The FastDay Forum

thanks chriso 57. I have had a complete clear out of stuff from my cupboards this last 6 weeks, even though I thought I was an intelligent foodie. It is amazing what stuff is out there full of toxins.As I intend to follow this for life, I might as well do it properly, and learn as much as I can about the so-called foodstuffs on the supermarket shelves, which are far from being nutritious.
Fresh is best. Prep at home is best. Unrefined everything is essential. We just have to get on and educate ourselves back to basics, it is essential. Good luck to all 5:2 ers.

Hecky thump!!! That makes me sound pompous. I don't mean to..... I just want everyone to improve their health status-- so do what you can, that's all I would suggest.

Hey folks I live in the real world and still have to use supermarkets and on occasion go for a ready meal but I now know what to look out for and read the ingredients very carefully, certainly no low fat stuff, and 150lbs you didn't sound pompous at all, we do need to go back to basics and eat and prepare real food for our health. Yes I wasn't thinking when I said Mother Nature won't harm you, I was quoting something I had read to do with real food but not in its full context. I think I'll shut up now.

I tend to drink sparkling water, plain water and black coffee on a fast day. If I feel like a bit of oral stimulation (stop it, naughty Francis) I'll not refrain from having a diet coke or even a diet Ribena. Everything in moderation though.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that fizzy drinks taken with meals stops the absorption of iron from the food???
Maybe I imagined it?

I use a single can of diet coke as a type of filler say at 6pm where I'm going to be home for another 2hrs and it helps. Fine in moderation I think

I steer well clear of Diet Coke or anything with aspartame in it. Aspartame is vile stuff and really not good for you at all. If it's the bubbles that fill you up, you could try carbonated water with a slice of lemon or orange instead. OR Sainsbury's own brand Diet Coke doesn't contain aspartame.

Hi folks

For addicts, this film might [should] give you the impetus you need to wean you off diet coke.

About 20 minutes in, Dr Christiane Northrup describes how brain cells are affected (read 'killed') when aspartame and caffeine are combined. The film then goes on to detail the myriad harmful affects of artificial sweeteners:

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/92129/Hungry_For_Change/

I did a search on pubmed and can't find any references about aspartame and caffeine killing brain cells. Does anyone know of any?

Read the following link... there is no evidence that diet cola specifically, or artificial sweeteners in general are bad for you other than in massive overdose quantities. Studies pointed to by naysayers is associative in nature, not causal. This means that just because obese people drink more diet soda, does not mean diet soda causes obesity. These is no hard evidence to the contrary, and, in fact there are many many artificial sweetener studies to the contrary.

http://examine.com/faq/is-diet-soda-bad-for-you.html

the EU is working on a food safety position on aspartame, personally I'm going to wait and see what they come up with as they'll have lots of submissions for and against and have to come to a decision.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/aspartame.htm

Well, if we were to avoid all the 'bad things' in life we would lead a very boring life. My grandmother smoked like a chimney until she was 60+ and died only recently at the age of 95 of old age. Her body just stopped working. She was never sick nor did she need any medication for anything. We can try to live a healthy and perfect like and get hit by a truck and die. We need to find some sort of balance in our life and not go over board with anything.

Personally the last time I was 'skinny' was when I was waitressing in a pizza restaurant and hated the food there. I survived on a 1,5L bottle of tab extra (only a few country has it, made by cola) a day and ate at most only one meal a day which would be chock full of vegetables. The soda (and smell of food) kept me full.

I dont drink nor do I smoke take away my soda and my life would be miserable.

It is well documented on this Forum that I have become a zero sugar, very low carb follower in the last 2 months. I enjoy freshly ground coffee with double cream every day, including fasting days. The reason I can do this and still loose weight? NO CARBS on fasting days, and very few on the other 5 days.
Problem is, it sounds like heresy on a diet Forum, but if you do your research, and follow the approach to restricting carbs, then it is the way to a leaner, healthier body. I never did drink sodas, diet or otherwise, but I was of the opinion that lemon tea etc was fine. But the lemon juice has carbs in it, more than cream, and I know which I prefer.
This is my experience, based on reading many sources this year, and it has worked for me :-
We must look to where our calories come from, as calories are not the culprit in weight gain. Even on a calorie restricted diet, if the calories come from carbs, you will struggle. On a normal calorie intake, if the calories come from fat and protein, with the proviso that the carbs are extremely low, say 30g in 24 hours, then body fat stores will be depleted.
To understand this concept, it is for the individual to read up on the subject for themselves, and draw their own conclusions. This takes time and effort, and this posting makes me sound like a pompous prat, but I have strong shoulders for the criticism that this is likely to encourage. But I think I am right, and don't expect, or encourage, anyone to follow my beliefs. It is posted here solely as my point of view, as I enjoy my late night cocoa with double dairy cream and coconut cream. Yummy.

Read the following link... there is no evidence that diet cola specifically, or artificial sweeteners in general are bad for you other than in massive overdose quantities. Studies pointed to by naysayers is associative in nature, not causal. This means that just because obese people drink more diet soda, does not mean diet soda causes obesity. These is no hard evidence to the contrary, and, in fact there are many many artificial sweetener studies to the contrary.

http://examine.com/faq/is-diet-soda-bad-for-you.html

I'll read that when I'm back at my computer. When I searched around a bit more about aspartame being an 'excitotoxin' it seems those studies have been debunked because the were either putting aspartame directly on cells or injecting it, rather than ingesting it. When ingested aspartame is broken down so cells don't generally see aspartame. I think we should be careful calling something that is sold/consumed everywhere 'poison'.

Having said that, I am trying to give up diet coke. Not because of aspartame in particular but because I'm trying to give up as much processed stuff as possible.

The one thing I wont gove up is diet coke. Firstly, because I love it, and secondly, I have never seen an ounce of decent research to say I shouldnt. As a scientist myself (albeit another unrelated science), I am a stickler for looking at the construction of experiments. The experiments and reporting on aspartame is just about the worst examples of scientific research going. Now I'm not saying that aspartame wont turn out to be bad for you, I'm just not going to avoid it until I see some decent work on the matter.

The best example of this? A lot of it talks about aspartame in vast quantities. If you consume lots of things in those quantities the results are also dangerous...and example being that actually a much smaller amount of VITAMIN C than aspartame is dangerous. 1g of Vitamin C in a day and you will get stomach cramps and diarrhoea. Does this mean I should avoid vitamin C? Of course not.

I drink Diet Coke, but I try not to as a substitute for water. I usually try to wait till I've had 1.5-2 liters of water before I have it.