Diet Soda

SteveBrolin said:
Diet soda is not perfectly fine. The sodium benzoate commonly found in all sodas has been linked as a carcinogen and even as an agent to damaging DNA. Check out this excerpt from Wikipedia:

"Professor Peter Piper of the University of Sheffield claims that sodium benzoate by itself can damage and inactivate vital parts of DNA in a cell's mitochondria. Mitochondria consume oxygen to generate ATP, the body's energy currency. If they are damaged due to disease, the cell malfunctions and may enter apoptosis. There are many illnesses now tied to DNA damage, including Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases, but above all, the aging process in general."

Just because it's commonly consumed doesn't make it fit to eat. Why would you want to poison your body, even in moderation? Drink water with lemon or lime squeezed in it, or drink tea (which actually supplies your body with loads of beneficial nutrients) instead.
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Might want to check your data a bit.
 
No data to check

Thanks for the article on sodium benzoate being removed from diet coke. However, the article clearly says that Coke is doing that only for diet cokes sold in Great Britain. I realize the article is two years old and that may have changed elsewhere, but I hardly see that as a green flag for drinking diet coke. Even if it's no longer an ingredient, I still don't see any benefit to the body for pouring that stuff into it. One of the main reasons we have an obesity epidemic in the western world is because of an acceptance of processed foods and beverages in our diet. Maybe it's time we stopped accepting these things?
 
Actually, just to be sure, I looked at the ingredients for all my diet sodas (several brands). In fact, Looking at my can of diet coke with lime and there is no sodium benzoate.

As far as your claim of obesity epidemic in the western world is because of an acceptance of processed foods and beverages in our diet, I disgree. Oh, I'm sure it is a small part, but you need to look at a much larger picture of the reason. A more seditary lifestyle due to work moving from a manufacturing to a service based society. Media flooding of advertising. Lack of proper education on serving sizes and calorie count. Cheap food (which you can notch in some ways to processed foods but you can notch more to cheap labor). Some people believe in organic and such as the salvation of their health and weight. I'm not one of them and that has been obvious from my time on the board. I have no problem with you disagreeing about diet soda, but at least give the right information.
 
I certainly agree that cutting back on processed food & drink is a good thing for your health. But that's a long way from claiming that diet drinks are poison. I almost never drink diet soda - I get water or iced tea instead - but that doesn't mean that drinking diet sodas will ruin your weight loss or your health.

I'm with Jericho - it's fine if you want to suggest alternatives to diet soda, but at least get the right information out there so people can decide for themselves.

(As an interesting side note, it appears that sodium benzoate occurs naturally in cinammon, prunes, cranberries, apples & ripe cloves - go nature!)
 
I can't drink or eat anything with aspartame in it. It gives me a terrible migraines. I also have nephew with a brain injury that cant have it at all. If he gets it by mistake he has something that looks like a stroke.
What bothers me is that it is really hard to tell on some things. Lots of yogurt have it almost hidden what they are sweetened with.
 
SteveBrolin said:
One of the main reasons we have an obesity epidemic in the western world is because of an acceptance of processed foods and beverages in our diet. Maybe it's time we stopped accepting these things?
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The irony here is one of the main reasons we have an obesity epidemic is due to processed sugars mostly from consuming soda drinks.. Diet soda seems a fair compromise imo.

I LOATHE the cancer causing BS too. Hey guess what you hypocrite, here's a carcinogen for ya. Alcohol. You ever take a drink in your life? ZOMG, you're going to get cancer!!!!!! People blow this stuff waaaay out of proportion... When you're dealing in chemicals, the more important factor by far is concentration, but alarmists totally forget about that part of the equation..
 
I used to drink diet soda but these days I don't like the aftertaste or the fizziness.

My alternative is to add 2 Beroccas to a bottle of water. I think they have aspartmane in them but they don't have the same aftertaste (to me). Berocca is good for rehydration so I drink that in the gym.

But when I did drink diet soda I was not over weight and when I stopped drinking it I did not lose any weight so I it had no effect on my weight.
 
i personally don't think any acidic fizzy drinks are good for anyone. But that doesn't mean everyone is going to stop drinking it. I even drink them. lol
Another thing that freaked me out about cokes, though it never got me to stop drinking them, was finding out that was o ne of the ways policeman got rid of the blood on the road from car crashes. It just basically eats it away. No, that's not a myth or some "proven" internet fact. It is actually true and done back in my hometown. But oh well, if we were all healthy and drank and ate what was good for us we wouldn't be here talking about it. ;p
I vote WATER.
 
Jacklinger said:
I live on diet soda and have lose over 100 lbs.
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Thats because you watched your calories and exercised I presume. But its apparently been scientificly proven that diet drinks make it harder to maintain a low calorie diet as your body is expecting sugar, doesn't get it and so sends out cravings until you get your fix. Its not impossible to lose weight when drinking diet drinks, its just a lot harder.

Good luck with maintaining your loss. (Am in same boat, have managed to chop diet drinks from my day time but cannot seem to cut it from the evening. 3 guesses which time of the day I struggle most with keeping the calories to a minimum!)
 
summer123 said:
Thats because you watched your calories and exercised I presume. But its apparently been scientificly proven that diet drinks make it harder to maintain a low calorie diet as your body is expecting sugar, doesn't get it and so sends out cravings until you get your fix. Its not impossible to lose weight when drinking diet drinks, its just a lot harder.

Good luck with maintaining your loss. (Am in same boat, have managed to chop diet drinks from my day time but cannot seem to cut it from the evening. 3 guesses which time of the day I struggle most with keeping the calories to a minimum!)
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But I always have cravings, diet soda or not. I've built up enough willpower to just ignore them 90% of the time. It was hard too. I was not born with that willpower.
 
summer123 said:
Thats because you watched your calories and exercised I presume. But its apparently been scientificly proven that diet drinks make it harder to maintain a low calorie diet as your body is expecting sugar, doesn't get it and so sends out cravings until you get your fix. Its not impossible to lose weight when drinking diet drinks, its just a lot harder.

Good luck with maintaining your loss. (Am in same boat, have managed to chop diet drinks from my day time but cannot seem to cut it from the evening. 3 guesses which time of the day I struggle most with keeping the calories to a minimum!)
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I don't know how anybody can 'scientifically prove' something like this. Personally, I think it's complete and utter nonsense, and never had the feeling that a low calorie drink caused me to crave anything. On the contrary, if I feel the craving for something sweet, a glass of diet soda will do the trick nicely, then I can get back to my water. It doesn't make losing weight harder for me, it makes it easier, because there's a quick fix for sweet cravings without completely messing up my calories for the day.

I wish people would stop making blanket statements. It's different from person to person, and everybody needs to find out what works and doesn't work for them on their own.
 
Diet Cola can be taken in place of regular one as it contains less calories. But it is not necessary to say it will increase weight compulsorily......it will depend on individual.
 
I will have to respectfully disagree that diet soda alone, causes increased desire for sweets. physiologically, there is nothing in diet soda (the phenylalanine) that would cause any kind of metabolic response. It's basically carbonated water, food coloring, and some chemicals that are not processed in the body. That being said, my brain has a way of playing tricks on me. If you are the type of person that gets psyched out, and convinces yourself of things, maybe there is some "false" cravings for sweets when you drink diet soda, but it should be comforting to know it's not biologic.
 
Once again, everyone's body is different. Diet sodas will definitely cause carvings in some people, but not in everyone. As far as I'm concerned the main factor in deciding what to drink isn't "could this or that" be bad for us, but what can I drink that is good for me, and the answer to that is water. Water, water & more water.
Also, our bodies are made up of over 6 trillion cells, every one filled with water...IF you are not dehydrated, but that's another story for another day!
 
Plain water makes me physically sick. I can't drink it without throwing up. Does that mean I am doomed to be unhealthy, since everything but water seems to be bad for me.

Yet another blanket statement. :banghead:
 
San said:
I don't know how anybody can 'scientifically prove' something like this. Personally, I think it's complete and utter nonsense, and never had the feeling that a low calorie drink caused me to crave anything. On the contrary, if I feel the craving for something sweet, a glass of diet soda will do the trick nicely, then I can get back to my water. It doesn't make losing weight harder for me, it makes it easier, because there's a quick fix for sweet cravings without completely messing up my calories for the day.

I wish people would stop making blanket statements. It's different from person to person, and everybody needs to find out what works and doesn't work for them on their own.
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Don't shoot the messenger! I found my evidence on documentaries and websites which tell me with scientific backing what I said here. I also mentioned it as it has been my experience.

I didn't intend to upset you and was stating my opinion based on my own knowledge- isn't that what we are supposed to do on here? speak from our own experiences and what we already know? I didn't say it was the case for everyone. I said I have seen it had been apparently scientificly proven which is what I have been told.

Sorry to have upset you. I was only trying to help.
 
I used to drink one or two diet pops a day to curb cravings, feel fuller, yummy taste...I did so for several months and noticed weeks where I drank NO diet pop I always lost more weight even though I stuck to exact same eating/workout!! I noticed it several weeks before I finally gave it up. Just water for me.

Also diet pop is all just chemicals! Can't be good for our bodies...
 
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