Diet Sodas

I know we don't know each other but I love finding out new things so I looked up an article on this and here is what I got!

I drink diet soda every day. Could this be harmful?
Answer
from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.

Drinking a reasonable amount of diet soda a day, such as a can or two, isn't likely to hurt you. The artificial sweeteners and other chemicals currently used in diet soda are safe for most people, and there's no credible evidence that these ingredients cause cancer. Some types of diet soda are even fortified with vitamins and minerals. But diet soda isn't a health drink or a silver bullet for weight loss. Although switching from regular soda to diet soda may save you calories, some studies suggest that drinking more than one soda a day — regular or diet — increases your risk of obesity and related health problems such as type 2 diabetes.

Healthier choices abound. Start your day with a small glass of 100 percent fruit juice. Drink skim milk with meals. Sip water throughout the day. For variety, try sparkling water or add a squirt of lemon or cranberry juice to your water. Save diet soda for an occasional treat.

also this too

Drink More Diet Soda, Gain More Weight?
Overweight Risk Soars 41% With Each Daily Can of Diet Soft Drink
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Charlotte E. Grayson Mathis, MD

June 13, 2005 -- People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.

The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."

In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.

"There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.
More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain

Fowler's team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.

For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

26% for up to 1/2 can each day
30.4% for 1/2 to one can each day
32.8% for 1 to 2 cans each day
47.2% for more than 2 cans each day.

For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:

36.5% for up to 1/2 can each day
37.5% for 1/2 to one can each day
54.5% for 1 to 2 cans each day
57.1% for more than 2 cans each day.

For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person's risk of obesity went up 41%.
Diet Soda No Smoking Gun

Fowler is quick to note that a study of this kind does not prove that diet soda causes obesity. More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity.

"One possible part of the explanation is that people who see they are beginning to gain weight may be more likely to switch from regular to diet soda," Fowler suggests. "But despite their switching, their weight may continue to grow for other reasons. So diet soft-drink use is a marker for overweight and obesity."

Why? Nutrition expert Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, puts it in a nutshell.

"You have to look at what's on your plate, not just what's in your glass," Bonci tells WebMD.

People often mistake diet drinks for diets, says Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and nutrition consultant to college and professional sports teams and to the Pittsburgh Ballet.

"A lot of people say, 'I am drinking a diet soft drink because that is better for me. But soft drinks by themselves are not the root of America's obesity problem," she says. "You can't go into a fast-food restaurant and say, 'Oh, it's OK because I had diet soda.' If you don't do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight."
There is actually a way that diet drinks could contribute to weight gain, Fowler suggests.

She remembers being struck by the scene in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice is offended because she is offered tea but is given none -- even though she hadn't asked for tea in the first place. So she helps herself to tea and bread and butter.

That may be just what happens when we offer our bodies the sweet taste of diet drinks, but give them no calories. Fowler points to a recent study in which feeding artificial sweeteners to rat pups made them crave more calories than animals fed real sugar.

"If you offer your body something that tastes like a lot of calories, but it isn't there, your body is alerted to the possibility that there is something there and it will search for the calories promised but not delivered," Fowler says.

Perhaps, Bonci says, our bodies are smarter than we think.

"People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn't fooled," she says. "If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Some soft drink studies do suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."

You should probably say your goodbyes to your family now. Diet soda is a more efficient serial killer than Dexter.

LOL!

I am totally hooked on Diet Pepsi Max. I hope I'm not going to die from it. LOL. I know aspartame isn't great for you, but it's the lesser of two evils--the other being high fructose corn syrup, of course-- for me.

Thanks for sharing this!!!!!!!!

I love diet soda but i try to stay away from that sweetner and all the salt in it make me retain water. so it water for me and plain ice tea

I'll try and find the link, it's a UK show so perhaps those outside the UK will be unable to see. However, the Dr on there said that drinking diet soda's can make you eat more, as the sugary taste makes the brain think it will get sugar, however when it does not it demands some. Making you hungry and more likely to eat unhealthy food!

I'll try and find the link to verify this!

Although I did post a little article earlier I wanted to expand on that some of the information in there says. Based on my nutrition and kinesiology classes (I'm a KIN major getting a minor in nutrition) and some light research this is what I understand of diet soda and artificial sweetener consumption.

1) The studies that show cancer links to aspartame were done on rats and at doses so high it is impossible to achieve them easily in humans at a comparable level. That said, your body does not know what to do with an aspartame molecule as it is foreign (same with sucralose, etc.) and we don't really know what effect the foreign molecule will have long term..

2) Your body grows new taste buds every three days. This is linked to craving of certain types of food. The more often you subject your taste buds to a certain flavor the more of that taste bud grow in. (who knew our parents were right when they said you can learn to like something?) This means that if you eat any substance that is sweet, your taste buds will like sweet more. They don't know how many calories are in it they just know how to do their job.

3) If you are drinking a lot of diet soda with caffeine you are risking dehydration. Caffeine is a diuretic and people tend to drink the soda in place of the water they need to hydrate. If you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. Dehydration can also lead to tooth decay because your mouth doesn't create enough of it's lovely bacteria fighter, saliva.

4) The phosphoric acid in all sodas has been shown to decrease bone density in people that consume 3 or more per day as well as in those that have a daily soda. This is due to calcium being used as a buffer for the extra acid in the blood.Caffeine has also been shown to interfere with calcium absorption.

5) Artificial sweeteners cause the pancreas to release insulin just like sugar does. This in turn inhibits your bodies production of LIPE (hormone sensitive lipase breaks down fat). Extra insulin also make you hungry. It's looking for glucose to move into cells and you didn't give it any. Now it has one of 3 choices, you eat more so that it can move that sugar (insert hunger pangs here), it uses up all of the glucose floating in your blood stream (which your brain needs to function), or the body breaks down muscle for fuel (LIPE isn't available to let you use your fat stores).

Of course every few years new studies come out that negate what old studies say, but that's why it is so important to do some research. And dig deep into studies.. you never know who's funding them.

Bottom line, stick with natural, unprocessed foods. If you just have to have soda (diet or otherwise) drink in moderation. And give your body a chance to develop new cravings.. You know what they say, it takes 21 days to form a habit!