is diet sode ok?

CoachReddy

out of curiosity - i feel like i see more people freak out about spreading orthorexia than people actually suffering from orthorexia... why the crusade?

and yes, I understand that being afraid of food is obviously a bad thing, but I don't think that's at risk simply by discussing the merits/risks of diet sodas (or any other food)

aliceguy

I would have maybe 3 or 4 cans over a whole year because for some reason I find they make me incredibly thirsty afterwards, they do nothing for my thirst. I only drink them for something different, its overwhelmingly water that I drink.

To answer your question, its better than a regular soda, but if you could drop a few and replace with water it might be a better way to go for on the whole. I would imagine you would have to drink a ton of the stuff to have any major health risks.

Besides, there will always be someone who will find something wrong with whatever u eat, even vegetables and fruit, so dont get too hung up on it pal

SMarie10

Have you tried the alternative to diet soda. Water... ?

cjsacto

Basically poison. Have one from time to time if you really like it.

Many people have serious reactions to it, some people drink it for years and love it without ever reporting side effects. IMO, aspartame will be taken off the market in the near future. The same arguments for aspartame were made for saccharine ("it only causes cancer in rats, not people!") for years until the preponderance of evidence finally showed saccharine to be unhealthy.

No one can argue that there's anything good or beneficial in diet soda, but again if you want one once in a while, fine. Sure, there are lots of things that are bad for us that our body will tolerate in very small amounts, but the effects of many are cumulative and I'd rather eat mostly healthy food.

Aside from the evils of aspartame, your body responds to many artificial sweeteners very similarly to sugar, and diet soda can impair glucose control. If you're a diabetic, this means diet soda isn't healthy. For the rest of us, it can mean increased sweet cravings.

If you don't already drink diet soda, why start? MANY, many, many people right here on MFP report that it is highly addictive and tough to quit.

neanderthin

Sure.

issyfit

Here are more studies cited with peer reviews:
http://www.wnho.net/letter_to_lymphoma_association_causes_lymphoma.htm

FullOfWin

Yes.

I feel one upped

neanderthin

Here are more studies cited with peer reviews:
http://www.wnho.net/letter_to_lymphoma_association_causes_lymphoma.htm

Yurp..........wonderfully spewed and swamp land tested.

ninerbuff

Clinical studies report it okay for consumption in moderation. Some react different to it than others, but for the general population it doesn't seem to pose a health threat.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

If anyone can find a credible source definitively proving the link between aspartame and cancer please do share.

This isn't conclusive and doesn't prove the link with cancer but it interested me because hubby was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and he was a heavy diet coke drinker.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html
and

This next one was done on rats but they claim it is pretty conclusive:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Aspartame-and-the-Increased-Risks-of-Lymphoma-Cancer&id=398772

"Although the long-term study was conducted exclusively on female rats, without involving the active participation of any human subjects, the results are still very conclusive: aspartame is a clear carcinogenic agent that has a major contribution in the occurrence and evolution of lymphoma. A very popular chemical sweetener used as a replacement for sugar-based sweeteners, aspartame is no longer considered to be harmless."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/398772

If I'm right, the actual dosage they used was equal to like drinking a case of diet soda a day for a human.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

icmuse

Diet soda - NO NO NO!

Aspartame is pretty much the evil fake promise leading you on the path to ill health and more weight gain.

Read more here:
http://search.mercola.com/search/pages/Results.aspx?k=aspartame

Or watch a movie: Hungry for Change - an excellent look at the "diet" food industry!

ninerbuff

Diet soda - NO NO NO!

Aspartame is pretty much the evil fake promise leading you on the path to ill health and more weight gain.

Read more here:
http://search.mercola.com/search/pages/Results.aspx?k=aspartame

Or watch a movie: Hungry for Change - an excellent look at the "diet" food industry!

You're providing one sided biased reporting. Peer reviewed clinical study is preferable.
And honestly I've been on diet soda for well over 25 years and ill health and weight gain isn't an issue.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

slroggemann

I don't drink diet soda because I have a bad reaction to artificial sweeteners. If you don't have a bad reaction, go for it. Scientific evidence in the area tends to be inconclusive, highly disputed, or lacking.

issyfit

If anyone can find a credible source definitively proving the link between aspartame and cancer please do share.

This isn't conclusive and doesn't prove the link with cancer but it interested me because hubby was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and he was a heavy diet coke drinker.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html
and

This next one was done on rats but they claim it is pretty conclusive:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Aspartame-and-the-Increased-Risks-of-Lymphoma-Cancer&id=398772

"Although the long-term study was conducted exclusively on female rats, without involving the active participation of any human subjects, the results are still very conclusive: aspartame is a clear carcinogenic agent that has a major contribution in the occurrence and evolution of lymphoma. A very popular chemical sweetener used as a replacement for sugar-based sweeteners, aspartame is no longer considered to be harmless."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/398772

If I'm right, the actual dosage they used was equal to like drinking a case of diet soda a day for a human.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

In the first study I gave, which was on humans over a long period of time, they made an association with drinking one can a day.

saanrio

Like many people have already said, it all depends on your personal body and how you react, but...

My husband showed me an article from Men's Health a couple of weeks ago about a study done linking diet sodas to increased waist size and a decreased weight loss rate. A lot of my personal struggles with weight loss suddenly clicked for both of us. In the last half of 2011, we were both trying to lose weight. He lost 45 pounds and I lost about 30 in the same six months, but then I stopped losing, and the best I could do was managing to maintain for an entire year. I was back to what I had been doing before: trying everything I could in a desperate attempt to get the scale to go down. But what I never thought about was how much diet soda I was drinking. When I lost all that weight, I maybe had one in the morning if I had been up a lot the night before with my youngest boy, but mostly I drank water and ate healthy. However, for some reason, early in 2012, I started drinking more and more diet soda.

In November of last year, I started having breast pain, and hubby and I both thought we felt something that was not a lump, but not right, about both of my breasts. When I saw a medical professional later that month, she thought she felt some thing unusual, and ordered a mammogram. Thankfully, I was fine, and all the doctor could tell me was that it might have something to do with caffeine intake. Having four children, I cannot give up my caffeine, and I frankly don't want to, but that week was very cold, and I wanted coffee and tea more than diet sodas, and I noticed something. When I had coffee (which I sweeten with sugar if anything) or tea (where I use honey), I had little to no breast pain at all. The day I didn't have time to make any and instead had the soda, my breasts hurt as bad as they had when it all first started.

After reading the article my husband had found, and considering all of the anecdotal evidence we had in my own experience, we decided that the best thing we could do was get rid of the diet soda. Since I stopped drinking it, I have lost five pounds in the last two weeks, and have had zero breast pain. I still drink plenty of caffeine in the form of coffee and tea, but just no diet drinks.

So, like I said, up to you. However, I am convinced the stuff is evil. lol

ETA: Here is the link for anyone interested: http://news.menshealth.com/the-truth-about-diet-soda/2011/07/07/

ninerbuff

If anyone can find a credible source definitively proving the link between aspartame and cancer please do share.

This isn't conclusive and doesn't prove the link with cancer but it interested me because hubby was recently diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and he was a heavy diet coke drinker.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037772_aspartame_leukemia_lymphoma.html
and

This next one was done on rats but they claim it is pretty conclusive:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Aspartame-and-the-Increased-Risks-of-Lymphoma-Cancer&id=398772

"Although the long-term study was conducted exclusively on female rats, without involving the active participation of any human subjects, the results are still very conclusive: aspartame is a clear carcinogenic agent that has a major contribution in the occurrence and evolution of lymphoma. A very popular chemical sweetener used as a replacement for sugar-based sweeteners, aspartame is no longer considered to be harmless."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/398772

If I'm right, the actual dosage they used was equal to like drinking a case of diet soda a day for a human.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

In the first study I gave, which was on humans over a long period of time, they made an association with drinking one can a day.

The problem I see in the first study was that information was gathered from a "dietary questionnaire" every 2 years. That's not a "controlled" study.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

issyfit

The problem I see in the first study was that information was gathered from a "dietary questionnaire" every 2 years. That's not a "controlled" study.

That's why I said it wasn't conclusive but it interested me.

Chances are most people on here will have no ill effects from aspartame but a small percentage may wish they had paid attention to the studies years from now. I constantly showed hubby studies and opinions on aspartame but he wouldn't give it up. I am pretty convinced that it contributed to his lymphpma and wish I had been able to convince him to give it up. What he is going through is not fun and neither is being his caregiver.

ryannyberg

Ok I found this out the hard way. Diet Coke contains aspertain (spell check that). I was down to about 213 for a long time. Was also drinking Diet Coke reguarly. Well a co-worker of mine told me that it contains aspertain that causes your body to retain water. Looked it up and found that was true. So I got off of it and within days I droped to 208. Well I couldn't stand just water so I went back to 1 diet Coke a day couldn't hurt could it. I stayed at 205 for some time and got off the Diet Coke and dropped another 3 pounds quickly. I since have told others and they have seen the same effects. Now there is Diet Coke with Splenda and Pepsi One with Splenda and some others like Diet Rite that doesn't contain Aspertain. I drink Pepsi One with Splenda and have had no problems continuing to lose weight. Just thought I would pass this on to others if your having problems and drinking a soft drink or something else that contains Aspertain just avoid it not worth the water retention.

TheNewDodge

I drink loads of it, all day long

Shas2228

I drink at least a can of diet soda a day.

I love the carbonation and it has no calories. :happy:

People who are against artificial sweeteners will give you a break down as to why it's bad for you. I don't think it's bad for you. Obviously water is the better choice. I think as long as you are getting your water intake for the day, a can of diet soda isn't going to hurt. Just like a cup of coffee.