Water

michelleepotter wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

michelleepotter wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

Christine_72 wrote: »

michelleepotter wrote: »

meganlc0 wrote: »

MarkusDarwath wrote: »

I certainly don't advocate it, but I also don't think diet soda is nearly as bad as "they" claim it to be. At least not for me. I tend to drink between a half gallon and gallon of it per day, and have done so for most of a couple decades, ever since I learned I had diabetes. Before that, it was regular Pepsi, which I'm pretty sure contributed to the diabetes. If diet soda was so godawful, I should be dead by now

Have you ever experimented with NOT drinking any diet soda? Are you ever curious as to whether or not your overall health would be better (even marginally) without drinking so much of it?

I ask out of curiosity because my father stopped drinking his daily 2-liter (or 2) about a year ago and he swears it's made him feel better and that it's easier for him to lose weight without it.

I've completely quit soda multiple times. Once just because my friends told me I couldn't. Then again when I first joined MFP and didn't want to drink my calories and I didn't like diet soda. Both of those times I went from multiple regular sodas a day to zero. It has never made a very big difference to me at all. I missed it, but wasn't miserable without it, but I also didn't see any kind of improvement in giving it up. In the end, it's something I enjoy the taste of, and I see no purpose in depriving myself. Then I discovered Diet Dr Pepper, which actually is just as good as regular, unlike Diet Coke, which is gross. Now I have a diet soda a few times a week, just because that's how often I feel like it, and a regular soda maybe once a month. But if I wanted to drink diet soda every day, I wouldn't feel bad. It's not poison, and it's not going to stop me from reaching my goals.

To me, completely giving up soda all the time would be like completely giving up ice cream. Why? Why would I even bother if I don't have to? (BTW, I just had some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream. SO GOOD. Also not poison.)

Christine_72 wrote: »

kbmh611 wrote: »

I'm surprised on here how many people advocate drinking diet soda over water sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I drink a lot of diet soda, but I've never had a doctor or dietician say drinking diet soda was better or just as good as drinking water. In fact they say the opposite. When I tell a doctor how much diet soda I drink and how little water I consume I immediately get the talk of how bad diet soda is and that I need to drink more water. I also read this in magazines and in talking to people who have "experted" weight loss and healthy living. So why do people on here think they know better than the experts? I'm not saying you can't lose weight if you drink pop because I have in the past, but its just not as good for you as water because they put extra stuff in pop that your body doesn't need. I'm trying to ween myself off of pop little by little and drink more water. I will never stop drinking it completely, but I've heard enough about the benefits of drinking water to know I should be drinking more of it. But I guess to each their own.

From the many, many posts I've read from soda drinkers, it's their way of justifying their soda addiction/love. Any blogs or articles that even dare mention the fact that diet/soda has any detrimental health effects are instantly shut down.
People will vehemently disagree with me on this.. But i'm only putting out there how some of these posts come across.

I don't know why anyone needs to justify loving soda. It tastes good. It's not poison. If it fits into your health goals, and you want to drink it, why would you not? Demonizing certain foods (or drinks) as "bad" and "never consume this!" is not healthy.

You need to go back and read the hundreds of soda threads to see where I'm coming from.

I'd honestly say the same to you. I drink a couple of diet sodas every day and don't have any of the minor issues some people experience. I do drink water, but I don't see anything in the literature to cause any alarm over diet sodas whatsoever.

I edited my above post ...

It's the way people vehemently defend their soda addiction/love or whatever you want to call it that gets me, not to mention the many posts of "you can pry my soda out of my cold dead hands", I can not think of one food or drink that would make say that.

Fair enough. I think people tend get a bit hyper on here, but then again it's hard to judge tone and sarcasm at times. I have to say though I'm pretty bummed out about bacon and the processed meats thing. That's the one thing I've probably come the closest to tears over.

Please tell me you didn't give up bacon. That would make me cry, too.

I'm very aware of the potential cancer link, so I limit my consumption and especially limit the consumption by our daughters. I don't think it's anything to get too alarmed over given the safe dosage is such that it seems we can enjoy a bit at least once a week or so. In any event, it's never been something I ate every day.

My understanding is that you would have to eat huge amounts of processed meats every day for it to really be a concern. I eat 2 slices of bacon most mornings, which apparently increases the risk of colorectal cancer from 5% to all of 6%. On the other hand, the fact that my mother had breast cancer literally DOUBLES my risk of having it, from 1-in-8 to 1-in-4. BTW, the WHO also decided that all red meat is "probably carcinogenic." Processed meat is a group higher than that ("carcinogenic"), but so is alcohol and sunlight. The groupings aren't based on HOW MUCH something increases your risk of cancer, just HOW CERTAIN they are that it does. Even if only by a very tiny amount.

A pretty good article about it: http://www.wired.com/2015/10/who-does-bacon-cause-cancer-sort-of-but-not-really/