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Old July 9th, 2007, 05:57 PM
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heidiho heidiho is offline
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Diet Coke!

I cant seem to find thew answer on the internet.Does diet coke have carbohydrates in it??I am a diet coke fanatic,has to be out of the fountain though,just tastes better,mark hates it,trying to slowly stop drinking them,gonna try and only get one in the morning,but i wanted to know if it has carbs.
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Old July 9th, 2007, 09:19 PM
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I don't think it has carbs but it does have an ingredient that is a carcinogen so I would NEVER NEVER NEVER touch the stuff.

Diet coke- as I noted previuosly in another thread contains aspertame. An interesting article in a medical journal recently posed the question "Can Diet Coke Kill You?". I have essentially made the answer an abstract - not the entire article - just to highlight the main points. It is a US based article.

One of the active ingredients in Diet Coke is aspartame, also known as NutraSweet, which was approved for human consumption in the US by the FDA about 20 years ago, paving the way for the diet soda boom.

The sad reality is that the adverse effects of diet coke are too many for it to be safe! (and I used to LOVE classic coke but even tho it does not have aspartame, I stopped drinking it due to its high sugar content - I drink nothing with aspartame - it become formaldehyde in the body which is a carcinogen and I do not even want that stuff in me when I die, I plan to be cremated. I suppose it won't matter then but I don't ned to add more woes to workers at funeral homes, who already asked an association of oncologists I belong to for a seminar on dealing with people who had a diet high in aspartame and other products.

The short reply is that is is poison. It has been lined to tumors and seizures symptoms that look like MS, causes memory problems and eye issues. Inexorably Diet Coke visits a plague of 92 symptoms listed by our FDA on a secret report they never show the public (I just know some docs who served on this FDA sub panel) which names diet soda as the first source of aspartame disease. And the scariest part was that death was one of the 92.
That is obviously a pretty nasty side effect, regardless of how rare it is.

The biochemistry of formaldehyde as a byproduct of aspartame is essentially this:

# aspartame (nutrasweet or Equal, etc) breaks down into methanol (wood alcohol).

# Methanol quickly converts to formaldehyde in the body.

# Formaldehyde causes gradual and if drank on a daily or weekly basis (ie in a chronic manner) eventually severe damage to the neurological system, immune system and causes permanent genetic damage at extremely low doses.

# Methanol from alcoholic beverages and from fruit and juices does not convert to formaldehyde and cause damage because there are protective chemicals in these traditionally ingested beverages.

# The most recent independent research in Europe demonstrates that ingestion of small amounts of aspartame leads to the accumulation of significant levels of formaldehyde (bound to protein) in organs (liver, kidneys, brain) and tissues.

# Excitotoxic amino acids such as the one which is immediately released from aspartame likely increases the damage caused by the formaldehyde.


A recent study has linked aspartame to brain cancer - and I myself wonder about seeing so many brain cancers in children and hope to God parents are not feeding their children this toxic stuff! It's bad enough I see more children who do not drink milk as often as they should!

I did once resort to trying the new coke with splenda (sucralose) - which I have cooked with - and I met the inventor of splenda by accident at a wedding (His daughter married one of my best friend's sons) and I used to even send the stuff to a friend in Idaho who for a long time could not obtain it in the USA even tho it was invented and manufactured there. It was available to diabetics but not the general public if they applied to the company. It is now quite widely available I believe.

Alas, it now turns out there are problems with splenda as well but it is not nearly the toxin aspartame is.

The manufacturer of Splenda claims that the chlorine added to sucralose is similar to the chlorine atom in the salt (NaCl) molecule. That is not the case. Sucralose may be more like ingesting tiny amounts of chlorinated pesticides, but we will never know without long-term, independent human research. Studies by some well known hematologists (one of my areas of expertise) have demonstrated a high correlation between sucarlose and a decreased red blood cell count. Also, the company itself has reported (I give them credit for this) that some consumers have reported heart palpitations and tachycardia.

So, I drink water - Nestlé strawberry water to be exact and the other day had some classic coke and it was sooooooo just sugar and water and I did not even care for it. So I felt like a reformed smoker who hates the stuff now, lol If you are a diabetic, the sugar obviously is not good for you and many diabetc assns are singing the merits of Splenda and I suppose if you haev to choose a lesser of two evils, it is the better of the two.

btw, my friend in Idaho who needed the splenda is an Atkins and low carb fanatic rho I am not a fan of those diets actually. I think they do serve a purpose for someone who badly needs to loose weight (someone grossly overweight who may die or who be seriously ill if they do not loose weight for example) but it is unsafe if continue for long periods of time. (I am not sure Dr. Atkins did anything to promote that thought with his own death). In other words, I can see someone trying that diet for a month maybe but all that fat and cholesterol is just not good no matter how much weight one looses. Healthy eating is not about weight - it has everything to do with what you eat and how you feel, what your electrolytes are and your vital signs. One can be a little overweight and still be healthy - and also be skinny and on an Atkins diet, closing in on a heart attack with a high cholesterol and other factors. You cannot just depend on one variable.

That said, I do not understand medical professionals who are extremely overweight. Makes no sense to me unless they have some metabolic disorder! But we all have our addictions (Mine used to be coca cola -never diet coke -I loathes the taste even before I discovered it was so adverse to our health!) So I drink classic coke on occasion and even when I did, I was still under weight - ie, I do not weigh enough to donate blood yet, something I want to do but you have to weigh 110 lbs to do that. (and I we,, simply do not, sigh!) But I am also short so I am not going on any more diets to gain weight (plans of my sisters and grandmother from time to time, lol). I still try to limit my sugar intake but I never put it on cereal and use Cooking Light recipes. (the one cooking magazine I subscribe to).

Anyway - as usual, I have gone on too long - do you want the Coles Notes version? (Cliffs Notes in the US)?

I guess the short reply is diet coke has few carbs but the ingredient that makes it "sugar free" also is toxic and a carcinogen!

(And the one coke product I saw that had Splanda also had (ugh!!) some aspartame in it. Could they not just use splenda for heaven's sake? Even if it has not been proven on a long term basis and has some issues, it is not yet proven to be a carcinogen!
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Last edited by CyberKitten; July 9th, 2007 at 09:21 PM.
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Old July 10th, 2007, 08:19 AM
Rick C Rick C is offline
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Originally Posted by heidiho View Post
I cant seem to find thew answer on the internet.Does diet coke have carbohydrates in it??I am a diet coke fanatic,has to be out of the fountain though,just tastes better,mark hates it,trying to slowly stop drinking them,gonna try and only get one in the morning,but i wanted to know if it has carbs.
I just pulled a can of Diet Coke out of my desk, ready to put it in the office freezer for my daily Russian Roulette (more than 1.5 hours and it'll blow) and it says "Carbohydrates" and 0 (Zero) on the can.

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Old July 10th, 2007, 08:52 AM
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...workers at funeral homes, who already asked an association of oncologists I belong to for a seminar on dealing with people who had a diet high in aspartame and other products.
Sorry, ck, why do they want a seminar on aspertame?
I have heard that bodies take longer to decay because of all the preservatives we are consuming. Could be an urban myth.

Heidi, try unsweetened fruit juice mixed with soda water. Nothing finer on a hot day (or a long plane ride).
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Old July 10th, 2007, 11:21 AM
canadoattitude canadoattitude is offline
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bottom line: diet coke isn't the best thing for you (no pop or processed food is)

but...if you enjoy it, have it in moderation and have fun....if you drink twelve cans a day then you might have some problems in the future but....
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Old July 10th, 2007, 12:30 PM
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*coughs* to just stick my nose in here... while we eat (mostly) organic in our house... processed food isnt bad. noodles or breads or heated foods (which are all processed in some way) are all just fine.... there seems to he this rather outsopken anti-processed food kick... I STILL LIKE MACARONI AND CHEESE!! there i said it... happy???

balance, variety and moderation is key to ANYONES 'diet'.

eat more veggies!! drink more water!! use way way less sugar of ANY sort!!

-ashley
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Old July 10th, 2007, 03:51 PM
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The funeral directors assn asked for a seminar - we have provided seminars before on HIV, CJD and other illnesses. This time - they are concerned about being exposed to formaldehyde which they use on a chronic basis though new chemicals are being found all the time. And they too have read about it being a byproduct of diet coke and wondered about that as well. But as long as they are dressed protectively, they should be OK - as a pathologist would be - nut to me, I just cannot imagine drinking anything that breaks down into various chemicals, one of which requires one to dress protectively for. Then again, I did drink classic coke for so long - but I also developed cancer but I rather think that may have more to do with my Northern European heritage and white skin. But who knows? There are too many risk factors for me to try diet anything! (and now I hear all this stuff about Spelnda which I have been using . I have to admit I was waiting for someone to come up with something about sucralose but it doesn't sound that bad yet! But wait tilllwe have the liong term studies, sigh! Cross your fingers that it is OK in a lt way, lol

When I did my first seminar on HIV at a mtg of the Cdn Public Health Association, there were almost as many embalmers as there were medical pole in attendance. That was a long time ago now it seems.
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Old July 10th, 2007, 04:32 PM
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Well first off i am not big on water,getting better,but just not a fan of it,they finally made ocean spray in a diet,so started drinking that,yes on the weekend i usually have about 3 to 4 32 oz diet cokes,mark depsises it,cause it has to be a fountain soda,i will drink can but prefer it from the fountain.,Just grabbed a can i have here at work,yep zero carbs,it does have one calorie,but anything under 5 they are allowed to say zero.I guess i just cant believe it is THAT BAD for you,someone told me they put there childs babytooth in it and it dissolved,or a penny will disslove in it.During the week i will have 2 fountains and used to have 3 cans at work,god i am unhealty..
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Old July 10th, 2007, 05:18 PM
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Well, I drank the classic coke for years - sometimes up to 2 litres a day and despite what I know about it, I liked it and that was that. I may have deluded myself into thinking that because I drank so much milk I need not worry, this was my vice and so be it, lol But with diet coke, you would have to threaten me before I'd drink that. It prob helps that I weight just a bit over 100 lbs tho I am short so any more might be too much!! And I walk so much during the day - and swim at night - that I easily loose any pound the sugar added on. However, I know all about diabetes - and my maternal grandmother, a family physician and anesthesiologist herself, became a type 2 diabetic in her later years (after 40) and I have several cousins who have developed t or even have juvenile diabetes so I know I have to be cautious! Still, I never had any signs and my blood work never showed anything remotely close to higher than avg glucose levels et al. So, while I will have a classic coke on a rare occasion, I have learned to drink water - and I hated it, LOATHED it in fact for years! However, I have come to like the strawberry flavoured water (made by Nestlé) which may not be available in the US but there are other nifty flavours there so maybe you'd try that. I tried drinks for awhile like Five Alive and Strawberry Sensation - all made by Juice companies or even soda pop companies but it turned out they were no better than pop - had the same amt if sugar and calories tho I am sure no nail would dissolve in them, lol So, I tried different juices - real fruit juice, NOT drinks! But I discovered flavoured water and even ordinary water (bottled H2O tho) tastes better than it used to - to me, anyway. Now, I find coke has so much sugar that it just seems like sugar and water to me. I a mt at the level of friends who are reformed smokers - something I could never do for medical reasons which is not to say I have not tried it once or twice (It made me ill so that was good actually, lol) That and seeing lungs of smokes in autopsies endured I would never smoke. (Tho I know docs, even pathologists who smoke and it makes n sense to me to be honest, an addiction tho - and as you know, addictions are tough and I admire anyone, including you, who overcomes them!)

So now I guess I am addicted to Strawberry water and banana Popsicles, not the original brand, Chapman's =- one can buy them 12 in a pkg, lol It is fortunate that Ben and jerry's pistachio ice cream is hard to find in the Maritimes - I do love that!! I also like Chunky Monkey bu only buy it on special or when I feel I owe myself something, lol

There is a kind of coke that has both sucralose (splenda) and aspartame and I would look for that - that way, you could cut down a little bit and then eventually drink something else. Are you trying the low carb diet? It is not, as you know, a very healthy diet - unless you have to loose a lot of weight quickly and then return to a dietitian made diet for you personally. That is the best way to loose weight.

Good luck!!!!
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Old July 10th, 2007, 05:43 PM
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Oh no i am not dieting,want to lose ten pounds though,but i cant do all of this at once,i was wondering cause i know they say carbs can make you fat,and just wanted to know because i drink alot of it.No they do not have that here yet i dont think,dont like strawberrys though,well maybe if it is just the flavor of strawberrys i would..See with drinks like gatorade or flavored water you have calories and sugar,another reason i dont drink stuff like that..And whatever it is in diet coke i am hooked i love the taste of it alot.But it is time i cut back,i no longer buy any for work,just have one before work and one after work,drink water the rest of the time.And like you said i feel i need or deserve something,so do i and that would be haagen daz chocolate chocolate chip ice cream,which i was also gonna try and give up but then thought god this is to much to handle at once,and what the hell is left if i give all that up.
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Old July 10th, 2007, 09:42 PM
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Not all foods with carbs are bad - in fact, you do need carbs so it is not at all healthy to cit them out altogether!!

I loathe Gatorade- and that's not what I am talking about. I am talking about plain ordindary bottled water - with varying flavours. Nesté has lemon, or orange, raspberry (yuck, lol) and strawberry. There are many others of course too but I prefer the water ones because I am getting used to them and they all have zero calories and no sugar which is good for one's teeth and other parts of the body, lol Of course, if you like carbonated water, there is Perrier which I don't mind but I prefer uncarbonated strawberry water. This is what I am referring to:

http://www.nestle-purelife.ca/PDF/NP...203%202005.pdf

Good luck in your quest to loose weight but don't do it all at once - that is not healthy and it is more likely to return! I once lost 40 lbs (that I really could not afford to loose) when I was ill and had to have a partial gastrectomy (loss of 2/3 of my stomach - due to an ulcer) and it came back. I lost it over a 2 month period and gained it back in 6 months. But I had to work to gain it back - I simply could not be 4 pounds less than my usual 100 or so!!
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Old July 11th, 2007, 12:14 PM
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If in doubt ask your doctor! Everything is good in moderation, but if you are addicted to it it can't be good. I really don't know if there are carbohydrates in it? There is a lot o crap out there on the internet to provoke people and I would not believe in everything I read. Unless the article was written by a doctor.
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Old July 11th, 2007, 02:22 PM
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I am not trying to diet ,(got enough going on right now without throwing a diet into it)i am trying to eat better,and the reason i asked about diet coke,cause the whole time i have been drinking it,i never thought about carbs in it..I cannot stand carbonated water,but would love that nestle stuff,will check that out..
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Old July 12th, 2007, 11:18 AM
Rick C Rick C is offline
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If in doubt ask your doctor! Everything is good in moderation, but if you are addicted to it it can't be good. I really don't know if there are carbohydrates in it? There is a lot o crap out there on the internet to provoke people and I would not believe in everything I read. Unless the article was written by a doctor.
I asked my doc. . . . . he said one Diet Coke a day wouldn't kill me or harm me in any meaningful way.

Whenever I belch, I yell "CARBONATION!!!"

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Old July 12th, 2007, 02:35 PM
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Omg,the Carbonation Is What I Love,have To Have It First Thing In The Morning,burn Baby Burn
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Old July 12th, 2007, 02:36 PM
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Omg,the Carbonation Is What I Love,have To Have It First Thing In The Morning,burn Baby Burn
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Old July 12th, 2007, 09:13 PM
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Hmmm, your doctor is right only if you do not drink it day after day Rick. Did you tell him you drink it occasionally? I know I sound like an alarmist on anything with aspartame but there is well documented evidence (and I do not regard any info I find online unless it is in a recognized medical journal that is accredited and has not sold out to all the various drug companies - I really like the book by Marcia Angell , former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, who discusses how new medications are approved by the FDA in her new book. While that is a USA experience, it is similar - though not quite as bad - in Canada. ) I do not by all the conspiracy theories about sucralose (Splenda) but I do wonder about the long term effects of it -I do drink it and use it so if I find out in 10 yrs that it is a carcinogen, I met the man who created it and I will personally pay him a visit.

I do instruct my patients not to drink anything with aspertame in it but jeep in mind they are for the most part under 17. I do have some who continue to see me because they have difficulty as cancer patients transitioning to the adult health care world - and usually, they either are cured or not in several years.

Now, alas, I am engaged in study of adults who had cancer as children and the problems the various chemotherapy agents have caused. It seems everything comes with a risk - and loathe as I am to use my own experience, I know my ulcer that caused me so much aggravating (losing most of my stomach was not a fun experience) was caused by the fact I had to take so many NSAIDs for pain (aI assume this because I tested negative for H. pylori) - I have constant chronic pain due to a skeletal problem that was "fixed" by surgery but the pain is still there because it did not alter it completely. And when I had so many surgeries on one year, I almost lost all my hair due to the anesthesia and the many narcotics I was on for perhaps 2 months of intensive care. I only hope this has helped me to be a better physician!!!

The Coles's Notes version of this is to do everything (even diet anything) in moderation. That includes my Nestle Strawberry water - tho I am alas addicted to banana Popsicles, lol - and your diet cola.
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