<p>I have very good eating habits and almost no “vices”. I do not drink (alcohol or coffee) and my one vice seems to be Diet Coke. I drink one 12 oz. can every day, sometimes two. (at @ 3 pm every day, my lull period)</p>
<p>I know that amount is not terrible, but I just saw on tv (Maybe the Dr. Oz show?) where drinking just one diet coke a WEEK increases your chances of developing diabetes.</p>
<p>Soooo, I’ve decided that when we finish our supply of diet coke that’s in our garage, I will try to “quit” cold turkey.</p>
<p>Any thing I can drink that would be a good substitute? I need ideas. Thanks.</p>
<p>Soda water with flavorings but no sugar added. Some people find the bubbles and a bit of taste is a decent enough substitute. </p>
<p>But if you need caffeine at 3PM, try tea because you’ll find coffee keeps you up at night. But if you need the jolt of caffeine, try a bit of coffee - like 1/2 decaf in a not too large portion - because coffee hits you like the caffeine in diet coke. </p>
<p>Please don’t suck down those energy shots. It’s just expensive caffeine.</p>
<p>Water is great; if you need flavor try a quarter or eighth cup of your favorite juice (grapefruit, pomegranate, grape) mixed in the water. Soda acidifies your blood so even seltzer is not as healthy as water is. Lemon water is great but if you sip it all day it will eat away at your teeth. Oddly, lemon water DEacidifies the blood so is good for you whereas soda is acidifying so is bad for you and your bones as well as your sugar metabolism. Good for you for making this change and good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with the water suggestion. I used to drink way too much Diet Coke. Some years ago I stopped drinking it cold turkey, and started guzzling water instead ( I drink a lot of water now). When I go out for lunch I order iced tea.</p>
<p>I am not a good water drinker. I have one or 2 Diet Cokes/Pepsis a day on most days. It is one of my few vices, although I do drink alcohol. I’ve tried hard to switch to iced tea or hot tea, and sometimes I’m a little bit successful, but I really like my carbonation and cola taste. I hate coffee. I am not sure I believe all the diabetes hype right now, but I DO believe that colas (even diet) are not good for bone density, and I do have an issue with that despite being a competitive runner. I don’t know- I’ve about decided I’m just going to take my chances.</p>
<p>Have the scientists determined if Diet Coke causes diabetes, or is simply associated with it? One is causation; the other is correlation. Very different.</p>
<p>“With respect, in particular, to ‘light’ or ‘diet’ drinks, the relationship with diabetes can be explained partially by a greater craving for sugar in general by female consumers of this type of soft drink,” the researchers explained. “Furthermore, aspartame, one of the main artificial sweeteners used today, causes an increase in glycaemia and consequently a rise in the insulin level in comparison to that produced by sucrose.”</p>
<p>“Translation: Drinking artificially sweetened drinks makes you crave other sweet things (hello, chocolate!). And your body reacts to aspartame—also known as NutraSweet and Equal—much in the same way that it reacts to plain old sugar”</p>
<p>So it isn’t Diet coke itself but any diet drink or food product that has a sugar substitute in it. So if you are concerned you should stay away from all those products also.</p>
<p>I like ice tea. Just don’t put sugar or splenda/sacrarin in it.</p>
<p>I don’t know, VeryHappy, but it’s certainly not good. It depletes bone density, corrodes your teeth, and makes you crave carbohydrates - which if taken in excess, I guess, can cause diabetes.</p>
<p>I appreciate your suggestions, but I need specific input. I don’t drink iced tea, I guess I could learn if it’s better for me…</p>
<p>Right now I drink diet juices, OJ, diet coke and water. That’s about it.</p>
<p>I don’t think the diet juices are good for me either.</p>
<p>I was just looking for specific substitutes for the diet coke, maybe a name of some product you liked that you could suggest…or I’ll just stick with water! I was just looking for a bit of variety…and something to look forward to at my 3pm beverage time!</p>
<p>Good for you chocochipcookie!! I have been off diet coke now for over 4 years after a very addicted 20+years habit. Cold turkey is what I did. I did it with water, diet sprite maybe once or twice a month and an tremendous amount of ice tea w/stevia. A couple of times in the first year I had Publix brand diet cola because it is made with splenda. I read several articles about how bad it was and was tired of hauling the 2 liters home. At the time, the price of diet coke kept going up so that helped, too. Ice tea is so easy to make at home and inexpensive. I do feel better and am so glad I gave it up. But I still miss diet coke. Good luck, be strong and do it! For me personally, the cola was part of the addiction -I could always take or leave other diet drinks. Sorry to hear you don’t like tea. You might look at those little package of True Orange or True Lemon that have 0 calories, 0 grams Sugar for water. I use that occasionally.</p>
<p>I like flavored seltzer because it has fizz like soda and there are a zillion flavors to choose from. Right now I’m into Poland Springs Orange Vanilla. I like the cranberry lime, too.</p>
<p>I stopped drinking diet coke about a year ago. I replaced it with Liptons diet green tea. You will feel better after about 2 weeks. Occasionally, I have a sip of diet coke but I no longer crave it.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago I replaced soda with flavored seltzer (carbonated) water. They usually come in a 1 liter bottle. They sell them everywhere (Target, Walmart, grocery stores). There are many different brands and flavors to choose from. Another thing you could try is plain sparkling water with a 2-3 squirts of Mio flavoring that comes in little bottles.</p>