Crystal Light or Diet Cola healthier?

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Replies

  • fluffychicken7
    fluffychicken7 Posts: 77 Member
    ever added crystal light powder into seltzer water? kaboom! hehe.
  • Dr_Waffles
    Dr_Waffles Posts: 141 Member
    Iced tea, green or black with lemon or lime
    water with the same
    seltzer water is fun if you get bored with tap
    plus you can extend the amount of fruit juice you have with it
    just pour half a glass of juice and top it off with seltzer.
    more or less to your taste
  • summersbest
    summersbest Posts: 194 Member
    neither.
    drink plain water, that other crap won't hydrate you properly
    :grumble:

    Wrong. Crystal light hydrates you as it is mixed with water.

    I was a huge diet coke drinker but had to give it up after having weight loss surgery due to the carbination. Mind you, I did cut down in order to prepare for surgery and only drank it when out for lunch or dinner. Really don't like plain water since surgery and adding fruit didn't help much either so I get my 8 glasses a day in with crystal light. It is actually recommended by my surgery program as well as every other bariatric weight loss program in Ontario. Even when I was on a doctor approved weight loss program years ago, crystal light was approved. I also have Nestlea Zero now and again which is also approved.

    As for all the studies about the ill effects of artificial sweetners, there are just as many to disprove the findings. I don't think having a diet coke now and again will hurt you but nothing wrong with daily crystal light so go ahead and enjoy. ~
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    yes but straight up water is the best way to hydrate the body. if you're drinking only crystal light/diet soda all the time and not having any water then you may run into problems, it can even effect your bladder and cause irritation. this happened to me, if i do not flush out my system with straight up water, then it gets super irritated and blocked, and feels like i have a uti all the time. i can't have any kind of artificial sweeteners, carbination or caffeine. therefore, water is better for my body then drinking crystal light or diet soda.
    now if you are drinking those even daily but have like 1 or 2 and drinking your water as well, then go for it. if your bladder can tolerate it, then go for it. just speaking from experiences, that at one point when i never drank water and used things like crystal light, other 0 cal flavored waters and whatnot, my lips were always chapped, i was dehydrated and ended up messing my bladder up bc of it.
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    neither.
    drink plain water, that other crap won't hydrate you properly
    :grumble:

    Wrong. Crystal light hydrates you as it is mixed with water.

    I was a huge diet coke drinker but had to give it up after having weight loss surgery due to the carbination. Mind you, I did cut down in order to prepare for surgery and only drank it when out for lunch or dinner. Really don't like plain water since surgery and adding fruit didn't help much either so I get my 8 glasses a day in with crystal light. It is actually recommended by my surgery program as well as every other bariatric weight loss program in Ontario. Even when I was on a doctor approved weight loss program years ago, crystal light was approved. I also have Nestlea Zero now and again which is also approved.

    As for all the studies about the ill effects of artificial sweetners, there are just as many to disprove the findings. I don't think having a diet coke now and again will hurt you but nothing wrong with daily crystal light so go ahead and enjoy. ~

    yes but the diet coke will, if consumed a lot bc of the caffeine and replaced for water
  • keem88
    keem88 Posts: 1,689 Member
    but OP since you were asking about just the crystal light or diet coke, not bringing water into this, i prolly would go with crystal light just because the caffeine in the diet coke, unless you get caffeine free diet coke (do they make that? not sure) does cause dehydration.
  • amyLhuff
    amyLhuff Posts: 102
    I was reading the other day that aspartame actually makes you more hungry and I've been without it for a week and have to say I do feel less hungry. I make a a huge jar of sun tea and sweeten it with stevia. That's my go to when I'm sick of water. :)
  • aakaakaak
    aakaakaak Posts: 1,240 Member
    Aspartame can make you more hungry. A little self control can curb this. It will initially sate you, but cause greater hunger later. The effects are rather small. To show how small it is, the increase hunger was 0.3% for females and 0.5% for males in a study.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2359769

    The carbonic acid in soda does NOT cause the erosion of tooth enamel, but phosphoric acid DOES. Both of which are in soda. Crystal Light wins this round.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion

    The bone density thing is moderately true for phosphoric acid. It can cause a reduction in bone density, but as long as you're getting enough D it can completely counteract it. Also, please note the source is a rather jaded one. Follow the links to the Surgeon General's statement and a few of the others.
    http://beverageinstitute.org/us/article/understanding-the-relationship-between-bone-health-and-beverages-with-phosphoric-acid-and-caffeine/

    Both of these products can cause you to retain water because of the salt in them. Considering Crystal Light has less sodium than most diet soda you would probably get less from Crystal Light.
    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_salt.php

    The carbonation in soda can cause bloating and gas. Whether it comes out as burps, or farts, carbonation is effectively drinking carbon dioxide. It's not going to kill you, but it will temporarily bloat you until you expel the gas in some fashion. Crystal Light wins again.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gas-and-gas-pains/DG00014

    Dehydration caused by drinking soda is not correct. Caffeine, if taken in doses of 500-600mg (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day, is a diuretic. If you are not consuming mass quantities of caffeine it works just as well as water. So if you're drinking decaffinated soda you don't even risk this.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    Verdict with sources: Crystal light is generally less bad for you than diet soda.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Aspartame can make you more hungry. A little self control can curb this. It will initially sate you, but cause greater hunger later. The effects are rather small. To show how small it is, the increase hunger was 0.3% for females and 0.5% for males in a study.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2359769

    The carbonic acid in soda does NOT cause the erosion of tooth enamel, but phosphoric acid DOES. Both of which are in soda. Crystal Light wins this round.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_erosion

    The bone density thing is moderately true for phosphoric acid. It can cause a reduction in bone density, but as long as you're getting enough D it can completely counteract it. Also, please note the source is a rather jaded one. Follow the links to the Surgeon General's statement and a few of the others.
    http://beverageinstitute.org/us/article/understanding-the-relationship-between-bone-health-and-beverages-with-phosphoric-acid-and-caffeine/

    Both of these products can cause you to retain water because of the salt in them. Considering Crystal Light has less sodium than most diet soda you would probably get less from Crystal Light.
    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_salt.php

    The carbonation in soda can cause bloating and gas. Whether it comes out as burps, or farts, carbonation is effectively drinking carbon dioxide. It's not going to kill you, but it will temporarily bloat you until you expel the gas in some fashion. Crystal Light wins again.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/gas-and-gas-pains/DG00014

    Dehydration caused by drinking soda is not correct. Caffeine, if taken in doses of 500-600mg (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day, is a diuretic. If you are not consuming mass quantities of caffeine it works just as well as water. So if you're drinking decaffinated soda you don't even risk this.
    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    Verdict with sources: Crystal light is generally less bad for you than diet soda.

    Very good write up!
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
    neither one both have fake sugar
    water or iced tea are better options
  • squiggyflop
    squiggyflop Posts: 148 Member
    Crystal light has calories. 5 calories a cup. However it is likely better gor your teeth.

    As for people saying water is the way to go, I disagree. People drink more when there is flavor in the fluid. As for people saying that its a poor choice and such poor choices made the people fat in the first place,, I never drank sweetened fruity drinks or soda when I was fat. Pretty much anything thats not skim milk tastes nasty undrinkable to me, even your coveted filtered water.

    You actually get most of the hydration you need from food, especially fruits and veggies. So I wouldnt worry too much about hydration. But, caffeine is a diuretic so things with it may seem less hydrating. You can probably balance out the effect by just eating an extra apple or chasing it with some water.
  • ebethmira
    ebethmira Posts: 1
    I think Crystal Light is probably healthier, but I would really vote for getting a fruit infuser pitcher and consider making your own if you're worried about the health effects of either.

    But, speaking of crystal light or just flavored water in general, I'm trying to decide what the BEST flavor idea is. Can you help by taking this quick survey about how often you use these drinks and what your favorite flavors are?

    Thank you so much!!

    Survey link --> http://ucimerage.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_2bp3Wf9McKIbFnT

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