Do you drink diet soda? I used to drink at least one a day. It doesn’t sound like much since I know some of you drink several a day, but I really enjoyed my afternoon diet soda. In fact, rarely did a day go by that I didn’t have it. As part of my Whole30 challenge months ago, I gave up diet soda for the 30 days.
An interesting thing happened. I realized that I could live without it. In fact, I didn’t even miss it after the first week or so and gave no thought to them. After I finished the challenge, I didn’t bother starting back up again. No reason in particular other than I wasn’t on auto-pilot headed to the soda machine each afternoon.
The other week I was at a restaurant and The Kid ordered two meals – one for then and one for lunch the next day. Both meals came with a soda and since she couldn’t drink both I took one. As I filled the cup, I was thinking it had been 5 or 6 months since my last. I took a sip and bleh! Honestly I didn’t like it. I threw it out after a couple sips. I had to validate that the next sips were as bad as the first.
Everything that I read about diet soda convinces me not to bother going back. I’ve eliminated artificial sweeteners in general but diet soda seems to be especially bad.
- Diet soda has sodium and carbonation that can make you look and feel bloated. It’s not good to have the whole tummy-hanging-over-the-jeans look.
- Diet cola has phosphorus that is bad for your tooth enamel especially when combined with the carbonation. Pay for the diet soda and then pay for your dentist.
- Diet cola has caramel coloring that can stain your teeth if the phosphorus doesn’t get them first. I drink enough coffee that stains so I’d rather not add soda to the mix.
- Diet soda contains artificial sweeteners which may or may not be harmful to your brain and cardiovascular health. Google for information about studies on this. Some say it’s bad, some say it’s not, and even more say the jury’s still out. I’d rather not take the risk.
- Diet sodas are bad for your cravings. The sweeteners used are even more concentrated in sweetness than sugar. Regularly drinking diet soda gets your taste buds accustomed to this intensity so naturally sweet foods like berries aren’t enough to satisfy your cravings.
- Not only can they not satisfy a sweet tooth craving, but diet sodas can actually cause the craving to happen in the first place and lead to you falling off the wagon.When you have something sweet, you typically start to crave more. Not good news if you’re trying to stay on track.
- Your body can’t tell the difference between artificial sugar and real sugar, so it has a similar insulin response. Diet soda has been linked to obesity, metabolic disorders, and insulin spikes just as regular soda has.
- Diet sodas have no nutritional value or benefit. This isn’t necessarily a negative or a positive. Why take up space in your stomach that could be used for something that provides vitamins and other nutrients.
- Diet sodas cost more than plain old tap water (even when you add in a filter for your faucet). The 50 cents here and there add up over time and could be spent on fun things like vacations, movies, new clothes, or other stuff. Not to mention if you give up a craptastically expensive soda at the movies, you’ll be practically rolling in extra moolah.
These are just a few of the top reasons to avoid diet soda but they are pretty compelling. I could read this list and stop at #1 for the puffy muffin top. I sure don’t need to add to mine with a diet soda! The cheapskate in me loves #9.
Do you have a soda habit? Have you thought about giving it up?
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