The "Diet Soda Will Kill You" Conspiracy

lizblizz2012

Okay, I'm going to preface this post by saying: Diet soda is not "healthy". It is not good to chug 60 oz of Diet Coke every day. Now there will be no way for anyone to say I'm advocating that diet pop is good for you.

I have no problem with people choosing not to drink diet pop. What has irked me on this site is people chastising others for drinking it, saying it will kill you in the long run, make you gain weight, give you cancer, yada yada. Yes there are artificial sweeteners and chemicals in it. But unless you have a farm, and everything you eat goes straight from the ground/animal to your mouth, 90% of what you eat is GOING TO HAVE CHEMICALS IN IT.

Like I said, a gallon of diet pop a day is bad... and yeah it probably will do damage to your health in the long run. Just like if you eat 100 heads of lettuce in one day it's going to negatively impact your health. But people like myself who drink a 12 oz can of diet caffeine free Mtn Dew every few days in addition to the recommended water consumption don't need to be harassed. When I feel a sweet craving, or a fast food craving, I grab a diet pop. I like the bubbles. (diet caffeine free mtn dew is the only diet pop I can stand). By drinking, say, 3 diet pops a week I can cut down on the amount of junk I eat, because it satisfies the craving without actually having the calories. And yes, I've heard the whole "If you didn't drink it at all, you wouldn't have the cravings!" But that is false. By not drinking diet pop, a person will not magically forget what a cookie tastes like.

Sorry, but I needed to vent. All you diet drinkers who still maintain a healthy diet/lifestyle, you drink that diet soda and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it. You can still lose weight, in fact many of you already have. I don't dislike clean eaters, either. It's great that they can make that commitment, it really is. But leave me and my Diet Dew alone! :sad:

magj0y

With soda, diet or not, it's not your health you have to look out for, it's your teeth. I'm all for moderation, but here are the facts.
*And even in moderation, it's damaging with every one you have, especially if you can't brush or rinse your teeth out afterwards.
*If you like tea, you can brew it with a bit of baking soda to level it out which is what I do. Not for the PH, but because it tastes better.



"Let’s look at some of the most popular soft drinks. The source of this information is from the Minnesota Dental Association per 12 fluid ounces. First, let’s put acidity levels into perspective: Pure water pH is 7.0 and battery acid pH is 1.00. Research indicates anything below a 5.5 pH will dissolve your teeth. Pepsi’s pH is 2.49, Coke Classic is 2.53 Dr. Pepper is 2.92, Mountain Dew is 3.22 and Sprite is 3.42. Diet sodas are not much better: Diet Pepsi is 3.05, Diet Coke is 3.39, Diet Mountain Dew is 3.34 and Diet Dr. Pepper is 3.41."

while dr P and dew do the least amount of damage, you're still rotting your teeth, and it's very expensive to fix.

You might be able to find your choice of drink here;
http://www.smileshappen.com/PatientInfo/FoodstoAvoid.aspx or http://www.21stcenturydental.com/smith/pH_drinks.htm
Thankfully, my choice, when I drink which is rare, Diet barq's

This is why pediatricians advocate not giving kids much juice or juicy drinks.

Again, this isn't about the health of the majority of your body, just your ($$$$) teeth.