Diet soda... friend or foe?!?

From personal observation OVERWEIGHT people drink diet soda. I think there is a correlation so I avoid all soda.

for the OP to summarize, after 8 pages of opinions... see Lab Rat's very first post :bigsmile:

Come on people! We're not here to poke fun or to be rude, we're here to support each other! There is obviously a lot of controversy over this topic and ultimately the decision is our own... the least we can do is offer our opinions and advice without sounding condescending!!!!

We're not here to support each other. We're here discussing the merits of diet soda. Advice and opinions are meaningless without any facts.

You said diet coke does not come from the earth or space. You said it in a very condescending way. Now before you backtrack and start with the "we're all in this together" talk I would like to know where you thing diet soda comes from.

No backtracking here! Someone else said it was not of this earth and another commented that it doesn't come from space... I mearly tried to clarify that it comes from neither, but from a laboratory. Last I checked, they don't pull aspartame out of the ground (earth) or from the sky... Not that everything I eat comes from the ground... I will admit there's a ton of artificial colors/flavors etc out there that no one can say is healthy... However, if we can all agree that artificial colors and flavors (and I'm making an assumption here that we can all agree on that, my apologies if you disagree) than how can we think artificial sweeteners would be any different?

Aspartame is phenylalanine and aspartic acid, a protein chain. That exact same protein chain can be found in chicken, beef, pork, soy, nuts, etc. The only reason it's called "artificial" is because they recreate the compounds in a lab setting, it doesn't mean that it's a compound that doesn't exist in nature, or that we don't eat it in normal food.

Wow, I'll admit, I did not know that! Could it be that because they are found combined, the body treats them in a different manner? For example, I've read (and please do not quote me on this, I am not an expert, just got on a kick about learning about sugars...) that fructose in nature is combined with fruit pectin and remains intact through the digestion process... fructose on it's own is a "poison" and the pectin is the antedote, if you will... So when they say say HFCS is no different from sugar, that's not necessarily true... because it's not combined with pectin. From what I read, the body treats it the same way it treats ethyl alcohol in that it *can* destroy the liver (it just doesn't go to the brain hence no drunk effect). PLEASE do not poke fun, I do not know if this is a fact and I still enjoy foods with HFCS... Could that be the same with aspartame??

The stuff you read about fructose is also untrue. Fructose is a naturally occurring monosaccharide that's in thousands of foods, not just fruit. It's converted into glucose by the liver, and the human digestive system is quite well equipped to deal with fructose. The only real negative to fructose is it's an inefficient conversion, so some of the fructose consumed ends up being stored as fat. However, if you are eating at a calorie deficit, or at maintenance, even the fructose that ends up as fat gets burned off, you're body doesn't actually accumulate fat from it.

You can do a carbonated water with some Stevia Flavorings that taste like soda... Whole Foods has a whole bunch of different flavored Stevia drops... The Root Beer one tastes surprisingly like root beer. I just have to close my eyes since it's clear and not dark brown like the real thing

Good luck!

Although weight-loss articles often suggest drinking diet soda in place of full-calorie counterparts, health experts warn that the beverage's long-term side effects may not be worth the short-term benefit of consuming fewer calories.
Loss of Calcium

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), high level of phosphates from diet soda leeches calcium out of the bones. Daily consumption of diet soda makes you three to four times more likely to suffer from a stress fracture and at an increased risk for osteoporosis.

Dehydration

Caffeine from diet soda triggers the kidneys to increase urine production, which results in an increased loss of water in the body. Dehydration can lead to dizziness, headaches, racing heartbeats and even death.

Aspartame

The low-calorie sweetener, aspartame, is found in most diet sodas. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) claims the ingredient is safe to consume; however, several side effects involving the ears, eyes, chest, skin, neurological system, gastrointestinal system and metabolic system, as well as psychological conditions, have been linked to its use. Hugo Rodier, M.D., author of "Sweet Death," suggests that drinking beverages containing aspartame leads to weight gain.

Benzene

In 2005, the FDA received reports that the carcinogen benzene was present in soft drinks containing benzoate salts and ascorbic acid. An FDA study found that the level of benzene in most drinks was below the U.S. standard for drinking water. The World Health Organization confirms that benzene causes cancer and that no safe level of exposure to benzene can be recommended.

Bottom Line

Drinking diet soda to lose weight may reduce your calorie intake, but it offers no nutritional benefits and could lead to negative health consequences over time. The ACSM recommends drinking water or mixing juice and water at a 1:1 ratio.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/18690-side-effects-drinking-diet-soda/#ixzz1tv4vkDH9