<p>I stopped drinking sodas altogether and lost about 5lbs. Now I drink it on occasion and I find I appreciate it a lot more, so it is a very special “sometimes” treat.</p>
<p>Here is another study from the Keck school of medicine
[Sugar</a> Content of Popular Sweetened Beverages Based… [Obesity (Silver Spring). 2010] - PubMed result](<a href=“http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20948525]Sugar”>Sugar content of popular sweetened beverages based on objective laboratory analysis: focus on fructose content - PubMed)</p>
<p>Read this book:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Sweet Deception: Why Splenda, NutraSweet, and the FDA May Be Hazardous to Your Health: Joseph Mercola, Kendra Degen Pearsall: Books: Reviews, Prices & more](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Deception-Splenda-NutraSweet-Hazardous/dp/B000WPMC40/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Deception-Splenda-NutraSweet-Hazardous/dp/B000WPMC40/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2)</p>
<p>You will never want to drink (or eat) anything with artificial sweeteners again.</p>
<p>Gotta agree with Idad on this one. One of the biggest lobbying groups in this country is Big Sugar, not to mention the enormous influence of Big Corn (which is what lots of “sugar” really is.)</p>
<p>^ Okay - I clicked the link to look at that book and then googled the authors. While I’m sure there’s validity to their premise, Joseph Mercola is selling his own products. I always get suspicious of physicians or other providers who spend a lot of time telling you why you don’t want to buy this drug or food or medical treatment and then offer to sell you their own, wonderful and safe products (which haven’t been test by * anyone *, btw). Say what you will about the FDA, at least they are attempting to make sure what we put into our bodies is safe (though they often fail miserably for a number of reasons, some outside their control). With ‘natural’ products, not only is there no testing and studies but there’s not even any quality control. Every pill you take could contain a different amount of the active ingredients and no one would ever know.</p>
<p>My best friend is very anti-pharmaceutical and all about homeopathic medicine. I’ve been trying to convince her for years that they are simply two sides to the same coin. Someone who is trying to sell you their product in order to make a buck. Pure and simple. One’s not necessarily ‘safer’ or more effective than the other - it’s much more complex than that.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best thing for all of us to do is to follow this guy’s advice:</p>
<p>Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (9780143114963): Michael Pollan: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/0143114964/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289746160&sr=1-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/0143114964/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1289746160&sr=1-2)</p>
<p>I do use Splenda in my tea (but am thinking about switching back to sugar) but have stopped eating as many processed foods as I can. I was getting hooked on all those new low calorie snacks and desserts that contain Splenda and finally realized it was causing me to crave sugar all the time. I had the same experience with diet sodas. Now I shop the edges of the grocery store and rarely buy anything that’s not a whole food (except for bread, milk, yogurt, some processed cheese and occasionally crackers).</p>
<p>It takes a more effort to eat this way but really, when you think about how many chemicals you are putting in your body every day, it’s worth it.</p>
<p>My husband was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago, and has been drinking more of the Crystal Light and Diet Ocean Spray, rather than carbonated drinks, since then. He went to the doctor the other day because of another issue and was pleased to find he had lost 45 pounds in one year!</p>
<p>
I’m no Mercola apologist, and don’t always agree with everything he says, and I think he is a little too shrill on certain subjects. But his web site contains a lot of good content, and he has been very consistent in his message over the years, and has been ahead of the curve on some subjects like vitamin D.</p>
<p>I found the book to be well researched and somewhat eye-opening. I think it is a legitimate contribution to the discussion on artificial sweeteners. I changed my behavior after reading it - I don’t drink diet soda any more, and I try to avoid artificial sweeteners as much as possible. YMMV.</p>
<p>Montegut–my mother, when diagosed with diabetes about 15 years ago, also switched to artificial sweeteners. She uses them in her coffee and drinks diet Sprite. She lost about 25 pound and has kept it off, and more importantly, she has her diabetes under excellent control with minimal medicinal assistance.</p>
<p>Garland, my husband and I have always drunk diet sodas, using artificial sweeteners, so I wonder if just stopping carbonated beverages has helped him. My son is hooked on Diet Sprite. He is also very heavy. I was hoping he would switch to bottled water once he got to college, but he manages to get a ride to the grocery to get his Diet Sprite fix. He has managed to lose a good bit of weight, just based on his clothes fitting, because he goes to a large state flagship and does a great deal of walking. I don’t know if the dining hall has Diet Sprite, so he is probably not doing diet drinks there, as he does not like Diet cola drinks, only Sprite and Sierra Mist.</p>