Diet sodas: noticed any difference within your body?

Also, I am sure this is really silly question - but what does TMJ stand for??

Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJ disorders) are problems or symptoms of the chewing muscles and joints that connect your lower jaw to your skull.

It's why I gave up chewing gum several years ago. I don't miss it at all.

Thanks for answering my question.

OP I cannot see how drinking diet sodas or not drinking them would affect this disorder.

Too much caffeine can make you jittery and clench your jaws, which can exacerbate TMJ. If OP were to slowly switch to decaf diet soda, it would help. Don't switch cold turkey or you will get massive headaches from withdrawal!

I have gone cold turkey from Diet Coke several times, for months at a time. I do tend to eat fewer salty, crunchy snack foods when I'm off it, just because the salty snacks and the sweet soda pair naturally to me. Caffeine withdrawal is a bish for a few days up to a week -- nasty headaches and some moodiness. Then I find myself exhausted and sleep like a rock during the next week or so, and I continue sleeping more over time. Sleeping earlier, better, and longer is the positive effect for me. The negative effect is needing to spend so much time sleeping.

I don't have any interest in quitting it permanently; the temporary quits have been for a variety of reasons, from "sympathy Lent" for a friend to chiropractor's orders during a series of adjustments that required a lot of rest and recovery. And sometimes I just quit for a while if I feel like I've been drinking too much of it. Doesn't seem to be an issue at all as long as I drink at least as much water as Diet Coke during the day.

I don't see how diet soda would affect TMJ. Caffeine making you clench your jaw sounds a little far-fetched to me, but who knows, I can't categorically deny that possibility.

As to weight loss... Diet Coke absolutely, positively helped me lose weight. Because once I decided to lose weight, I stopped buying Diet Coke at the grocery store... I would only allow myself to have one if I walked to the corner store to get it. And then I started walking to stores on corners farther away, and pretty soon I was making a 1- to 3-mile round trip every time I wanted a soda. I packed on the miles each day to get my fix! :bigsmile:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/

Actually, many scientific studies have been done and they do show a correlation between artificial sweeteners and craving sugar. Also, artificial sweetener consumption and weight gain have a correlation. The above link compares many different legitamite studies. For years, I have gained and lost weight and never wanted to believe this was true. In January, I finally stopped with eating artificial sweeteners and it has made an unbelievable difference in my 'sweet tooth'. I still have a lot of weight to loss, but this has made a difference for me.

Also, correlation does NOT equal causation.

preach. also, even if it were 100% true that artificial sweeteners make you crave sugar, it's not the artificial sweetener that makes you gain weight. it's your inability to say no to your real sugar cravings. Thus, diet soda does not make a person fat....the excess of other things they choose to put in their mouths does.

Yeah I went through my little diet coke phase, I used to drink like 2 cans per meal. Dizzy spells would hit me really hard and pretty often, that's the big reason I stopped drinking it regularly and now save it as a treat. I also notice I got headaches more often and my cravings were through the roof. Honestly though I think my problems sprouted more from how much I was drinking it than the actual drink itself.

I drink Pepsi Max (the UK kind, the US kind is terrible in comparison!) and I quit for an entire year as an experiment. I found 0 difference in my life at all.

It is very interesting how certain foods can affect different people in different ways. I have a friend who had debilitating migraines that were pretty much stopped after he cut out gluten and aspartame. He tried each one separately to make sure it was both that caused the migraines.

I don't seem to have a problem with aspartame, but most of the sugar subs I use, are Stevia and Splenda. Processed sugars and grains, especially wheat, contribute to inflammation and pain in my body, (arthritis and other AI conditions in my spine and joints), so I know I have to limit those. I might try cutting out aspartame altogether just to see if it makes a difference.