diet coke

[dave rockness]

I don't drink alcohol or coffee, but I do enjoy drinking a diet-coke or two per day (12-ounce can size).  Is this something that might hurt my health or training?  Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated.  thanks.

[Dave Holt]

Depends on what you mean and what your goals are.  My wife loves diet coke and it doesn't hold her back; she almost always gets her 5-7 miles in and enjoys it. 
I on the other hand try to avoid soda - I am not the healthiest eater, but it is one way that is easy for me to cut out some sugars, and the crap they put into the diet stuff to replace sugar isn't any better for you (in fact it seems to be linked to many things that are worse!  But I can't convince Al of that!)

[dave rockness]

Well, I've never really noticed a difference in my workouts in the past (whether I drank diet coke or not).  However, I have recently decided to get more serious about running.  Perhaps a BQ in the future if it's in me.  It's a "vice" I'm willing to give up, yet in a weird sense, it's something I really enjoy.  Hey, no beer, no coffee, no desert- at least I can still enjoy my diet coke.  Maybe my logic's a bit screwed up.  And yes, like your wife, I have been holding out on this pleasure. 

[Sasha Pachev]

My approach to vices - if I think it could be a vice and there is no clear virtue in it, stay away from it. Something that has no clear virtue is a vice for the sole reason that it fills up the space that could have been used for the virtue. Your body might be resistant to the harmful effects of soda pop, but is it taking place of better foods and drinks that you could have put into your body to help it recover faster?

Also, some harmful foods chip away at your body's defenses in a way you do not notice until it is too late.  I see so many  runners that eat like the average American and run incredible times in college, less incredible times post-collegiately in the first 2-3 years, and when they turn 30 you say: "What? This guy  ran sub-30:00 10 K just 5 years ago?"  They are plagued by injuries.  They cannot train as hard as they used. They explain that they are slower because they are older, when in truth they are slower because the worm of improper nutrition had finally gotten to them.

[Michelle Lowry]

I drink diet caffeinated sodas during tax season only (CPA).  I gave it up for the first time (since college) last year in the middle of the summer and it helped me to be off it.  From what I hear, the caffeine and carbonation are not good for running.  For me, the biggest benefit of dropping the soda was that I slowed down.  Instead of drinking sodas in the afternoon, I napped in the afternoon.  Instead of pulling out a soda to get one more hour of weeding or painting done, I just don't do the project unless I have the energy.  Getting adequate sleep and rest is very important when getting more serious about running.  So I would encourage you to give it up. 

[Dallen]

Many will clain that caffeine is a performance enhancing drug. Others disagree. The rest of the stuff in the diet soda can't possibly be good for you. Like Sasha says, you could probably be drinking better stuff. My opinion is that it propably doesn't hurt to have a little soda in moderation.

[Marion McClellan]

I dunno- but I prefer diet pepsi   But I'd drop it cold if it would make me faster.

[Ron]

No soda for me, and even so coke/pepsi both make me want to puke, diet or not. I would say Dr. P is my "vice" but theres an easy fix- i don't buy it.

Bill Bowerman, from what I've read of him, was big on making his own "sports" drink and testing it on his athletes. He came up with various kinds, which were loaded with vitamins and apparently they were great for running, but all were quite gross. I clearly remember a quote from him the first time he tried gatorade......"These guys are geniuses!"

[dave rockness]

Alright...you folks are all quite reasonable and convincing.  One further step in my training regiment.  Diet-coke will now be replaced by gatorade.  However, I will splurge once a week on date night.  Thanks for your thoughtful input.

[Bonnie]

For a while I was indulging on a Diet coke (or dr. pepper) about once/week - I used to drink them more but gave it up for Lent one year and never went back.  Anyway, there are two arguments I have heard against soda in general (beside the too much sugar in the non-diet versions).  First, it shouldn't be a replacement for water ... if you are thirsty the caffeine and fake sugar will not help that thirst.  Second, it is very acidic ... I have had friends use it to clean old coins!!

Be careful with gatorade -- it has a lot of sugar in it and all the calories that are in it will be converted to fat.  Water (spiced up with a little lemon if you need a "taste") is really the best ... or a sugar free electrolyte drink.

This said, I am a firm believer in "moderation" - so if you need a soda a couple times a week, it is probably ok!!  2 a day is not ideal.

happy training!

[Andrea Birch]

I used to think that diet Coke was a vice, but I have since changed my mind!  I now consider it therapeutic!!!  Much cheaper than a counselor!!!  I would describe the high I get off getting a diet Coke during a stressful day, but some of you might report me to the funny farm!!!  I quit drinking it for 7 months last year.  Can't say that I notice a huge difference.  I drink it now occassionally.  I really didn't like the dependance I had developed for it.  I try to limit it to once a week or so.

[Kory Wheatley]

There's no proof or evidence that diet coke will improve running by not drinking it.  It really isn't the best think for your body.  But, that being said I drink two Diet Vault Zero's a day and sometimes more pop.  I drink it because I like the taste and the caffeine is good too.  I will also drink a lot of decaff too so that I don't deplete the water intake.  Sometimes I'm bad where I would rather have a diet soda after a run than water.

You could drink Gatorade G2 it only has 25 calories per 8 ounces.

[Sirenesque]

Diet coke is essentially poison, like any other artificially sweetened beverage or food.  The effects of aspartame are well known and documented, just google the side effects and you will have your answer.  As for gatorade G2, it is made with Sucralose (Splenda), nothing like washing your sugar with heavy metals to eliminate the calories.  Diet coke has been used as a vice in substitute for other beverages such as coffee and tea, which have been shown to at least have some beneficial effects.  In my opinion there is no acceptable amount of artificial sweeteners and soda companies are not much better than tobacco companies.  They knowingly market an addictive product with devastating effects to the human body, worse, they market them to children!  Sounds almost familiar to tobacco ads from the 50's and 60's.

[Christina Robinson]

I recently read a book about body pH ("The Acid-Alkaline Diet").  Basically, it states that the body likes to have a balanced pH to function properly.  If we consume too many acidic substances (i.e. sodas, baked goods), then the body tries to restore balance by using up the mineral stores in our organs, thus making it more susceptible to disease.  To prevent this from happening, our diet should consist of more fruits and vegetables (which are alkaline in nature). 

Anyway, I don't know if I'd take this book as "Gospel Truth" ;-) but it was a good read and seemed to make sense.  Diet sodas and even coffee are very acidic to the body, but drinking them every once in awhile probably wouldn't hurt.

[Dale]

Then again, aspartame might not be bad at all.....beware conducting research on the Internet!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/aspartame.asp

All things in moderation...