Diet Soda vs. Crystal Light

sahm23ladies
sahm23ladies Posts: 91 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I quit regular soda ages ago & finally gave up diet soda last November. I wonder if all the talk about diet soda being worse for you than regular, making you crave sweets & being full of chemicals and fake sugar means that drinks like Crystal Light considered the same?

Right now, if it's not coffee or hot tea, (or beer!) I basically only drink water. I've never been a fan of it & that's all I drink... day in and day out. It gets kinda boring.

So, should Crystal Light be considered as bad as a diet soda?

:drinker:
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Replies

  • Richie2shoes
    Richie2shoes Posts: 411 Member
    I quit diet soda back in April, I was drinking 60-80 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew a day! I still use sweet n low in my iced tea and use crystal light. My personal experience is that I don't drink as much crystal light as I did soda. I don't know why but I always gulped soda down and sip iced tea and crystal light. I also notice that I don't have as much urge to snack like I did when I was drinking soda.

    I guess any chemical is bad for you, but I like it so I'm going to drink it.
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    i think one of the main issues with soda is the use of all the chemicals and coloring that go into it, namely formaldehyde and phosphorus. you can probably find most of these ingredients in a lot of other foods we eat, however. crystal light has fewer ingredients and is added to actual water, not carbonated and caffeinated water that only serves to dehydrate you and contributes nothing to your physical well-being.
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    Neither have to be avoided. Crystal light is more hydrating (not saying sodas dehydrate you, as that's ignorant) and I would say "better".
  • jasonp_ritzert
    jasonp_ritzert Posts: 357 Member
    I drink Propel Zero (bottles or the mix) and there isn't a long list of ingredients, all of which I know what they do. I think it's just like anything else, in moderation is fine.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    neither is water
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    neither is water

    neither aren't water either...
  • BondBomb
    BondBomb Posts: 1,781 Member
    neither is water
    Oh Heisenberg!
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    neither is water
    Oh Heisenberg!

    Say my name.
  • wildechild74
    wildechild74 Posts: 64 Member
    here is my experience/my body's response: i have never been a pop drinker, and if i do decide to have soda i go for regular, and generally cant even finish a can. iced tea is my weakness, unsweetened (and coffee but that is just a morning thing). for YEARS i would drink crystal light iced tea, faster than waiting for "sun tea", and the plain instant tea tastes nasty.

    anyway, i could easily drink a pitcher plus a day- well hydrated. but for ME, i believe the aspartame made me hungry. aspartame in general is very controversial, some people dont have an issue, and some have said it does affect their hunger. so, in november, i gave up my relationship with crystal light. still drinking ample water, and i have noticed the difference. no more constantly feeling hungry. but that is just me.as with anything we are 'addicted to', it was hard to not have my crystal light.
  • brower47
    brower47 Posts: 16,356 Member
    i think one of the main issues with soda is the use of all the chemicals and coloring that go into it, namely formaldehyde and phosphorus. you can probably find most of these ingredients in a lot of other foods we eat, however. crystal light has fewer ingredients and is added to actual water, not carbonated and caffeinated water that only serves to dehydrate you and contributes nothing to your physical well-being.

    I wouldn't worry too much about the formaldehyde you get from a can of diet coke. Most fruits (2.0 mg) (from the digestion of pectin) give us more formaldehyde than does an entire can of coke (.42 mg). Heck, a single jelly bean has more. Please help stop the myths about formaldehyde and diet soda. Heck, stop the over vilification of formaldehyde for that matter.

    "A lie can travel around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." -- Mark Twain
  • seena511
    seena511 Posts: 685 Member
    i think one of the main issues with soda is the use of all the chemicals and coloring that go into it, namely formaldehyde and phosphorus. you can probably find most of these ingredients in a lot of other foods we eat, however. crystal light has fewer ingredients and is added to actual water, not carbonated and caffeinated water that only serves to dehydrate you and contributes nothing to your physical well-being.

    I wouldn't worry too much about the formaldehyde you get from a can of diet coke. Most fruits (2.0 mg) (from the digestion of pectin) give us more formaldehyde than does an entire can of coke (.42 mg). Heck, a single jelly bean has more. Please help stop the myths about formaldehyde and diet soda. Heck, stop the over vilification of formaldehyde for that matter.

    "A lie can travel around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." -- Mark Twain

    hence my statement about how you can find most of these ingredients in other foods we eat.

    OP, the point i was trying to make is that even if soda is not necessarily as "bad" for you as some health food gurus would have you believe, there are lots of better things you could drink as well. caffeine makes you urinate more often, and you don't get any water from that carbonation, so you end up less hydated than you were before. water however is able to actually directly contribute to muscle growth and development.

    now if you'll excuse me, i'm off to buy myself a diet mountain dew.
  • leodru
    leodru Posts: 321 Member
    I personally find the more natural the food the better your system reacts and the better you feel. I still have Diet Pepsi once or twice a week (although i think i shouldnt) and i find with reduced sugar and artificial sweetners in my diet i tend to not crave as much. People on here would have you not eat nuts because they are high calorie but yet if you check with most buff trainers they have lots of veg, fruit and nuts in there diet but none of aritificial sweetners. I'm not saying that its a never food but i do believe you should really restrict the amount you take in. Water and a piece of lemon is tasty and calorie free.....and all natural.
  • stephdeeable
    stephdeeable Posts: 1,407 Member
    I only drink water from puddles. I sure hope it rains soon.




    But in seriousness, I hate crystal light and mio and all that, I just don't enjoy the taste. But I love True Lemon/True Grapefruit....if I found out it was actually made from crushed puppy bones I'd probably still drink it..
  • vicmonster
    vicmonster Posts: 297 Member
    Arnold Palmer packets!
  • MizTerry
    MizTerry Posts: 3,763 Member
    I quit colas a while back and went to diet peach tea. Yeah, the artificial sweeteners DO make you more hungry, and the calories in them, to me, were high. Recently I started drinking Sparkling Ice, it's a sparkling water with no calories, no carbs, but it does contain vitamin D, B3, B6, B12, B5 and geen tea extract.
    They are REALLY good.
    My favorites are black raspberry (reminds me of a sno-cone) and orange mango (tastes, to me, like a fuzzy navel).
  • LisaR517
    LisaR517 Posts: 80
    When I use Crystal Light or the like, I buy the to-go packets that are intended for a 20oz bottle of water. But I only use HALF for my big water bottle and that's plenty strong enough - just enough to add some flavor w/o it being boring water! ;)
  • heypurdy
    heypurdy Posts: 196 Member
    I make my crystal light pink lemonade pretty watery because I hate sweet drinks. So I'm sure crystal light is better for you than diet soda.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Unless you have a sensitivity to artificial sweeteners, then either is fine.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Diet soda is fine. Ignore the alarmists.
  • AmyFett
    AmyFett Posts: 1,607 Member
    if the fake sugars in diet soda are bad, so are the ones in crystal light. It only makes sense right? I cut out both as much as I can. I haven't had crystal light in forever. I do drink soda on occasion, but regular.
  • angelaw543
    angelaw543 Posts: 7 Member
    Water, water, water. So what if it's boring. Treat yourself occasionally, but remember that every thing you eat or drink isn't supposed to be exciting. Some things you just do because they are the right thing to do.

    I always tell my friends who say "but I don't like water", "who cares, you're a grown up now, stop whining and drink water"!!
  • julesxo
    julesxo Posts: 422 Member
    I use MiO instead, I keep it in my purse and can use it anywhere. It is so much better tasting than crystal light and it really helped me give up diet coke.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    I wonder if all the talk about diet soda being worse for you than regular, making you crave sweets & being full of chemicals and fake sugar means that drinks like Crystal Light considered the same?
    That's just it, it's talk. While diet soda may affect others differently, in general peer reviewed clinical studies haven't shown to have the side effects that many articles, opinions, blogs etc. claim for the general population.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
    Rather than going for the processed stuff, why not make your own fruit-infused drinks? Try mixing chunks of real fruit, like strawberries, apples (add cinnamon to make it extra yummy), peaches, raspberries, or lemon, etc. into a pitcher of water and let it sit for a few hours, or overnight, if possible. That way, you can have your flavored drink, but it will be a lot healthier and you can control the ingredients!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,028 Member
    i think one of the main issues with soda is the use of all the chemicals and coloring that go into it, namely formaldehyde and phosphorus.
    Lol, there's no formaldehyde in diet soda.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • lyrical_melody
    lyrical_melody Posts: 242 Member
    watch Hungry for Change... that will answer your question about diet coke.
  • IronMikeFox
    IronMikeFox Posts: 458
    I am 100% addicted to diet soda. Really need to kick the habit! LOL Every time I try, I fail!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I used to be a big soda drinker...usually around 3 per day, sometimes more. If I needed caffeine, I went for Mt Dew...but my go to was orange Fanta. For the most part, I drink water now and if I need some fizzy I drink carbonated water. Sometimes I add a little lemon or a slice of cucumber or something to break up the monotony. I do allow myself one soda per week...usually have it on a Friday with my lunch...well, it's actually sparkling water with fruit juice and sugar, but pretty much the same thing. I do the San Pelligrino orange...it's 140 calories and 32 g of sugar; it's real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup so not as sweet as the other stuff I was drinking, but I actually find it more refreshing...I had a sip of Mt Dew a couple weeks ago and it was just too sweet for me now.
  • SassJess81
    SassJess81 Posts: 75 Member
    I am a total Coke Zero addict. I am trying to cut back, as I do notice a difference, but it's really hard. The one thing that helps me drink less is I bought a SodaStream. You literally just carbonate tap water and it is so good. You can also add a squeeze of lime or whatever, and it resembles pop.
  • n0ob
    n0ob Posts: 2,390 Member
    i think one of the main issues with soda is the use of all the chemicals and coloring that go into it, namely formaldehyde and phosphorus.
    Lol, there's no formaldehyde in diet soda.

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

    I think she's thinking of the digestion of aspartame producing formaldehyde there.

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