
Another Reason To Avoid Diet Soda - libin
http://www.getfitslowly.com/2010/05/12/another-reason-to-avoid-diet-soda
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maqr
These iodine deficiency claims are entirely pseudoscience and alt-med
bullshit. Here's where they come from:
[http://www.naturalnews.com/008902_hypothyroidism_thyroid_gla...](http://www.naturalnews.com/008902_hypothyroidism_thyroid_gland.html)

The whole pH thing is a lot of nonsense too, as many of the commenters on this
article pointed out. Here's a thorough debunking:
[http://sciencebasedpharmacy.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/your-
ur...](http://sciencebasedpharmacy.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/your-urine-is-not-
a-window-to-your-body-ph-balancing-a-failed-hypothesis/)

For the more real point about BMI increase being associated with artificial
sweeteners:

\- The bloggers link to this 2005 WebMD article, which doesn't cite the
reference for the study: [http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-
diet-soda...](http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20050613/drink-more-diet-soda-
gain-more-weight)

\- The real literature appears to be from 2008, so I don't know if the authors
just spoke to WebMD ahead of their publication or what happened. I believe
this is the study:
[http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v16/n8/full/oby2008284a.ht...](http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v16/n8/full/oby2008284a.html)

There's also a critical response:
[http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v17/n4/full/oby2008623a.ht...](http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v17/n4/full/oby2008623a.html)

And a response to the response:
[http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v17/n4/full/oby2008624a.ht...](http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v17/n4/full/oby2008624a.html)

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yosho
so instead of having to check and read every single link... is there a general
consensus on the effects of artificial sweeteners and diet coke? Or is it
still basically up in the air and no one knows for sure.

~~~
maqr
As far as I can tell, they're actually fine, but people who drink them tend to
make unhealthy lifestyle choices. The majority of the really scary claims
(like this video) are total bullshit about pH levels and aspartame conspiracy,
but it seems like the literature is conflicted on if people who drink them do
end up fatter for some reason.

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noelchurchill
As bad as diet soda is, I have the feeling it's not as bad as the non-diet
soda with the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). So the point is, don't drink
soda, of any kind, at all. It's poison.

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libin
Please do take one minute to watch the video.

~~~
ajscherer
It's blocked for me here at work (as I sit sipping my Diet Coke). What is the
reason?

