Forums >Health and Nutrition>Why no carbonation?
Proboscis Colossus
I've heard many times that carbonated drinks - diet or "regular" - are bad for you, that weight loss is easier if you give them up.
If that's true...why?
"God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people
Strict WTF adherent
Because everyone needs a boogeyman. Easier than owning up to your gluttony.
+1.
On a somewhat related but only tenuously so note, back in the dark ages coaches used to tell us that drinking carbonated drinks before a meet or race would impair respiration. I've heard coaches say that in more recent days, too. That has to be a bunch of hooey.
- Joe
We are fragile creatures on collision with our judgment day.
old woman w/hobby
I've heard many times that carbonated drinks - diet or "regular" - are bad for you, that weight loss is easier if you give them up. If that's true...why?
Are you including my favorite, carbonated water? Just curious.
steph
Try shaking all the soda you drink before consumption. Get all the BAD co2 out of it, and just leave the healthy nice chemicals and sugar.
You'll be OKAY then, slurping flat coke on a hot summer day, losing weight like you're not even trying...
Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and roguesWe're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes
+1. On a somewhat related but only tenuously so note, back in the dark ages coaches used to tell us that drinking carbonated drinks before a meet or race would impair respiration. I've heard coaches say that in more recent days, too. That has to be a bunch of hooey.
See, that's kind of my thoughts, too, and I've heard the same thing from coaches. And even more interestingly, most corps in Drum Corps International (the quickest explanation is "professional marching band") do not allow their members to drink carbonated beverages for exactly that reason. And I have no idea what about the process of carbonation would cause that, if true. Maybe it got started because we exhale carbon dioxide, so the thinking is that if we ingest it, there's more to get rid of?
But even setting aside the respiration issue, one of my students' doctor just told her on her last visit that if she wanted to lose weight, she was going to have to get rid of all carbonated beverages. Now, if he's just talking about non-diet sodas, then heck yes. But diet soda...while I know there are several reasons it's bad for you in other ways, I don't know why it would cause weight gain (or impair respiration).
I don't know...that's what I'm wondering!
Maybe it got started because we exhale carbon dioxide, so the thinking is that if we ingest it, there's more to get rid of?
Unless you are ingesting cola into your lungs, I think you're going to be alright.
The carbonation makes the sodas less sweet, allowing you to consume more sugar without knowing. Flat sodas are almost too sweet to drink. The diet sodas put you into the mindset that you "saved" x calories that you would have consumed if it was a regular soda, which then leads to eating more because you have a "caloric deficit".
an amazing likeness
But diet soda...while I know there are several reasons it's bad for you in other ways, I don't know why it would cause weight gain (or impair respiration).
There are some studies which have purported to suggest that diet sodas build a desire for more sweet foods. Google 'diet soda weight'....oh...here Click.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
Dang, I've been doing it wrong.
One, humorous, comparison I heard regarding regular vs. diet soda is:
Would you rather get hit on the heat by a small hammer (regular soda), or a big hammer (the diet stuff).
I find soda (the regular stuff) very addicting so I try to avoid it. I can easily down a large quantity of the stuff if I'm not careful. But, more importantly, there's zero nutritional value to either. If I'm going to spoil my calories on something, soda wouldn't be it.
rather be sprinting
It's not so much the carbonation that's bad--it's either the artificial sweetener (usually aspartame, which is particularly bad in conjunction with caffeine... google it) or the phosphates. Any dark-colored colas contain phosphates, which inhibit calcium absorption. I used to drink a diet decaf coke on occasion but quit cold-turkey after getting a stress fracture. Not even slightly worth it.
<--that's not much to do with weight control, just general health... which is important if you want to keep active and maintain a good weight, so it's kind of pertinent.
I do also find that even if artificial sweeteners DON'T stimulate insulin release and create hunger (as indicated by some studies), they can create the habit of reaching for something sweet. Not a habit most people should cultivate. Trick your body and how can you then expect to trust it later when it comes to appetite regulation and cravings?
PRs: 5k 19:25, mile 5:38, HM 1:30:56
Lifting PRs: bench press 125lb, back squat 205 lb, deadlift 245lb
The diet sodas put you into the mindset that you "saved" x calories that you would have consumed if it was a regular soda, which then leads to eating more because you have a "caloric deficit".
If that happens, it's just stupidity on the part of the person drinking the diet soda. These are the same idiots who think "fat free" means they can eat the whole box of cookies.
I do agree that the best thing is to get out of the habit of drinking super sweet beverages.
A Saucy Wench
Hmmmm. I drink unflavored, unsweetened seltzer all the time. This must be my problem.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7