diet soda

13

Replies

  • WickedMouse
    WickedMouse Posts: 343 Member
    as I read this, I realize, the choices I have made for my kids are right ones. So glad I switched them off of Diet Coke to Mountain Dew!!
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    The artifical sweetner in any diet beverage, still causes insulin spikes thru the roof, which tells your body to store fat until the levels come back down..Insulin levels need to stay low for fat loss, thus the low carb diet.
    A recent "Men's Health" magazine article stated that over 10 yrs of drinking diet soda, your waist size was likely 5 times bigger than someone who does not........ drinks for thought.

    Lol so much inaccurate information here.

    the highly scientific study referenced here did not control for diet. So.......it's void of meaning.
  • Samantha1941
    Samantha1941 Posts: 99 Member
    I used to drink A LOT of diet coke. What I did, was I started having only water to drink with every meal and then I upped it to where I drank water with every meal and every snack and when I felt like it or had an urge to snack I would sip on a glass or 2 of diet coke. Now I will have a diet coke like once a week. I think its ok to have as a treat just not all day every day. It makes me too bloated. Also you can replace your diet coke with vitamin water zero which tastes good.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    foie-gras NEVER causes me to be rude and judgmental. So weird.

    bwhahahahaha!
  • katatak1
    katatak1 Posts: 261 Member
    how can anything containing zero calories slow down your weight loss? :noway:

    That's rubbish. Every pound of my loss has been saturated in Coke Zero.

    Not entirely rubbish. Sure the Coke Zero won't cause you to gain any weight, but studies have shown that it can increase your appetite- effectively stalling your weight loss. So for some people, diet sodas are just as bad as the heavily sugared ones. It has some pretty nasty effects on your blood sugar levels as well. Plus increasing stroke and heart attack risk...

    Best to do without it all together. Stick to water.
  • how can anything containing zero calories slow down your weight loss? :noway:

    That's rubbish. Every pound of my loss has been saturated in Coke Zero.

    Not entirely rubbish. Sure the Coke Zero won't cause you to gain any weight, but studies have shown that it can increase your appetite- effectively stalling your weight loss. So for some people, diet sodas are just as bad as the heavily sugared ones. It has some pretty nasty effects on your blood sugar levels as well. Plus increasing stroke and heart attack risk...

    Best to do without it all together. Stick to water.

    increase in appetite will not effect your weight loss unless you give in to cravings. That is all self control there.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    increase in appetite will not effect your weight loss unless you give in to cravings. That is all self control there.

    Agreed, but it is helpful to realize these things can happen. I think being aware of the appetite issue helps people make informed decisions about what to have and not have when it comes to their diet.

    And if you can do something to help your self-control, or avoid giving into a craving, that's great too. So if it's 6 small meals a day to avoid binge eating, or avoiding sodas...those things can be helpful.

    Isn't there a scientific or mathematical term to describe when something is tangentially related to something else, but not a correlation? I forget what it's called...
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,185 Member
    According to my deititian: Diet drinks and other zero calorie sweeteners trick your brain into expecting sugar. So your brain will cause you to release insulin which in turn causes the existing blood sugar to drop, making you more hungry than you should be. .

    Yep! And your dietitian isn't the only one who feels that way...

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110627183944.htm
    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.
  • akaChuck
    akaChuck Posts: 233 Member
    Waka waka waka...everyone is different..waka waka waka...some people don't drink any soda and get cavities...waka waka waka...some people drink sh*tloads of it and don't have any...waka waka waka...time to get off the high horse..

    Thank you....
  • katatak1
    katatak1 Posts: 261 Member
    how can anything containing zero calories slow down your weight loss? :noway:

    That's rubbish. Every pound of my loss has been saturated in Coke Zero.

    Not entirely rubbish. Sure the Coke Zero won't cause you to gain any weight, but studies have shown that it can increase your appetite- effectively stalling your weight loss. So for some people, diet sodas are just as bad as the heavily sugared ones. It has some pretty nasty effects on your blood sugar levels as well. Plus increasing stroke and heart attack risk...

    Best to do without it all together. Stick to water.

    increase in appetite will not effect your weight loss unless you give in to cravings. That is all self control there.

    No argument here, but the fact is that it will make your weight loss more challenging because it will make you feel more hungry. Plus the other health side effects. If you can do without, I don't see why you wouldn't want to. Personally I never had a taste for diet drinks. I drank the full sugar kind and quit about 2 months ago. I feel better, and I'm not as hungry at each meal.

    Plus the negative side effects... I'm already at an increased risk of stroke (both grandmothers have had one) and heart attack (my dad's had two, and he's only 53)... so personally, I'd rather not give myself other risk factors.

    But to each his/her own.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.

    So, in order avoid any effect on your insulin response (spiking, etc), you'd have to have your diet sodas while fasting. Fasting for how long? That would be a nice follow up to this study...

    Edit: fixed quote

  • No argument here, but the fact is that it will make your weight loss more challenging because it will make you feel more hungry. Plus the other health side effects. If you can do without, I don't see why you wouldn't want to. Personally I never had a taste for diet drinks. I drank the full sugar kind and quit about 2 months ago. I feel better, and I'm not as hungry at each meal.

    Plus the negative side effects... I'm already at an increased risk of stroke (both grandmothers have had one) and heart attack (my dad's had two, and he's only 53)... so personally, I'd rather not give myself other risk factors.

    But to each his/her own.

    I don't think it is that way for everyone - not all have the increased appetite.
    Most people on here are trying to replace it with water it seems anyways which is always a plus :]

    A lot of the heath risks are blown out of proportion. Many "risk" are not backed by science - important!

    Good for you by the way! :]
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.

    I think it's also important to state that there is a correlation between diet soda consumption and obesity, but that doesnt imply causation. When I read the prospective study (not the in vivo animal model study), the thing that strikes me is that people in the "high consumption" category are the same people that don't eat healthy foods in general. I consider that a pretty strong confounding variable...

    Also, research *suggests* that the "non-delivery of anticipated calories" in diet drinks increases cravings for sugary foods, but the mechanism of action (insulin response, etc) has not been elucidated. At this point, it's just a hint...an idea. No one has *proven* it and no one has pointed out exactly HOW it happens.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,185 Member

    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.

    So, in order avoid any effect on your insulin response (spiking, etc), you'd have to have your diet sodas while fasting. Fasting for how long? That would be a nice follow up to this study...

    Edit: fixed quote
    Having an average meal which includes all 3 macronutrients is going to create an insulin response regardless, and adding a diet pop is not going to create a bigger response, but if you had a diet pop on it's own there is no insulin response. Also there seems to be some confusion about insulin being a bad thing or something to fear, and probably related to the narrow view that it's also a storage hormone. It's also increases satiety and helps delivers nutrients throughout the body.

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/5/1011.short
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    Having an average meal which includes all 3 macronutrients is going to create an insulin response regardless, and adding a diet pop is not going to create a bigger response, but if you had a diet pop on it's own there is no insulin response. Also there seems to be some confusion about insulin being a bad thing or something to fear, and probably related to the narrow view that it's also a storage hormone. It's also increases satiety and helps delivers nutrients throughout the body.

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/5/1011.short

    I mean, in order to avoid any disadvantageous affect on your insulin response, but as I read, I see absolutely nothing that relates the supposed "post-soda cravings" to insulin response. From the studies I've read, these cravings are reported, but no mechanism of action is postulated...which makes me wonder where so-and-so's dietitian came up with that.

    I have heard about the correlation between diet soda and weight gain...but again, that study is beset with confounding.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,185 Member
    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.

    I think it's also important to state that there is a correlation between diet soda consumption and obesity, but that doesnt imply causation. When I read the prospective study (not the in vivo animal model study), the thing that strikes me is that people in the "high consumption" category are the same people that don't eat healthy foods in general. I consider that a pretty strong confounding variable...

    Also, research *suggests* that the "non-delivery of anticipated calories" in diet drinks increases cravings for sugary foods, but the mechanism of action (insulin response, etc) has not been elucidated. At this point, it's just a hint...an idea. No one has *proven* it and no one has pointed out exactly HOW it happens.
    Correlation with diet pop in regards to obesity does not equal causation. For example I'm sure I could show/find a correlation in weight reduction when obese individuals switched from regular pop to diet pop. When people in general try to lose weight diet pop is a common switch to reduce calories.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    Correlation with diet pop in regards to obesity does not equal causation.

    I've already said that...
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,185 Member

    Having an average meal which includes all 3 macronutrients is going to create an insulin response regardless, and adding a diet pop is not going to create a bigger response, but if you had a diet pop on it's own there is no insulin response. Also there seems to be some confusion about insulin being a bad thing or something to fear, and probably related to the narrow view that it's also a storage hormone. It's also increases satiety and helps delivers nutrients throughout the body.

    http://www.ajcn.org/content/82/5/1011.short

    I mean, in order to avoid any disadvantageous affect on your insulin response, but as I read, I see absolutely nothing that relates the supposed "post-soda cravings" to insulin response. From the studies I've read, these cravings are reported, but no mechanism of action is postulated...which makes me wonder where so-and-so's dietitian came up with that.

    I have heard about the correlation between diet soda and weight gain...but again, that study is beset with confounding.
    Why do you call an insulin response a disadvantage? Protein causes an insulin response and with your logic consuming fish on it's own would be a disadvantage.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    Why do you call an insulin response a disadvantage? Protein causes an insulin response and with your logic consuming fish on it's own would be a disadvantage.

    I dont. There are normal insulin responses, and then there are abnormal, disadvantageous responses. You could have one or the other depending on your health, presence or absence of diabetes, etc.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,185 Member
    Why do you call an insulin response a disadvantage? Protein causes an insulin response and with your logic consuming fish on it's own would be a disadvantage.

    I dont. There are normal insulin responses, and then there are abnormal, disadvantageous responses. You could have one or the other depending on your health, presence or absence of diabetes, etc.
    Gotcha. In that regard diet pop would be a good alternative to regular pop, if someone was trying to reduce their calories and sugar intake and also have symptoms of insulin resistance or other metabolic dysfunction associated with carbs in general.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    Gotcha. In that regard diet pop would be a good alternative to regular pop, if someone was trying to reduce their calories and sugar intake and also have symptoms of insulin resistance or other metabolic dysfunction associated with carbs in general.

    I was just addressing what another poster claimed, about how diet pop created an insulin response that affects blood sugar, and you end up being hungrier than you ought to feel... (an insulin response like that seems abnormal and disadvantageous)

    And the point I made is that none of the studies I've read postulate this mechanism of action or ANY mechanism of action to explain the "alleged" post-diet soda sugar cravings.
  • appleseeds
    appleseeds Posts: 212 Member

    perfect, since there is no sugar in diet soda.

    Oh aren't you cute? Well considering its the phosphoric acid in soda that causes tooth decay, the absence of sugar isn't all that helpful

    I put away a case every two-three days. Have been doing so for three years. Just had my checkup, and my teeth are perfect.
    All that scary acid must have somehow passed me by. :huh:


    Me too. Diet coke is all I drank as a kid and I drink 1 600ml bottle every day and my teeth are perfect.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    The artifical sweetner in any diet beverage, still causes insulin spikes thru the roof, which tells your body to store fat until the levels come back down..Insulin levels need to stay low for fat loss, thus the low carb diet.
    A recent "Men's Health" magazine article stated that over 10 yrs of drinking diet soda, your waist size was likely 5 times bigger than someone who does not........ drinks for thought.

    Lol so much inaccurate information here.

    <--- Diet soda drinker.

    I'm a bit frightened of what I'd look like with my waist five times smaller than it is! :noway:
  • darrcn5
    darrcn5 Posts: 495 Member
    I drink a ton of Diet Mountain Dew, but I also drink a ton of water. Drinking the Dt. Mt. Dew doesn't effect my weight loss, but not drinking adequate water does.
  • katatak1
    katatak1 Posts: 261 Member
    Causing someone to consume more and creating an insulin response from 0 calories are not the same thing. There needs to be calories to create an insulin response, and diet pop doesn't have calories.

    I think it's also important to state that there is a correlation between diet soda consumption and obesity, but that doesnt imply causation. When I read the prospective study (not the in vivo animal model study), the thing that strikes me is that people in the "high consumption" category are the same people that don't eat healthy foods in general. I consider that a pretty strong confounding variable...

    Also, research *suggests* that the "non-delivery of anticipated calories" in diet drinks increases cravings for sugary foods, but the mechanism of action (insulin response, etc) has not been elucidated. At this point, it's just a hint...an idea. No one has *proven* it and no one has pointed out exactly HOW it happens.

    There's more than just correlation here... at least in animals. I'm a researcher with a specialty in methodological sciences and statistics, and so I heavily research studies before talking about them. What I can say about some of what I've read is this: Mice and rats (who have very similar physiology to humans have shown (most researchers never try to "prove" anything, we just "show")) that being exposed to aspartame increases the insulin response. This can't be chocked up to eating habits because that is very strictly controlled in animal studies. As far as the actual method- I haven't found anything on that... but we don't know how most medications actually work, so I won't hold my breath for that before I decide that sodas are probably a bad idea.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    I switched from diet to regular Coke. Now diet tastes like doodoo to me. But I can CONTROL myself. Regular Coca Cola is a reward for me. I drink it as much as I eat steak; occasionally. Plus, I hate aspartame. I'll have a Diet Coke and Bacardi... see when I'm drinking alcohol, I need to reserve as many calories as possible so I can have the most drinks possible!
  • katatak1
    katatak1 Posts: 261 Member

    Isn't there a scientific or mathematical term to describe when something is tangentially related to something else, but not a correlation? I forget what it's called...

    Are you thinking of a mediation effect?
    mediation= a causes b and b causes c

    Correlations still exist here, and indeed there can be both direct and indirect effects of a on b (meaning a partial or full mediation, depending). The values you would get are regression coefficients which are related to correlations.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member

    There's more than just correlation here... at least in animals. I'm a researcher with a specialty in methodological sciences and statistics, and so I heavily research studies before talking about them. What I can say about some of what I've read is this: Mice and rats (who have very similar physiology to humans have shown (most researchers never try to "prove" anything, we just "show")) that being exposed to aspartame increases the insulin response. This can't be chocked up to eating habits because that is very strictly controlled in animal studies. As far as the actual method- I haven't found anything on that... but we don't know how most medications actually work, so I won't hold my breath for that before I decide that sodas are probably a bad idea.

    I was speaking specifically about the UTSA prospective study, though, which has significant confounding.
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member


    Are you thinking of a mediation effect?
    mediation= a causes b and b causes c

    Correlations still exist here, and indeed there can be both direct and indirect effects of a on b (meaning a partial or full mediation, depending). The values you would get are regression coefficients which are related to correlations.

    Yes! THANK YOU!
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
    [What I can say about some of what I've read is this: Mice and rats (who have very similar physiology to humans have shown (most researchers never try to "prove" anything, we just "show")) that being exposed to aspartame increases the insulin response. This can't be chocked up to eating habits because that is very strictly controlled in animal studies.

    And earlier, I think I pointed to some in vivo mouse studies too, noting that they were fed aspartame with chow, to see the effect in the insulin response. Because people may have a diet soda with or without food, I'd like to see the effect on insulin levels when aspartame is consumed with food, without, and at different time points with respect to meals. I think it would be a good follow up study...
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