A question for the doctor
Hey Todd, I have a question. I was wondering about diet drinks and sugar free drinks like Crystal Light. I am tired of water all the time. I used to drink milk quite a bit, but now drink it minimally because it is 100 calories per cup. Anyway, I was wondering what you know about diet drinks. I have heard some people say they are fine, that because there are no calories it doesn't matter. On the other hand I have heard that the artificial sweeteners sort of trick your body, and make you hungrier. Also, how bad are artificial sweeteners for you. I am just getting tired of water all the time, wondering what good alternatives I have, if any. Thanks. It sure is nice to have another doctor in the family.
posted by Tammy @ 10:32 AM
3 Comments:
Tammy, I am not the doctor so take this for what it is worth. I have heard that it is the carbonation in soda that makes even diet sodas bad for you. There was an article in the newspaper, I think, that said carbonation takes away your calcium and/ or available oxygen. Don't you like how well I remember details?
Tammy, this is a complicated issue. First, as far as I know, Crystal Light is fine and you can drink as much as you want. Artificial sweeteners are considered safe now-a-days after the cancer scare in the 80's.
Soda is a lot tougher to answer. Of course, you should absolutely stay away from any soda that is not diet because it's sugar water. As for the other things, I have always heard the same thing about soda, that it leeches calcium. But in doing research on it, the only evidence is in a few studies that show that teenage girls who drink large quantities of soda have lower bone density. But, most people think this is simply because they drink less milk. This was also an observational study which means it is interesting but considered scientifically less valid because there are too many variables.
Here is my belief, so take it for what it's worth. Carbonation is just carbon dioxide injected into a liquid. Our body makes lots of carbon dioxide every day and it doesn't destory our bones. And we could breath off the small amount of carbondioxide in a soda without too much trouble. Not to mention that there is carbon dioxide in the air we breath which we are constantly swallowing. But, I could be wrong, so who really knows? Regardless you should be taking calcium and vitamin D supplements.
What we do know for sure is that in many people, soda causes GERD (Gastroesophogeal reflux disease), otherwise known as heartburn. You can actually have heart burn without the burning sensation where your only symptom is a cough.
I have never noticed any GERD symptoms when I drink soda, so I drink diet soda with some regularity. I have cut back recently, but I still drink it when it's available.
Though it was probably more confusing than anything, I hope that was at least a little helpful.
By the way, I'm not a doctor quite yet. Give me two and a half more weeks!
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