How Bad are Diet sodas for you, really??

[ERD50]

I remember reading somewhere that drinking diet soda actually decreases blood sugar and, as a consequence, increases cravings for sugar-rich foods.

I've heard of several studies that came up with that result (not sure if blood sugar was measurably changed or not). I'd have to search for links to see if they were good peer reviewed studies, but since I don't drink diet soda anyhow, my motivation is waning.

But essentially, you can't fool Mother Nature. Apparently, when you drink the diet soda your body realizes it is not getting the sugar fix it expects, so it craves it in other forms. Rats given diet soda with access to other sugar ate more *total* sugar than rats drinking regular soda.

I think it's a bit like smelling food baking - no calories in the smelling, but it makes you crave the real food and eat more of it.

Water, coffee, tea, good beer, good wine, occasional fruit juice (not necessarily in that order ).


-ERD50

 

[One-Zero]

clifp:"Wow dozens of quotes and not a single peer review study published in scientific or medical journal.
The plural of anecdotes is NOT data"

darn Clif...I was just doing a drive-by on this one...
I hadn't come across much in the way of anything other than 'anecdotal' in the OTHER TOPICs threads and dropped that link in for the sheer heck of it. Figuring those who were interested might use it as a lead to see why the experts made those statements - such as going to their respective sites/pubs to see if there is any meat behind their stance in the form of legit studies. Much the same occurs when folks start talking about beneficial herbal supplements - you want to believe but it ends up being a maze of anecdotal evidence for the most part.
I guess the lack of facts in the political threads led me to believe I could get away with it here... I'll be more diligent in the future.

Yes I drink diet soda - but am cutting back considerably...my reason for going to them in the first place was to avoid the sugar in regular drinks. Hopefully the tequila consumption will kill off anything wreaking havoc otherwise in my body


Gore Bless AmeriKa!

 

[youbet]

Water, coffee, tea, good beer, good wine, occasional fruit juice (not necessarily in that order ).

Hmmmmm..... what are ya saying here? Beer and wine have to be "good?" But your coffee and tea can be crappy?

Isn't blaaah beer better than superb water?

Fruit juice as in a Screwdriver or Bloody Mary?

Do you prefer a Highball made with sugared ginger ale and VO? Or, with diet ginger ale and Ole Rot Gut?

 

[bright eyed]

Those of you worried about aspartame should consider switching to beverages using Splenda. Start a campaign with your favorite bottler!

Tate & Lyle PLC needs the money...

splenda is not w/out controversy either...it's affectionately called E955 in europe hehe - yum...

Sucralose - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

<<The basis for concern about the safety of sucralose derives from the class of chemical to which it belongs. The sucralose molecule is an organochloride (or chlorocarbon). Since some organochlorides are known to cause adverse health effects in extremely small concentrations, critics of sucralose feel the extra-high burden of proof is warranted. Although some chlorocarbons are toxic, sucralose is not known to be toxic in small quantities and is extremely insoluble in fat; it can not accumulate in fat like chlorinated hydrocarbons. In addition, sucralose does not break down or dechlorinate.[15]
In contrast to these concerns, many organochlorides occur naturally in food sources such as seaweed.[16]>>

not that conclusive either...but a lot of them seem to say the testing has been done in small doses - so the 6 pack/day plussers should re-evaluate! The marketing of Splenda has also been controversial, since it seems to apply it's "natural" since it's made from sugar...doused in chlorine?

there was a lady on oprah who drank upwards of 5-6 6packs of diet soda per day - ack!

 

[WM]

A good general food reference for this and other issues is What To Eat, by Marion Nestle. She's a well-regarded nutritionist and doesn't take any money from food companies.

The chapter on artificial sweetners has the following to say:

- aspartame - no serious research showing problems
- acesulfame-K - safety research is from the 1970's and not extensive
- sucralose (Splenda) - doesn't have much to say about the research
- stevia - not enough safety research

She does mention that people have reported headaches, etc., from these, in which case her recommendation is not to drink diet soda.

 

[joesxm3]

I vaguely remembered something I read about the preservatives in diet soda degrading to benzene which is bad for you.

I did not do a long search but a quick google turned up this.

Benzene in Soft Drinks - SourceWatch

 

[toofrugalformycat]

I had a diet soda habit when I was w*rking. When I went to the break room I just had to buy something out of the machines to consume while sitting there, so I went for the lowest calorie thing. I remember Diet Coke tasted good, Diet Pepsi bad. When I quit w*rk I dropped the soda habit to save money, and also being a greenie I felt guilty about all those aluminum cans, even with recycling. So here I am years later on a long drive, sleepy, and I pull over and the only thing with caffeine I can find in the quickie mart is Diet Coke. It tasted absolutely awful - a weird chemical mix.
Either my taste changed or their Coke machine was malfunctioning. I don't miss the soda now that I've kicked the habit. And I particularly enjoy thinking about all those dollars I haven't spent on Coke.
Just don't try to take away my Balance bars!

 

[igsoy]

I have been on and off diet pepsi several times. I would notice when I was off it and only drinking water that I had less soda/food cravings in general. I could go for months without it, but if I started up drinking one again, it wouldn't be long before I kept reaching for the next one and was back at it again. I don't think it is the caffeine, there really isn't much in a can of soda compared to coffee, and coffee never gave me cravings anyway, it's something else in the soda.

And wrt the sweet flavor of the fake sugar making you crave sugar, I'd say that the flavor of diet pepsi is not very "sweet" seeming, at all. That's why I like it, it has bite. But there is definitely something to the craving thing, who knows what the cause is...

 

[ScottFromUtah]

(2) Who needs more chemicals?

Ooooh, scary, terrible chemicals!!

I know I'm being nitpicky here, but as a professor of chemistry, I must point out that...

Every substance that you eat or drink is made up of chemicals. Pure water is the chemical H2O (with a small amount of hydronium and hydroxide ions flickering around). Meat and poultry contain the chemicals myoglobin, hemoglobin, actin, myocin, potassium, sodium, carbonate, chloride, pyrophosphate, adenosine triphosphate, nucleic acids, triacylglycerols, and thousands of others. Apples contain amylose, amylopectin, glucose, fructose, sucrose, and many other chemicals. Vegetable oil and butter contains triacylglycerols and many other chemicals.

Let's not get chemophobic, people.

 

[ERD50]

Ooooh, scary, terrible chemicals!!

Apples contain ....

And organic Apples are loaded with known carcinogens.

-ERD50

 

[samclem]

And organic Apples are loaded with known carcinogens.

-ERD50

Watch out! Here comes "Son of Milk Thread!"

 

[chris2008]

How about this one on the relation between soft drinks and osteoporosis?
Consuming Cola May Up Osteoporosis Risk For Older Women, Study Suggests

 

[Twinkle Toes]

I thought the phosphoric acid in the colas was very bad for bone health because it causes calcium to leech out to balance the phosphorus intake. Urban legend?

That's what my doc told me. It's the phosphoric acid, but some sodas don't contain it.

 

[tibbar]

Ok, I have to post here. I have read for months but never posted till today.

I drink a lot of soda and switched to diet in the mid 90's. My sister, brother in law and myself have all had memory problems when drinking diet sodas. All improved when we quit drinking them. My Brother in law is a very fast paced business owner that was reduced to taking forever to make decisions. Thankfully he quickly recovered when he quit drinking the stuff. My husband is so sensitive to aspertame that he blacked out after drinking a diet drink. I belong to a forum of mostly women. MANY on this forum report bad effects from diet drinks ranging from severe headaches to loss of vision. Why the studies show no bad results is a mystery to those of us who have had bad problems with the stuff. It has certainly changed my view of "Studys".

After my memory recovered I swore off anything with artificial sweetners in it. Now I am trying to do away with high fructose corn syrup. Regular sodas (and everything else) have HFCS instead of sugar because it is cheaper. When Coke changed their formula in the 80's I started gaining weight. Only recently have I made the HFCS connection since I hadn't changed anything else diet wise and with 4 kids under 3, I was getting exercise!.

 

[bright eyed]

well, if we're talking about how they taste - anyone try the flavored diet sodas? worst ever was diet coke with lime! aack! was like drinking a weird cough syrup...

 

[pedorrero]

Interesting thread. As someone who drinks a lot of diet soda, it interests me. My major downfall is the restaurants which offer free refills (did I mention that some also have wi-fi access -- a new pastime for me too.) In any case, I don't think I suffer from any ill effects except probably too much caffeine and bloating, possibly some digestion problems.

At least I don't suffer the odd effects of "Cornholio" (of Beavis & Butthead fame -- google Cornholio to learn more than you wanted to know...). Briefly: Beavis works at a burger joint, and OD's on soda and turns into a lunatic.

But I still drink more soda than I should. Hey, it's free!

I didn't see much mention here about a big-time problem of traditional soda: empty calories. I bet that far more health problems are directly traceable to sugar or the more likely high-fructose corn syrup. Diabetes? Heart Disease? If I drank regular soda like I do diet, I'd probably be getting 500-1000 empty calories per day. Ugh.