# If Diet soda depletes calcium, and I already drink 500ml of milk daily, then is it still a problem? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960 "2013-11-15T02:38:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SickMetalAddict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@SickMetalAddict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SickMetalAddict)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/1 "2013-11-15T02:38:01Z")
Title says it all. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/2 "2013-11-15T02:51:41Z")
It’s probably not true that diet soda depletes calcium, and if it does that’s probably not the reason there is a slight tendency toward bone loss in people who drink lots of soda. So merely drinking milk probably doesn’t offset it. [WedMD says](http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis): > [@](#): > > New research indicates that there may be more to the soda and osteoporosis connection than simply replacing the good stuff with the useless stuff. > > Researchers at Tufts University, studying several thousand men and women, found that women who regularly drank cola-based sodas – three or more a day – had almost 4% lower bone mineral density in the hip, even though researchers controlled for calcium and vitamin D intake. But women who drank non-cola soft drinks, like Sprite or Mountain Dew, didn’t appear to have lower bone density. > > Soda and Osteoporosis: Possible Culprits > > Phosphoric acid, a major component in most sodas, may be to blame, according to lead study author Katherine Tucker, PhD. > > Phosphorus itself is an important bone mineral. But if you’re getting a disproportionate amount of phosphorus compared to the amount of calcium you’re getting, that could lead to bone loss. Even after saying that, the page does recommend making sure to drink milk. Which mostly means that since nobody really understands why soda, diet or non, caffeinated or non, might be a problem or even if it is really a problem, they know that drinking milk is normally a good thing for most, if not all, people. It’s another demonstration that simply avoiding some foods is not a panacea and that the total diet and lifestyle is far more important than any individual item. Most advice about food is nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/3 "2013-11-15T05:11:46Z")
Diet soda is evil! is a popular meme lately. What they really should be saying is that all soda do this. Diet soda is also not good for your teeth, but that doesn’t mean that sugared (HFCS’d) soda is fine. It’s more the acidity than the sugar, but these pages seem to suggest that diet soda is much worse. Ideally, drink none, but also that stuff is tasty. That said, milk [doesn’t work for you bones much](http://www.cracked.com/article_20669_6-ridiculous-science-myths-you-learned-in-kindergarten_p2.html) (scroll to number 1). ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/4 "2013-11-15T05:56:19Z")
That Web MD article exapno posted has some recommendations at the end - certainly doesn’t look clear cut. Also - you can get your bone density measured. Make sure you get enough vitamin d as well. Not sure when insurance covers bone density scans, but the calcium in and of itself I’m guessing isn’t as important a measure as bone density as their are certainly disputes as to what level is enough and too much. No sense in having strong bones if you die of a heart attack (not saying this is likely, but just that it is an unknown). With bone density - at least you can get an idea where you stand. No sense in increasing your calcium intake if scan/doctor thinks you are otherwise ok. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/5 "2013-11-15T14:20:06Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > That said, milk [doesn’t work for you bones much](http://www.cracked.com/article_20669_6-ridiculous-science-myths-you-learned-in-kindergarten_p2.html) (scroll to number 1). The PCRM is a promoter of veganism and opposes everything about milk. I reflexively dismiss anything it has to say on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/6 "2013-11-15T22:10:40Z")
Never heard of them till now but point taken, they sound nutty, and the false flag name is obnoxious. Still, it is a metaanalysis in a legit journal and other cites can be found, and these don’t say that milk is bad or worthless, just that there are better ways of getting calcium. Nevertheless, I will now eat cheese or something to spite them. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-diet-soda-depletes-calcium-and-i-already-drink-500ml-of-milk-daily-then-is-it-still-a-problem/673960/7 "2013-11-16T00:11:02Z")
[http://jn.nutrition.org/content/127/9/1782.long](http://jn.nutrition.org/content/127/9/1782.long) > [@](#): > > **Milk consumption did not appear to be associated with either forearm or hip fracture.** In multivariate analyses, men consuming \>2.5 glasses per day (1 glass = 240 mL) experienced no apparent protective effect against either forearm (RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.69–1.62, P for trend = 0.82) or hip (RR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.39–2.42, P for trend = 0.56) fracture compared with men consuming one or fewer glasses per week (Table 3 ). [http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/6/1780.long](http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/6/1780.long) > [@](#): > > Conclusions: Pooled results from prospective cohort studies suggest that **calcium intake is not significantly associated with hip fracture risk in women or men**. Pooled results from randomized controlled trials show no reduction in hip fracture risk with calcium supplementation, and an increased risk is possible. For any nonvertebral fractures, there was a neutral effect in the randomized trials.