Is giving up diet soda really worth it?

OK I went and looked up one of the studies the health blog blurb talks about. Here's the actual results of the study:

"Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened (diet) soda was independently associated with eGFR decline ≥30% (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.01) and ≥3 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.55). No increased risk for eGFR decline was observed for <2 servings per day of diet soda. No associations were noted between diet soda and MA or sugar soda and MA or eGFR decline.
Conclusions Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened soda is associated with a 2-fold increased odds for kidney function decline in women."

Here's part of the health blog's interpretation of these results:

"Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day."

Uh huh.

OK I went and looked up one of the studies the health blog blurb talks about. Here's the actual results of the study:

"Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened (diet) soda was independently associated with eGFR decline ≥30% (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.01) and ≥3 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.55). No increased risk for eGFR decline was observed for <2 servings per day of diet soda. No associations were noted between diet soda and MA or sugar soda and MA or eGFR decline.
Conclusions Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened soda is associated with a 2-fold increased odds for kidney function decline in women."

Here's part of the health blog's interpretation of these results:

"Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day."

Uh huh.

I have seen this happen first hand. My childhood best friend was a diet coke drinker from under the age of ten until she became pregnant with her daughter last year at the age of 24. She did not drink hardly any water, just diet coke. She has kidney failure, full blown, at the age of 24. And SHE WOULD NOT HAVE THIS IF SHE HAD CUT OUT THE UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION OF A MAN MADE DRINK.

You don't know what caused her kidney problems.

OK I went and looked up one of the studies the health blog blurb talks about. Here's the actual results of the study:

"Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened (diet) soda was independently associated with eGFR decline ≥30% (OR 2.02, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.01) and ≥3 ml/min per 1.73 m2 per year (OR 2.20, 95% CI 1.36 to 3.55). No increased risk for eGFR decline was observed for <2 servings per day of diet soda. No associations were noted between diet soda and MA or sugar soda and MA or eGFR decline.
Conclusions Consumption of ≥2 servings per day of artificially sweetened soda is associated with a 2-fold increased odds for kidney function decline in women."

Here's part of the health blog's interpretation of these results:

"Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day."

Uh huh.

I have seen this happen first hand. My childhood best friend was a diet coke drinker from under the age of ten until she became pregnant with her daughter last year at the age of 24. She did not drink hardly any water, just diet coke. She has kidney failure, full blown, at the age of 24. And SHE WOULD NOT HAVE THIS IF SHE HAD CUT OUT THE UNNECESSARY CONSUMPTION OF A MAN MADE DRINK.

You don't know what caused her kidney problems.

yes, bold claim to make. sorry about her friend but i hope there is some lab/blood work and a whole lot of tests to back up this claim. to come on here stating a form of a beverage is a cause of major kidney failure, based on a hunch, is not right.
from the neutral party. here is my search results, and none show anything other than a link to lifestyle choices and health.
http://scitechdaily.com/study-links-diet-soda-with-depression-in-older-adults/
http://www.uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat2.asp?newID=3861
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight
http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-there-a-link-between-diet-soda-and-heart-disease-201202214296
http://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-011-1968-2
http://bionews-tx.com/news/2013/05/23/ut-health-science-center-study-reveals-how-diet-soda-contributes-to-obesity-poor-health/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20075358-10391704/new-study-is-wake-up-call-for-diet-soda-drinkers

I asked the same thing. Me and a co-worker made a compact to limit our drinks to 20oz a day. This about killed me, I had the worse cravings ever. I decided to quit cold turkey and had no problems. Every now and then I get the need for some carbonation and I get a 20oz Dt Mountain Dew. When I stopped the drinks, I increased my water and drank regular tea- the result was a 10lb weight gain. I hope us giving up the drinks help in some way. Keep it up, meet you at the finish line!

I gave up diet soda first in April 2011 (lasted until September 2012 when I had some regression because of some nasty life things)....and again around Memorial Day this year. Both times I gave it up, I had some caffeine withdrawal headaches (I don't drink any other caffeine....only water). Know that water is an acquired taste. Right now, it may seem like a taste that you'd rather not acquire....but I can tell you from personal experience that the taste of water grew on me both times I kicked diet soda to the curb. After a couple of weeks each time I went to water-only, I began feeling more energized. I no longer had the highs and lows from caffeine in my system. I feel better when I drink only water. simple as that.

<sips a diet coke>

I have been successful at giving up soda a day or 2, but not for any extensive period. I'm not a coffee drinker, so diet soda really gets me my caffeine fix. I would try limiting the number of cans of soda daily first, then after getting to 1, try 1 every other day. I admire your cold turkey approach.

I think it's all about moderation.

Soda, whether diet or not, is not natural. It's syrup, high fructose corn syrup, caffeine, more chemicals than I care to prounounce and yet it's amazing and delicious. Coke Zero is seriously amazing and I love it, but I probably only have it once a month or so.

It's not a weight loss thing, I just don't like that junk going in my body in excess.

This!

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-vs-diet-drinks/

This article presents both sides of the argument. And points to, as many have suggested, moderation.

Like the OP, I can't have just one a week. If it's in the house, I will drink it. Makes it tough on my hubby who still likes to drink soda, but he is considerately only buying the smaller bottles for his lunches and not keeping 2 liters in the house (once it goes flat I won't drink it ... blech).

So I'm another all-or-nothing person. Occasionally (like last week) I get maaaaaaaaaaajor soda cravings, so I'll have a glass while we're eating out, or buy one little bottle or can, but for the most part I don't drink soda anymore. It's been years since I was a regular soda drinker.

I ALWAYS feel better when I'm off the soda. My muscles don't twitch, it's MUCH easier to stay hydrated, and I don't get the periodic caffeine-crash headaches from going too long without.

Short answer, yes, it's worth it.

It's an interesting thing I'm noticing....

A lot of people demonize diet soda because of aspartame, though no one seems to have much of a problem with Crystal Light. And you never hear much about sucralose. Coke Zero has sucralose instead of aspartame but it's still part of the "diet soda = evil" group.

A lot of people demonize diet soda because of caffeine, but no one seems to have a problem with coffee.

A lot of people demonize diet soda because of the carbonation, but no one seems to have a problem with seltzer.

I totally agree with all of your points about "can't prove a negative" and the funny biz about "caffeinated diet soda = bad, coffee = good", "diet soda = bad, seltzer = good" or "diet aspartame soda = bad, Crystal Light = good".

However, it is not true that Coke Zero has sucralose instead of aspartame. That was Diet Coke with Splenda and it wasn't as good as Coke Zero. I just looked up coca-cola.com and got the ingredients of Coke Zero:
Carbonated Water, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid, Aspartame, Potassium Benzoate (to protect taste), Natural Flavors, Potassium Citrate, Acesulfame Potassium, Caffeine

You can see that they're mixing Ace-K and aspartame, which is what accounts for the better taste. Sweeteners have a synergistic effect, so you can get the same amount of sweetness for less product. It probably also improves the flavor profile by stimulating slightly different receptors with each sweetener.

Also of note is phosphoric acid instead of citric acid that most sodas use. Coke Zero and Diet Dr Pepper both use phosphoric acid instead. There is some indication that it can cause a slight increase in calcium loss, but only in the presence of caffeine, and they hypothesized it might only be temporary, leading to a reduced calcium loss later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phosphoric_acid#In_soft_drinks For my part, I've had numerous DEXA scans and bone density checks throughout the most hardcore periods of caffeinated diet soda use, and it did not cause me a problem with bone density loss. However, the plural of anecdote is still not data...

Here's a bit of cool news though, in a few weeks, we can expect to see that last ingredient dropped from some Coke Zero. They're launching a caffeine-free version! Yay!

Of course, it won't be in fountains or vending machines, which is when I want to drink it. I promised not to drink soda around my husband because he's decided to quit. I know how mind-stunningly annoying it is to watch him get to eat whatever he wants and not get fat, so I don't want to put him through the same thing with soda. I think I can be happy with one bottle a day at work, plus Mio Energy in the morning and plain Mio the rest of the day. On weekends I'll probably enjoy iced tea with Splenda at restaurants.

But since I drink something that contains "chemicals" (ALL THINGS ARE CHEMICALS!) people are going to tell me that's not good enough. Good thing I'm too old to care what people tell me...

I quit diet coke as a nye resolution this year...cold turkey. Cravings stopped after a few days (I had been in the 4-6 can a day range for years).

Here's the thing...after a couple months, I felt...no different. At all. And I missed it so I started drinking it again. Whatevs. Diet coke has no bearing on MY weight, energy, or anything else.