Is drinking soft drinks (Coke/Pepsi) directly related to diabetes in any way

[shon7]

Ok this might be a stupid question and will most likely elicit some smart-a$$ responses but I'm going to post it anyway"

" Is drinking soft drinks directly related to diabetes in any way or manner." This fellow aviator I know doesn't touch Coke/Pepsi (hats off to him) but when I asked why he says that's the surest way to get diabetes - which kinda got me worried!

[Flyin'Dutch']

Hi Shon7

As far as I know there is no conclusive evidence to support such a statement!

The aetiology of diabetes is still not fully clear.

Insulin Dependent Diabetes seems to be partly hereditary.

Non Insuline Dependent Diabetes is partly hereditary but also weight related and in that sense may well be related to your cola intake.

There are some that claim that aspartame use may lead to diabetes but I am not aware of any concluseive evidence to support this either.

As with most things in life, moderation seems to be the way forward. (Note seems!)

Have fun

FD

[QDMQDMQDM]

FD is right -- there is no direct link.

However, in genetically susceptible populations, such as the Gilbert Islanders from the South West pacific, the Nauruans or the Solomon Islanders to a lesser extent, the introduction of the 'Western' diet -- i.e. high in naughty fats and refined sugar -- leads to a dramatic incidence of diabetes in a population where it was previously unknown.

Personally, I think that if you do eat crap for your whole life it will rebound on you and there is evidence to support that. Like FD says, though, moderation...

QDM

[kabz]

Regular soft drinks are really just flavored, carbonated sugar-water ... but the following link seems to give enough evidence to stay off the diet versions ...

http://webhome.idirect.com/~wolfnowl/aspartame6.htm

After reading that, it seems reasonable to stay off anything containing NutraSweet.

[thparkth]

From http://www.aspartame.info/media/opinion/op_aspint.html:

"Aspartame, a dipeptide composed of phenylalanine and aspartic acid linked by a methyl ester bond, is not absorbed, and is completely hydrolysed in the intestine to yield the two constituent amino acids and free methanol. Opponents of aspartame suggest that the phenylalanine and methanol so released are dangerous. In particular, they assert that methanol can be converted to formaldehyde and then to formic acid, and thus cause metabolic acidosis and neurotoxicity.

Although a 330 ml can of aspartame-sweetened soft drink will yield about 20 mg methanol, an equivalent volume of fruit juice produces 40 mg methanol, and an alcoholic beverage about 60-100 mg. The yield of phenylalanine is about 100 mg for a can of diet soft drink, compared with 300 mg for an egg, 500 mg for a glass of milk, and 900 mg for a large hamburger (1). Thus, the amount of phenylalanine or methanol ingested from consumption of aspartame is trivial, compared with other dietary sources. Clinical studies have shown no evidence of toxic effects and no increase in plasma concentrations of methanol, formic acid, or phenylalanine with daily consumption of 50 mg/kg aspartame (equivalent to 17 cans of diet soft drink daily for a 70 kg adult) (1, 2). "