We’ve all seen the headlines claiming that “Diet Soda Raises Diabetes Risk!” Even the American Diabetes Association is touting how diet sodas can lead to metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. But that claim — and other health claims like it — are also frequently debunked or dismissed. For those of us already living with diabetes (especially type 1), does it even matter if diet sodas might cause type 2?
Well… since March is National Nutrition Month, we’re taking a look at some issues around what PWDs consume. And a lot of us consume a lot of diet soda, let’s face it.
These drinks are a mainstay for many of us PWDs thanks to their zero affect on our blood sugars. But there may still be cause for concern over some other important health issues.
Right off the bat we should note that research into diet soda consumption and the stuff in them is still in its infancy. Some studies say it’s bad and other studies say that it’s… well, not exactly good, but not as bad as some think. Here’s what we found and we’ll leave the final judgment up to you:
Heart Health Risks + More
If you think you’re off the hook with the whole “diet soda might be bad for you” debate just because you’ve already got diabetes, think again! Research now indicates that those who consume diet soda daily are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. According to data presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in 2011, researchers studied 2,564 participants and found those who drank diet soda every day were at a 48% higher risk of having a stroke or other vascular incident than those who didn’t drink it at all. As we’ve shared in our 411 series on diabetes complications, cardiovascular issues are nothing to mess around with when you have diabetes (of either type!).
Now, this doesn’t necessarily show causality, as Dr. Hannah Gardener, one of the researchers at the University of Miami, explained. Further studies, she says, are needed to show what exactly about diet soda is causing cardiovascular disease in these patients. But research would indicate that diet sodas are not necessarily the best daily beverage choice for us PWDs, despite their null effect on blood sugars.
Diet soda might not contain a PWD’s nemesis, Sugar, but it does contain sodium, phosphate, and usually caffeine (unless you make sure to get caffeine-free). Phosphate in high doses can have a negative effect on the health of your bones. Sodium and caffeine can cause dehydration, making you more thirsty, making you drink more diet soda, causing more dehydration… you see where this is going?
Diet Soda and Weight Gain
Weird as it sounds, research seems to confirm that there is a significant correlation between drinking diet sodas and weight gain. There’s that word again, correlation, so it’s difficult to say that diet soda causes weight gain, but the two do seem to show up in pairs far more often than you’d think.
A 2009 study in the journal Diabetes Care offers some suggestions as to why this connection occurs: 1) diet sodas may increase our desire and then consumption of “sugar-sweetened, energy-dense beverages/foods,” i.e. our bodies react by craving more food, or 2) drinking these beverages may “disrupt consumers’ ability to accurately estimate energy intake and remaining energy needs,” i.e. we lose the ability to estimate how much food we actually need. On the other hand, some experts think that many folks who drink a lot of diet soda are already overweight and are drinking diet soda to lose weight, and therefore are already at risk for hypertension, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
A bizarre thing worth noting is that in this study, which looked at folks who drank diet soda only versus those who drank regular soda only (as well as folks who drank both), researchers found that those who drank primarily diet soda were likely former smokers and had higher fasting blood sugar, blood pressure, and larger waistlines. They also were likely to have metabolic syndrome (sort of a pre-curser for type 2 diabetes). Those who drank regular soda were more likely to smoke and also eat more carbohydrates, but ironically, they were less likely to have type 2 diabetes or high cholesterol. Huh?
To Drink or Not To Drink
At the end of the day, all these studies really show are correlations in lifestyle habits, not necessarily cause-and-effect. We’re not here to give medical advice, but the folks at Joslin Diabetes Center seem to think drinking diet soda in moderation is A-OK for now — moderation being the key word (are you listening, Scotty J?)
Nora Saul, a CDE and Manager of Nutritional Education, writes on Joslin’s blog, “If you decide to drink diet soda, do so in moderation and be careful of calories coming from other sources. And, if it’s a choice between regular soda and diet soda for people with diabetes, the diet soda still wins, at least until we have some conclusive proof that it is dangerous.”
Quitting the Good Stuff
It’s no secret that the DOC is addicted to diet soda. Some of us are card-carrying members of the Diet Coke Lifetime Fan Club. But if the risk for cardiovascular problems and the chemical ingredients are enough of a reason for you to decide to call it quits, how do you do it? Some folks actually claim that drinking diet soda can be come a full-fledged addiction!
It’s true that the addiction isn’t quite as severe or health-damaging as nicotine, but research shows that the caffeine and the routine of drinking soda can really hook someone.
There are various tips and methods for breaking any addiction. Unfortunately, unlike cigarettes, there’s no Diet Coke-patch, but here are a few suggestions that might help:
- Go cold turkey… or taper down. Be sure you pick the approach that fits your personality, or you know this is going nowhere.
- Replace it with another beverage. Easier said than done, right? But isn’t it true that you often reach for the diet soda just because you’re thirsty? For some people (including myself), water can “taste” bad, so try using flavored water packets like Crystal Light Pure (made with Stevia) or squeeze some lemon in. Or try drinking iced tea? If you’re craving the bubbly (carbonation), try substituting soda water or mineral water for regular tap water. It can give you the sensation that you’re drinking something “more.”
- Arm yourself for withdrawal. If you’re relying on diet soda for your caffeine fix, you may need to pop an ibuprofen to quell the headache. And go to bed earlier.
Do I sound like your mom yet?
OK, so has anyone out there successfully cut diet sodas out of your life yet? Amy’s pretty addicted, but I’ve managed to do OK by just not keeping it in the house. So if you managed to quit, we’d like to know how did it… Or are you simply a die-hard fanatic?
I try not to have it often, just for special occasions or those rare times when I’m really high and water tastes gross (you know what I’m talking about!)
I cut down slowly and then started drinking water with lemon. I think there are a lot of reasons not to drink too much of any type of soda. Too much carbonated water isn’t good for us, either. And caffeine is dehydrating.
Oh and if you drink a lot of diet soda, it WILL have a small impact on your blood sugars.
I like the soda that has stevia as it’s sweetener, it’s delicious! -It’s called Zevia.
For health, we do best to avoid or at least limit any chemicals and to stay hydrated via water. I think it’s as simple as that.
Other than drinking water or cystal light, I found that sugar-free VITAZEST packets taste better and also have loads of Vitamins & minerals. They also have NO Sodium or phosphates. The VITAZEST Company also has the logo of the Diabetes Research Institute on all their packaging and contribute funds with every purchase. They sell it online in places like amazon and their own site, search them out, they are the best drinking option for people with diabetes.
I’m currently addicted to Mio. When it first came out, I was like, it’s about time they invented something like this! What I love about them is that they come in a variety of flavors, they’re sugar-free, and you control how much to drop in your drink, so you can save money big-time by only using 1-2 drops per drink. I still like my diet pop, though, and find nothing wrong with it as long as there is no sugar. When I feel dehydrated, I just drink the mios with water.
I had a diet coke addiction in college. I’m so glad I beat it. I didn’t quit because one study or another frightened me. I just realized that I feel a lot better when I drink water, or sparkling water. And since the college days I’ve definitely learned that a glass of wine goes much better with dinner than a diet coke
. As for how to quit, here are a few ideas: keep it out of your home, carry a bottle of water with you all the time so you don’t get thirsty, and if there are certain foods that you always eat with a diet soda, try to eat something else. Yogurt, for example. Soda and yogurt are not a good combo 
.
I quit drinking pop altogether, about 20 years ago, by focusing on how it made me feel. The sugary pops made me thirsty (I was pre-diabetic at the time), and the sugar-free ones gave me a headache. Everytime I wanted to drink one, I asked myself if it was worth the side effects. Another thing that I noticed was that water only tasted bad after I had a pop. It tasted fine otherwise.
I haven’t had a diet coke (or any cola beverage) for over a year. I cut down, then out, in stages. Unfortunately, I still drink cheap lemon-lime beverages.
try lime and soda water. It’s a really nice drink, i have invested in a soda stream for those bad days
good luck
There are so many unknowns about all of those chemicals that make up a can of Diet Coke or whatever pop you’re drinking that it makes me nervous to drink it.
People, especially diabetics, need to be conscious of what they are putting in their bodies – REAL food is what we are meant to eat, and pop definitely isn’t real, no matter how “natural” they make it sound.
In the last 1.5 years or so, I’ve had pop ONCE and it was gross since it had been so long since I’d had it!
In the last few weeks I’ve almost entirely cut out diet soda – funny you mentioned the Crystal Light Pure stuff; I’m hooked on it! That, and Diet Arizona Peach Tea. This, and the exercise I’m getting, are making noticable differences in both weight and bgs. Wins all around!
To balance out this thread, I am a certified card-carrying diet-caffeine-free-soda addict. I eat low carb. I limit high fat foods because I have no gallbladder. That is a lot of restrictions on diet! Don’t even me started on food allergies either..,.
Sure diet pepsi is a vice – but in light of all the other restrictions on my life, I’m willing to say, “No, I am keeping this vice, back off!”
I exercise, eat a plethora of good healthy fats (nuts, etc), and lots of veggies – so diet pepsi for me is here to stay.
Clarification: I’m “addicted” only in the sense that I get cravings in the late afternoons when I’m at work. Diet Coke is my carb-free “pick me up” and helps keep me from snacking on other stuff. But I don’t keep it in the house either! That would be too tempting to overdose on the stuff.
Oh, and I’m with Jessica: it’s wine all the way with dinner.
I cut it out in late September and dropped five pounds fast. Then I started having a little here and a little there, leading to back to an everyday habit earlier this month. Not surprised those five pounds are back, so I’m done with diet soda again.
I cut out diet soda when they went from saccharin to aspartame as a sweetener. It took lab rats saccharin to the equivalent of 3000 cans of Tab to cause cancer — who drinks 3000 cans of soda a day?! But there were many more alarms with aspartame, including the (very real) issues for people with phenylketonuria (PKU). While, thankfully, I don’t have PKU, my understanding was that aspartame could cause issues if one’s kidneys were already stressed by pregnancy, kidney stones, kidney disease, or diabetes. I don’t drink aspartame if I can avoid it, and I counsel anyone who will listen to avoid it as well.
I haven’t heard anything pro or con about acesulfame potassium (“Ace K”), another popular non-sugar sweetener, so I don’t avoid it.
Very few popular beverages or water additives are sweetened with sucralose or stevia. Of those I tend towards Propel fitness water when I can’t find Ultima Replenisher (both of these are for electrolyte replacement during exercise). Vintage makes a sucralose-sweetened lemonade-like beverage (also sold under Aldi’s house brand) which I like to mix with seltzer. For normal drinking, it’s water, seltzer (including flavored seltzers), or coffee (black, no sugar), or seltzer with a lemon squeezed into it (no sweetener). I’ll drink orange juice either to treat a low or (if it’s fresh-squeezed) as a treat.
FWIW, when I was a teenager, standard pig-out was monster bags of chips with two-liter bottles of Tab (our generation’s Diet Coke).
Weird as it sounds, research seems to confirm that there is a significant correlation between drinking diet sodas and weight gain.
The study says Of course, the findings aren’t directly translatable to humans, but the researchers think they’re still meaningful.
Controversy developed when, in 1966, a study reported that some intestinal bacteria could desulfonate cyclamate to produce cyclohexylamine, a compound suspected to have some chronic toxicity in animals. Further research resulted in a 1969 study that found the common 10:1 cyclamate:saccharin mixture to increase the incidence of bladder cancer in rats. The released study was showing that eight out of 240 rats fed a mixture of saccharin and cyclamates, at levels of humans ingesting 350 cans of diet soda per day, developed bladder tumors.
That there may be things about diet pop that are not especially good for you -perhaps.
Diet soda and weight gain, I think that is a huge stretch. I drink diet soda, and have lost 48 pounds over the last 5 years.
I followed the diet I was given at Dx, which was about 180 grams of carbohydrate a day. I gained about 50 pounds in the next 12 years.
I lowered my carbohydrate intake to 80 a day, and lost 35 pounds in 8 months (now down 48 pounds 5 years later.
That is just a correlation too, but a heck of a lot more convincing than a 0 carbohydrate 0 calorie drink causing significant weight gain.
-Lloyd
I never drank soda very much at all, UNTIL my diagnosis with Type I diabetes in 1972. Then I had at least one can every day, for decades. Some days I had two cans. In 1999 I gave up diet soda entirely, and switched to water.Then I decided I missed it. I have re-introduced it, but I drink no more than 3 of those mini-cans per week. My favorite is Diet Dr. Pepper, and it’s not ever available at eating establishments anyway (not that I ever trust diet soda on tap!)
How can anyone drink Diet Coke?! That stuff doesn’t even taste like Coke. At least Diet Pepsi actually tastes like Pepsi. I don’t drink either, but when I do want a sugary-tasting drink I have some of the Safeway sugar-free drink mixes (Crystal Light knock-offs). The more complex the flavor, the more you can’t tell it’s sugar-free. Pink Lemonade’s my favorite. Unfortunately, Safeway doesn’t make a Fruit Punch, so when I want that I buy Crystal Light. I don’t drink enough of it to worry about any side effects.
I’m type 1 and cut out all artificial sweeteners and diet sodas for Lent this year (2012). It’s been a real eye-opener. I’ve increased my coffee consumption, opting for more cream to make the taste better. Coffee in the afternoon now is necessary to get the caffeine (the Starbucks instant VIA coffee is great, but expensive). I drink unsweetened iced tea when available. I did have one diet soda when it was my only choice one afternoon about a week ago and it tasted SOO SWEET I thought it was regular. You get used to it. I’m sure I could get used to water and black coffee soon, if I wanted. Easter is coming, so it’s decision time! I think I’m going to stick with the artificial-sweetener-free lifestyle. I feel better about my health.
I enjoy my diet Dr. Pepper too much to give it up. I’ve looked to other things like Crystal Light, but they just aren’t the same thing. I rarely drink more than one a day and I honestly think that the enjoyment that I get is worth a small amt of risk. When you’re watching your carbs, fats, and now salt, there are very few choices of food are drink that are completely guilt free. And I’m to old and stubborn to eat or drink things that I just don’t like.
all food is bad for us and we’re gonna die.
That is how I feel when I read reports about diet soda, soda, food in general.
I find that YOU have to find what works for YOU and your diabetes whether you are type 1 or 2.
The world is crazy enough.
Very Interesting article. You learn something new everyday. Diet Soda causing weight gain is kinda weird, but I can see the “correlation”
While my family snarf down large fries and milk shakes and ice cream sundaes dripping with caramel and chocolate sauce [which they insist they could never live without], they remonstrate me for sipping the Diet Coke which “caused my diabetes.” Just because I’m carrying an umbrella doesn’t mean I made it rain. Correlation should not be confused with cause and effect.
And I’ve been told by medical professionals that “Everyone who goes on insulin gets fat.” Should I stop or cut back!?
Smoking causes weight loss. So do amputations? The neck weighs over 10 pounds.
Stress causes diabetes. Let’s not stress over the ridiculous.
http://www.physiciansbriefing.com/Article.asp?AID=662835
According to this article, diet pop has a blood sugar lowering effect for Type 1s.
So I’ll believe these results
I was totally addicted to diet coke for several years. I didn’t drink much else. I got tired of drinking all the chemicals so I had a bottle of water with me at all times to get off it. I made herb mint tea that I would dilute with lots of water with no sweetener, or just a tiny bit of sweetener. Now I’m drinking crystal lite peach tea, coffee with flavored creamer during work, and water. I never tasted the stevia sweetened crystal lite, but stevia is what we use for sweetener at home. I’d like to change from regular crystal lite. I will have diet come when going out. But that’s not that often. I didn’t seem to have bad withdrawal symptoms that I recall.
I was an addict during college drinking up to 3 cans a day. I would get headaches, belly aches, etc. I quit cold turkey and instantly felt 200% better within 2 weeks. I’ll never never go back to any kind of soda.
I also have heard that police use diet soda to remove blood stains from payment. Does anyone know if this is true? The argument this person had was that if Diet Coke is strong enough to clean blood off pavement, then why would you even consider putting it in your body.
I drank Diet Coke for 52 years. One to two a day. Then they started tasting flat. A year and a half ago I got a water filter pitcher for the fridge and started drinking water. I found it to be delicious!! I now may have a diet Ginger Ale once every 3 months with some food that really calls for it. Popcorn or something like that.
[...] [...]
[...] http://www.diabetesmine.com/2012/03/whats-so-bad-about-diet-soda.html [...]
[...] http://www.diabetesmine.com/2012/03/whats-so-bad-about-diet-soda.html [...]
[...] type two diabetes diet can be eased by allowing gumar (gymnema) to act as the" sugar destroyer". Type Two Diabetes Diet and Gymnema, a Destroyer – How They Relate When looking at Americans from the…ern states are more laid back in their ways. You may also notice we fancy, as a country, the type [...]
It’s really my only vice.
In response to the paragraph quoted below: Although sodium and caffeine have dehydrating effects the fact is it only negates 2-3 oz of the water in a regular 12 oz can of soda. Overall, soda drinking is a net positive hydrater.
“Sodium and caffeine can cause dehydration, making you more thirsty, making you drink more diet soda, causing more dehydration… you see where this is going?”
My dad is a diabetic and switched from regular pepsi over to diet and his numbers have gotten better as well as his blood pressure. My mom and I are nurses, and I don’t think this is something to freak out about. I grew up with my parents drinking pepsi and diet pepsi, and now I drink diet pepsi. I don’t drink coffee, the only caffeine I get is from the soda. I have a can or two every couple days. Unless you’re consuming a crazy amount each day I wouldn’t worry. If you want to be on the safe side, make sure you’re still taking in some form of calcium, because the carbonation is making the stomach pull calcium from the bones to counter the acididy of the carbonic acid. You really get rid of the carbonation through your respiratory system very quickly so again this is not something to be hugely concerned about. Your body was made to expell co2, and does it well. I’d say if you don’t want to stop taking in diet soda, then don’t! I know I enjoy it, and will continue to do so.
In response to: “I instantly felt 200% better in 2 weeks.”:
“It took me a year to make her an overnight success.” Samuel Goldwyn, legendary movie producer, talking about one of his actresses. Lol.
By the way people, your anecdotal evidence probably is not helpful to others. Anecdote is not the singular of data. Unless you measure the effect of drinking diet sodas in many people over a long period, and control for other related factors or independent variables, it is useless to say authoritatively that drinking or not drinking diet soda made you lose or gain weight.
If it worked in your own experience, try to determine if you also did other things like cut your carbs or exercised more or other activities that might change your weight. You would have to be pretty detailed–almost OCD about it. Kind of how scientists are.
People who want to lose weight would do well to read Gary Taubes “What if it’s all been a big fat lie?” in the New York Times. Taubes is a science writer who has done personal research on himself as well as a lot of detailed research on the affects of carbs on weight gain.
There is also a very well-written and well-researched criticism to one of his books, which is posted on Amazon.com. The critique was written by a doctor, and it pokes holes in some of Gary Taubes research methods and some conclusions, while validating his general conclusions:
Basically, eating more protein and fat and vegetables ends up being healthier Tom a while packing on carbs tends to make you fat and unhealthy.
[...] conflicting studies as to whether diet sodas are safe or not. AllisonN talks about the issues in What’s so bad about diet soda? I do warn patients that drinking diet soda may lead them to overestimate their carbohydrate [...]
[...] found an article titled the same as my blog at Diabetes Mine. Check it out and see what you [...]
I have switched to unsweetened iced tea with lemon, gives the caffeine with no side effects, you could add Stevia if you must have sweet.
Crystal light and Mio are full of chemicles and dyes and preservatives. For those who love drinking CL, You really shouldn’t . I used to love CL too, till I decided to read the label and saw all the crap in it. And until I decided to stop drinking or eating things with red dye40 or other dyes.
Crystal light and Mio are full of chemicles and dyes and preservatives. For those who love drinking CL, You really shouldn’t . I used to love CL too, till I decided to read the label and saw all the crap in it. And until I decided to stop drinking or eating things with red dye40 or other dyes.
I drink Lipton grab and go powders ice tea water and nothing else 99 percent of the time.
Outstanding quest there. What happened after?
Take care!