"Diet, Lite" are Four-Letter Words

[SnakeoilSage]

My boss and I (both cooks) were talking about "Diet" foods. Low-fat, low-salt, sugar-free, etc. I noticed a disturbing pattern. I enjoy a can of regular Dr. Pepper and I'm good for the week. My dad on the other hand keeps bottles of Diet Coke for every day of the week, and my mother stuffs their kitchen with half-salt chips, sugarless chocolate, and more. They eat that junk constantly.

So what's the deal? Do Diet foods help us avoid junk, or are they junk by another (sexier) name? Are Diet foods really good for us, or are they a clever marketing label that gives us "permission" to over-indulge? How healthy is it to feed our natural sugar cravings with aspartame? The biggest irony of all of this is that if you ate a steady, healthy diet, having can of soda or a bowl of ice cream (even the really rich stuff) every week wouldn't leave a buldge in your belly, so what does it say when you're eating sugarfree cake every day, and still can't see your toes?

Have we completely missed the point of healthy eating with "Diet" and "Lite" foods? What do you guys think?

 

[SomeLameStuff]

Diet food is a marketing strategy. People think because it's low in sugar/salt/whatever, they can eat more of it. Problem is, they eat so much, it's as if they ate the real thing anyway.

 

[Queen Michael]

It's like hybrid cars: It's supposed to be better, but since people know that, they use it more than they would have used the regular product. Do what I do: Always choose what tastes best. I've bought one carton of Häagen-Dazs and no other sweets during the entire October following that rule. That's way better than the "lite" stuff which, when it comes right down to it, ruins your health too.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Apparently, there's also something of a marketing thing with the word "diet". Women go on diets, Manly Men care not for rabbit food, and need everything to be as unhealthy as possible. They must avoid all things female, lest they be accused of homosexuality.

I'm not sure how prevalent that line of thinking is, but it's supposedly the reasoning behind Coke Zero and Dr. Pepper Ten, to have a diet drink without it being a Diet drink.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

Diet foods don't do anything to help. In general low fat, non-fat and diet foods remove one negative part of a food item for something else. Non-fat foods tend to be much higher in sodium to make up for the lack of test.
In the end, it all just comes down to moderation, proper diet, and exercise. There is no magic type of food to avoid it.

 

[Woodsey]

Not sure about the rest of it, but Diet Coke is worse then regular Coke. There's less sugar, yes, but then they fill it up with all sorts of crap to make up for it.

I don't get how people can drink all that shit anyway; haven't had a Coke in like 3 years.

People treat it like that sketch in Little Britain: "cut the cake in half and its half as many calories! And since its half, you can have twice as much!".

 

[WolfThomas]

Diet food is a marketing strategy. People think because it's low in sugar/salt/whatever, they can eat more of it. Problem is, they eat so much, it's as if they ate the real thing anyway.

Not with diet soft-drink, you have to drink 100 coke zeros/pepsi maxs to have the same amount of energy as the regular stuff.

 

[Esotera]

Diet Coke is far better for you than regular coke just because it has practically no sugar in it; it uses aspartame to sweeten it. While there's a lot of controversy over its use in food products, there is absolutely no evidence indicating that it is bad for you. Whereas the large amounts of sugar you'll find in regular coke are definitely worse for you.

Regular coke releases dopamine in the brain; diet coke doesn't (someone did an fMRI study). Basically that means it'll make you feel more full after drinking it.

I don't know why everyone seems to think the diet version is worse.

 

[Orange12345]

Ya all diet is basically BS, especially those specialty diets atkins for example. Bottom line is just eat good balanced meals (veg, starch, protein, etc) then just exercise a bit each day and you WILL get healthy.

I feel I should also mention that fat and salt are not bad for you in proper quantities don't try to "cut out" anything from your diet just eat a good variety of things in a modest quantity

more relevent to the topic, ever notice how some things will say "no trans fat" this is dishonest though there is no trans fat there is cis fat which has a slightly lower temperature at which it breaks down so it's technically "heathlier" when its really just like choosing between paying 1$ or .99$ for a bar of soap.

While writting this I appear to have been ninja'd a bit, oh well

 

[Lord Sparks]

In most cases, diet items are just as bad as the regular ones, but it depends what you're targeting. If you're targeting sugar, then a sugar free soft drink can help. If you're worried about your teeth, it wont matter since the carbonation hits your teeth pretty hard too. If you're worried about diabetes, it can help.

It all depends on what your reasons are, and if you've actually done the research.

 

[thespyisdead]

i think diet stuff is awful... just try coke, and compare it to coke zero... zero just tastes like water. besides which, you will be healthier if you had the real thing, and moved alot... basicly the lite-stuff is for lazy bums and all

 

[Littaly]

Isn't it common knowledge that indulging in "diet" junk food is just as bad if not worse than indulging in regular junk food? At least that's how I've understood it.

 

[Something Amyss]

My boss and I (both cooks) were talking about "Diet" foods. Low-fat, low-salt, sugar-free, etc. I noticed a disturbing pattern. I enjoy a can of regular Dr. Pepper and I'm good for the week. My dad on the other hand keeps bottles of Diet Coke for every day of the week, and my mother stuffs their kitchen with half-salt chips, sugarless chocolate, and more. They eat that junk constantly.

Could have to do with personal eating habits, of course, not an issue with "diet" food itself. Or "missing the boat" for that matter.

 

[Lord Sparks]

I actually prefer the taste of Coke Zero over normal Coke. Normal Coke is good and all, but it just tastes overly sweet. Coke Zero also doesn't leave that furry feeling of sugar built up on your teeth.

 

[MammothBlade]

"Diet" food is generally empty calorie stuff which does not make you satisfied. Not to mention the sweeteners are often harmful and tasteless. I definitely prefer sugar, I will not touch anything which has aspartame in it.

 

[Sneaky-Pie]

Less fat, less sugar, less calories, less taste.

 

[Dags90]

Could have to do with personal eating habits, of course, not an issue with "diet" food itself. Or "missing the boat" for that matter.

This is my guess. Notice how you only get "diet" versions of junk and comfort foods. You can buy a "skinny" margarita, but you can't find a diet apple anywhere. The problem is the way these people eat, diet foods soften the blow, but they aren't going to magically cure overeating.

Diet food is another thing people blame when they have trouble losing weight. Also, two people does not make a pattern. Especially a single married couple.