Originally Posted By Labuda Jon Stewart had an interesting bit tonight about the soda ban in NYC. And the fact that Mayor Bloomberg and some other city official are wanting to make less than 25 grams of marijuana not even a misdemeanor, but merely a "violation." Which means it would be a $100 fine. Jon then showed us 25 grams of pot (and boy howdy, it looked like GOOD pot - I'd easily pay $120 a quarter for it if I were still smoking) and I now know that 25 grams is an OUNCE. That's a HECK of a lot of pot. It would take me MONTHS to go through that much. Anyhow, it roughly filled up half the same size of glass that would get a restaurant a $200 fine. So, $200 for a 16(?) oz serving of soda, or $100 for the amount of marijuana that would fill up half that glass. That's just insane. Not that I'm against legalizing pot or making it a minor offense that's not even a misdemeanor as it is here in Austin right now - up to 3 oz, that is, which is a CRAZY large amount. Just insane.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Mawnck, the article isn't junk science. It actually points you to several peer-reviewed research studies that show that diet soda increases belly fat. You can look up the studies linking diet soda to obesity by searching for "diet soda obesity" at Google Scholar, which will link you directly to abstracts and articles showing the research and their methodology. <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=diet+soda+obesity&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C48&as_sdtp=" target="_blank">http://scholar.google.com/scho...as_sdtp=</a>
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Mawnck, the article isn't junk science. It actually points you to several peer-reviewed research studies that show that diet soda increases belly fat.<< Most junk science articles do that. One good citation doesn't excuse the BS. Speaking directly to your point, I'm not arguing with slide 3, I'm only pointing out that slide 6 directly contradicts it. Junk science article. You can agree with the conclusion that soda is bad for you (I started this topic, remember?) while still seeing that the article itself also contains a lot of problematic ingredients.
Originally Posted By ecdc Here's an interesting article that addresses aspartame directly: <a href="http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/are-artificial-sweeteners-safe/" target="_blank">http://www.sciencebasedmedicin...rs-safe/</a> >>Is Aspartame Safe? Yes! For everyone except people who have the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU). They must avoid aspartame because they can’t process phenylalanine and accumulated high levels of phenylalanine can damage their brains. Science has adequately demonstrated that aspartame is safe for everyone else.<< I don't drink diet soda because it tastes awful, not because it's loaded with poison. One of the most common falsehoods today is that our bodies are riddled with "toxins" that we must somehow purge or get rid of. The detox industry makes billions each year on this naïveté. Truth is, our bodies, apart from some people with very specific conditions, do a remarkable job of getting rid of our toxins.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>You can look up the studies linking diet soda to obesity<< I'm curious about that word "linking." That sounds very much like there's no direct cause between diet soda and obesity, but rather situations where people who drink diet soda think they can therefore get away with eating more with their meal, etc. I'm not advocating for soda, or diet soda (I don't drink it), I just am amazed, on a near-daily basis, how confidently people talk about health issues. I hear people talk about chiropractic or reflexology as if they are solid science. Or acupuncture. And when it comes to weight loss - wow. It's amazing how sure people are of all the right cures, none of which have anything to do, at least directly, with caloric intake and exercise. Instead, it's don't eat this, don't drink that, eat at this time of day, eat this many small meals a day, do a detox program, do a raw food diet, do a protein diet, do HCG. It. Is. All. Garbage.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Regardless of whether the article is "junk science", the research that the article refers to is not.
Originally Posted By mawnck >> the research that the article refers to is not. << The research that there are no links to? We're just supposed to take their word for it that anonymous "Swiss scientists" made this shocking discovery about diet sodas polluting the groundwater? I call BS. You can find (or invent) a "scientist" to say just about anything. Any watcher of the GOP already knows this.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Peer reviewed science doesn't work that way, mawnck. True, people can find someone to say something that sounds scientific, but once other scientists begin testing the hypotheses those statements are quickly proven accurate or false. There's a difference between people being blindly credulous of pseudo-scientific claims and being skeptical enough to look in to the research itself. Should Rodale be posting links to the original research? Of course. Is their article sensationalist? Yep. Does it refer to actual, peer-reviewed scientific studies? Yes. A quick search at scholar.google.com found several studies regarding the presence of artificial sweeteners in ground water. <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=sucralose+groundwater&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C48&as_sdtp=" target="_blank">http://scholar.google.com/scho...as_sdtp=</a> The studies look at it as a marker for groundwater contamination. Rodale made the leap - untested - that the presence of sucralose and other artificial sweeteners in ground water can cause health problems. (That's a valid hypothesis, but seems to be as yet untested scientifically.) Environmental scientists and engineers use sucralose and artificial sweeteners to track groundwater contamination from human sources. There is no BS there, and you can see their research and their methodology for yourself.
Originally Posted By EdisYoda I remember many moons ago when I worked at Burger King... the number of people who would come in and order a Double whopper with cheese and a small diet coke because they were on a diet... uh huh, sure they were.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I'm sure I looked like a hypocrite in my soda drinking days, but I drank the diet because the sugary stuff wasn't thirst quenching and I didn't like the feel of the sugar film left on my teeth. I still prefer diet to regular soda when I indulge.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "I still prefer diet to regular soda when I indulge." Me too. I actualy prefer the taste of either Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke over the regular stuff. Oddly enough, my favorite soda or whatever is Diet Sunkist.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer I just ask for 12 ounces of Rum, because too much Coke isn't good for you.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb It is my sincere belief that beer is far healthier than soda, unless you're driving ;-).
Originally Posted By u k fan I don't know much about this ban, but whenever I visit the US I'm surprised at the size of a fast food soda. Your Happy Meal size is our "go large"!!!
Originally Posted By Dabob2 It's like I've always said; beer is food. Especially Guinness, which after all, is chewable.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I don't know much about this ban, but whenever I visit the US I'm surprised at the size of a fast food soda. Your Happy Meal size is our "go large"!!!<<< I was also very surprised when I saw the sizes of the drinks. The biggest size here in Austria is 0.5 liters. What's the biggest size in the US? Is it one liter? I think the portions of the fries are also smaller over here.
Originally Posted By JeffG In the US, 32oz (just under a liter) sodas are pretty common. A lot of fast food places and convenience stores also offer a 48oz (just under 1.5oz) drink. At most fast food places, a small drink is now 20oz (about .6L) with the 32oz listed as "medium" and the 48oz as "large". Kids' drinks are typically either 8oz or 16oz. In addition to all that, virtually every restaurant in the US offers unlimited (during one visit) free refills on drinks. -Jeff
Originally Posted By TomSawyer A liter of soda has about 100g of sugar in it. That is three times the daily amount of sugar recommended for an adult male, four times the amount for women, and 8 times the amount recommended for kids. But it's our right as Americans to consume 1/2 cup of sugar along with our Burger King bacon sundae.
