Diet Colas

[acorreia]

I know that regular sodas are "not good for you", i.e. sugar, sodium, calories, etc...

But, what about diet sodas? I love Diet Dr. Pepper. It has no calories and less than 50mg of sodium. But, does drinking even diet carbonated beverages have negative repercussions? Do they make you retain water at all?
-Angela

[LIsaP]

Any soda with caffine could make you retain water. I am skeptical of artificial sweetners in soda...although they have been approved, I am waiting for the day for someone to find out something bad about them.

You are better off drinking seltzer flavored with a bit of fruit juice, lime or lemon!

[cookgirl]

The worst thing about sodas, diet or not...is that they make your body think that it is not thirsty. The caffeine also has a dehydrating effect, so your losing out bigtime on necessary water intake. And...depending on HOW MUCH you drink soda, you may want to consider drinking a lot more milk or taking calcium supplements. Caffeine does not promote healthy bone growth.

Your better drinking sodas as an occasional treat instead of an everyday beverage!

[This message has been edited by cookgirl (edited 06-29-2000).]

[Liz M]

I have a friend who is an exercise physiologist, and she told me yesterday that diet sodas inhibit the absorption of Vitamin D. There has been some preliminary reserach but they're not sure how or why it does it, so be careful with your vitamin D intake if you drink a lot of diet soda.

I'm a Diet Coke addict myself, and I've been trying to keep it down to one can every 2 weeks. It's hard!

[acorreia]

Thanks so much for the info! Guess what. Yesterday I did not drink any Diet Dr. Peppers! I found a new drink. Crystal Light Body Refreshers. I had never tried Crystal Light. I cannot even tell you how much water I had yesterday. It was amazing!

[lorilei]

I would offer one caveat with regard to diet drinks of any kind -- and that is that artificial sweeteners (aspartame, nutrasweet) are not the best for your body in the long run. There are many reports of both acute and chronic toxicity, especially with long-term usage.

I developed a temporary swallowing disorder from nutrasweet, which cleared up just weeks after discontinuing soda. I've been off of soda for almost 3 years now. I still have an occasional regular Dr. Pepper when I'm out, but I have to say that I really don't miss it at all. And I feel better /not/ drinking the artificial sweeteners as well.

It might be useful for you to evaluate the risks involved... you may find that you're better off drinking /regular/ soda or none at all.

[laden]

My beverage of choice used to be diet sodas. I'd have one everytime I ate or got thirsty. In trying to become more healthy I decided that each time I craved a diet soda I would make myself drink a big glass of water instead.

Now I really crave water and save the diet sodas for a special occasion.

[Kelly]

I read something recently that said diet sodas can actually make you crave sugar. If I remember correctly, it was along the lines of "...eating (drinking) sweet stuff makes you crave more sweet stuff...". I have tried to eliminate all sodas and stick with water - I throw in lime and lemon juice.

[Gwenniver]

Okay, what does everybody drink instead of sodas (diet or otherwise)? I've given up caffeine to get rid of my heartburn (and boy was that a bad couple of weeks). You have the same calorie/sugar problem with juices that you have with soda, right? Water's okay, but boring, and I am a little phobic about drinking large amounts of aspartame (besides, it just doesn't taste all that great). I guess I'll have to buckle down and start drinking those huge amounts of water everybody recommends...

[Angelina]

I never touch soda..it makes me feel so bloated. When I'm at work, I just keep a 33oz bottle on my desk, filled with water, and little by little I drink the whole thing without even realizing it. At home, nothing beats a tall glass of water, filled with ice. I also drink milk, soymilk (it really tastes good!) and juices, like grape or cranberry. My advice is not to force yourself to drink the water all at once. Leave it around..a glass, a bottle..whatever. It will go before you know it!


Originally posted by Gwenniver:
Okay, what does everybody drink instead of sodas (diet or otherwise)? I've given up caffeine to get rid of my heartburn (and boy was that a bad couple of weeks). You have the same calorie/sugar problem with juices that you have with soda, right? Water's okay, but boring, and I am a little phobic about drinking large amounts of aspartame (besides, it just doesn't taste all that great). I guess I'll have to buckle down and start drinking those huge amounts of water everybody recommends...