To Diet Soda or Not to Diet Soda
I wouldn’t say that I am “addicted” to diet soda, but I can say that I sure do enjoy having a nice cold Dr. Pepper once a day. Diet, of course. I actually prefer the taste of diet drinks to the “real stuff.” There’s just too much sugar in the “real” sodas. (Perhaps it’s my Super-Taster status kicking in?)
I used to be an obsessively healthy eater and could recite all sorts of facts for you about caloric intake, body mass index, and what we “should” eat and why. So I’ve known for years that diet drinks aren’t necessarily “good” for us. I’m still a pretty healthy eater, but I’ve definitely loosened my self-imposed restrictions over the years.
With the release of the study published in Stroke on April 20th of this year, I decided to revisit the diet-drink issue. Besides reading the original study, I found 2 other articles that were helpful for me: Diet Drinks Linked to Increased Stroke & Dementia Risk and Is Drinking Diet Soda a Health Risk?
I’m not so worried now about my having one diet soda a day, or every other day. Would it be ideal for me NOT to? Yeah, probably. Plain water is okay for a while, but after a bit, I want something a tad more exciting.
I’m not ready to give diet soda up entirely just yet, but I can commit to cutting back a little.
So if you’ve given up diet soda, or even cut down on how many you have per day, what did you replace it with?
Comments (8)
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I wish I wasn’t addicted to diet coke, but I am. I probably drink 3 a day. Can you have a 1/2 year resolution? OK, here goes; I resolve to cut down on my daily diet soda consumption. The rest of the time will be crystal light and water! I’ll try for 2 a day and wean down to 1. Sound good? I have already had a small stroke. 🙁
Oh, yes, definitely you can do a 1/2 year resolution. I think this is a good plan, especially since you have already had a small stroke. You might want to ask your doctor about this too. I would be curious to hear his opinion. Thanks for sharing!
I put this question in my patient portal so I don’t forget!
As a fellow foothill resident, I cut way back on soda when we moved to Tuolumne County. The water just tasted so good compared to Long Beach. But I guess it is a little late for you to capitalize on that. Just had to comment. I enjoy you posts immensely. Thanks.
I haven’t noticed much of a difference here, but that would have definitely been a motivator! Thanks for sharing (and for reading my posts!).
I don’t like diet soda, and I have been aware of the risks related to drinking them. I rarely drink soda at all because they give me muscle cramps. If I drink any at all, it’s one glass a month or less. I love water, and I usually drink that. If I want something more exciting, I go for lemonade, pineapple juice, pineapple orange juice, pear nectar, strawberry nectar, blackberry juice or tomato or vegetable juice. I do check labels carefully and make sure there is no added sugar or other harmful chemicals in the juice. Homemade smoothies made with fresh fruit are really great, too. I so enjoy reading your posts and hearing about your family and your projects.
Those are all good ideas, Terry. Thanks for your input.
Well, I confess, I am probably the worst diet soda addict you’ve ever met. I went from regular Pepsi to Diet Pepsi in 1985. It took me FOREVER to get used to the taste but I spent so much time outside in the heat that I was going through a couple of 2-liter bottles a day. I’ve never been much of a water drinker since moving from the home I grew up in. That was pure, ice-cold, refreshing, ZERO taste of any kind fantastic mountain water. I would even drink it straight out of the stream in our backyard if I was out and thirsty. When I grew up and moved out, the water at the different places I’ve lived has been disgusting [to me, anyway – now, there is so much iron in my water, I feel, I’ll just rust]. I know diet soda is bad for you and I’m planning to revert to non-diet as I’ve heard and read that the sugar is better than the substitute. I’ve also started drinking kool-aid again. I don’t want bottled water – it always tastes like plastic to me. I love Pepsi so much that I won’t drink coke even if that is all a place has. Sad, I know. Dr. Pepper makes me physically ill – I think it may be cloves?? There really isn’t much except A&W Root Beer left that I’ll even taste anymore. Maybe I’ll try alcohol… [heehee]