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Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

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Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#31

Post by tbrownaw »

mikeyouse wrote: post #3

The key results from the paper: After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04). Consumption of 100% fruit juice was marginally associated with longer telomeres (b = 0.016; 95% CI = −0.000, 0.033; P = .05). No significant associations were observed betwe…

Their confidence intervals include 0 or nearly-0, their P-values are at or near the .05 cutoff, and they tested a bunch of different things and got results on a few that don't really make sense.

In related news, green jelly beans cause acne: https://xkcd.com/882/

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#32

Post by bri3d »

ep103 wrote: post #26
stealthlogic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are studies that link Diet Soda to other vascular risks. http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_pos... There are also studies emerging which link artificial sweeteners to Diabetes. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/17/artificial-sw...

I think its generally understood that most artificial sweeteners are seen as sugar by the body, but don't actually get turned into sugar in the bloodstream. So it makes sense that it might contribute to diabetes (your body digests it like sugar), but not aging (which is accelerated by sugar in the bloodstream). I believe the whole point of coke 0 is that it doesn't use an artificial sweetener? But don't quote me on t…

Coke Zero for the US market still uses aspartame, the same sweetener used in Diet Coke.

Coke Zero is a more modern formulation which is supposed to taste more like "classic" Coke than Diet, which has its own distinctive "artificial" flavor which some customers have become accustomed to. It's also marketed very squarely towards young men: during the recent "Share a Coke with X" campaign, there was even a "Share a Coke Zero with a BRO" can, which made me laugh a bit.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#33

Post by bengarvey »

ep103 wrote: post #26
stealthlogic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are studies that link Diet Soda to other vascular risks. http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_pos... There are also studies emerging which link artificial sweeteners to Diabetes. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/17/artificial-sw...

I think its generally understood that most artificial sweeteners are seen as sugar by the body, but don't actually get turned into sugar in the bloodstream. So it makes sense that it might contribute to diabetes (your body digests it like sugar), but not aging (which is accelerated by sugar in the bloodstream). I believe the whole point of coke 0 is that it doesn't use an artificial sweetener? But don't quote me on t…

Coke Zero definitely uses Aspartame

Source: The can I'm drinking right now.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#34

Post by novalis78 »

boydjd wrote: post #25
geoka9 wrote: post #9

It's hard for me to understand the whole soda phenomenon in Canada and the US. Is it as addictive as cigarettes? Does it make you crave for more? Or it simply tastes so good that you can't get enough of it? Why not eat a bunch of apples instead (if you don't care about the amount of sugar you consume)? Wouldn't they taste better?

What are you drinking instead of soda in your country?

That question - in and by itself - gives you away as an American. As a central European who grew up on water, fruit juice (80-60% water thinned) and tea (green, herb and on and off black) it made me chuckle. I have never seen so much soda consumption anywhere on this planet before coming to the US.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#35

Post by ssmoot »

ep103 wrote: post #26
stealthlogic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are studies that link Diet Soda to other vascular risks. http://www.miami.edu/index.php/news/releases/study_finds_pos... There are also studies emerging which link artificial sweeteners to Diabetes. http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/sep/17/artificial-sw...

I think its generally understood that most artificial sweeteners are seen as sugar by the body, but don't actually get turned into sugar in the bloodstream. So it makes sense that it might contribute to diabetes (your body digests it like sugar), but not aging (which is accelerated by sugar in the bloodstream). I believe the whole point of coke 0 is that it doesn't use an artificial sweetener? But don't quote me on t…

I could be wrong, but I thought Coke Zero was just the name for Diet Coke with Sucralose instead of Aspartame.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#36

Post by novalis78 »

orclev wrote: post #30
brandonl222 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably because mass consumption of carrots isn't a top public health issue? If consumption of carrots rivaled that of soda I'd be willing to bet there would be more studies on it just the same as there are studies on various other foods such as red meat, egg cholesterol, fish oil, etc.

Actually mass consumption of carrots can cause your skin to develop an orange tint (seriously, not joking here).

...and is being used by people who try to tan their skin.

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#37

Post by josephpmay »

geoka9 wrote: post #9

It's hard for me to understand the whole soda phenomenon in Canada and the US. Is it as addictive as cigarettes? Does it make you crave for more? Or it simply tastes so good that you can't get enough of it? Why not eat a bunch of apples instead (if you don't care about the amount of sugar you consume)? Wouldn't they taste better?

A couple of factors that I can think of:

1) Sugar is addicting, and there is significantly more sugar in soda than other drinks [Google it]

2) Soda is very refreshing. This is important in warmer climates. If it is 98 degrees outside (37C), an orange Fanta does a much better job of making me feel better than just water

3) Soda is available everywhere and is the de-facto drink with most meals. Just like Italians drink wine with dinner, Americans have soda. This is perhaps the most important factor: If everyone is drinking soda, why wouldn't you?

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#39

Post by izzo »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #27
mikeyouse wrote: post #3

The key results from the paper: After adjustment for sociodemographic and health-related characteristics, sugar-sweetened soda consumption was associated with shorter telomeres (b = –0.010; 95% confidence interval [CI] = −0.020, −0.001; P = .04). Consumption of 100% fruit juice was marginally associated with longer telomeres (b = 0.016; 95% CI = −0.000, 0.033; P = .05). No significant associations were observed betwe…

> So they saw 'aging' with sugar-sweetened soda, the opposite with fruit juice, and no significant difference with diet sodas or non-carbonated sugary sodas. What compounds in soda are most likely causing this? If they're not seeing the results in fruit juice, its not sugar causing the damage.

possibly sodium benzoate: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21130826

Re: Soda May Age You as Much as Smoking

#40

Post by johnward »

geoka9 wrote: post #9

It's hard for me to understand the whole soda phenomenon in Canada and the US. Is it as addictive as cigarettes? Does it make you crave for more? Or it simply tastes so good that you can't get enough of it? Why not eat a bunch of apples instead (if you don't care about the amount of sugar you consume)? Wouldn't they taste better?

For me it's not the sugar it's the caffeine. Also the taste and bubbles. But caffeine is a physical addiction that is literally painful to break.
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