Is diet coke really bad for small children?

[AndiPandi]

Read all sorts about artificial sweeteners etc, if child really wants coke (as a treat) would it be better to give normal or coke zero?

TeamEdward, how does stopping drinking Pepsi Max make someone lose 8 stone - isn't it also sugar free? Did this guy have other bad food habits or was the weight gain purely from diet drinks? I'm not being facetious, I've read that artificial sweeteners can have the same effect on blood sugar/fat storage as real sugar, which seems to be backed up by this story.

Avoiding caffeine can help weight loss,apparently

Perhaps that was it

Yes thank you for that Captain Obvious.But is a figure of speech which is why the poster, TeamEdward, put it in inverterted commas I imagine!!

Loads of people have used it without inverted commas... just thought it was noteworthy. Sorry, Mrs Thread Police!

LyndaCarter, I've often wondered about this. I have also read that there are suggestions that artificial sweeteners affect insulin in that same way that sugar does - but then if it did, surely diabetics wouldn't be allowed sweeteners either? I have read that think it may be more likely that the sweetener makes your body expect something sugary but when it doesn't follow it makes you hungry? Something like that anyway!

Coke & similar fizz were never "banned" because I think that makes them more attractive. If she wanted them when out that was OK but only ever normal sugar versions and we never kept them in the house. Daughter is now 16 and doesn't like any fizzy drinks.

My children grew up drinking normal, if they wanted diet they would have been allowed. Not all the time of course.

I disagree with the banning completely personally. I preferred to teach my children to enjoy things in moderation.

They are both in their twenties and healthy and not overweight.

Well all are terrible for small children but the lesser of two evils - as long as we're talking about a once a year event - is probably normal coke. Aspartame is very bad.

at Captain Obvious.
It was me what done the faux pas of calling it full fat coke, yes I am well away that there is no actual fat in it.

It's just a figure of speech. Full sugar coke or sugary coke just doesn't sound right.

Next time I will try to remember the speech marks.

Or inverted commas

Arya, it wasn't a faux pas, I just didn't know if people knew, that's all! Sheesh....

TeamEdward, how does stopping drinking Pepsi Max make someone lose 8 stone - isn't it also sugar free?

There's evidence that diet drinks trigger the appetite, so instead of winding up feeling full after drinking them, the way you would with full fat sugared soda, you eat more than you otherwise would have. It's also probable that it affects the metabolism differently, making people more likely to gain weight and less likely to lose it.

very disappointed so many people still believe aspartame is bad for you despite that theory being comprehensively debunked by rigorous scientific studies. Goes to show people still prefer to read junk science new age articles than actual scientific studies

It does make sense that when your body is craving sugar (say if you wake up with a bit of a hangover) and you have a diet drink.. your body is expecting sugar and doesn't get it.. get's pissed off and demands you give it what it wants.

It does increase your appetite because it's annoyed you've tried to trick it

I lost five stone drinking nothing but pepsi max.

It doesn't make me crave sweet stuff, the opposite in fact.

obviously there's nutthing good in it, but I allow my children to have it as a treat because I reckon that the danger is there's too much old fashioned sugar in their diet. I don't want to give them sugary drinks too. So diet coke (occasionally, when we're out) is at least NOT SUGAR so it has that going for it.

sorry, I did eat as well obviously. I didn't just drink pepsi max.

All fizzy drinks are bad for children. Diet coke is also bad because it does have artificial additives to them. Bad in the sense that, their bodies do not need such artificial powder to digest and process. If you give them water, or more natural drinks like diluted fruit juices, then they may actually thank you in the future when they have build up a good defense system.

Do not cave in at this early stage, because children also "associate" food and find it comforting, so if you do not start to begin with, then they won't want it when they get older.

Parents may not also consider this as well, but the alkalinity of the carbonated water actually will conflict with the child's digestion process. Do not get them hooked if you can.

No we only have coke or fizzy drinks here in illness.

I think three cans of fizzy drink can actually re wire the brain.

I would steer clear of it, and never say its a treat....

Oyr DD thinks fizzy water is same thing and enjoys that...

Yeh, never say "treat" and let children "associate" it in their minds as if this is something good. Unwiring this in the far future when they have to look after their own health will be even harder I think.

I seriously believe I might be addicted to diet coke and always have cans in the house. If I leave one lying within reach of ds1, he'll always attempt to drink it. He is never allowed it.

I had a really big diet coke habit when I started dating my dh. He told me that his college friend would soak his copperheaded golf clubs in coke overnight to eat off the green oxidizaton. That did it for me! I think I would keep my kid away from it for as long as possible.

I wasn't allowed Coke at all, even as a rare treat until I was a teenager. On the rare occasions that I had soda, it was a non-caffeinated variety, usually Sprite.

Sorry but all coke whether full fat or diet is full of evil sweeteners. Sugar is possibly the most evil. It is heart breaking for me when I see under fives with painfull cavities in their teeth. Water is all they need to stay hydrated.

If you do give your DC's soda, have them drink it through a straw. This minimizes damage to teeth.