Diet Soda

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.

Diet soda is bad. Sure, it’s better than regular, but it still isn’t good. Consider these facts:

1. It contains carbonated water, which is water dissolved with carbon dioxide. Well, our bodies try to get rid of carbon dioxide during respiratory excretion.
2. It contains aspartame, which is an artificial sweetener. It is still up in the air as to how much damage this can actually cause. I, myself, do not trust it. Anything with aspartame actually increases my migraines, and I know of several other who cannot tolerate it.
3. It contains phosphoric acid. Studies have shown this can decrease bone density and lead to kidney stones.
4. It contains potassium benzoate. This is the stuff that really scares me! When combined with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), it can form benzene, which is a known carcinogen. Oh, and it is used in fireworks!
5. It contains citric acid, which can erode tooth enamel.

Now, an occasional diet soda will not hurt you, but I would keep it to a max of one per day at most.

I hope this helps!

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

Oh, eight is bad! Glad you cut back! Just remember, if you are used to drinking two sodas with caffeine, you will experience withdrawal for the week. Like I said, one per day won’t hurt you, of course, none is always better. Easy for me to say since I have never liked soda. You could try substituting green tea for one of your sodas, and see how you feel. One other thing to consider, diet soda will cause water retention and sometimes bloating. Cutting it out completely will usually result in a few pounds of water weight loss.

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.

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

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!!

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.

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

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!

My understanding with artificial sweeteners is that it sort of interferes with the body's natural reaction to sweet thangs. Your body naturally associates sweetness with calories, and when you start giving it sweet thangs without the calories, you eventually lose your natural response to try and use up the extra energy. Then, when you DO have sugar sugar, your body doesn't react the same way to expend the extra energy. Sadly, I cannot find the articles I read at the time, but I know there have been studies done by the University of South Florida, and it has been written up in the economist as well. As for whether this is one of those fads "eggs are bad, don't eat eggs. everyone loves eggs load up. eight cups of water a day. too much water will kill you" back and forth sort of arguments, I don't know, but I'm inclined to think they're pretty nasty.

Personally, I can't stand the taste and avoid artificial sweeteners at all costs. I'm very meticulous about my diet, and instead when I drink a soda, I *enjoy* every second of it, typically making it about 1/2way through the can before I give up and wish I'd had a cupcake!

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.

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.

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

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