Should diet sodas be avoided? I switched from “regular” soda to diet soda to avoid the sugar and calories. Are there reasons that I should avoid diet soda and just switch to water or something else?
I have done a little bit of research on diet soda but I don’t know what to believe and what is fallacious.
Good question. I can’t believe that the chemicals in there are good for you, but I think in small quantities, it’s probably safe. Like an occasional beer, I don’t think an occasional diet or regular soda is a problem, but too much caffeine, articificial sweetners, carbonation and such wouldn’t be good. Like you, I’m interested in what the experts on this forum have to say about it. I think purified water is probably the best way to go – rather than any type of soda.
What about www.teatek.com or www.mightyleaf.com ? You can use crystal light (trace amounts) and tea flavors to create juice/tea combos with nutrients instead of diet soda. Why not saturate your tissues constantly with something healthy? That way you can rotate flavors to keep from getting bored.
Colas and most other types of soda contain large amounts of phosphoric acid which, needless to say, is a very strong acid. To keep your ph from falling, calcium is leached from your bones. With most other vices there is a difference between having one every now and then and drinking a case a week.
Diet soda huh? Carbonated beverages are the devil. period. Substitute with water. U cant go wrong.
I’ll agree. If you do want a bit of a change from water there’s this
http://www.blueskysoda.com/natural.htm
It’s full of fructose but at least you know where it comes from.
I 100% fully agree! If you drinking diet soda like Root beer, you can guarantee that its full of aspartame. While It may only have 1 calorie the aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is bad for your health as well. Gees, these marketing guys for BIG SUGAR are getting ruthless now!
SODAS, DIET OR OTHERWISE ARE VERY REPEAT VERY BAD FOR YOU. WHETHER YOU ARE AN ATHLETE OR AN AVERAGE JOE, THESE BEVERAGES SHOULD BE AVOIDED LIKE THE BLACK PLAGUE!
lol while I agree they are bad for you, if someone drinks 1 or maybe 2 cans a week (I am going to guess the weekend most likely), I fail to see how that could hurt much, since it is replacing the obvious (regular) and may keep down cravings significantly. Let’s talk about reality here for a second.
I fail to see how that could hurt much, since it is replacing the obvious (regular) and may keep down cravings significantly. Let’s talk about reality here for a second.
Man ur great if u can drink something twice a week to “keep down cravings” wouldnt it have the opposite effect?
The only thing one needs to keep down cravings is the mind. Ive abandoned carbonated beverages, and sugar juices on a whole, for water and freshly squeezed fruit juice (no sugar) and ive never turned back.
Lost 15 lbs in some weeks (those layers of fat that hide ur abs or hold back ur thighs etc) felt healthier than ever, shaved .2 of my pb in the 100m.
the only time I might cheat is on special occasions, like birthday celebrations, holidays etc. but I dont overdo it.
Read these articles to know about some of the evils of diet soda, one that Supervenomsuperman mention is here:
Diet soda, less calories, more side effects!
The idea that diet soda makes people obese is moronic. All this tells us is a particular behavior pattern of the obese population. Perhaps they drink diet sodas because they want to lose weight? Maybe they feel pressured by society to choose a calorie free option? The list of “symptoms” associated with aspartame, can be summed up like this.
“I have ‘insert symptom/disease here’ must be that damned diet soda”.
I haven’t drank normal soda (non diet) in almost 2 years (less than 10 in the last 4), so I don’t think I have to worry about that. I do though have a diet, caffeine free, and often aspartame free soda occasionally, maybe twice a month, when I am relaxing after a lot of homework or when I am with friends and I am tea’d out for the day (usually after 3 servings).
On a side note, freshly squeezed fruit juice is going to have fructose almost as a given and will have about as many carbs per serving as a soda. Does this mean it is bad for you? Not necessarily, but if we are going to give reasons not to drink soda, we shouldn’t still drink other things with the same properties. I am against the p. acid, lack of nutrients, and excess caffeine. I think the whole sugar argument is way overdone except in high amounts in inactive or slightly active people.
The first link is simply ridiculous. Aspartame causing death? The amount needed to kill someone would be so ridiculously high, I don’t see how you could consume that much under normal circumstances, nor for most of the other symptoms said. Notice, no studies are mentioned.
For the next, I am going to say this without any proof, but generally what I have seen: most people who drink diet soda do not lead a healthy lifestyle and replace diet soda for other fluids rather than in addition to. Most of the people I have seen that are “diet soda” drinkers are the people that just want to lose weight, but don’t do the big things, like getting a plan, cutting calories from junk (other than just soda), getting plenty of healthy fluids, etc. In fact, if you read the entire article (I just did after I typed that) indicates that there is no proof that diet sodas cause this, rather diet soda is simply an indicator. Big difference.
What’s in diet soda? I’d be far more worried about what’s in other things I am consuming. Also, the article even states that the p. acid is not a big deal unless consuming very high amohnts (2+ liters a day), in fact, it says at the most a soft drink will have is 500mg (I am going to guess they mean a can here, the most common way of drinking soft drinks) of an RDA of 4,000mg or less. That mean you would have to drink 8 sodas a day until problems became prevalent. Put that on a weekly scale and you’d need 56 a week approximately. Now, if someone drinks less than 2% of what is considered the point when p. acid starts to cause problems.
Too much vitamin C and vitamin E appear to have problems as well at high doses. Do we rid our diets of them? I hope not. There must be a balance though of not only good/bad, but reality v.s. a made-up plan. BJ drank beer occasionally. There are dozens of known and proven side effects of drinking alcohol, but I don’t think the occasional beer really set him back all that much. Michael Jordan had cigars on special occasions, something shown to have dozens, possibly even hundreds of negative health effects.
As an aside, I love eating healthy and I feel better, but I lost absolutely no weight when I switched from good food and crap to essentially just good food. Moreover, my body comp has improved more from changing my training plan than it ever did under nutrition under normal circumstances.
Oh well, each man to his own. I dont drink sodas period, but drink lots of water and sometimes freshly picked and squeezed fruit and vegetable juices without sugar (I pick and squeeze them myself, I dont believe in those processed crap they call natural fruit juices).
It works for me, and even though certain things in those articles may be off, Im not gonna take my chances with sodas regardless. Only on special occasions as I said, which are few and far inbetween.
And that’s great. I don’t really think once a week or so is really that much either though, especially diet and especially out of comp phase. You realize that fruits have a good amount of fructose in them right?
Fruits and vegetables i drink and I alternate them and spread out their use so my body is in no danger from the fructose, and I make shure I that I supplement it with glucose so its effect will not be detrimental. Most of the time I just drink water. No biggie.
diet soda is actually much worse… it contains a chemical called aspartame (makes you crave sodium and carbs) when it heats up it turns to formaldahyde(sp) then formic acid which will kick your body’s ass. for diabetics its especially dangerous because it can make you insulin levels go crazy. Some of the side effects from aspartame poisoning have been diagnosed and MS and fybromyalgia (sp)
Im currently writing a letter to the senate supporting a bill to post warning labels on all diet soda products and other similar products (sweet and low, equal, splenda etc)
if anyone is interested in writing a letter to the senate to support this bill contact me and I can give you more information.
diet soda is actually much worse… it contains a chemical called aspartame (makes you crave sodium and carbs) when it heats up it turns to formaldahyde(sp) then formic acid which will kick your body’s ass. Im currently writing a letter to the senate supporting a bill to post warning labels on all diet soda products and other similar products (sweet and low, equal, splenda etc)
Woohoo! Down with dem evil sodas. Lol.
Do you know what fructose and glucose are??
I know what they are, I consume them via fruits, vegetables etc, but in MODERATION, and not every fruit and vegetable that I consume, has fructose. Im not killing myself here man. I know what Im doing. I dont sit down at my computer day and night drinking fruit and vegetable juice 
Just like u say u drink sodas in moderation, thats how I drink them. I prefer drinking them in moderation than drinking sodas in moderation, sodas are the devil. Lol.
I have no problem with them, but you obviously do if you are complaining about sodas sugar content! Please look up what fructose and glucose are for your own sake. Virtually every fruit has fructose in some quantity. It is sugar. Again, this is of no concern to me, but you are complaining about the sugar content of soda and then saying there is no sugar or anything in fruit juice which is far from the truth.
but you are complaining about the sugar content of soda and then saying there is no sugar or anything in fruit juice which is far from the truth.
No no, u misinterpret me. I never said there is no sugar in fruits, im not ignorant. I just say I subsitute sodas with water and fruit juice that I pick and squeeze, but I dont ADD ANY EXTRA SUGAR to the fruit juice (because the fruits have in sufficient sugar).
This is my original post where I started the fruit juice talk:
Ive abandoned carbonated beverages, and sugar juices on a whole, for water and freshly squeezed fruit juice (no sugar)
When I said no sugar there i meant no added sugar. Im sorry for not explaining myself better.