diet vs. non-diet drinks

[shoyski]

Okay, I'm a Tab fanatic. Can't stand any other diet drink and would rather drink regular pop or water. What do the rest of you guys drink? Diet or regular?

[TamiK]

When I'm being VERY GOOD, I drink diet (or iced tea). When I'm being a little good, it's half diet and half regular. When I'm bad (usually) it's the real thing, baby!

[Vanessa]

Diet coke. I do love lemonade and ice tea (can be no sugar or regular)I am trying to drink more water, so instead of sodas I have been filling a glass with ice and water.
When I am bad I like a cold pina colada (so unhealthy right?...or wine

[Ralph]

Sorry, but diet is a four-letter word! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[lindrusso]

I love regular Coke best, but to keep the calories down, I drink mostly Diet Coke.

[BethH]

Diet Coke only!!!! I will drink water or nothing before I drink diet pepsi! ick!

[MrsReber]

Ugh, I cannot stand the taste of any diet soda. I don't care what anyone says, they all have an aftertaste to me! My stepmother has been drinking diet soda for years and she thinks it tastes great, but I never could get past the weird taste.

I'm with Ralph, diet is a four letter word! I mostly drink water, but occasionally some juice. If we go out and I can't get a decent glass of water (yes, this has actually happened) then I will get a sprite or lemonade. I prefer the lemonade since the soda usually fills me up and makes me feel uncomfortable.

[Denise]

Diet Coke or Diet Sprite for me! When I was a teenager I taught myself to like the taste of diet drinks (skim milk too), now I don't even like regular!

[Laura B]

I am a Dr. Pepper addict! I have been very good lately about drinking a lot more water than I ususally do and I am trying to only kep Diet Dr. Pepper in the house. Diet DP doesn't taste too horrible, and (as with all diet sodas) it is a taste you have to get used to. I used to say screw diet sodas, they're gross, I want the real thing. But I am trying to lose weight and those things are just LOADED with empty calories. So, I will only drink a real soda occasionally, like when we go out to eat. I like Coke but like Pepsi better if I am having to settle for something besides DP.

PS - I had serious withdrawal when I went to Australia - they didn't have Dr. Pepper! I found one or two but they were rarities. It was a hard month, LOL.

[JJ40]

I don't drink coffee or tea; Pepsi is my beverage of choice. Actually, it's diet pepsi. I made the switch a few years ago when I realized exactly how much Pepsi I was drinking in a week (and how much sugar that was!!) Now I can drink it guilt-free (at least in terms of calories, anyways).

The only thing that makes me nervous about diet soda is the aspartame. You hear a lot about the possible link to cancer, etc. Any thoughts on this?

[AKLBEANPOLE]

I USED TO DRINK DIET DRINKS BUT NOW ONLY DRINK WATER AND TEA. DIET DRINKS HAVE TO MANY BAD SIDE EFFECTS SUCH AS MEMORY LOSS AND SOFTENED TEETH TO NAME A FEW. REGULAR SOFT DRINKS HAVE MORE THAN THE RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE OF SUGAR. I AM NOT GIVING UP MY SUGAR ON A SOFT DRINK.

[lorilei]

I actually /like/ the taste of diet Coke better than regular (is that weird?), but have stopped drinking anything which contains NutraSweet (aspartame).

My father developed a swallowing disorder as a result of ingesting NutraSweet, and although I was skeptical previously, that convinced me that the stuff just isn't a good idea.

I'm a water addict myself. I will drink a regular soda on occasion, but find that generally soda is just too sweet!

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by JJ40:

The only thing that makes me nervous about diet soda is the aspartame. You hear a lot about the possible link to cancer, etc. Any thoughts on this?


Well, without trying to sound like I'm on a soapbox and without discounting personal experiences (such as those of lorilei's father), I would say that more research would need to be done to convince me that aspartame is a bad thing.

I remember the big saccharin scare that prompted manufacturers to find an alternative. These findings were based on studies of rats - the rats developed cancer after being fed the equivalent of a human drinking 800-1000 diet sodas A DAY - not likely to happen in any household! Not only that, there are many questions as to whether research on rats can be applied to humans at all. After all the fuss, saccharin has recently been removed from the list of carcinogens.

I'm not saying that we and the government should not be cautious, I'm just saying that I take what I read with a grain of salt. There are many alarmists out there who would have us believe a great many things and it's important to read all sides and decide for yourself.

So, maybe you could do a little research -I found many things by just searching the internet using the word "aspartame" - and then decide for yourself. You may decide it is fine or you may decide that it's just not worth risking.

Here's one link I found on what the FDA has to say on the subject (It seems they do not consider it a risk - at least in the area of brain tumors): http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00772.html

So, here's to informed decisions, whatever those decisions may be.




[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 08-01-2000).]

[lindrusso]

Sorry I was trying to edit my other post! Wish I could delete!!

[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 08-01-2000).]

[Kerri]

I usually drink water or iced tea, but I have started to drink that new Pepsi One stuff. It's pretty good! You can tell that it is a diet drink, but it isn't overpowering.

[marshalynne]

Pepsi One, Water with lemon, or Sugar Free Kool Aid for me!

[Danielle]

I don't care for the taste of diet soda, either. I just can't get used to the aftertaste. I drink water or orange juice most of the time, with the ocassional soda when we go out to eat. I'm a sucker for a good homemade cherry or vanilla Coke. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[food girl]

Lindrusso-great reply on aspartame! There are some really scary "propaganda" sites out there too. If you look at the American Institue for Cancer Research global recommendation, you will see that aspartame was not conclusively linked to cancer...but charred meat was!
I just guzzled a full-sugar Mountain-Dew, and I am not so concerned about the calories as I am about what good things I am crowding out of my diet with this liquid junk.
Did you all know that in 1985 kids drank twice as much milk as soda. Now kids drink twice as much soda as milk.? Something to think about.

[Kristilyn1]

Thanks for the posts on aspartame!!! This has been the office battle of the month. I am in the minority in this office, after doing my own research--I decided for myself that I don't consider aspartame a risk. But one woman in the office does--and half the office won't ingest it--based on her say so! I am not *against* her advice--I just hate it when people make life altering decisions without their own research. Everyone should decide for themselves. So, while my opinion is merely an opinion--I at least formed it myself.

Kristi
who has also had emails recently about the--
toxic tampons
breast cancer link to deodorant
just to name a couple

[lorilei]

While I am not an alarmist regarding the aspartame risks, I would tend to err on the side of caution, and am curious to know why we even bother with things like this that are questionable.

I'm bringing this up for its discussional value, purely because I'm eager to hear what each of you have to say about it. I am not in any way insinuating that you need to think as I do...

But I wonder why we ingest aspartame? Are we so scared of putting a few extra calories into our bodies that we would take a /chance/ on it?

Soda itself has been proven to leach calcium out of our bones (and this evidence is pretty conclusive), yet we still drink it.

Isn't this strange, when we're so concerned about "cooking light"?

[Kristilyn1]

Originally posted by lorilei:
am curious to know why we even bother with things like this that are questionable.

Soda itself has been proven to leach calcium out of our bones (and this evidence is pretty conclusive), yet we still drink it.

Isn't this strange, when we're so concerned about "cooking light"?[/B]

Well, look at how many people who cook light and don't exercise? Or who smoke? Or who drink? Personally, I have decided for myself that there is NO risk with aspartame. If I thought there was, I may or may not drink it. I have never heard of soda leaching calcium out of our bodies--unless you mean caffeine--though I do know that carbonation rots your teeth--that is why I rarely, if ever let my children drink it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying soda doesn't leach calcium--I just have never heard that. I do drink diet soda--but I prefer water.

Kristi

[lindrusso]

Lorilei,

You bring up some good points, and there are many out there would not take the chance even if the risk were proven to be minimal.

For me, there are many risks in life and I carefully choose those I am willing to take and those I am not willing to take.

For instance, what about everything they say about alcohol? Some research suggests that it is good for your heart, but some research suggests that it increases your chances of breast cancer, among other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. From the looks of previous posts, many of us on this board have chosen to take this risk. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Or what about caffeine? Lots of stuff says this is a "bad thing", but again, many choose to take the risk. If we cut out everything that comes with a risk, I believe that we'd have no fun at all! So again, you just have to decide for yourself which things are worth the risk to you.

Diet soda, to me, is fairly harmless indulgence (when you look at all that the experts tell us not to do or eat) that I look forward to in my effort to cut down on "empty calories" such as those that come from regular soda. Now, anything in large quantities can be a problem, but I'm talking one diet soda per day here, nothing big - in my opinion anyway!

I love this board - what a great opportunity for some interesting discussions!!!

[BarbaraL]

I pretty much drink water and iced tea (sun tea) that I make myself. I stopped drinking soda regularly when I was pregnant -- too many calories in the regular; I worried about the chemicals affecting the baby with diet. After the baby, went to Weight Watchers, and got used to drinking 6-8 glasses of water per day. I don't NOT drink soda on any philosophical basis; water quenches my thirst better, and I'd rather have my calories in a cookie than in a glass. Having worked in pharmaceutical research, I'm very aware of the pros and cons of animal data, and the scientific uncertainties relating to the effects of dietary additives. For most people, small amounts of aspartame are probably fine. Chances are, a small percentage of people will have a sensitivity to it or be more susceptible than others to any deleterious effects. Everyone knows smoking's bad for you, but not every smoker gets emphysema or cancer. As Lindrusso and Kristilyn1 said, educate yourself and make an educated choice.

[lorilei]

Originally posted by Kristilyn1:
I'm not saying soda doesn't leach calcium--I just have never heard that. I do drink diet soda--but I prefer water.

Sorry - I don't think I spoke clearly when I mentioned that soda "leaches calcium" -- it doesn't actually /take/ calcium from your bones, but it does keep your body from absorbing the calcium you do intake.

In scientific terms:
Soft drinks are acidified with phosphoric acid. When food passes from the stomach to the small intestine, bicarbonate is added ( by the digestive apparatus) to raise the pH. Under the acid conditions of the stomach, the calcium in food is available, but when the pH goes up in the small intestine, the calcium reacts with the phosphate from the soda and precipitates. In that form, calcium phosphate, it is not available for absorption.

Anyhow -- it's not something that is widely publicized, but it is based in scientific fact, and it has changed my view about drinking soda in general.

I just find this to be fascinating discussion. And I agree -- we all choose our own risks in life. And I find it very interesting some of the things we choose to take on as risks in our life -- thanks for such productive discussion.

[MrsReber]

I don't like to think of eating and drinking things that aren't "natural". I actually don't eat or drink aspartame because I simply can't stand the taste of it. It makes yogurt taste horrible. I don't smoke, I work out, eat healthy, and avoid caffeine. I sound like a goody two shoes! I eat and drink some bad stuff, but I learned from the nutritionist at my gym that there really is no "bad" food, it's just that we consume too many calories and we can make healthier choices. Therefore, I shall eat and drink sugar, but in moderation. I don't know if aspartame causes cancer or whatnot, but I don't really want to find out firsthand. We have even given up microwave popcorn because the bags are questionnable. I just don't see a point in taking chances when there are already so many bad things in the air and in the water. My husband and I just do the best that we can as far as taking care of ourselves. It's all any of us can do, but we are certainly all entitled to make our own decisions. And, if you can stand the taste, a diet soda or two is most likely not going to kill anyone. It's personal choice, really.

[Susan]

My mainstay is water, especially because I'm pregnant.:-) I drink skim milk with dinner every night (always have, always will). I detest diet drinks and seldom drink soda. I do indulge in one *good* cup of coffee to get me going in the morning...more than that and I'm cRaZY!!!

~~Susan~~

[Susann]

I don't have anything to say about soft drinks, I just wanted to wish you best wishes on your pregnancy, Susan!

[Susan]

Thanks, Susan! I am counting down the days until August 27 (due date). http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif I'm trying to get some meals in the freezer and have lots of great ideas thanks to this board.

~~Susan~~

[Angela]

I agree with Ralph and MrsReber diet is a four letter word. Can't stand the stuff, will never drink it. Mostly I drink water, though during summer I love a good glass of lemonade. If I do drink soda it's Coke.

[shoyski]

Wow, cool responses! I have to rescind my original post, now that you guys have made me feel guilty. :-)

I start out my morning with 32 ounces of water before I get to work. During the day I drink 3 Tabs and at least 3 liters of water. Yes, the bathroom calleth me!

During the evening, I usually drink a glass of wine while preparing dinner and milk with dinner. More often than not I have a glass of water before bed.

There, I feel better that all of you know I'm not just guzzling Tab, left and right.
Sometimes I'll substitute Fresca for a Tab.
Anyone drink that anymore?

By the way, I was a bit relieved two months or so ago when they reniged on the saccharine scare.

[Lisa 71]

Diet drinks YUCK! I can only stand the taste of diet sprite and if I can find it Diet Rite white grape. But I find drinking too many diet drinks actually makes me hungry for sweets, so I stick to water and ice tea and for that special occassion (i make one up at least once a week) I have a heavenly can of good old COKE. I swear it is the nectar of the gods! I think though it mainly tastes incredible because it is only once a week. If I had my way I would drink it everyday, but then I would probably get sick of it??!! Right! Oh well that is my story and I am sticking to it.
Lisa