The International Agency for Research on Cancer identified a possible link between aspartame and a type of liver cancer called hepatocellular carcinoma.
I’d make a strong argument that one Diet Coke a day is still healthier even if it’s carcinogenic vs one regular coke everyday. Sugar is that bad for you.
Neither Coke nor Diet Coke are nutritious. Whether one or the other is a risk is specific to a person, and aspartame as well as other sweeteners aren’t fully understood in terms of risk.
I think these kind of simplistic statements serve to stoke fears around food than actually help people understand them. Added / excess sugar is associated to health risks but ultimately people need to understand their own health as individuals.
Here’s a Healthline article (by no means an authority but still fairly informative) to help expand.
Sugar is incredibly addictive, non-nutritious yet high in caloric content, unfilling, causes highs and crashes reminiscent of drugs, and overuse of sugar in modern food is a major promoter of obesity. As with all types of food, sugar is fine in moderation. I consume plenty of sugar. However, if you rely on it too much for your daily calories then you won’t get enough of any other macronutrients such as fat, protein, and fiber, and you’ll get almost no micronutrients like vitamins. Sugar is also converted to energy incredibly quickly by the body, which is a good thing in many cases (like when you need a quick burst of energy at breakfast time, provided you balance it out with things like protein), but also leads you to get hungry quickly after eating it and eat some more, causing you to get fat, and wasting your money. When your body gets used to large amounts of sugar it also starts to crave it like a drug user craves drugs.
Oh ya, it’s also in just about everything these days, especially in America. It’s not even the tasty kind that comes from sugarcane, they just use corn syrup. Thank you, corn lobby!
It’s worth noting that we’ve also ruined many fruits through breeding and generic engineering so that they have a massively increased amount of sugar. They won’t be as ‘healthy’ as wild varieties, but hot damn do they taste good.
Yes, it is energy. And you do require it. I said that. It’s the fact that we eat too much of it and not enough of everything else that’s the problem. Cut sugar from your diet for a few weeks and then eat it in moderation alongside other things, and your health and quality of life will skyrocket. You wouldn’t live off of pineapples, would you?
Sugar itself is not particularly harmful. Most foods we eat naturally contains sugar.
What’s really harmful are sugary drinks, such as regular soda, fruit juices, and sweet coffee based drinks.
The problem comes from how quickly the sugar is absorbed into the blood stream. Regular foods containing sugar such as fruits release the sugar slowly as they are broken down and digested. Sugary drinks however are pure dissolved sugar which is absorbed incredibly rapidly.
It causes a rapid blood glucose spike which is followed by an insulin spike. Having that as a regular occurance is devastating to your body, and can lead to some terrible conditions like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes.
I see someone else who’s part of the keto crew. Sugar (and carbs) are goddamn awful for people and it is infuriating to see how so many people still focus on the amount of fat in foods, which to a large degree is meaningless. Sugar is the killer.
Sugar (and carbs) are not awful for people. Anything is awful in too large a quantity, including fat. Fat is not meaningless. You cannot speak in absolutes, or near absolutes, when it comes to nutrition.
I think that’s the general conclusion. Diet coke is better than regular coke and may satisfy a sweet tooth. If you can handle stevia that could be even better than aspartame - its slightly more potent and afaik not absorbed into the body at all. But like drinking water is probably even better in most cases, it just doesn’t satisfy cravings for people that have them.
I’d make a strong argument that one Diet Coke a day is still healthier even if it’s carcinogenic vs one regular coke everyday. Sugar is that bad for you.
Also the concentration of aspartame in diet coke is way less than the amount of sugar in regular Coke
Neither Coke nor Diet Coke are nutritious. Whether one or the other is a risk is specific to a person, and aspartame as well as other sweeteners aren’t fully understood in terms of risk.
I think these kind of simplistic statements serve to stoke fears around food than actually help people understand them. Added / excess sugar is associated to health risks but ultimately people need to understand their own health as individuals.
Here’s a Healthline article (by no means an authority but still fairly informative) to help expand.
https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/sugar-facts-scientific#8.-Going-on-a-low–or-no-sugar-diet-will-help-you-lose-weight.-
20 diet cokes a day is healthier* than 1 regular coke a day. Sugary drinks are that bad for you.
*ignoring the possible bad effects of drinking 20 cans of any carbonated water.
Bad in what respect?
Sugar is incredibly addictive, non-nutritious yet high in caloric content, unfilling, causes highs and crashes reminiscent of drugs, and overuse of sugar in modern food is a major promoter of obesity. As with all types of food, sugar is fine in moderation. I consume plenty of sugar. However, if you rely on it too much for your daily calories then you won’t get enough of any other macronutrients such as fat, protein, and fiber, and you’ll get almost no micronutrients like vitamins. Sugar is also converted to energy incredibly quickly by the body, which is a good thing in many cases (like when you need a quick burst of energy at breakfast time, provided you balance it out with things like protein), but also leads you to get hungry quickly after eating it and eat some more, causing you to get fat, and wasting your money. When your body gets used to large amounts of sugar it also starts to crave it like a drug user craves drugs.
Oh ya, it’s also in just about everything these days, especially in America. It’s not even the tasty kind that comes from sugarcane, they just use corn syrup. Thank you, corn lobby!
Not to mention the horrendous inflammation it causes too
The sugar in a pineapple isn’t nutritious either. It’s energy, which you require.
love me some pineapple juice
I tend to avoid sugar but I figure sugar directly from a fruit is acceptable (within moderation of course)
It’s worth noting that we’ve also ruined many fruits through breeding and generic engineering so that they have a massively increased amount of sugar. They won’t be as ‘healthy’ as wild varieties, but hot damn do they taste good.
Yes, it is energy. And you do require it. I said that. It’s the fact that we eat too much of it and not enough of everything else that’s the problem. Cut sugar from your diet for a few weeks and then eat it in moderation alongside other things, and your health and quality of life will skyrocket. You wouldn’t live off of pineapples, would you?
Sugar itself is not particularly harmful. Most foods we eat naturally contains sugar.
What’s really harmful are sugary drinks, such as regular soda, fruit juices, and sweet coffee based drinks.
The problem comes from how quickly the sugar is absorbed into the blood stream. Regular foods containing sugar such as fruits release the sugar slowly as they are broken down and digested. Sugary drinks however are pure dissolved sugar which is absorbed incredibly rapidly.
It causes a rapid blood glucose spike which is followed by an insulin spike. Having that as a regular occurance is devastating to your body, and can lead to some terrible conditions like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and diabetes.
I see someone else who’s part of the keto crew. Sugar (and carbs) are goddamn awful for people and it is infuriating to see how so many people still focus on the amount of fat in foods, which to a large degree is meaningless. Sugar is the killer.
Sugar (and carbs) are not awful for people. Anything is awful in too large a quantity, including fat. Fat is not meaningless. You cannot speak in absolutes, or near absolutes, when it comes to nutrition.
I mean in this specific case nutritionally soda is just bad for you. We’re talking about beverages that have 20 to 40 grams of sugar in them
The thread is already full of ketobros
It’s in more food products than just coke
I think that’s the general conclusion. Diet coke is better than regular coke and may satisfy a sweet tooth. If you can handle stevia that could be even better than aspartame - its slightly more potent and afaik not absorbed into the body at all. But like drinking water is probably even better in most cases, it just doesn’t satisfy cravings for people that have them.
Thanks, corporate! I wouldn’t know how to think without you!