# Diet drinks **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 21, 2001, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558 "2001-06-21T04:01:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558/41 "2001-07-07T03:47:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marcus \* > \*\*Aspartame (NutraSweet) is not good for you. At all. Check out the [Aspartame Toxicity Information Center](http://www.holisticmed.com/aspartame/) if you’re interested. Check out a few case studies. > > I have avoided it like the plague for several years - I’d much rather go without, than consume it willingly. \*\* Me, too, on avoiding aspartame. I don’t believe everything I read about it, but I do know that it gives me headaches if I ingest more than just a little bit of it at a time. I was one of the earliers users of aspartame. I remember when it came only in the little blue packets (circa 1983), and wasn’t even in any soft drinks yet. I started following a recipe on the side of the box for a Grape Cooler — mix a little white grape juice with tonic water (which I hate, so I used diet Sprite, which was then sweetened with saccharine) and add a packet of Nutra-Sweet. It was great! Tasted like a grape soda, with about half the calories. I started consuming it on a regular basis. It was even better with lots of pretzels… I started getting headaches, which I at first attributed to school stress (my Senior design project was that semester), and then maybe needing new glasses (nope.) Finally, when I noted that all those “Diet” drinks plus pretzels were adding up to a lot of extra calories, I dropped my daily grape coolers, and the headaches went away — not to return until Diet Coke with Nutrasweet hit the market. When I finally figured out the second time that that Nutrasweet was giving me headaches, I did some research on the subject. There was a big research study out of Duke University debunking the “anecdotal headaches.” Being at a research university, I hit the library to look it up. The first thing I noticed about the study was that it was funded by the makers of aspartame. (Searle Labs? I don’t remember.) The second thing I noticed was that under the study protocol, I wouldn’t have ended up with headaches, either. Their protocol was based upon dosing folks with either aspartame of a placebo, with the amount given based upon their body weight. They were asked a short time later whether they had a headache. Statistically, the results between aspartame and placebo weren’t significant. I can drink one diet drink, and I won’t end up with a headache. I might have two today, and not notice anything. On the other hand, if I also had some diet jello pudding for dessert at lunch and dinner and then had a diet coke with dinner as well, I’d probably end up with a headache that night or the next day. The testing protocol didn’t allow for a cumulative effect, or a time lag, both of which were symptomatic of my “anecdotal” headaches. And, quite frankly, I don’t think that debunking research funded by the manufacturers should be considered definitive “proof” of anything. YMMV. I’ll agree aspartame is probably the best tasting substitute for sugar around — but I avoid it like the plague. By the way, **Diet Cheerwine** is another of the soft drinks that bucks the NutraSweet trend. (Sort of an aftertaste, but still nice and effervescent like the real thing.) ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558/42 "2001-07-07T03:52:07Z")
Pepsi One is what they call Pepsi Max in Europe and Canada. The US version isn’t quite the same, though - I’m not sure exactly what the difference is, but it isn’t nearly as nice. If you can get a hold of **real** Pepsi Max, try it. It really is by far the best diet soda I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558/43 "2001-07-07T05:07:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rasa \* > \*\*It’s got like 140 calories (well at least this can of Cherry Vanilla Creme does). Is that a lot? > > I also second the throwing fruit in a blender idea. That’s my breakfast… soy milk smoothies with either strawberry/bannana, pear/bannana or whatever I have on hand. I’m a blending fool. \*\* 140 calories is alot for just one beverage, to me at least. Then again, I have been on an extremely low calorie diet(around 1000 a day +/-) for the past three weeks and have lost 13 pounds. I eat alot of fruits and vegetables, and I stay away from meats, dairy(nonfat milk is ok), and most importantly, breads, rice and crackers. I also make shakes which are very very yummy. I usually add one or two single servings of lowfat yougart, a tiny bit of milk(so the motor won’t burn out), a banana, then a cup or two of frozen fruit(mostly strawberries, sometimes black berries or raspberries). They are smooth and delicious. They end up around 100 calories per glass, I make two and sometimes count them as a meal. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2001, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558/44 "2001-07-07T10:35:07Z")
yuck. diet sodas (all diet sodas) are horrible. drink the fat stuff or drink water. or skimmed milk/soy milk/fruit juices. at least that way you get some vitamins and minerals in there as well, which you’ll need if you diet(and you don’t get so gassy). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-drinks/69558.md?page=2)