Hi beegee,

I read last week that the caramel coloring agent in all cola type products diet or non diet has been found to cause metabolic syndrome x which does include belly fat, insulin resistance, polycystic ovarian disease, to name a few.

Had

Thank you had enough,  That is very interesting.  I've just been drinking more diet drinks lately instead of water which I had to force myself to drink and I seem to be steadily gaining weight.  I was just trying to figure out this 20lb weight gain. 

Don't quote me on this, but I vaguely recall hearing that cola is believed to somehow contribute to loss of calcium/bone density in women. 

 

I suppose the rule of thumb is to not over-indulge in anything. 

 

GN

I don't remember what it is but diet colas are HORRIBLE for your health. My sister was addicted and was diagnosed w/ MS. When she quit, the symptoms went away.

 

I too have gained weight and have been downing water. It works!

Hi again beegee,

The diet colas do not make you fat because of calories. It is the chemical component that changes your body chemistry that makes you gain weight. I have also read that these colas actually make you crave sugar. The aspertame in them is really toxic in fairly high doses.

If you google them  and/or apsertame, you can read all about it.

Drinking water is really the best way to lose weight rather than putting a bunch of bad chemicals into your body.

Diet coke is addictive, and you will actually go through a withdrawal process to get off of it if you have been drinking them for a while. I advise cutting down slowly. It is not only the caffeine, it is also the aspertame.

Hugs,

Had

well, I have heard that, although I had lost over 100lbs. on weight watcher and drank it everyday, so I dont think so....

 

kim

as soon as i quit drinking died soda, i gained 10 pounds!  i guess it kept me from snacking on fattening things, and when i gave it up, i ended up replacing it with the things that put on the pounds...lol  now i am back to drinking diet splenda coke, and my weight is a healthy one.

 

good luck!

Thanks guys,  lots of info here.  I appreciate it!

beegee,

not a dumb questoin -- LOTS of people are confused about this.

The answer is YES -- they will make you gain weight. The reasons are a bit complex, I will explain.

And re the poster who mentioning calcium leeching -- the phosphorus in soda interferes with your body's ability to absorb calcium, and thus drinking lots of cola drinks can absolutely lead to bone density loss, and also interfere with the the effectiveness of any calcium supplement you are on. Not to mention, calcium supplements can cause lots of icky stomach problems, and drinking lots of sodas on top of the calcium supplements will also worsen your propensity to develop GERD, and other painful and potentially cancer-causing stomach/esophagus problems.

 

Now, back to the DIET soda thing... diet sodas use sugar substitutes -- chemical compounds that mimic the taste of sugar. Our bodies naturally need some sugar in our diets to survive. It is part of the fuels we need to keep chugging along each day. Your brain/mouth are organs trained to work in concert, as you put a certain food in your mouth, your body extracts ABC nutrients from it, and your brain stores the information that "when I taste something like THIS, I get nutrients ABC." (Usually, your first experiences with sweet foods are with apples, grapes, bananas, yams, etc as a baby -- so they are GOOD sweet foods)... So, when your body gets diet soda, your brain goes AHA! SWEET! That means I'll get ABC nutrients like I got from the fruits!! BUT, the diet soda doesn't actually have the simple sugars, it has a chemical sweetener that just tastes like it, so a little bit later your brain goes... hmmm. that diet soda *tasted* right, but I didn't get what I needed from it... I better either have another one, or try to eat something ELSE that is sweet (cinnamon bun? high fructose corn syrup smoothie? snickers?) to get the ABC nutrients! So you drink another... and another... all the while, your brain is going no, that's not quite right, I know I should be getting some simple carbs, some vitamins from the fruit peel, but I'm not.. KEEP EATING! It can lead to overeating as your body constantly tries to glean the nutrients you need from non-nutritional foods.

 

ALSO, most of the ingredients in diet soda (or any soda, for that matter) are CHEMICALS. And PRESERVATIVES. Guess what the purpose of fat on your body is? Fat stores toxins, and fat creates energy for later. So, the more toxic the food you feed your body (high sodium, lots of chemicals, preservatives, artifical coloring/flavor) the more fat your body must create to wall away those toxins and protect your vital organs. Your kidneys & liver can only do so much to cleanse you of unneccessary/toxic fuel, so after a while it is converted into fat. Second, your body will try to create more fat -- it goes into low-metabolism mode -- when it thinks it is being starved, or is about to be starved. This is survival at its most basic level. The more non-food items (soda, canned veggies, frozen blocks of sodium aka frozen dinners) you put in your body, the more your body will lower metabolism because it is NOT getting the nutrients it needs to work properly, thus it thinks it's being starved.

 

So, eat natural foods... if you like sweet drinks, do like I do & use frozen berries instead of ice cubes in your water. As they melt the water tastes delish :) GIve your body the meats, FRESH fruits (not dehydrated cranberries or canned peaches), FRESH veggies (not year-old frozen green beans or canned corn) and lots of WATER it needs :D

Wow, What a terriffic way to describe it Ivy!

 

Thanks from me too.

 

Hugs,

Had

Thanks Ivy,  This makes a lot of sense.  I do appreciate this.  Think it will put an end to my diet coke kick.  I will have to show this to my co-workers.