Yup, it is still making you fat and giving you kidney problems and heart disease and strokes, even without all that sugar. Say [old] all you want, but this is very important.

Putting this here in hopes that it might help someone kick the habit.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/79967/does-cola-really-cause-cancer-the-answer-has-been-right-in-front-of-us-since-2007






Here is the full info graphic: http://www.mapsofworld.com/poll/soda-fizz-killing-us-facts-infographic.html

Go to the text version to see the links for the sources. Some weird and freaky news/facts right here.

2/4/2014 11:58:20 PM

1) So far every "fact" I've checked about diet cola in that infographic is wrong. Not just misleading, but WRONG.

The first two stats are not only taken out of context, but the "reference" source is just ANOTHER unsourced webpage, which I cannot find any mention of the quote source studies via google scholar.

2) Regardless the infographic and article mixup correlation and causation. The "studies" purported found that participants drinking diet soda had lower kidney function and increase in heart attack, stroke and obesity.

The problem is, NOWHERE does it say that Diet Soda CAUSED any of these issues. Just that diet cola drinkers HAVE these issues. Which can be easily explained by "fat, high risk people drink diet soda".

3) The other thing they forget to mention with that 3,265 number is they are ALL WOMEN, IN ONE PROFESSION (Nursing) from ONE geographic area.

4) Bone and tooth enamel loss rates are not the same. While regular coke has the acidity of Lemon or Lime juice (very high), Coke Zero has the same acidity of nearly every other fruit juice.

The difference between pH 2.5 and pH 3.5 is HUGE in terms of enamel loss in teeth. It's a power of ten more corrosive.

Coke Classic has a pH of 2.5-2.7
Code Zero has a pH of 3.3-3.5
Orange Juice has a pH of 3.5
Apple Juice has a pH of 3.5
Cranberry Juice is 2.4
Grapefruit is 3
Pineappl is 3.5

http://www.foodscience.caes.uga.edu/extension/documents/fdaapproximatephoffoodslacf-phs.pdf


5) Not all "diet" colas are created equal. Pepsi products have a whole slew of nasty shit in them that you wont find in Coke products. Aspartame as an artificial sweetener has yet to be shown in any controlled study to have short or long term negative health effects. They do absolutely affect brain chemistry, but no differently than eating sugar makes you want more sugar.

Anecdote: I drink probably 2-3 coke zeros a day on average. Have been for the past 5 years. Just happened to have had a full kidney, liver and gall bladder workup done. Guess what? Perfect liver function, perfect kidney function, normal cholesterol, normal blood pressure. I am definitely currently overweight, but nothing a few months of exercise won't shed.

Just tired of these fucking sensationalized "infographics" that are at best misleading and usually just fucking wrong.

[Edited on February 5, 2014 at 12:53 AM. Reason : .]

2/5/2014 12:52:17 AM

I regularly poke around in my stomach for tender organs.

So far, everything checks out great. Suck it, "science."

2/5/2014 1:07:55 AM

^^your fat therefore your wrong (/troll)

2/5/2014 5:21:53 AM

Sodas are something I'm trying quit. I've got better about it but I still drink 1-2 12oz cans a day

2/5/2014 7:53:33 AM

I kinda wonder about the Diet Soda causing obesity that the info-graphic suggests. I wonder if it is merely a correlation that one who needs to always have a soda (maybe instead of water) is someone that has less willpower and is eating fatty foots or fast food anyway.....

2/5/2014 8:06:56 AM

I think it's because fat people stuff their face then have a diet come thinking they are saving calories.

2/5/2014 8:13:09 AM

^this

2/5/2014 8:41:44 AM

As a funny aside, at run club last Wednesday I saw this fat chick get back from running the 1 mile route. So I gave her props (in my head) for going out and trying to get back in shape, THEN i saw her go to the food truck, getting a order of french fries.....

2/5/2014 8:42:14 AM

the relatively high acidity of soda is about the only i'd concern myself with if i drank it on a regular basis

i put virtually no stock in the idea that the soda itself affects a person's weight...there was the theory that artificial sweeteners might cause an insulin response in the cephalic phase of gastric secretion, but i'm pretty sure that's been disproved for most (if not all) of the FDA approved sweeteners

i figure folks who drink diet soda gain weight because they have poor eating habits in the first place...either they just eat like crap on a regular basis, regardless of the diet soda, or they tell themselves they "saved" calories with the diet soda and so take in more as a "reward"

2/5/2014 8:46:40 AM

Quote :

"the infographic and article mixup correlation and causation."

yep. Like ^he said, the only thing that I am somewhat concerned about as a diet soda drinker is the acidity. The caffeine has also caused withdrawal headaches for me as well which caused me to cut back on sodas considerably and go caffeine free when I do drink them.

2/5/2014 8:57:27 AM

Quote :

"I drink probably 2-3 coke zeros a day on average. Have been for the past 5 years. Just happened to have had a full kidney, liver and gall bladder workup done. Guess what? Perfect liver function, perfect kidney function, normal cholesterol, normal blood pressure. I am definitely currently overweight, but nothing a few months of exercise won't shed."

Pretty much the same thing here. On work days I drink probably 3 Coke Zeroes. When I'm home I only drink water. I had a physical last month with the same results: Perfect kidney function, liver function and cholesterol. I do have high blood pressure, but I've had it for years, even when I exclusively drank water and worked out regularly. My HBP is genetically linked, and easily controlled with low-dose Lisinopril.

This all being said, I definitely have decided to go back to exclusively drinking water while at work. Not because of the negative effects of diet soda, but for the positive benefits of drinking water.

2/5/2014 9:50:51 AM

Quote :

"THEN i saw her go to the food truck, getting a order of french fries....."

I think this is fairly common with people trying to get in shape. After exercising they feel that they have earned a break from their diet regime. Unfortunately something like fries are probably loaded with more calories than they just burned.

2/5/2014 9:52:56 AM

Quote :

"i figure folks who drink diet soda gain weight because they have poor eating habits in the first place"

I can agree with this in my case. I don't drink diet soda to lose weight, I just think regular sodas are too sugary. I'm not big on sugar in general (don't eat candy, desserts, etc), so I just prefer the taste of diet soda over regular. And yes, I'm out of shape because I eat like shit and don't work out. Something I have started working on.

2/5/2014 10:03:32 AM

^^I think eating french fries is "fairly common" with people in general. I haven't had any in a while, but that's cause I'm hooked on chips and salsa at the moment.

[Edited on February 5, 2014 at 10:09 AM. Reason : ]

2/5/2014 10:06:40 AM

Jeebus, its like a 100-level marketing course vomited all over the top of this page.

2/5/2014 10:07:04 AM

When I was on diet sodas, it made me hungry ALL THE TIME and I was constantly craving chocolate and other junk foods. I would dream about chocolate and then wake up and have to go get some. I couldn't figure out why I was always starving until I read something about the problems with artificial sweeteners. So I stopped drinking diet sodas and switched to regular. My constant hunger subsided and I went back to eating more like a normal person. Since then, I've pretty much quit sodas except for every now and again.

I know there are plenty of people who drink diet sodas and don't have these problems, but I'm sure there are some like me who don't realize how they are being impacted by them.

2/5/2014 11:33:10 AM

I found a good article recently that linked to multiple scientific studies proving that artificial sweetener caused no increase in insulin levels which is what people who say "diet soda makes you fat" usually try to say. I have also tried to find research indicating that artificial sweeteners cause cancer and haven't found anything (although if anyone does have links they could provide is love to see them). The whole diet soda debate really irritates me, and I personally think that fat people use it as an excuse to keep drinking beverages loaded with sugar, which actually is terrible for you. Water is the best thing you can drink (duh). I am addicted to bubbles so I try to buy flavored sparkling water (la croix is a good one) when I am feeling like something other than just plain water.

[Edited on February 5, 2014 at 11:39 AM. Reason : Add another note]

2/5/2014 11:35:12 AM

there are also studies that show the opposite, they really have no idea how your body reacts to artificial sweeteners.

as a diabetic, i avoid sweeteners not just because they might have an effect on glucose, but because they then make me crave more sweet stuff and carbs. artificially sweet things tend to make me mess up my diet.

[Edited on February 5, 2014 at 11:38 AM. Reason : ^wait, people use as excuse to drink regular soda? answer is no soda at all. ]

2/5/2014 11:37:33 AM

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/artificial-sweeteners-insulin/#axzz2pwtuwhYt

Hopefully that link works but I think it provides a good breakdown. And yes, I do believe people are misinformed and think that "diet soda causes cancer and makes people fat anyway so I'm going to drink the stuff that tastes better". I was walking out of the grocery store behind an obese woman one day, as she was carrying her two cases of soda she literally said to her friend " you know diet soda actually makes you fatter than regular soda". So that is why it irritates me that misinformation like that ridiculous graphic is spread so much.

2/5/2014 11:58:49 AM

^^Yes it basically has the same neural effects as sugar, causing you to want more and more.

I drink Coke Zero at work, and water with a squirt of Mio at home (though I usually just have a big glass of plain water when I wake up and before going to sleep).

2/5/2014 12:10:49 PM