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Myth-busting protein consumption assumptions.
Of all of the myths that abound when it comes to nutrition, the assumptions that surround protein consumption and kidney damage seem to be the one everyone talks about most often. How did it start? From the research, I did this particular myth started from research on patients with kidney disease. And why is that? People with kidney disease have difficulty of filtrating protein, and that’s why in some cases they are on a low-protein diet.
Health coaches help clients explore what changes they’re ready for, experiment with changes, and connect their goals to their long-term vision. Find out more about the behavior change techniques health coaches use to help clients.
Scientific journal articles can be incredibly intimidating to read, even for other scientists. Heck, I have a Ph.D. in a research science and have authored scientific papers, but sometimes I look at a research report outside my field of study and just go, “Nope, can’t decipher this.”
Learning to read them is an important skill, however, in today’s environment of what I call “research sensationalism.” This is where the popular media gets hold of a scientific research report and blows the findings WAY out of proportion, usually while misrepresenting what the researchers actually did and/or found. You know what I’m talking about.
Unfortunately, you can’t trust popular media reports about scientific research studies. Too often, it’s shockingly evident that the people writing these reports (a) aren’t trained to evaluate scientific research, and (b) are just parroting whatever newswire release they got that morning with no apparent fact-checking.
Thus, if staying informed is important to you—or you just want to be able to shut down all the fearmongers in your life—you need to learn how to read the original journal articles and form your own judgments. You don’t have to become an expert in every scientific field, nor a statistician, to do so. With a little know-how, you can at least decide if the popular media reports seem accurate and if any given study is worth your time and energy.
Where to Begin
First things first, locate the paper. If it’s behind a paywall, try searching Google Scholar to see if you can find it somewhere else. Sometimes authors upload pdfs to their personal webpages, for example.
Ten years ago, I would have told you to check the journal’s reputation next. Now there are so many different journals with different publishing standards popping up all the time, it’s hard to keep up. More and more researchers are choosing to publish in newer open access journals for various reasons.
Ideally, though, you want to see that the paper was peer reviewed. This means that it at least passed the hurdle of other academics agreeing that it was worth publishing. This is not a guarantee of quality, however, as any academic can tell you. If a paper isn’t peer reviewed, that’s not an automatic dismissal, but it’s worth noting.
Next, decide what type of paper you’re dealing with:
Theoretical papers
Authors synthesize what is “known” and offer their own interpretations and suggestions for future directions.
Rarely the ones getting popular press.
Great if you want to know the new frontiers and topics of debates in a given field.
Original research, aka empirical research
Report the findings of one of more studies where the researchers gather data, analyze it, and present their findings.
Encompasses a wide variety of methods, including ethnographic and historical data, observational research, and laboratory-based studies.
Meta-analyses & systematic reviews
Attempt to pool or summarize the findings of a group of studies on the same topic to understand the big picture.
Combining smaller studies increases the number of people studied and the statistical power. It can also “wash out” minor problems in individual studies.
Only as good as the studies going into them. If there are too few studies, or existing studies are of poor quality, pooling them does little. Usually these types of reports include a section describing the quality of the data.
Since popular media articles usually focus on empirical research papers, that’s what I’ll focus on today. Meta-analyses and reviews tend to be structured in the same way, so this applies to them as well.
Evaluating Empirical Research
Scientists understand that even the best designed studies will have issues. It’s easy to pick apart and criticize any study, but “issues” don’t make studies unreliable. As a smart reader, part of your job is to learn to recognize the flaws in a study, not to tear it down necessarily, but to put the findings in context.
For example, there is always a trade-off between real-world validity and experimental control. When a study is conducted in a laboratory—whether on humans, mice, or individual cells—the researchers try to control (hold constant) as many variables as possible except the ones in which they are interested. The more they control the environment, the more confident they can be in their findings… and the more artificial the conditions.
That’s not a bad thing. Well-controlled studies, called randomized control trials, are the best method we have of establishing causality. Ideally, though, they’d be interpreted alongside other studies, such as observational studies that detect the same phenomenon out in the world and other experiments that replicate the findings.
NO STUDY IS EVER MEANT TO STAND ON ITS OWN. If you take nothing else from this post, remember that. There is no perfect study. No matter how compelling the results, a single study can never be “conclusive,” nor should it be used to guide policy or even your behavioral choices. Studies are meant to build on one another and to contribute to a larger body of knowledge that as a whole leads us to better understand a phenomenon.
Reading a Scientific Journal Article
Most journal articles follow the same format: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion/Conclusions. Let’s go through what you should get out of each section, even if you’re not a trained research scientist.
The Abstract succinctly describes the purpose, methods, and main findings of the paper. Sometimes you’ll see advice to skip the abstract. I disagree. The abstract can give you a basic idea of whether the paper is interesting to you and if it is likely to be (in)comprehensible.
DO NOT take the abstract at face value though. Too often the abstract oversimplifies or even blatantly misrepresents the findings. The biggest mistake you can make is reading only the abstract. It is better to skip it altogether than to read it alone.
The Introduction describes the current research question, i.e., the purpose of the study. The authors review past literature and set up why their study is interesting and needed. It’s okay to skim the intro.
While reading the introduction:
Make a note of important terms and definitions.
Try to summarize in your own words what general question the authors are trying to address. If you can, also identify the specific hypothesis they are testing. For example, the question might be how embarrassment affects people’s behavior in social interactions, and the specific hypothesis might be that people are more likely to insult people online when they feel embarrassed.
You might choose to look up other studies cited in the introduction.
The Methods should describe exactly what the researchers did in enough detail that another researcher could replicate it. Methods can be dense, but I think this is the most important section in terms of figuring out how much stock you should be putting in the findings.
While reading the methods, figure out:
Who/what were the subjects in this study? Animals, humans, cells?
If this is a human study, how were people selected to participate? What are their demographics? How well does the sample represent the general population or the population of interest?
What type of study is this?
Observational: observing their subjects, usually in the natural environment
Questionnaire/survey: asking the subject questions such as opinion surveys, behavioral recall (e.g., how well they slept, what they ate), and standardized questionnaires (e.g., personality tests)
Experimental: researchers manipulate one or more variables and measure the effects
If this is an experiment, is there a control condition—a no-treatment condition used as a baseline for comparison?
How were the variables operationalized and measured? For example, if the study is designed to compare low-carb and high-carb diets, how did the researchers define “low” and “high?” How did they figure out what people were eating?
Some red flags that should give you pause about the reliability of the findings are:
Small or unrepresentative sample (although “small” can be relative).
Lack of a control condition in experimental designs.
Variables operationalized in a way that doesn’t make sense, for example “low-carb” diets that include 150+ grams of carbs per day.
The Results present the statistical analyses. This is unsurprisingly the most intimidating section for a lot of people. You don’t need to understand statistics to get a sense of the data, however.
While reading the results:
Start by looking at any tables and figures. Try to form your own impression of the findings.
If you aren’t familiar with statistical tests, do your best to read what they authors say about the data, paying attention to which effects they are highlighting. Refer back to the tables and figures and see if what they’re saying jibes with what you see.
Pay attention to the real magnitude of any differences. Just because two groups are statistically different or something changes after an intervention doesn’t make it important. See if you can figure out in concrete terms how much the groups differed, for example. If data are only reported in percentages or relative risk, be wary of drawing firm conclusions.
It can take a fair amount of effort to decipher a results section. Sometimes you have to download supplementary data files to get the raw numbers you’re looking for.
The Discussion or Conclusions summarize what the study was about. The authors offer their interpretation of the data, going into detail about what they think the results actually mean. They should also discuss the limitations of the study.
While reading the discussion:
Use your own judgment to decide if you think the authors are accurately characterizing their findings. Do you agree with their interpretation? Are they forthcoming about the limitations of their study?
Red flags:
Concrete statements like “proved.” Hypotheses can be supported, not proven.
Talking in causal terms when the data is correlational!As I said above, well-controlled experimental designs are the only types of research that can possibly speak to causal effects. Questionnaire, survey, and historical data can tell you when variables are potentially related, but they say nothing about what causes what. Anytime authors use words like “caused,” “led to,” or “_[X]_ increased/decreased _[Y]_” about variables they didn’t manipulate in their study, they are either being sloppy or intentionally misleading.
What about Bias?
Bias is tricky. Even the best intentioned scientists can fall victim to bias at all stages of the research process. You certainly want to know who funded the study and if the researchers have any conflicts of interest. That doesn’t you should flatly dismiss every study that could potentially be biased, but it’s important to note and keep in mind. Journal papers should list conflicts of interest.
Solicit Other Opinions
Once you feel like you have your own opinion about the research, see what other knowledgeable people you trust have to say. I have a handful of people I trust for opinions—Mark, of course, Chris Kresser, and Robb Wolf being a few. Besides fact-checking yourself, this is a good way to learn more about what to look for when reading original research.
To be clear, I don’t think it’s important that you read every single study the popular media grabs hold of. It’s often okay just to go to your trusted experts and see what they say. However, if a report has you really concerned, or your interest is particularly piqued, this is a good skill to have.
Remember my admonition: No study is meant to stand alone. That means don’t put too much stock in any one research paper. It also means don’t dismiss a study because it’s imperfect, narrow in scope, or you can otherwise find flaws. This is how science moves forward—slowly, one (imperfect) study at a time.
That’s it for today. Share your questions and observations below, and thanks for reading.
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Cluster training is an effective tool to shock your body into new gains, as well as break up the monotony of taking a straight sets approach to your lifting. Beyond that, it’s cool and different.
I actually find it strange that more hasn’t been written about cluster training recently. There was a period of time there when it was quite popular, but now it seems that it’s fallen back into obscurity, and I have no idea why.
Carnivores are much closer to Primal eaters on the dietary spectrum, The Primal Blueprint posits that animal foods—meat, fish, fowl, shellfish, eggs, and dairy—represent the most nutrient-dense, most crucial component of the human diet. Carnivore takes that and runs with it, to its logical conclusion: Animal foods are so nutrient-dense and so important that we should eat them to the exclusion of everything else.
I don’t exactly agree, but I see where they’re coming from. And there’s a lot we can learn from the carnivore movement. I’ve got 8 takeaways today.
1. That a Steak Really Isn’t Going To Kill You
I’ve covered these arguments dozens of times on these pages. But it’s truly heartening to see hundreds and thousands of anecdotal reports from people who are thriving while eating two, three, four ribeyes a day for months and even years on end. When you see that, even though it’s “just” a collection of anecdotes, it gets really hard to think that eating a big grass-fed ribeye whenever you want is really going to give you cancer or diabetes or whatever else malady they’re trying to pin on red meat.
2. That More Fiber Isn’t Always the Answer
Of all the food components out there, fiber is the one that really trips me up. I still can’t quite get a handle on it. Is it important? Is it harmful? Is it useless? There’s conflicting evidence at every turn. My hunch—and reading of the anthropological and scientific literature—tells me that some prebiotic substrate is a good thing for healthy human guts, but it also tells me that fiber can be harmful in certain situations and in certain gut biomes. After all, we aren’t living like the Hadza, eating antelope colon sashimi and never touching soap. We live relatively sterile existences. Our guts are not ancestral, no matter how many quarts of kefir we quaff.
What carnivore offers is evidence that fiber isn’t always the answer. And remember that animal proteins can offer prebiotic substrate in the form of “animal fiber” (bones, tendons, connective tissue, gristle) and—if you consume dairy—milk oligosaccharides.
3. That Oxalates May Be An Issue
You know that strange feeling you get on your tongue and gums after a big serving of spinach? Those are oxalates, an anti-nutrient found in many if not most plant foods. They can bind to minerals and form crystals, the most infamous being the calcium oxalate crystals which are the most common type of kidney stone. Yeah, not fun.
The carnivore movement has seized on oxalates as a reason not to consume plants. Many animals have the adaptations to digest and nullify large amounts of oxalates. Humans, by and large, do not. There are exceptions, such as the Hadza whose guts harbor oxalate-degrading bacteria, and likely others yet to be discovered. And there’s definite variation even among humans living in industrialized settings—not everyone gets kidney stones because they ate creamed spinach. But it’s a good idea for the average human to at least be aware of oxalates.
Thanks to your newfound awareness of oxalates, you can figure out ways to reduce their impact if you still want to consume them.
You can choose low-oxalate plants. Kale is quite low in oxalates compared to other leafy greens, as are collard greens. Same goes for others in the brassica family, like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower: all low in oxalate.
You can improve your calcium metabolism. Eating enough vitamin A (retinol), vitamin K2, and vitamin D will improve your calcium metabolism and leave less of it hanging around to bind with oxalate and form crystals. Eating enough boron (or supplementing with it, as it doesn’t appear in many foods) can also reduce the formation of calcium oxalate stones.
Drinking about 4 ounces of lemon or lime juice in your water throughout the day will also reduce the formation of calcium oxalate stones.
I don’t mean for this to become a “what to do about oxalates” post. But without the carnivore movement’s broad transmission of the oxalate issue, many people wouldn’t even think about them.
4. That Meat Truly Is the Ancestral Foundation Of the Human Diet
I mean, we knew this. We knew that our hominid ancestors have been eating meat and marrow for over three million years. We knew that our meat-eating is probably what helped set us apart from our primate cousins, that calorie-dense and easily-digestible meat allowed us to shrink our guts and grow our brains. We knew that of all extant and known populations on earth, not a one was vegan.
But the carnivore movement makes you feel it. By eating exclusively meat and not just surviving but apparently thriving on animal foods alone, they force you into a reckoning of their historical primacy in the human diet. Now, not everyone thrives. The drop outs, well, they drop out. We only see the success stories—but that’s true for any diet, including Primal. The drop-outs from diets like Primal or carnivore tend to be less catastrophic and numerous than the drop-outs from veganism or fruitarianism, but they’re definitely out there.
5. That the Best Elimination Diet Might Be an All-Meat One
I wrote a post recently about the Autoimmune Paleo diet, a highly-restrictive but effective elimination diet used to identify trigger foods in autoimmune patients.
Going carnivore might just be a bare-bones version of the same thing. It eliminates all the same foods, plus more. And because it’s more of a scorched-earth approach, it’s simpler. You just eat meat and meat byproducts like bone broth, and nothing else. Such stark boundaries are somehow more digestible to a certain type of person. Less wiggle room, less to think about, less to get wrong.
That’s basically what Robb Wolf recently did to treat lingering gut issues: he ate meat and drank bone broth. For the full story, check out his recent appearance on Dr. Paul Saladino’s podcast.
6. That Phytonutrients Aren’t the Only Way To Induce Hormetic Stress
There are other ways to induce hormetic stress besides plant polyphenols. You can fast. You can exercise. You can expose yourself to cold or heat. You can expose yourself to “meat carcinogens” (yum). However, phytonutrients are good to have around. If you aren’t eating blueberries and broccoli because “those hormetic stressors aren’t the only game in town,” you’d better be doing the other stuff. You’d better be using the sauna, fasting, training hard (but smart), and going out into the cold.
7. That Strong Physical Performance Is Possible Without Tons Of Exogenous Carbs
You only have to look as far as Dr. Shawn Baker breaking rowing records, squatting 500 pounds for reps, and doing box jumps that would shame someone 30 years his junior to know that elite performance is possible—at least in one person—on a carnivorous, carb-free diet. It’s not “supposed” to be possible for anyone. Is Baker a genetic freak? Is he the only person for whom it’s true? I doubt it.
Now, glycogen is helpful. But you can manufacture glucose from amino acids and deposit it as glycogen, which you’ll be getting plenty of from all the protein you eat on a carnivore diet. This might not be the most efficient path for all elite athletes, but the carnivore movement shows that it’s at least possible for some.
8. How To Choose the Most Nutrient-Dense Animal Foods
There are the carnivores who eat steak and assume they’ve covered all their bases, and then there are the carnivores who eat steak and eggs and salmon and liver and kidney and marrow and mussels because they want to ensure they’ve covered all their bases. The former group will say something about “nutrient requirements going down on carnivore,” which may be true, but do all nutrient requirements drop across the board equally? Meanwhile, the latter group might agree with the former about nutrient requirements, but they’ll probably also want to be safer than sorrier. They can tell you all about the vitamin C content of fresh liver, the manganese in the mussels, the selenium in the kidney, the long-chained omega-3s in the salmon, the choline and biotin in the eggs, and the B-vitamins and creatine in the steak.
I’d listen to the latter group, personally. In figuring out the best way to obtain maximum nutrient density through animal foods alone, they can provide a roadmap to anyone who wants to include the most nutrient-dense animal foods in their omnivorous diet.
Diets aren’t ideologies. They aren’t religions. You don’t have to accept everything. You can pick and choose what works for you, especially if it actually works for you. You can heed these lessons contained in the post without actually going full carnivore, just like you could incorporate some of the lessons learned from vegans without going anything close to vegan.
Thanks for reading, everybody. What have you learned from the carnivore movement? Let me know down below in the comments, and have a good week.
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It’s a type of intuition that develops, and it frees the mind to turn off its thinking faculty and dissolve into still awareness.
Do you remember the first time you squatted with a barbell? I don’t know the details of my first squat. I couldn’t tell you where I was, what weight I added to the bar that day, or if I had a friend to help me. I definitely can’t remember what my squat looked like, but the impression of its feeling has always stayed with me. The feeling of being confused, shaky, and unsettled.
Ah, the holidays, the best time for year for joy, friendship, family, laughter, and…E. Coli? With Thanksgiving leftovers still in the fridge and the memory of the most recent romaine lettuce E. Coli outbreak fresh in our minds, another recall has Christmas bakers anxiously checking their flour stockpiles. The recall On November 27, the FDA […]
It’s Giving Tuesday, and while I know the world is full of good causes, today I’m highlighting one close to my heart. It’s one I’ve contributed to significantly because it matters on so many levels.
I’ve spent nearly 14 years working against the tide of misinformation out there around human health and agricultural agenda. Diana Rodgers has worked tirelessly and creatively for the same purpose. She’s just launched a crowdfunding campaign to finish what I think will be one of the most groundbreaking, revolutionary documentary films ever—one that has the power to turn the public conversation around health and ecology. But she needs support to finish and distribute this film, and that’s why I’m sharing her campaign today.
Read more and watch her video to see for yourself.
Diana’s film, Sacred Cow: The Case For Better Meat, details the movement toward the greatest revolution in agriculture—a regenerative food system that supports the human need for a nutrient dense diet and the ecologically sound farming methods that mirror and contribute to the natural health of the land itself.
Diana is a licensed, registered dietitian who’s spent the last 17 years living on a working organic vegetable and pasture-based meat farm, and all of her experience and study comes to bear in the film she’s created—a critical message that challenges the prevailing and destructive food system that undermines our individual health, our economic viability, and our environmental sustainability…and champions the intersection of nutrient dense food and regenerative food production for the good of human health and the good of the planet.
Below is Diana’s note. Watch the video. Read more on her site. Share her work and her crowdfunding campaign—and, if you can, contribute. Let me know what thoughts her work inspires for you. Thanks for reading today, everyone.
As you know, I’ve been working super hard for the last three years on this project, without much of a break. It’s been a struggle at times, but it’s finally coming together – all because of you. Without you, this never would have happened! Thank you.
Please get in there and check out the new video with footage from the film, read about the film’s progress, pre-order my book, get a shirt, or pick up some meat!
Research shows that campaigns that have early funding are the most successful, so if you’re planning on giving, I could really use your help today!
It would be incredible if everyone on this list would share with your friends and family. Let’s make this go viral!
All of the funds raised will go towards marketing the film so as many people as possible can access it easily. Click here to donate now.
Thank you so much for your support!
Happy Sunday,
Diana
P.S. If you were forwarded this email, please sign up here, so you can be the first to know of any updates (or fun campaign surprises!). I’d love to have you in this community!
If you’re genetically susceptible to celiac disease, you may also be more at risk for chronic Lyme disease. In this episode of Revolution Health Radio, I talk with Functional Medicine practitioner Dr. Ramzi Asfour about why a genetic relationship might exist between celiac disease and Lyme disease.
There’s one question we get asked more than any other: “Is diet soda bad for me?”
People want to know if Diet Coke will make them fat and make them sick, or if it’s all just a bunch of hoopla about nothing.
We help our clients navigate challenges with soda and diet soda in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and we’re gonna tell you everything you need about diet soda below.
Here’s what we’ll cover to answer the question, “Is drinking diet soda healthy?”
It would be super evil if it did, what with the whole “diet” thing and all.
Diet sodas utilize “high-intensity sweeteners” which is a fancy term for very-low-calorie (or zero-calorie) sugar substitutes:
Acesulfame Potassium
Advantame
Aspartame
Monk Fruit Extract
Neotame
Saccharin
Sucralose
Stevia
The FDA has approved these eight high-intensity sweeteners for human consumption.[2] You’ll find them in all sorts of food products, not just diet drinks.
Because high-intensity sweeteners are many times sweeter than table sugar, you can make a drink taste “sweet” without including any sugar at all.
Most important, without the sugar, you’re skipping out on all the calories that come with it.
Weight loss depends on consuming fewer calories than you burn, so drinking Diet Coke compared to regular Coke can help tip the equation in favor of “weight loss.”
12 oz Diet Coke total calorie count: 0
12 oz Coca-Cola total calorie count: 150
If you’re trying to lose weight, but love fizzy carbonated and caffeinated beverages, the soda with fewer calories seems like a no-brainer.
“Steve, hold the phone here! Are you saying Diet Coke is okay to drink? I thought the sweeteners and chemicals in it were sketchy!?!”
The concern of drinking diet soda generally rests on three points:
Drinking diet soda will make you crave real sugar.
Your body processes high-intensity sweeteners just like actual sugar.
Artificial sweeteners (like aspartame) can make you sick or cause cancer.
We’ll hit each of these points with its own section below.
Before we continue, I need to make a strong caveat: most studies on diet soda treat all high-intensity sweeteners as one.[3] This is concerning considering there are eight approved high-intensity sweeteners in use.
Does your body process all eight the same?
Some early studies on various sweeteners do show our bodies process them differently.[4]
More studies are being done on individual high-intensity sweeteners as we speak, so expect new information on the subject to unfold.
For now…
Will Drinking Diet Soda Make Me Crave Actual Sugar?
If you eat a bunch of sugary and sweet food regularly, your body can start to crave more of it.[5]
In other words, consistently eating sugary foods in the afternoon can result in an urge for sweets after lunch.
These cravings can make it difficult to turn down the bowl of M&M’s as you pass Debra’s desk (She even got the peanut kind!).
The question becomes, do the high-intensity sweeteners found in diet soda make us crave sugary foods?
The research on this isn’t clear:
Studies done on rats have shown a positive correlation between high-intensity sweeteners and sugar cravings.[6]
A 2019 meta-analysis found two studies where aspartame was added directly to the diets of humans. The result? Those who consumed the high-intensity sweeteners found their sugar craving to be LOWER.[7]
There might be something to the thought that drinking a Diet Coke can help satisfy the sugar craving.
Anecdotally, many of our coaching clients claim that grabbing a diet soda helps them from drinking the regular sugar-filled version. This can be really important, because “cravings” are one of the top issues facing most of our clients.
Which is why we work closely to identify possible food addictions in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so we can start to work through them together. Our strategy is to take it slow, to make small changes to alter these cravings. Over time, this is the best way to see real progress.
If you’d like to learn how we can help battle sugar cravings, click below:
Does My Body Process Artificial Sweeteners Just like Sugar?
Another concern of drinking diet soda rests on the idea that your body processes high-intensity sweeteners as it would normal sugar.
The argument states that these sweeteners are so sweet that they fool your body into thinking it’s consuming actual sugar.
After drinking diet soda, your body responds as it would after consuming normal table sugar: by dumping out insulin. This slows down the fat-burning process.
That’s the gist of it, more or less.
Is it legit?
Do high-intensity sweeteners trick our body into releasing hormones (insulin)?
Again, the studies on this are mixed:
The high-intensity sweeteners sucralose and saccharin were both shown to provide a small insulin response in men.[8]
Aspartame does not appear to elicit the same hormone response.[9]
Verdict?
Is this a HUGE deal? Of all the things to worry about with regards to weight loss or getting healthy, this doesn’t hold the top spot on the list.
While hormones do play a role in weight loss, the main determining factor will always be an energy balance (calories in vs. calories out).
Since most diet sodas have next to zero calories, I’d say the insulin response of high-intensity sweeteners isn’t that important for your weight loss journey.
Can Drinking Diet Soda Cause Cancer? (Is Aspartame or Saccharin Dangerous?)
The other concern people have about diet soda is that it will cause cancer and kill them and everyone they know.
A little hyperbolic perhaps, but…
Should we be worried about the ingredients of diet soda causing us harm?
Some history is in order.
In the 70s a high-intensity sweetener(saccharin) was shown to give rats cancer.[10] People flipped out and actually banned saccharin in America, although it’s since been reintroduced.
Why?
Because no cancer link has ever been shown for the human consumption of saccharin. And folks have looked.[11] A lot.[12]
Not everything that is cancerous to rats is harmful to people, and vice versa.
Plus, you would have to drink 800 cans of diet soda to get to the levels of saccharin given to the rats in the study.
Even an all-night binge of Call of Duty would only put a small fraction of a dent in that.
How about aspartame or any of these other high-intensity sweeteners…
Are they sketchy?
Earlier I stated the FDA, the United States’ regulation agency, approved eight high-intensity sweeteners.
They aren’t the only agency that has done so. Australia, the EU, Japan, and Canada have all reviewed and approved these sweeteners.[13] They did so after a thorough investigation.
So it’s safe to say that high-intensity sweeteners are okay to be used in a reasonable amount.
Which brings up the question…
How Many Diet Sodas Can I Have in a Day?
While the sweeteners in diet soda have been approved safe for human consumption, there is a limit to this approval.[14]But I won’t make you pore over charts and do the math…I’ll do that for you.
What’s the number of 12-ounce diet sodas deemed safe in a day?
18.
Which is A LOT of diet soda.
However, it should be noted that diet soda is not the only place high-intensity sweeteners are found.
Many other food products utilize these sweeteners to cut back on sugar and calories. So keep an eye on protein bars, yogurts, baked goods, etc, for hidden high-intensity sweeteners.
There’s about half the caffeine in Diet Coke versus a regular cup of coffee, which is still a decent amount.
If you have trouble sleeping at night, consider how late in the day you’re having your last can of soda. Perhaps install a 2pm “caffeine cutoff” if you find yourself tossing and turning at night.
Another problem with diet soda: most of them contain exactly zero nutrients. It’s water, some kind of sweetener (sugar or not), flavoring, coloring, and carbonation.
Drinks like coffee and tea actually have some antioxidants present, so you might be getting some benefits with these caffeinated drinks.[16]
If you find yourself drinking lots of diet soda, consider mixing in some coffee or tea as a partial replacement.
Sparkling water might help with the switch too, if you love those fizzy bubbles.
At this point, we should note that stopping diet soda consumption might be easier said than done.
Can You Be Addicted to Diet Soda?
Anecdotally, it does appear that drinking diet soda can be “habit forming” for some people.
CNN explored the issue and found numerous people who consumed more than a six-pack daily, “easy.”[17]
“Addiction” is a word that gets thrown around too much these days, so I’ll stop short of making a medical classification on these folks. Plus, I searched the scientific literature and couldn’t find any studies on diet soda addiction.
However, if you stockpile Diet Coke like it’ll be currency in the post-zombie world, you’re not alone.
This “addiction” makes sense considering the beverage was designed to hijack your brain’s reward system.
The Coca-Cola Company hires folks to find the perfect combination of:
Carbonation. The bubbles actually burn your tongue a little, which provides a pleasurable experience. Kind of like a good hot sauce.
Sweeteners. Sure, it isn’t sugar, but your brain likes them just the same.
Caffeine. The jolt from caffeine will provide you a boost and raise your dopamine levels. The brain likes this.
Flavor. After drinking Diet Coke for some time, your brain will start to associate the flavors with the carbonation, sweeteners, and caffeine. Which will make you start craving the flavor of Diet Coke. Which is probably part of the reason people become brand loyal to particular diet beverages.
How do you know if you have an addiction? If you find yourself approaching our 18 can a day safety limit, that’s definitely a sign.
Another would be if you find diet soda interfering with your life (not sleeping after drinking Diet Coke all evening).
You don’t have to go cold turkey on this one:
If you normally drink six cans of diet soda a day, try five.
After a month or so of this, try four.
This is the exact strategy we follow with our 1-on-1 Online Coaching clients, and it’s the most likely to succeed.
Small changes over time are the ticket to permanent success.
Is Diet Coke Worse for You Than Regular Coke?
Before you use this article as justification to start drinking a six-pack of Diet Coke a day, let’s talk about some other possible concerns.
We’ve talked about all the mechanisms in diet soda that can make it unhealthy (high-intensity sweeteners, caffeine, etc). My conclusion is that these factors are likely overblown.
However, we should acknowledge that drinking diet soda can often be linked to health issues:
Despite diet sodas containing low to zero calories, drinking them is correlated with obesity.[18] Is this just because people who are overweight are more likely to consume a “diet” drink? We don’t know.
Diet soda consumption has been associated with kidney disease.[19] Is this because of the high phosphorus content of diet soda, or because people who drink soda likely have a poorer diet than those who don’t? This has still yet to be answered.
Soda, even the diet version, isn’t great for your teeth.[20] Diet sodas are acidic, leading to the erosion of tooth enamel. Although to be fair, this study found the acids in orange juice more corrosive than Diet Coke.[21]
There’s an important point here: drinking regular soda is also linked to kidney disease, teeth erosion, and obesity. Even more so those last two points (because of all the sugar and calories).[22]
So the concerns of drinking diet soda would also be found in drinking regular soda…even more so.
Drinking Diet Coke may be the lesser of two evils here.
Is Drinking Diet Soda Bad for Weight Loss? (Next Steps)
If you’re starting your weight loss journey and wondering where diet soda fits into the picture, I want you to know I’m proud of you.
You’re starting to ask questions and you’re looking for answers. This is a great first step.
If you’re trying to lose weight and currently drinking regular soda, the switch to diet would be a good move.
You’re gonna consume less calories that way, critical for weight loss.
This is why one of our top recommendations to our coaching clients is to cut back on sugary drinks.
However, if you currently drink diet soda and are trying to lose weight, there might be some better targets to shoot for:
These are far more important than an occasional Diet Coke here and there.
If you find yourself firing on all cylinders (you eat well, you strength train, you get lots of sleep), then maybe consider replacing diet soda with tea, coffee, or carbonated water. There’s enough unanswered questions on consuming diet soda to warrant the switch.
The most important thing you can do now? Commit to a change:
Pick something you can track. Something with a clear “yes or no” that you can reflect on at the end of the day.
This will help you start your weight loss journey.
Want some help getting going? A little nudge out the door?
Okay, but only because you’ve been nice this whole time:
#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details:
#2) The Nerd Fitness Academy – This self-paced online course has helped 50,000 people get results permanently.
There’s a 10-level nutrition system, boss battles, 20+ workouts, and the most supportive community in the galaxy!
#3) Join The Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get strong, and have fun doing so.
I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
What you need to know about weight loss and healthy eating
3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target
Alright, I think that just about does it for me.
Now, your turn!
What are your experiences with diet soda?
Did you use them as a tool to help you lose weight?
Or did you struggle with weight loss until finally dropping diet soda out of your daily consumption as well?
Share your story in the comments!
-Steve
PS –
Check out the rest of our sustainable weight loss content:
Such as this meta-analysis: “Association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners and health outcomes.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “A randomized controlled trial contrasting the effects of 4 low-calorie sweeteners and sucrose on body weight in adults with overweight or obesity.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Behavioral sensitization of the reinforcing value of food: What food and drugs have in common.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Gain weight by “going diet?” Artificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Association between intake of non-sugar sweeteners and health outcomes: systematic review and meta-analyses of randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and observational studies.” Source, PubMed.
Read “The Cephalic Phase Insulin Response to Nutritive and Low-Calorie Sweeteners in Solid and Beverage Form.” Source, PubMed.
Read “The role of taste in cephalic phase of insulin secretion.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Carcinogenicity of saccharin.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Diet Soda Consumption and Risk of Incident End Stage Renal Disease.” Source, PubMed.
Read, “Effect of a Common Diet and Regular Beverage on Enamel Erosion in Various Temperatures: An In-Vitro Study.” Source, PubMed. Coca-Cola themselves also state that their diet drinks will erode your teeth.
Read, “Influence of Various Acidic Beverages on Tooth Erosion.” Source, PubMed.
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Scientific journal articles can be incredibly intimidating to read, even for other scientists. Heck, I have a Ph.D. in a research science and have authored scientific papers, but sometimes I look at a research report outside my field of study and just go, “Nope, can’t decipher this.”
A few years ago, I wrote a post describing 
It’s Giving Tuesday, and while I know the world is full of good causes, today I’m highlighting one close to my heart. It’s one I’ve contributed to significantly because it matters on so many levels. 
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