Remind me why diet coke is awful

[berry987]

I am a very healthy eater. No processed foods, very few grains, mostly meat, vegetables, eggs, some dairy. All organic. The one exception, and I know it's a big one, is I still drink diet coke. I'm down to one 12 oz. can a day, which is much better than my past habit (at one point in college I drank 12 each day )

I know they are bad for me, I know I shouldn't drink them, but I've been drinking diet coke since I was 10 (yes, again, I know that is awful) and it is a very deeply set habit.

So, please just post the awful things you know about diet coke. I think I am ready to kick this one last can a day out of my life.

[dogmom327]

Because aspartame is very very bad for you.

I miss diet coke so I do feel your pain on this one.

[CookieMonsterMommy]

Drinking soda (diet moreson than regular) greatly increases your chances for developing kidney problems, including kidney stones and general kidney disease.

The artificial sweeteners and caffeine can worsen or help bring about irritable bowel syndrome.

[Drummer's Wife]

Because artificial sweeteners are artificial? (and give me a migraine)

Soda is bad in general, but diet soda is even worse than HFCS soda. When I do drink coke, which is rarely and I haven't for a while now, I prefer the kind in a glass bottle made with real cane sugar - sometimes called Mexican coke. My Albertson's sells it.

Personally, I would switch to regular coke and then wean off of it, if I wanted to be soda-free. Replace with unsweetened ice tea if you want the caffeine.

[calebsmommy25]

Aspartame is nasty, and the HFCS isn't any better.

I gave up diet coke when I was pregnant because of the aspartame, unfortnately at that point I was not well informed on the equal yuckiness of HFCS...Soda doesn't even really appeal to me anymore. And if it does, I second the goodness of mexican coke! I have bought it a couple of times, and it is delish!

[LemonPie]

Because it's not Diet Pepsi

Okay, sorry. . . couldn't resist.

[joyfulheart]

I hear you! I am generally a very healthy eater, but do love drinking Diet Coke. I know I shouldn't, but sometimes I can't resist.

Actually, I drink Coke Zero more than Diet Coke. They are probably equally not good for you. I'm not sure what Coke Zero is sweetened with...

I'm surely reading these replies with great interest!

[MAMom]

Because the cans are lined with BPA (along with all other soda cans and most canned food, and so many more things), but if you're going to drink it, definitely don't get it in cans.

That being said, I do enjoy an occasional (once every 2 months?) diet coke, though I used to indulge much more frequently. Aspartame is just really, really bad. But now I mostly satisfy my urge for bubbly with mineral water or seltzer. My other non-water beverage is herbal or regular iced teas sweetened with stevia.

Kombucha is also "bubbly". I don't brew my own, but I some times buy the (very expensive) GT's brand if I want something that bubbles.

[claddaghmom]

What is it that has you addicted? The caffeine?

[berry987]

Originally Posted by claddaghmom

What is it that has you addicted? The caffeine?

I don't think it's the caffeine -- I drink coffee in the morning, so I get caffeine that way. Plus, it doesn't feel like an "addiction" - more like a habit. I am used to the fizzy, cold with my lunch. I've gone weeks without it before and haven't felt bad at all (I drank seltzer instead). But I always come back to it. I think I always tell myself that it's not THAT bad...and what's a little bit of bad in your life, right? But, of course, in reality, diet coke could be a BIG bad and I don't want to one day be diagnosed with a disease that is linked to diet coke. But I guess I haven't been convinced the bad outweighs the good yet.

[kyndmamaof4]

haha..trying to get off the Diet Dr. Pepper here...ugh. Good luck. I second the unsweetened Iced tea...with Lemon of course

[Violet2]

Here's how I quit...

1. Replaced my diet coke with 1 Excedrin in the morning. This gave me caffeine and pain control for withdrawal.

2.Drank caffeinated tea in the afternoon if I felt sluggish, but ideally didn't have any more caffeine unless I really felt bad.

3.Then, I replaced 1&2 with some caffeine mints (that have less caffeine than Excedrin) and am slowly weaning off those.

The Excedrin is what allowed me to walk away from the diet coke and was actually very effective because this time I've been able to quit.

I think I did the Excedrin for 3-4 days before switching to the caffeine mints. The mint I use is called Jolt and is sold in drug stores/gas stations.

V

[sunny*pa*mom]

Here's a good article on the BPA issue.

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.ht...36&segmentID=3

[NaturallyKait]

Because aspartame is terrifying. An exbf of mine was diabetic and drank a lot of diet pop, and I remember him telling me once that pilots aren't allowed to have aspartame because it increased the chance of something...seizures maybe? Not sure if it was true or not, and it never mattered to me because aspartame gives me a horrible migraine anyway so I avoid anything with it.

[Laedi]

There's a documentary "Sweet Misery". That helped me get off the diet drinks.

[tnmom66]

Isn't it also bad for your teeth and bones?

Lydia

[sunny*pa*mom]

Originally Posted by crunchycanadian

Because aspartame is terrifying. An exbf of mine was diabetic and drank a lot of diet pop, and I remember him telling me once that pilots aren't allowed to have aspartame because it increased the chance of something...seizures maybe? Not sure if it was true or not, and it never mattered to me because aspartame gives me a horrible migraine anyway so I avoid anything with it.

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

[karika]

"The Dangers of Aspartame" (news report)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvFRLIjOLOU

"The Link Between Aspartame and Brain Tumors"
http://www.naturalnews.com/011804.html

http://www.mpwhi.com/aspartame_study...ble_tumors.pdf

Caffeine is a drug that is more dangerous than some of the illegal ones IMO. I was on it my whole life until the age of 29 when I went cold turkey. I was drinking 6 cans of Mountain Dew a day. I like the other lady's idea about using a crutch to help with the withdrawals. I personally was between jobs, so I took advantage of it. I slept for 3 days and had a headache for 2 weeks. I salivated at the thought of (real) jsoda for 2 months. I drank caffeine free soda instead. On the east coast, they have caffeine free mountain dew but you can't get it out west... there is also caffeine free coke and pepsi. I drank CF Pepsi for years. I tried to quit it a couple times. This last time, I was determined to stop putting the trash in my body. I eat organic and needed to get over that one little thing from the old days. I used sweet tea (decaf of course, I do not desire to use caffeine again since getting clean, except before children when I needed help driving cross country). I also drank grape juice made from concentrate. I guess the first thing I did was to change what I drank. I went from caffeine free Pepsi to Ginger ale floats (lime sherbert in ginger ale) then I cut that out too, switching to the tea... I now crave water actually which is weird for me because my whole life I have disliked drinking water. I still drink juice too much, but hey at least its not crack (or spartame, caffeine, HFCS, preservatives.....) one other thing you could try is to switch to natural sodas only (organic) that don't have caffeine. I think the aspartame is addictive too, and it is deadly.... just do a search on health risks of aspartame.... I see a snopes article comes up too, but I don't put any stock in that site since they say vaccines are safe too....

[Juvysen]

Aspartame creeps me out.

[Eaglevoice]

I <3 diet coke...gah! I needed this thread.