Diet Soda

[wevie]

So is diet soda good or bad? or not so bad or good? It has nothing but a little sodium. I have read about it and it seems opinions very from person to person.

[fitoverforty]

I am down to 2 diet cokes a day. One at lunch and one in the evening. I used to have up to 8 a day! It was practically the only thing I drank. I would tell myself that it is not bad like regular sodas because it doesn't contain sugar, but after reading Katie's post, I am more committed than ever to kicking the habit for good! Good grief....fireworks! Phosphoric acid! That is scary

[SimplyBlessed]

I can't remember exactly where I read it but I heard that aspartame creates reflux in the body that makes you crave more sugar and it increases your appetite. I also heart that aspartame contributes to weight retention in the belly and that it takes an extremely long time to exit from your body.

[Boss Man]

I've drunk Diet Coke before and never had such issues. Just commenting, not disagreeing with you.

[fitoverforty]

I have replaced alot of the sodas with Green Tea drink stix added to a bottle of water. Also, I drink two or three 16 oz. bottles of water a day using Power Edge drink stix. Which now upon closer inspection I am reading that both of those contain...you guessed it, ASPERTAME! The reason I chose Power Edge was because it had the most vitamins in a 16 oz.serving, 100% Vitamin C, 100% B-12 & B-6, etc. So it had me sold that is was "good" for me.
I was feeling really proud of myself for cutting back on the diet soda, but it appears I have only traded one bad habit for another
The Power Edge drink mix has 80 mg of caffeine in a 8 oz serving, so drinking one 16 oz. bottle I am having the equivalent of a RED BULL drink! No wonder I am so addicted to them. I can't start my day without downing one, just like coffee drinkers. That would explain why when I run out of them I start having massive headaches
Okay, I need some input here. I guess I should just bite the bullet and learn to like water just by itself, maybe a little splash of fresh lemon?
I'm having withdrawal symptoms already!!

[Winkleman]

So is diet soda good or bad? or not so bad or good? It has nothing but a little sodium. I have read about it and it seems opinions very from person to person.

I would drink a regular soda over a diet one anyday. No offense to anybody that likes their diet soda's, but I personally can't stand the taste of artificial sweeteners like aspartame. It has a metallic taste to me, and gives me headaches.

I know that the whole aspartame controversy, is.. well, controversial, but I would steer clear of anything with aspartame in it.

But like you said... opinions will differ from person to person. I've spent the last six years trying to talk my wife into giving up diet drinks, specifically anythign with aspartame... she won't.

[Boss Man]

Well as I posted recently, you should look up a Dr Eric Walters. He has a very good site about sweetners, as he uis a Biochemist, with 20+ years reserach into them.

He claims that Aspartame is safe enough to ingest.

look at it this way.

2 Ingredients.

Methanol.

Phenylalaine

Aspartic Acid.

Two of those are Amino Acids, Phenylalanine being an essential one, I beleive a Neurotransmitter for cell regeneration and growth. I think it acts as a relayer or stimulator of electrical signals from the Brain.

Unless people have Phenylketonuria, a conditon present from birth for some, Phenylalanine should be fine, unless someone consumed massive amounts, then maybe an issue could occur.

Methanol is also present in things like Oranges and the Juice.

So think of it. If someone had a Bowl Of Cereal and Fruit Juice for breakfast regularly, they would ingest all three from Cereal and Milk protein, and Orange Juice Methanol, in fact I think Oranges may contain more Methanol than a can of DC, but don't quote me on that.

The only argument against so called Aspartame side effects, not happening in this instance, is the Amino Acids and Methanol are free in the Aspartame, whereas the Breakfast example I gave, would require breakdown of the ingredients and I suppose smaller levels of all three things, converging together at any one time.

Frankly this so-called explanation, is something I cannot buy in to.
I did see a list once, (can't recall where), of so-called Aspartame side effects, and almost all I saw, bar one, I knew could be linked to other stuff, like too much Salt, Fat, Sugar, Mineral and Vitamin deficiencies, toxicity or competition, and possible other things. Not exclusively if possible at all, to Aspartame

I cannot say it is 100% safe and cannot say it is never able to harm, but I do believe it's more scapegoated than it should be.

Incidentally, what Dr Walters has to say, might make for an interesting counter argument, and I would urge people to read it, if not least to see the other side of the coin, which I doubt is touted much.

Dr Walter's Site

[oscarmadison]

the shady way it was approved by the FDA and Donald rumsfelds link to it is more than enough evil for me to stay well away from it.

that and I had a dr tell me 20 years ago to stay well away from it.... I trust ted the doc!

[Foo]

I see it as something that differs from person to person. Like any substance, if you ingest it excessively, then you may have a problem. If you use it seldomly, you're probably going to be ok.

I don't drink diet sodas very often because I don't like the taste. I don't get sick or anything from them, I just prefer regular soda. I try to drink more tea and water anyways.

[fitoverforty]

Thanks BossMan. I read Dr. Walter's articles on Aspartame as well as other sweeteners. Very informative. Knowledge is power! I especially liked his essay on the metabolism of Aspartame.

[littleshelly]

I avoid all artificial sweeteners. http://www.emaxhealth.com/11/586.html
http://purehealthmd.com/nutrition/healt ... eners.html

[wevie]

what about gatorade? it has a lot of carbs but are they the good or bad ones?

[LarsAlex]

I think it's not really good. No problem for me since I don't like sodas and usually drink water. I would stay away from it or at least I wouldn't consume big amounts of it. Have you tried fruit juices? They taste good and are healthy.

[fitoverforty]

I use Gatorade on occasion for re hydrating after a long or intense outdoor run or workout. I don't generally drink it at any other time.

http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition ... u53491.htm

It looks to be a bit high in salt - 200 mg per 8 oz serving (for re hydration) and it does contain sugar so as with most things, just don't over do it.

The carbs in gatorade come from the sugar, so in my opinion (and that is not saying much!) I would think they are "bad" carbs.

Hope this helps

[wevie]

so what is something good to drink, that tastes good as well? I like plain water better than the average person, but I gotta have something else as well.

I do drink some diet soda, but I would like to find something else. It seems like the stuff you would think is healthy like juice has as much sugar as soda.