Diet? Drinks

Interesting…

Okay, lets talk diet drinks.

Again, the CDC would have you believe it’s only calories that count. Diet Sodas should be a freebee right? I mean, they have no calories right?

I’d read some internet grumblings about diet soda possibly interfering with the weight loss dynamic, but no real reasoning as to why. Studies that indicate a definate relationship between consumption of the products and problems with weight gain, but no published conclusions as to what was going on. There have also been grumblings of nerve disorders, inflammation, and other issues. I’ve also seen more than one news story about the caffeine in coffee or tea being better for you than the caffeine in sodas, but again, no complete explanation as to why. What gives here?

Rational, real information is difficult to come by as it is broadly polarized. On one side, you have the marketing hype. Billion dollar industrial giants spewing glowing marketing copy mixed with occasional threats of lawsuits and finiancial ruin for anybody that says otherwise.

On the other side you have your “tin-foil hat” guys talking about huge conspiracies that involve everything from softdrink companies wanting to make a quick buck to alien races seeking some sort of chemical mind control. Oh, and in that vein apparently the internet folks think that the current administration is an alien race seeking to suck up our brains, but I digress. So do they…come to think of it.

I just want to lose weight.

So…one email I got about starting up this diet thing said something along the lines of, “OMG! You lost 10 pounds in two days! That’s cool! Man! You could lose all 150 pounds in only a MONTH!”

Yeah. Right. Let’s get real.

However, the 10 pounds is an interesting thing. You know what I did to lose 10 pounds in one weekend?

I cut my consumption of diet sodas by 2/3. That was the only change I made. I replaced that consumption with about half iced tea and half water. That’s it. 10 pounds.

Clearly, more is going on here than calories. I’m not going to bother with massive research and pitched battles against aliens and softdrink companies to find out what or why…but it is food (or drink) for thought.