7 ms·

I'm shocked that Bill Gates drinks 3-4 Diet Cokes a day. Probably harder for me to understand than seeing educated people smoke (since, at least with smoking, t

by latch 12y ago

I'm shocked that Bill Gates drinks 3-4 Diet Cokes a day. Probably harder for me to understand than seeing educated people smoke (since, at least with smoking, there's a chemical dependency at play)

shabble 12y ago
> I'm shocked that Bill Gates drinks 3-4 Diet Cokes a day. Why? The caffeine, or the fact that it's Coke and not coffee or tea (or ...)? > at least with smoking, there's a chemical dependency at play Diet Coke still contains caffeine (~50mg/can), which is generally considered to also cause physical dependence and withdrawal effects on abrupt cessation[1]. Granted, nicotine withdrawal is a lot worse, but serious caffeine fiends won't have a fun time of it for a few days, and it can be disruptive for several weeks. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine_addiction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine_addiction
- latch 12y ago
  I wasn't thinking about caffeine (but if that's the issue, tea or coffee seem like good alternative). I was thinking about the health issues its linked to (kidney problems, type 2 diabetes, dental issues, ...)
  - gavinpc 12y ago
    It's the aspartame. You can decide for yourself whether it's poison, but it's definitely the reason many people regard diet sodas as such. EDIT, I guess this should have gone on parent. At any rate, latch, I had the exact same reaction. And this is a man with resources. (Indeed, maybe he drinks some secret power soda and just used Diet Coke to give it a plebian air. Maybe such details are even handled by his blogging software.)
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Aren't those health problems avoided when drinking diet? Not that it's necessarily super healthy, but I thought sugar was the great enemy here.
    - josai 12y ago
      I'm not so sure. I'm certainly not an expert, but I have a private theory that the very sweetness of artificial sweeteners influences insulin release via some mechanism. Whether by "crying wolf" and promoting insulin resistance, or by some other means, I suspect there's some kind of message at play - "lots of sugar coming, blood, get ready!" - which then has a deleterious effect even when there's no actual sugar involved. Well, it's not very scientific, but I've arrived at this theory by a couple of observations. One in myself - I used to be a huge diet coke junkie, up to 10 cans a day sometimes, and I found it impossible to lose weight, plus I noticed that I got that "after sugar" feeling somehow from the drink. When I cut it out, plus everything else artificially sweet (I was barely consuming any sugar), my weight loss issues disappeared and I just felt .. much better. The other side of my anecdotal data comes from observing the same thing in friends. I know a few people who have gone pretty heavily low carb to lose weight, and I note a seeming correlation between success and cutting out sweet foods/drinks, no matter if they have sugar or not. OK, it's not exactly a double blind large-scale test, but nonetheless. I'm not the only one I know who thinks this either. A couple of the PTs at my gym have noticed the same thing, and advise their clients to cut everything sweet from their diet, fake sugar or not. And Tim Ferriss advises a maximum of one diet drink a day. So yeah, if you ask me (or the people above) - stay away from diet soft drinks and anything else sweet. I can't point to any large-scale studies, but over the years I've become pretty convinced there's something there.
      - 1stop 12y ago
        The reason you can't point to any large scale studies is because all of them found aspartame to be harmless, not induce an insulin response, etc (i.e the complete opposite of your theory). Diet coke hates are in the same category as anti-vacs campaigners... They don't believe in science.
        josai 12y ago
        That was a needlessly hostile and insulting response. I'm merely pointing out some personal experiences, and made appropriate qualifications to that effect. And your blanket dismissal is doubtful anyway. Here's a study clearly indicating correlation between aspartame and insulin response: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/7/e59.full http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/7/e59.full Cephalic-phase insulin release is a known phenomenon and could obviously be triggered by expectation of a diet drink. Being skeptical of mainstream nutritional "science" (barely worthy of the name, IMO, and which has led to an unprecedented obesity epidemic) is in no way comparable to "anti-vaxxers". And frankly, if I noticed a very strong correlation between people I knew who'd been vaccinated and then all suddenly became autistic, I'd be asking questions too, and would be right to do so, and that spirit of skeptical enquiry is the very essence of science.
  - sliverstorm 12y ago
    I really need to do some digging, see if there are any relevant studies... see, I don't think I have met anyone with any particular issues, who drinks soda in moderation. Remember, the dose makes the poison.
XorNot 12y ago
I'm shocked that you find this shocking. Seriously, I do not understand your reaction here - what part of this habit is sufficiently terrible to warrant a comparison to smoking?
- latch 12y ago
  Because, to the best of my knowledge, there's no good that comes from it. It may not be as harmful as smoking, but it's still linked to a number of health issues. 4 seems excessive. update - references added: Kidney issues http://www.kidney.org/news/KidneyCare/spring10/DietSoda.cfm http://www.kidney.org/news/KidneyCare/spring10/DietSoda.cfm Dental issues http://www.wda.org/your-oral-health/sip-all-day http://www.wda.org/your-oral-health/sip-all-day Vascular issues: http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_possible_link_between_diet_soda_and_vascular_risks/ http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_pos...
  - XorNot 12y ago
    Health issues such as? It's Diet Cola, and the brain cancer link was thoroughly debunked.
    - evanlivingston 12y ago
      Artificial sweeteners are not free of negative impacts; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
  - judk 12y ago
    Yes, everything enjoyable is bad your health. Choose your poison, or live as a eunuch monk.
  - rmrfrmrf 12y ago
    kidney.org: a bastion of peer reviewed study.
  - sliverstorm 12y ago
    There's no good that comes from just about any drink, aside from water. Too much milk can give you kidney stones. Too much fruit juice gives you cavities. Too much coffee stains your teeth and gives you, what was it, high blood pressure? On and on.
leohutson 12y ago
What's so bad about Diet Coke; aside from the taste?
- cpeterso 12y ago
  Diet Coke tastes like robot sweat.
vnignvc 12y ago
6.64% of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation portfolio is held in Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) shares. [1] 48.61% of the portfolio is held in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) which allocates 14.62% of its holdings to Coca-Cola. [2] "Bill Gates' Cascade Investment has disclosed a significant position in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF). According to a newly amended filing with the SEC, Cascade Investment holds a total of some 25.79 million series L shares of the company, equal to 5.3% of the outstanding stock. Mr. Gates, via Cascade and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is deemed to own around 88.01 million shares, or 17.7% of the class. In an earlier filing, Mr. Gates' position in Coca-Cola FEMSA amassed 87.84 million shares, or 19.2% of the outstanding stock." [3] [1] http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Institution-Portfolio.php?institutionid=4952&DV=yes http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Instituti... [2] http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Institution-Portfolio.php?institutionid=4005&DV=yes http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Instituti... [3] http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/bill-gates-cascade-investment-reports-big-position-in-coca-cola-femsa-s-a-b-de-c-v-adr-kof-320162 http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/bill-gates-cascade-investm...
- bluthru 12y ago
  I'm really disappointed by that. Gates shouldn't be promoting beverages that promote obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay.
  - lifeformed 12y ago
    Maybe the money he makes off of their stock is used for more good than the harm that comes from his investment in them.
    - FranOntanaya 12y ago
      "Net goodness" is a slippery slope.
    - bluthru 12y ago
      I think he has enough money to not profit off of making people unhealthy.
rmrfrmrf 12y ago
Why, because aspartame is a \gasp\ chemical? Yes, please disregard the numerous studies that all find aspartame to be completely safe for human consumption. Gates probably drinks Diet Coke for the same reason that many educated people do: they're actually able to read and understand primary sources. Aspartame conspiracy theorists are just as woefully uninformed as anti-vaxxers.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- gdewilde 12y ago
  Studies that say something is safe are irrelevant, we only care about the studies that say something is not safe and their follow ups.
  - kiba 12y ago
    That leads to confirmation bias, which is a bad thing. You want both positive and negative results.
    - gdewilde 12y ago
      I can totally see it now! After the study shows us that something is safe the dead people hop out of the grave. Imagine their surprice! Oh, I thought I died but then the new research came in.
  - shutupalready 12y ago
    What you're saying is that you can tell a police officer that you're innocent 50 times, but if you say that you're guilty even once, it's that one that counts. Cops do that because people make conscious effort to look innocent. However, Nature is not out to deceive you. Nature is not saying to itself, "I'm going to make diet soft drinks look better than they really are". All scientific studies, whether giving positive or negative results, must count.
    - 12y ago
thejdude 12y ago
At least with smoking there CAN be an indulgent experience, as with good wine, good chocolate, good coffee, great tea ... Coke is just sugared soda, or artificially sweetened soda. (Yes, I also drink a can of soda once in a while, but that's maybe a can per month.)
hyperbovine 12y ago
Eating habits are called that for a reason.

by latch 12y ago

I'm shocked that Bill Gates drinks 3-4 Diet Cokes a day. Probably harder for me to understand than seeing educated people smoke (since, at least with smoking, there's a chemical dependency at play)

shabble 12y ago

> I'm shocked that Bill Gates drinks 3-4 Diet Cokes a day. Why? The caffeine, or the fact that it's Coke and not coffee or tea (or ...)? > at least with smoking, there's a chemical dependency at play Diet Coke still contains caffeine (~50mg/can), which is generally considered to also cause physical dependence and withdrawal effects on abrupt cessation[1]. Granted, nicotine withdrawal is a lot worse, but serious caffeine fiends won't have a fun time of it for a few days, and it can be disruptive for several weeks. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine_addiction https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine_addiction

latch 12y ago
I wasn't thinking about caffeine (but if that's the issue, tea or coffee seem like good alternative). I was thinking about the health issues its linked to (kidney problems, type 2 diabetes, dental issues, ...)
- gavinpc 12y ago
  It's the aspartame. You can decide for yourself whether it's poison, but it's definitely the reason many people regard diet sodas as such. EDIT, I guess this should have gone on parent. At any rate, latch, I had the exact same reaction. And this is a man with resources. (Indeed, maybe he drinks some secret power soda and just used Diet Coke to give it a plebian air. Maybe such details are even handled by his blogging software.)
- mikeash 12y ago
  Aren't those health problems avoided when drinking diet? Not that it's necessarily super healthy, but I thought sugar was the great enemy here.
  - josai 12y ago
    I'm not so sure. I'm certainly not an expert, but I have a private theory that the very sweetness of artificial sweeteners influences insulin release via some mechanism. Whether by "crying wolf" and promoting insulin resistance, or by some other means, I suspect there's some kind of message at play - "lots of sugar coming, blood, get ready!" - which then has a deleterious effect even when there's no actual sugar involved. Well, it's not very scientific, but I've arrived at this theory by a couple of observations. One in myself - I used to be a huge diet coke junkie, up to 10 cans a day sometimes, and I found it impossible to lose weight, plus I noticed that I got that "after sugar" feeling somehow from the drink. When I cut it out, plus everything else artificially sweet (I was barely consuming any sugar), my weight loss issues disappeared and I just felt .. much better. The other side of my anecdotal data comes from observing the same thing in friends. I know a few people who have gone pretty heavily low carb to lose weight, and I note a seeming correlation between success and cutting out sweet foods/drinks, no matter if they have sugar or not. OK, it's not exactly a double blind large-scale test, but nonetheless. I'm not the only one I know who thinks this either. A couple of the PTs at my gym have noticed the same thing, and advise their clients to cut everything sweet from their diet, fake sugar or not. And Tim Ferriss advises a maximum of one diet drink a day. So yeah, if you ask me (or the people above) - stay away from diet soft drinks and anything else sweet. I can't point to any large-scale studies, but over the years I've become pretty convinced there's something there.
    - 1stop 12y ago
      The reason you can't point to any large scale studies is because all of them found aspartame to be harmless, not induce an insulin response, etc (i.e the complete opposite of your theory). Diet coke hates are in the same category as anti-vacs campaigners... They don't believe in science.
      - josai 12y ago
        That was a needlessly hostile and insulting response. I'm merely pointing out some personal experiences, and made appropriate qualifications to that effect. And your blanket dismissal is doubtful anyway. Here's a study clearly indicating correlation between aspartame and insulin response: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/7/e59.full http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/30/7/e59.full Cephalic-phase insulin release is a known phenomenon and could obviously be triggered by expectation of a diet drink. Being skeptical of mainstream nutritional "science" (barely worthy of the name, IMO, and which has led to an unprecedented obesity epidemic) is in no way comparable to "anti-vaxxers". And frankly, if I noticed a very strong correlation between people I knew who'd been vaccinated and then all suddenly became autistic, I'd be asking questions too, and would be right to do so, and that spirit of skeptical enquiry is the very essence of science.
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  I really need to do some digging, see if there are any relevant studies... see, I don't think I have met anyone with any particular issues, who drinks soda in moderation. Remember, the dose makes the poison.

XorNot 12y ago

I'm shocked that you find this shocking. Seriously, I do not understand your reaction here - what part of this habit is sufficiently terrible to warrant a comparison to smoking?

latch 12y ago
Because, to the best of my knowledge, there's no good that comes from it. It may not be as harmful as smoking, but it's still linked to a number of health issues. 4 seems excessive. update - references added: Kidney issues http://www.kidney.org/news/KidneyCare/spring10/DietSoda.cfm http://www.kidney.org/news/KidneyCare/spring10/DietSoda.cfm Dental issues http://www.wda.org/your-oral-health/sip-all-day http://www.wda.org/your-oral-health/sip-all-day Vascular issues: http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_possible_link_between_diet_soda_and_vascular_risks/ http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_pos...
- XorNot 12y ago
  Health issues such as? It's Diet Cola, and the brain cancer link was thoroughly debunked.
  - evanlivingston 12y ago
    Artificial sweeteners are not free of negative impacts; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/
- judk 12y ago
  Yes, everything enjoyable is bad your health. Choose your poison, or live as a eunuch monk.
- rmrfrmrf 12y ago
  kidney.org: a bastion of peer reviewed study.
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  There's no good that comes from just about any drink, aside from water. Too much milk can give you kidney stones. Too much fruit juice gives you cavities. Too much coffee stains your teeth and gives you, what was it, high blood pressure? On and on.

leohutson 12y ago

What's so bad about Diet Coke; aside from the taste?

cpeterso 12y ago
Diet Coke tastes like robot sweat.

vnignvc 12y ago

6.64% of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation portfolio is held in Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) shares. [1] 48.61% of the portfolio is held in Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) which allocates 14.62% of its holdings to Coca-Cola. [2] "Bill Gates' Cascade Investment has disclosed a significant position in Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V. (ADR) (NYSE:KOF). According to a newly amended filing with the SEC, Cascade Investment holds a total of some 25.79 million series L shares of the company, equal to 5.3% of the outstanding stock. Mr. Gates, via Cascade and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is deemed to own around 88.01 million shares, or 17.7% of the class. In an earlier filing, Mr. Gates' position in Coca-Cola FEMSA amassed 87.84 million shares, or 19.2% of the outstanding stock." [3] [1] http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Institution-Portfolio.php?institutionid=4952&DV=yes http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Instituti... [2] http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Institution-Portfolio.php?institutionid=4005&DV=yes http://www.j3sg.com/Reports/Stock-Insider/Generate-Instituti... [3] http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/bill-gates-cascade-investment-reports-big-position-in-coca-cola-femsa-s-a-b-de-c-v-adr-kof-320162 http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/bill-gates-cascade-investm...

bluthru 12y ago
I'm really disappointed by that. Gates shouldn't be promoting beverages that promote obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay.
- lifeformed 12y ago
  Maybe the money he makes off of their stock is used for more good than the harm that comes from his investment in them.
  - FranOntanaya 12y ago
    "Net goodness" is a slippery slope.
  - bluthru 12y ago
    I think he has enough money to not profit off of making people unhealthy.

rmrfrmrf 12y ago

Why, because aspartame is a \gasp\ chemical? Yes, please disregard the numerous studies that all find aspartame to be completely safe for human consumption. Gates probably drinks Diet Coke for the same reason that many educated people do: they're actually able to read and understand primary sources. Aspartame conspiracy theorists are just as woefully uninformed as anti-vaxxers.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
gdewilde 12y ago
Studies that say something is safe are irrelevant, we only care about the studies that say something is not safe and their follow ups.
- kiba 12y ago
  That leads to confirmation bias, which is a bad thing. You want both positive and negative results.
  - gdewilde 12y ago
    I can totally see it now! After the study shows us that something is safe the dead people hop out of the grave. Imagine their surprice! Oh, I thought I died but then the new research came in.
- shutupalready 12y ago
  What you're saying is that you can tell a police officer that you're innocent 50 times, but if you say that you're guilty even once, it's that one that counts. Cops do that because people make conscious effort to look innocent. However, Nature is not out to deceive you. Nature is not saying to itself, "I'm going to make diet soft drinks look better than they really are". All scientific studies, whether giving positive or negative results, must count.
  - 12y ago

thejdude 12y ago

At least with smoking there CAN be an indulgent experience, as with good wine, good chocolate, good coffee, great tea ... Coke is just sugared soda, or artificially sweetened soda. (Yes, I also drink a can of soda once in a while, but that's maybe a can per month.)

hyperbovine 12y ago

Eating habits are called that for a reason.