Is soda really "evil"?

I cannot live a life without carbonation. Everyone is always talking about how horrible soda is, my mom won't even buy it. But do you really have to stop drinking soda to be healthy? Is it really that bad? One can a day might be bad, how about once a week at most? Also have any of you ever mixed sprite with fruit juice? It creates the most amazing drink.

I guess I'm asking is if you can have a healthy diet while enjoying soda. I would never drink it every day, like I said once a week at the very very most which happens pretty much never. I recently got some cans of soda and I feel horrible drinking them... can soda stay in a healthy diet when it's used as an occasional treat? As you can see in my picture I am thin, but it's what people call "skinny fat", do I have no hope to become "skinny healthy" if I drink soda?

Either tell me it's ok or try to convince me to stop drinking it with facts about how horrible it is. (please tell me it's ok I love soda)

Soda isn't evil. Soda can stay in a healthy diet. The key is simply moderation.

Simply treat soda as a snack/treat because that's what it really is. You can have snack/treats on a diet . There are no hard and fast rules saying a snack/treat (or anything for that matter) has to be organic, gluten-free, unprocessed, blessed by angels, and otherwise stamped "special" by the food police.

I just read a thread where an MFP'r was devastated after eating 7 bananas in one sitting. They didn't know the calorie/carb content in bananas (700 calories lol). Are bananas evil? No. Ignorance about content and portion control might be evil.

When I have to pull a *rare* all-nighter for work I grab two cans of mountain dew and a protein shake. You can hear heavy metal music fade in on the first can and the smell of brimstone on the second can. By sunrise, the angel choir kicks back in as I revert back to my regular dietary intake of water already in progress.

One day I realized I had a lopsided macro nutrient balance after logging all my food and exercise. Lots of room for carbs, fat, and calories. I realized I could fit a medium order of McDonald's french fries and a small coke lol. It was *awesome*. Hasn't happened again for a long time. I did outright cheat this weekend, though.

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

If you want to pare down to only the human studies where *moderate* amounts of aspartame were consumed, then I'll be interested. Until then I'm sticking with this:

As expected, the research is complex making it possible to cherry pick and misinterpret individual studies in order to fear monger.

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

Seriously, who is holding all my checks from big sugar and big wheat??? Its like Monsanto is never going to pay up. Sigh, guess I'll just have to live without them and be satisfied with my bangin' body and deprivation-free lifestyle.

ETA: Soda is fine in moderation. Everything is fine in moderation. No food is 'evil', its just food. If you don't have an allergy and it fits in your calories, go for it.

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

If you want to pare down to only the human studies where *moderate* amounts of aspartame were consumed, then I'll be interested. Until then I'm sticking with this:

As expected, the research is complex making it possible to cherry pick and misinterpret individual studies in order to fear monger.

A list of questionable studies, the most recent of which is 15 years ago...sounds legit.

I drink carbonated fruit flavored water, but I don't think soda is evil (diet or regular) in moderation. I pretty much don't think anything is evil in moderation for most people. Gluten soy and shellfish are evil for me, but that isn't the norm. I have food allergies and celibacy disease.
Now my friend the dental hygienist thinks it is evil unless you brush your teeth right afterward...but that is about it being bad for your teeth.

I think you mean celiac?

Are you saying that celibacy isn't a disease?

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

Seriously, who is holding all my checks from big sugar and big wheat??? Its like Monsanto is never going to pay up. Sigh, guess I'll just have to live without them and be satisfied with my bangin' body and deprivation-free lifestyle.

and don't forget your humility.

who said I was humble? I love the way I look.

I drink carbonated fruit flavored water, but I don't think soda is evil (diet or regular) in moderation. I pretty much don't think anything is evil in moderation for most people. Gluten soy and shellfish are evil for me, but that isn't the norm. I have food allergies and celibacy disease.
Now my friend the dental hygienist thinks it is evil unless you brush your teeth right afterward...but that is about it being bad for your teeth.

I think you mean celiac?

Are you saying that celibacy isn't a disease?

Nah, too easy.

I used to love drinking soda, but it ruined my kidneys. Any time I drink one now I almost instantly get a UTI until I flush it out. I haven't touched a soda in months. I'm talking 4+ months, and I've been UTI free now ever since. It was the best choice I ever made.

If I need that carbonation now, I drink naturally flavored sparkling water.

A list of questionable studies, the most recent of which is 15 years ago...sounds legit.

Just out of curiosity, have you actually read a single one of them? Cause I know I haven't and I wouldn't feel comfortable calling all of those studies questionable simply because they didn't conform with my confirmation bias. Note: I'd say that about a study on either side, but would want to 1) actually look at the study and 2) know who funded it.

You stick with what you know then. :flowerforyou:

I will! But you didn't answer the question.

Aspartame is a highly studied food additive with decades of research showing that it is safe for human consumption. As expected, the research is complex making it possible to cherry pick and misinterpret individual studies in order to fear monger. But the totality of research, reviewed by many independent agencies and expert panels, supports the safety of aspartame.

A conspiracy to hide the risks of aspartame, however, remains a popular internet urban legend that will likely not disappear anytime soon.

Do you own stock in Monsanto?

http://www.worldstar.com/~trufax/online/aspartame.html

Peer-Reviewed Studies Showing Aspartame is Neurotoxic to Life Forms


1970 Olney, Brain Damage in Infant Mice Following Oral Intake of Glutamate, Aspartate or Cysteine. Nature 1970;227:609-610. Funding Source: Washington University Findings: Adverse reaction identified.

... edit wall o text and a bunch of articles that poster never even read ...

1998 Trocho C, Pardo R, Rafecas I, Virgili J, Remesar X, Fernandez-Lopez JA, Alemany M, Formaldehyde Derived From Dietary Aspartame Binds to Tissue Components In Vivo. Life Sciences 1998;63(5);337-349. Funding Source: Universitat de Barcelona Findings: Adverse reaction identified.

Nothing post 1998? And to the idea of anyone here being a shill for a corporation and not just an individual with a different point of view than you...

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

Seriously, who is holding all my checks from big sugar and big wheat??? Its like Monsanto is never going to pay up. Sigh, guess I'll just have to live without them and be satisfied with my bangin' body and deprivation-free lifestyle.

and don't forget your humility.

who said I was humble? I love the way I look.

Apparently. Well, good for you then. Personally, I think that 4th picture is pretty interesting.

I think personal attacks on others are against the forum rules.

They are! Which is only one of the reasons why I don't do it.

A list of questionable studies, the most recent of which is 15 years ago...sounds legit.

Just out of curiosity, have you actually read a single one of them? Cause I know I haven't and I wouldn't feel comfortable calling all of those studies questionable simply because they didn't conform with my confirmation bias. Note: I'd say that about a study on either side, but would want to 1) actually look at the study and 2) know who funded it.

You can only read the same study so many times. I've read plenty of them on this subject. It gets old. At some point you have to start ignoring the chicken littles and their panic attacks. That said, I don't drink soda, but I also don't go around telling everyone else that they're going to die from it. I just don't like sweet drinks, with the exception of Sauternes.

Is that what these studies say? That they are going to die from drinking it? Somehow I doubt that is what they say.

Also, aren't you potentially closing yourself off from new information if/when it is published if you think you already know enough based on old studies you've read and formed opinions on?

The listed studies stopped in the late 1990s. Do you have a point?

I used to love drinking soda, but it ruined my kidneys. Any time I drink one now I almost instantly get a UTI until I flush it out. I haven't touched a soda in months. I'm talking 4+ months, and I've been UTI free now ever since. It was the best choice I ever made.

If I need that carbonation now, I drink naturally flavored sparkling water.

UTIs are infections caused by bacteria. Unless you were spritzing bacteria laden soda into your urethra, the soda was not causing the infection. If anything, the caffeine would irritate the infection that was already there. UTIs can be present without the feeling of burning during urination. You should see a doctor, get a urinalysis and then some meds (if you have one).

STAHP with the erroneous pseudo-medical craziness.

Yep, just a Monsanto shill, living in a 2 bedroom apartment on a Navy base and driving my 7-year-old car. :laugh:

Seriously, who is holding all my checks from big sugar and big wheat??? Its like Monsanto is never going to pay up. Sigh, guess I'll just have to live without them and be satisfied with my bangin' body and deprivation-free lifestyle.

and don't forget your humility.

who said I was humble? I love the way I look.

Apparently. Well, good for you then. Personally, I think that 4th picture is pretty interesting.

I find your paranoia and dedication to the idea of a mean person brigade pretty 'interesting' personally. Let's talk about that.

Were kids mean to you in school? Are you hoping for a White Knight award? Do the voices tell you about conspiracies and special groups you aren't privy to?

Lol. Yup, that must be it. :yawn: