Many of my diabetic patients ask me if I can allow them to drink diet soda. And my answer has always been, if you HAVE to, then yes, diet soda is the better alternative to regular soda. But take diet soda in moderation.
There have been conflicting studies as to whether diet sodas are safe or not. AllisonN talks about the issues in What’s so bad about diet soda? I do warn patients that drinking diet soda may lead them to overestimate their carbohydrate allowance – I think I can eat one more slice of cake, since I’m drinking diet soda anyway. Or that drinking diet soda will not help them get them over sugar cravings.
Do you know how much sugar there is for every 12 oz of regular soda? Almost 9 teaspoons! I bet you wouldn’t eat 9 teaspoons of sugar in one gulp if I gave it to you 🙂 Sugar Stacks gives us pictures of exactly how many sugar cubes you can find in various sizes of sodas. Check it out here!
