Doctor says no to Diet drinks!! Why?

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  • Leslye125
    Leslye125 Posts: 242 Member
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    check out this article. This is one of the reasons I quit drinking diet sodas. Pretty much drink water and herbal teas only now!

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/207992-are-diet-drinks-more-harmful-than-regular-sodas/
  • lclarkjr
    lclarkjr Posts: 359 Member
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    People who drink diet soda tend to gain weight because they use the zero calories in the drink as an excuse to eat more. So it's the extra calories consumed elsewhere that causes the weight gain, not necessarily the diet soda. If you keep your diet in check, then there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to drink diet soda if that is what you choose to do. I personally enjoy a frosty diet soda every now and then.
  • dpassarolarson
    dpassarolarson Posts: 3
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    Research shows that people who drink diet sodas have what is called metabolic disorder which is associated with increased weight. I don't think the exact mechanism has been determined.
  • LotusLoo
    LotusLoo Posts: 17
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    Just a head up (especially for all the women out there) -
    Phosphoric acid, found in many regular and diet sodas, can eat away at your bones. Research has found links between consumption of phosphoric acid and low bone mineral density (BMD). Low or decreasing BMD can lead to osteopenia and eventually, osteoporosis. In addition, the amount of caffeine in sodas can hinder calcium absorbption by bone. So, if your choice soda also has caffeine, then you're looking at additional harm for your bones.

    I know it's difficult, but it's absolutely healthiest to just stay away from soft drinks all together. I actually have not touched a soft drink in over 6 years - I prefer water and tea.
    Perhaps try to reduce the amount that you drink slowly over time. Start out by substituting your daily diet coke every other day with something else flavorful like V8 Light Fruit Fusion, Crystal Light, or calcium-fortified orange juice. If you're working out, go for G Series FIT 02 Perform during or after instead of grabbing some carbonated bone-eater.

    Hope this helps - stay healthy!
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
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    Just a head up (especially for all the women out there) -
    Phosphoric acid, found in many regular and diet sodas, can eat away at your bones. ...
    Absolutely correct
  • Paddy31
    Paddy31 Posts: 115 Member
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    Aspartame metabolizes in formaldehyde in your body. Sucralose is processed with chlorine. Do you really wan to eat that stuff?

    Stick with natural sweeteners... maple syrup, honey and if you need to...good old fashioned sugar ( very small amounts)

    The sugar in apples metabolises to formaldehyde in your body. Why is that a problem?
  • HMonsterX
    HMonsterX Posts: 3,000 Member
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    Personally I can't stand the nasty aftertaste that any of the artificial sweeteners have. I get a headache from aspartame and sucralose leaves a tinny taste in my mouth for hours.....

    I don't know how anybody can ingest that

    I don't know how anyone can eat broccoli!

    It's called personal taste :)

    Bottom line is there is no solid evidence that sweeteners, when taken in reasonable amounts, will harm the average person. All the cases we hear about are due to adverse reaction to it, which wont happen in most of us.
  • Esterlily
    Esterlily Posts: 11
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    It sounds like your doctor needs to re-take his class on epidemiology so he can understand the difference between causation and correlation. Normally I would expect more from a doctor but I've had some terrible ones in my time so I'm not surprised.

    Wow, overweight people drink more diet soda? No kidding. I bet overweight people also exercise less, eat worse and have generally unhealthier lifestyles than those who are not overweight. Let's make sure to say it's the diet soda causing the weight gain though. Sounds legit!


    Ranger Steve--I couldn't agree more!! I understand what everyone is saying about the chemicals and I truly am trying to cut it back. Diet soda is an easy way for an overweight person to believe they are doing something positive. I know that that is how I was thinking, for sure. Based on the incredible feedback I have gotten today, diet soda is going by the way side. I am switching to Truvia, which is all natural stevia. Thank you everyone for the feedback. You guys are all really smart and really straight forward. I like that!!

    Esterlily
  • kcmartian
    kcmartian Posts: 18
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    I read that a lot of it has to do with psychology. You're drinking something that is supposed to be sweet, but then your body actually gets the soda and is like "wait, this isn't sugar!" so you don't actually satisfy the sweet craving you had in the first place (if that's the reason why you drank it).

    Also, studies have shown that people who eat diet, substitutes things can actually eat more because they think the food is "healthy" so they eat more of it. Or your mind might be thinking "oh, i was good today, i only drank diet soda so that means i can have this other unhealthy thing".

    something like that.
  • Troy67
    Troy67 Posts: 556 Member
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    At this point in time, some study probably shows that breathing air will cause cancer.

    And saliva causes cancer. But only if swallowed in small amounts over many years. LOL
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I know this is completely unscientific and runs into causation problems but it's interesting to think about:

    How many thin or in shape people (who have always been thin and STAYED thin as adults) drink soda regularly, diet or not? I would think not too many. What do you all think? There must be some people who can drink soda all the time and stay thing but I don't think I've met any. And teenagers don't count lol

    :drinker: Me!

    The highest I've ever been was 10 pounds overweight by BMI standards, after a really bad bout with depression, but I always had an acceptable waist to height ratio, so even when I was chunkier than I wanted to be, I didn't have a lot of belly fat. I still drink diet soda, have lost all the weight I wanted to, and the awards I've been getting in races shows I'm pretty darn athletic.

    I typically have one, but sometimes more, diet soda a day with breakfast, because I really enjoy it, and the rest of the day I have Crystal Light or a similar powder mixed with water.
  • saltorian
    saltorian Posts: 192 Member
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    I don't have any scientific information for you, but I do know what's true for me. I used to be really firm with myself about not eating any artificial sweeteners, but over time I started to let them creep into my diet. Before I knew it, I was getting sucralose in my drinks, puddings, gum, etc.

    The result? I started having terrible sugar cravings, binges, and hunger problems. Once I realized what I was doing, I cut the artificial sweeteners out and I'm feeling much better. My hunger feels more under control and I'm not craving sweets nearly as much.
  • dancingj2
    dancingj2 Posts: 4,572 Member
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    It is a mis-application of causality. The data says that heavier people are more likely to drink diet soda, well duh. It does not say that drinking diet soda will make skinny people heavy.

    Current research has shown that diet sodas do not cause insulin reactions, so the "makes you hungrier" argument is specious. At most, there is a psychological effect whereby people allow themselves to eat more other calories because they think they're doing something good by drinking a diet soda and WAY overestimate the benefit of skipping that soda.


    Ahhhhh! Now that makes sense to me!! I can definitely say I have done that!! I'll take a Whopper, Large Fries and diet Coke!!!

    Esterlily

    lol I used to go to buffet and have a diet coke!

    I decied several years ago to give up the artifical sweeteners and most soda. If I do want to sweeten something I use a small amount of honey or one teaspoon of sugar. There only 15 calories in one teaspoon of sugar.
  • Siyay
    Siyay Posts: 1
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    aspartame is the devil.
    I was drinking a 2L of diet dr pepper a day (with a HUGE amount of aspartame in it)
    I ended up in the hospital with vertigo. I quit drinking diet pop and I haven't had it happen since.
    I made the mistake of having half of a diet coke one time and I could feel it effecting my eyes within 20 minutes.
    It does terrible things to your body, so you best be avoiding it!
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Just a head up (especially for all the women out there) -
    Phosphoric acid, found in many regular and diet sodas, can eat away at your bones. ...
    Absolutely correct

    Not absolutely correct. It is possible. More studies are needed. http://healthsource.mayoclinic.com/content/centerpiece.cfm?n=112
  • avalonms
    avalonms Posts: 2,468 Member
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    I have to say that since I joined MFP and got serious about getting healthy, I have made a lot of changes in my diet and exercise routines for the better. That said, I have completely failed at kicking the diet soda habit.

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