Are "diet" sodas unhealthy? Can they help you lose weight?

[AlexR]

Hi,

I have wondered this for a while...

If you Google "Is diet soda bad for you," you get quite a number of hits thinking this is so, including from institutions like the Mayo Clinic.

It's simple: when I'm thirsty, sipping a sugarless soda is a way of "cheating" compared to a soft drink with sugar or alcoholic beverage.

But am I fooling myself?
And could this carbonated chemical-laden stuff be bad for me?

Best regards,
Alex R.

 

[Antiguadreams]

I suppose it all depends on your current level of kidney/liver health, and if you're diabetic or not. Aspartame is evil, and I really try to never drink beverages with it. The FDA may Okay it, but its not a naturally occuring substance, nor is it derived from a single naturally occuring substance.

Splenda on the other hand, also called sucralose, is derived from table sugar and offers all the benefits of other artificial sweeteners without the health risk. Some major brands of soda are finally using splenda over aspartame, so I reccomend buying those for your carbinated beverage fix.

In general, your kidneys don't like carbinated beverages. Water is the true ambrosia, but for the moments when we all have that sugar craving, splenda sweetened beverages for the win.

 

[freefallin1309]

All it does is remove sugar and calories and gives you a chemical version of sugar with medical histories such as Aspartame. The biggest benefit I've seen by using them over not drinking them at all is making your brain think it's getting the soda. I'm a big soda pop fan, but if on a diet ... I stay clear of any kind of pop and go with cold water. Cold water actually boosts your metabolism and it will fill you up and it's 70%+ of what your body is made up of anyway, so it's the best choice. I'll treat myself once in a while with a soda if on a diet, but not very often.

 

[Andy M.]

I don't care for the taste of artificially sweetened beverages.

When I decide to lower my caloric intake, the first thing I do is stop all beverages except water. If I'm thirsty - ice water. Need a beverage with a snack or meal - ice water. No calories, not bad aftertaste, no harmful chemical ingredients (at least not where I get my water)

Three cans a day of soft drinks cut out of your diet is worth a 35 pound weight reduction after a year.

 

[apple*tart]

I am not a doctor or a scientist, but I can give you an anecdote about aspartame. I used to drink a ton of diet coke, all day long, every day. This went on for a decade or so. I would probably drink a half dozen cans of it a day or more. At the time, I didn't perceive any negative effects on my health.
I won't go into the story about why, but one day, I stopped consuming anything with aspartame in it. Within weeks, I began feeling surprisingly healthier than I did before. Minor headaches or stomach upsets, feelings of fatigue...things I never connected to drinking diet coke, absolutely vanished. It was unreal. I haven't touched the stuff since.

I'm not diabetic and I don't have medical reasons to avoid natural sweeteners. I just drink water the overwhelming majority of the time, at home or out for dinner. I have a few mugs of coffee in the morning, but I use raw sugar and have worked my way down to less than a teaspoon per cup. I have an occasional beer or glass of wine, an even more occasional mixed drink, soda, or glass of juice. I drink tea once in a while too. It took some getting used to, but it's second nature now.

 

[Arky]

Some of the beverage companies are now using stevia as a sweetener in their diet colas - 0 calories, 0 carbohydrates, and is a totally natural product.

"Some major brands of soda are finally using splenda over aspartame..."

Splenda is just as bad as aspartame in some respects:

"Splenda is not natural; it is a chlorinated artificial sweetener. There have been no long-term human studies on the safety of Splenda; however, issues have been raised about Splenda in a new study from Duke University.
According to the study, Splenda “suppresses beneficial bacteria and directly affects the expression of the transporter P-gp and cytochrome P-450 isozymes that are known to interfere with the bioavailability of drugs and nutrients. Furthermore, these effects occur at Splenda doses that contain sucralose levels that are approved by the FDA for use in the food supply.”

In other words: Splenda might be bad for you, killing "good" bacteria and preventing the absorption of prescription drugs.

 

[GrillingFool]

I am pretty sceptic when it comes to all of the claims for all of the various sweeteners.
At one time, it was a scientific fact: the "pink Stuff" caused cancer.
OOPS, maybe not. Later studies say not...

Sweeteners are kinda like religion and politics. Everyone has an opinion.

I am a big fan of sweet and low and diet coke.