Benefits of Giving Up Diet Coke.

littlecuteone

I have three new cavities in the last 6 months and I have already spent over $2,000 on fillings so far (prior to the 3 new ones). I blame it all on soda, diet or regular. The acids in soda eat away at the tooth enamel and cause decay. Those same acids can make your blood slightly more acidic (metabolic acidosis) and cause your bones to weaken.

I'm still trying to quit my addiction. I'm down to one diet Mt. Dew in the morning but only because I don't like coffee but I like caffeine. The rest of the day I'm drinking sweetened iced green tea and I am not missing the extra soda at all.

I just don't want to end up with dentures at a young age and a hump back and a broken hip when I'm old.

prettygirmel

I am in the process of doing a 30 day challenge to be soda free, I have not had one for 11 days. It has surprising been pretty easy for me considering I usually drink almost 2 liters of diet soda a day. Someone shared with me the chemicals and mad stuff that is in diet coke. Also, a dietician told me it doesn't help in digestion of fat and that might be what is keeping me from loosing fat in the midiff area anyway I have lost 4 pounds this week and have also not use as much spendla. You have to research and do what is best for you.

missworld95

Diet Coke has Aspartame -A sugar-replacement sweetener which is the basis of NutraSweet and Equal, and has been discovered to cause harm to the brain and nervouse system, causing anything from spasms or shooting pains, numbness, tinnitus, depression, impaired vision and memory loss to dizzyness.

i would stay as far away from it as u can. Its not natural and its not healthy

Who "discovered" this?? The FDA, Canadian Food Agency, and hundreds of other government bodies who employ lots of really clever (not google clever) people to make sure we don"t kill ourselves by eating poison sure as hell did not....

Honestly, I don't give a crap about what the FDA says... if it ain't natural, I'm not having any of it. FDA also approved a bunch of **** like diet pills, so I literally would never cite the FDA as a credible source for anything

PonyTailedLoser

It cleared up my complexion and I stopped having mood swings when I shook that diet coke monkey off my back

ShaneOSX

The benefits of giving up Diet Coke are pretty much limitless.

If you're a true soda addict I'd say gift yourself a Sodastream, buy the natural flavors, and just try to work the calories into your diet. Having to do so will have the effect of reducing how much you're consuming on a daily basis as well.

You can also buy Zevia soda from places like Whole Foods. It's natural and zero calories.

monicalosesweight

You can use the left over cans to clean off your battery terminals.

FYI - I had an uncle who was drinking a two liter body daily for years. He had a hip replacement and the docs told him he may have had too much and the coke actually cause loss of bone density. It might be the reason he needed the replacement. Needless to say, I have to ask if that isn't true only because of what it does to batteries.

monicalosesweight

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1184475/Drinking-cola-cause-weak-bones-paralysis-experts-warn.html

http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/198598.php

http://www.emedexpert.com/tips/soft-drinks.shtml

These are some links that might help you start reducing your coke consumption. I'm pretty much slowly getting rid of it to more of a weekly or biweekly treat (only the 90 calorie cans).

If that doesn't scare you...see this one:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035670_Coca-Cola_New_Zealand_death.html

jordanclark1993

Alright, so I read about 2 pages of this thread until I needed to give my opinion, and some info.

I drink about 1-2 cans of diet Coke/Pepsi a day. Anyone talking about the sodium in diet soda having effects on your body, probably don't realize the tiny amount of sodium in each can. In a 355ml can of diet Pepsi soda there is 50mg of sodium. 50MG!! That is 2% of the suggested daily amount of sodium. In a package of Mr. Noodle's chicken flavored, there is 1200mg of sodium, which is 50% of the suggested daily intake.

Also, I have yet to see actual studies ANYWHERE, where several people have had issues because of aspartame/diet soda. I see this story here, that story there, but no actual research that suggests it is harmful, and that you should worry about it. People always say aspartame is bad, but I always ask them "whom are your sources?", they always reply "well I don't know, but they just say it's about for you. "So I say 'who is 'they?'", and they have no answer.

In conclusion I believe you should not worry about diet soda, or the aspartame that is in it. I started drinking it when I started MyFitnessPal at the beginning of June, and have dropped from 217.4lbs to 190.4lbs (27lbs). Just limiting my eating at night, and NEVER going over on any day for MyFitnessPal, on anything. Not going over on sugars, sodium, fat, calories, etc. As well as moderate exercise and weight lifting to ensure I don't lose muscle. I hope to lose another 20-25lbs to get into the "Normal" BMI section for my height (5', 11").

Oh yeah, and one more thing. I can't remember the website where I read this, I'm sure if I googled hard enough I could find it, but it was a study where they pumped aspartame into sheep (the equivalent of 30 cans of diet soda) and basically nothing happened haha. As well the reason diet soda is only 0 calories is because aspartame and all of the other sweeteners are 100s of times sweeter than sugar, so they just have to use a little amount, that ends up being under a calorie.

As well I just saw this link from monicaloosesw: http://www.naturalnews.com/035670_Coca-Cola_New_Zealand_death.html

Why would this ever scare you!?! If someone is so stupid that they drink 10 litres of diet soda a day, and smoke 30 cigarettes a day while eating barely any food, of course you're going to die! Jeepers, some people. Just eat like a normal person, drink a couple cans a day, and you'll survive.

Anyways, I hope I helped someone in there decision to either drop diet soda, or keep drinking it. That's my 2¢!

Edit: P.S. I have seen absolutely no side effects from diet soda, so anyone that has gotten cancer, died, or any other issue with diet soda/aspartame, probably has some very rare disease that they were born with that is being effected by the soda/aspartame.

jsabet

Diet or not, it can have an effect on your bodies PH level, which in turn could cause issues for you.

FTW7

Diet Coke has a sugar substitute, 'aspartame'. Some say aspartame causes cancer but no scientific research has proved it. If you're interested in some potential adverse effects of diet coke in the event it is a part of your "DAILY" ingestion, see below:


http://www.sweetpoison.com/articles/0706/aspartame_symptoms_submit.html


Some of the 92 long-term and immediate adverse effects of aspartame ingestion are:

Abdominal Pain
Anxiety attacks
Arthritis
Asthma
Asthmatic Reactions
Bloating, Edema (Fluid Retention)
Blood Sugar Control Problems (Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia)
Brain Cancer (Pre-approval studies in animals)
Breathing difficulties
Burning eyes or throat
Burning Urination
Can't think straight
Chest Pains
Chronic cough
Chronic Fatigue
Confusion
Death--Seroously?! Well if I die w/a siet coke in my hand..Then
I died happy! Lol
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Excessive Thirst or Hunger
Fatigue
Feel unreal
Flushing of face
Hair Loss (Baldness) or Thinning of Hair
Headaches/Migraines dizziness
Hearing Loss
Heart palpitations
Hives (Urticaria)
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Hysterical pregnancy
Impotency and Sexual Problems
Inability to concentrate
Infection Susceptibility
Insomnia
Irritability
Itching
Joint Pains
Laryngitis
"Like thinking in a fog"
Marked Personality Changes
Memory loss
Menstrual Problems or Changes
Migraines and Severe Headaches (Trigger or Cause From Chronic Intake)
Muscle spasms
Nausea or Vomiting
Numbness or Tingling of Extremities
Other Allergic-Like Reactions
Panic Attacks
Phobias
Poor memory
Rapid Heart Beat
Rashes
Seizures and Convulsions
Slurring of Speech
Swallowing Pain
Tachycardia
Tremors
Tinnitus
Vertigo
Vision Loss
Weight gain
In addition, aspartame can mimic symptoms or worsen the following diseases:
Fibromyalgia
Arthritis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
Parkinson's Disease
Lupus
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)
Diabetes and Diabetic Complications
Epilepsy
Alzheimer's Disease
Birth Defects
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lymphoma
Lyme Disease
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
Panic Disorder
Depression and other Psychological Disorders

jsabet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI how diet soda causes weight gain.

lja1982

I have some kidney problems and for a while blood tests kept showing my phosphate levels were too high, so much so I was going to be prescribed phosphate binding medication. A dietician advised me to stop drinking so much coke as it contains a lot of phosphate and, since doing so, my results have been fine.

jordanclark1993

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI how diet soda causes weight gain.

All I know is that I've seen a great amount of weight loss, while still drinking diet soda.

Witchmoo

I stopped drinking it not for weight or health reasons but purely because the dentist could tell I drank a lot as my tooth enamel was starting to thin.....good enough reason for me.....my teeth are the only thing I like about me I'll be damned if I'm losing my teeth just for fizzy pop!

jordanclark1993

I stopped drinking it not for weight or health reasons but purely because the dentist could tell I drank a lot as my tooth enamel was starting to thin.....good enough reason for me.....my teeth are the only thing I like about me I'll be damned if I'm losing my teeth just for fizzy pop!

Yes this is a problem for sure.

SuperstarDJ

The caffeine and phosphoric acid will lower your bone density and contribute to, or - in large quantities - even cause osteoporosis.

Google aspartame and see what that does to your body (although, these days, I think you'd have to be living under a rock not to know something about the dangers of artificial sweeteners).

tashaa1992

Aside from the obvious, saves on money, etc, the one I have noticed is my skin is smooth and clear for the first time in years. I only gave it up three days ago, but if this is the result I'm going to get from not drinking it then I'm all for it, it's soo worth it. I have stopped craving it too.

wingednotes

It was addictive for me. It took almost 3 weeks to stop craving it. Then I noticed I was thinking clearer - I think it was making me moody.

ninjakitty81

I drank minimum 6 cans a day for years, also for years I had bad acne, tried everything for it, pro active, tetracycline, creams etc. Nothing worked so I just dealt with it. About 6 or 7 months ago I decided to cut out the pop. My acne disappeared, now if I drink just 1 can, I have a break out the next day. All the time and money and scars because of diet coke. I should have put the two together, I only started drinking it about 5 years ago, thats when all the issues started.

GnochhiGnomes

I currently drink about 3 diets cokes every day. I also drink lots of water. I started driking diet coke because it was zero calories and it gave me my soda fix. I am considering giving it up but I think its going to be tough. What are the benefits of giving it up that I can look foward to? Is it worth it?

Its not worth it. Diet coke for life! :drinker:

Akimajuktuq

Diet Coke has Aspartame -A sugar-replacement sweetener which is the basis of NutraSweet and Equal, and has been discovered to cause harm to the brain and nervouse system, causing anything from spasms or shooting pains, numbness, tinnitus, depression, impaired vision and memory loss to dizzyness.

i would stay as far away from it as u can. Its not natural and its not healthy

Who "discovered" this?? The FDA, Canadian Food Agency, and hundreds of other government bodies who employ lots of really clever (not google clever) people to make sure we don"t kill ourselves by eating poison sure as hell did not....

Naive ^

Are you even remotely aware that NO agency at all (yet) does testing looking at synergistic effects of all the chemicals that we consume and all the toxins that we are exposed to in our products and environments? These studies test one thing in near isolation. Also, these agencies care nothing about the Precautionary Principle, they base their safety studies (which are often streamlined and don't include children and pregnant women) on LD50 studies, usually on rodents. These studies are not proof of safety and recently it was found that obesogens (new word-look it up) can actually do more damage in minute amounts, then large amounts, which is how they were originally deemed "safe". (I'm not doing your research, go do your own).

If you actually did some research into the various Food Agencies that are supposedly "protecting" everyone, you would be very surprised at what you will find. The conflicts of interest are astounding. But I suppose it's just a coincidence that lots of those people have ties to chemical and pharmaceutical companies.

Go ahead, have blind faith, but spreading that kind of faith harms other people.

There's my opinion. Take it or leave it.

hpettenger

I don't know how true this is, but I stumbled upon it today. Makes ya think!

http://consumermedianetwork.s3.amazonaws.com/termlife/soda-full.png

cmeade20

One benefit I can think of is you don't have to taste diet coke.Blech

marijasmin

We use diet coke to clean coins and toilets. Very effective- will also remove rust and oxides from aluminium screws. Takes scum from kettles
No way I want that internally?

Or do I

Love the taste though.

Jasmin

Akimajuktuq

Alright, so I read about 2 pages of this thread until I needed to give my opinion, and some info.

I drink about 1-2 cans of diet Coke/Pepsi a day. Anyone talking about the sodium in diet soda having effects on your body, probably don't realize the tiny amount of sodium in each can. In a 355ml can of diet Pepsi soda there is 50mg of sodium. 50MG!! That is 2% of the suggested daily amount of sodium. In a package of Mr. Noodle's chicken flavored, there is 1200mg of sodium, which is 50% of the suggested daily intake.

Also, I have yet to see actual studies ANYWHERE, where several people have had issues because of aspartame/diet soda. I see this story here, that story there, but no actual research that suggests it is harmful, and that you should worry about it. People always say aspartame is bad, but I always ask them "whom are your sources?", they always reply "well I don't know, but they just say it's about for you. "So I say 'who is 'they?'", and they have no answer.

In conclusion I believe you should not worry about diet soda, or the aspartame that is in it. I started drinking it when I started MyFitnessPal at the beginning of June, and have dropped from 217.4lbs to 190.4lbs (27lbs). Just limiting my eating at night, and NEVER going over on any day for MyFitnessPal, on anything. Not going over on sugars, sodium, fat, calories, etc. As well as moderate exercise and weight lifting to ensure I don't lose muscle. I hope to lose another 20-25lbs to get into the "Normal" BMI section for my height (5', 11").

Oh yeah, and one more thing. I can't remember the website where I read this, I'm sure if I googled hard enough I could find it, but it was a study where they pumped aspartame into sheep (the equivalent of 30 cans of diet soda) and basically nothing happened haha. As well the reason diet soda is only 0 calories is because aspartame and all of the other sweeteners are 100s of times sweeter than sugar, so they just have to use a little amount, that ends up being under a calorie.

As well I just saw this link from monicaloosesw: http://www.naturalnews.com/035670_Coca-Cola_New_Zealand_death.html

Why would this ever scare you!?! If someone is so stupid that they drink 10 litres of diet soda a day, and smoke 30 cigarettes a day while eating barely any food, of course you're going to die! Jeepers, some people. Just eat like a normal person, drink a couple cans a day, and you'll survive.

Anyways, I hope I helped someone in there decision to either drop diet soda, or keep drinking it. That's my 2¢!

Edit: P.S. I have seen absolutely no side effects from diet soda, so anyone that has gotten cancer, died, or any other issue with diet soda/aspartame, probably has some very rare disease that they were born with that is being effected by the soda/aspartame.

One thing that annoys me on MFP is people who keep saying there are "no studies" in response to a variety of topics. There are many, many reputable studies that show that aspartame, and other beloved sweeteners, can cause very serious health issues. Just because you don't want to find them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

Hey, if you like diet pop, and you think it's safe to consume; go for it. But to actually get on this site and suggest it is safe and assure everyone that there are no studies, that's irresponsible. Funny thing about research, and even scientists are at times guilty of this, people tend to look only at evidence that supports their current belief (or hypothesis if you wish).

Rant over. As usual, everything is my own opinion. The info is out there, do your own research.

jenniferdances1

I've always heard that aspartame is bad for you. I used to drink a lot of diet drinks. I gave them up a couple of years ago and now I can't even drink a whole one. They just don't satisfy my thirst and they're just too sweet.

lukeout007

I have no solid evidence for this but this is what steers me away from it...I think about the amount of chemicals that go into the soda to make it taste the same but take out the calories and I can't imagine that's good for your body at all.

Now. That may be very inaccurate but that's what I believe and it works for me lol

Exactly...

The amount of chemicals isn't worth it...especially when it doesn't taste even close to regular coke. If I'm going to put that many chemicals in my body I'll take the calorie hit and enjoy it.

igora_soma

Maybe cut back to 1-2 cans a day and see if that helps you satisfy your craving? You don't want to give yourself headaches from withdrawl, but I don't see why you should stop drinking them.

I LOVE diet Hansen's diet cola or diet rootbeer. Try that maybe? Everything in moderation is always a good rule to live by

drmerc

I have no solid evidence for this but this is what steers me away from it...I think about the amount of chemicals that go into the soda to make it taste the same but take out the calories and I can't imagine that's good for your body at all.

Now. That may be very inaccurate but that's what I believe and it works for me lol

Exactly...

The amount of chemicals isn't worth it...especially when it doesn't taste even close to regular coke. If I'm going to put that many chemicals in my body I'll take the calorie hit and enjoy it.

News flash, all food has chemicals in it
Hell you are made of chemicals

Oh wait sorry I forgot what we were doing in this thread, let me get back to it

BAAAAAHHH BAAAAAAAAAH

lukeout007

I have no solid evidence for this but this is what steers me away from it...I think about the amount of chemicals that go into the soda to make it taste the same but take out the calories and I can't imagine that's good for your body at all.

Now. That may be very inaccurate but that's what I believe and it works for me lol

Exactly...

The amount of chemicals isn't worth it...especially when it doesn't taste even close to regular coke. If I'm going to put that many chemicals in my body I'll take the calorie hit and enjoy it.

News flash, all food has chemicals in it
Hell you are made of chemicals

Oh wait sorry I forgot what we were doing in this thread, let me get back to it

BAAAAAHHH BAAAAAAAAAH

That's really your argument? I'm made of chemicals? Well in that case I might as well eat my own *kitten* and drink my own piss! Thanks man!

*Goes to start new weight loss trend that will catch on with MFP in mere minutes*