Diet Sodas

I say drink them if you want them. They're not the healthiest thing, but if drinking one or three a day helps keep your motivation and energy up to workout, then just do it. I drink a diet coke on my way to the gym at 3am. If it weren't 3am when I left the house, I would probably just drink water. But that diet coke makes the drive more enjoyable at that hour and helps me get into the zone for my workout.

They aren't super healthy but as long as you still are getting all your water in it's probably okay.

I used to have a serious, I mean 12 pack in two days, serious problem with drinking Diet Coke prior to going to school to be a Dental Hygienist. Loved the stuff. However, the acidity of diet soda (any soft drink for that matter) as well as just the fact it's chemical in nature and has no nutritional value whatsoever, I had to cut it out of my life. I also realized that my teeth were becoming sensitive. I was essentially eroding the enamel right off of my teeth with this bad habit. I quit the habit and now choose water instead. I will still have the occasional treat of it if we are out to eat, but I no longer buy it or drink it on a regular basis. I think what really helped me was realizing the impact it had on the health of my teeth and body and just not buying it and make the choice to have water instead.

Do you not like Coffee and that is why you chose the diet soda? Coffee in moderation actually has health benefits.

You are going to get lots of opinions on this....I say drink them!!!!! I have 2-3 a day and it has not hindered my weight loss at all!!!!!

You still need to enjoy life!!! Diet soda is part of life! I love mine!

i still drink quite a bit of diet soda, i used to drink 6-7 regular pepsis a day so i give in to the diet, at least i dont drink all those calories anymore

I'll only drink it if it has Jack in it.

Sometimes I drink a diet soda when I want to snack instead. I love them lol. If diet soda actually made you fat, I'd still be obese. There are some more natural diet sodas, crystal light, and vitamin water 0, etc. They all taste good, but I TRY to go for it all in moderation because soda is full of artificial stuff.

Well like you, I used to drink diet sodas all the time. Learning more about the negative effects it has on your body is what changed my mind about drinking them. It kills your kidney function, you can actually gain weight, bone loss, tooth enamel decay, and so on. Of course nobody is 100% sure as to why diet soda causes all of this. Most of the medical field contributes it to the artificial sweeteners. In any case I started weaning myself off of the sodas. I didn't want to get kicked in the *kitten* with the caffeine withdrawal headache!. I also switched to teas or coffee if I wanted a boost of energy. But I'm finding that I don't need that as often now with all the exercise I do and all the dang water I drink. I may have a soda once or twice a month but that's it. I feel better without it now. Believe me it takes time to get used to but if you're determined, you can do it!

http://healthland.time.com/2011/06/29/studies-why-diet-sodas-are-no-boon-to-dieters/

Some food or should I say drink for thought.

Drink uncaffinated tea with a bit a real sugar.

Food for thought.

Disclaimer - I drink 'em too...

Preliminary research shows the problem with diet soda is it tricks the body into several responses. One is that when the mouth tastes sweet, such as cane sugar, the body responds with an increase in temperature to anticipate burning the calories off. Saccharine does not trigger this response. This leads to a sluggish feeling that is coupled with storing calories.
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711763,00.html

Another point of view is the lack of sugar following the "I'm about to get some sugar" response of the body is a lack of satisfaction, which can lead to a false sense of hunger and reaching for more food.

"People who were drinking diet soft drinks - two or more per day - had a 57 per cent chance of becoming overweight."
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=4968592

The expert recommendations? To limit artificial sweetener intake and take note of the effects.

This is a pretty simplified view of the articles, but feel free to Google it and start with the articles above.

I stopped drinking soda about a fortnight ago, which is the date I also started my healthy eating regime. A fortnight later I have lost 13lb and I know a lot of that is the 'first week weight dump' but I also seriously think it has alot to do with getting rid of diet soda and coffee in my diet (and my doctor agrees as well)

BTW - Thanks for all the feed from everybody... This is my very first post to MFP!

Congrats on your first post! And it was a good one! This is a great place to reach out and get questions answered!
I too am a diet coke drinker; I try to limit my intake and replace the same volume with water but I ultimately know it would be healthier to stop all together. Will I? One addiction at a time...

POP is pOISION!That is how people need to look at it. It slowly is killing you! Cause health problem ect. MY BF lost 30lb basicly by stopping his 1 dt coke a night. Prof is in the Pudding. He is not the only one. Your body needs water not pop! Read this

8 Ways Soda Fizzles Your Health

2009-10-23-Water for Life.com

We would wager money that many of you are “doing the dew” or “doing what tastes right” this very moment. Before you take another gulp from your soft drink can, here are 8 facts about soda to consider that may drastically affect the quality of your health.

pH of Soda = pH of Vinegar
For one, soda, no matter who makes it, is the most acidic beverage you can buy, with a pH of about 2.5, about the same as vinegar. Why does that matter? Acid oxidizes whatever it comes in contact with. If you put soda or vinegar on metal, it will rust it quickly.

Drink Soda, Leach Calcium
If you drink soda, which also contains high levels of phosphorous, you will leach calcium from your bones. Dr. Michael Murray from the Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine concluded, “It appears that increased soft drink consumption is a major factor that contributes to osteoporosis.” Furthermore, Dr. Elson Haas, author of The Detox Diet states, “Tooth loss, periodontal disease, and gingivitis can be problems, especially with a high phosphorus intake, particularly from soft drinks.”

Soda Will Dissolve your Tooth Enamel
Weak bones is just the beginning. According to Dr. James Howenstein. author of A Physician’s Guide to Natural Health Products That Work, the high sugar content of soda is awful. He states, “”In an interesting experiment the sugar from one soft drink was able to damage the white blood cells’ ability to ingest and kill bacteria for seven hours.” Dr. Marion Nestle from his book Food Politics states, “Sugar and acid in soft drinks so easily dissolve tooth enamel.”

Each Additional Soda Increases Risk for Obesity by 1.6 times
So now we’ve got weak bones, weakened immune system, and dissolving teeth. What’s next? Weight gain! Dr. Nestle also concluded, “The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.”

Children Who Drink Soda Break Bones More Easily
Our children aren’t safe, either. Dr. Nestle states, “Adolescents who consume soft drinks display a risk of bone fractures three to four-fold higher than those who do not.” Dr. William Duffy from the Naval Research Institute states, “The high sugar hides the acid. Children little realize they are drinking this strange mixture of phosphoric acid, sugar, caffeine, coloring, and flavoring matter.” Greg Critser from his book Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World states: “A joint study by Harvard University and Boston Children’s Hospital researchers in February 2001 concluded that such excess liquid calories inhibited the ability of older children to compensate at mealtime, leading to caloric imbalance and, in time, obesity.”




Diet Soda Isn’t Any Better
For those of you with a diet soda in your hands, the news isn’t any better, in fact it’s worse! Carol Simontacchi from her book The Crazy Makers: How the Food Industry Is Destroying Our Brains and Harming Our Children states, “One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage can produce about fifty-six milligrams of methanol. When several of these beverages are consumed in a short period of time (one day, perhaps), as much as two hundred fifty milligrams of methanol are dumped into the bloodstream, or thirty-two times the EPA limit.” So, you’re poisoning your body, too.
And when it comes to saccharin, which is a no caloric petroleum derivative estimated to be three hundred to five hundred times sweeter than sugar: “More than a dozen animal tests over the last thirty years have demonstrated the carcinogenic effects of saccharin in the bladder and other sites, particularly female reproductive organs, and in some instances at doses as low as the equivalent of one to two bottles of diet pop daily.”
With diet soda, you’ve gone from high calories to poisonous levels of methanol and an increased chance of developing cancer. Not a very good trade.

Could Caffeine Jeopardize the Human Race?
Then there’s the caffeine. Jean Carper from her book Food: Your Miracle Medicine : How Food Can Prevent and Cure over 100 Symptoms and Problems states, “tests at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine by Roland R. Griffiths, MD, show caffeine withdrawal can strike people who drink a single cup of strongly brewed coffee or drink caffeinated soft drinks everyday. Further, Dr. Griffiths discovered that caffeine-withdrawal symptoms include not only headache, but also fatigue, mild depression, muscle pain and stiffness, flu-like feelings, nausea and vomiting. And for women: “Those consuming at least one cup of a caffeine-containing beverage per day, such as coffee, tea or soft drinks, were more prone to PMS. And the more caffeine they consumed, the more severe their PMS symptoms.”
Caffeine causes withdrawal with symptoms mimicking a flu and for women it makes PMS even worse. But could caffeine really jeopardize the future of the human race? Yes! “A study on the relationship between caffeine and fertility found that… just one caffeinated soft drink per day was associated with a reduced monthly chance of conception of 50 percent.”

If All That Wasn’t Enough Watch Out for a Asthma and a Rash
And finally there’s the preservative used in soda. Dr. Marcia Zimmerman, author of The A.D.D. Nutrition Solution : A Drug-Free 30 Day Plan states, “Sodium benzoate Sodium benzoate is used as a preservative (microbial control) in foods, including soft drinks, fruit juices, margarine, confections, pickles, and jams. Sodium preservatives add sodium to the diet and reduce the availability of potassium. Some reported reactions to sodium benzoate include recurring urticaria (rash), asthma, and eczema.”

Still Drinking that Soda…..?
Hard to believe that so much mayhem can come from a little can or bottle, but there is absolutely nothing good or redeemable about soda. The sooner you can remove it from your diet, the better. If the FDA were doing its job, it wouldn’t be allowed on the market. If you care about your health and the quality of your life, put the Mountain Dew down!

Thanks for all the advice... I had a dr appt today and the doc said get rid of them... So.. since I am more likely to stick with something if I gradually cut it out of my diet.. I am going to gradually cut back and still have one on special occasions.

Slowly isn't a bad plan. I gave up Diet Coke for Lent a few years ago. Just stopped after having like 3 on Fat Tuesday. I was so insanely sick the Thursday after Ash Wednesday. I had a terrible migraine and sat in my recliner all day. Since then, I taper leading up to Ash Wednesday.