Are Zero Fizzy Drinks Healthy?

anotheruser

I get that the use of wording isn't the best but Zero'd fizzy drinks have next to no sugar in them these days.

So is the time of looking at fizzy drinks as un-healthy over?
Are they actually not that bad?

lindens

Clearly most of them are unhealthy as they contain no nutritional benefits. Many of them contain caffeine ( bad), additives (bad)
Having said that they are better than drinking the sugar loaded version eg Coke Zero versus Coke (full fat)
Better to drink water though

Joan_number_1_2

Still open to debate IIRC.
The artificial sweeteners can, as we know, be troublesome. Do they or don't they cause health problems, because advice sometimes seems to change from one moment to the next.
Then there have been suggestions that the consumption of artificial sweeteners could lead to appetite stimulation and hence to weight gain, and there have even been suggestions that diabetes coukld result.
Then there's the acid content, etc. etc. etc.

Meh, IMHO they gotta be healthier than the sugar-laden stuff.

Stoke

Healthier than the sugar laden stuff. They helped me lose weight.

I don't think they're healthy though, no chance.

spadoosh

lindens wrote: »

Clearly most of them are unhealthy as they contain no nutritional benefits. Many of them contain caffeine ( bad), additives (bad)
Having said that they are better than drinking the sugar loaded version eg Coke Zero versus Coke (full fat)
Better to drink water though

Caffeine and additive arent bad. THey do what they do, consuming them in excessive quantities is bad.

Salt is an additive, we need it to live. I struggle saying something i need to live is bad. If its a requirement for my life, its up there with the most amazing things i can think of. Just like i think fire is amazing, that doesnt mean ill be trying to burn down my house though by using too much of it.

trailingspouse

I once suggested to a doctor that if everyone stopped drinking fizzy pop she would be out of a job. She simply said 'Yes'.
They're not healthy. They don't claim to be healthy. The marketing people have realised that there's a market for 'sugar free' so they make a sugar free one. It's that simple.

If you asked the question in a slightly different way - 'What are my options for healthy drinks?' - do you really think fizzy pop of any variety would make the list??

theoretica

Sparkling water seems the best choice of fizz.

Toothsmith

Healthy = benefits your health

Fizzy drinks aren't healthy

jenniewb

I was told by a Dentist that fixxy diet drinks were just as bad for teeth as full sugar types. With sugary types the sugar sticks to teeth and rots that way, with diet types, the acid is stronger or weakens the enamel faster and then the fizziness just compounds that. This is without considering the issues either may or may not have on your body. Including addiction from things like the caffiene and some would say an addiction to sweeteners which cause your body to send out stronger and stronger hunger signals when it realises you've not fed it the sugar it initially requested. I'm not a scientist so I can't say how much research is involved in working that out but it is something I've read here and there for a while now.


I think any fizzy drinks you do have (because lets be honest, they sell high volumes of these for a reason!) you'd be best advised to drink water afterwards- do not brush your teeth as your enamel will be weaker, and don't go munching on acidic foods such as vinegary salads, sweet tasting fruit, tomato, alcohol and so on and ideally wait for your enamel to reharden before you go for something else which would take about 20-30 mins minimum. This is what I remember being told by a Dentist anyway.


If you wanted further info on what damage fizzy drinks can do to your body, AFAIK little has been formally studied beyond the side effects of sugar, weather or not that's because there is nothing to be worried about or because it's too early on in their creation to know enough or because brands of these sweeteners have prevented negative information being released is pretty much up to you to decide.


But if you wanted an alternative, you could try water and a dash of lemon, fizzy water if that is important enough to you or just limiting what you do have and maybe having a day off a week or none before or after 3pm or whatever works for you.
It's fine to stop if you want to and can manage that but don't go crazy at yourself if you can't- I believe these drinks are addictive and are difficult to give up for chemical reasons rather than a personal taste. Sometimes just limiting what you do is better than not doing anything at all because the bar was too high and was given up on is better than nothing at all.

PlantMan

No. The sweeteners in them can be carcinogenic.

As a general rule to stay healthy I like to ask the question - If I tried, could I make this myself in my kitchen? If the answer is no then the process it has gone through is almost definitely bad for my health.

I haven't drank a fizzy drink for over a year (not including fizzy water).

To get myself off of them, I switched to fizzy water. If you still want some sweetness, try half freshly squeezed orange juice and half fizzy water

trailingspouse

PlantMan - yes, yes, and again yes. Totally agree - can I make this at home? No? Then don't bother with it.