Crystal Light or Diet Cola healthier?
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Replies
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I have lost 30 pounds since last year and I drink Diet Coke with Splenda and I don't have any problems.0
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Crystal Light - water based less chemicals.
Even better to go "au natural".
Diet Soda - every now and then but not good on a regular basis not to mention sodium as well.0 -
Neither one! They are both a chemical ****storm. Your body doesn't know how to process that stuff, and it will end up being tossed into your cells as FAT. DON'T use no fat, "lite", Lo fat, or diet stuff. Furthermore, if you have to drink soda, drink soda WATER, and add fruit juice to it. Try to find ones that don't have a lot of sugar.
Read labels. Avoid artificial sweeteners (even "splenda, which claims to be "natural") and Lo-fat foods.
Please don't spread false information that has absolutely no research or merit. One person whispers this crap then another will think it was true. No part of this is true.
Diet soda is worse because it reduced bone density. But if you don't have to worry about potential osteoporosis you're perfectly fine with a little diet soda.
Moderation is the key. One 8oz can of diet soda a day as a treat isn't doing to be terrible. Drinking it in place of water, IS.
Get some cucumbers, limes, and lemons. Add a slice of cumber to a glass of water. Or a slice of lemon, or lime. Or if you really want to change it squeeze some lime or lemon into the water. All of this will make water really enjoyable and make you want to drink more of it (at least, it works like this for me).0 -
The caffeine and phosphoric acid in the Diet Coke are what cause leaching of calcium from your bones in your body's effort to maintain a very slightly alkaline pH. However, both DC and CL contain artificial sweeteners, which can (depending on in the individual) increase cravings for sweet foods.
The bottom line - drink water. Soak it in fruit for flavour if you're looking for a boost, eg:
~slices of lemon
~slices of lemon, cucumber, and whole fresh mint leaves if you have them in your garden
~melon and/or cucumber slices
~slices of strawberry and kiwi, or just strawberry
~whole raspberries and blueberries
etc. Throw a big pitcher of water and sliced fruit in the fridge overnight, then sip from it all day. Deelish. I often do this on weekends just for fun. The lemon in particular is very cleansing.
Please cite a source for this - in the context of reasonable doses and an otherwise balanced diet.0 -
water. Read Skinny ***** and you will never touch soda or aspartame again.
Or you could read peer reviewed studies and not worry about consuming reasonable amounts.0 -
I'm sorry, OP, but the question is flawed.
Drink what you want, particularly if it doesn't have any calories, and don't worry about things like this. The astounding number of myths on what food/drinks will either kill you or miraculously make you stronger/thinner/have better skin/immune from cancer/have never ending libido, is astounding. That's not going to stop. What you can do is to stop paying attention to them.
Focus instead on the basics of hitting your calorie target while eating a diet with enough protein, good fats, fiber, and micronutrients. That's enough for anyone to worry about.0 -
neither.
drink plain water, that other crap won't hydrate you properly
:grumble:0 -
neither.
drink plain water, that other crap won't hydrate you properly
:grumble:
Huh? How so?0 -
I agree with the majority of commenters here that water is the best of the three. While it is true that people can lose weight drinking diet vs regular soda, and using crystal light or mio, I don't understand why they would. I know that we all want to lose weight, but shouldn't we all be looking at what got us to be too heavy in the first place? Poor food choices and lack of movement. I don't understand how any of us could just want to force the weight off without fundamentally changing what we put into our bodies. This means we have to change our mindsets about it. For me, what has been successful (and painfully damned slow, mind you. I know I could do this a lot more quickly with shortcuts) is throwing out all processed foods and eating "clean". There are lots of ways to go about that, but for me, I just don't eat anything, A-N-Y-thing from a box or a can. Nothing frozen. I make soups from real ingredients. I eat real ingredients. I personally don't eat meat, but I think people can eat lean, grass fed meat and be just fine with losing weight.
Yep, I'm a busy mofo too. I own a restaurant with two locations and my day starts at stupid o'clock and ends at stupid o'clock. I have to do a LOT of planning to make each day successful. At first, it was a nightmare and very difficult. Then, I just decided what I wanted my life to look like and it became just as much a part of how I'd approach different projects at work. The whole thing for me is that I DECIDED I wanted something different. And have done it. Life just keeps getting better.0 -
Neither one! They are both a chemical ****storm. Your body doesn't know how to process that stuff, and it will end up being tossed into your cells as FAT. DON'T use no fat, "lite", Lo fat, or diet stuff. Furthermore, if you have to drink soda, drink soda WATER, and add fruit juice to it. Try to find ones that don't have a lot of sugar.
Read labels. Avoid artificial sweeteners (even "splenda, which claims to be "natural") and Lo-fat foods.
splenda doesnt claim to be natural, their one sweetener nectresse does0 -
ever added crystal light powder into seltzer water? kaboom! hehe.0
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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 taste0 -
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. ~0 -
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.0 -
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 water0 -
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.0
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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.
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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.0 -
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!0 -
neither one both have fake sugar
water or iced tea are better options0
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