New take on sugar free cola

Ha Ha, Anya. When I mentioned to DH I was not going to drink SL Tonic anymore he said, 'Oh, goody.....More gin, less tonic

I love gin and vermouth but unlike the Queen Mum it knocks me for six.

When I read Clarissa Dickson Wright's autobiography I laughed when she said her liver problems were caused by the tonic and not the gin. She did drink enough to float a battleship but maybe she had a point about the tonic.

Or better still substitute vermouth...

Pour in the dry vermouth stir briefly. Add 4 ounces gin. Stir briskly for about 10 seconds, strain into chilled cocktail glass, and garnish with an olive.

The olive counts towards a bit of your 5-a-day too.

Merlot re your G&T have you tried cutting out the T altogether?

Aspartame is addictive hence my diet coke addiction.

Anya, my mam is always right ....even when she's wrong. I learned that at a very early age.

Thank you merlot it was aspartame. Anyway been off the coke for several weeks and no change so far!

This study (2013, Boston) of 123,088 people between 1986 and 2006 has the opposite conclusion.
www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v37/n10/full/ijo2012225a.html

"Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To examine the long-term relationship between changes in water and beverage intake and weight change.

SUBJECTS:
Prospective cohort studies of 50 013 women aged 40–64 years in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS, 1986–2006), 52 987 women aged 27–44 years in the NHS II (1991–2007) and 21 988 men aged 40–64 years in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986–2006) without obesity and chronic diseases at baseline.

MEASURES:
We assessed the association of weight change within each 4-year interval, with changes in beverage intakes and other lifestyle behaviors during the same period. Multivariate linear regression with robust variance and accounting for within-person repeated measures were used to evaluate the association. Results across the three cohorts were pooled by an inverse-variance-weighted meta-analysis.

- - - blah blah blah of procedure and statistics - - -

CONCLUSION:
Our results suggest that increasing water intake in place of SSBs or fruit juices is associated with lower long-term weight gain.

I do like a glass of Diet Coke (ice cold with a slice of lemon). Much nicer than the full sugar version which I find sort of "gritty". I also use it to cook a gammon joint which gives the meat a lovely flavour.

With these sensational and ground-breaking researches, the original research account usually has far less dramatic findings than the subsequent press articles.

"The report, led by scientists at the University of Bristol, reviewed 240 previous studies about sweeteners and the human diet." so the meta-analysis was of studies which weren't funded by any single source.

However, I have searched the International Journal of Obesity (where it is said to have apeared) for the original article. I could not find it in the last 5 years. so either it is not yet available to the general public or (heaven forbid!) it is a non-story.

The articles in the Journal which do mention diet coke are on this page
www.nature.com/search?date_range=last_5_years&journal=ijo&q=diet%20coke

DH and I used to drink Slimline Tonic. Not just for gin o' clock on a Friday night but during the summer as a lunchtime soft drink with a splash of fresh lime.

My IBS symptoms worsened, bloating was a real problem and I couldn't lose weight no matter how much low carbing I was doing. I read an article about how aspartame was causing bloating and joint pain so I reckoned the sugar in ordinary tonic would be the lesser of the two evils. We had already cut out the lunchtime drink in favour of water.

Bingo!! My stomach is much flatter, my arthritic knees are less painful and IBS much improved.

I think people need to be careful with Diet drinks.

VQ mammies are always right don't you know

The research was carried out by scientists at Bristol Uni but someone else probably provided the funding.

Article says it was scientists at Bristol university.

Probably Coke but who cares? Now I can tell my mam she's wrong about Diet Coke making you gain weight and provide evidence. Not that it will make any difference. She'll still say she's right.

Just wondering who funded the research

Interesting. I would go along with some of that having been a dieter for many years and drank gallons of Diet Coke which did take the edge of sweet cravings. I no longer drink it regularly and there is none in the house for the first time in years. When I was in America people with arthritis were advised not to drink it as one component (can't remember which) has been found in the joints at post mortem and my joints ain't good now.

Yes, I read that in yesterday's paper. I can see the logic if it satisfies a taste for something sweet.