Here is a list of the most common questions I get from friends and family on my transition to diet drinks. I figure if I get asked these questions often, they must be questions that lots of people have. I'm supporting each of my points with a link to a reputable source on the subject, to help answer any questions you may have about diet drinks and dieting.
Won't I Miss the Flavor of My Favorite Sugary Sodas?
I wish I could say that you would never crave a non-diet soda. I certainly had cravings, especially in the first few weeks after giving up my favorite fizzy, sugary, caffeinated beverages. But in most cases, today's soft drink companies have tried to create great-tasting diet drinks. Not all diet drinks are created equal - look for blog posts like this one listing the best-tasting diet drinks to find palatable alternatives to the high-sugar sodas you currently love.
I've Heard Diet Drinks Cause Depression . . . Is that True?
The myth that some ingredient in diet sodas causes depression has been around since sugar substitutes were first used to create diet sodas in the late 70s and early 80s. This New York News article on depression and diet soda is the closest thing I can find that suggests even a tentative connection between depression and switching to diet sodas. All this research can really say is that avoiding over-consumption of diet sodas may have an impact on chronic depression, but since I limit myself to two diet sodas a day maximum, I don't think I have anything to worry about. Moderate your consumption of diet sodas and you shouldn't have anything to worry about, metal-health wise.
Is It Possible to Switch to Diet Sodas and Still Gain Weight?
Absolutely; I am not suggesting that my transition to diet drinks is the only thing that made me lose weight. In fact, I believe it was the combination of cutting down from twelve cans of soda to two at-most per day AND increasing my water intake and exercise that helped me lose the weight I gained from my soda addiction. WebMD's article on a link between diet drinks and weight gain shows that even those researchers who find a connection between switching to diet and gaining weight are careful to point out that the amount you drink is more important than the switch itself.
Does Diet Soda Cause Cancer?
The short answer to this question is "No." The FDA has approved all diet soda sugar alternatives currently on the market, though lots of people are simply convinced that saccharine, fruit-derived sugars, and other substitutes cause cancer. It simply isn't true. One particular study on aspartame consumption and cancer caused a lot of controversy recently, especially after it was revealed to be based on weak science and the entire article was retracted by the publisher, who issued an apology for publishing a problematic piece of scientific material.
You Say Drinking More Water Helped You Lose Weight . . . How Much Water Should I Drink?
I definitely believe that my average daily consumption of sixty-four ounces of pure water has contributed to my new healthy living program. But not everyone should drink this number - this was a specific figure I worked out for my own purposes. Use this simple calculator to figure out how much pure water you should be drinking every day.
What's the Connection Between Diet Soft Drinks and Benzene?
A few years ago, I noticed more and more people asking me about how much of the chemical benzene my diet drinks contained. Health scares, like the frenzy about benzene, come in and out of style. Here's what the FDA has to say about the benzene content of various soft drinks; only six beverages out of more than 100 tested contained levels of benzene above the FDA's own safety threshold. If you're concerned about benzene intake, check the FDA's article for details on which diet drinks and juices to avoid.
