Diet sodas. Yes or No?

I love diet soda - drink it every day

did you have any headaches? thinking of giving them up but they are addictive

I drink diet sodas sometimes. But what I've really been hooked on is sparkling water. It's got the same fizzy without the weird stuff.

i was told by a nutritionilst if you cant understand the words of the ingredients,dont touch it,all softdrink has chemical ingredients that is unatural for the body,she also said it takes 26 cups of water to clean out 1 cup of softdrink,i used to drink 6 litres of dietcoke every day and no water at all,i gave up at christmas 2011 and only drink water now i feel so much better.I had withdrawel symptoms for a few weeks but giving up dietcoke dropped 8 kg instantly

I have read that the aspartame they use as the artificial sweetener in diet drinks is really bad for you, causing all sorts of bad side effects including cancer. As a student studying biology I also found a scientific paper that suggested it caused lymphoma in rats. I know there is a chance it's all scaremongering but I'd rather not take the chance. And I don't miss it The only time I have fizzy drinks is as a mixer with alcohol, and they are full sugar. But of course its up to you

NO. Drink iced tea instead. Soda is a bunch of nasty chemicals. No nutritional value at all. Herbal teas can taste sweet without even adding sugar. My favorites are Bigelow Perfect Peach and Bigelow Mint Medley. I make pitchers and refrigerate them. Great for a tasty drink with no calories. Buy a bunch of cooler cups or save water bottles and refill them with the iced tea to take with you.

Tea has antioxidants too...

Diet anything is a big nono for me. Am very allergic to aspartame and a lot of the other types of sweetners. I get headaches and oedoma and feel generally really unwell if I drink anything like that. The ony kind of juice I have is cranberry as it staves off my getting gout and then it's only a small glass now and again.

I was a huge Diet Coke drinker but gave it up about two months ago and now I don't miss it at all. I pretty much just drink water now- maybe a cup of coffee or glass of Ice Tea a couple times a week.

If it helps you lose dozens of kilos of fat .. great !


the more overall necessity is to LOWER YOUR CARBOHYDRATE intake. that will reduce your sugar cravings.

I am down to one diet pop a day....trying to cut that one out but it's my caffiene fix for the day. I don't drink coffee and to much tea gives me a migrain. I will get out of the one pop soon. I don't like reg pop, it's to sweet and I don't want to have to add the calories to my daily intake..takes away from my food.

Your choice. There are trade-offs in everything. But since you asked...

They are a "no" for me. Some artificial sweeteners give me a headache or even kick off a migraine; others leave such a bad taste in my mouth that I want to eat everything to get rid of the taste. So, I stay away from them. (There are a bunch of common toothpaste and mouthwash brands I won't use because I get an aftertaste from saccharine that lasts for hours. I want my mouth to taste fresh after cleaning.) Even some of the new "natural" forms of sugar can have some odd effects.

Shortly before starting MFP, I tried a new kind of bread from a brand I'd eaten before, without reading the label carefully enough (just read far enough to check calories and fiber per slice, but not actual ingredients), after 2 slices in the evening and 2 more the next morning, I was very sick the next day, but with weird symptoms, no normal symptoms like congestion or digestive issues, just pain all over, not just a headache, and terribly tired. The day after when I was trying to figure out anything I'd done differently from normal, the bread was the only thing different, so I read the label... 2 artificial sweeteners. Threw out the rest of that bread. Usually I taste those... but this time I didn't, wasn't even aware of them and still got some nasty effects.

I collected a bunch of suggestions from other threads about drinking water or other low cal alternatives into a blog at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Robin_Bin?month=201205

I spoke with a trainer about this last year at the gym I was attending. He said if you're going to drink pop you're better off drinking regular pop instead of diet. He said t he diet pop actually makes you hungry.

Here's a piece I copied from something I read:
Sugar on the Brain
Instead of sugar, diet sodas have artificial sweeteners, which help you avoid consuming some 100 calories per serving. But it's possible that soft drinks, whether they have natural sugar or an artificial sweetener, could actually stimulate your appetite, according to the Harvard University School of Public Health. Although it's not known why, drinking soda could trigger a craving for high-carbohydrate foods, according the the Harvard School of Public Health

and here's the link

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/535289-does-diet-soda-make-you-hungrier/#ixzz1w4Hg2wN2

I gave up pop in March.. well for the most part. I have had a couple in the past few months.. but that's better than drinking several daily. When I do have the occasional pop I just drink regular.

Trainer is repeating information he's "heard" and not actually researched. As a trainer myself I've NOT found any supporting peer reviewed scientific study that verifies that this is true. Notice I've said STUDY and not article, or opinion.
While some will report they are hungrier, that's on a personal level. Some people get hungrier eating carbs, some when they eat vegetables, so correlation isn't causation.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

this. there's no benefit whatsoever to drinking soda (diet or otherwise) and so many potential dangers.

Benefit: no calories and helps to satisfy sweet tooth for many (including myself). Potential dangers? Alarmism like this is why many people are naive about how the body really works. What do you actually know about the ingredients in diet soda? Not what you've heard, but what you actually know?

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I would stay away from sodas, diet or not. They are very unhealthy for you and provide no nutritional value. I would stick strictly to water, teas (green tea) and juices (but not the store bought juices, I would try out a juicer).... The soda just adds toxins to your body.

False. They don't add toxins, since the ingredients are also found in fruits in vegetables. Also WATER has no nutritional value.
If it's something you want to stay away from that's fine, but spreading incorrect information is irresponsible.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Just wanted to know your thoughts on whether diet sodas were a good thing or not. Sure a regular soda has plenty of sugar, but at least you know what you're dealing with and so does your body. Diet sodas have sweeteners and supposed negative effects on your health.
Have I answered my own question?

I have to vote no on this one. I've never read anything good on the artificial sweeteners. My uncle and sister both drank diet sodas daily for years and both have had major immune diseases they are dealing with - both are on major medications. My uncle (not blood related) finally gave up the diet sodas and is now doing better - my sister has not and is the same. Of course I can't say for sure that diet sodas were the cause or even made the systems worse but does make me say, huh - maybe?

Regardless, there are so many other healthier choices out there. Try brewing some flavored teas. There is one by Celestial Seasonings, Orange Zinger (caffeine free) that is so sweet that you may not need to add anything else.

All the best in your journey.

I love the Zingers they have a tart component to them that is awesome! I don't do diet soda but I do drink diet juice. I think it is something I will cut out eventually but going to a cleaner diet is a process. Also with all the crap in our environment and the fact that people are living to dramatically longer ages, it is really hard to separate things. I mean couldn't those immune disorders equally have developed due to genetic or environmental exposures to pesticides and herbicides. I used to be really hardcore about this stuff and worked at the now defunct Wild Oats, then I developed anaphylaxis to sunflower oil. I am more worried about eating sunflower oil/seeds/butters than aspartame. Aspartame has never sent me to the ER or require I carry epipens. To each its own. Oh, I also have an MPH if that makes my comments more official in the eyes of others.