4 liters of diet soda a week

[Judo Tom]

i eat good i drink lots of water.. i work out a lot i suppliment properly but not excessively i am at my perfect weight right now (competition weight) but i have one fix...

i need caffeine here and there at work.. i work really really long hours up to 80 a week at times.. i hate coffee.. and i recently stopped taking my stackers.. and switched to diet mt dew code red.. tastes great but im wondering about the effects of that much caffeine, aspartame and brominated vegetable oil

i am looking for realistic opinions or facts or feedback not scare tactics or conspiracy theory type stuff although i am prepared that the real facts might be close to that.. so please give some opinions.. and possible low cost replacements and the trade offs / benefits of switching.

thanks...

btw i wasnt sure if this is the right forum hope its ok here..

 

[sawastea]

Mt Dew Red, is that diet? I thought it was a different taste but still regular soda. If that's the case, each 12oz can can have close to 30g sugar, which is asinine. If you want a caffeine boost and don't want to take Stacker, why don't you buy caffeine pills at your local Walmart, Walgreens, Eckards, CNS? Down it with H2O...

 

[Judo Tom]

its diet mt dew code red

so it has no sugar or cals but a good amt of caffeine..

 

[DelCastillo]

It's diet. And Mt. Dew has more Caff than anything less than jolt

Caff tablets would probably be best. You'd have more control over it. The biggest problem you'll have with the sodas is the sodium...

 

[bigjwc]

As a diet soda addict I say this with much displeasure! But I think soda is detrimental if you’re trying to setup your body with an optimal growth/health environment. The main problem with soda is that it is very acidic. All enzymes in the body work best at an optimum pH level that is close to 7. A pH of 7 is neutral (water), under 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline. A change of 1 on the pH scale represents a factor of 10. This means that a pH of 5 is 100x more acidic than a pH of 7! Sodas (diet or not) have a pH of 2.5 to 3.5! To eliminate the excess acids, the body has to bind the H+-ions to NH3, which it gets from catabolizing tissue (mostly muscle). Lifting weights already puts strain on your body by making it more acidic. Weight training tends to produce lot of lactic acid, which is a big factor in lowering the pH level in a bodybuilder. Also, a protein-rich diet usually contains a lot of animal products which are also acidic. This diet isn’t acidic because of the protein itself, it’s acidic because of all the sulfur and phosphate contained in animal products. Keep in mind that the body will use NH3 from amino acids to act as a buffer to raise your body’s pH levels. Why add soda into the mix, further lowering your pH levels?

By the way, fruits and especially vegetables are good buffering agents for bring your pH levels back toward optimal levels…eat lots! I have also read that potatoes are the king of buffering foods. Calcium citrate, potassium citrate and magnesium citrate are also very good buffers.

 

[Mr.X]

i eat good i drink lots of water.. i work out a lot i suppliment properly but not excessively i am at my perfect weight right now (competition weight) but i have one fix...

i need caffeine here and there at work.. i work really really long hours up to 80 a week at times.. i hate coffee.. and i recently stopped taking my stackers.. and switched to diet mt dew code red.. tastes great but im wondering about the effects of that much caffeine, aspartame and brominated vegetable oil

i am looking for realistic opinions or facts or feedback not scare tactics or conspiracy theory type stuff although i am prepared that the real facts might be close to that.. so please give some opinions.. and possible low cost replacements and the trade offs / benefits of switching.

thanks...

btw i wasnt sure if this is the right forum hope its ok here..

Carbonated soda has shown to reduce protein synthesis in the body, at the amounts you mention you might have a problem.
Also, soday companies have a lot of pull with the FDA so usually 1 serving can have up to 2g carbs instead of the .99 that allowed, so in 4 lt. you might be taking in more carbs then you think - not sure if ketosis or low- carb is a concern for you. In addition, the PH balace that was mentioned earlier by someone can cause problems with the overall body PH.

Mr.X

 

[dirtyboi]

So what now? I can't eat cirus fruits or my health will go to shit because my body is acidic? Point me to a study that proves that diet cola changes your Ph to a dangerous level.

 

[bigjwc]

Dirtyboi--you’re missing the point! First off, soda drinks aren't going to change your pH to a dangerous level! No one said that! What they will do is contribute to lowering your pH levels, which isn't helpful for muscle growth or overall health! As for fruits, you've got it all wrong! Take pineapple for example. It has a pH of 5.5-6.0. Soda has a pH 2.5-3.5....about 1,000X more acidic that citrus fruit! Plus, you need to remember that fruits tend to contain a lot of alkaline minerals (like potassium, calcium and magnesium) which actually help balance your pH. You’ve need to compare apples to apples, if you’ll pardon the pun!

 

[Mr.X]

So what now? I can't eat cirus fruits or my health will go to shit because my body is acidic? Point me to a study that proves that diet cola changes your Ph to a dangerous level.

No one said it's dangerous, you have a reading problem here my friend. Look back, it was clearly stated that PH fluctuation and carbonation lower protein synthesis and digestion. Thus, it's not the way to go for muscle growth.

here you can do a little research yourself:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/

Mr.X