottles in my refrigerator because some mornings I need a swallow (really no more than about a quarter cup full) early in the morning when I first wake up I just need that little jolt of carbonated caffeine. But even that I don't have every day.

I'm drinking more water instead, and more green tea in the afternoons when I used to have diet coke.

chrishgt4

It's just crap.

Ignoring the health stuff - fizzy drinks are so bad for teeth. Why not just have fresh juice instead or concentrate?

It's sugar that's bad for the teeth not the fizz. And juice has more sugar than many other sodas.

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I drink no added sugar, and there is research that concludes even carbonated water is bad for teeth, never mind when you add diet coke syrup.

Point being - unless you want to stick with plain water the whole time, then you will want some flavoured drink. Carbonated beverages are worse.

Really? I'd like to see the research on the carbonated water. Provide me with a link.
And whether or not you drink no "added" sugar, juice still has sugar. Ask any dentist what's worse for teeth: sugar or fizzy water with no sugar.

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Unfortunately can't give you access to the full article but if you go here you can see the abstract:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-263X.2006.00784.x/abstract;jsessionid=D67B5D94E512F58724F1253E5CF94C98.d03t02

Again though - I understand that sugar will harm teeth - but I believe from what I've seen that diet coke and other carbonated beverages are significantly worse than concentrated juice diluted in water.

Interesting fact that neither supports/contradicts, or even bears any relation to the original point - diet coke is 99% water.

monipie

it's good with rum.

lionskitty

I'm sure it's bad for me but quitting pop has actually been harder for me than quitting smoking which I managed in one try and have been smoke free for 8.5 years. Diet pop has allowed me to stay on target with my calories and I will probably continue to drink it.

kaydensmom12

I think that its made with aspartame, not splenda? My nursing instructor told us that aspartame (nutrasweet) is neurotoxic by allowing too much glutamate into the cells, which may eventually cause multiple sclerosis, parkinsons disease, alzheimers, brain lesions. She said that splenda is not as bad for you.

She also said that when you open the pop and all of the mist comes off of it, it is actually formaldehyde (embalming fluid), there is much more of it when the diet coke is at room temp.

Real pop is healthier for you than diet. You are not going to automatically die if you drink it, it happens slowly.

Did you realize that eating fruits and vegetables also forms formaldehyde in the body? Alarmism at it's best.

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Yes I do, but the fruits and vegetables do not have aspartic acid in them, nor cause neurotoxic effects. I understand that many substances have formaldehyde but from what I understand they do not have many of the chemicals that diet pop has, and was just pointing out a few of them.

Lol, okay would you like me to tell you what has aspartic acid in it too? Meat, fish, poultry, legumes, etc. I could go on and on.
Again if you're going to state neurotoxic effects, please provide me with at least one peer reviewed scientific study that concludes that drinking diet soda causes this.

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Sorry if I am wrong then:) You would think that you could trust nursing instructors to give you evidence based practice, but as I am looking it up it is very controversial. I did see that aspartic acid is also in other fruits/veg, not sure about the quantity of it compared to pop, but is still there. So I guess everything in moderation.

Here2GetFit

it's good with rum.

:drinker:

treehugger215

That stuff is not good for you. It's pretty much like drinking liquid chemicals - not good for your body! There are 'soda' like drinks that are made from all natural sweetener, like zevia. You should look into those

ninerbuff

I use diet coke to strip the finish off of my golf clubs (wedges). The stuff literally eats off the finish......it's better than CLR.

In terms of drinking it, see what I just said.

So will baking soda, but apparently it's okay to ingest. The hydrochloric acid in your stomach obliterates the fizz in any soft drink.

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In all honesty, I can say I've never eaten baking soda daily.

Diet coke has Phosphoric Acid in it which is what strips the finish off of metal. It actually neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach which we need to digest food.....from which nutrients are obtained......meaning a further loss of minerals in your body because of inadequate digestion. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from your body in an effort to satisfy the body's desire to balance phosphorus and calcium.

Having a diet coke a day is not going to kill you.....probably not going to have any effect, but is it good for you?

Alkalines neutralize acids. Acids don't neutralize other acids. Where are you coming up with this stuff? Recent research actually points to caffeine as the possible culprit to calcium loss.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/74/5/569.full

You're right on your last statement. It won't kill you (or else dead bodies would be everywhere) but being good? That's subjective. If it stops you from consuming high calorie sweets, then yes. If you're talking from a nutritional value, then no.

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Moosiklaydy

Diet Coke is kinda icky...no....really icky....it tastes as artificial as it is. It's probably not terrible for you in moderation, but why don't you try mixing club soda with a splash of fruit juice. It nixes the carbonation craving for me.

lionskitty

I'm sure the acidity of soda is not good for your tooth enamel, just like juice and other healthy things can eat away at it. There's not sugar to cause cavities in diet soda atleast. As for the bubbles, they're created with sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda which they put in toothpaste so if that's bad for your teeth...

caraiselite

i despise plain water and refuse to drink it.
i drink pepsi max (1 or 2 cans) and crystal light (over 60 ounces) everyday.

myfitnessnmhoy

I enjoy it, but too much caffeine gives me migraines. Even if I only have one a day, after a few days I feel kinda ill, and it makes me grouchy. So then if I stop, I get a migraine. Sounds like I should avoid it, but I don't. It's a drug.

Actually, you may be suffering from aspartame sensitivity when on it, and caffeine withdrawal while off it.

Try an experiment, if you're interested (or ignore this if you're not - it's merely a suggestion if you're interested). Eliminate the diet soda and switch to black coffee, or some form of caffeinated unsweetened tea. Green tea is supposed to be really good for you, but any source of caffeine in approximately the same dosage you are currently taking is good.

Give it a week. If the headaches subside, then it was the aspartame or some other agent in the diet soda, and not the caffeine.

Now you can either enjoy your addiction to caffeine as I do, or give it up, which means (unfortunately) some headaches in the short term, but they subside fairly quickly if you drink lots of water.

crimznrose

I hate Coke altogether and diet coke that much more. That aside, my mom was a die-hard diet coke drinker for years and after developing migraines, her doctor blamed the soda as the cause. As a side note, I switched from regular Dr. Pepper to diet a couple years ago and started getting migraines as well....so there is something said for diet soda and adverse effects on health. I don't drink soda anymore and lecture my kids on drinking it when at grandma's as well. It's just better to stay away from it.

As another health note to sodas....my husband was a coke drinker - up to 2 cases a week at its highest point - and developed IBS as a result of consuming so much carbonation and acids, artificial colors, etc. He had crippling abdominal pains and we went to a gastroenterologist, neuropathy specialist, had colonoscopy, CT scans, etc. The doctors couldn't find the source/cause, but the day he stopped drinking coke the pain stopped and doesn't return unless he drinks a soda.

dalgal26

My vice in life! Love it! Especially when it comes from Sonic Drive In! Route 44 Diet Coke w/ easy ice! :flowerforyou:

ninerbuff

It's just crap.

Ignoring the health stuff - fizzy drinks are so bad for teeth. Why not just have fresh juice instead or concentrate?

It's sugar that's bad for the teeth not the fizz. And juice has more sugar than many other sodas.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I drink no added sugar, and there is research that concludes even carbonated water is bad for teeth, never mind when you add diet coke syrup.

Point being - unless you want to stick with plain water the whole time, then you will want some flavoured drink. Carbonated beverages are worse.

Really? I'd like to see the research on the carbonated water. Provide me with a link.
And whether or not you drink no "added" sugar, juice still has sugar. Ask any dentist what's worse for teeth: sugar or fizzy water with no sugar.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Unfortunately can't give you access to the full article but if you go here you can see the abstract:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-263X.2006.00784.x/abstract;jsessionid=D67B5D94E512F58724F1253E5CF94C98.d03t02

Again though - I understand that sugar will harm teeth - but I believe from what I've seen that diet coke and other carbonated beverages are significantly worse than concentrated juice diluted in water.

Interesting fact that neither supports/contradicts, or even bears any relation to the original point - diet coke is 99% water.

Well the link mentions "sparkling water" but nothing of diet soda or any sodas. But personally I will research this myself and let you know what I come up with. If carbonated water (which is NOT what the article is about) does cause erosion I want to know.

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Ayirela

I personally don't touch anything with artificial sweetener in them! They are WORSE for you than sugar. My mom has MS she she drank diet coke her whole life, the last neurologist she had seen said that it played a role in her nerve damage.

Most sweeteners are proven to cause various types of cancers, nerve damage etc....

Moderation in things you like...good....but me...I'm terrified I'd rather do without or mark up the higher calories for sugar.

With that said I'm not a huge pop drinker, but I do enjoy ginger ale when I have an upset stomach.

JustJennie1

I'm curious how many of the people that swear against Diet Coke are smokers ??
I can think of many things that are worse or just as bad

What does swearing against Diet Coke have to do with smoking?

ninerbuff

I think that its made with aspartame, not splenda? My nursing instructor told us that aspartame (nutrasweet) is neurotoxic by allowing too much glutamate into the cells, which may eventually cause multiple sclerosis, parkinsons disease, alzheimers, brain lesions. She said that splenda is not as bad for you.

She also said that when you open the pop and all of the mist comes off of it, it is actually formaldehyde (embalming fluid), there is much more of it when the diet coke is at room temp.

Real pop is healthier for you than diet. You are not going to automatically die if you drink it, it happens slowly.

Did you realize that eating fruits and vegetables also forms formaldehyde in the body? Alarmism at it's best.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Yes I do, but the fruits and vegetables do not have aspartic acid in them, nor cause neurotoxic effects. I understand that many substances have formaldehyde but from what I understand they do not have many of the chemicals that diet pop has, and was just pointing out a few of them.

Lol, okay would you like me to tell you what has aspartic acid in it too? Meat, fish, poultry, legumes, etc. I could go on and on.
Again if you're going to state neurotoxic effects, please provide me with at least one peer reviewed scientific study that concludes that drinking diet soda causes this.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Sorry if I am wrong then:) You would think that you could trust nursing instructors to give you evidence based practice, but as I am looking it up it is very controversial. I did see that aspartic acid is also in other fruits/veg, not sure about the quantity of it compared to pop, but is still there. So I guess everything in moderation.

It's good to question it and not just take the word of someone who doesn't specialize in nutrition. Trust me when I say that I USED to believe the same thing until I actually did research. There's a lot in the fitness industry touting BS that has been passed on to people without any scientific research to back it up. EX: eating after 7pm, light weights/high reps to "tone" muscle, "functional" training. I believed a lot of the BS until I actually researched it and found out lots of it was smoke a mirrors. There is nothing wrong with questioning to increase your knowledge.

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jones137

I use diet coke to strip the finish off of my golf clubs (wedges). The stuff literally eats off the finish......it's better than CLR.

In terms of drinking it, see what I just said.

So will baking soda, but apparently it's okay to ingest. The hydrochloric acid in your stomach obliterates the fizz in any soft drink.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

In all honesty, I can say I've never eaten baking soda daily.

Diet coke has Phosphoric Acid in it which is what strips the finish off of metal. It actually neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach which we need to digest food.....from which nutrients are obtained......meaning a further loss of minerals in your body because of inadequate digestion. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from your body in an effort to satisfy the body's desire to balance phosphorus and calcium.

Having a diet coke a day is not going to kill you.....probably not going to have any effect, but is it good for you?

Alkalines neutralize acids. Acids don't neutralize other acids. Where are you coming up with this stuff? Recent research actually points to caffeine as the possible culprit to calcium loss.

http://www.ajcn.org/content/74/5/569.full

You're right on your last statement. It won't kill you (or else dead bodies would be everywhere) but being good? That's subjective. If it stops you from consuming high calorie sweets, then yes. If you're talking from a nutritional value, then no.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I got that information from a M.D. (David Reuben)

http://life.familyeducation.com/nutrition-and-diet/healthy-lifestyle/36000.html

Debbe2

Well I gave it all up and feel better than ever! Not claiming its cause and effect, just stating my personal facts.