Diet drinks - what's your take?

ebony__

The pink energy drink I like doesn't use aspArtame.

ebony__

A heap of people are saying they know how unhealthy it is what why exactly is it that bad?

BinaryPulsar

The one thing that I do know about diet soda is that they have high levels of citric acid and phosphoric acid and they are very bad for teeth enamel. For some reason people don't seem to know that, but you can just ask any dentist. And they have no nutritional value (such as vitamin c in citrus fruits), so that makes the damage to the teeth not worth it (for me). I don't care if other people drink them. But, it's not for me. They also cause me bloating and abdominal distress. And I don't like the taste, so it's not a deprivation to me. Regular soda is also bad for your teeth (of course).

Very true, my dentist tells me this all the time. He really encourages never "sipping" on soda or coffee because its terrible for your teeth. He is also very against lemon drops.

Also adding lemon to your water and drinking that all day is not good for the teeth (but at least it has vitamin C and bioflavonoids and all of that). I still have lemon juice, but not all day long.

ebony__

i drink diet iced tea cuz it's cheap and sweet without being too bad. I don't like the taste of diet soda, but i do like zevia which is a diet soda made with stevia. i've tried their cream soda and ginger root beer. very yummy.

May have to look for that. Stevia is great

JennyLisT

I don't drink soda often enough that this is a major issue in my big picture. However, I CANNOT stand the taste of the sweeteners in diet sodas. I can't even use drinks like diet coke in things like rum & coke because no amount of rum can make that crap tolerable.

baptiste565

there is nothing wrong with diet drinks. love em. real sugar is dangerous if not taken in moderation.

Mellie289

I can't stand the taste of aspartame and I consider it poison. I drink water, and if I really want a soda, which is a few times a year, I go for the sugary ones. I'm not a soda addict.

Diet soda doesn't sound much better than the sugary version. A little quote (slide 2) out of this link http://www.everydayhealth.com/photogallery/reasons-to-kick-your-soda-habit.aspx#/slide-1

"Diet Soda and Weight Gain
We know that drinking sugar- and calorie-filled soda leads to weight gain, but it may surprise you to learn that even diet soda can contribute to unwanted pounds. In the San Antonio Heart Study, which tracked 3,682 adults over a seven- to eight-year period, those who drank artificially sweetened beverages had body mass indexes up to 47 percent greater than people who did not imbibe. It’s not completely clear why zero-calorie drinks lead to weight gain, but researchers believe that diet soda drinkers have unhealthier diets overall than those who skip soda completely."

I don't know about all the research that's out there, but I do know, as others have already discussed, that the acidity in soda (diet or regular) eats away tooth enamel. It is also linked with osteoperosis. Is it cause and effect though or that soda is being consumed instead of something healthier? I don't know.

AmandaTWaH

A heap of people are saying they know how unhealthy it is what why exactly is it that bad?

The long term effects of aspartame haven't been tested and many people think that it may lead to cancer. There isn't any proof of this but there isn't any solid proof against it either.

One big issue is that it makes you crave carbs. It is also very high in sodium. Generally, a bit isn't going to hurt you but it is a good idea to consume it only in moderation... like with most foods.

baptiste565

Diet coke has alot of sodium??? i have to look that up

ebony__

A heap of people are saying they know how unhealthy it is what why exactly is it that bad?

The long term effects of aspartame haven't been tested and many people think that it may lead to cancer. There isn't any proof of this but there isn't any solid proof against it either.

One big issue is that it makes you crave carbs. It is also very high in sodium. Generally, a bit isn't going to hurt you but it is a good idea to consume it only in moderation... like with most foods.

Cheers. Is it just the aspartame though because that's not in all diet drinks!!!
And I can just cut down on those ones.

The suggestions that it makes you crave things isn't an issue for me. I'm counting my calories so Im strict About what I eat regardless. ( I haven't noticed anything like this though, I seem to eat less on days I have one )

aliceguy

I so very, very infrequently drink diet soft drinks. I drink water at home and at work. But, I recently bought a bottle of diet lemonade at the petrol station(to get a bigger discount on my fuel) and I noticed the lemonade made me so incredibly thirsty. I had never really encountered anything like it. I was thinking this bottle would last me about 5 days but my thirst made me finish it all that night.
Can the sweeteners they put in the drinks be doing this??

thalls

A lot of the drinks companies are moving to stevia as a sweetener now - I work for one of them and there's been a conscious push, certainly in Europe, to try and make the move over.

Working for one of these companies is tough, but we do plenty of bottled water, so I try to stick to that, with the occasional diet soda if I'm trying to put off a sugar craving.

126siany

I you like diet drinks and are not battling a sweet tooth, I think they're fine. It's more important that you stay hydrated IMO than to be a purist about water.

If you struggle with a sweet tooth, however, I think you're shooting yourself in the foot with most sweetened diet drinks, because you're training yourself to like unnaturally sweet flavors.

ebony__

Thanks for the posts everyone. I'm feeling pretty ok about having my 2-3 a weeks especially since they don't have Aspartame in them
Will look out for stevia ones ( or perhaps make my own)
Stevia is a natural sweetener, my dad has it growing it's a great sugar alternative

SideSteel

Aspartame is broken down into phenylalanine and aspartic acid (two amino acids) and methanol. All three of these ingredients are also delivered to your body in much higher doses by eating chicken and bananas.

Aspartame is not harmful at normal human doses.


If it gives you headahces, or even if you THINK it gives you headaches, then don't drink it. That's about 5% of the population.
If you don't enjoy the taste, don't drink it.

But don't think that it's some secret government poison because it's not.


.....and if you're the 300lb guy trying to get his *kitten* together and get in shape, you're going to want to get as much enjoyment out of this as possible for adherence reasons. If diet soda is part of that, so be it.

robin52077

I drink a 24oz diet pepsi every day. Whatever. It's not going to kill you.

I don't smoke, I don't drink, I've never done any illegal drugs...
People need to stop trying to take away my damn diet pepsi and my coffee, (with splenda! What you gonna say about THAT?)!

CyberEd312

I copied and pasted this from a post I made on another Diet Soda thread from a week ago:

Aspartame has been around in many of our foods for decades now. The ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) for aspartame (which is 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight), an average adult would have to consume about 20 cans of diet soft drink, or 42 servings of sugar-free gelatin,or 97 packets of an aspartame-containing tabletop sweetener each day—which is obviously not likely. The main make up of Aspartame is Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, and Methanol in that order. A 12 oz. can of diet soda contains (Phenylalanine 90mg, Aspartic Acid 72mg and Methanol 18mg) in comparison a 3 oz. Chicken Breast has (Phenylalanine 1,059mg, Aspartic Acid 2,377mg and Methanol 0mg) knowing this will you stop eating chicken (that is if you currently are??) No disrespect but diet soda gets more of a knock than other foods we probably consume more of that contains a lot more aspartame...

So my question to those that get headaches, do you get them after eating chicken breast too???? Because if it truly is the aspartame that is causing your headaches then chicken breasts should be giving you severe migraines.... Just curious.....

Culley34

I like a diet fountain soda after I play golf or on occasion, I'll have a glass with dinner or lunch. Otherwise, I typically drink water.

ebony__

I copied and pasted this from a post I made on another Diet Soda thread from a week ago:

Aspartame has been around in many of our foods for decades now. The ADI (Acceptable Daily Intake) for aspartame (which is 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight), an average adult would have to consume about 20 cans of diet soft drink, or 42 servings of sugar-free gelatin,or 97 packets of an aspartame-containing tabletop sweetener each day—which is obviously not likely. The main make up of Aspartame is Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, and Methanol in that order. A 12 oz. can of diet soda contains (Phenylalanine 90mg, Aspartic Acid 72mg and Methanol 18mg) in comparison a 3 oz. Chicken Breast has (Phenylalanine 1,059mg, Aspartic Acid 2,377mg and Methanol 0mg) knowing this will you stop eating chicken (that is if you currently are??) No disrespect but diet soda gets more of a knock than other foods we probably consume more of that contains a lot more aspartame...

So my question to those that get headaches, do you get them after eating chicken breast too???? Because if it truly is the aspartame that is causing your headaches then chicken breasts should be giving you severe migraines.... Just curious.....

Thanks for this

ironanimal

Monster Absolute Zero is the solution to having to get up too early.