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Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

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Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#41
post #6

This is probably a crazy idea: drink less soda. When it comes to pop, I usually stick to cola - and when it's cola I'll never buy it unless it is made with real cane sugar. Boom, potential side effects of artificial sweeteners are gone, and the drink tastes way better. And just drink more water. Why is this so hard for people?

You're ignoring all the well-known health hazards of consuming sugar/corn syrup that aren't present in zero-calorie substitutes. Do you even understand why the substitutes exist? Your comment suggests you don't.

The substitutes are to help sell more soda. To sell the notion that you can drink sweet syrupy drinks without being unhealthy.

I think the parent understands. I don't think the comment is directed at soda companies or researchers, but the consumers leery of artificial sweeteners.

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is there any reason not to just use artificial sweeteners besides unfounded fears in the public? artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and promote weight gain http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/pdf/yjbm... Aspartame and depression: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8373935 SURVEY OF ASPARTAME STUDIES: CORRELATION OF OUTCOME AND FUNDING SOURCES http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html >And would all th…

> artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and promote weight gain I do not see evidence or argument in your link to support your summary. The closest I found was mention of a large observational study where people that were observed to became fatter used more sugar substitute. The difference between the groups of +2lbs was statistically significant, but seems irrelevant given the obvious observational confound of pe…

[deleted]

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is there any reason not to just use artificial sweeteners besides unfounded fears in the public? artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and promote weight gain http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892765/pdf/yjbm... Aspartame and depression: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8373935 SURVEY OF ASPARTAME STUDIES: CORRELATION OF OUTCOME AND FUNDING SOURCES http://www.dorway.com/peerrev.html >And would all th…

>artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and promote weight gain Just like all studies seeking to link artificial sweeteners to weight gain, it's a correlational argument that is not specific to artificial sweeteners. The "neurobiology of food reward" is the exact same for sugar and artificial sweeteners unless you happen to be purposefully depriving yourself of calories, in which case the sweetener cannot be blamed…

>The "neurobiology of food reward" is the exact same for sugar and artificial sweeteners

i beg your pardon. With sugar you're pretty much getting the glucose injection into bloodstream, all the energy producing machinery starts working and you get the feeling of your body being fed. There is no such blood-glucose level feedback in case of artificial sweeteners. So whatever havoc they wreck, i stay out of it :)

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're ignoring all the well-known health hazards of consuming sugar/corn syrup that aren't present in zero-calorie substitutes. Do you even understand why the substitutes exist? Your comment suggests you don't.

The substitutes are to help sell more soda. To sell the notion that you can drink sweet syrupy drinks without being unhealthy. I think the parent understands. I don't think the comment is directed at soda companies or researchers, but the consumers leery of artificial sweeteners.

[deleted]

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#45
post #6

This is probably a crazy idea: drink less soda. When it comes to pop, I usually stick to cola - and when it's cola I'll never buy it unless it is made with real cane sugar. Boom, potential side effects of artificial sweeteners are gone, and the drink tastes way better. And just drink more water. Why is this so hard for people?

"When it comes to pop, I usually stick to cola..." As someone not from the Northeastern USA what does that even mean? Pop, cola, soda and more regularly "coke" (the word not the brand) are all used to refer to soft drinks in general.

In this case, "cola" indicates a particular flavor[1] of soft drink (Coca-Cola and Pepsi being the most popular).

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kola_nut

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#46
post #6

This is probably a crazy idea: drink less soda. When it comes to pop, I usually stick to cola - and when it's cola I'll never buy it unless it is made with real cane sugar. Boom, potential side effects of artificial sweeteners are gone, and the drink tastes way better. And just drink more water. Why is this so hard for people?

Most people don't have your iron willpower or particular sweetener preferences.

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> artificial sweeteners stimulate appetite and promote weight gain I do not see evidence or argument in your link to support your summary. The closest I found was mention of a large observational study where people that were observed to became fatter used more sugar substitute. The difference between the groups of +2lbs was statistically significant, but seems irrelevant given the obvious observational confound of pe…

Take it up with the author. My point was to dispute the GP poster's assertion that random public persons' concerns are unfounded. The existence of such studies absent a firm conclusion from the studies makes it an open question.

I'm sorry, this is completely ridiculous.

You are literally saying that since the article you chose to cite does not support your argument, that I should instead go argue with the author of the peer-reviewed journal article? Really?!? That's the best defense of your argument you can muster?

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#48
For me, I see no real value in the 33%-less-sugar Stevia-sweetened drinks like Coca-Cola Life. To me, they taste distinctly unlike the full-calorie versions, but with 2/3 the sugar, they are still something I'd prefer to avoid. Maybe it's positioned for people who hate diet soda and have just enough willpower to avoid full-calorie soda, and need a little excuse to push them over to a drink that tastes somewhat better than diet soda and somewhat worse than regular. I wonder how many of those people there are.

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're ignoring all the well-known health hazards of consuming sugar/corn syrup that aren't present in zero-calorie substitutes. Do you even understand why the substitutes exist? Your comment suggests you don't.

The substitutes are to help sell more soda. To sell the notion that you can drink sweet syrupy drinks without being unhealthy. I think the parent understands. I don't think the comment is directed at soda companies or researchers, but the consumers leery of artificial sweeteners.

You, too, have ignored my point about sugar being unhealthy. It's not the fact that soda tastes "sweet" or "syrupy"; it's the fact that it's loaded with calories from sugar.

Re: Scientists Are Racing to Build a Better Diet Soda

#50

For me, I see no real value in the 33%-less-sugar Stevia-sweetened drinks like Coca-Cola Life. To me, they taste distinctly unlike the full-calorie versions, but with 2/3 the sugar, they are still something I'd prefer to avoid. Maybe it's positioned for people who hate diet soda and have just enough willpower to avoid full-calorie soda, and need a little excuse to push them over to a drink that tastes somewhat better…

I have a son who like it. So there's at least 1.
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