I'm slightly confused about diet/light soft drinks (or sodas for you people across the pond).

I read the nutrition information on the back of a can of Pepsi Max for example and it says:-

Per 100ml
Energy - 0.3kcal
Protein - 0.1g
Carbohydrate - Trace
(of which sugars - Trace)
Fat - Nil
Fibre - Nil
Sodium - Trace

But I just can't get my head round the fact that this thing I'm drinking is "empty". The drink is sooooo sweet, and just feels like a normal soft drink to me.

I know they best thing to drink is water, but I can't really see much difference of water to these.

Are they really that harmless or are they packed full of hidden stuff I don't know about? How do they get them full of flavour and so sweet but with nothing harmful on the info list on the back?

Diet drink use loads of flavourings that don't really take up calories I'm sure.

I don't see anything wrong with them but don't substitute water for diet sodas. Drink both if you have too, but don't cut out water.

I'm slightly confused about diet/light soft drinks (or sodas for you people across the pond).

I read the nutrition information on the back of a can of Pepsi Max for example and it says:-

Per 100ml
Energy - 0.3kcal
Protein - 0.1g
Carbohydrate - Trace
(of which sugars - Trace)
Fat - Nil
Fibre - Nil
Sodium - Trace

But I just can't get my head round the fact that this thing I'm drinking is "empty". The drink is sooooo sweet, and just feels like a normal soft drink to me.

I know they best thing to drink is water, but I can't really see much difference of water to these.

Are they really that harmless or are they packed full of hidden stuff I don't know about? How do they get them full of flavour and so sweet but with nothing harmful on the info list on the back?

The reason why diet sodas taste "sweet" even though they do not have sugar in them is because of the artificial sweeteners. The whole point of the artificial sweetener industry is to put something in that tastes sweet, yet does not have the caloric values of sugar. The reason why artificial sweeteners do not have a caloric value is because your body cannot digest them. So the sweeteners just pass through your body and out in your waste.

Of course, there are going to be some people here who will tell you that after time, your body starts using artificial sweeteners as it would regular sugar, but that is pure conjecture. There has not been a single credible scientific study performed anywhere in the world that has shown that the body starts to use artificial sweetners like it would regular sugar, and so increasing he caloric value of diet sodas.

You should be getting enough water throughout the day to keep your body properly hydrated. I personally have gone from drinking 2-4 liters of diet sodas a day to drinking just water, and then doing some of both, and have not seen any difference as far as fat loss, energy loss, etc.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I am increasing my water intake, but sometimes I need something with a bit of flavour so I'll still have a couple of cans of diet soda.

Same with me. I love Diet Pepsi, doesn't taste bad at all, so I would have a class or two a day with loads of ice, keeps ya satisfied, but just don't forget the water ;).

Of course, there are going to be some people here who will tell you that after time, your body starts using artificial sweeteners as it would regular sugar, but that is pure conjecture. Not only is it conjecture, but it's not even good conjecture! It's poppycock!

If you can't quite "get your head" around how these are sweet, but have no calories, you can probably realize that things like pepper have a taste to them without calories too. Spices and seasonings and salt add tons of flavour, but none of them have calories either. Filthy water would have a certain taste to it, but still be calorie free.

If you can't quite "get your head" around how these are sweet, but have no calories, you can probably realize that things like pepper have a taste to them without calories too. Spices and seasonings and salt add tons of flavour, but none of them have calories either. Filthy water would have a certain taste to it, but still be calorie free.

That's quite a good analogy - thanks for that :tu:

I'm a big soda drinker, too. What I did to cut down is ration myself to one (12oz) diet soda for every two (16oz) glasses of water. I probably wind up drinking 3-4 diet sodas a day. I used to tear through a 2-liter a day, at least, and it wasn't always diet.

I am a diet drinker too... it is something that came up in the last 3-4 months. As long as it is in moderation and is not replacing water go for it.

The reason why diet sodas taste "sweet" even though they do not have sugar in them is because of the artificial sweeteners. The whole point of the artificial sweetener industry is to put something in that tastes sweet, yet does not have the caloric values of sugar. The reason why artificial sweeteners do not have a caloric value is because your body cannot digest them. So the sweeteners just pass through your body and out in your waste.

Of course, there are going to be some people here who will tell you that after time, your body starts using artificial sweeteners as it would regular sugar, but that is pure conjecture. There has not been a single credible scientific study performed anywhere in the world that has shown that the body starts to use artificial sweetners like it would regular sugar, and so increasing he caloric value of diet sodas.

Diet soft drinks are sweetened by aspartame, an aspartic acid/phenylalanine dipeptide methyl ester. Your body is already using the aspartame at its maximum capacity, it's absolutely impossible for your body to become super efficient or something and pull an appreciable amount of calories out of such a small quantity of protein.

Your body definitely CAN digest aspartame, and one of the products is an arguably (in)significant amount of methanol. Fruits and other vegetables, meats, dairy, etc also break down in the body to produce methanol, so I don't really understand the scare here. It's worth noting that ethanol competes with and inhibits the digestion of methanol, thus protecting your body from almost all negative effects.

That said, I don't drink diet soft drinks, mainly because they upset my stomach and the caffeine becomes habit forming very, very quickly. It's sort of up to you, but I thought half of the "get healthy" process was to rid yourself of the constant cravings for sweet-sweet-sweet and instant pick-me-ups.

Oh, I was going to mention some other resources that contained some interesting reading about the search for new artificial sweeteners. I'm not entirely sure if SciFinder Scholar is a licensed thing, but most of the search engines we have available work only on the university's network.

It's actually very interesting. Aspartame's use as an artificial sweetener was discovered almost completely by accident, and it has proven very difficult to come up with anything more effective. Relative to sucrose, it has a sweetness of 180. Scientists have discovered the traits that give a certain type of molecule a high sweetness potency and have synthesized compounds with relative sweetness values of over 2000. Problem is that, while they taste sweet, most have a delayed onset and lingering aftertaste that make them commercially useless.

I just found my new diet drink of choice.. I still get in over a gallon of water in a day, but Minute Maid makes these Lite fruit drinks that have 10 calories. They're actually very tasty, non-carbonated, non-caffinated drinks. They use aspartame in these...

Sorry I kinda got off topic, but wanted to throw that out there.

I just found my new diet drink of choice.. I still get in over a gallon of water in a day, but Minute Maid makes these Lite fruit drinks that have 10 calories. They're actually very tasty, non-carbonated, non-caffinated drinks. They use aspartame in these...

Sorry I kinda got off topic, but wanted to throw that out there.
I've been drinking those lately... They're really really good.

Sorry I kinda got off topic, but wanted to throw that out there.

Don't worry, I think that's very on topic to be honest.

Not all diet drinks use aspartame. Diet Rite and Crystal Bay, among others, use "Splenda" (sucralose) as an artificial sweetner. I don't know much about the chemistry of it other than sucralose is supposed to be "made from" sugar.

All soda's cause de-hydration...one can of soda equals de-hydration of one can of water from your body. If you drink 3 12 oz cans of soda, you have to have 3 12 oz cans of water just to replace what you've just lost from the soda. Just a suggestion...drop the soda and drink green tea instead. No de-hydration and it's good for you.

doc

Not all diet drinks use aspartame. Diet Rite and Crystal Bay, among others, use "Splenda" (sucralose) as an artificial sweetner. I don't know much about the chemistry of it other than sucralose is supposed to be "made from" sugar.

If my memory serves me correctly, Sucralose is a a normal sucrose molecule with a Cl- ion attached to it which is suppose to prevent your body from injesting it.

All soda's cause de-hydration...one can of soda equals de-hydration of one can of water from your body. If you drink 3 12 oz cans of soda, you have to have 3 12 oz cans of water just to replace what you've just lost from the soda. Just a suggestion...drop the soda and drink green tea instead. No de-hydration and it's good for you.

doc

Not criticising, but I'd like to know where you get these facts from. You are claiming that soda is almost a negative intake of water, when in fact it is probably over 99% water.

I've not seen any evidence to support what you say. Please provide more info if you can - thanks.

All soda's cause de-hydration...one can of soda equals de-hydration of one can of water from your body. If you drink 3 12 oz cans of soda, you have to have 3 12 oz cans of water just to replace what you've just lost from the soda. Just a suggestion...drop the soda and drink green tea instead. No de-hydration and it's good for you.

doc

Sorry, but you have your facts wrong. The diarrhetic in sodas is the CAFFEINE. And even that is not equivalent to the amount of fluid in the soda. It is not like you have to drink a can of water for every can of soda that you drink, especially if it is a caffeine free soda. It is true that your body does not get as much water through soda as drinking normal soda, which is why proper hydration is important. But it is not 1:1.

If my memory serves me correctly, Sucralose is a a normal sucrose molecule with a Cl- ion attached to it which is suppose to prevent your body from injesting it.

My understanding is that the chloride actually replaces the chemical in the nucleus of the sugar molecule --but chemistry was never my best subject. However, whichever way the chloride is involved with the sugar molecule, it does prevent the body from absorbing it.

Personally, I love sucrolose. I have prepared dishes (such as cranberry compote for Thanksgiving) and brought it to peoples' houses. Everyone loved it, it was completely eaten up and no one had a clue it wasn;t sugar.

I think the "rumor" that your body will start digesting non-sucrose products is that many people,particularly overweight people find sugar addicitng. And if they give it up, they go through a withdrawel period that is rather tough to go through. I have heard some people say that if they eat foods with articficial sweetners, it triggers them to eat sugared products again.

Personally, I don't find that. I definitely have a sweet tooth and I find that items "sweetened" with splenda, satisfies that craving. I loved the Atkins bars. I would have one or two when I was really craving sweet and that would satisfy the craving and bring it to an end. But they were so high in fat that I started to gain weight from them. So I gave them up. But I am back to eating ice cream and donuts, etc. which is preventing me from losing weight.

I wish the food industry would start putting out great sweet dessrt type thing with splenda. :jumping: