peoples opinions of diet coke/pepsi? good or bad?

ihaveasoretoe
ihaveasoretoe Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
im trying to lose weight, and one of my biggest vices is diet coke or diet pepsi - is it bad to drink when its so few calories?? whats youre opinion on it? have you still lost weight but maintained drinking as much as you did when you were larger?
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Replies

  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I have no issues with it and have been drinking diet drinks for years now. Some people have a sensitivity to the artificial sweeteners or caffeine though. If you have no issues with it I see no reason you can't drink it if you like.
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
    "Aspartame is a non-calorie artificial sweetener comprised of methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is used in diet sodas and thousands of other products worldwide. Since it appeared on the US market in the 1980s, aspartame and the possible health risks from the substance have been a topic of much debate. Research has linked the sweetener to diabetes, fibromyalgia and certain forms of cancer."

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

    I would suggest slowly weaning yourself off of these bad boys! I used to LOVE diet coke, but now choose not to drink it anymore... I probably have a diet coke once or twice per month if I am socially out with friends... one here and there isn't going to hurt, but consistent beverages over time isn't worth the risk. Yes it's okay caloric wise, but if you're looking to a more healthy lifestyle change, avoid soft drink when possible :) Just my opinion but!
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
    water>diet coke

    diet coke>pigging out
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    "Aspartame is a non-calorie artificial sweetener comprised of methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is used in diet sodas and thousands of other products worldwide. Since it appeared on the US market in the 1980s, aspartame and the possible health risks from the substance have been a topic of much debate. Research has linked the sweetener to diabetes, fibromyalgia and certain forms of cancer."

    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

    It's worth noting that the quote and the URL listed are apparently not related in any way and you should visit the link and read it. (TD;DR: No, aspartame does not cause cancer, but there were some poorly conducted studies in the 80's.)

    As far as diet coke/pepsi - I'd wean off those. Diet orange and root beer is yummier.
  • MooseWizard
    MooseWizard Posts: 295 Member
    Moderation is key to everything. I am not one who believes you should ban yourself from things you love, but recognize it is not particularly healthy and find alternatives so you can cut back.
  • nyrina4life
    nyrina4life Posts: 196 Member
    I am strongly against diet pepsi / coke. But that is just more of a personal preference because I see so many negatives about the added chemicals, and such. If I'm going to suffer, I may as well sip a regular and budget it into my caloric intake.

    I also know from when I did drink diet versions of soda, I had massive headaches and I drank that stuff for a couple of years so I know it wasn't due to the sugar withdrawal. I drink just regular sodas. Once a day or none at all if I am not feeling the desire to have one.

    Also, if I was home I'd link you the articles I've read and share photos, but since I'm not... :)
  • belle_of_the_bar
    belle_of_the_bar Posts: 474 Member
    I've been trying to substitute my Diet Dr. Pepper with some of the natural stevia sweetened sodas. They taste good and don't have any crap in them, but they're pretty expensive, so it's a treat for me.
  • abble_pie
    abble_pie Posts: 144 Member
    I used to be addicted to diet soda, but after doing some research on all the artificial crap on it, I realized it was time to quit. I slowly weaned myself off of it by limiting to one a day and replacing with water--now I mostly drink water and only have a diet soda a few times a month when I go out to eat. Drinking it at home from a can just sounds gross to me now! I would suggest making a slow switch to water
  • CLFrancois
    CLFrancois Posts: 472 Member
    diet coke with splenda
    My fix.
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Over-priced carbonated water.
  • vaporhockey83
    vaporhockey83 Posts: 84 Member
    I made the change from Coke or Dr. Pepper to the Coke Zero and DP 10 or Diet Dr. Pepper. At first I was drinking a regular Cherry Coke a day and was appalled when I saw the amount of calories it had me intaking. Eventually, I'd mix just a spot of the regular stuff to the diet stuff. It's helped me shed pounds and I've adapted to the taste as I had never liked anything but maybe DP 10 or diet root beer. If you get into the artificial sweeteners, you'll get a lot of different takes. I won't give you my opinion as I don't know everything, but I suggest reading this. It debunks a few things in terms of what people have thought about them: http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/15/health/artificial-sweeteners-soda/index.html?iref=allsearch

    Overall, for someone who loves their soda/pop/whatever, the diet versions have helped me a lot in losing some weight. (I only drink 1 or 2 a day....keeping with the "in moderation" type of thought.)
  • theepervette
    theepervette Posts: 638 Member
    DIET does not make it any better.
    still crap useless calories...

    drop the soda if you're serious about dropping the weight
  • lovelyx091
    lovelyx091 Posts: 217 Member
    Coke Zero is my love♥, but I've stopped drinking so much soda. Used to drink one a day, now once every 3-4 days, working on making it once a week or something. Water is better, anyway.
  • ash190489
    ash190489 Posts: 587 Member
    No, they are NOT related, but here is the webpage it originated from...

    Aspartame is a non-calorie artificial sweetener comprised of methanol, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is used in diet sodas and thousands of other products worldwide. Since it appeared on the US market in the 1980s, aspartame and the possible health risks from the substance have been a topic of much debate. Research has linked the sweetener to diabetes, fibromyalgia and certain forms of cancer...

    http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/5-reasons-aspartame-is-bad-for-you.html#b

    The OTHER URL is a US cancer webpage - reputable and reinforcing the SAME message as the first webpage anyway.
  • DazedBlonde
    DazedBlonde Posts: 3
    I read an article a few months ago that said studies show people who drink diet soda are more likely to gain weight because it slows your metabolism over time. According to the studies, your body uses flavor cues to decide how much to rev your metabolism for whatever you're about to consume. Sweet = lots of calories, so your metabolism will increase when your body senses a sweet flavor, and it helps you burn calories more efficiently.

    Diet soda taste sweet, but has no calories, so your body adapts by not increasing your metabolism when it senses something sweet. It's fine if you're drinking the diet cola, but not so great if you're munching on a candy bar.

    Diet soda also still has a LOT of sodium, so zero calories doesn't equal healthy.

    I used to drink diet cola on an occasional basis, but now I stick with Jarritos soda. It has real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and I just drink a very small amount of it to get my carbonation/sugar fix.
  • jdm_taco
    jdm_taco Posts: 999 Member
    diet coke- delicious
    diet pepsi- dookie
  • vaporhockey83
    vaporhockey83 Posts: 84 Member
    A 20 oz bottle of Cherry Coke Zero has 70 mg of sodium which really isn't bad. Necessary? Nope. The metabolism part could be right, but there's so much unknown about artificial sweeteners.
    I read an article a few months ago that said studies show people who drink diet soda are more likely to gain weight because it slows your metabolism over time. According to the studies, your body uses flavor cues to decide how much to rev your metabolism for whatever you're about to consume. Sweet = lots of calories, so your metabolism will increase when your body senses a sweet flavor, and it helps you burn calories more efficiently.

    Diet soda taste sweet, but has no calories, so your body adapts by not increasing your metabolism when it senses something sweet. It's fine if you're drinking the diet cola, but not so great if you're munching on a candy bar.

    Diet soda also still has a LOT of sodium, so zero calories doesn't equal healthy.

    I used to drink diet cola on an occasional basis, but now I stick with Jarritos soda. It has real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, and I just drink a very small amount of it to get my carbonation/sugar fix.
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
    The OTHER URL is a US cancer webpage - reputable and reinforcing the SAME message as the first webpage anyway.

    No it does not.

    It's cool if you don't want to ingest it, but the cancer.org page says:
    "Aside from the possible effects in people with phenylketonuria, there are no health problems that have been consistently linked to aspartame use."

    And:
    What expert agencies say

    Expert agencies in the United States and elsewhere that have evaluated aspartame have found it safe for use.

    The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the use of aspartame and other artificial sweeteners in the United States. In 2007, the FDA stated:
    Considering results from the large number of studies on aspartame's safety, including five previously conducted negative chronic carcinogenicity studies, a recently reported large epidemiology study with negative associations between the use of aspartame and the occurrence of tumors, and negative findings from a series of three transgenic mouse assays, FDA finds no reason to alter its previous conclusion that aspartame is safe as a general purpose sweetener in food.

    The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) assesses the safety of sweeteners such as aspartame in the European Union. According to a 2009 report from its Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources Added to Food:
    Overall, the Panel concluded, on the basis of all the evidence currently available… that there is no indication of any genotoxic or carcinogenic potential of aspartame and that there is no reason to revise the previously established ADI for aspartame of 40 mg/kg [body weight].

    Though research into a possible link between aspartame and cancer continues, these agencies agree that studies done so far have not found such a link.

    ETA: The fitday link is a joke right? It's a blog post. Unsourced. No author is even listed. Please tell me that you get your health info from someplace more authoritative than this?
  • SCtolulu
    SCtolulu Posts: 154 Member
    I don't drink nearly as much as I used to but I love an ice cold regular Coke. I rarely drink diet. Not the same, not as good (taste wise imo).
    I still have a regular one a few times a week and it's yum :)
  • greentart
    greentart Posts: 411 Member
    I think you really have to think about what you want. I, personally, don't enjoy being addicted to anything. If you 'need' a diet coke, I view that as something being seriously wrong. Also, there is nothing even remotely natural about soda. It's pretty much all chemical sugar drink and I don't dig that either. Plus there are lots of studies out there that suggest that diet sodas are straight up bad for you, such as http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/779290.
    It links soda to an increased diabetes risk, both regular AND diet.

    But, if you want it, then its completely your opinion and your choice. Just like smoking a cigarette, eating cheesecake, or downing a bag of chips is.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I don't buy into the fear mongering so I will continue to drink my 2 or 3 diet pepsi a day.... hasn't effected my weightloss whatsoever...... Best of Luck
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    If you don't have PKU I wouldn't be concerned about consuming diet soda in moderation.
  • cindyhoney2
    cindyhoney2 Posts: 603 Member
    I don't drink them since I have cared what I put into my body. I even got my husband to stop w/the Mt Dew's, he was really addicted. Anything FULL of processed crap shouldn't be consumed. Moderation is the key IMO, anything in moderation
  • vaporhockey83
    vaporhockey83 Posts: 84 Member
    Exactly. Most of the testing they do with sweeteners is pumping mice with the human equivalent of 2,000 cans of diet soda a day. The FDA's recommendation is no more than 22 cans for a male or 15 for a female. Again, like you're saying here, moderation and no allergies/reactions to the sweeteners, and I think everything is just fine. I understand those who are against the unnatural products as well. High fructose corn syrup is no better.
    If you don't have PKU I wouldn't be concerned about consuming diet soda in moderation.
  • hzliiz
    hzliiz Posts: 166 Member
    I drink a bottle of Sparkling Ice every day and a diet coke or coke zero here and there. My metabolism works fine and I'm healthy and have not yet sprouted a second head from the chemicals. Enjoy, as with everything, in moderation.
  • bert16
    bert16 Posts: 726 Member
    I used to drink diet pop (soda) all the time; at least one per day for a lot of years. About two years ago, I went to a health and fitness spa where they weren't served and I didn't really miss them. After returning home, rather than researching and trying to reach a conclusion about whether or not they were really bad for me, I changed the question: instead, I asked whether they were really any good for me. For me, the answer was "no" - they don't contain anything that helps feed my training or provides me with any nutrients I need.

    Now, that's what made sense for me. I know that many people really heart their soda and I don't think it's the devil; I just decided that I'd rather consume things that help me, rather than those that are, at best, neutral, and, at worst, potentially harmful. Just figured I'd share this as a potentially different way to consider this!
  • Kittyvicious1
    Kittyvicious1 Posts: 190 Member
    there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings
  • hacker1234
    hacker1234 Posts: 225 Member
    Cut back if you drink alot of it by substituting water. I don't think 1-2 a day is harmful if you can get to that, you can likely get to 0 and go water all the time
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    there was a study which showed diet soda increases sugar cravings


    Here's a recent study done in 2013 that suggests otherwise:
    http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2013/01/30/ajcn.112.048405
  • fitnessbuff1234
    fitnessbuff1234 Posts: 3
    Diet Coke has Methanol in it , very dangerous to your health .

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