Hey, I have been asking myself for a long time now, is it true that Light coke pratically contains no calories? I mean....each 500 ml bottle has only 1 kilo-calorie? It doesn't make sense, because it tastes almost like the original.....there must be some mistake or side effects, because drinking light coke instead of water would motivate alot of people I think. When I had to diet I used to avoid even light sodas because I read somewhere that "it is not that light..." or something. Are there any side effects drinking coke instead of water? It would help my friend that can't live without coke, and he's very depressed and overweight like I was 6 years ago, but he doesn't have the same patience as me...
Well, I am not sure about the product you are drinking, since you are in a different country. In the USA, Diet Coke has no calories-but either way, you should still be drinking water anyhow-whether you drink an occasional diet soda or not.
Well, there is a diference is soft drinks and Diet coke. Soft drinks usually have 20-40 calories per 100ml. Which may not be recommended in large quantities. Diet coke has 1 or no calories. What is the real effect? Is it the gas? maybe it enlarges our stomach and make us more hungry in our next meal? What is exactly the problem here? We can't get obese with 0 calories right? Or a calorie is NOT a calorie.
Diet coke won't make you obese. It is full of chemicals and artificial sweeteners, not to mention the caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic (makes you pee) so you could end up being dehydrated even though you are drinking lots of it. The jury is still out on the long term effects of many of the chemicals contained in diet coke, it may not have the sugar, but it does have iother undesirables in large amounts.
Obesity is only one side of the story. If you ignore the health benefits and deteriments of what you are consuming, and only concentrate on calorie intake, you may end up a thin unhealthy person instead of a fat unhealthy person!
Just to agree with what others have said--you can't replace pure water! The chemicals and artificial sweetners and such make Diet Coke nothing like water. As was stated earlier, it can actually DEhydrate you instead of hydrate you, like water does. It's fine to drink diet soda, but not in place of water. I drink a diet coke every day, but only after I have had a minimum of 9 servings of water already, and I always drink at least 3-6 more servings of water after the soda to help flush it out. Unfortunately, if your friend can't drink straight water, soda is NOT the answer! Maybe a Chrystal Light lemonade mix, flavored water, or water with lemon and/or lime? I agree also that Diet Coke will not make you obese, but it certainly won't help a whole lot in making you thinner. Now, if your friend switches to diet coke from regular coke, he will be decreasing his caloric intake, which is always good, but he still needs his water!
Diet coke won't make you obese. It is full of chemicals and artificial sweeteners, not to mention the caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic (makes you pee) so you could end up being dehydrated even though you are drinking lots of it. The jury is still out on the long term effects of many of the chemicals contained in diet coke, it may not have the sugar, but it does have iother undesirables in large amounts.
Obesity is only one side of the story. If you ignore the health benefits and deteriments of what you are consuming, and only concentrate on calorie intake, you may end up a thin unhealthy person instead of a fat unhealthy person!
Until recently, I've sided with the 'caffinated beverages dehydrate you and don't count as water' logic...that is until reading an article in a recent issue of Yoga Journal based on two studies:
MYTH: Caffeinated beverages zap your body's water reserves. TRUTH: Grandjean first became interested in the reputed link between dehydration and caffeine while working as a consultant to the United States Olympic Committee. "I worked with elite-level athletes, and I noticed they drank a lot of caffeinated beverages without showing any sign of dehydration," she says. In 2000, she published a study on caffeine consumption and hydration in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. For the study, Grandjean and her collegues recruited 18 healthy men and on various days had them drink 59 fluid ounces of liquid that included varying amounts of plain water, diet cola, and coffee, depending on subjects' body mass. Researchers tested each participant's body weight, urine, and blood before and after drinking. The authors discovered the body doesn't discriminate between regular and decaf beverages when it comes to hydration. After the study exonerated caffeine, Grandjean, like Valtin, was stunned by the public's reaction. "Consumers started calling and saying 'This is wonderful,' she recalls with a chuckle. '’All those closet caffeine addicts-it was as if they'd all been liberated."
Regarding the ingredients in diet Coke - it depends on what you call 'long term effects'. Despite its internet rumormill reputation, asparatame has been in existence since its invention in 1965 - that's 40 years - and I doubt there are other food additives that have been tested so throughly and repeatedly in that time. Caramel Coloring has been manufactured commercially as far back as the 1800's and is the most-consumed food coloring in the world. The amount of phosphoric acid in diet Coke is minimal - it only accounts for 2% of total dietary phosphorus, the other 98% coming from foods such as grains, nuts, meats, and dairy products. Citric acid (like caramel color and caffiene) is one of the original ingredients of Coca-Cola (Reference the appendix in the book For God, Country and Coca-Cola by Mark Pendergast for the original secret Coke formula). Potassium benzoate is a preservative also used in other carbonated and still beverages, syrups, cider, salted margarine, olives, sauces, relishes, jellies, jams, preserves, pastry and pie fillings, low fat salad dressing, fruit salads, prepared salads, and in storage of vegetables...caffiene has been consumed and used for centuries now and its safety/risk factors have pretty well been established IMO. The "natural flavors" are the 'secret' part of the basic Coca-Cola formula - they are basically essential oils of fruits and spices (see the reference above).
Personally - I think that a BIG part of the reason, if not the main part, that a study has linked consumption of diet sodas with obesity is because so many of us associate having a Coke or soda as an accompaniment with FOOD. Kind of Pavlovian in a way - self-conditioning I guess you'd call it. I DO drink plenty of water, but when I have lunch or dinner, my beverage of choice is a diet Coke. It's not because a diet Coke makes me hungry - I like the way the taste of the soda blends with my food (of course there are some dishes that just don't "go better with Coke" - I just can't think of them right now) just as a gourmet enjoys a fine wine with cheese or fruit or dinner or what have you. And dang it, I don't drink alcohol (VERY seldom as I am pretty much guaranteed a migraine most of the following day, no matter HOW much water I drink) and I don't care for coffee at all, so I like having me diet Coke. Or Coke Zero, which is pretty good, but not as good as the basic original diet Coke...although my husband now prefers Zero.
Anyway I stick to drinking diet Coke pretty much at mealtimes, unless I'm out and about like on a hot day - a fountain diet Coke with lots of crushed ice is really really good then. (I also like the Minute Maid Light Lemonade that's showing up more and more frequently as an option!). I drink an average of 1-2 diet Cokes a day - sometimes 3 a day on the weekends - and I would definitely call myself HEALTHY. So would my PCP, my dentist, and my personal trainer for that matter Of course I watch my calories AND what TYPES of food I eat on a regular basis. I don't believe that 1-2 diet Cokes a day will hurt me any, especially since I've been drinking diet sodas pretty much daily literally since childhood...along with the rest of my family and they're all still here and healthy.
IMO diet sodas receive a great deal of unjustified negative publicity, which is totally unwarranted.
I drink diet coke every day, too, and I am perfectly healthy. I don't think it does much to you as far as side effects, but I still truly believe you need water, too. You can't replace water with diet soda, but by all means, feel free to supplement it. I can't give you any articles or anything like that, but I sure know I feel better and my body feels happier when I drink water and not just soda! Maybe that's just me, though...
1 L -----> 2 kcal?
(I also like the Minute Maid Light Lemonade that's showing up more and more frequently as an option!). I drink an average of 1-2 diet Cokes a day - sometimes 3 a day on the weekends - and I would definitely call myself HEALTHY. So would my PCP, my dentist, and my personal trainer for that matter 