Thoughts on diet soda

Davy25

Davy25

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I never drank diet soda prior to taking my new job about 4 months ago.... they stock essentially everything so it makes it too easy.

Its zero calories and zero sugar. I understand aspartame is bad but ultimately will it effect my gains/ asethetics at all? Ultimately why is aspartame so bad? Ill have anywhere from 1 to 10 diet mellow yellow or coke zero a week.
 

suavmcgauv

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It may be the phenylalanine in diets that you are liking. It is a precursor to dopamine. Dopaminergics have a host of benefits in stress reduction and increasing motivation.

I honestly do not know about aspartame. I hate the tastes of diets so I don't drink them.

If you increase your water intake, it will help you not feel so bad from/about it imo.
 
AlexPowell

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Diet soda is fine
Layne Norton guzzles heroic amounts of sugar free Monster
 
Mzakif

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Interesting topic.

ActuallyI’m afflicted to it and I take 2 or 3 a day.

I have managed stay lean with. Also managed to reach 9% body fat on them and without any drugs.
but I wonder how they are impacting my physique.

Specially that I have read that the problem with aspartame is it gives your body the sugar effect (simple carbs) and causes spikes in your insulin but with zero calories.

Therefore theoretically on zero carb day they may was killing the idea of zero carb day and you won’t keep insulin levels low.

So I think it’s always be better to steer away from them. Maybe if I didn’t use it in my carb cycle if I would have gotten better results.


But this is what I think and I’m not sure if I’m right.

Let’s see what others would say.
And I alway wonder what change.
 
john.patterson

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I don't think there are any negative impacts to body composition/aesthetics from diet soda. I wouldn't drink gallons every day, but in moderation I don't think there are any problems with it.

I stay in the 9-12% BF range almost year round, and I drink a moderate amount of diet soda. It's never had an impact on my appearance or performance at all. Others may have different opinions, but I wouldn't stress it
 
Mzakif

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I don't think there are any negative impacts to body composition/aesthetics from diet soda. I wouldn't drink gallons every day, but in moderation I don't think there are any problems with it.

I stay in the 9-12% BF range almost year round, and I drink a moderate amount of diet soda. It's never had an impact on my appearance or performance at all. Others may have different opinions, but I wouldn't stress it

Same experience here but I always wondered about its impact on insulin. And what if stoped drinking them will I get my body fat percentage less than 9% ?

Anyway I’m addicted to it and never tried
 

Robert11

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Same experience here but I always wondered about its impact on insulin. And what if stoped drinking them will I get my body fat percentage less than 9% ?

Anyway I’m addicted to it and never tried
How can it spike your insulin if it has zero carbs? You’d go into a low blood sugar coma.

Insulin is released in response to a blood sugar increase in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels around 80-120. When you eat carbs it goes up and the high value triggers the insulin to bring it into normal range. If you ingested something that raised your insulin without the carbs in your blood the insulin would drop your blood sugar below normal and kill you.

That said I’ve heard anecdotal tales of aspartame causing obesity but by which mechanism I’ve yet to hear.
 
Mzakif

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How can it spike your insulin if it has zero carbs? You’d go into a low blood sugar coma.

Insulin is released in response to a blood sugar increase in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels around 80-120. When you eat carbs it goes up and the high value triggers the insulin to bring it into normal range. If you ingested something that raised your insulin without the carbs in your blood the insulin would drop your blood sugar below normal and kill you.

That said I’ve heard anecdotal tales of aspartame causing obesity but by which mechanism I’ve yet to hear.
Actually I cannot recall where I read that and that’s why I’m interested in this topic.

You have a valid point that I never thought of.
I guess I’ll continue using it

Thanks for the info
 

jrock645

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How can it spike your insulin if it has zero carbs? You’d go into a low blood sugar coma.

Insulin is released in response to a blood sugar increase in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels around 80-120. When you eat carbs it goes up and the high value triggers the insulin to bring it into normal range. If you ingested something that raised your insulin without the carbs in your blood the insulin would drop your blood sugar below normal and kill you.

That said I’ve heard anecdotal tales of aspartame causing obesity but by which mechanism I’ve yet to hear.
What I’ve read has suggested that your body still thinks these artificial sweeteners are sugar, so it spits out insulin. Being that it’s not sugar, your blood sugar is then driven down, then your body reacts to that and you get into the yo-yo cycle. The specifics of it go over my head a little bit.
 

Robert11

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What I’ve read has suggested that your body still thinks these artificial sweeteners are sugar, so it spits out insulin. Being that it’s not sugar, your blood sugar is then driven down, then your body reacts to that and you get into the yo-yo cycle. The specifics of it go over my head a little bit.
That whacky. You can’t drive down normal blood sugar without going into a hypoglycemic coma. That’s like injecting insulin on an empty stomach.
 

jrock645

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That whacky. You can’t drive down normal blood sugar without going into a hypoglycemic coma. That’s like injecting insulin on an empty stomach.
Pretty sure there’s a threshold of low blood sugar before one would go into a coma, and it’s extreme. As in your body’s last resort extreme. Simply going lower than normal doesn’t equate to a coma. If that was the case, there’d be a lot of people going into low blood sugar comas on nearly a daily basis after skipping breakfast and overeating at lunch.
 

Robert11

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Pretty sure there’s a threshold of low blood sugar before one would go into a coma, and it’s extreme. As in your body’s last resort extreme. Simply going lower than normal doesn’t equate to a coma. If that was the case, there’d be a lot of people going into low blood sugar comas on nearly a daily basis after skipping breakfast and overeating at lunch.
Well the claim is that a non carbohydrate compound (aspartame) can cause release of insulin. Yes I was being hyperbolic but if the above is true for one can of diet soda then hypoglycemia would not be far fetched from a six pack.

And your example is no comparison and not apt. Skipping breakfast your body will maintain a normal blood sugar by releasing only a small amount of insulin. When you eat a big lunch nothing happens until it converts to glucose and starts flooding your blood with sugar. The insulin output is a response to the high blood sugar to get it back into normal range. All completely normal for a healthy individual.
 

jrock645

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To be clear, I didn’t make any claim for one can of soda. I didn’t make a claim at all. I read an article about it lately.

Your argument seems to be built on the idea that a non carbohydrate compound can’t provoke an insulin response. That is false in every possible way. Amino acids provoke an insulin response. Exercise does, too. So to try and claim diet soda cantcause an insulin response because it doesn’t have carbs is outright laughable. There’s unintended consequences of chemical additives in our food all the time, so how is it so outlandish to think artificial sweeteners can’t mess with the insulin response?
 
AlexPowell

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Has any artificial sweetener been demonstrated to increase insulin in a clinical setting in humans?
What about Ghrelin? Leptin?
 

jrock645

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Has any artificial sweetener been demonstrated to increase insulin in a clinical setting in humans?
What about Ghrelin? Leptin?
I don’t have a link to it, but the article I read recently asserted that artificial sweetener could do that.
 
AlexPowell

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I don’t have a link to it, but the article I read recently asserted that artificial sweetener could do that.
Could? Or has demonstrated?
Important difference ;)
 

jrock645

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Could? Or has demonstrated?
Important difference ;)
Agreed. Again, to be clear- I read an article that talked about this the other day and I’m recapping off the top of my head. I’m not pushing any claim or narrative here.

What I think it really comes down to, is the question of does anyone really think artificial sweeteners are good for you? I’m not equating them to poison, but I don’t think they’re good for you. It’s like the whole gluten thing nowadays... People are just eating loads of gluten free pasta/bread products to get away from that gluten stuff(and most don’t have celiac), but now that means they’re eating refined flours and such, which presents certain problems. If they’re trying to be healthier, maybe you just don’t eat pasta and bread so much anymore, except for a rare occasion. Same with soda. We pump it full of chemicals we haven’t studied to get around the sugar problem. Bet we’ll find out in 20 years the answer was to drink dramatically less soda, but nobody ever wants to hear that.
 
AlexPowell

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Agreed. Again, to be clear- I read an article that talked about this the other day and I’m recapping off the top of my head. I’m not pushing any claim or narrative here.

What I think it really comes down to, is the question of does anyone really think artificial sweeteners are good for you? I’m not equating them to poison, but I don’t think they’re good for you. It’s like the whole gluten thing nowadays... People are just eating loads of gluten free pasta/bread products to get away from that gluten stuff(and most don’t have celiac), but now that means they’re eating refined flours and such, which presents certain problems. If they’re trying to be healthier, maybe you just don’t eat pasta and bread so much anymore, except for a rare occasion. Same with soda. We pump it full of chemicals we haven’t studied to get around the sugar problem. Bet we’ll find out in 20 years the answer was to drink dramatically less soda, but nobody ever wants to hear that.
Agreed as well man. For reference, I probably have a more restrictive diet than basically everyone here. It wasn't long ago that we thought polyunsaturated fats were good for you. I think in the grand scheme of things - unless you're not making the progress you want, have your diet coke and drink it :)
 
John Smeton

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diet soda are fine. If you drink 4 oz its a lot better than 16 oz. I say 8 oz or less daily is okay , when cutting hard or pre contest.
 
john.patterson

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What I’ve read has suggested that your body still thinks these artificial sweeteners are sugar, so it spits out insulin. Being that it’s not sugar, your blood sugar is then driven down, then your body reacts to that and you get into the yo-yo cycle. The specifics of it go over my head a little bit.
This. There are studies that show a very slight increase in insulin when artificial sugars are consumed - it is the body's response to thinking you are eating sugar and preparing to digest it. The insulin that is produced is very minimal and nothing close to compared to the insulin spike caused by real sugar.

It does still have an impact, but in the grand scheme of things I think it is insignificant.

Could it help you to get ever so slightly leaner? Maybe. But is sacrificing the enjoyment of a zero calorie drink worth it for the average lifter to look better naked? Not in my opinion. Drink and enjoy :)
 

Pinggolfee96

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This. There are studies that show a very slight increase in insulin when artificial sugars are consumed - it is the body's response to thinking you are eating sugar and preparing to digest it. The insulin that is produced is very minimal and nothing close to compared to the insulin spike caused by real sugar.

It does still have an impact, but in the grand scheme of things I think it is insignificant.

Could it help you to get ever so slightly leaner? Maybe. But is sacrificing the enjoyment of a zero calorie drink worth it for the average lifter to look better naked? Not in my opinion. Drink and enjoy :)
incorrect or else diabetics couldn't take it. has no effect on blood glucose. and even if it did spike insulin, that doesn't mean fat gain
 
Whisky

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incorrect or else diabetics couldn't take it. has no effect on blood glucose. and even if it did spike insulin, that doesn't mean fat gain
I linked to an article with reference to the studies which show this......(that there is a slight increase in insulin with some sweeteners)
 

Pinggolfee96

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I linked to an article with reference to the studies which show this......(that there is a slight increase in insulin with some sweeteners)
same thing when you eat protein, yet it doesnt mean you'll gain weight. insulin spike has nothing to do with weight.
 
Whisky

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same thing when you eat protein, yet it doesnt mean you'll gain weight. insulin spike has nothing to do with weight.
Wasn’t the question bro, you said sweeteners don’t cause an increase in insulin, I gave you a link to scientific studies showing that some do.....just informing the debate
 
john.patterson

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incorrect or else diabetics couldn't take it. has no effect on blood glucose. and even if it did spike insulin, that doesn't mean fat gain
I never said that artificial sweeteners increase blood glucose or cause fat gain - I only mentioned a very slight and insignificant increase in insulin that has been shown in studies.

Please read posts fully and thoroughly before blasting out negativity and disagreement.
 
john.patterson

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Wasn’t the question bro, you said sweeteners don’t cause an increase in insulin, I gave you a link to scientific studies showing that some do.....just informing the debate
Some people just don't like to read.... lol.
I agree with you Whisky
 
Smont

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I never drank diet soda prior to taking my new job about 4 months ago.... they stock essentially everything so it makes it too easy.

Its zero calories and zero sugar. I understand aspartame is bad but ultimately will it effect my gains/ asethetics at all? Ultimately why is aspartame so bad? Ill have anywhere from 1 to 10 diet mellow yellow or coke zero a week.
Without reading this whole thread, my sister had aspartame poisoning a few years ago, didn't eVen know that was a real thing. But if that can happen it can't be good
 
THOR 70

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Well it’s a processed food with zero nutrients. Impact on physique is probably negligible, but who knows long term effects. A lot of people that quit it feel a lot better. I would say it’s very easy to say it’s not healthy for you.
 
Ricky10

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I have not thoroughly investigated all the artificial sweeteners out there, but every article I do come across does suggest that it triggers an insulin response. Splenda for example is 200x sweeter than sugar and it has also been said to lead to poor gut health.

I was reading an article in Men’s Health yesterday while I was at the dentist. The dude cut out all artificial sweeteners from his diet and was finally able to lose his belly fat without any other additional changes. I believe the article also stated that artificial sweeteners are linked to low energy levels and depression as well.
 

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