Comments on: Calories? They’re in the can

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:45:03 +0000

“I suspect these sweet drinks are much less thirst quenching than water.” You’ve hit the nail on the head there. According to Dr. Robert Lustig, sodas are loaded with sodium to increase one’s thirst and desire for another; HFCS are used in these sodas as a cheap substitute for real sugar; since HFCS does not suppress the hunger hormone ghrelin our brain doesn’t see that we’ve consumed anything. Diet sodas do not contain HFCS and so they do not promote the same exacting insidious cycle as regular sodas do. Just a casual inspection of sodium content in different diet sodas I found in my closet reveals some at acceptable levels and others at much higher levels. Also, I believe that the inclusion of sweeteners in one’s diet can trigger addictive behaviors. And agree that more research with human models needs to occur to help consumers understand the possible health risks associated with the sweeteners. Interesting that the new ban on sodas in NYC leaves diet sodas alone.

By: Rich Rifkin

Rich Rifkin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:51:31 +0000

“My only concern is that it’s a rat study.” That is a good point. Rat brains are not the same as people’s. The results suggest that a replication of the study needs to be done with humans. … This is entirely anecdotal, but one thing I have noticed is that the people I see who regularly drink highly sweetened beverages (with sugar, high fructose corn syrup or zero-calorie sweeteners) tend to be overweight or obese. I know that too much sugar affects brain chemistry. It may or may not be true with fake sugars. But either way, my anecdotal observation is that healthier people just don’t drink a lot of Coke or Diet Coke or sweet tea drinks or other sweetened liquids. I suspect these sweet drinks are much less thirst quenching than water. And for some people they are addictive or similar to addictions. As such, the consumers of sodas and sweetened drinks tend not to stop at 6 or 8 ounces a day, which would cause no harm. The most addicted will have a 64 ounce Big Gulp or multiple cans of 12 ounce sodas each day. And people like that are (by my observation) usually fat or struggling to maintain a proper weight.

By: Darcie

Darcie — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:13:28 +0000

I’m a bit confused as to how it can be zero carbs but contain modified food starch. Plus, why do you want thickeners in your soda? Because they’re trying to create something that sounds like an old favorite but make it out of chemicals. Pour yourself a nice glass of nutrient rich Davis tap water instead.

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:05:49 +0000

Rich, read suggested Dr. Mark Hyman’s link regarding sweeteners. Interesting and addresses concerns regarding sugar substitutes. My only concern is that it’s a rat study. Dr. Peter Attia in his blog entitled “The Eating Academy” notes the following: “There’s no shortage of fear out there that consuming aspartame, sucralose, or other non-sugar substitute sweeteners will lead to chronic diseases like cancer or heart disease. However, there is no credible evidence of this in humans. One can actually make a convincing case that no substance ingested by humans has been more thoroughly tested by the FDA than aspartame. The former Commissioner of the FDA noted, “Few compounds have withstood such detailed testing and repeated, close scrutiny, and the process through which aspartame has gone should provide the public with additional confidence of its safety.” While it might be the case that you can harm a rat with aspartame, it seems you need to force the rat to eat its bodyweight in aspartame every day for a year to do so (I’m being a bit facetious, but you get the idea). In fact, even water would be harmful to us in the quantities required to render aspartame harmful if we extrapolate from rat studies.” at end of this blog he too though arrives at the same conclusion regarding sweeteners. You’re better off without them, you want miss them, and water is far better for you.

By: Rich Rifkin

Rich Rifkin — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:07:47 +0000

Don’t drink any diet soda. Drink water. Drink unsweetened tea or coffee. Eat fiber-rich fruits to quench thirst. Dr. Mark Hyman (of PBS fame) says the science is clear: Artificial sweeteners are unhealthy and contribute to obesity. … “An exciting study in the Journal of Behavioral Neuroscience has shown conclusively that using artificial sweeteners not only does not prevent weight gain, but induces a whole set of physiological and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight. The researchers proved this by giving two different groups of rats some yogurt. One batch of yogurt was sweetened with sugar. The other was sweetened with saccharin. They found that three major things happened over a very short period of time in the rats that were fed artificially sweetened yogurt. First, the researchers found that the total food eaten over 14 days dramatically increased in the artificial sweetener group — meaning that the artificial sweetener stimulated their appetite and made them eat more. Second, these rats gained a lot more weight and their body fat increased significantly. And third (and this is very concerning) was the change in core body temperature of the rats fed the artificial sweeteners. Their core body temperature decreased, meaning their metabolism slowed down.” … Here is a link to his article on the topic: http://drhyman.com/blog/conditions/artificial-sweeteners-could-be-sabotaging-your-diet/