Are diet fizzy drinks bad for you? help please :(

2

Replies

  • TDBrims
    TDBrims Posts: 138
    I do drink diet soda still but minimally and I ensure I drink my 2 litres of water a day at least. I know they are not that great for you but I like them and there are worse things I could have as treats in my mind....I can;t stand the taste of regular soda but I think that is due to my mum being diabetic so we only ever had diet soda in the house so it's what I'm used to
  • SNorris01
    SNorris01 Posts: 97 Member
    I quit diet pop cold turkey about 2 months ago. I was told and seems to be true, not only are the chemicals bad for you. But, they weaken your bones, by depleting your calcium absorption. I was also told and seems to be true that the carbonation settles in your joints and the snap, crackle and pop if you drink too much can be cause by that. I had that issue just thought it was old age about 2 weeks into not drinking pop I noticed it went away. Yea we all get the occasional crack here and there that is normal, but walking up the stairs my knee's would pop and snap all that is gone. I also don't feel as bloated. Pop is also a dietetic and dehydrates your body if you don't drink water to off set it.

    On a side note, I used to drink a 2 liter a day if not more of Coke Zero I was hooked on the stuff. I do miss it sometimes and I will drink diet pop if there is nothing else. I don't like plain water, I have to have some kind of flavor in it. I drink almost nothing but ice tea now.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    drink water
    Hey, how about nicely answering the original question and maybe offering an opinion, rather than giving orders. Ugh! Be nice to each other, people.
  • SavCal71
    SavCal71 Posts: 350 Member
    drink water
    Hey, how about nicely answering the original question and maybe offering an opinion, rather than giving orders. Ugh! Be nice to each other, people.

    personally, I'm annoyed by the frequent assumption that if one drinks diet soda one drinks no or inadequate amounts of water. While I'm sure that's true for some, it's not a safe/accurate/fair assumption.
  • therobinator
    therobinator Posts: 832 Member
    i stopped drinking standard coke, pepsi, sprite etc...and i switched to all diets and lights. even though they are very low on calories, is there any negative impacts?
    I don't know scientifically if there are any negative impacts, but I have heard that sometimes people who drink diet drinks tend to actually gain weight because they either drink more of it than they would have otherwise, or they allow the diet drinks to let them believe they can eat more food. Personally, I would rather ingest the full sugared versions of these things over the diet versions, because at least that way they are closer to (albeit certainly not) natural and whole chemical free foods. I drink mostly water, because it's calorie free and our bodies need it anyway, and I try to limit my caloric drink intake to restaurants or milk or the occasional juice (or alcoholic beverages lol). And when I do drink sodas, I try to stick to things like Pepsi Throwback, which used real sugar instead of HFCS.
  • Twasney
    Twasney Posts: 186 Member
    i stopped drinking standard coke, pepsi, sprite etc...and i switched to all diets and lights. even though they are very low on calories, is there any negative impacts?

    I talked to the nutritionist, the natropath and my physician and they all say you should drink water instead....however all three agreed there is no actual proof that aspartame is bad for you. The rat studies where the rats got sick and died...you would have to drink 32 - 2 litres a day to have the same amount of the chemical!

    That being said, diet pop has Caffeine and Sodiium in it and carbonation will make you bloated! It was suggested that I try to only have 1 diet soda a day (terribly addicted to Diet Pepsi!) and instead have water. They also suggestd that if I was really jonesing for carbonated drinks to have tonic water and put some fresh fruit in it with a tiny splash of juice! SO YUMMY!

    I started new meds and now I can't have anything carbonated but you should only really worry about the Diet Pop if you are ONLY drinking pop and not drinking any water or watered down juice/iced tea/lemonade etc (another great way to get lots of liquid without being BORED to death by water!

    You have to remember as well too much water is just as bad if not worse than drinking bad stuff. Drinking too much water will throw off your sodium and electrolyte levels and can make you very sick. The rule of thumb is to drink when you are thirsty and not to bang off large amounts of water just to get in your "daily" water intake. it depends on your body but a healthy person can not take in and process more than 1 ltr per hour and you should not exceed more than 12 - 8 oz glases per day unless you are running marathons.

    So what am I rambling on about??? relax....use your common sense....and enjoy your life!

    Hope that helps!
  • sgrinavi
    sgrinavi Posts: 80
    In moderation is fine. Start off by alternating 1 bottle of water for every diet soda, then maybe 2 waters. After a couple weeks you'll find yourself having a soda every day or two and being very satisfied with that.
  • James_1954
    James_1954 Posts: 187 Member
    i stopped drinking standard coke, pepsi, sprite etc...and i switched to all diets and lights. even though they are very low on calories, is there any negative impacts?

    Disclaimer: I used to drink seven or eight 20-ounce bottles of diet cola per day. I still have one on occasion, particularly if I'm eating out.

    Let me share with you what my urologist told me. It made some sense to me. He said that artificial sweeteners are physiologically many times "sweeter" than actual sugar, even. He said that when you drink one, your body thinks it's just had a lot of sugar, and consequently dumps a lot of insulin into the bloodstream. Then, when there isn't nearly enough actual blood sugar for the insulin to "eat," it eats whatever blood sugar it encounters, with the result being that your blood sugar bottoms out. When your blood sugar goes low, that makes you feel hungry, so you eat ... a lot, maybe. His bottom line: diet soda makes it harder to eat reasonably and thus lose weight; he also said that frequently dumping a lot of insulin into the system when it doesn't have a commensurate amount of sugar to dispose of promotes insulin resistance, which is the diabetes gateway.

    Anyway, I thought his theory was plausible, at least with respect to drinking massive amounts of diet soda, as I was doing. So I made friends with plain old water. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.
  • Twasney
    Twasney Posts: 186 Member
    My rule of thumb has been this - if you eat out as little as I do, drink it then (we usually eat out about 1-2x a month)...it's not going to hurt. I believe in moderation. I drink a gallon of water EVERY single day, sometimes more if I run more than 10 miles and do weight lifting in that day. I believe it's not going to hurt me having 20oz. of it every 30 days. I managed to lose 100lbs. having the "moderation" rule.

    Thats a good rule about the pop! I like that. i have tried to instill that one in the DH about dessert....but the jerk keeps bringing snacks into the house LMAO!!

    I am not going to preach (cuz I just did it) but you might be drinking a tad bit too much water!
  • FatGirlSlim89
    FatGirlSlim89 Posts: 53
    I doubt it's healthy to do so, but like you I love my diet drinks. My friends who are thin all drink diet drinks, so I personally have never believed it leads to weight gain, but I guess it all depends on how you treat it. I've learnt (probably very badly) to treat a Diet Pepsi as a pudding (aka dessert) and it satifys my sweet tooth with 0-1 calories.

    I, like a lot of others, tend to go for the full fat version when my calories allow it, as I feel like I'm pumping myself full of crap (even though I can't stop... arghhh!)
  • Onesnap
    Onesnap Posts: 2,819 Member
    I'm strongly against all fake sugars so I'm really not the best person to ask. :/

    I will say that I recently read an article on the habits of thin people. Thin people do not eat diet foods and 100 calorie packs! :)

    There's a lot of controversy on MFP about diet drinks so this is where I politely duck out of this forum before getting myself in trouble. :)

    I hate "informative" articles like that! What the heck are they basising that info on?? I am thin and I eat diet stuff and 100 calorie packs..they should have asked me lol.

    To each their own. If it works for you keep doing what you are doing! I don't want to go on and on here about fake sugars versus the various natural sweeteners out there. If you are comfortable eating a bunch of chemicals made in a lab each and every day that is your own personal decision.

    As for the informative article you are criticizing, I only pay attention to valid articles from trusted sources (Scientific American etc.)

    One last thing is if fake sugar is not SAFE for pregnant women, how is it safe for the rest of us?
  • avsingleton
    avsingleton Posts: 98 Member
    yes, diet fizzy drinks are bad, bad, bad for u. in fact, all fizzy drinks aNd diet stuff period, is bad for u, especially cokes. u should stick with natural, natural, natural...that would be juice, water and food u make in the kitchen urself from natural wholesome ingredients. if ur caloric intake can't afford a juice bc u've consumed all u need for the day, drink water, ur bod will love u for it! :)
  • ste73
    ste73 Posts: 90
    ste73 Everyone goes on about aspartame causing cancer and migraines. It's certainly not beneficial for you, but on the other hand the amount they put in a bottle I wouldn't go worrying yourself over . I think diet sprite doesn't have any in it
  • springtrio
    springtrio Posts: 429 Member
    My rule of thumb has been this - if you eat out as little as I do, drink it then (we usually eat out about 1-2x a month)...it's not going to hurt. I believe in moderation. I drink a gallon of water EVERY single day, sometimes more if I run more than 10 miles and do weight lifting in that day. I believe it's not going to hurt me having 20oz. of it every 30 days. I managed to lose 100lbs. having the "moderation" rule.

    Thats a good rule about the pop! I like that. i have tried to instill that one in the DH about dessert....but the jerk keeps bringing snacks into the house LMAO!!

    I am not going to preach (cuz I just did it) but you might be drinking a tad bit too much water!

    Nah. I'm good on the water. a gallon is actually a very good amount for a distance runner like myself. You get very easily dehydrated running long distances.

    Good luck on the dessert. How do you guys manage to fit in dessert? I always feel SOOO stuffed after eating out most anywhere. I think I ate it once or twice before I lost the weight.
  • noexcuses1218
    noexcuses1218 Posts: 332 Member
    i stopped drinking standard coke, pepsi, sprite etc...and i switched to all diets and lights. even though they are very low on calories, is there any negative impacts?

    Disclaimer: I used to drink seven or eight 20-ounce bottles of diet cola per day. I still have one on occasion, particularly if I'm eating out.

    Let me share with you what my urologist told me. It made some sense to me. He said that artificial sweeteners are physiologically many times "sweeter" than actual sugar, even. He said that when you drink one, your body thinks it's just had a lot of sugar, and consequently dumps a lot of insulin into the bloodstream. Then, when there isn't nearly enough actual blood sugar for the insulin to "eat," it eats whatever blood sugar it encounters, with the result being that your blood sugar bottoms out. When your blood sugar goes low, that makes you feel hungry, so you eat ... a lot, maybe. His bottom line: diet soda makes it harder to eat reasonably and thus lose weight; he also said that frequently dumping a lot of insulin into the system when it doesn't have a commensurate amount of sugar to dispose of promotes insulin resistance, which is the diabetes gateway.

    Anyway, I thought his theory was plausible, at least with respect to drinking massive amounts of diet soda, as I was doing. So I made friends with plain old water. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

    Wow, James, that makes a LOT of sense, which might explain why dropping the lunchtime diet soda has helped with my afternoon/evening sugar cravings. Now if I could just drink black coffee at night... *shudder*
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    Some day I'll give up diet soda and sodium.





    But not today.
  • Huskeryogi
    Huskeryogi Posts: 578 Member
    Some day I'll give up diet soda and sodium.





    But not today.

    LOL - Me too

    I have gotten myself down to 1 diet soda/day (caffeine free). I just love carbonation!
  • LivLovLrn
    LivLovLrn Posts: 580 Member
    I love diet pepsi...often call it my favorite food because if I could I would drink it all day long, but it makes me tired and cranky (probably the aspartame). So I have found other sodas that are made of natural ingredients to help curb my cravings a little bit anyway....Juice squeeze has a lot of good flavors and that I can get my carbonation fix from and not have quite as much bad stuff going into my system. I do allow myself my favorite food about once a month, though :)
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
    you need to drink water to stay hydrated.

    Simply not true. Any fluid will hydrate you, although some less that others.

    Once again, the bottom line is this. You can find research to show that pretty much anything is bad for you in some ways. Other research says the same thing has health benefits.

    It's not WHAT you have, its HOW MUCH you have.
  • whateverfloats
    whateverfloats Posts: 22
    I don't know whether artificial sweaters are bad for you or not. However, they train your pallate to prefer really sweet things and I don't think that's condusive to long-term health.

    I love fizzy water. It's 0 calories, filling, tasty, and satisfying. If you find it too bitter you can add in a little juice to get a spritzer effect. Delicious!

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