Is it worth it to quit diet soda? Have you?

biggsterjackster wrote: »

I quit drinking diet soda a few months ago. Had about one diet coke every day. Now I feel so much better, no more bloated belly. It was pretty bad at times. I only drink water or tea. Took me a while to get used to.

I'm surprised that one serving of diet soda would cause bloating? My profile picture was taken shortly after I drank a can of diet soda, no bloat at all. I drink 2-4 cans a day and don't have issues at all. Interesting how we're all so different

Sarasmaintaining wrote: »

biggsterjackster wrote: »

I quit drinking diet soda a few months ago. Had about one diet coke every day. Now I feel so much better, no more bloated belly. It was pretty bad at times. I only drink water or tea. Took me a while to get used to.

I'm surprised that one serving of diet soda would cause bloating? My profile picture was taken shortly after I drank a can of diet soda, no bloat at all. I drink 2-4 cans a day and don't have issues at all. Interesting how we're all so different

Yes, my husband drinks about 5per day and it has zero effect on him. For me it was not just the diet soda, pretty much any food or drink with artificial sweetener like aspartame, saccharin etc. would cause the painful bloating.

lacusfitness wrote: »

My opinion. Ditch the soda. I used to drink pepsi a lot but eventually I cut down & now I don't touch it. Saved me a lot of calories & sugar. Also diet drinks aren't the best thing to drink. In some ways they can be worse than the non diet soda plus it doesn't really do anything for you. Soda just gets you hyper & makes you crave more of it. It can also help with weight loss to get rid of it as well as it will save you lots of money.

It might do these things to YOU, but it doesn't to everyone.
Drinking or not drinking diet soda makes no difference to calories or sugar and is not worse than anything.
It does not make me hyper at all or give me cravings.

The money thing you have a point.

OP I believe in all things in moderation and I see no harm in a moderate amount of diet soda - but 6 cans a day does seem bit much.
Perhaps cut down to one or two a day.

The only people who can't drink diet sodas with Aspartame have a rare genetic condition called Phenylketonuria who must avoid anything with phenylalanine. You would definitely know if you had this condition.

Besides for that, too many a day could cause issues long term with tooth decay or stomach irritation from the acidity, but it's not a given correlation. I wouldn't swish it in my mouth for long periods of time though ;-)

Excessive caffeine could cause some unpleasant short term side effects too I suppose, although studies have shown you need to drink about a 10-12 cans of soda a day to start getting serious side effects. If your 6 sodas are big 20-24 ounce bottles and you drink coffee or tea on top of that, you could be getting a little too much caffeine.

nancypnurse wrote: »

I have asked many doctors this question. They tell me that water is best; however, if it keeps you from eating/drinking sugar.... go for it. They state that there are many REPUTABLE, controlled studies that show the dangers of sugar. The literature is less clear with diet soda. If it makes you feel more hungry, don't drink it. If you are diabetic, and it makes your insulin needs greater, quit drinking it. Otherwise, moderation is key.

It also depends on the person and their other health issues. My best friend has Lupus. Either because of the Lupus, or more likely because of the drugs she takes to control the Lupus, she has a huge problem with osteoporosis. Her doctors have told her many, many times that she should stop drinking diet coke because it impacts the body's ability to absorb calcium....and therefore makes osteoporosis worse. She refuses to stop. And she has had both hips, one knee, and one shoulder replaced as a result.

For some people diet soda is a bad idea. Per the National Osteoporosis Society, "People with osteoporosis should not drink more than five cola drinks a week." Link below.

http://nof.org/faq/588

I used to have 3-4 cans of diet soda a day. I loved, loved, loved it! I loved it with ice... nice and cold! Aaaaaah! But, like you, it started to bother me that I was dependent on it. So, I slowly cut back (I did this back in 2012) and now I just drink water. Sometimes I'll have a soda with a meal when I go out to dinner. But, mostly, I just drink water (I've always loved water, though, so this was never a hardship). These decisions have to be our own and they can't be because of the fear-mongering so prevalent in the news media. When it's a decision from within, it sticks around. Maybe, if you want to make a change, you can cut back on the amount. Listen to what the little voice is saying to you. It's the inner voice that usually is telling us something important. Cheers!

I really, really, really like diet soda. But I have cut back on it to help with my overall goal to consume fewer chemicals, processed foods and artificially derived products. An acquaintance's father was a food inspector...some of the stories about what is lurking in the bottom of vats or acceptable in certain percentages kind of puts me off a bit!

Best thing I ever did was quit drinking pop/soda. Diet Coke was the culprit. Ever notice how disgusting it tastes after a month or two off? You can taste the chemicals. It should signal an issue when your head hurts because you quit! Withdrawal from caffeine. I have had one time I had some black coffee(not a thing in it) just to move my morning along, once. Getting up at 5 at the gym usually wakes me up. Lifting, then cardio and then a shower. Usually that is all the lift I need!