What are your opinions on diet soda and splenda?

[JerseyGrl81]

I am reading a lot of articles online that say that splenda is unhealthy for you. What is your take on that? Also, I have developed an addiction to Diet Ginger Ale. I am in love with it. Is that bad for you?

 

[neatfreak]

Avoid it if you can, but I doubt the occasional splenda or diet soda hurt anyone. That''s my view anyway! When I want something with fizz I drink seltzer with a bit of fruit juice or lemon in it.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Personally, I would avoid both like the plague.
Splenda is literally chlorinated sugar where they combine chlorine and sugar molecules to change the way your body absorbs sugar.

Every diet soda you drink a day increases your change of being overweight by 40%, not worth it IMO.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight

 

[Amanda.Rx]

Most un-natural products are "unhealthy" for you. However, I do have to say- drinking a diet soda or 2 a day is much better than drinking a regular soda or 2.

Many diabetics don''t have an option, and splenda is great alternative. If you''re going to be cooking with a sugar-substitute, splenda is the best because it is more heat-stable than the other products.

If you''re trying to ween yourself off of regular soda, splenda is a nice switch.

In my opinion- everything in moderation, and you''ll be OK. I *try* and drink only water when I can, but sometimes, I really just want a diet soda! I think if you''re drinking 1 diet giner ale a day, I think you''re ok. I would try and cut back if you''re downing the entire 6 pack, though!

 

[Octavia]

The problem with sweet things is that our bodies are pre-conditioned to crave them and it's incredibly easy to become addicted. Sweetener doesn't have to be natural to do this to you -- sugar substitutes are just as bad, if not worse, because they are so much more concentrated than sugar is. The cycle of craving sweetness is incredibly difficult to break, and it affects your entire relationship with food.

Personally, I try to stay away from anything sweetened, whether with "natural" sweeteners like honey, agave nectar, stevia, or sugar (quotation marks because even most of these substances are still processed in some way, so not entirely natural), or with artificial sweeteners. This does mean that I have to pay a lot more attention to what I buy, and try to prep things more or less from scratch, rather than getting prepared foods. So many things have tons of sweeteners in them, even when they're not sweet foods (spaghetti sauce comes to mind). I stopped using sweeteners in my coffee and tea, I stay away from sodas (although Polar makes a vanilla seltzer that tastes exactly like unsweetened cream soda, and I adore it!). I develop my sweet tooth back very easily, so I ration out the amount of sweet stuff I'm allowed -- usually fruit (truly natural) and a small portion of dessert (if even that). However, after I cut out sweeteners from the majority of my diet, I found that I craved sweets less, and that the rest of my food tastes much better. I also find that most sweet things are too sweet for me, so it naturally controls my portions -- two bites or two sips of sugary things will generally satisfy me.

I don't think that diet soda and Splenda are the worst things you could possibly put in your body, but I do think that they tend to put people on a slippery slope because they discourage moderation. Almost everyone I know who uses Splenda in their coffee uses 2-4 packets without a second thought because it's calorie-free, where they wouldn't dream of using that much sugar. But even though it doesn't have the calories, it perpetuates the addiction. So if you're using a lot of sweeteners, whether natural or artificial, you'll be doing yourself a lot of good if you can cut down on it.

 

[Bia]

Anything with artificial ingredients is not good for you. If you need a sweetener try using Stevia or Agave nectar (both all-natural sweeteners but one is powder based and the other is a syrup). My brother is a type I diabetic and uses both--he has a sweet tooth like none other!

If you can, try and stay away from diet sodas...sodas in general are full of ingredients that aren't really that good for you.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

2nd to what Brazen said!

I use to drink TONS of diet coke and to help break the habit I switched to Perrier water and quit ALL caffeine. Since doing so, I feel better and discovered that caffeine didn''t help me wake up in the morning or keep from being tired in the afternoon. I am more alert during the day w/out all that stuff and when I drink diet coke now, it tastes horrible to me!

 

[goobear78]

I avoid all artificial crap if I can. I get migraines and splenda, aspertaine, they all give me one. But my weakness is candy like skittles and sour straws, which are full of artificial flavorings, so I sadly have to avoid them too. I''m not much of a soda drinker, just when I have an upset stomach or the flu.

 

[ljmorgan]

I avoid artificial sweeteners as well as low fat products. Artificial sweeteners have only been around for a short time in the scheme of history, and we don't fully understand their effects on the human body. The same goes for low fat food products that have been ALTERED (not foods that are just naturally low in fat, or foods that are made from naturally low fat ingredients.) I completely avoid low fat/fat free dairy products especially.

I don't think that a diet Coke will kill you, but I don't think anyone should chug them every day, either. The same goes for full sugar (well, HFCS) soda as well -- most are full of artificial colors and flavors anyway.

If you really want to freak yourself about unhealthy ingredients/additives, read about how margarine is made. You'll be running to butter!

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Fake stuff scares me too Lindsey!

 

[Dancing Fire]

i don''t drink it cuz those artificial stuff will kill you faster.

 

[diamondfan]

I like splenda, but who knows if it is any better for you?

sometimes a bit of real sugar is just better unless you cannot ingest it.

Diet soda is not good for you, is not proven to help weight loss and leeches stuff out of you, it is not great. But I am addicted anyway!!!

 

[Daydreamer7130]

Diet soda make you cranky, fat and hungry.

there are other chemicals in them that are not posted on the label that increases your hunger and mess you up hormonally.

Learn to drink water even if you have to put a small piece of fruit in it- lemon, lime, whatever you like!

 

[Elmorton]

I''m completely addicted to both. Diet coke is my coffee. I did the south beach diet in college and it was the first time I''d ever had diet sodas, and once I''d been drinking them for a month, I was hooked. Nothing else from that stuck... I actually try not to have it in the house though (we basically just have water, milk, and OJ - every now and then I''ll make some crystal lite lemonade or punch, but not very often), but if I go out to eat I''ll get a diet coke or sometimes I''ll just drive through somewhere or hit a vending machine to feed the diet coke addiction. And, if I go out for drinks (which is not very often anymore), I typically stick to bacardi/captain/absolut vanilla and diet, because I figured out once in college how much sugar I was consuming from martinis and mixed drinks. Yikes.

I also do a lot of baking with Splenda, especially if I''m doing baking to be shared with family. My dad and both my grandmothers are diabetic, and at the holidays we especially try to subsitute splenda for sugar wherever possible (it''s insane how much sugar is in the typical midwest fare - even our favorite vinegrette cole slaw calls for a cup). The splenda for baking is actually a mix, and you use 1/2 as much of the spenda/sugar blend than the recipe calls for in sugar. I can''t say that the taste is all that different.

Around the house, I guess we use splenda pretty often, too. DH puts the brown sugar splenda on sweet potatoes, but it''s way to sweet for me and I use the real stuff. I don''t regularly drink coffee, but when I do, I always use the packets real sugar. In my lattes, though, I use sugar-free syrups. Sugar and salt are a lot alike to me - I think of both as an ingredient during baking/cooking, so I rarely add extra to a drink/plate. We don''t have salt/pepper shakers on our table right now because we never use them, and I don''t have a sugar bowl sitting anywhere. So, when we use sugar around the house, it''s basically in large amts in a recipe, and then I try to cut back by using Splenda.

So...I guess I don''t disagree that artificial foods are bad, but at the same time, I think that if a person has a high-sugar diet or needs to watch their sugar intake (I certainly do) that Splenda can be used to cut back a little bit.

 

[MMT]

I am addicted to my 2 caffeine free diet cokes a day. Otherwise I exercise like crazy and eat very healthy. I think everyone has their vices and those are mine.

 

[crown1]

those who mention addiction are correct. i realized that i was addicted to soda about 25 years ago. i gave it up and every now and then have a craving but after having one realize i can''t really stomach it any more. it is drinking chemicals and the artificial sweeteners cause me problems. i do think that unless one wants to give it up they don''t see the problem and that is their choice. then again maybe it only bothers some. a personal choice for sure.

 

[AGBF]

I have drunk gallons of Tab and other sodas and diet drinks made with saccharine; Sweet and Low; and Splenda. I am sure I had everything in doses large enough to cause cancer in laboratory animals, too. The only thing that stopped me (and it did stop me entirely) was my neurologist telling me that artifical sweeteners might be contributing to my headaches. At that point I was drinking diet tonic with chunks of frozen pineapple (rather than ice cubes) in it. I had never had a more refreshing drink. It was terribly hard to renounce it, and all other, diet drinks. I did, however. Now my drink of choice is unsweetened, iced, Earl Grey tea which I prepare just by putting tea bags into a glass and making, "sun tea", not by using an infuser. I always have a glass of that at hand!



Deborah

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 11/12/2008 12:07:55 PM
Author: AGBF




I have drunk gallons of Tab and other sodas and diet drinks made with saccharine; Sweet and Low; and Splenda. I am sure I had everything in doses large enough to cause cancer in laboratory animals, too. The only thing that stopped me (and it did stop me entirely) was my neurologist telling me that artifical sweeteners might be contributing to my headaches. At that point I was drinking diet tonic with chunks of frozen pineapple (rather than ice cubes) in it. I had never had a more refreshing drink. It was terribly hard to renounce it, and all other, diet drinks. I did, however. Now my drink of choice is unsweetened, iced, Earl Grey tea which I prepare just by putting tea bags into a glass and making, 'sun tea', not by using an infuser. I always have a glass of that at hand!

Deb, I love suntea; that helped me cut out sodas. Yummy sun tea!!!

JerseyGirl, there have been lots of studies that show that diet sodas are confusing to the body, that sometimes they make people gain weight. I try hard not to drink them.

 

[diamondsrock]

I am a total diet coke addict. Instead of coffee in the morning, I drink diet coke. It is actually my only vice, I don''t drink, smoke, etc... I usually try to limit to 2 cans per day.
I really do think it makes me hungry, though. I read that somewhere and it''s probably true. I should try and cut down. I used to drink full coke, but was getting too many cavities, so told my dentist I would switch to diet to see if it made a difference. I may have had one cavity since then so that part helped. The dentist and I joke about my little experiment, and he laughs at me and tells me to stop drinking soda entirely since it''s still bad for your teeth. The acid isn''t good for the enamel and I do have very sensitive teeth, probably due to all the soda.
I need to quit now just talking about it!

 

[that_someone_special]

Well... I try to avoid pop. But I LOVE rootbeer!

So, if I can, I choose diet. Also, if I''m at the bar and having a rum&coke, the rum already has so many calories in it, I just have diet with it anyways. After drinking diet for the last few years, drinking regular pop grosses me out. SO SUGARY! (except rootbeer

)

 

[ckrickett]

Date: 10/21/2008 9:41:05 AM
Author: Bia
Anything with artificial ingredients is not good for you. If you need a sweetener try using Stevia or Agave nectar (both all-natural sweeteners but one is powder based and the other is a syrup). My brother is a type I diabetic and uses both--he has a sweet tooth like none other!

If you can, try and stay away from diet sodas...sodas in general are full of ingredients that aren''t really that good for you.

stevia is amazing, as long as you don''t mind things that taste like sweet and low.

 

[mommy2iz]

both splenda and diet soda''s are poor choices. drink water, and enough of it....guarenteed that you will see, and even better, FEEL the difference!!!

 

[BlueSki231]

Date: 10/20/2008 1:24:32 PM
Author: brazen_irish_hussy
Personally, I would avoid both like the plague.

Splenda is literally chlorinated sugar where they combine chlorine and sugar molecules to change the way your body absorbs sugar.


Every diet soda you drink a day increases your change of being overweight by 40%, not worth it IMO.

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-gain-more-weight

YES, now I'm not a molecular biologist, but I did take a one day class on clinical nutrition from someone that was..
I don't remember the specifics of it since my mind has a hard time grasping chemistry, but Splenda literally causes Chlorine free radicals to float around in your body (or was it your thyroid specifically.. forgive me I can't remember exactly. All I remember is Chlorine free radicals!!!).

Your body does not know what to do with it.. why would you willingly ingest such poison?

Unless you're a diabetic I feel like raw sugar in small quantities is so much better.. at least your body KNOWS what to do with it!

I know the nutritionist recommended xylitol as a good sugar alternative for those who can't have real sugar.

 

[emeraldluvr]

I drink water everyday at work and even at home for dinner. I never got idea why people would drink diet soda or eat diet ice cream or other sweets. If you''re really concerned about it, you shouldn''t be having it to begin with. Everyone can''t be a saint however, you''ve got to indulge every now and then. So if you''re going to indulge I say have the real thing but have it SPARINGLY. Diet foods only leave you wanting larger amounts. That''s just been my experience anyway.

 

[starryeyed]

Ladies, we ALL need to be concerned about OUR BONES! From what my doctor told me, the phosphoric acid in soda depletes the body of calcium. I don''t believe diet ginger ale has phosphoric acid, fortunately, but please read the labels and think about your bones.

Splenda is a tough call. Belly fat and fat around organs is REALLY bad. I don''t have total discipline when it comes to sweets so Splenda is a good alternative to the extra 10 pounds I''d be carrying around if I used sugar instead. I also have diabetes on both sides of my family, so too much sugar could be risky.

 

[cnspotts]

Diet soda = Bad

Slenda = bad

I also use Stevia, agave nectar or malt or real sugar if I have to preferably raw or cane.

I believe that if you''re going to put it into your body then know exactly what it is, where it comes from and/or how it''s made.
Real food stuff over fake everytime, Nothing that is "diet" ever.
Eat the real thing just don''t eat all of it at once.
Don''t deny yourself, you''ll only want it more.

 

[Nocturnius]

Whoa, hit the brakes.

Someone said drinking a diet soda is better than drinking a regular one? I don''t know where they got that information from.

Ideally, you shouldn''t drink soda at all. But I''m a health fanatic (and studying MD) and even I get those times where I just MUST have a soda.

Unless you''re diabetic or have other health issues that make eating regular sugar a bad idea, you should avoid diet soda and Splenda at all costs.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 12/7/2008 11:08:57 AM
Author: Nocturnius
Whoa, hit the brakes.


Someone said drinking a diet soda is better than drinking a regular one? I don''t know where they got that information from.


Ideally, you shouldn''t drink soda at all. But I''m a health fanatic (and studying MD) and even I get those times where I just MUST have a soda.


Unless you''re diabetic or have other health issues that make eating regular sugar a bad idea, you should avoid diet soda and Splenda at all costs.

I am guessing it was from a dieting/weight loss perspective rather than a medical one...

 

[DivaDiamond007]

Date: 10/23/2008 6:21:54 PM
Author: *Lindsey*
I avoid artificial sweeteners as well as low fat products. Artificial sweeteners have only been around for a short time in the scheme of history, and we don''t fully understand their effects on the human body. The same goes for low fat food products that have been ALTERED (not foods that are just naturally low in fat, or foods that are made from naturally low fat ingredients.) I completely avoid low fat/fat free dairy products especially.

I don''t think that a diet Coke will kill you, but I don''t think anyone should chug them every day, either. The same goes for full sugar (well, HFCS) soda as well -- most are full of artificial colors and flavors anyway.

If you really want to freak yourself about unhealthy ingredients/additives, read about how margarine is made. You''ll be running to butter!

I agree Lindsey! I don''t do ANY so-called "diet" food because I suspect that the chemicals that replace the real thing are worse for us than the real thing (if that makes any sense). No diet soda, no margerine, no aspertame, no Splenda, etc. for me!

Diva

 

[golden]

Any articial sweetener is bad for you. My mom has MS and there have been studies that link artificial sweeteners to MS so we gave them up long ago.