Diet drinks while on a health plan

wannabedamned · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:16

My question is how detrimental are diet drinks to a health plan. Usually I don't touch them, 6/7 days a week I will have green tea and water only. But on the days I fancy something different I reach for the sugarfree Redbull which says it's got 10 calories in it.

Now that seems too good to be true. There has to be a hidden draw back to drinking sugarfree redbull, Something I'm not seeing. It cant be a simple case of adding 10 calories to your total calorie count and if you're still on the right side of your calorie intake you're ok.

When I go running I burn around 300 calories according to mapmyrun , Essentially with a sugarfree redbull I may aswell make that 290 calories burnt! Which I don't think is bad still. So then why do I feel so BAD about drinking one

tom_e · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:21

some people think the artificial sweeteners can still cause an insulin spike which can lead to fat storage due to your body expecting calories but as far as im aware its not been proven, also some people dont like the idea of taking in so many chemicals but thats down to you

wannabedamned · 25 Jun 2010 at 17:57

Ah, Well considering it not like its daily, Its just 1 or 2 a week, I think I'm happy enough to carry on. Maybe the antioxidants in the green tea will balance me out chemicals wise

Robert1986 · 25 Jun 2010 at 18:03

Its the artificial sweeteners you want to look at for. Aspartame being the case in diet coke.

Aspartame is poison!

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet is not very sweet in itself, that may be why Equal puts Dextrose (sugar) and maltodextrin as the first ingredients, so that it tastes sweet.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet is a brain drug that stimulates your brain so you think that the food you're eating tastes sweet. If you pay attention you'll notice that when using Aspartame/Nutrasweet, everything you eat at the same time also tastes sweet! This may be why Aspartame/Nutrasweet causes you to crave carbohydrates. Hence, you won't lose weight using it.
BTW, cyclamates got pulled off the market in the 70's in the US (but not Canada or the rest of the world) because the sugar industry saw too much of their market disappear.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet (aspartylphenylalanine-methyl-ester) breaks down to its poison constituents at 86 degrees (Aspartic Acid 40%, Phenylalanine 50%, and Methanol 10%). Remember your stomach is at 98.6 degrees! Therefore you should never use Aspartame/Nutrasweet in hot beverages or cooked foods such as Jello. How the FDA allows this remains a mystery. There is mounting evidence that the "Burning Mouth Syndrome" experienced by the Desert Storm troops was actually Methanol poisoning from the Diet Coke they drank lots of, after being exposed to desert temperatures.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet's 10% Methanol appears in the body quickly and is the same alcohol (wood alcohol also in lacquer thinner), that your mother correctly warned you could make you blind. Many skid-row alcoholics had major problems with this cheap but deadly form of alcohol.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet's 40% Aspartic Acid is an "excitotoxin" in the brain and excites neurons to death, i.e. it kills brain cells and causes other nerve damage.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet triggers Migraine Headaches This even happened to me!. The Usenet is filled with posts by people who have pinned their migraines down to aspartame/Nutrasweet consumption.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet's breakdown products attack the bodies tissues and create Formaldehyde which builds up in the tissues forever. Remember the smelly, eye watering fumes from the frogs you dissected in school? They were preserved with Formaldehyde! Formaldehyde is thought to cause cancer.
The American Bottlers Association did not want the FDA to approve Aspartame/Nutrasweet because of what the test report showed. But the FDA approved it anyway!

* Airline pilots stay away from Aspartame/Nutrasweet because they are well aware of the documented dangers.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet also breaks down to diketopiperazine [DKP] which is proven to cause Brain Tumors! Brain Tumors used to be rare. Several of the rats in the original study formed brain tumors during their Aspartame/Nutrasweet exposure. The researchers surgically removed the tumors and returned the rats to the study and discounted the tumors.

ben90 · 25 Jun 2010 at 19:52

Many people argue that aspartame is not unhealthy and im definately not one of them.

Aspartame in what ever way you look at it is a toxin, and even though many "studies" claim them to be safe, why would you risk it. Something which is too good to be true will be, and this is a perfect example.

Its worth noting that most of the websites which claim it to be healthy are linked to the producers of it, so obviously there are likely to be cash offers etc.

PhillyDee · 26 Jun 2010 at 09:34

I am sorry, Robert 1986, but Source?

Seriously, it sounds like you hate the stuff, fair enough, but these are all claims, and if they were all true how would it be allowed. All these claims are probably false and proven otherwise, much like other consipracy theories.

* Aspartame/Nutrasweet triggers Migraine Headaches This even happened to me!. The Usenet is filled with posts by people who have pinned their migraines down to aspartame/Nutrasweet consumption.

Migraines can be caused by a lot of factors. Bright lights can cause them, does that mean the sun is bad? Mine are caused by orange juice concentrate.

Skull · 26 Jun 2010 at 09:51

wannabedamned said:
My question is how detrimental are diet drinks to a health plan. Usually I don't touch them, 6/7 days a week I will have green tea and water only. But on the days I fancy something different I reach for the sugarfree Redbull which says it's got 10 calories in it.

Now that seems too good to be true. There has to be a hidden draw back to drinking sugarfree redbull, Something I'm not seeing. It cant be a simple case of adding 10 calories to your total calorie count and if you're still on the right side of your calorie intake you're ok.

When I go running I burn around 300 calories according to mapmyrun , Essentially with a sugarfree redbull I may aswell make that 290 calories burnt! Which I don't think is bad still. So then why do I feel so BAD about drinking one

Mate I don't think drinking a can of red bull once or twice a week is going to screw up a health plan. Don't worry about it. If you're planning on drinking a can every day or twice a day every day, then I'd perhaps worry.

burtie · 26 Jun 2010 at 12:27

The last couple of weeks I've been getting through 8-10 cans of red bull a day plus coffee, I've stopped now though.

Green tea plus water for me as of Monday that other stuff just makes me feel worse.

Jokester · 26 Jun 2010 at 12:37

I used to drink a lot of diet versions of drinks a few years ago and suffered from blurry vision, trouble focussing and minor headaches. Someone posted about the potential side effects on here and I stopped and within a week it all cleared up. I keep clear of sweetners as much as possible now.

pooley · 26 Jun 2010 at 13:41

i wouldn't worry about drinking the odd can of redbull or any other diet drink if i were you. ten calories is nowt. as for the sweeteners like everything else alcohol,chocolate etc it's ok in moderation.

tom_e · 26 Jun 2010 at 13:48

burtieb1 said:
The last couple of weeks I've been getting through 8-10 cans of red bull a day plus coffee, I've stopped now though.

Green tea plus water for me as of Monday that other stuff just makes me feel worse.

that amount of red bull would have me glued to the toilet, back in my first year they used to sell pitchers of vodbull in the su seriously cheap so I'd end up knocking a few back a night and the next day my stomach hated me

Skillmister · 26 Jun 2010 at 13:50

If its 1 can a week i cant see it doing any harm. At uni i drank a mixture of normal and 'light' energy drinks and would sometimes drink multiple cans a day and had no side effects whatsoever.

Morba · 26 Jun 2010 at 14:04

Couple of cans aren't an issue at all. Gotta love the scaremongering lol.

Burtie, that's a serious waste of money! Why would you do that?

Nix · 26 Jun 2010 at 15:20

Things with sweeteners tend to give me headaches.

Buffman · 26 Jun 2010 at 15:33

I drink a lot of them, prob ~5 cans a week. Then If I'm going out drinking (Around once a week) a good few litres of it

, also got a liking for sugar free jelly.... Im gonna cut down on the canned drinks methinks (saying that Ive just polished off one)

Skull · 26 Jun 2010 at 15:52

Morba said:
Couple of cans aren't an issue at all. Gotta love the scaremongering lol.

Burtie, that's a serious waste of money! Why would you do that?

Isn't a can of red bull like 90p? In two weeks ye'v spend £100+ on caffeine drinks? And been taking in close to 700mg of caffeine a day? Is this because of the tiredness you mentioned you were feeling from weigh training? If it's sufficiently severe that you need that much caffeine, something is seriously wrong!

Mr-White · 26 Jun 2010 at 15:56

If you only drink 1-2 cans a week why not just give them up altogether, the stuffs horrid

MW

King85 · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:03

Stick with water and green tea, after a short while the cravings for energy drinks will subside and you'll be better for it. If you're attemping to lose wait water and green tea are where the money is.

Skillmister · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:05

King85 said:
Stick with water and green tea, after a short while the cravings for energy drinks will subside and you'll be better for it. If you're attemping to lose wait water and green tea are where the money is.

I've actually found since ive been home ive only been drinking water + tea and i have frequent cravings for other things, such as today a coke, which i promptly had :rolleyes:

King85 · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:10

How longs it been? Personally 4-7 without anythign but the above and i've no interest for the like. You sure its not a craving for the sugar/caffine that your body has due to a poor diet?