So, this thread is more for someone to tell me to stop being a pile and knock off the pop. I quit drinking soda for a couple years all together a while back, but then started slowly drinking diet soda, and here i am...still drinking it. The big issue i have with this is if ive got a can of soda, versus refridgerator dispensed water, im almost always gonna grab a can, so I know I'm not getting enough water.


But Im curious what is it with the diet pop thats bad for you on a diet, does the sodium in it make you retain water or something? I did read somewhere that it tricks your brain into thinking you can eat garbage without repercussions, but I find that hard to believe.

With diet soda the only thing to really watch out for is Aspartame. Aspartame can cause a lot of health side effects. The amount of aspartame in one diet can is insignificant, which is why it is cleared by the FDA, but once again who is only going to drink one can. If you drink a lot, say 4-6 cans per day the amount of aspartame in your system can build up.

This topic comes up from time to time on the forums. You should search for past topics. What you'll basically find is a rabid debate over the impact of diet soda on all sorts of things from sweets cravings to water retention and an occasionally hot argument over the safety of aspartame.

I doubt anyone would tell you that diet soda and pure water have the same impact on the body... it seems pretty clear that less chemical input is a good thing. However, if the choice is between NO liquid intake and diet soda, I think you should at least go with the diet soda.

Here's something you can try to integrate water into the soda: Get a 32 oz. bottle-- something with a wide mouth like a Nalgene (or metal if you're worried about the plastic) and put an ENTIRE ice tray in the bottle. For a standard ice tray, that's about 16 oz. of frozen water.

THEN pour your diet soda over the ice. You'll be surprised how little room there is for soda in that thing once you fill it with ice. After the soda's gone, fill it with water, work on that, then let yourself go back to a diet soda.

Also: Just measure your results. A month working honestly towards your goals WITH soda vs. a month working towards your goals WITHOUT soda. See what the outcome is and decide if there's a difference to you.

E.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2009/08/03/are_diet_soft_drinks_a_better_option/

Health officials are not too sweet on diet soft drinks either

By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff | August 3, 2009

So nutritionists and public-health authorities are telling us to put the lid on high-test sodas, energy drinks, and fruit-flavored beverages. What’s a person supposed to drink now?

Water is an obvious choice (spiked, maybe, with a slice of orange or a chunk of cucumber). But what about diet soft drinks? Are they a safe, healthy option?

“We’ve looked at this,’’ said Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, “and make no mistake: They’re a whole lot better than full-sugared beverages.’’

But a 2007 study led by a Boston University scientist cast a ray of doubt. When examining middle-age participants in the Framingham Heart Study, researchers discovered that sugary sodas and diet soft drinks alike boosted the risk of metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital Boston cautions that artificially sweetened diet drinks may alter our sense of taste. They may even make us hungrier later in the day. That’s because the sweet sensation delivered by the drinks primes our metabolism to expect a rush of calories. The calories, of course, never arrive, so the metabolic response is left wondering what to do - and that process may, later on, make us feel hungry.

“I view these products as transitional, as helping people get off the habit of consuming large amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages,’’ Ludwig said. “I encourage my patients not to stay there, but to continue onward to more healthful beverages.’’ http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/File-Based_Image_Resource/dingbat_story_end_icon.gif

I think I've posted on this topic maybe 4 or 5 times before... I drink 5 cans of diet per day. No ill effects yet, the caffeine gives me a little more energy when I'm low-carbing.

It's much much much easier for me to maintain my preferred body weight by drinking at least a half a litre of diet soda each day. If I don't drink that much, I will automatically eat more sugar (fruit, etc.)During times where I've attempted to wean myself off of diet soda, I've gained weight because of that tendency. However, it's impossible to say whether I'm doing any long term damage or not.

Besides the concern about aspartame, phosporous in soft drinks leaches calcium from our bones. This is more of a problem for women than from men, but it is something to be aware of.

In my opinion, soda should be done away with all together. People make a huge distinction between regular and diet, and I think in doing so they are missing the point. Take for instance the ingredients, listed in order of content, of a diet Coke:

* Carbonated water
* Caramel color
* Aspartame
* Phosphoric acid
* Potassium benzoate (to protect taste)
* Natural flavors
* Citric acid
* Caffeine

Carbonated water: a diuretic - causes dehydration = bad.

Caramel color: no nutritional value whatsoever and who knows what else it might do.

Aspartame: OMG - just look around. This stuff was only approved by the FDA because in WWII there were massive sugar shortages and we needed a replacement ASAP. Desperate times call for desperate measures?

Phosphoric Acid: destroys your teeth as bad as battery acid. Yummy.

Potassium benzoate: the main source of sodium in soda.

Natural flavors: huh? if it's natural, then why would they have to add it?

Citric Acid: Ask anyone (me for one) who's bladder has shriveled up and caused severe pain because of too much of this stuff. There is no way this is good for you.

Caffeine: meh...debatable, but still a diuretic.

__________________________________________

So - what part of this description indicates that there is ANY value in consuming soda. How can we say that we eat for fuel and then dump this s$#t down our throats.

To each his own, thanks but no thanks.

I quit drinking diet soda and diet anything a month ago. No real diet changes and I've lost 15 lbs. I sometime think your body responses to the sweeterner like it was really sugar and thats not good if your insulin resistant. but hey I'm not a dr, so what do i know.

Consumers prefer to see natural flavors on a label, out of a belief that they are more healthful. Distinctions between artificial and natural flavors can be arbitrary and somewhat absurd, based more on how the flavor has been made than on what it actually contains.

Eric Schlosser, in his book Fast Food Nation

Natural flavors, I believe, means they come from natural sources and are not processes (beyond extraction).

Natural Almond flavoring, for instance, is made by 'juicing' peach pits, which contains cyanide. Artificial Almond flavor is made from banana peels and, while processes, does not contain (trace amounts of) poison.

In such cases, it would see Natural flavors are not as healthy as artificial ones, but when a consumer reads Natural, they feel better about it.

as per requested by the op...

"stop being a pile and knock off the pop"

I personally could never get into diet sodas.. If I am going to drink a soda it's going to be mixed with something and at that point I'm not thinking about cals ;)... I used to have a really bad soda habit, I could drink a 6 pack a day or more a day, I would pretty much drink soda with every meal and in between.

Now it's pretty rare, I don't crave it anymore I seem to have lost the taste or desire for all drinks but (water). I will rarely have an ice tea if I'm out at a restaurant, and once in a while mixed drinks, or beer (which is pretty rare lately)...but soda once you go a few weeks without you loose all interest.

I drank a lot of diet Pepsi when I lost 50 lbs last year. At least a can a day. I'm sure in my case it didn't effect weight loss. I don't know about other health concerns.

I drink 1-2 cans of diet dr pepper a day. I am in the best shape of my life. Leaner and more muscular than ever. Did diet dr pepper help? Despite his credentials, no, I think not. Did it hurt? Not enough for me to notice if it did. I'm all for eating and drinking more natural things but at the end of the day I just can't see how anyone could argue that the diet version of a soft drink can be worse than the full sugar version. No calories versus loads of calories.

If you have your diet in check and drink plenty of water, I don't think you'll have to worry about diet soft drinks one way or the other.