# Diet Soft Drinks and Dieting **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449 "2009-11-13T16:18:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/41 "2009-11-15T02:33:11Z")
> [@Alex\_Dubinsky](#): > > All the arguments about artificial sweeteners aside, there’s the matter of the stomach. > > Sodas fill the stomach. On the plus side this reduces cravings. On the negative side, it stretches your stomach / keeps it from shrinking. Put another way, filling up with water reduces symptoms of withdrawal while prolonging the addiction. A reasonable strategy is to start off substituting water for food, but eventually cutting that down too. One drink isn’t going to do anything bad to your stomach. What I’ve found works for me is simple portion control; I eat four or five meals a day, plus a couple of small snacks, plus a few extra drinks, but it’s all little stuff spaced out. One diet soda’s not going to stretch your stomach beyond any size it shouldn’t already be. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/42 "2009-11-15T02:55:14Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > One drink isn’t going to do anything bad to your stomach. What I’ve found works for me is simple portion control; I eat four or five meals a day, plus a couple of small snacks, plus a few extra drinks, but it’s all little stuff spaced out. One diet soda’s not going to stretch your stomach beyond any size it shouldn’t already be. So are you benefiting from the “few extra drinks” filling up your stomach, or what? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/43 "2009-11-15T04:21:17Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > It seems to me that if my body produced extra insulin in response to artificial sweeteners, that this insulin response would be detectable in the form of a change in blood sugar levels. However, I can drink a very large quantity of diet soda pop with absolutely no change in my blood sugar level, as measured by my home meter. I’ve heard the same anecdotal evidence from a lot of people on diabetes forums. When I was studying up on sugar substitutes and the Atkins diet, I would often read warnings that some artificial sweeteners would cause insulin spikes in some people with diabetes, not all bodies react the same way to the different sweeteners, and diabetics should take note of what kind of sweeteners were used in the sugar-free products they consumed and how the products effected their insulin levels. So, someone could eat “sugar free ice cream” and it has no effect on them, but a different person could eat the same brand and there would be an effect. Or, the first person could simply eat a different brand of sugar free ice cream and there would be an effect on them. There are lots of different artificial sweeteners. I am pretty sure most things with artificial sweeteners have more than one kind of sweetener. Diet Mountain Dew, for instance, has Aspartame, Ace-K and Sucralose. Diet Coke has just Aspartame. Coke Zero has Aspartame and Ace-K. Pepsi One has Ace-K and Sucralose. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/44 "2009-11-15T04:32:07Z")
Frankly, I am dubious of any claims that artificial sweeteners act to raise insulin levels or blood glucose levels in anyone, and would want to see an actual study proving such a thing. I’ve seen similar warnings myself, and none of them ever seem to be based in actual research. It’s just someone saying that “everyone’s bodies are different and so artificial sweeteners could cause an insulin spike.” Fine, except that no such effect has ever been shown, as far as I can tell. (With the possible exception of sugar alcohols, commonly used in products such as sugar-free chocolate and sugar-free ice cream.) ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/45 "2009-11-15T16:44:28Z")
Most research so far is on rats, unfortunately. > **[The effect of artificial sweetener on insulin secretion. 1. The effect of...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2887500/)** > > Acesulfame K is an artificial sweetener which has been used in the food industry for some years. As yet no metabolic effects have been reported. It was reported that the sweetener can induce a cephalic phase of insulin secretion. To analyse the... [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?\_ob=ArticleURL&\_udi=B6T2M-3V5DWX7-7&\_user=10&\_rdoc=1&\_fmt=&\_orig=search&\_sort=d&\_docanchor=&view=c&\_searchStrId=1093754735&\_rerunOrigin=google&\_acct=C000050221&\_version=1&\_urlVersion=0&\_userid=10&md5=f9ff0aadea903fabd5beacf90ed2ddeb](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T2M-3V5DWX7-7&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1093754735&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=f9ff0aadea903fabd5beacf90ed2ddeb) > **[Artificial Sweeteners Could Make You Gain Weight, Study](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/96849)** > > A study by scientists in the US suggests that eating artificial sweeteners could make people put on weight because experiments on laboratory rats showed that those eating food sweetened with... In humans, it’s been found that people eating a lot of artificial sweeteners are much more likely to be fat, insulin-resistant, and diabetic. But, as far as I know there’s no real evidence that eating the stuff _caused_ these problems. > **[Use of Artificial Sweeteners Linked to 2-Fold Increase in Diabetes](https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/704432)** > > People who used artificial sweeteners were heavier, more likely to have diabetes, and more likely to be insulin-resistant compared with nonusers, according to new data. Here is a study that indicates that sucralose, at least, does not influence insulin production in humans: [http://ajpgi.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/4/G735](http://ajpgi.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/296/4/G735) ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/46 "2009-11-15T19:51:04Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > I may be beating a dead horse at this point, but this is clearly wrong. If you eat little enough, you’re going to lose weight, no matter what you do. Your body burns some energy even when you’re just sitting around. If you aren’t eating enough food to provide that energy, then your body can only get it from burning the mass you already have. It’s just a matter of physics. Obviously, you’re right, Tim! I don’t know why anyone would believe otherwise. I NEVER exercise. I’ve lost two pound in the last few days, just by eating less. Am I toned? Pretty much, except for the belly. If I quit drinking, more weight would come off effortlessly…not happening, though! Is it as effective or productive? Not really, but, one can absolutely lose weight without exercise. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449/47 "2009-11-15T20:17:56Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > A lot of studies seem to assume that the alternative to Diet Soda is water, while in my experience, people usually drink diet sodas as an alternative to regular soda. > > Certainly true in my case anyways, I was drinking several cans of coke a day, and then switched to diet coke as an alternative. I quickly shed something like 10% of my then body weight without any other changes to my diet, which makes sense, several cans of coke is ~500 calories-a-day. > > Of course I could’ve had the same effect if I switched to water, but I was pretty hooked on coke, so that would’ve been a much tougher transition. So at least for people in my situation (which I don’t think is terribly unusual), diet sodas are a good diet aid. I decided to lose some weight a couple years ago. I got a gym membership and started going three times a week and switched to healthier foods. This didn’t produce very much weight loss. I then switched from Dr. Pepper to Diet Dr. Pepper and the weight started dropping off like mad (note, I drink a fairly large amount of soda, though recently I have been drinking less). IIRC I dropped about 20 pounds in the first month or so after switching. It was a lot. At the same time my food intake didn’t change at all. Anecdotal? Yep, but that is the way it worked for me. Slee [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-soft-drinks-and-dieting/517449.md?page=2)