What's wrong with diet coke?

This turned in to a good debate. It comes down to a matter of opinion and how far you are willing to go to be healthy. Moderation seems to be a consistant statement.

For me, I have cut down from about 6 cans a day to 2 after a month. That is partly because I am drinking my water. Who knows, in another month I may get down to just one, but it will be because I was ready to cut it back.

This is your diet and your body and you have to do what works for you.

Diet Coke (like regular Coke) is a carbonated brew, like a tea. If you drink different varieties, you can taste the difference in the ingredients.

While the ingredients are "secret", it isn't hard to figure out what goes into it. Nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Also lemon and cherry flavouring. And water. And colouring. You have to remember that it's a recipe comprised of (hopefully) non-toxic foodstuffs that are commercially available and likely low-cost to maximize profit.

Some years ago, I had a lot of trouble with a moldy taste in both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, which I put down to issues with their spices, which must be bargain basement quality not to make it into a spice bottle. I advised the local bottlers and for my efforts, I got a coupon for 2 doz Diet Pepsi which I didn't want to drink because it tasted moldy! I just stopped drinking it for a while and when they improved their quality control, I started drinking it again. I would have been much happier with some acknowledgment that it was their problem and that they were taking steps to fix it.

Take a look at the nutritional information. Other than that single aspartame calorie, Diet Coke has 50 mg sodium per can, which I figure is salt for preservation. It's not much. You can be hydrated on Diet Coke almost as well as water as a result.

Seriously, don't sweat the small stuff. This is small stuff. Drink it if you like the taste.

Mirii

You know what. I don't smoke, I drink alcohol seldomly, Eat red meat seldomly, I work out 5-6 days a week, don't like sweets, and I watch MAYBE an hour of TV a night, sometimes none. (depends on the season)

If my one vice is Diet Mt Dew in the morning before pounding north of 100oz of water through out the day...damn me, I'm having a Diet Mt Dew.

I'm a soda junkie who just can't reform, so it's diet sodas for me all the way. And believe me, I have SO tried to eliminate all soda. I can go maybe a week, and then right back to it.

They say - whoever "they" are... the NFL, the Illuminati, whoever, that when you have something sweet, even if it's artificial, the reward center of your brain gets activated, since humans have a natural taste for sugar. In the wild when we were running around in loincloths, sweet things were nutritious, high energy things, so we're pre-programmed by evolution to want them. Anyway, when you have an artificial sweetener (or real sugar, doesn't matter) that part of your brain goes "Oh god yes more!" and you just want more sweetness.

Personally, I say if you're keeping a vigilant eye on your nutrition and calories, you can stop a sugar binge from happening, so if you love soda like a lot of us do, go for diet. In my experience though, diet Coke DOES NOT TASTE LIKE COKE. At all. You'd be better off going with another brand or another flavor of diet soda.

Blah - I love me some aspertame!
I am a diet Pepsi girl - I don't drink a liter a day - but I'll still have a can or two.
My thinking is - if I am drinking my 64+ ounces of water a day - I'm gonna have a pop if I want one.
Aspertam is gonna kill you. Grilling your food is going to kill you. Drinking out of plastic water bottles it going to kill you.
LOL
Have some diet Coke. You gotta have one vice.
Steph
:flowerforyou:

Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.

thats a bit dramatic............:huh:

No its not. The mentality that artificial sweeteners are OK for you is just enabling each other to continue bad habits, not break them.

That is not the definition of a lifestyle change. It is trading one bad habit for another.

I don't even buy cleaning supplies any longer, I make them. I am getting as far away from harmful chemicals as I can.

Yes, it is a bit dramatic. You look hard enough and you can find 100 people saying that grass will kill you if you walk on it too long. It's ridiculous. And the cleaning supply thing...seriously give me a break. I run a cleaning company and the difference between "green" cleaning supplies and regular is very miniscule. You're just buying into the hype. Here's the jist of it. "green" cleaning chemicals basically just have a higher water content and less chemical in them. And I promise you that water is not filtered. So they're selling you 70-80% water and charging you more for it. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with having a diet coke every once in a while or slice of pizza, or a burger for that matter. If you believe everything every bell ringer says about what's good and bad for you, you will be eating rice paddies and drinking water for the rest of your life. And guess what, when someone quits everything cold turkey, most of them fall off the wagon big time like an A.A. member in a liquor store. Do it in moderation and watch your calorie intake and drink your water. And speaking of bad habits, a horrible one is being afraid of every little germ that walks the earth.

It is not being over dramatic at all.

Those sweeteners are not natural occurring at all, chemicals made in a lab. There is a difference between man made chemicals and natural occurring chemicals.

I NO longer want those chemicals in my body. If it didn't grow from its mama or from the earth I don't want to consume it.

I am merely going back to the way I grew up. Natural and living off the land pretty much.

My meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, nuts and honey all come from local farmers or family members.

My cleaning supplies are made from baking soda, lemon and vinegar and water. I don't use the so called green products.

I use either soap nuts or home made laundry detergent from a recipe given to me by a poster on this website.

If my husband eats bread, it is because I made it home made. If he asks for cookies, cake or some other treat, again it is because I have made it from scratch, not a store bought mix..............

I think I have consumed the equivalent of a 6 pack with in the last 8 months. And it is Zevia Brand root beer.

So uh, how does all this address the OP? No offense Lioness, but alot of threads you end up taking away from the OP and putting yourself in the limelight. That's great that you go all natural and whatnot. It's not really addressing the help that the OP asked for. And that goes for the posters that are only posting to go after Lioness too.

It was asked the negative aspects of diet drinks. I won't pretend to know all of them since I can't stand the flavor of diet stuff and don't bother with them. I will say that there is more to what you consume than just the calories: just because something has no calories doesn't mean that it's great for your body. It's usually the stuff that is reduced in some way (low fat, less sugar, etc) that seems worse at times because they make up for that reduction in other ways. Low fat items generally have more sodium in them, for example.

Hopefully there can be some more input into the actual harmful aspects of drinking diet. I'll also commend the fact that you're making the change. Heck, I won't drink diet stuff but I still enjoy an occasional soda. :flowerforyou:

I think you're both being a little ridiculous.

I'm a vegetarian. I don't personally believe that we should use animals for food. We can think and feel, and the animals we eat can also think and feel. I wouldn't have an enormous problem with eating meat if ALL food animals were kept humanely and put down humanely but that is not the case at all. Nothing close to that.

So I don't eat meat. I don't believe in it, I don't want to contribute to what I see as a problem, and I want to make choices that are in line with my belief system and what I believe to be best for my health.

See the "I" up there? ^ *I* don't eat meat. *I* don't believe in it. You all? Do whatever the heck you like, for your own reasons, and with my blessing.

If you don't want artificial chemicals in your body, don't put them there, just like I don't put meat in mine. But trying to scare, shock, threaten, and intimidate other poster isn't what this is about, nor is floucing and calling out (and yes, I realize the bit of irony I'm guilty of).

Why is this difficult? The OP asked for info. He got it. The choice is now his.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diet-soda/AN01732

Question

Diet soda: Is it bad for you?I drink diet soda every day. Could this be harmful?

Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals. But diet soda isn't a health drink or a silver bullet for weight loss. Although switching from regular soda to diet soda may save you calories, some studies suggest that drinking more than one soda a day — regular or diet — increases your risk of obesity and related health problems such as type 2 diabetes.

Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water. Save diet soda for an occasional treat.

It is interesting to see the way the she interprets the studies linking diet soda to obesity and type 2 diabetes. Basically, they are studies that do not test the soda against a control group but rather survey a bunch of people and found that more people who were overweight or had type 2 diabetes drank diet soda than those who were not overweight or did not have diabetes. Now to me, that just says that people who are overweight or have type 2 diabetes are more likely to take diet soda to get their weight down or control their blood sugars... ie the result of the condition rather than the cause.

Blah - I love me some aspertame!
I am a diet Pepsi girl - I don't drink a liter a day - but I'll still have a can or two.
My thinking is - if I am drinking my 64+ ounces of water a day - I'm gonna have a pop if I want one.
Aspertam is gonna kill you. Grilling your food is going to kill you. Drinking out of plastic water bottles it going to kill you.
LOL
Have some diet Coke. You gotta have one vice.
Steph
:flowerforyou:

Wow, I can not believe this mentality. Wow, that is all I am going to say. Just Wow.

thats a bit dramatic............:huh:

No its not. The mentality that artificial sweeteners are OK for you is just enabling each other to continue bad habits, not break them.

That is not the definition of a lifestyle change. It is trading one bad habit for another.

I don't even buy cleaning supplies any longer, I make them. I am getting as far away from harmful chemicals as I can.

Yes, it is a bit dramatic. You look hard enough and you can find 100 people saying that grass will kill you if you walk on it too long. It's ridiculous. And the cleaning supply thing...seriously give me a break. I run a cleaning company and the difference between "green" cleaning supplies and regular is very miniscule. You're just buying into the hype. Here's the jist of it. "green" cleaning chemicals basically just have a higher water content and less chemical in them. And I promise you that water is not filtered. So they're selling you 70-80% water and charging you more for it. And there is absolutley nothing wrong with having a diet coke every once in a while or slice of pizza, or a burger for that matter. If you believe everything every bell ringer says about what's good and bad for you, you will be eating rice paddies and drinking water for the rest of your life. And guess what, when someone quits everything cold turkey, most of them fall off the wagon big time like an A.A. member in a liquor store. Do it in moderation and watch your calorie intake and drink your water. And speaking of bad habits, a horrible one is being afraid of every little germ that walks the earth.

It is not being over dramatic at all.

Those sweeteners are not natural occurring at all, chemicals made in a lab. There is a difference between man made chemicals and natural occurring chemicals.

I NO longer want those chemicals in my body. If it didn't grow from its mama or from the earth I don't want to consume it.

I am merely going back to the way I grew up. Natural and living off the land pretty much.

My meat, eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables, nuts and honey all come from local farmers or family members.

My cleaning supplies are made from baking soda, lemon and vinegar and water. I don't use the so called green products.

I use either soap nuts or home made laundry detergent from a recipe given to me by a poster on this website.

If my husband eats bread, it is because I made it home made. If he asks for cookies, cake or some other treat, again it is because I have made it from scratch, not a store bought mix..............

I think I have consumed the equivalent of a 6 pack with in the last 8 months. And it is Zevia Brand root beer.

Um hi, aren't you injecting something fake and unnatural in your body by taking the HCG?

A little diet coke isn't going to kill someone.

Flaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame away!

i agree with lina.... AND beside the fact of HCG she keeps on promoting saturated fats being the healthy option to the oh sooo carb-full veggies!!! VEGGIES ARE EVIL, FRUITS ARE EVIL, DIET COKE WILL KILL U.... EAT BACON, RED MEAT, A RIDICULOUS AMOUNT OF PROTEIN ONLY DIET, GO ON HCG DIET AND EAT 500cals a day, AND MAKE UR OWN CLEANING CHEMICALS! thats her advice in a nutshell.

hmmmmmmmm....

in any other situation id promote WATER. but at this moment... hell DIET COKE ROCKS :drinker: drink up

ive never heard of any "i drank too many coke zeros till i became obese"

i dont use splenda anymore, i use honey B-U-T ill never ingest a regular coke! and if i want a caffeine rush with a cooooling refreshing tasty drink other than my regular water. ill grab that aspartame =]

I think a lot of people need to calm the hell down and eat some chocolate or something to ease those nerves....why would anyone get so riled up over another person's opinion...this thread came completely off topic and everyone started making stabs at each other...I really doubt what this site is about...this thread was about diet soda, not how high and mighty someone might be because they make their own cleaning products....as long as everyone is trying to better their own health, then why all the animosity? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and if the OP wants to drink diet soda and knows the consequences that may come from it, then so be it....and if they don't, then thats great too. So... I don't get my feelings hurt at all in the least, especially form strangers, so If anyone has any anger they need to vent you can do it on me....I am on medifast and only eat about 800-1100 calories a day....haha ooooh noooo!( I'm being totally sarcastic) point is, we all have our little querks or differences that someone else can judge or be harsh about, but what is the point? Is there really any resolve that will come from it? Do you really think that these people that are so stuck in their ways(diet drinkers and non drinkers) are gonna change if their beliefs are so strong? I think not....OP....i pray that you dont' think this website is all crazy like this, it is just full of passionate, opinionated people(not that it is always a bad thing)and please make what ever decision you feel best suits you!