I used to behave and drink mostly juices and just few pops here and there. Lately I have been a real diet pop freak. I think I have 5 12-packs of various diet pop in my fridge right now. Is diet pop bad for you? If it is, what do you suggest as a substitute? Kool-Aid? Mango nectar? Gatorade? What?
(Regional dialect note: pop = soda, soda pop, soft drink).
Ever tried Crystal Light? That’s become my new addiction of choice.
I like the Hansen’s diet Tangerine/Lime (they have other flavors too), which is sweetened with Splenda. Tastes more like regular pop.
I have tried some of those new lightly flavored waters, they seem pretty good to me. Not sure I like paying the high price for bottled water with a drop of flavor though.
This isn’t one of those – I guess it’s closest to koolaid, but a bit lighter. Anyway, if you compare the price of getting the powdered variety of Koolaid compared with 2 liter bottles of soda, the prices are pretty comparable; actually, if you get the Crystal Light on sale it’s cheaper.
Soda. Not pop…soda. Get it right.
ccwaterback, if you struggle with any kind of weight problem, diet soda is actually much better for you than juice. Juice is high in calories, and not really that nutritious (much better for you to eat the whole fruit than just drink the juice). Of course, most people will tell you that water is better for you than anything else, and it probably is, but if you hate to drink water, then diet soda is better than sugar soda. I drink diet dr pepper, diet Cherry Coke, diet Mug root beer or diet Vanilla Coke when I drink sodas. Otherwise, I drink coffee with creamer and Splenda or iced tea (unsweetened if it’s freshly brewed, Splenda sweetened if it’s instant), or ice water.
Not doing too bad in the weight area, but I certainly have an American bias in that category. I try to drink mostly non-caffine types of pop, too much caffeine gives me a headache. I do chug down my share of bottled water too. I think it’s a shame how much they charge for bottled water though. Maybe I should just close my eyes and re-fill the empties from my kitchen tap 
But I have a feeling the tap water in FL is as bad or worse for you than anything I drink out of a can.
I’ve been drinking Florida tap water for many years, and I have yet to notice any ill effects. It’s definitely better cold, and there are some areas that have nasty stuff, but simple filters take care of that.
I’ve got a big mug of iced tap water in front of me as I type this.
This is exactly what I do. We have very tasty well water; in fact, when we were renting a house with nasty water (even after filtering) and Mr. S’s sister was living here, we carried water from this house to the rented one for cooking and drinking.
We buy bottled water, refill the bottles, and keep them in the fridge. I love ice-cold water and will drink it if it’s handy. My mother is always nagging me that I should “learn to drink diet soda.” No thanks. I don’t need the chemicals. When I want to be “good,” I’ll drink good old water, which is better for my embattled kidneys (history of stones) anyway. But when I want to be “bad” it’s regular soda for me, thanks.
I suppose I could try the water here in St. Pete. I was in other parts of FL for a couple years and drinking the water there was considered about as intelligent as drinking the water in Bangladesh. Well, I had to learn the hard way on that one. I do miss good old Lake Michigan at times.
Subconjuctival hemmorhage is an eye condition that looks bad but is usually quite benign. It is usually traumatic in nature. Detached retina is also not uncommon in older folks. I can’t see how NutraSweet would be likely to cause either of these problems. While I tend to be leery of corporate interests, I’d have to agree with the NutraSweet people on this one. Lots of people are depressed, lots of these people drink lots of NutraSweet, these eye problems don’t seem to be becoming more prevalent. Such a small study very much lacks even statistical validity (and I agree a statistical correlation between these problems would be cause for concern, especially in young people with no history of trauma, diabetes or high blood pressure). There is no reason to give much weight to this study unless an adequately powered trial gives similar data.
I think diet vanilla Coke has a more realistic vanilla flavor than diet vanilla Pepsi, although neither really tastes like true vanilla.
If you can find it, Diet Rite is a good alternative. I’m doing Atkins, and both caffeine and Aspartame (Nutra Sweet) are discouraged. Diet Rite comes in great flavors - cola, white grape, and raspberry are my favorites. Best of all, Diet Rite has no Aspartame (it uses Splenda/suralose) no caffeine and no sodium. I drink mostly water, but when I want a soda I have Diet Rite. It is hard to find around here though, only one store in my area always has it in stock, a few more stores carry it but they are always out.
Weird thing is, I used to drink Diet Pepsi exclusively. I rarely drank water. After drinking only Diet Rite for a few months, I can’t even choke down a Diet Pepsi - it tastes awful. I really prefer the taste of Diet Rite now, I only wish it was easier to find.
water is always the best. 
On the original thread, which is closed, Fop said:
I don’t know about Vanilla Coke, but Pepsi Vanilla contains vanilla extract. Oddly enough, I get the vanilla more as an aftertaste rather than as a full flavor.
And SuperLorie said:
I agree. On the whole debate on whether diet cola is bad for you, here’s what I think. When I have a sweet tooth, it’s better to have a can of diet cola than a sugary snack or sugary soft drink.
If you have a cheap source of lemons (i.e. a tree) lemonade made with Splenda is pretty tasty.
Watch your teeth if you drink a lot of soda. I used to drink it exclusively when I was younger and my teeth became so brittle they started to crumble off into my food when I ate. Yuck! I’ve cut waaaay back since those days and try to always use a straw and brush soon after.
Y’know, I don’t miss Hawaii a whole lot, but I really miss Aloha Maid. Name a tropical fruit, they made a juice out of it. Mmmmmm, guava!! Cheap, too! IIRC, you could buy a case of mixed crap for like 20 cents a can.
Anyhow. I got into a fruit juice kick over there. Had this big not-Tupperware pitcher and I’d put together a concoction of orange, pineapple, lemonade, and a buncha cans of Aloha Maid whatever.
Now I’m more into diet Dr. Pepper. Sorry.
I have a terrible problem with drinking too much Diet Coke. I have cut back a bit recently, but I was averaging about 128 ounces of DC a day (some of that volume was ice). I am down under one hundred now. I have tried subsitutes, but they have proved distinctly unsatisfying
That would be a real problem if it was not diet. Which is pretty close to what I used to do. I had to give up almost all sugar in February when I was diagnosed with a liver disorder, so I started drinking diet pop. I have lost 33 pounds since then. Part of that was the candy I also stopped, but it was mostly the switch to diet pop.