Day two without diet cola

I drank fizzy water with some lemon cordial - in it. Nice - but no 'buzz'.

I feel under weather - my throat hurts and my knees hurt

Diet cola alternatives to consider

From this page:

Dark chocolate and water

Iced green tea would probably be a better option. ?

Comments include:

"Diet vs Regular

I have no medical background but have a personal story to share. I'm 26 years old, and now my metabolism has slowed down, specifically within the past year. I've always enjoyed a regular soda from time to time, mostly Pepsi or Coke. I noticed a tummy and knew I needed to kick the can. I gave it up for a while and stopped craving it, my tummy went down a little. As you know, when you go through stressful periods and you fall into old habits or pick up new ones. I decided I wanted to drink soda again but to be "safe" I forced myself to drink diet. It wasn't so bad, it took care of the craving for regular soda. But the tummy isn't coming off! I can't back this up, but I've heard that diet soda might not pack on pounds like regular soda, but the chemicals in diet "lock" fat cells making it nearly impossible to break them down. Sugar can break down. I think it's just safer to avoid soda all together. If you're craving something sweet, have an ounce of dark chocolate and then drink your water.

Sunday, September 30, 2007, 9:32 PM "

Also:

This is my first week without any diet soda

I've been ADDICTED to diet mountain dew for several years now. I started reading some things on here and pondered this same thing.

Now, I won't go so far as to say that I know for a fact that diet soda is bad for you, that it causes you to gain weight, or anything else of that nature. I'm not a doctor.

However, I decided to give it up for awhile because I didn't have anything to lose. Why not? I'll give it a shot and see how I feel.

Well, this is my third day without any soda, diet or otherwise. I feel different. I don't have mid-afternoon cravings like before (which would usually end my diet). And, although I can't confirm this since weigh-in day is on Saturday for me, my pants feel looser. Maybe it's just water weight and bloat, but I don't care. I've been struggling today with my pants falling down even though I wear a belt.

I suppose I don't have any answers here, but all I can say is - give it a shot. If it doesn't work for you, then start drinking diet pop again. But I think I'm onto something here.

- egruber

Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 9:33 PM


Also:

Can artificial sweeteners help control body weight and prevent obesity?

David Benton^{a1 c1}

^a1 Department of Psychology, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK

Abstract

The possible role played by artificial sweeteners in the long-term maintenance of body weight is considered. Although artificial sweeteners can play a role in a short-term energy-controlled diet, the evidence that they are helpful over a longer period is limited. In those in the recommended weight range there is evidence of compensation; that is, the consumption of low-energy foods is followed by an increased energy intake to make up the lost energy. Energy compensation is more likely in those not displaying dietary restraint. The desire to remove sugar from the diet reflects an assumption that its intake is associated with obesity. However, the consumption of energy-dense food, that almost entirely reflects a high fat and low water content, is the best predictor of obesity. Diets offering a high proportion of energy in the form of carbohydrate tend to contain low levels of fat. There are several reports that the use of artificial sweeteners leads to an increased consumption of fat. The weak ability of fat to satisfy hunger makes it easy to overeat fatty foods; in contrast, carbohydrates promote a feeling of ‘fullness’. Various short-term studies have found that carbohydrate consumed as a liquid, rather than a solid, is more likely to result in weight gain.

Day one without diet cola

First day without diet cola. I'm not craving diet cola or chocolate today. I wonder if my chocolate cravings are linked to my cola consumption?

Is it true that the sweetness of aspartame triggers insulin production?

Insulin production means more fat?

"Why worry about sugar? Aside from providing empty calories, one of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level. An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Prolonged, elevated insulin levels can increase the risk for disease by causing inflammation within your body and by inhibiting key hormones that regulate the immune system. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat excessive sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglycerides, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease."

Aspartame and mental health

http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-110.htm

Accordingly, the author concluded that "individuals with mood disorders are particularly sensitive to this artificial sweetener and its use in this population should be discouraged."

Diet cola and weight loss. Aspartame and weight loss

So medical types say it doesn't give you tumours? What about the weight loss effect? There's the story that Diet Cola makes you fatter... Here's a report:

Effects of Soft Drink Consumption on Nutrition and
Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Summarised as:

But if you choose to make a case for colas or uncolas leading to obesity, there's respected company on your side. Earlier this year, researchers at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University published a study showing "quite a clear association between soft-drink intake and taking in more calories."

The Yale group analyzed 88 soda studies and discovered some intriguing relationships, such as the finding that "on days when people drink soft drinks, they consumed more calories than on days when they did not have soft drinks."

Why is that? Here's what some cyclists say...

However, there is some evidence, disputed by the manufacturers of course, that the sweet sensation provided by artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, can through a "neural/humoral" connection cause the pancreas to secrete insulin regardless of the blood sugar levels. Insulin is the storage hormone and inhibits fat mobilization, thus defeating the original goal to lose fat.

With elevated insulin which does not combine with blood sugars, you get an increase in appetite and a craving for carbohydrates. This has been reported by several researchers and of course denied by the research of the manufacturing companies.

And L Lee Coyne...

One of the reasons for using aspartame is the quest to reduce calories and therefore lose or maintain body weight. However, there is some evidence, disputed by the manufacturers of course, that the sweet sensation provided by artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, can through a "neural/humoral" connection cause the pancreas to secrete insulin regardless of the blood sugar levels. Insulin is the storage hormone and inhibits fat mobilization, thus defeating the original goal to lose fat. With elevated insulin which does not combine with blood sugars, you get an increase in appetite and a craving for carbohydrates. This has been reported by several researchers and of course denied by the research of the manufacturing companies.

Findings differ if you stand to lose money from its withdrawal from sale...

An analysis of 164 peer reviewed medical studies by Dr. Ralph Walton of Northeastern Ohio University found that of the 90 non-industry sponsored (independent) studies, 83 (92%) identified one or more problems with aspartame.

Of the 74 aspartame industry sponsored studies all (100%) claimed that no problems were found with aspartame. Little comfort for the consumer.


A conclusion - no cancer link found in humans - but messes with body - so you keep getting fatter...

"Past studies of saccharin and aspartame, packaged as Sweet'n Low and Equal, respectively, suggested that large doses could cause cancer in rats, although human studies have shown no such link. The Food and Drug Administration says these high-intensity sweeteners—along with sucralose (Splenda)—pose no threat to human health. Most nutrition experts are willing to go along with that—with caveats. "I suspect that if there were anything bad we would have found it by now," says Kelly Brownell, director of Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. "My real concern would be with children. Heavy-duty sweeteners haven't been proved to be unsafe, but I'm not convinced that they're safe." "

Aspartame and physical health

Guardian article: Confessions of a Diet Coke addict

In google: 2,370,000 results for aspartame (it was 113,000 results in 2002).

The Guardian article seems sceptical about scare stories: "Catherine Collins, the chief dietician at St George's Hospital and a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, says that despite the screeds of alarming information about aspartame on the internet she is comfortable about the sweetener precisely because it is made up of amino acids found naturally in other foods."

The article mentions a 3yr study on aspartame. It's mentioned here:

Evaluation of the Dietary Additive Aspartame (‘Nutrasweet’) as a risk factor for central nervous system tumours (Dr Peter Nunn). 3 year project with grant funding of £187,074.00.

This study found that Aspartame and its derivatives

• I. Do not appear to interact with cellular macromolecules
• II. Do not cause biochemical changes characteristic of reactive molecules
• III. Lack the activity normally associated with direct carcinogens
• IV. Do not cause DNA damage as defined by comet assay.

In summary, taken together with the data from the literature, it is concluded that Aspartame and the breakdown products studied are not carcinogenic.

So that report says it is safe - does not cause brain tumours.


But this website here - Dorway

- is all about bad aspartame. It doesn't mention King's College.

Diet cola and jitteryness

I resolved to give up the diet coke today - after looking again at the warnings about aspartame all over the web. Are the warnings correct? I don't know. If you do know - or have a story to share - please leave a comment.

My hunch is that diet cola is dangerous stuff. But that's just a hunch.

Here's random anecdotal...

http://blue-lotus.livejournal.com

at: http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2005/01/im-off-the-coke.html

says: "Now I can’t drink Coke. It makes me unbelievably jittery. I can drink coffee, and that does not have the same effect."

It's that jittery effect that I like. My body goes cold, my face hot and my mind speeds up.
I'm trying coffee granules and fizzy water - but that doesn't speed my mind - it's just not the same. I'll have to try expresso.

It could be that this is all in my mind. That the coke and chocolate are just placebos? That it's just some sort of ritual? I drink the coke, eat the chocolate and so am in a receptive state of mind? Oh crikey - I don't know. But I feel physically different after consuming them.

There's that film - coffee and ciggarettes - mine will have to be diet cola and chocolate.

Time to make a few changes

Today is 29 December 2007.

It's 2008 in 2 days - and it's time to make some changes.

I'm 33 this year - and it's the usual stuff - I need to stop drifting and move house, city, relationships and job. I need to learn to play the guitar and lose weight, too.

So why don't I just make the changes? Well I've tried - but I think I've fallen into some patterns of behaviour that are unhealthy - that I need to change.

I'm hoping if I have written record - then I can chart my progress - as my enthusiasm for my good intentions evaporates.

At the centre of my inability to change is Diet Coke, chocolate and creativity (ok, ok, they're not heroin, bestiality and mouth-foaming rage - but they're my vices and I'm in their grip).

Type "diet coke and creativity" into Google right now and it returns: "did not match any documents".

This I don't understand - surely other people know the Zone?

At 17 / 18 years old - I started going for long runs in the evenings - and lost a lot of weight. In the next couple of years I discovered that if I drank diet cola and ate chocolate before the run, then listened to repeptitive music (the Lemonheads or Aphex Twin works for me) while running, then something interesting happens - I enter the Zone.

It's like a short-cut to meditative state. I know people say that they go into the Zone - a trance like state - when they run - but I never really experienced it.

But with diet cola and chocolate I do. It's like both sides of my brain join together (I can feel it) and I can think more elegantly and with more agility. Words and ideas flow. I can make connections where before - in my normal meat state - I cannot. I think it helps me to access bits of my brain not usually available in my waking state.

From what I can tell - it's to do with brainwaves - I enter the Alpha / Theta state - http://web-us.com/primitivebeats.htm

OK then, well why don't I just stop?

Two reasons -

1) The altered state is addictive. I miss it when I've not been there for a while.
2) I got good at going there - and now get paid for it. I rely on my ability to see connections for money. I get paid for my writing, drawing, video, talking etc - I need the Diet Coke, chocolate and creativity buzz to pay the rent.

So tell me again - why are you writing this blog?

1) Fifteen years on - now when I drink Diet Coke - I get hot flushes and feel a bit sick. I can still access the zone - but I don't want to have to rely on a soft drink. There must be another way. I'm going to try and find one - a healthier one.

I'd like suggestions from readers. How do they enter the Zone? What techniques do they use? Have they managed to replace diet cola with something that gives them the mind-buzz?

2) Aspartame. Apparently it's really bad for me. My hunch is that this is correct. But is there any proof? Do readers of this blog have any proof? Is it a big scandal?

3) I'm going to give up Diet Coke on January 1st 2008. I'm going to chart how long I last - and what the effects are.

4) I might write about the alternatives - how can I enter the Zone without diet cola?

5) Other stuff too.