Diet Soda Linked to Increased Belly Fat in Older Adults

Yahoo News ^ | 3/17/15 | Agata Blaszczak Boxe - Livescience.com

[Swordmaker]

Probably because they think, “I’m drinking a diet soda, so I can go ahead and pig out on all this red meat...”

It's not the red meat, it's the bread that goes with it. Carbohydrates. People who drink diet drinks are usually trying to lose weight and generally are more likely to be eating carbs. . . and trading off the diet drink for more french fries.

There is no guarantee of correlation and causality in this study.

[trisham]

Agreed. I rarely drink diet soda. It’s the carbs that are a problem for me. When I was younger, I was fine, but as time passed I found that I had to change my diet.

[Swordmaker]

Yeah.....and that Phosphoric Acid does a good job in dissolving bones.

Yeah, if you put the bones in concentrated phosphoric acid and wait days and days for the bones to dissolve. . . but by the time a diet drink goes into your STOMACH which has an acidic level far higher than any diet or sugared soda, it really doesn't mean much of anything that study found. That was totally bogus.

Your stomach acid, usually strong hydrochloric acid can be as low as Ph of 1. The phosphoric acid in a soda averages Ph of 2.5. The lower the Ph, the more acidic the fluid is. Ergo, your stomach fluid is far more acidic than is your soda.

By the time any phosphoric acid gets from your bowels and into your blood stream, it is just a source of phosphorus. . . a bone building block. Soda cannot dissolve living bone.

[Swordmaker]

I once read that there are approximately 16 calories in a teaspoon of sugar. 16 calories will hardly make you fat.

It's not the 16 calories in a teaspoon that's the problem. It's the 16 teaspoons in a 12 ounce can of regular cola that's the problem. 256 calories per can. . . times six or seven cans a day. That's about two extra meals of calories per day.

Not only that, it's fructose. . . the worst kind of sugar. Hardest to burn for energy. Easiest to turn in to fat.

[Old Grumpy]

“I resemble that remark.”

Ha ha! Me too.

[CatherineofAragon]

"I have a theory about diet soda. The sensation of sweetness signals that the body is going to receive nutrients. Fake sugar fails to deliver on that promise. The body responds by increasing hunger to compensate for the poor quality of the harvest. The cycle of hunger, lack of true nourishment, and instant gratification spirals out of control."

Except sugar doesn't nourish.

I agree with the poster upthread who said that sugary drinks are too sweet. I can't stand them. I drink plenty of water, but I also like my diet Mt. Dew. And I'm not fat.

Even if it were true that diet drinks trigger hunger, the decision to eat or not rests with the individual; the drink itself doesn't bear blame.

[Swordmaker]

I am going off of memory, so I could be way off. But apparently the problem with artificial sweeteners is that they are a favorite food of some bad bacteria, and not processed by good bacteria, so, over time, a diet soda consumer will undergo a change in their gut flora that will cause all kinds of digestive problems, including those that lead to obesity. Personally, I think diet sodas would be a very bad choice, even if they "worked" (which they probably don't, anyway). In addition to obesity, a diet soda consumer can also expect their stomach to become riddled with bacteria, leading to low acid production, and the GERD/NERD that inevitable follows.

There isn't enough material in artificial sweeteners to provide sustenance for any bacterial growth. Such bacteria would be overwhelmed by normal bacterial flora and fauna fed by regular sugars from carbohydrates. The amount in any soda is very minimal amounts. . . even in packets for sweetening coffee and tea most of the material is filler. Most artificial sweeteners are at least a thousand times sweeter than sugar.

The one exception would be the left-handed sugars, molecules identical to sugar but with structures built backwards, but they are completely non-digestible and pass through. Then there are the sugar alcohols which can give some gassy effects on some people. . . but not causing any weight gain.

[spel_grammer_an_punct_polise]

“Ice water for me...about 6 big glasses full a day.”

I tried that one day. I could not get anything done because I was in the bathroom all day! ;-)

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

[W.]

I bought a bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola at Big Lots, chilled it and had it over hard ice. It was so good, I haven’t had pop that tasted like that since I was a kid, I swear. And I tried that throwback Pepsi they did years back—not good, threw it back! Soda was king before the HFCS, made with sugar and came in 8-packs of 16oz. glass bottles. PITA lugging them, though...

[SZonian]

"I’ve found my body is to old to run enough to burn off a bowl of ice cream every night at bedtime. I can’t do that anymore."

BTTT

[ImaGraftedBranch]

“A few years ago, I was drinking up to 6 diet sodas per day...quit cold turkey.”

I was drinking around 12-14 regular Mountain Dews for 10 years.

I started drinking diet Mountain Dew 2 years ago, and eating generally the same lost 10 pounds.

I switched to coke zero and lost another 26.

36 pounds in two years, and I like my wine and cheese. Jus not the dew.
I am convinced.

Also, I found out that my non-fat salad dressing has 11 carbs per serving, while regular dressing (blue cheese) had only 2.

I switched. I do not stay away from saturated fats. I stay away from hydrogelized ANYTHING and stay away from high carbs. My weight is steady, and I love having flavorful foods.

Butter. Eggs. Meat. Not a problem.