eDiets recommends diet soda, I think this is bad advice.

This is the post from one of their tips of the day on Yahoo. I think this is crap, because I know so many people (including myself) that have stopped diet soda, and have credited it for weight loss. Water for me is the key.

"Limit liquid calories. Soft drinks may be the most popular beverages at a barbecue, and just one soda can add 150 to 200 calories to your daily tally. Have a few glasses throughout the day and youÃ¢Â€Â™re talking about enough extras to make the difference in weight loss or gain. Even lemonade and iced tea (if sweetened with sugar) can add up. Stick to water, diet soda or another calorie-free beverage."

Link

Sat. Nov 12, 9:50am

diet soda

I think that is a first step for a lot of people
then the second step is water

seams logical if you are drinking 8 regular sodas a day, then you drink 8 diet sodas a day, then 6 then 4 then 1 and the rest of the time you drink water, then you finally eliminate that last diet soda

Saturday, November 12, 2005, 12:30 PM

Switching to diet soda for people who drink soda is a plus, first they are not consuming all those extra calories, so they will see a difference in weight loss. The next step is cutting it down and then out completely, once in a while is fine but if they cut out a good portion of it they will see they are less bloated. Maybe they won't even like the taste of diet and not drinl it at all. I used to drink tons of soda and gained a lot of weight, when I quit I loss a lot. I hated the after taste of diet but I have to admitt I do like that new coke zero, it tastes just like the old regular coke. Or maybe I just haven't tasted regular coke in so long but still I like it and have one sometimes.

Sunday, November 13, 2005, 11:47 AM

I think everything in moderation. Not that I would recommend diet soday (who knows what's in that sugar substitute and I personally think it's disgusting), but for people who like it, everything in moderation. I guess the question is not will you lose weight with this recommendation, because if you do this, you will lose weight. The question for the OP is, do you think this is healthy?

Monday, November 14, 2005, 1:05 PM

Artificial sweetner!

There is evidence of aspartame and other sweetners could be causing cancer, severe headaches, nausea and gas...Is it really worth it?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005, 5:18 PM

The link between aspartame and brain tumors

I'm all for moderation, but how much is too much? It sounds seriously toxic!

The link between aspartame and brain tumors: What the FDA never told you about artificial sweeteners

On September 30, 1980, a public Board of Inquiry advised against the approval of aspartame, stating: "The Board has not been presented with proof of a reasonable certainty that aspartame (NutraSweet) is safe for use as a food additive under its intended conditions of use." In 1981, however, the FDA approved aspartame for consumer use based on studies that seem tainted by heavy financial interest in its approval. To many medical practitioners and consumer interest groups, the approval was a gross betrayal of public trust. "To think that there is even a reasonable doubt that aspartame can induce brain tumors in the American population is frightening. And to think that the FDA has lulled them into a false sense of security is a monumental crime," writes Dr. Russell L. Blaylock in Excitotoxins. In 2005, twenty-five years after the initial Board of Inquiry's caution against approval, numerous adults and children consume aspartame-sweetened products on a daily basis, despite reservations regarding its safety.

Drinking Formaldehyde
The next time you pop open a can of diet soda, pause for a moment to consider what exactly you're drinking. As the aspartame gets broken down in your digestive tract, a metabolic by-product called DKP appears. According to Dr. Blaylock, when your stomach processes DKP, it produces a compound very similar to N-nitrosourea, a powerful brain tumor-causing chemical. In addition, aspartame contains methanol, which the body breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is one of the main substances pumped into a dead body during the embalming process. Related book:
Aspartame (Nutrasweet : Is It Safe?)
'A Concerned Doctor's Views'. For the layperson. continues...
(Concept: aspartame)
Now, when I'm dead, the morticians can pump formaldehyde into my body. Before then, however, I don't want to be pumped full of any chemical used in the embalming process, and I'm sure you don't, either. According to Dr. Blaylock, formaldehyde accumulates near DNA and causes serious damage. "Drinking even one diet cola a day can cause formaldehyde buildup in cells, so that the amount of the toxin increases daily," he writes in Health and Nutrition Secrets.

"Urban myths" of the aspartame industry
You can visit the website for Equal, which says that aspartame-induced tumors, migraines, seizures and nervous system disorders are just "urban myths." If you believe that, you probably also believe the aspartame industry's argument that the studies that resulted in the condemnation of their products were based on lab rats instead of humans. Just take note, however, that "spontaneous brain tumors in laboratory rats are extremely rare," according to Dr. H.J. Roberts in Aspartame (NutraSweet): Is It Safe?. So before you believe what the manufacturers of aspartame products would like to tell you, consider first the fact that for extensively-studied, generic laboratory rats, "brain tumors are extremely rare before age one and one-half," according to Dr. Blaylock. Afterward, compare that observation to study results cited by Dr. Blaylock that indicate "aspartame-fed rats developed two tumors by 60 weeks of age and five tumors by 70 weeks." Now, do you still believe it's an "urban myth?" Related book:
Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic
THE definitive book on complications from the use of "diet" products. It details two decades of extensive corporate-neutral research involving 1200 victims in the author's database.continues...
(Concept: aspartame)

In light of the truth regarding the safety of aspartame products, it is ironic that consumers often turn to no-calorie diet products because of concern for their health, especially in regard to obesity. The aspartame industry promises consumers a reduction in calories without having to drastically change their diet. Unfortunately, misinformed consumers believe this. To the more informed readers out there: Don't beguile yourselves chasing false promises. You can lose weight by maintaining a healthy lifestyle through exercise and good food choices. The NewsTarget website can provide you with information you need to start making these changes. Additionally, if you want a truly natural way to sweeten your foods and drinks, try stevia. You can learn more about stevia at NewsTarget's stevia archive. The right information is available to you, but it's up to you to discern the good from the bad and make healthy lifestyle choices.

Link

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 12:37 PM

I respect studies

But follow-up studies to that 1980 studies stated that for NutraSweet to cause cancer or tumors, you would have to consume a ridiculous amt. of it over several decades. Other PT'ers I know here consume 6-8 a day (cans), and have consulted with their docs on this. I think 6-8 is way too much, but I also think it has to be done in steps. To ask someone to go from regular soda to water is to big a step for some. I'd rather someone make a gradual shift to all water than to have that one shift be the one change that they can't make, and lose thier drive to make changes at all.
It's like people who say eating grapes is the same as eating a Snickers. There's useful info there, but it's way too extreme.

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 12:55 PM

Aspartame is one of the most intesively-studied substances in food today. Please don't post old (I got this email in 1998), alarmist urban legends here.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

Back on topic: Did eDiets give bad advice?

Opinion: No - their advice was fine. Drinking a 0-1 calorie carbonated beverage when one would normally drink one containing 150-200 calories is mathemtically sound advice. In a perfect world we would all drink only water but then again in a perfect world none of us would be overwieght either, and no one would enjoy cold, carbonated beverages.

People are going to drink soda and you can't stop them. it's sorta common sense to realize this and at least minimalize the caloric impact if possible. How far would eDiets get with "YOU MUST ONLY DRINK WATER - 0 CALORIE CARBONATED BEVERAGES WILL KEEP YOU FAT"??? I mean it sounds kind of ridiculous when you put it that way but that is what you want them to do right?

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 1:15 PM

Diet soda

Ok....I consume about 3-4 diet sodas a day. I am on a diet and water just doesn't cut it. Diet soda's carbonation really fills my stomach and tastes good.

You can relate any amount of a particular food to causing cancer or some other disease. Drink 6-8 cans of regular soda and you're chance of getting diabetes sky rockets (due to increased obesity and increased sugar intake)

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 1:16 PM

if diet soda carbonation makes your stomach feel good, then why don't you find a nice flavoured tea (sooo many to chose from in celestial seasonings) and use club soda to cold steep it? Then you're not getting many calories or all those unfit to be comsumed chemicals.

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 1:37 PM

I am fine with my one diet soda a day. I don't let it get in the way of my water (64+ oz) a day. I am losing weight, I am happy, and the little caffine boost helps so...it works for me.

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 2:02 PM

I'm not the above poster, and I don't drink diet soda regularly, I mainly stick to water, tea, and coffee. I do drink the occasional diet soda though. I just have to say, a mixture of club soda and tea sounds disgusting!

On the other hand, drinking diet soda to fill your stomach is dangerous (as is regular soda). If you have nothing in your stomach, soda is too acidic, and can actually damage the lining of your stomach. Doesn't matter if it's diet or regular. Cola is extremely acidic - it can remove rust from metal just by soaking! You're probably better off with food than soda to fill your stomach. Or, something like a mug of chicken broth (low sodium).

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 2:16 PM

diet soda fills your stomach

I think a lot of us are on here because we are trying to keep our stomachs empty.....

Thursday, February 9, 2006, 6:35 PM

I don't want to keep my stomach empty, or starve myself. For a lot of people, I think diet soda is a substitute for regular. I know it's not the best thing for you, but for some people this is what works for them. I used to drink a lot of diet soda, and then I just tapered off, and now I don't really like it anymore at all. And the acid! I've used old soda to clean the toilet - I'm not kidding! Works great!

Friday, February 10, 2006, 6:10 AM

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