the real deal on diet soda?

dezcalouette
dezcalouette Posts: 13 Member
edited September 28 in Food and Nutrition
I love diet soda. I've tried to do without it a few times, since it's my only source of caffeine. I hear some people say it's bad when you're trying to lose weight and other people say there's nothing wrong with it. I've heard that it makes you crave sweet foods, that it makes you hungrier, & that all of that is BS. Anyone know the real deal?
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Replies

  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    It all BS. About to go out to eat, will post more in a bit.


    Simply put, enjoy diet soda. Nothing wrong with it.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    Diet soda is worse than drinking regular soda. There is another thread that has a lot of really good feedback on this question. I'll try to find and post it here.
  • bjohs
    bjohs Posts: 1,225 Member
    Here it is:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/252015-question-about-diet-pop?hl=diet+pop#posts-3329153
  • lovebeinGIGI
    lovebeinGIGI Posts: 72 Member
    I've heard some of the same things! When I did QuickWeightLoss several years back, there were a lot of things they told me that they couldn't "back up" with proof (the nurse in me wants to know why and not just be told do it!) They would tell me it was the carmel coloring in the diet soda that somehow inhibited weight loss. I asked for proof but never got any...LOL I had way more nutrition knowledge than they expected and finally I had to call BS on a lot of their "rules" and do it on my own.

    I'm a diet coke addict!! I MUST have one at least once a day!! I do try to minimize them though because of various things I have heard here and there on how bad they can be. But honestly, and it may sound odd, when I DO drink a diet coke, I find myself peeing more!! I know caffeine is a diuretic and that's the reason. But that's why I don't want to cut them out completely, I feel like I lose a litle water weight when I drink it. Silly...I know
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
    Well, it's certainly not good for you, that much is clear. But whether it causes cravings in people or doesn't do a thing is debatable, and is actually hotly debated. Personally I think it depends on the person and on how much of it you drink.

    There was a time when I did crave diet coke badly, and drank a lot of it. But since I've upped on the water I drink I find I don't crave it, and can have the occasional one without a restart of the craving.
  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
    Actually diet soda is not good for ya, whether you are trying to lose weight or just plain live. (I say this but diet coke is something I have to give up as I love it and know the bad bad badness of it or any soda, regular or diet).

    The artificial sweetners tend to make you crave unhealthy carbs and the tend to stick around in the mid section of women.
    There is so many unhealthy reasons to not drink soda in general. Like the fact that you can dissolve a nail in coke, you can clean battery acid off your batteries and cables with coke....I mean really, these things are true, I have done them. Just think of what it is doing to our bodies!

    If you truly want to drink healthy, go with water, it is what our bodies need!
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Please, to LESSEN the spread of FALSE information, try and post in this manner:


    1. Make your claim about why diet soda is "bad" in regards to weight loss.
    2. Do not list anecdotal evidence or, "well it did/didn't work for me". Causation does not imply correlation.
    3. Once making your claim, PLEASE post controlled studies in which these things are proven.



    I can assure you, NO ONE will be able to follow these guidelines. Why, because diet soda DOES NOT affect weight loss.



    WHY am i so Hellbent on the spreading of FALSE information in regards to weight loss, or general overall health? Because diet soda is something that can be enjoyed on a restricted calorie diet in order to REDUCE THE FEELINGS of deprivation that they have been known to cause. (admittedly anecdotal, oops;-))



    Again, going out to eat, will be back in a bit to participate in the discussion.
  • a_reyes9288
    a_reyes9288 Posts: 36
    Honestly I do not know whether diet coke is healthy or unhealthy for you, what I did once I started dieting I just cut out any type of carbonated beverage out of my system.... my substitute? Unsweetened Iced Tea with 1 packet of sugar.... you wouldn't believe how delicious refreshing and thirst quenching it is!!! And it still contains caffeine!!

    That's my only 2 cents on the subject

    But if you love it so much then drink it.... in moderation =)
  • Jenscan
    Jenscan Posts: 694 Member
    Oh lord. Here we go AGAIN.
  • erin_elizabeth
    erin_elizabeth Posts: 5
    I saw a study that said caffeine consumption makes you burn an additional 100-200 calories a day. Like you, my only source of caffeine is from Diet Coke (which I LOVE!!!), so I am not going to stop drinking diet soda. I'll try to find the study and post it later.
  • KS_4691
    KS_4691 Posts: 228 Member
    Please, to LESSEN the spread of FALSE information, try and post in this manner:


    1. Make your claim about why diet soda is "bad" in regards to weight loss.
    2. Do not list anecdotal evidence or, "well it did/didn't work for me". Causation does not imply correlation.
    3. Once making your claim, PLEASE post controlled studies in which these things are proven.


    you mean correlation does not imply causation.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Lmao...


    Yes, ^ this.
  • John_Gonna_Do_Better
    John_Gonna_Do_Better Posts: 9 Member
    Well I work over nights so the caffeine in it helps keep me up so I tend to drink a bottle every day at work. I only drink sprite zero due to the zero calories, but at the same time I always drink more than 8 cups a day. Now I do believe that diet sodas are better than regular sodas because from what I see regular sodas have everything the diet ones have but more. So if you can cut some things down in those sodas like calories it’s not a bad thing. I don’t think anyone should drink soda all day everyday but a few times a week isn’t that bad. But as for diet sodas making you have cravings for sweets, I think it does give some people those cravings. I tend to want to eat some snacks while at work with soda but I realize that its making matters worse by doing that. But in dieting you have to have control over those cravings. And when you control it, you win!!!
  • chizzledfrmstone
    chizzledfrmstone Posts: 58
    I'm trying to find an article in Behavioral Neuroscience where a study showed diet sodas caused people to eat more Calories than non-diet soda drinkers. Right now I can only find an article in Scientific American (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=artificial-sweeteners-confound-the-brain). Here also http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/02/diet_soda.php

    It basically stated that psychologically the body MIGHT use taste as a predictor for Calorie content and since diet sodas taste sweet without calories it caused a dissonance. This can cause people to eat more later on.

    Edit: http://www.biojobblog.com/bne-feb08-swithers.pdf
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    In regards to overall effect on appetite and satiety, studies have shown that there is no signifiant difference in gut regulating hormones and appetite after the ingestion of artificial sweeteners. One even shows the appetite was DECREASED after the ingestion of aspartame, but this was more attributed to changes in phenylalanine circulations.


    Key points from a couple of studies involving artificial sweeteners showing a slight decrease in hunger:


    "There was a correlation between the increase in plasma phenylalanine and decrease in desire to eat after the liquid meal following the constituent amino acids (r=-.9774, P=.004). In conclusion, it is unlikely that aspartame increases satiety via CCK- or GLP-1-mediated mechanisms, but small changes in circulating phenylalanine concentrations may influence appetite."



    "Desire to eat was reduced from 60 to 120 min following the amino acids preload (control, -337.1 mm min; aspartame, -505.4 mm min; amino acids, -1497.1 mm min; incremental AUC 60-120 min, P<.05).


    An abstract and full text showing no effect on insulin, GLP-1, GIP, etc.



    http://ajpgi.physiology.org/content/296/4/G735.full


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12782208
  • FearAnLoathing
    FearAnLoathing Posts: 4,852 Member
    Actually diet soda is not good for ya, whether you are trying to lose weight or just plain live. (I say this but diet coke is something I have to give up as I love it and know the bad bad badness of it or any soda, regular or diet).

    The artificial sweetners tend to make you crave unhealthy carbs and the tend to stick around in the mid section of women.
    There is so many unhealthy reasons to not drink soda in general. Like the fact that you can dissolve a nail in coke, you can clean battery acid off your batteries and cables with coke....I mean really, these things are true, I have done them. Just think of what it is doing to our bodies!

    If you truly want to drink healthy, go with water, it is what our bodies need!

    Did you know stomach acid will eat through carpet,and thats in our stomach
  • Spitfirex007
    Spitfirex007 Posts: 749 Member
    Diet soda is worse than drinking regular soda. There is another thread that has a lot of really good feedback on this question. I'll try to find and post it here.

    This ^^^^ Soda is bad period! One of the worst things you can put in your body!
  • rhernandez
    rhernandez Posts: 4 Member
    I brought this up with my trainer this week, and was told that of course neither the real or diet are good for you, but the diet is full of artificial sweeteners that do cause you to crave unhealthy foods. They also don't tell you all that are in artificial sweeteners where as sugar is sugar. When you are eating a healthy lifestyle, and drink the real pop/soda, you don't want as much because your body is not accustom to the sweet, so you drink less. He told me if the two were given to him, he would take the real pop/soda.
  • helloburger
    helloburger Posts: 243 Member
    i agree soda is bad full stop. if your drinking 8 glasses of water a day you shouldnt really have time to drink coke. ive given it up basically due to not being able to fit it in with my water intake. there is far to much sugar in these drinks so if your serious about getting healthy then do with out.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Diet soda is worse than drinking regular soda. There is another thread that has a lot of really good feedback on this question. I'll try to find and post it here.

    This ^^^^ Soda is bad period! One of the worst things you can put in your body!


    Why?
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    i agree soda is bad full stop. if your drinking 8 glasses of water a day you shouldnt really have time to drink coke. ive given it up basically due to not being able to fit it in with my water intake. there is far to much sugar in these drinks so if your serious about getting healthy then do with out.


    Diet soda contains no sugar...
  • Uk_Yogini
    Uk_Yogini Posts: 167
    Diet soda is artificial and not healthy for your body regardless of trying to lose weight or not. Try plain sparkling water and to add flavor you can add slices of fresh fruit, say oranges/lemons or you can add a few drops juice.
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    Diet soda is artificial and not healthy for your body regardless of trying to lose weight or not. Try plain sparkling water and to add flavor you can add slices of fresh fruit, say oranges/lemons or you can add a few drops juice.


    What in it is unhealthy?
  • PattyCake123
    PattyCake123 Posts: 156 Member
    While as many of you have pointed out that Diet Coke has no sugar, it has an artificial sweetener called Aspartame, which is the ingredient that is unhealthy for you. Below I have posted a link to a really great article explaining exactly what Aspartame is and what it can do to the body. I think if I tried to summarize it up I would do it an injustice, so I highly suggest reading about it.

    http://aspartame.mercola.com/
  • beaches20004
    beaches20004 Posts: 17
    I love diet soda. I've tried to do without it a few times, since it's my only source of caffeine. I hear some people say it's bad when you're trying to lose weight and other people say there's nothing wrong with it. I've heard that it makes you crave sweet foods, that it makes you hungrier, & that all of that is BS. Anyone know the real deal?

    I heard that the carbination in it makes you look fat. I have heard too that it is better to just drink reg soda.
  • ColoradoRobin
    ColoradoRobin Posts: 510 Member
    I like it and drink it with no issues. I drink lots of water and tea as well. Aspartame has been proven safe to my satisfaction and I eat that also. To each his own.
  • mrstyler
    mrstyler Posts: 43
    I want to jump in and point out that studies do show a correlation between diet soda intake and higher weight & diabetes. There is not causation given.

    That said, I know from personal experience that I have issues when I drink diet soda on an empty stomach. I would think this has to do with the fact that the body begins to produce insulin once it tastes something sweet, but since I'm just drinking Diet Coke, there is no sugar to be compensating for. I cannot say this is true, however, this seems to be a logical hypothesis based on my experiences [and my doctor also feels its possible.]

    I still drink my Diet Coke happily though, but with food and not frequently. I am in that anecdotal bandwagon that feels like a lot of artificial sweeteners make me crave more sweet things--but consuming large amounts of any type of sweet product, real or not, makes me crave more!
  • Scentlessapprentice
    Scentlessapprentice Posts: 170 Member
    I don't see the problem with enjoying it once in a while. In the grand scheme of things a can of fizzy juice wont kill you, it's not like injecting heroin into your eyeballs.

    Everything in moderation and all that
  • beckajw
    beckajw Posts: 1,728 Member
    There have been studies that say that there is a correlation between diet soda and diabetes, but if you really read those studies you find that they are merely hypothoses. There hasn't been a study that actually conclusively links diet soda to anything. If you're trying to lose weight, diet soda can be a really good tool to get that non-dieting feeling without the calories and sugar.

    I've been a diabetic (Type 1) since 1990. I have drank diet since that time. So far, no adverse effects. I had an aunt (non-diabetic) who lived to be 95, she drank about a case of diet soda a day.

    I'm not going to stop drinking it.

    Some people truly believe it is harmful to them and they simply should not drink it.

    Everyone needs to make their own decision. If you believe it's bad, you should avoid it. If you don't, then go ahead and drink it.

    Until there is a conclusive study, I'm ignoring the "findings".
  • mapexdrummer69
    mapexdrummer69 Posts: 445
    I love diet soda. I've tried to do without it a few times, since it's my only source of caffeine. I hear some people say it's bad when you're trying to lose weight and other people say there's nothing wrong with it. I've heard that it makes you crave sweet foods, that it makes you hungrier, & that all of that is BS. Anyone know the real deal?

    I heard that the carbination in it makes you look fat. I have heard too that it is better to just drink reg soda.

    This is simply not true.
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