Diet Soda Opinions?

CyberEd312 · August 2012

Again no disrespect intended but naive would be a word that far describe myself. I have spent the last 38 months researching, studying, looking at peer review studies, naturally losing 311 lbs. (nothing against my WLS friends out there just wasn't my approach to this), studying the effects of food on Diabetes (Yes I am a type 2 diabetic), researching exercise and its applications and just having an understanding of how the body responds to weight loss. I have seen the ingredients in just about every make up of food and have looked at vegan, vegetarian, and regular diets as well as others and have just walk away with my own personal opinion that a couple cans of diet pepsi a day while drinking 1/2 my body weight in oz. of water a day is not going to significantly shorten my life expectancy. If it does I will be the first to say I , oh wait no I won't be able too... lol... This is just my opinion and I respect your stance just don't agree with you.....

jimzisa · August 2012

The naysayers are right. My MD explained how any soda kept me from losing weight - he threw in all caffeine to boot - and after I gave it all up, the weight loss returned. Word.

ASDavis72 · August 2012

You can also use Splenda as an ant killer.

CyberEd312 · August 2012

Would love to see a link to this study please...... thank you

AmyFett · August 2012

lots of people are in the medical field, doesn't mean they're perfect. Look at all the fat doctors and nurses, or ones who smoke. Does that mean smoking is okay for you too?

headlock_lynn · August 2012

I enjoy a can of diet ginger ale when I get back from my bike ride. It's nice and refreshing. Otherwise I drink water throughout the day apart from my pot of tea at breakfast and glass of wine with supper. I think everyone has to do what works for them. My daughter scoffs at me drinking diet ginger ale. "It's so bad for you mom" but she will drink a regular can of pop! go figure!. Some people do have trouble with them. I think as long as it doesn't affect you then one a day doesn't hurt. Like my glass of wine.

mandyl1242 · August 2012

Whoa, First off I'm not "blabbing". These are facts, look them up. Read. I posted a few websites, you are welcome to check them out. Secondly, I don't care if you believe what I am saying is true. I believe the title of this thread was "Diet soda opinions". That was my opinion. I'm not here to post every website google brings up. Go ahead and check them out, maybe you will learn something. Stop trying to be insulting.

velmaisvelma · August 2012

I notice that on weeks I up my diet coke, and down my water, I don't lose weight or gain a pound. So, I stick with water, don't quite understand 100% the science behind the "no calorie" gain, but I've seen the proof!!

redraidergirl2009 · August 2012

Being human has been correlated to contracting cancer.

rml_16 · August 2012

Of course not. But she used her cardiologist father to back up her opinion. I can throw a bunch of docs and nurses and RDs in there who disagree.

FuzzieJelly · August 2012

i drink approx 100 oz of water daily...diet sodas make me gain weight so i try not to have them but every once in a while...when i do drink a soda i choose sprite

hope that helps you with making a HEALTHY decision!

RainHoward · August 2012

I love MFP, where a simple request for opinions turns into a full blown argument, every time. People suck.

mspacmaninkyblinkypinkyclyde · August 2012

Here’s an article from The Los Angeles Times
July 1, 2011 written by Marissa Cevallos

Diet soda and weight gain: The connection may be, in a way, what you think.

Diet soda may indeed be associated with weight gain, as a new study suggests, but the fault may lie in your head, not necessarily your metabolism.
In a study that has sparked headlines along the lines of “Diet soda makes you fat,” researchers found that people who drank diet soda for nearly a decade gained more stomach pudge than diet-drink abstainers.
The study wasn’t huge or broad, assessing only 474 elderly participants from the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging. But it concluded that those who drank two or more diet soft drinks a day had the largest waistline increases—about five times more than that of non-drinkers. The results, which haven’t been published or peer-reviewed, were announced this week at a meeting of the American Diabetes Assn. in San Diego.
The researchers, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, were fairly measured, writing in their abstract:
“Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised: they may be free of calories, but not of consequences.”
Note that this doesn’t mean artificially sweetened sodas make you gain weight. (See "For the record" below.)* As Richard Mattes, a nutrition scientist at Purdue University, points out: Heavy people simply might choose to consume diet drinks more.
Mattes has studied how artificial sweeteners affect appetite and food intake. He believes that many studies reporting a link between diet soda and weight gain are actually hitting on a behavioral phenomenon—people think they can eat more calories because they’ve swapped their regular soda for a Coke Zero.
“That’s not a fault of the product itself, but it’s how people chose to use it,” he says. “Simply adding them to the diet does not promote weight gain or weight loss.”
The recent study didn’t track how many calories people consumed, though it did consider age, sex, education, neighborhood, diabetes status, leisure activity level and smoking status.
Study co-author Sharon Fowler, an epidemiologist, agrees – to a point. Yes, the diet drink association is partly psychological, she says, but she also believes there could be physiological explanations for why chemicals in diet sodas could lead to weight gain.
In rodent studies, researchers have observed artificial sweeteners stimulating cells in the pancreas to change insulin secretion, altering the pH in the gut, and affecting hunger-regulating cells in the brain. Fowler and colleagues also reported this week that diabetes-prone mice exposed to aspartame for three months had higher blood-sugar levels than those not exposed at all.
Previous studies have found links between obesity and diet drink consumption.
“My feeling is there is something going on here,” says Fowler.
But rodent studies and associations are a far cry from causation.
Dariush Mozaffarian, a Harvard epidemiologist who recently studied how a long list of food and drinks contribute differently to weight gain, says zero-calorie soda could be a good choice for people trying to lose weight, calling it an “intermediate step” to going “cold turkey” with sweets and soda.
“Artificial sweeteners may be a good short-term option to bridge people away from refined sugars, but consuming moderate or high amounts long-term should be avoided as possible," he wrote in an email.
The main issue, he said, is again, less about biological reactions than about our perception of sweetness: “We don't know how consuming artificially sweetened drinks and foods alter tastes and preferences for other healthy foods, especially in children. For example, do apples or carrots taste just as sweet to someone who consumes high amounts of artificial sweeteners?"
Obviously, the mind can play tricks on the tongue.
Mattes said when people are given either regular or diet products, but aren’t told which they received, they generally reduce their total number of calories.
This suggests one strategy for those who don’t want to switch to water or unsweetened coffee or tea: When you drink diet soda, try to convince yourself it’s regular.

mandyl1242 · August 2012

Mmm, cardio thoracic, not cardiologist.....big difference. I wasn't "bragging" about him being a surgeon. I was stating what his opinions were on the matter. I happen to come from a medical family and I take their advice. Wow, people must be hungry on the thread, there's a lot of hostility.

ASDavis72 · August 2012

I’m not trying to change anyone’s mind; we’re all adults and can research and make our own decisions; however here is some literature I ran across a few days ago when my brother approached me with the same inquiry.

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-reasons-aspartame-is-bad-for-you.html

5 Reasons Aspartame Is Bad for You

Aspartame is a non-calorie artificial sweetener comprised of methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is used in diet sodas and thousands of other products worldwide. Since it appeared on the US market in the 1980s, aspartame and the possible health risks from the substance have been a topic of much debate. Research has linked the sweetener to diabetes, fibromyalgia and certain forms of cancer. Here are some of the dangers of excessive aspartame consumption.

Cancer:Studies have found a dangerous connection between aspartame consumption and the development of brain tumors. When aspartame breaks down it produces a substance called DKP. As your stomach digests DKP, it produces a chemical that induces the growth of brain tumors.

Diabetes:Aspartame consumption is extremely harmful to people with diabetes. It makes it more difficult to control sugar levels and aggravate diabetes-related conditions such as retinopathy, cataracts, neuropathy and gastroparesis. The sweetener also has been known to cause convulsions often mistaken for insulin reactions.

Psychological Disorders: Emotional and mood disorders have been linked to aspartame. Studies suggest that people with certain emotional problems are more sensitive to aspartame. High levels of aspartame cause changes in the serotonin levels which can lead to behavioral problems, depression and other emotional disorders. In some cases, the side effects were so dangerous that doctors were forced to put an end to the studies.

Hinders Weight Loss:Aspartame can be found in diet sodas and most other diet products. However, research indicates that the sweetener increases your hunger and can actually impede your weight loss. Phenylalanine and aspartic acid can cause spikes in insulin levels and force your body to remove the glucose from your blood stream and store it as fat. Aspartame also inhibits the production of serotonin and prevents your brain from signalling to your body that you are full. This can lead to food cravings and make it more difficult for you to lose weight.

Birth Defects: Aspartame is an excitotoxin or a substance that has the potential to damage or kill cells in the nervous system. The blood-brain barrier is a structure that stops harmful substances from penetrating the brain. The barrier doesn't completely form until a child is one year old, therefore, before a child is born, its nervous system is vulnerable to any dangerous excitotoxins that the mother may consume. Too much exposure to phenylalanine or aspartic acid may cause irreversible brain damage and other serious birth defects.

Vision Problems: Methanol, one of Aspartame's components, can damage the retinas and the optic nerves. Aspartame consumption has been connected to eye pain, blurred vision and, in some cases, blindness.

Brain Damage and Seizures: Aspartame can change the chemistry of the brain. Formaldehyde, a product of methanol, gathers in certain areas of the brain causing degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS. Aspartame consumption can also trigger seizures in both epileptics and other individuals without a history of epilepsy.

Aspartame may contain fewer calories than sugar, however, the toxic sweetener has the potential to cause serious damage to the nervous system and in the worst case scenarios can be fatal

no1canadianangel · August 2012

I find it hilarious that people rather listen to doctors who will put you on any type of medication before they talk to you about your diet...

maremare312 · August 2012

The burden of proof is on you when you tell people not do something for such and such a reason. I don't even drink diet soda, and don't care one way or the other about artificial sweeteners, your attitude is just terrible. If you tell people to do something, you need to back up. And yeah, it is blabbing to me.

We're gonna die from diet soda!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! blab!

mandyl1242 · August 2012

It's because people are rude

no1canadianangel · August 2012

She did back up it with a whole bunch of links!!!!

mandyl1242 · August 2012

Yes, MY attitude is terrible. :laugh: I'm done any further discussions with you. You are here to be rude. I was stating my opinion. Have a good night.

mandyl1242 · August 2012

Thanks

LorinaLynn · August 2012

And the only one from a reputable source is the "http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387446/" one, which is a letter to the editor.

The rest are propaganda sites.

I wouldn't take a site called "sweet poison" or "aspartame kills" as an unbiased source any more than I'd go to Diet Coke's website for research.

It's like going to a website called "a pitbull ate my baby" to find out if pits are really dangerous dogs or if the media hype is just hype.

maremare312 · August 2012

My purpose is definitely not to be rude, and I'm sorry if it came across that way. Like I said, I don't care one way or the other but yes, people don't seem to understand what good sources are. Blogs, newspaper articles, etc are not good sources. Medical and government sites are better. I've still never seen any studies that seem to apply across the board to humans.

heretic911 · August 2012

A couple of years ago I switched to flavored seltzer without sodium for a change from plain water, i know some say any carbonated beverage isn't good but I found it a fair compromise.

AnninStPaul · August 2012

I lost five by quitting diet soda, all diet sweeteners, and high fructose corn syrup. Diet soda has some sodium and the caramel coloring (I was a diet Coke fan) also causes water retention.

I now start every day with a 20oz bottle of sparkling water, sometimes two, even before coffee.

mandyl1242 · August 2012

Well, it's been fun. I hope everyone has a great night and good luck down the road with that yummy artificial sweetener!! :laugh:

rml_16 · August 2012

Where did I insult you?

And the "people must be hungry" fat card is not appreciated nor necessary. Someone in this conversation most certainly is rude.

jcr85 · August 2012

Yeah it has caused cancer, brain tumors, holes in the brain and all sorts of other disease in rats at like 500 times the normal amount consumed by humans.

SocialRopes · August 2012

i'm no expert, but i drink diet drinks just about every day. usually twice. i did it before i lost 60 lbs and i still do it today. i did it when i was at 38% body fat, and i still do it at 17% body fat.

lwagnitz · August 2012

Makes me bloat and retain water, so I steer clear from it. I'll go for carbonated water with crystal light or something. The only reason I ever "crave" soda, is because of the fizzies

So, that works for me. Even carbonated water with lemon or something. They have flavored stuff too.

Diet Soda Opinions?

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