Coke almost got..

[coollikeme]

me again. Hi, I use to be hooked on diet coke. I stopped drinking it, for the last 2 years, because I knew it was bad for me. I have been on the road a lot lately, so one of the easiest things to do is find soda, no matter where you go. I had a couple (ok, I had 4) within 2 days. Sorry, I was in denial. On the 3rd day, I went food shopping and I saw diet coke in the store. A 2 liter bottle was on sale for 74 cents. Had my hand on one ready to buy, then I yelled at myself out loud in the store 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! People must of thought I was crazy, but I put the soda down. Then I went to get my water and organic juice, as usual, and was back to no soda again. I don't know why I went back to that old habit again. Even though it was for only 2 days, I am glad I stopped. Thanks for listening needed to vent.

[maclinda]

Good for you for catching yourself!

Diet Coke is so toxic (and so fattening).

[A.K.Light]

LoL, thank you for venting, that was fun! It reminds of me of my old nasty smoking habit. I relapsed many times, but now I say. "I never quit quitting, but I eventually quit starting again."

Good job on staying strong!

[Amadeus]

Maclinda, what are you talking about? Diet Coke doesn't have any fat in it.

Something to help you with your addiction to diet coke. Drink regular Coke once in awhile. Sugar is not going to kill you. Drink a up every couple of days when you get the urge.

[Beloved]

For me it was regular Coke, though Coke zero made a brief appearance for a while. I gave up Coke last year after I found the addiction getting too much, This year I let myself have a can every so often, but then found it was I was having one once a week, then it got to a couple of days apart. I've gone cold turkey again, had my last can about a week ago.

I gave up because I wanted to get the caffiene out of my system, I gave up tea and coffee at the same time, had hideous headaches for a week.

[Andrew Brunelle]

Originally Posted by Amadeus

Maclinda, what are you talking about? Diet Coke doesn't have any fat in it.

Diet Coke does not have fat in it, but it does add to your weight. Aspartame is a chemical that cannot be broken down by the body, so it just stays there. Just because something has no calories does not mean it will help you lose weight. I believe we can all agree on that.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Diet Coke does not have fat in it, but it does add to your weight. Aspartame is a chemical that cannot be broken down by the body, so it just stays there. Just because something has no calories does not mean it will help you lose weight. I believe we can all agree on that.

Also, I have heard tell that the carbonation causes water retention. I went cold turkey last summer, and can say that my addiction is broken. I may have one occasionally, but it is not a daily occurance anymore.

[Lucas]

I will have stopped drinking Coke for a year in the middle of June. I havent had a single one and I feel great. I suggest the people who have one "once and a while" try doing absolutely none for a year. It will feel like such a huge accomplishment compared to "95% quitting".

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Lucas

I suggest the people who have one "once and a while" try doing absolutely none for a year. It will feel like such a huge accomplishment compared to "95% quitting".

I think I have had 2-3 sodas in the past 10 months. One of those times, I was driving late at night, hadn't had dinner, and the only place that I could find open was Toxic Smell. All they had were sodas (not even water/tea/coffee), and I had to get SOMETHING, or I would have probably keeled right over. So, I grabbed a few burritos and a Coke. The other two times, I had been working my tail off all day long and had plenty more work to do. Hadn't had the time to stop and eat/drink anything leisurely, so I grabbed a root beer while I was getting gas. I find that soda does give me a faster 'kick' than coffee does, probably just because coffee is too hot to drink at first.

[ChaosKiwi]

Thats halarious, yelling "What are you doing!" in the store! I have not even tasted coke for around 4 years now, but strangely I can remember what it tastes like.

I heard this a while ago so the details are sketchey, but someone told me once that a goal of the cocacola coporation was to have a coke advertisement at least every 100m in populated areas. Can anyone give any validity to this statement?

[kfcallahan]

Have you tried Diet Rite? No calories, caffeine, sodium or anything.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by kfcallahan

Have you tried Diet Rite? No calories, caffeine, sodium or anything.

No taste either. Bleach!

[Nelson]

Diet Coke is bad for you? That doesn't seem to make much sense. I've heard aspartame is bad for you but from the articles I've read, that claim is nonsense. [Debunking the "Official" Aspartame Myth] Diet Coke and Regular Coke and many other beverages are carbonated but I don't know if that's any cause for alarm.

If anybody can cite some scientifically reviewed sites that say Diet Coke is a no-no I'd love to see them. I drink 1-2 Diet Cokes a day so I would honestly like to know if it's dangerous.

[escapee]

What can you expect from another human made food ?

Amazon.co.uk: Excitotoxins: Books: Russell L. Blaylock

Chronicles dangerous ingredients in your foods
Excitotoxins are substances added to foods and beverages that literally stimulates neurons to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees. They can be found in such ingredients as monosodium glutamate, aspartame (Nutrasweet®), cysteine, hydrolyzed protein, and aspartic acid. Dr. Blaylock's book describes what excitotoxins are, where they are found, and how they react in the body. Dr. Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon, presents the latest research findings to demonstrate how exposure to excitotoxins will damage nerve cells in the brain. The use of aspartame, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, and monosodium glutamate in prepared foods and beverages continues to increase on a yearly basis. Dr. Blaylock clearly demonstrates that the neurotoxic potential of excitotoxins such as MSG and aspartame is so overwhelming that it can no longer be ignored. The message contained in this book is of particular importance to members of high-risk groups; the elderly, young children and those people at risk of or with a family history of neurodegenerative diseases.

[C33]

Diet coke used to be a guilty pleasure, since I always associated drinking Diet Coke with pleasant activities, like going to the movies.

I also associated Diet Coke with being in the U.S and buying the "American Dream": I was only allowed to drink Coca Cola on my birthdays and special occasions while growing up in France, so Coca Cola had this special exotic taste ( I am so thankful for my parents to have raised me on homemade, healthy food.)

I used to be addicted to Diet sodas, especially while on one of my endless diets, because it was the only thing that tasted like a sugary treat. I had to learn to slowly get rid of this habit and switched to naturally carbonated water like Perrier.

Now, I have a Coca Cola Zero when I go to the movies, and a small pack of Lays Baked Potato Chips. This is the time when I am going all junk food and crap capitalist. I made it a point to not drink any sodas outside of this special event. I go to the movies every 2 weeks and much less when I am in Europe, so it's not very detrimental to my health, hopefully.

A trainer once told me that diet sodas make you gain weight, I don't know the scientific explanation, but I have to admit I feel a bit bloated after drinking Diet sodas, so there might be truth to this.

[PhyllisZ]

Diet Coke? No thank you. I'll drink water or herbal teas.

Aspertame... toxic chemical (migraine headaches)

Caffeine... physical addiction (migraine headaches during withdrawal periods of 1-3 days)

Carbonation... leaches calcium from your bones.

[september]

Nelson, it looks like the link you gave does substantiate the claim that aspartame is bad. Perhaps that was your point, but after reading just a couple "official" claims about aspartame and the rebuttals below them, it seems to fall in step with various other scientific blurbs I've read - it doesn't seem like nonsense at all.

[yougetajob]

I've always thought that the main reason artifical sweeteners were bad was because they jacked up your insulin levels just like sugar does. And when your insulin is spiked, your body wants to store fat. So while there are no calories in your D-Coke, anything else you eat with it, is more likely to be stored as fat.

I know there are a few diets based on this prinicipal. I'll go see if I can find some more concrete info...



Hmmm, I haven't found what I'm looking for yet, but I did come across this:

Author: Judy Kohn, RN, BSN, CDE
Last Updated: Thursday, March 23, 2006

Q: "Is ingestion of aspartame harmful to consumers, whether or not you have diabetes?"

A: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the American Dietetic Association (Also ADA) all state that aspartame--brand name is Equal®-- is safe for the general public—including pregnant women. The one exception is: People who have the rare disease phenylketonuria (PKU) know not eat or drink anything with phenylalanine. Because aspartame-containing products have phenylalanine, those products carry the labeling "Phenylketonurics: Contains Phenylalanine."

A few years ago, a rumor spread through the internet that aspartame was dangerous. That rumor is now considered an “urban legend” and many agencies printed a rebuttal to that rumor, further supporting the safety of aspartame. You can read the details about the myths at the aspartame website listed below.

Finally, since individual responses can vary, be sure to consult your diabetes team to see if Aspartame is right for you.


Related Links

American Dietetic Association's Nationwide Nutrition Network
http://www.eatright.org

American Diabetes Association (ADA)
American Diabetes Association Home Page

Aspartame
Aspartame Information Center - An Aspartame and Low Calorie Sweetener Information Resource.

from: AspartameAspartame

Lol! Ya, it's not like the FDA has ever been wrong or anything
Give me an effing break. This stuff's gonna be banned sooner or later. There is tons of top level research that says that aspertame is bad for you, besides the whole weight gain thing.

Anyway, back to the search...


Ah screw it, I'm tired.

[coollikeme]

you, because people aren't aware of its danger's. You know smoking, alcohol and drugs are bad. Soda is everywhere, and it is easy to buy. I will be willing to bet that beer is healthier than soda. There are way more chemicals in soda than beer. There is probably scientific proof some where, I am just not sure what it is.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by coollikeme

I will be willing to bet that beer is healthier than soda. There are way more chemicals in soda than beer. There is probably scientific proof some where, I am just not sure what it is.

You are probably right. Beer is natrually fermented malted barley, hops and water, so, a quality, unpasturized, unfiltered homebrew is rich in nutrients and enzymes that soda is sorely lacking. Now I'm thirsty for a Lambic...

[bdp]

escapee, your reply is right on. You are good at providing balance to discussions (like mine)

[Kendoran]

Originally Posted by Andrew Brunelle

Diet Coke does not have fat in it, but it does add to your weight. Aspartame is a chemical that cannot be broken down by the body, so it just stays there.

Oh no. By that logic, I better stop eating foods containing fibre, since fibre can't be broken down by your body either.

Originally Posted by coollikeme

There are way more chemicals in soda than beer.

Not necessarily true. A lot of beer is chemically brewed nowadays - you just don't know it from the label on the pack.

[WanderingOak]

Originally Posted by Kendoran

Not necessarily true. A lot of beer is chemically brewed nowadays - you just don't know it from the label on the pack.

That might be true for the cheaper beers out there. That's why I never drink Budweiser unless I have absolutely no other choice. However, I am fairly certain that the European Trappist ales are still naturally brewed, as well as some of the better microbrews. I know that what comes out of my own basement is naturally brewed. After all, I brewed it!

[Bloggeries]

You just showed great will power. Lots of people let slips turn into falls and go back to where they started. You slipped but held on. Congrats

[Interpreneur]

Coke is an evil addiction, and the suppliers are real enablers. For example, my local supermarket has a 4th of July promotion...buy two 12 packs of Coke ($4.99 each) and get three FREE. And the have them stacked all over the store.

So you get five 12 packs of Coke for $9.98. For any former Coca-Cola addict like me this is very tempting.