Poll of the Day > So what's the consensus on Diet Coke and other sugar free drinks?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Still cant find anything definitive about whether theyre bad for you or not, and why.

any idea? Cant imagine something with zero calories and zero nutritional value can taste as good as the original without any kind of catch...

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I like Diet Pepsi rather than regular Pepsi, not cause of sugar free but I like the taste better.

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For starters, the sugar content isn't the only issue with soda. Second, and more importantly, the sugar replacements often have issues.

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darcandkharg31 posted...

I like Diet Pepsi rather than regular Pepsi, not cause of sugar free but I like the taste better.

This. But when I buy pop, it's usually just Coke Zero.

The taste really isn't much worse than normal Coke at all, and you're not getting the empty calories and sugar. If you drink pop just on occasion, it provably doesn't make a difference. But if you drink it every day, you absolutely shouldn't be buying the regular stuff.

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It's bad for you. There just needs to be a lot of science behind decisions for it be a fact. Think how long it took cigarettes to be seen as they are; it was basically until the 90s.

The long term effects are probably only starting to be seen.
Only coke is saying it's diet and implying that means it is healthier for you. I doubt a doctor would ever tell you to drink diet coke to be more healthy unless you are drinking something even less healthy than that to begin with.

Diet coke succeeded in flavor cause it wasn't trying to completely copy the original taste; that's why we have coke zero.
Coke went with the fad of "sugar bad" and based a soda upon the flavor of their "diet" sugar.

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I drink a couple Zevia sodas once in a while. But I also drink a couple regular sodas a week.

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Remember when someone said we only like pop is cause we were brainwashed into liking it through exposure growing up? lulz, I think that was Sunny.

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Zeus posted...

Second, and more importantly, the sugar replacements often have issues.

If you're referring to aspartame, no. It's the most extensively researched food additive. There are no confirmed health risks with its consumption at current market allowed levels.

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Millions of dollars and several decades worth of effort in trying to prove aspartame is harmful have concluded that it might contribute towards bladder cancer in rats, but not in humans

Theres also a prevalent theory that tasting something sweet might send a signal to your brain which triggers insulin production which could throw your system out of whack and contribute towards diabetes. Im not aware of any actual research or studies that back that up though.

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pedro45 posted...

It's bad for you. There just needs to be a lot of science behind decisions for it be a fact.

So you're admitting that "it's bad for you" isn't a fact, because there isn't science behind what you're claiming.

pedro45 posted...

Think how long it took cigarettes to be seen as they are; it was basically until the 90s

The link between cigarettes and cancer was established and extensively publicized in the early 1960s.

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Mead posted...

Theres also a prevalent theory that tasting something sweet might send a signal to your brain which triggers insulin production which could throw your system out of whack and contribute towards diabetes. Im not aware of any actual research or studies that back that up though

The current theory I've heard is that it triggers a hunger response in your body, since your body just got something sweet but received no calories from it. So you subconsciously respond to it by seeking out something else to eat afterwards.

I don't know if they've established that beyond a theory, though.

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It's bad for you, specifically your calcium levels.

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-phosphoric-acid-bad-for-me

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Zeus posted...

For starters, the sugar content isn't the only issue with soda. Second, and more importantly, the sugar replacements often have issues.

all of those claims are unfounded

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I feel alone in questioning why my body would recieve no energy from something that is not mostly water.
That tells me my body doesn't want to process it and most likely wants it out of my body. That may not go for everything, but if it's zero calories, it better be a vegetable or something.
I certainly don't trust marketing to sell me something and inform me that it's healthy.

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SunWuKung420 posted...

It's bad for you, specifically your calcium levels.

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/is-phosphoric-acid-bad-for-me

That's actually interesting. I was also going to add "if anything it's mostly just bad for your teeth". But phosphoric acid isn't exclusive to diet drinks.

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pedro45 posted...

I certainly don't trust marketing to sell me something and inform me that it's healthy.

Nobody says it's healthy. And that's why government food inspection agencies are a thing, because otherwise you'd completely be justified in not trusting marketing.

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Why not drink something that is natural like coffee, water, juice be it fruit or veggie smoothie?

I always drink water when i eat a meal or sometimes milk or coconut water. unfortunately with soda is that its cheap and widely available making people drink it more often than they should

Mead posted...

Theres also a prevalent theory that tasting something sweet might send a signal to your brain which triggers insulin production which could throw your system out of whack and contribute towards diabetes. Im not aware of any actual research or studies that back that up though.

I don't know about tasting it, but sucralose specifically (since the molecule is almost identical to sucrose) will activate receptors in the small intestine that trigger insulin production. I don't think it's been linked to diabetes, but it does create the feeling of hypoglycemia and in turn cause sugar cravings.

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faramir77 posted...

And that's why government food inspection agencies are a thing, because otherwise you'd completely be justified in not trusting marketing.

While I agree with you, companies do some shady stuff with labeling their products and ingredients.

And let's not forget that government food agencies and their regulations vary by country. Some countries have far better regulations than others.