Diet Soft Drinks

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distortedvision78
distortedvision78 Posts: 43 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Are diet soft drinks detrimental when trying to lose weight? I'm Type 2 diabetic. I'm wondering if I should completely eliminate altogether. Currently I've restricted myself to 1 litre per weekend. Nothing on weekdays.

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  • JBanx256
    JBanx256 Posts: 1,477 Member
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    Nope, they're fine!
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,202 Member
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    What about a zero-calorie drink would make it detrimental to weight loss?

    I lost 60 pounds and have maintained most of that loss for almost 6 years and drink at least 1 or 2 diet sodas a day.
  • Xierrax
    Xierrax Posts: 48 Member
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    They're fine in terms of weight loss and probably better than regular soda. It's probably common knowledge, however, that they are not healthy. Mostly, they are detrimental to your gut microbiome. The microbes process the nutrients in your body, and keep you healthy. Long term this has some effect on the rate of weight loss and more generally health but I can't give specific numbers without going back to the research.

    This just as a side info. Still, if weight loss is your only goal - yes, they're fine. If they help you stay off unhealthier drinks, even better.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,583 Member
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    Some few people say that sweet zero-calorie drinks spike their appetite for other sweets (calorie containing ones), but you'll quickly see whether that's subjectively the case for you or not. As others have said, they're not detrimental to weight loss objectively, especially if they help you cut out higher calorie low nutrient things.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,039 Member
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    Xierrax wrote: »
    They're fine in terms of weight loss and probably better than regular soda. It's probably common knowledge, however, that they are not healthy. Mostly, they are detrimental to your gut microbiome. The microbes process the nutrients in your body, and keep you healthy. Long term this has some effect on the rate of weight loss and more generally health but I can't give specific numbers without going back to the research.

    This just as a side info. Still, if weight loss is your only goal - yes, they're fine. If they help you stay off unhealthier drinks, even better.


    I think any effect of this is so minimal as to be irelevant.

    People can stay healthy long term drinking diet drinks ( and using artificial sweeteners in other products) - both in terms of weight and other health issues.

  • not_my_first_rodeo
    not_my_first_rodeo Posts: 311 Member
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    For some reason artificial sweeteners are a trigger for me and migraines so I went from regular pop to seltzer water. Ended up buying a soda stream for this purpose, but I know they make seltzer water with natural flavorings.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    A diet soda each afternoon satisfies my sweet tooth and prevents me from snacking. So it’s doubly helpful for my weight loss.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,619 Member
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    Xierrax wrote: »
    They're fine in terms of weight loss and probably better than regular soda. It's probably common knowledge, however, that they are not healthy. Mostly, they are detrimental to your gut microbiome. The microbes process the nutrients in your body, and keep you healthy. Long term this has some effect on the rate of weight loss and more generally health but I can't give specific numbers without going back to the research.

    This just as a side info. Still, if weight loss is your only goal - yes, they're fine. If they help you stay off unhealthier drinks, even better.
    Everything practically is detrimental to gut micobiome. But reality is that the long term effect is minor. I've been drinking diet soda for over 35+ years and haven't suffered any health issues due to it. While anecdotal, I'm sure there are many here who have had the same experience.

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  • Dy4u
    Dy4u Posts: 4 Member
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    They won’t effect weight loss but there not the healthiest long term I’d try and limit them
  • dannytrees1
    dannytrees1 Posts: 123 Member
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    I use to drink Pepsi
    I stopped 3 weeks ago and replaced it with Perrier water 0 calories
    Oh and I also had a bag of bbq chips with the Pepsi
    No more 😃
  • mlrtri
    mlrtri Posts: 425 Member
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    If you question it then why have it? I decided since I had doubts about it (not weight related but other health concerns) then I should cut it out. I quit drinking Diet Coke almost 3 months ago. I think it made my hungrier. I have made a few other changes so it’s hard to pin it on that specifically, though. Now I don’t mind drinking water. I used to have to make myself do it and I never got enough. I think when I stopped drinking Diet Coke it also helped me stop other habits I didn’t even realize I had. Like - I would stop and get a Diet Coke at the gas station and then hey, might as well grab a snack of some sort while I am here. And evening snacking. Drinking water in the evening doesn’t make me want a sweet snack like drinking Diet Coke did. I know I have no data to support any of this. Just telling you what I experience. I don’t think it’s the end of the world if you drink diet soda. But it definitely won’t hurt you to quit either. And it may help in other ways. At the very least I have saved a lot of money 😀.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,039 Member
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    Dy4u wrote: »
    They won’t effect weight loss but there not the healthiest long term I’d try and limit them

    What is unhealthy about them long term??

    This sort of claim seems to get bandied about without any specifics.

    Obviously if you individually find the issues mentioned by posters above - ie migraines (have heard of aspartame being migraine trigger for other people too but migraine triggers are very variable between people) or that you get hungrier or have other habitual behaviour like snacking at same time - then good idea for you individually to drink something else.

    Other people who don't have these issues - no problem.

    My personal anecdote - changed from regular soda to diet -drinking about same amount and found no issues whatsoever.

    I did lose weight as expected and nothing else happened for me - and doing this was one strategy to reduce my calories
    This was about 8 years ago. Have very occasionally had a regular soda in that time but 99+ % would be diet.
    Of course soda isnt the only drink I have, nor was it before the change - I do also drink water, coffee and other drinks.



  • ExistingFish
    ExistingFish Posts: 1,259 Member
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    If it weren't for coke zero, I probably would never have been successful losing weight.

    I mean now I could do it, knowing how it would go and maintaining for so long - but then? I don't think I would have been able to stick with it. It meant a lot to me to have that.

    Actually they have been associated with negative health effects, to the point the heart hospital in my area will not sell them. They will sell you full sugar soda, but not diet.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,039 Member
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    ExistingFish wrote: »
    If it weren't for coke zero, I probably would never have been successful losing weight.

    I mean now I could do it, knowing how it would go and maintaining for so long - but then? I don't think I would have been able to stick with it. It meant a lot to me to have that.

    Actually they have been associated with negative health effects, to the point the heart hospital in my area will not sell them. They will sell you full sugar soda, but not diet.


    Well that seems really silly - would like to see the rationale behind that.

    What negative effects exactly??

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    You can't tear my apart from my Diet Dr. Pepper and Crystal Light... plus none of us come out alive from this. 🤷‍♀️
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 889 Member
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    Saying that it's 'common knowledge' that NNSs (or non-sugar nutritive sweeteners) are 'bad' or 'unhealthy' is .... misleading.

    1. It's not 'common knowledge' as it's pretty clear that even scientific evidence is controversial at best - and certainly common knowledge is highly more controversial and made up of mostly opinions or beliefs people got from a 3 min TikTok.
    2. As stated above -- actual scientific studies on this topic are still inconclusive. More research needs to be completed to find out if there is any negative effect directly related to NNSs.

    It is established at least anecdotally that some people experience an increase in craving for sweet things (that do have calories) when they consume NNSs -- but that is not ubiquitous. And any suggestion that they negatively affect your gut biome (therefore having a wide range of other implications) is not established or well understood scientifically yet.

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,992 Member
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    Your probably fine for weight loss but as far as overall health, it's impossible to say, those studies will never be done, too expensive.

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