Diet Soda - Bad For Development?

Nutrition
21

Ok this is a great thread for my question. Sorry for the hijack since I’ve been meaning to post my own but this one has been getting so many posts and reads.

Can anyone tell me more about acesulfame potassium that’s found in diet coke products? I know that it’s a sweetner of some kind and I’ve googled it. But I’ve not been able to find much information about it.

I feel like whenever I drink diet coke, I cannot concentrate very well but have no problems with diet pepsi. I noticed one of the few differences between the two was this sweetner. So I’m wondering what kind of side effects it has.

One of the reasons I drink diet versus the occasional regular is I believe I’m mildly hypoglycemic (sp??). In my search on google, I found one place where it mentioned acesulfame K affecting people with this condition.

Help, please!

22

BE VERY CONCERNED. Obviously all that diet soda is turning you into a girly man. JK Hahaha seriously dude, the only thing it may affect is your health…and not dramatically anyway. Water’s better of course but yaknow its your call.

23

I do not have the documentation to prove this but I have been told over and over that even in diet soda, there is a chemical that makes it harder to lean out and makes the body want to retain fat. Again, I do not have any scientific evidence to prove this, just passing on what I have been told. If you’re happy with your physique with the diet soda, keep it.

My addiction is coke. I want a coke once a week. And I have it, and will continue to, and will pay the consequences. I love beer as well. So I stick with Miller Lite, keep it rare, and enjoy it.

24

Thanks for the feedback about the leaning out guys. That is something I had not thought about. I will try to do some research on that but if anyone has anything else to add or has more insight, please post it.

I am happy about my phsyique but I am never satisfied. Once you get to a point you are satisfied, you will stop pushing yourself and stop progressing. If it turns out there is something in diet pepsi that prevents me from being leaner than I would have to consider giving it up.

[quote]TrainerinDC wrote:
I do not have the documentation to prove this but I have been told over and over that even in diet soda, there is a chemical that makes it harder to lean out and makes the body want to retain fat. Again, I do not have any scientific evidence to prove this, just passing on what I have been told. If you’re happy with your physique with the diet soda, keep it.

My addiction is coke. I want a coke once a week. And I have it, and will continue to, and will pay the consequences. I love beer as well. So I stick with Miller Lite, keep it rare, and enjoy it. [/quote]

25

Haha, good one. Do you have more specifics in how it may affect your health?

[quote]alownage wrote:
BE VERY CONCERNED. Obviously all that diet soda is turning you into a girly man. JK Hahaha seriously dude, the only thing it may affect is your health…and not dramatically anyway. Water’s better of course but yaknow its your call.[/quote]

26

I believe it.
Wouldn’t let my kids drink the shit.

27

I was addicted to diet sodas for years; managed to kick the habit by drinking Crystal light instead. I’m gradually switching from that to drinking more and more water.

The few studies on diet soda that I’ve heard about seem to contradict each other. One says it’s bad, then another one says it’s fine. If that’s your one vice, I wouldn’t stress about it, especially if it helps you stick to your diet. Just make sure you take care of your teeth.

28

what i have heard about diet sodas impeding fat loss is that one of the metabolites of aspartame is formaldehide (sp?), the stuff that the frogs you dissect in high school are preserved in. this toxin gets stored in fat cells, and, as gym legend has it, preserves the fat.

whether this is at all accurate or not is not for me to say.

29

Thanks for the info, nice Avatar as well.
Do you happen to have the link to these studies?

[quote]regrahc wrote:
I was addicted to diet sodas for years; managed to kick the habit by drinking Crystal light instead. I’m gradually switching from that to drinking more and more water.

The few studies on diet soda that I’ve heard about seem to contradict each other. One says it’s bad, then another one says it’s fine. If that’s your one vice, I wouldn’t stress about it, especially if it helps you stick to your diet. Just make sure you take care of your teeth. [/quote]

30

Interesting, thanks for your imput.

[quote]milktruck wrote:
what i have heard about diet sodas impeding fat loss is that one of the metabolites of aspartame is formaldehide (sp?), the stuff that the frogs you dissect in high school are preserved in. this toxin gets stored in fat cells, and, as gym legend has it, preserves the fat.

whether this is at all accurate or not is not for me to say.[/quote]

31

I remember watching a programme where a docotor and a nutrionist tried to help obese ppl to loose weight and feel better. Every week also featured an “experiment” on a healthy person. On one occasion a fitness trainer had to drink two litres (approx six cans)of diet soda a day for two weeks. If I remember correctly his waist went up by about two and a half inches and he was constantly bloated and sluggish. Personally, I have soda very occasionally.

32

well as for me, I used diet soda as a crutch to break my habit of drinking regular soda (Pepsi).

I would wake up and drink 44oz from the local corner store. and in about 2-3 hours I would do it again, and by the time I finally went to bed, I slammed about 3-4 44oz Pepsi’s, and another 2-3 12oz cans of the crap.

Now, I have no limitations, but I generally drink diet sodas on teh weekends and sometimes during the week when I feel like it…

33

[quote]4est wrote:
This is going to sound strange…
anyway…
I’m way too urine “aware”. I can tell differences if I’m not working out and my body is breaking down muscles. I can tell when I’m taking glutamine. HOT-ROX ads a “burnt” smell… etc.

When I drink diet sodas, I can tell a diff in my urine. It’s more acidic… or caustic… or something. Anyway, it does add an additional strain to the body. I just recently quit (again) coffee and sodas. I feel my body is happier without them. However, if a person drinks a lot of water during the day and only has a couple sodas a day, that is probably not going to harm them. [/quote]

That’s very interesting 4est. May I enquire about your methodology? Do you bend over while peeing, or do you pee into a big wine glass and then swirl it around under your nose, like a good wine taster? And what do you find asparagus does to your urine?

34

[quote]Miserere wrote:
4est wrote:
This is going to sound strange…
anyway…
I’m way too urine “aware”. I can tell differences if I’m not working out and my body is breaking down muscles. I can tell when I’m taking glutamine. HOT-ROX ads a “burnt” smell… etc.

When I drink diet sodas, I can tell a diff in my urine. It’s more acidic… or caustic… or something. Anyway, it does add an additional strain to the body. I just recently quit (again) coffee and sodas. I feel my body is happier without them. However, if a person drinks a lot of water during the day and only has a couple sodas a day, that is probably not going to harm them.

That’s very interesting 4est. May I enquire about your methodology? Do you bend over while peeing, or do you pee into a big wine glass and then swirl it around under your nose, like a good wine taster? And what do you find asparagus does to your urine?[/quote]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

on a serious note, yes Aspartame is really a Methyl Ester of AspartylPhenylalanine. In acidic Solutions with high water content(your stomach), methanol is released from aspartame, methanol is oxidized by the liver to formaldehyde(very bad, very reactive), and can be further oxidized to formic acid(also very bad, one of the strongest organic acids- think red ant stings, thats formic acid).

the deal is, the amount of aspartame in these sweeteners is VERY VERY low. so TRACE amounts of Methanol are released. ofcourse trace amounts of many many years and frequency can accumulate some wierd effects(headaches? sometimes people refer to when years of dietpepsi regularly consumed).

However, there exists about 100x or so? formaldehyde on digestion of a tomatoe, which some say formaldehyde in the tomatoe actually serves some beneficial purposes. Why the double standard? probably because nobody really knows and everyone likes to disagree.

35

[quote]Miserere wrote:
4est wrote:
This is going to sound strange…
anyway…
I’m way too urine “aware”. I can tell differences if I’m not working out and my body is breaking down muscles. I can tell when I’m taking glutamine. HOT-ROX ads a “burnt” smell… etc.

When I drink diet sodas, I can tell a diff in my urine. It’s more acidic… or caustic… or something. Anyway, it does add an additional strain to the body. I just recently quit (again) coffee and sodas. I feel my body is happier without them. However, if a person drinks a lot of water during the day and only has a couple sodas a day, that is probably not going to harm them.

That’s very interesting 4est. May I enquire about your methodology? Do you bend over while peeing, or do you pee into a big wine glass and then swirl it around under your nose, like a good wine taster? And what do you find asparagus does to your urine?[/quote]

LOL!

“Hmm, the flavor’s a little sour today. Definitely acidic…”

Or

“Damn, the toilet bowl’s chipping again. Better cut back on the Diet Coke…”

36

A-Animal,
As a fellow ‘soda addict’ I can certainly sympathize with wanting to cut out anything that may be hindering your potential.

I used to consume massive quantities (at least 4-6 liters) of Diet Coke daily. I was encouraged to quit by my physician so I did.

The first three days were awful, but once I got passed that -it was a breeze. The thing is…after almost a year, I couldn’t tell any significant difference in my performance, my health …anything! -other than being bored with only drinking water all the time of course.

I didn’t lose weight. I didn’t gain weight. I didn’t sleep better. I didn’t sleep worse. I didn’t do better in my lifts and my lifting didn’t suffer either. Turns out that the soda wasn’t hurting OR helping much.

Of course, who knows what’s happening on the inside -right?

But I eventually began drinking the ole’ Diet Coke again…but no where near as much as I used to. And honestly? -even my Doc said that in the long run it was up to me.

I guess it all depends on the quality of life you choose and how you yourself gauge what that quality consists of.

As the Ancients used to say…“Si minor plus est…ergo nihil sunt omnia!”
(If less is more…than nothing is everything!)

[quote]Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Thanks for the feedback about the leaning out guys. That is something I had not thought about. I will try to do some research on that but if anyone has anything else to add or has more insight, please post it.

[/quote]

37

Thanks for the feedback consumer. I appreciate your comments.
How is the work out coming along we discussed over PM a few weeks ago?
A

[quote]consumer wrote:
Miserere wrote:
4est wrote:
This is going to sound strange…
anyway…
I’m way too urine “aware”. I can tell differences if I’m not working out and my body is breaking down muscles. I can tell when I’m taking glutamine. HOT-ROX ads a “burnt” smell… etc.

When I drink diet sodas, I can tell a diff in my urine. It’s more acidic… or caustic… or something. Anyway, it does add an additional strain to the body. I just recently quit (again) coffee and sodas. I feel my body is happier without them. However, if a person drinks a lot of water during the day and only has a couple sodas a day, that is probably not going to harm them.

That’s very interesting 4est. May I enquire about your methodology? Do you bend over while peeing, or do you pee into a big wine glass and then swirl it around under your nose, like a good wine taster? And what do you find asparagus does to your urine?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

on a serious note, yes Aspartame is really a Methyl Ester of AspartylPhenylalanine. In acidic Solutions with high water content(your stomach), methanol is released from aspartame, methanol is oxidized by the liver to formaldehyde(very bad, very reactive), and can be further oxidized to formic acid(also very bad, one of the strongest organic acids- think red ant stings, thats formic acid).

the deal is, the amount of aspartame in these sweeteners is VERY VERY low. so TRACE amounts of Methanol are released. ofcourse trace amounts of many many years and frequency can accumulate some wierd effects(headaches? sometimes people refer to when years of dietpepsi regularly consumed).

However, there exists about 100x or so? formaldehyde on digestion of a tomatoe, which some say formaldehyde in the tomatoe actually serves some beneficial purposes. Why the double standard? probably because nobody really knows and everyone likes to disagree.

[/quote]

38

Thanks Pauli D. Bro, 4-6 liters is quite a lot. I guess I may just have to ask my doctor and see what he says. But then again, if it was up to him I would not “lift that heavy” either and I have already told him that was not an option.

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
A-Animal,
As a fellow ‘soda addict’ I can certainly sympathize with wanting to cut out anything that may be hindering your potential.

I used to consume massive quantities (at least 4-6 liters) of Diet Coke daily. I was encouraged to quit by my physician so I did.

The first three days were awful, but once I got passed that -it was a breeze. The thing is…after almost a year, I couldn’t tell any significant difference in my performance, my health …anything! -other than being bored with only drinking water all the time of course.

I didn’t lose weight. I didn’t gain weight. I didn’t sleep better. I didn’t sleep worse. I didn’t do better in my lifts and my lifting didn’t suffer either. Turns out that the soda wasn’t hurting OR helping much.

Of course, who knows what’s happening on the inside -right?

But I eventually began drinking the ole’ Diet Coke again…but no where near as much as I used to. And honestly? -even my Doc said that in the long run it was up to me.

I guess it all depends on the quality of life you choose and how you yourself gauge what that quality consists of.

As the Ancients used to say…“Si minor plus est…ergo nihil sunt omnia!”
(If less is more…than nothing is everything!)

Amsterdam Animal wrote:
Thanks for the feedback about the leaning out guys. That is something I had not thought about. I will try to do some research on that but if anyone has anything else to add or has more insight, please post it.

[/quote]

39

My father worked for the UK government when aspartame was a new thing, and he said that it wasn’t properly checked or tested before being passed as an ok additive to put into drinks/food. And told me to stay well clear of it. This, if I remember rightly, was in the 80’s when he told me, before much was known about it. So I took his word for it and stayed well clear.

Your incredible Ronald Reagan forced it through unchecked as it was a cheap sugar alternative and someone in his government, at that time, owned the company that produced it. It’s used in alot of drinks/foods in the US and UK (especially diet drinks), and is only now being taken seriously, as it’s a dangerous chemical. The UK government is now thinking of banning it, as it causes brain cancer and other forms of brain issues.

Do you know there is about 15000 chemicals that your food producers put into your food, that they legally don’t have to put on the labels - It was passed as legilation, that, they don’t have tell you what it is (madness).

http://www.dorway.com/badnews.html

http://www.picklenetwork.com/aspartame-dangers/

It’s amazing how these guys (FDA) are supposed to be serving you, and keeping you safe. But when it comes to money - fuck the public. It makes you wonder is there anything else they are keeping from everyone ala - 15000 supposedly safe chems (are they all safe).

Just check the label on your next can of Diet Pepsi and it should say - aspartame on the can. If it does, i’d advise to throw it away. When I hear people say “I drank a litre of diet pepsi every day for a couple of years”, it makes me wonder what the hell has happened to their brain, as alot of these chemicals get absorbed into fat, and as it happens your brain is 80% (about) fat, so your brain has alot of these weird chemicals kicking about it. Some of these chems are known to cause depression, cancers, haziness, memory issues, personality disorders etc etc. And although these chems are in small amounts, they have an accumalitive affect.

I really don’t want to scare anyone, but, I’d rather know than be ignorant. If you don’t beleave me do some research on the food and pharma laws passed by your government and read what some of the chems are used for (dodgy as fuck).

My advise - stay as natural as possible, and don’t drink/eat cheap sugary drinks/food.

http://www.mercola.com/article/aspartame/hidden_dangers.htm

40

The system makes me laugh…

[quote]
In 1991, the FDA banned the importation of stevia. The powder of this leaf has been used for hundreds of years as an alternative sweetener. It is used widely in Japan with no adverse effects. Scientists involved in reviewing stevia have declared it to be safe for human consumption–something that has been well known in many parts of the world where it is not banned. Some people believe that stevia was banned to keep the product from taking hold in the United States and cutting into sales of aspartame.(26)[/quote]

Do you know the reason for it not being allowed? it’s because it’s a natural source and can’t be patented (sp?), meaning - no profits. That’s why huge pharma companies don’t research natural cures, because there’s no money in it.

My saying is: if man made it, don’t eat. I know it’s hard, but eat as natural as pos. all the time. And if you can afford it, eat organic.