4 ms·

So given a choice, between Diet Soda vs. Normal Soda, what would be worse for your overall health? I imagine even with increased glucose intolerance, you're st

by lee 12y ago

So given a choice, between Diet Soda vs. Normal Soda, what would be worse for your overall health? I imagine even with increased glucose intolerance, you're still better off choosing Diet?

Wingman4l7 12y ago
Depends on how much you're consuming.
_greim_ 12y ago
Not a direct answer, but noting that there's also a third choice, which is to not drink anything sweet. I'll chug a diet soda once in a while because what's the downside? But in light of new compelling evidence I might change that habit without too much fuss.
dragonwriter 12y ago
You're probably better off not choosing carbonated liquid candy -- especially not doing so regularly and in significant quantities -- even if the sweetener happens to be non-caloric. And the point where you've reduced your choices to regular soda vs. diet soda, you've already failed.
- tedunangst 12y ago
  Failed at what?
  - marcosdumay 12y ago
    Failed at having a healthy diet. (That is, if he does make that choice frequently - a one time event probably won't change anything.)
    - parasubvert 12y ago
      In what way is it unhealthy? Aspartame has zero calories, and decades of studies showing its safety. Put another way, if you want to avoid sugar (which is much less healthy than aspartame), besides water, there's tea, coffee, flavoring mixes like Crystal Light, and various prepared sugar free soft drinks. Many prefer variety over water. There's little scientific basis to believe drinking any of these things are bad. Drinking a mix of these is quite a bit healthier for an adult than chugging juice or sugared drinks - unless you're explicilty trying to carb-load. Milk is a healthy alternative but debatable due to its effects on some.
- orangecat 12y ago
  Along the same lines, there's no point in comparing the effectiveness of different forms of birth control because only abstinence is 100% effective. Sometimes people want to eat and drink things because they taste good. There's nothing wrong with that, and we should be supportive of making marginal improvements rather than dismissing anything other than radical change.
parasubvert 12y ago
Diet. Artificial sweetener concerns aren't much different from "cell phones cause cancer" fears. Meta-analyses of decades of aspartame research shows it is safe. Sugar, in liquid form, on the other hand - not so much. Eg. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12180494/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12180494/
delackner 12y ago
C: Ice Mint Rooibos Tea, lemon water, lime water, green tea, sparkling water with a dash of lime (not "lime flavored bottled water, which usually contains sweeteners). If none of those satisfy your tongue, you might look into diet adjustments to re-calibrate your flavor response.
- sergiosgc 12y ago
  I can recalibrate my taste buds in all manner of ways, and sparkling water with a dash of lime will never even be in the same satisfaction category as an ice cold Coke Zero in a sunny day. Had you mentioned a good lager, you'd have a contender, but there's another slew of health issues there. In the end, living is slowly killing me. Let's just focus on the slow part and not fret about small risks.
fanf2 12y ago
Diet soda is better than fat soda. Better train yourself to drink plain soda water (if you like carbonation) or just tap water.

by lee 12y ago

So given a choice, between Diet Soda vs. Normal Soda, what would be worse for your overall health? I imagine even with increased glucose intolerance, you're still better off choosing Diet?

Wingman4l7 12y ago

Depends on how much you're consuming.

_greim_ 12y ago

Not a direct answer, but noting that there's also a third choice, which is to not drink anything sweet. I'll chug a diet soda once in a while because what's the downside? But in light of new compelling evidence I might change that habit without too much fuss.

dragonwriter 12y ago

You're probably better off not choosing carbonated liquid candy -- especially not doing so regularly and in significant quantities -- even if the sweetener happens to be non-caloric. And the point where you've reduced your choices to regular soda vs. diet soda, you've already failed.

tedunangst 12y ago
Failed at what?
- marcosdumay 12y ago
  Failed at having a healthy diet. (That is, if he does make that choice frequently - a one time event probably won't change anything.)
  - parasubvert 12y ago
    In what way is it unhealthy? Aspartame has zero calories, and decades of studies showing its safety. Put another way, if you want to avoid sugar (which is much less healthy than aspartame), besides water, there's tea, coffee, flavoring mixes like Crystal Light, and various prepared sugar free soft drinks. Many prefer variety over water. There's little scientific basis to believe drinking any of these things are bad. Drinking a mix of these is quite a bit healthier for an adult than chugging juice or sugared drinks - unless you're explicilty trying to carb-load. Milk is a healthy alternative but debatable due to its effects on some.
orangecat 12y ago
Along the same lines, there's no point in comparing the effectiveness of different forms of birth control because only abstinence is 100% effective. Sometimes people want to eat and drink things because they taste good. There's nothing wrong with that, and we should be supportive of making marginal improvements rather than dismissing anything other than radical change.

parasubvert 12y ago

Diet. Artificial sweetener concerns aren't much different from "cell phones cause cancer" fears. Meta-analyses of decades of aspartame research shows it is safe. Sugar, in liquid form, on the other hand - not so much. Eg. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12180494/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/12180494/

delackner 12y ago

C: Ice Mint Rooibos Tea, lemon water, lime water, green tea, sparkling water with a dash of lime (not "lime flavored bottled water, which usually contains sweeteners). If none of those satisfy your tongue, you might look into diet adjustments to re-calibrate your flavor response.

sergiosgc 12y ago
I can recalibrate my taste buds in all manner of ways, and sparkling water with a dash of lime will never even be in the same satisfaction category as an ice cold Coke Zero in a sunny day. Had you mentioned a good lager, you'd have a contender, but there's another slew of health issues there. In the end, living is slowly killing me. Let's just focus on the slow part and not fret about small risks.

fanf2 12y ago

Diet soda is better than fat soda. Better train yourself to drink plain soda water (if you like carbonation) or just tap water.