Diet Soda, bad for you ?

[Kingpatzer]

Soda of any sort is really not a great idea.

My personal view of food is that food is recognizable as food. It's something you can find and make yourself without the need of a manufacturing facility or barrels of processed compounds.

Food is actually rather hard to come by these days. Which is really an astounding thing if you think about it.

Water, preferably home filtered and not wrapped in plastic, is the best answer to the question "what should I drink today?"

 

[Hatul]

I avoid diet soda on boat because of the diuretic effect, which is something you don't want when diving. I stick with water.

Adam

 

[netdiver]

I avoid diet soda on boat because of the diuretic effect, which is something you don't want when diving. I stick with water.

Adam

It's the caffeine that's the diuretic and you can get caffeine-free, diet soda. I'm sure that stuff taste's even worse than just the diet soda.

I also stick with water in the morning/afternoon when I'm diving. Although, I still have to get going with a cup of coffee for those excursions when the boat leaves the dock at 7:00 AM. After that, I drink water on the trip to the dive spot, during the surface interval, and during the ride back.

 

[Hoomi]

If the soda doesn't have any sugar or caffeine, you're basically just getting colored, flavored water anyway.

One trick I learned when riding the bicycle a lot during Tucson summers - diluted Gatorade. Greg LeMond wrote in his book that he found full strength Gatorade too sweet when riding, and cut it to half-strength with equal amounts of water. This way, he would still get the electrolytes and hydration, without leaving his mouth feeling sticky.

While diving isn't as strenuous as a Hors Category climb in the Tour de France (thank heavens), I found the Gatorade (or Powerade) trick useful on the dive trips I've taken as well. "Hydrate or die" doesn't just apply to bicycling, and proper hydration/electrolyte balance is a good first step towards preventing muscle cramps.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Products with aspartame do come with a warning, for phenylketonurics. .

I have not seen warning labels on any item containing Aspartame. I look at every label to stay away from the substance. The thing is, there are alot of people who have severe sensitivities to the product and it was like over night that Apsartame became the artificial sweetener of choice. It is in hundreds of products and until recently, I had very little choices, even when it comes down to toothpaste.

Hey Sharks, Can you have Splenda?

I can handle Splenda/sucralose if taken in small amounts. I don't ingest as much Splenda as I do Saccharin. Stevia has also been a substitute for me to an extent. When I use that, I have had no ill effects. I try to limit my sugar and sweetener consumptions anyway, but again, artificial sweeteners are in so many products, I doubt the consumer realizes to what extent it it being utilized.

I think the FDA needs to really look at the issues with Aspartame that has developed since it's massive introduction into the food supply. Saccharin was demonized from bad science. But have we truly looked at the effects of Aspartame with the large amounts of it that is consumed by the general population? It is in many products, including medicines. It has been banned in all
children's products in the European Common Market. I wonder why?

I don't have an agenda, but if someone has been plagued with illnesses that go unexplained, it is something to look into.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYSyJoNDf3E

Just a thought.

Carolyn:shark2:

PS: I drink, on average. 64-100oz of water a day. I don't buy bottled water, I just drink filtered water from the tap. Most of the people I dive and work with know me by the water I jug that I carry with me all the time.

 

[HJeffreyM]

If you drink a cabonated beverage before diving, will the CO2 be absorbed in the lining of the stomach and lead to gastric DCS upon ascent?

I read somewhere that if you drink Diet Coke til you are 95...you lived a long time.

 

[James R]

Diet Soda is, in my (and many others) opinion, just as bad as regular.

I have posted about this on SB before.

Diet sodas will wreak havoc on your health, kill fat loss efforts, and will ultimately cause you to gain weight. The sweet taste will illicit an insulin spike, which blocks your ability to burn fat. Artificial sweeteners disrupt satiety (the feeling of being full).

Ask your dentist to explain to you how diet soda is bad for your teeth, too.

 

[Abidon]

The worst thing about diet soda--and artificially sweetened "food" in general--is that it doesn't help anybody lose weight. If you're going to be fat anyway, you might as well enjoy the taste of real sugar (assuming you can find food that's made with real sugar, rather than high-fructose corn syrup).

Exactly! Why drink diet when the real stuff tastes so much better.

Being an avid regular Coke drinker, I was amazed at how much better the glass-bottled Cokes in Mexico (made from real sugar) tasted compared to the Cokes in the USA (made form corn syrup).:shocked2:

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

Pepsi is now using "sugar" instead of corn syrup. I get Pepsi every once in awhile for a treat. Soda in general has so much acid in it anyway. Heck, the easiest way to clean you car battery connections is to use soda. It also makes a good meat tenderizer. Makes you wonder what it does to your stomach!

Carolyn:shark2:

 

[fire_diver]

Pepsi is now using "sugar" instead of corn syrup. I get Pepsi every once in awhile for a treat. Soda in general has so much acid in it anyway. Heck, the easiest way to clean you car battery connections is to use soda. It also makes a good meat tenderizer. Makes you wonder what it does to your stomach!

Carolyn:shark2:

You might want to check your A&P books again, the stomach is already filled with acid.