Diet soda

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Replies

  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,272 Member
    I never drank diet soda at all until i started trying to lose wight - one of the first things i did was swap regular soda for diet version.

    Amazingly I then lost the amount MFP said I would lose (consuming calorie level it told me to)



    Yes I know I posted exact same post on a diet soda thread a day or so ago - but here it is again.

    Because it is relevant again - or perhaps because I am a schill for the artificial sweetener industry ;)B)

  • Calichusetts
    Calichusetts Posts: 100 Member
    I am a very healthy and fit person and live off of diet ginger ale and seltzer. I probably only drink 1 12oz water and the rest of the time one or the other. Can't speak for all diet soda but mine is caffeine free and calorie free. Its basically flavored carbonated water with salt.

    As with most discussions, this thread got a little derailed. Nonetheless, diet soda is really not the issue. Could be genetics, probably her actual diet. But something else is going on if she is running half marathons and not losing weight.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    OP, if you want some science based on Aspatame, I would recommend this video from Dr. Layne Norton. His PhD is in nutritional science (someone actually trained in the field) and his research is specific to his field.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dod6bUZYz4w


    There are studies that suggest that aspartame can cause cancer, but a human would have to consume the equivalent of 17 2-L bottles a day. There is observation studies to suggest that we eat more when we drink diet soda, but that is more likely behavioral (i.e., we eat more because we just offset some calories by drinking diet).

    Here is what I say. I lost 50lbs, kept it off for 5 years now and improved all my metabolic markers with 2-3 diet sodas a day (I also consume 120-150oz of water). I, also, workout 5-6 days a week and my off days are chasing my child and/or playing sports.

    Of all of the things that are unhealthy and that can have a substantial impact on health, diet drinks are not one of them. Your bigger concerns are obesity, inactivity and genetics. The biggest con about sodas is impact on teeth health.

    If your aunt is struggling to lose weight, it's because she isn't controlling calories. Ironically, most of my friends that run marathons never lose weight, quite often because they don't control calories and the amount of exercise they do induces hunger. So getting your aunt to control the amount of calories is key to losing weight.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    edited October 2017
    I'm very sorry about your aunt and her medical situation. Cancer is a terrible disease and with any devastating medical diagnosis, people often look for something to blame, rather than face the fact that sometimes really bad things happen to really good people.

    That said, there is no research from reputable scientific peer reviewed studies that suggest that aspartame or other artificial sweeteners, consumed in moderation, cause cancer in humans. Artificial sweeteners are one of the most studied additives of the last 50 years and time and again they have proven to be safe to consume. The "research" you're referencing is correlative at best and likely is more about pseudoscience and fear mongering than actual science.

    I think it's admirable that you want to support your aunt and she sounds like an amazing lady. The fact is that the diet soda didn't cause her cancer and it isn't preventing her from losing weight. If she enjoys drinking it, maybe your efforts would be better focused in other areas - getting her ready for another race, encouraging her to use MFP for logging all the foods she eats to help achieve her weight loss goals, etc.
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
    Just to give my n=1 experience...

    I run half marathons; I've even run one full marathon. I drink a lot of Diet Mt. Dew. I have maintained a 50 pound loss for over 15 years.

    My sister, who literally has had maybe one soda in her life (flat, when she was sick to try to soothe her stomach)? Cancer. My father, who doesn't drink soda unless it's a sip from someone else's? Cancer. My stepmother, who doesn't drink soda? Cancer.

    Cancer sucks, and for most kinds the causes are not directly known.

    BTW - for all the above, the outcome has been good. My sister and stepmother have been treated and are in full recovery. My father has had three good years, and only last week was diagnosed with a recurrence.
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  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    run2brazil wrote: »
    In conclusion, there are scientific studies going all directions about soda...

    No, actually, there aren't. There are a lot of studies that are misreported. The misreporting states that diet soda is harmful - when the actual studies don't state that at all.

    So you can say with 100% confidence, you’ve seen every study ever done on the use of “soda” and furthermore that every single one of those studies showed no negative consequences???? Serious question?

    The responsibility to produce evidence lies on those making a claim not those skeptical of said claim. If my friend claims that there are unicorns it is their responsibility to provide evidence for their claim, not my responsibility to answer whether or not I've looked everywhere in the universe and can say with 100% confidence that their are no unicorns.

    I personally have seen no studies that show harm in humans upon consumption of sodas. That doesn't mean I'm going to say 100% I've seen every study ever because that would be a ridiculous claim to make. That said I've seen reviews published on the current literature for artificial sweetners and can say with confidence that there is no evidence seen thusfar that they cause harm. I say that as a active scientist who knows how to look at the literature and who is part of a lab that actively carries out toxicology studies so I know what I am reading when I read it. So if you have seen such a study then please present the study.

    What kind of scientist? It’s actually irrelevant to the discussion either way. I asked a simple question...

    He's a microbiologist
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
    edited October 2017
    Aaron_K123 wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    run2brazil wrote: »
    In conclusion, there are scientific studies going all directions about soda...

    No, actually, there aren't. There are a lot of studies that are misreported. The misreporting states that diet soda is harmful - when the actual studies don't state that at all.

    So you can say with 100% confidence, you’ve seen every study ever done on the use of “soda” and furthermore that every single one of those studies showed no negative consequences???? Serious question?

    The responsibility to produce evidence lies on those making a claim not those skeptical of said claim. If my friend claims that there are unicorns it is their responsibility to provide evidence for their claim, not my responsibility to answer whether or not I've looked everywhere in the universe and can say with 100% confidence that their are no unicorns.

    I personally have seen no studies that show harm in humans upon consumption of sodas. That doesn't mean I'm going to say 100% I've seen every study ever because that would be a ridiculous claim to make. That said I've seen reviews published on the current literature for artificial sweetners and can say with confidence that there is no evidence seen thusfar that they cause harm. I say that as a active scientist who knows how to look at the literature and who is part of a lab that actively carries out toxicology studies so I know what I am reading when I read it. So if you have seen such a study then please present the study.

    No it doesn’t! He made a claim! I’m asking him to back it up! Simple!

    I'm not sure how that changes what I said. Do you disagree with what I actually said?