Why do you drink Diet Coke or Coke Zero?

[BrianL]

Quitting pop was the hardest addiction, thus far. Harder than cigarettes, harder than alcohol.

However, my body - oof, it needed it. Diabetic (alcohol-induced), kidney and liver issues. Pop is straight up poison, and I knew it all the years I drank it, but...seeing the damage it did, in black and white. I was done.

I drank full-steam Coke until the first time I was admitted with kidney issues. Switched to Zero. Drank that until it got even worse.

Now, it is coffee, tea, water only. Black for the first two. If I have a sweet tooth, I throw some protein shake into the coffee.

Yeah, my doctor thought my kidney numbers were just slightly concerning for my age (still fine, just a little off). She advised me to drink more water. I usually had about two sodas a day (cans), one with lunch and one with dinner. That's probably not excessive, excepting that those and a morning chai latte might be the only fluids I would drink in a day! That's definitely an issue. I have made a concentrated effort to drink more water. I have reduced one soda too - if I drink it with lunch, I have water with dinner. I might have a little extra on a weekend, but am generally trying to keep it lower.

 

[randumb0]

I didn't hate Coke, but I liked Pepsi better. That said, I wanted to have an occasional soft drink (my primary thing is unsweetened Ice Tea) and Diet Pepsi left an unpleasant after taste whereas Coke Zero didn't. So when I drink Coke it is Coke Zero. Which begs to get clarification about your last sentence... Regular Coke is regular Coke because of whatever they use for sweetener (sugar?) So Regular Coke with no calories IS Coke Zero. I like Diet Dr. Pepper better than either of those.

I should have called it Coca Cola Classic which Coke Zero isn't

 

[sam_gordon]

My a1c measured 227 (normal is below 60, pre-diabetic is 60-70). They were sure I was gonna drop at any second!

I think you're getting your numbers mixed up. A1c is a percentage. It couldn't be 227. A "normal" A1c is <5.7%. Prediabetic is 5.7-6.4%.

Your glucose level (mg/dL) could be 227. "Normal" is <117. Pre-diabetic is 117-134.

To the question in the OP, I don't. I never really liked Coke. I was a Pepsi drinker (unless Coke was the only soft drink available). At one point, I was drinking two 20oz Pepsi's a day. 5-10 years ago, I decided to quit cold turkey. I will now have an occasional diet Root Beer, but that's my only soda intake.

 

[loves to dive]

I'm confused. You realize zero calorie sodas ARE diet?

maybe the name "diet" vs "zero"

Diet Coke and Coke Zero are both zero calories but taste totally different. Coke Zero tastes close to regular coke, diet coke is not as sweet tasting. I don't like the taste of regular coke, it's too syrupy for me. Thus, I like the taste of diet coke over the taste of coke zero.

 

[disneychrista]

I used to drink diet, never regular. Now I drink mostly regular and rarely diet. The artificial sweeteners in diet/zero versions are a trigger for my functional diarrhea* but so are carbonation and caffeine. So don’t really drink much of either.


*Functional diarrhea is basically the same as IBS-D but without the stomach cramping associated with it.

 

[Jennasis]

Also I prefer the taste of Diet Coke. If it's f4pm McDonalds, even better.

 

[BrianL]

Also I prefer the taste of Diet Coke. If it's f4pm McDonalds, even better.

This is why they can't jsut replace Diet Coke with the Zeroes. Arguably the Zeroes taste closer to the original, but there are many people who simply like the taste of DC. They've tried to alter the formula before to be closer to the original, but that's not what fans want.

Interestingly, "Diet" drinks were typically mostly marketed more toward women, while "Zero" sodas were designed to be marketed toward men.

 

[Micca]

Some how I ended up quitting soda/pop. I'll have maybe 3 or 4 regular Cokes at WDW once or twice a year, but that's it. I drink a lot of water, coffee in the morning, sometimes some ice tea.

 

[BrianL]

Some how I ended up quitting soda/pop. I'll have maybe 3 or 4 regular Cokes at WDW once or twice a year, but that's it. I drink a lot of water, coffee in the morning, sometimes some ice tea.

You know, I hardly ever drink Sprite, but for some reason nothign taste better than an WDW Sprite! It's like, extra good for some reason.

 

[DLgal]

I will drink either Coke Zero or Diet, and only drink them very occasionally for these reasons:

1. I have a migraine. Taking my meds with a bit of caffeine (but not too much like coffee) makes them work better and faster.

2. I slept very poorly the night before and need caffeine to get me through the day.

Caffeine causes anxiety in me, so I don't drink it routinely. If I get on a kick of drinking caffeine daily and then one day don't, I will get a migraine. So, I drink diet cola sparingly.

I drink a cup of decaffeinated coffee every morning. I like the taste and the routine of sipping something warm while I start my day. I hate tea, so decaf it is. And I know decaf has a tiny bit of caffeine in it, but it doesn't affect me. If I drink a cup of regular coffee, I feel like I'm climbing the walls.

 

[Kennywood]

I drink a LOT of Diet Coke. It started 40+ years ago when my best friend found out he was a diabetic. So, we kept Diet Coke on hand for when he came over. I started drinking it then and continue to do so to this day.

I don't smoke and, for purely personal reasons, I don't drink alcohol. Diet Coke is the one vice I allow myself.

 

[Kitty 34]

Rum makes my diet Coke better.

 

[mumto3girls]

I love Coke Zero. I don’t know if I would like regular Coke better as I haven’t had regular soda in many years. Diet Coke is okay, but I would rather drink unsweetened tea or water. I weaned myself off of the Coke Zero a few years ago and now have one only occasionally. Unsweetened tea has to be better for me.

 

[EACarlson]

Diabetes…..

Me also. I used to drink a lot of regular coke. In 1999 I was diagnosed with a Pre-Diabetic Condition and moved to sugar free pop. Dropped 60 lbs in three months and brought my a1c down to a normal range. Held on until 2009 when I became an insulin dependent diabetic. I did have half a glass of real pepsi on Sunday as I was having a hypoglycemic episode.

In name only. Both are diet sodas.

Different processes and formulations. Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero are completely different, same with Dr. Pepper.

I would prefer drinking regular Coke, but diabetes put an end to that. 45 years of no health issues whatsoever, and after one check up, doc calls me and leaves a message saying “you need to call us back immediately”. My a1c measured 227 (normal is below 60, pre-diabetic is 60-70). They were sure I was gonna drop at any second!

After all these years, I still prefer the taste of Coke, but Coke Zero is close enough to satisfy the craving for something sweet. Now I need to worry about the artificial sweeteners!

I would think so. That is an insanely high number. So high I couldn't get a conversion to the usual a1c US percentage. My initial diagnoses number was 11.4% which would be 101 on the SI scale and I thought that was incredibly high.

I think you're getting your numbers mixed up. A1c is a percentage. It couldn't be 227. A "normal" A1c is <5.7%. Prediabetic is 5.7-6.4%.

Your glucose level (mg/dL) could be 227. "Normal" is <117. Pre-diabetic is 117-134.

To the question in the OP, I don't. I never really liked Coke. I was a Pepsi drinker (unless Coke was the only soft drink available). At one point, I was drinking two 20oz Pepsi's a day. 5-10 years ago, I decided to quit cold turkey. I will now have an occasional diet Root Beer, but that's my only soda intake.

No, you just aren't aware there are different measurements used for A1c. You are quoting the NGSP Percentage numbers generally used in the US. PP was using the SI scale that is used in the UK and most of Europe.
@CdnCarrie which measurement is used in Canada?

 

[goofyernmost]

At it's peak, I constantly had a cold Pepsi wherever I was. I did that for many years. I didn't have any problems but it was getting expensive and I was sure that it was doing my long range health any favors either. I heard about sun tea, where you put a bunch of tea bags in a pitcher full of water and leave it out in the sun and the water would warm up and steep the tea and after it has brewed you make Iced Tea out of it. I decided that I liked that and I almost instantly abandoned the Pepsi. Of course, it was the caffine that I might have been addicted too, but I can go days without the tea with no concerns at all. I didn't have that same reaction with the Pepsi. So now I have about a 8 oz. of iced tea when I wake up and another 16 oz of very diluted Tea for the rest of the day or whenever it is gone. I actually quit Pepsi the same time that I quit cigarettes.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Me also. I used to drink a lot of regular coke. In 1999 I was diagnosed with a Pre-Diabetic Condition and moved to sugar free pop. Dropped 60 lbs in three months and brought my a1c down to a normal range. Held on until 2009 when I became an insulin dependent diabetic. I did have half a glass of real pepsi on Sunday as I was having a hypoglycemic episode.

Different processes and formulations. Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero are completely different, same with Dr. Pepper.

I would think so. That is an insanely high number. So high I couldn't get a conversion to the usual a1c US percentage. My initial diagnoses number was 11.4% which would be 101 on the SI scale and I thought that was incredibly high.

No, you just aren't aware there are different measurements used for A1c. You are quoting the NGSP Percentage numbers generally used in the US. PP was using the SI scale that is used in the UK and most of Europe.
@CdnCarrie which measurement is used in Canada?

I only use my AIC - like below 7 is good - above not so good. My last lab results were 8.2. I'm working on it.

 

[disneyseniors]

I used to drink Diet Coke, but only the version that was sweetened with Splenda. It tasted the best of any of the artificially sweetened soft drinks. Still not as good as Coke with sugar, but passable. I stopped drinking all artificially sweetened soft drinks in 2005, Doctor says they all mess with your stomach bacteria. I wasn't diabetic then, but now I don't drink any soft drinks at all after developing diabetes. Just plain flavored sparkling water, coffee and ice tea.
Growing up in the 1960's, all we bought was diet soft drinks sweetened Cyclamates. THOSE tasted just like sugar sweetened drinks. U.S. felt it was unsafe and banned them in 1969. Today, it is still illegal in the U.S., but legal in 130 other countries show feel the other artificial sweetener are more dangerous. Who knows?

I grew up in the 60's too, and don't remember ever hearing about cyclamates! What are those supposed to be? I guess it didn't bother me because I always drink diet coke. I just love the taste. When I accidentally drink my daughters regular coke while at a restaurant, I can hardly stand it.
So mark me down as a diet coke fanatic.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

I think you're getting your numbers mixed up. A1c is a percentage. It couldn't be 227. A "normal" A1c is <5.7%. Prediabetic is 5.7-6.4%.

Your glucose level (mg/dL) could be 227. "Normal" is <117. Pre-diabetic is 117-134.

To the question in the OP, I don't. I never really liked Coke. I was a Pepsi drinker (unless Coke was the only soft drink available). At one point, I was drinking two 20oz Pepsi's a day. 5-10 years ago, I decided to quit cold turkey. I will now have an occasional diet Root Beer, but that's my only soda intake.

Yup - thanks for catching that. A1c was 11%, glucose was 227. Bad numbers - now back close to normal.

 

[Mysterian]

Diabetes…..

But you can learn how to manage it, thanks to a little Quaker Oats.

 

[Ronaldo17]

Coke Zero for me, more taste than Diet Coke