Are "diet" sodas really bad

lynnstrick01 wrote: »

There are conflicting opinions here, which I expected, but I think what I am learning from all of you, (no matter what side you are on) is what I really already knew, (just needed reminding).... MODERATION is the key,, I think I will allow myself that diet soda when I crave it, but i will try to make it more of a "treat" than as a way of life

lynnstrick01 wrote: »

aren't most people at mfp overweight?

beatyfamily1 wrote: »

I'll say something with my experience. I use to work for Coca-Cola. When I pulled pallets of diets or zeros it was always heavier than the regular sodas because of all the sugar that's in them.

grace42d wrote: »

You all are kidding - right? It is not the lack of calories that make diet soda bad for you, it is the chemicals which increase the risk of metabolic syndrome.

Google "scientific research on diet soda" and several journal articles pop up. Here is a quote from the American Diabetes Association "At least daily consumption of diet soda was associated with a 36% greater relative risk of incident metabolic syndrome and a 67% greater relative risk of incident type 2 diabetes compared with nonconsumption (HR 1.36 [95% CI 1.11–1.66] for metabolic syndrome and 1.67 [1.27–2.20] for type 2 diabetes)" (source: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/32/4/688.full)

and here is another "This is one of the largest studies on this topic, and our findings are consistent with some previous data, especially those linking diet drinks to the metabolic syndrome.” – Dr. Ankur Vyas, a Fellow in cardiovascular disease at UI Hospitals and Clinics, and the lead investigator of the study". (source: http://now.uiowa.edu/2014/03/ui-study-finds-diet-drinks-associated-heart-trouble-older-women)

If you don't know what metabolic syndrome is, I strongly encourage you to find out. It is a very scary syndrome without which there would be no MFP.

Take care of you total body health, quit diet soda today.

finneyjason218 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

finneyjason218 wrote: »

The problem with diet sodas isn't the calories or the "chemicals". It's the artificial sweetener, but not for the reasons you have probably been told... (They do not cause cancer)

When you consume zero calorie sweetened foods or beverages you are tricking your body. Your body wants sugar because it has a lot of quickly available energy that your ancestors might need to go hunt a deer and kill it with their bare hands. But your body also has an 'off switch' for your sweet tooth that tells you when you've had all the short release energy your body can use at a time. When you consume artificial sweeteners, your body thinks it has achieved it's goal to obtain quickly available calories, when it hasn't. Upon realizing that it didn't get the energy that it thinks it should have, it quickly puts in a order for more sugar. If you again satisfy this impulse with another diet soda, the pattern will repeat itself. After prolonged diet soda consumption, your body's sweetness regulation is all out of wack. It now believes you need to consume an ungodly amount of sweets in order to get just a tiny amount of energy from them. Now when you reach for that candy bar, the real sugar (with the calories) will be registered as a tiny fraction of what you need, and you will more than likely go in for a second or third. This is where the weight gain from diet sodas comes from.

I have experienced this first hand. About 3 years ago, I was drinking 12 diet sodas a day roughly. No big deal, that's still 0 calories right? Wrong. I remember that I couldn't trust myself around sweets, I had to keep them out of the house or I would eat all of them. I could easily eat a whole package of Oreo's in one sitting. I just thought I had a crazy intense sweet tooth. Then, about 2 years ago, I learned what diet sodas where actually doing to my body's built in regulation center, and cut them out entirely. Now, I maaaybe have 1 regular soda every month or two, and can easily have a one piece of cake, or a cookie when grandma goes through a lot of effort to make them for us, without needing to eat them all.

If you do drink diet sodas, just know that you haven't done any permanent damage to your body, but if your goal is to lose weight, you really should cut them out of your life. They will turn satisfying treats into unsatisfying binges very quickly.

I have no idea about the science behind this but I'm pretty sure most of us aren't drinking 12 diet sodas per day.

I went overboard with the diet sodas, sure, but really any artificial sweetener will have this effect. The more you drink the more you will notice it. 12 sodas a day and you will have no sweetness regulation at all. One every 2 days, and the effect will probably be too mild to notice.
As had been said before, taking anything in moderation, you will probably be fine

elaineously wrote: »

finneyjason218 wrote: »

The problem with diet sodas isn't the calories or the "chemicals". It's the artificial sweetener, but not for the reasons you have probably been told... (They do not cause cancer)

When you consume zero calorie sweetened foods or beverages you are tricking your body. Your body wants sugar because it has a lot of quickly available energy that your ancestors might need to go hunt a deer and kill it with their bare hands. But your body also has an 'off switch' for your sweet tooth that tells you when you've had all the short release energy your body can use at a time. When you consume artificial sweeteners, your body thinks it has achieved it's goal to obtain quickly available calories, when it hasn't. Upon realizing that it didn't get the energy that it thinks it should have, it quickly puts in a order for more sugar. If you again satisfy this impulse with another diet soda, the pattern will repeat itself. After prolonged diet soda consumption, your body's sweetness regulation is all out of wack. It now believes you need to consume an ungodly amount of sweets in order to get just a tiny amount of energy from them. Now when you reach for that candy bar, the real sugar (with the calories) will be registered as a tiny fraction of what you need, and you will more than likely go in for a second or third. This is where the weight gain from diet sodas comes from.

I have experienced this first hand. About 3 years ago, I was drinking 12 diet sodas a day roughly. No big deal, that's still 0 calories right? Wrong. I remember that I couldn't trust myself around sweets, I had to keep them out of the house or I would eat all of them. I could easily eat a whole package of Oreo's in one sitting. I just thought I had a crazy intense sweet tooth. Then, about 2 years ago, I learned what diet sodas where actually doing to my body's built in regulation center, and cut them out entirely. Now, I maaaybe have 1 regular soda every month or two, and can easily have a one piece of cake, or a cookie when grandma goes through a lot of effort to make them for us, without needing to eat them all.

If you do drink diet sodas, just know that you haven't done any permanent damage to your body, but if your goal is to lose weight, you really should cut them out of your life. They will turn satisfying treats into unsatisfying binges very quickly.

Bravo! I'm glad someone finally explained the insulin release that happens with fake and or real sugar. When I stopped drinking sweetened drinks I lost weight easier and quicker.

ndj1979 wrote: »

I believe the issue is that posters belief that it somehow makes diet soda bad

ndj1979 wrote: »

d_thomas02 wrote: »

ndj1979 wrote: »

I believe the issue is that posters belief that it somehow makes diet soda bad

All I got out of that post was that she thought regular soda was heavier. I saw nothing to indicate an opinion one way or the other, good vs. bad. Just heavier.

I believe the they contain sugar thus heavier is the evidence that you are looking for..