Why I Don't Drink Diet Coke
Tastes like plastic, first of all. But, also because I figured out a long time ago that eating diet foods is counterproductive. Low-fat pastry, for example, is packed with sugar and no fat to make you feel full. So, shortly after eating it, you're not just hungry, you're raging bitch, get the fuck out of the way so I can get a donut hungry. A much better idea is eating small portions of high-nutrient food with fat in it. But, that's just Amythink. Here's a study that bears my thinking out. From an article by Alice Park in Time about a study in the journal Obesity that suggests our bodies can't be fooled by diet or low-cal versions of foods:
Led by David Pierce, researchers at the University of Alberta studied the eating habits of young rats, and found that they tended to overeat when they were fed "diet" foods. Though the new study was conducted in animals, it adds to a growing body of research in humans that suggests a diet-foods paradox: the more low-calorie (or even zero-calorie) sodas and foods you consume, the more your body demands payback for the calories it was deprived.Pierce and his team started with the assumption that animals, and young animals in particular, are adapted to crave high-calorie foods that are packed with fat and carbohydrates, the crucial biological fuel that rapidly growing juveniles need. Using classic Pavlovian conditioning techniques, Pierce trained his rats to associate low-calorie foods with a "diet" taste, and high-calorie foods with a different taste. So, when the rats were fed a high-calorie food that had been flavored with the diet taste, their brains assumed that their bodies were running low on calories. These animals then overate at their next meal in an effort to refuel and make up for the lost energy. "Animals have the ability to sense the caloric value of food they take in," says Pierce. "We found out that an animal can learn to use flavors to predict calories in an attempt to achieve energy balance."
This same phenomenon could explain similar results in recent studies of dieters, says Pierce. Two years ago, scientists at the University of Texas reported in an eight-year study that for every can of diet soda that a person drank, he raised his risk of being overweight by 41%, compared to a 30% increase in drinkers of regular, sugared drinks. Earlier this year, another study of diet-soda drinkers came to a similar conclusion, this time about metabolic syndrome, the dangerous constellation of risk factors, such as obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance, that increases the likelihood of heart disease. In this report, part of the 60-year-old Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that soda drinkers, regardless of whether they consumed diet or regular beverages, had a 48% higher risk of metabolic syndrome than non-soda drinkers.
At the time, even the study authors conceded that it was impossible to implicate diet drinks completely, since it's possible that those who drank low-calorie beverages were already overweight or at higher risk of metabolic syndrome, and chose the diet drinks in an effort to get healthier. But Pierce's work hints that a more basic, biological mechanism may be at work. The animals in his study were able to predict the amount of calories in a food based on taste, demonstrating that the body uses cues like taste and texture to make sure it's getting enough fuel. Just as Pierce's rats were fooled into thinking they hadn't absorbed enough calories after eating diet chow, people are preprogrammed to anticipate sugary, high-calorie fulfillment when drinking a soda or noshing on a sweet-tasting snack. So, the diet versions of these foods may leave them unsatisfied, driving them to eat more to make up the difference.
Since the study is working off the theory that the taste of diet vs high-calorie foods that cause the overeating, I'm wondering what happens when someone has become accustomed to the diet taste as "normal." I wonder this because as someone who grew up eating mostly low-fat and low-cal alternatives, that's what I'm used to. I prefer frozen yogurt to real ice cream, diet soda to regular, etc. The real deal, especially when it comes to sweets, is often far too rich and too sweet for me. My associations with such foods are not tastiness and nourishment, but all kinds of uncomfortable stomach issues. After deviating from life long habits for a couple of years, I gained weight, ate more, and had more stomach problems. When I made a conscious effort to go back to the low-fat/low-cal way I'd been eating most of my life, the problems went away as did the weight. What I'm posing here is that people who were used to the real thing, then tried to switch to lose weight have the problem with eating more to compensate for the "diet taste." But those of us who are used to the diet alternatives perhaps don't have that problem. Anyone else feel that way, or am I just weird?
Allison at August 9, 2007 8:30 AM
Actually, diet foods are usually MUCH sweeter as they replace the fat with piles of sugar. Carbohydrates -- especially those that come from agriculturally based products like bread -- are the real problem, as Gary Taubes will show in his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, that will finally be out in September:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400040787?ie=UTF8&tag=advicegoddess-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400040787
Amy Alkon at August 9, 2007 8:37 AM
I happen to be one of those people who LOVES Diet Coke. Diet Pepsi is gross. My thought process is, if I drink an occassional soda, and I'm by no means a huge soda drinker, why add an additional several hundred calories, if it can be calorie free? Lately, I tried and liked Coke Zero. I have a taste preference for the diet drinks vs. the regular because regular non-diet sodas taste heavy and syrupy. Regular Coke is way heavy with a bite I don't care for.
Same thing with sugar. If I need to add sugar or sweetness to something, I prefer the lighter taste of Equal to regular table sugar.
Cathleen at August 9, 2007 9:27 AM
One of the neatest kernels of wisdom from Fast Food Nation (the book) was that while the human tongue is endlessly desirous of the sensation of fat sliding across it (as this helps the flavors linger on taste buds), the mouth is not very good at detecting how much fat is going by, as long as there's some. So now I dip the corner leaf of the salad into the dressing instead of pouring it all over the plate, and return almost all the little tub of Ranch to the waiter afterward. Works with everything... Cheese in sandwiches, butter on toast, etc.
Crid at August 9, 2007 9:48 AM
I eat small portions of high-fat food. The problem really is carbohydrates from bread and other food unavailable in the Pleistocene. Try something, Crid: Cut out bread and other carbs (pasta, rice, corn) for a month. Gregg's been doing it and lost 10 pounds in short order. Eat meat, fish, chicken, and vegetables (in butter or oil). Just no breading. And no lowfat or fat free food, which leaves you hungry. If you have green beans, put olive oil on them. That's how I eat, and even if I don't exercise, I stay thin. I used to be rounder when I dieted. These days, I eat bread at breakfast, and that's pretty much it. No rice, pasta, etc. Oh, and for that month, cut out alcohol, too. No fruit, either. P.S. My blood pressure is fabulously low, thanks. Taubes book, again, will prove much of conventional wisdom about diet wrong, along with proving that much of the "science" isn't science at all.
Amy Alkon at August 9, 2007 10:32 AM
Amy - your advice to Crid on "how to eat" IS the South Beach diet in short. And you didn't charge $29.99!!
It's not so much a "diet" as a lifestyle/habit overhaul. Stick to lean meats and fish and veggies...with heart healthy oils (olive oil). Fats from animals can clog up arteries so keep those to a minimum. I'm a sucker for pastas, yummmmmm, but I know I have to keep the proportions to mostly meat and salad and then the starch is my "treat."
So, although you aren't a nutritionist (at least I didn't think so), your information is great and I support your recommendations to Crid.
(P.S: you can eat fruit but it's not a "freebie" b/c fruit does have a lot of sugar in it...but the fiber and water content are beneficial)
Gretchen at August 9, 2007 10:42 AM
The truth is, Atkins and Herman Tarnower were right, and Taubes' book will prove that. Not a nutritionist, but I've learned from the French and from reading on this as a sort of hobby. Studies and books based in the kind of science where they're looking for the truth rather than looking to rubberstamp what's understood to be the truth. A similar example is in the cause of ulcers. Forgive me if memory isn't serving me -- I interviewed Taubes for about an hour about his book about a month ago for my bunny hugger column, but that recording is on my home computer...anyway, I believe he said that we knew what really caused ulcers in the 50s, and then "scientists" went on assumption they knew for the next 50 some years.
Amy Alkon at August 9, 2007 11:02 AM
> No rice, pasta, etc. Oh, and
> for that month, cut out
> alcohol, too.
Christ, can I talk to girls? Shit.
Crid at August 9, 2007 11:37 AM
Does Taubes have a section about ulcers? Havent they discovered they are caused by bacteria not stress?
PurplePen at August 9, 2007 12:20 PM
Yes, they did. He just mentioned it as an aside -- a parallel to the stuff we just "know" about cholesterol, etc.
Christ, can I talk to girls? Shit.
Crid, I'm sure you're very engaging in your unlubricated form.
Uh...well, you know what I mean.
Amy Alkon at August 9, 2007 12:22 PM
Puh-dum-PUM
Crid at August 9, 2007 1:04 PM
I tried this low carb thing and found it very hard to stick to. It sounds a lot easier than it is. We're talking NO chinese food (rice and noodles), NO pasta, NO sandwichs, No Mexican food (corn), NO sushi, basically just meat and veggies. I'm quite sure it's valid but I just don't really like meat enough for it to work for me.
But I might have another go at it. I'm in my early 40s and it just gets harder to maintain a normal weight each year. Something has to change.
Todd Fletcher at August 9, 2007 5:31 PM
Not to continue the sexual innuendo here, but I've found that nuts (fats *and* protein) are the perfect snack between meals. I'm especially addicted to pistachios. So much so, in fact, my thumbnails aren't in the best of shape because I'm constantly cracking shells open (it's so much cheaper to buy them unshelled and in bulk) at my desk at work. Nuts will fill you up, and the sensation of hunger will last much longer, than if you ate a bunch of crackers and dip, microwave popcorn or a granola bar.
Us office workers, round about 11am and 3pm, we get hungry.
Rebecca at August 9, 2007 7:11 PM
I tried this low carb thing and found it very hard to stick to. It sounds a lot easier than it is. We're talking NO chinese food (rice and noodles), NO pasta, NO sandwichs, No Mexican food (corn), NO sushi, basically just meat and veggies. I'm quite sure it's valid but I just don't really like meat enough for it to work for me.
Actually, low-carb doesn't have to mean NO-carb. It's the kind of carbs you eat that matter. I struggled with my weight all my life, but especially after my pregnancy, when I had stabilized at about 30 pounds above my previous highest weight. I cut out sugar and "white" carbs (white bread, white potatoes) and ate limited amounts of less-processed carbs. After years of struggling on low-fat diets (and sometimes *gaining* while following the diet to the letter...yes Weight Watchers, I'm talking to YOU!) this was almost effortless after the first couple of weeks, though it does require more shopping and cooking. And Chinese? Stick to the meat and veggie dishes, no breading, and if they have it order brown rice instead. Sushi? Skip the rice ball or order sashimi, and have some nice edamame and sunomono salad with it. Mexican? I lived on Chile Lime Salad from La Salsa for lunch while I was in my "losing" mode...hold the tortilla strips and dressing on the side. What's amazing is that eating this way almost seems to have reset my metabolism...I'm able to maintain my pre-pregnancy stable weight without a lot of effort. I'm able to enjoy small amounts of sugar (birthday cake at the office) and white bread (the good stuff from Breadbar, toasted and spread with Brie for breakfast, yum!) but have lost most of my sugar/starch cravings and my blood sugar, which used to swing low frequently, is stable. It's been over four years now, and I'm not "white knuckling" it to keep the weight off.
deja pseu at August 10, 2007 11:09 AM
Oh, and I second the recommendation for nuts as a snack. I go to Trader Joe's and get the "Just A Handful" (Lena, don't go there!) which are individually packaged, snack-sized portions of roasted, unsalted almonds to keep in my desk.
deja pseu at August 10, 2007 11:16 AM
I've been eating the same way as Amy for many years, and I have stayed at the same weight for most of my life. I am 5'10" and weigh 134. I eat the best quality food in small portions, no pasta, minimal bread, lots of veggies and protein.
Food should be satisfying and pleasurable, but not your only source of pleasure, the way it is for a lot of people-that's what sex is for!
Chrissy at August 10, 2007 1:15 PM
I mean my adult life, sorry.
Chrissy at August 10, 2007 1:17 PM
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