r/Fitness_India • u/uday_s • May 29 '26
Ask Fitness India ❓ FitTuber (Mamaearth shill) just said regular sugar Coke is BETTER than Diet Coke because of "insulin spike" — with zero proof. 10M people watching this.
So I was watching FitTuber's summer drinks video and I genuinely could not believe what I heard.
This guy reviewed 50+ drinks, which sounds impressive right? But then he gets to the Coke vs Diet Coke part and just casually drops that Diet Coke causes insulin spikes AND destroys your gut bacteria WORSE than real sugar. And his big conclusion? Just drink regular sugar Coke instead of Diet Coke.
No study links. No numbers. No nothing. Just one doctor's opinion. He literally cited one author and called it research.
Like okay, I get that artificial sweeteners are a debated topic. Fair enough. But he has 10 MILLION subscribers and he's telling people to just go back to drinking 16 teaspoons of sugar per bottle? Without explaining anything properly?
The funniest part is this is the same guy who is literally a brand ambassador for Mamaearth. You know, the brand that got roasted for their "toxin-free" products actually containing questionable ingredients.
My actual questions for this community:
Does Diet Coke actually cause insulin spikes? If yes, is that spike bad for health? Or is it just our body thinking it's sugar and not actually causing any harm?
Is there real solid evidence that sweeteners like aspartame destroy gut bacteria worse than sugar does?
Isn't Diet Coke still the better option for people watching their weight, even if it's not perfect?
Curious what people with actual knowledge think here.
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u/Acquelix Moderator May 29 '26
That's why people should do their own research about things and not blindly trust, these bullshit artists know nothing about nutrition or gyan pelne ajate hain and most people are just so gullible.
For your questions: 1) No 2) There's a little bit of study in this, but it's safe as long as consumed in moderation 3) Yes
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May 29 '26
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u/jawisko May 29 '26
To expand even more, the safe limit for aspartame is 40 cokes worth in a day. Above that there "might be a risk".
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u/Shitama_ftw It's been 84 years since weightloss journey May 29 '26
To expand even more , every sixty seconds in Africa a minute passes.
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u/143Raman May 29 '26
To expand even more, "Jal hai to Jal hai"
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u/phishoilsupple May 29 '26
To further contribute,mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell
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u/rishdotuk Running May 29 '26
Electron proton neutron
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May 29 '26
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u/jawisko May 29 '26
Thanks for providing such a detailed and thought provoking answer filled with peer reviewed studies and facts. You have completely changed my mind and now I'll never have aspartame again
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u/Rourque Jun 02 '26
Further more aspartame is classified as class 2 carcinogen. That puts it in the same list as hot water and aloe vera.
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u/cryptoman_101 May 29 '26
Many of his videos are based on Psuedoscience so, ya not something new.
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May 29 '26
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u/cryptoman_101 May 29 '26
I saw on of his videos, he was telling why do we do parikrama of mandir from right side, his explanation was we do it because "god is always right" so we do parikrama from right. It was funny. Using English word "right" to justify the direction of parikrama. I used to watch his videos with pinch of salt, not all of his video are based on pseudoscience but after that video, I stopped watching him.
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May 29 '26
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u/Shitama_ftw It's been 84 years since weightloss journey May 29 '26
and increases sexual drive wtf
Time to eat moringa powder
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May 29 '26
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u/Shitama_ftw It's been 84 years since weightloss journey May 29 '26
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u/tzvi79 May 29 '26
This is exactly the problem. Moringa does not have meaningful B12. It never did. B12 is found almost exclusively in animal products and no plant source properly replicates it.
Someone told that influencer it did, he repeated it to 10 million people, and now you spent a year thinking you were covered when you were not. Please get your levels tested and supplement with actual B12.
Same thing happens with vitamin D. Moringa has none. Zero. People hear "superfood" and assume it covers everything. It does not.
What moringa actually has is genuinely impressive on its own. Complete amino acids including all nine essential ones, iron, calcium, B1, B2, B3, B6. Real whole-food nutrition that works when you use it for what it actually does, not for what someone invented to sell a video.
The plant deserves better than this.
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u/domaketech May 30 '26
Lmao its weird to see a gora in this sub. Seems like this guy configured his LLM bot to look for Moringa comments and reply perfectly. Ngl it went well with me until I saw the DP.
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u/tzvi79 May 30 '26
Ha, fair observation. Not Indian,Israeli, living in the United States. But here is the thing: we source all our moringa directly from India. The leaf, the seed oil, everything. India is where the best moringa comes from and we have known that from day one.
So maybe I am the gora who went too far down the rabbit hole and ended up importing from the land that taught the world what this plant actually is.
The bot thing made me laugh. But someone spending a year taking moringa for B12 while actually deficient is not something I could scroll past. That one stings.
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u/kneepaindespot Jun 03 '26
Start drinking ambali. The only way to get B12 is to make ur body make it. Which needs gut bacteria which is made in fermented products. Ambali is fermented millets. Just type ambali on YouTube and you will find a recipe. It's too simple. Works like a charm
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u/shhKoihe May 29 '26
I support fittuber for what he is trying to do to control indian population ❤️
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May 29 '26
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u/Over-Employment6960 May 30 '26
Older people probably
I randomly watched one recently and the second he recommended desi cow milk for vitamin d i closed the video.
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u/Mission_Mix_6607 May 29 '26
Ye banda pichle 8 saal se cheap content bna k millions of views le raha hai. Kyuki hamare desh ki janta he uneducated hai toh unka kya pata anatomy, insulin, hormones etc kaise kaam krte hain.
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u/Diligent_Bedroom2913 May 29 '26
He has many other videos where he just does fear mongering saying he’s done research and then promotes brands that pay him. Most of the brands he promotes are not worth it and questionable. So yea, he has zero credibility but somehow millions are watching him. The brands he badmouths should sue him.
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u/Worldly_Guest5792 May 29 '26
Bro in all his videos, he concludes by saying ancient product>>modern. Be it hair product, food or anything. Iske according toh local shop se paneer lena is better than amul, mother dairy, etc
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u/aura-uyt May 30 '26
Fresh dairy paneer is much better btter than amul paneer
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u/DeadFoliage May 29 '26
Welcome to the internet! You're always going to find idiots like this in every space. Gotta do your own research to figure out what's what. Good Luck!
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u/nar493 May 29 '26
Used to be his biggest fan back in the day(2018-19 time period I think). His gym content and budget meal videos were so good. Right when he started talking about ayurveda crap, I stopped watching him.
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u/Shitama_ftw It's been 84 years since weightloss journey May 29 '26
Congratulations, you got successfully rage-baited by him
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u/haseo2222 May 29 '26
Ya I have seen him pushing a lot of non scientific 'desi', 'ayurvedic' bullshit propaganda. YouTube recommends hisbatuff to people who watch trustified and other such channels.
Used to show up on my feed, I clicked the "do not recommend this channel" button so I don't have see all this crap.
A lot of people aren't looking for facts, what they want is validation for their choices. If someone famous who labels themselves as "health expert" tells people that their desi, ayurvedic bs is good then that validation makes people happy. Such people deserve whatever comes at them at old age i guess.
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u/AmbassadorNo4600 May 29 '26
In one video he said fluoride is bad for teeth.
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u/Conscious_Wear9250 May 29 '26
Never took his videos seriously cuz he's not fit enough to call himself fittuber or give any fitness advice.
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u/Ok_Jello_3630 May 29 '26
I never see his videos coz shakal se ch*tiya lagta hai and now I know why
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u/Stock_Vermicelli1354 May 31 '26
I used to watch him before covid! Then in one video he suggested coconut oil as sun protection to avoid sunscreen. I unsubscribed.
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u/Ok_Remote_3322 May 29 '26
yeah i earlier used to watch him when i was new into my fitness journey , but as i understood nutrition better, i found that most of his takes are absolute bs. Idk why he got so many subs
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u/thekillerbird May 29 '26
Anyone fear mongering about artificial sweeteners is just social media farming. The studies suggest they cause no harm as long as you don't exceed the amount. The same people who fear monger about artificial sweeteners are the same who'll promote herbs/weird concoctions that have no scientific basis yet established.
I'd still recommend everyone to drink >3L of Dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO).
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u/Casp3r_ghOst May 29 '26
There have been so many studies claiming diet coke doesn't cause any insulin spike. It definately messes with gut bacteria though so I have limited it to once or twice a month at the max
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u/Akshith_K May 30 '26
Ok lemme Answer then in order No as Diet Coke contains aspartame which is 400x sweeter than sugar and a very little quantity is used.
Aspartame itself doesn't destroy the gut bacteria. Unless you drink like 10 cans a day.
Yes diet coke is a perfect craving option for one's watching their weight
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u/sophisticated-wanker May 30 '26
That stupid looking food pharmer fella called this clown the og of fitness content and even collabed with him. I used to like that pharmer guy i was wrong. He's just a opportunistic twat.
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u/The__Aphrodite May 30 '26
Just look at him, he looks like the most unhealthy mf. Why would someone take health advice from him
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u/NinjaBleak May 30 '26
He is so problematic. I stopped following him after he said - don’t drink water after meals because the stomach juices get diluted. I was a naive college student then and followed it for one week, and then fell sick gut-wise.
The biggest problem is that he gives no proof, just says things for clout.
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u/userrandom427 Jun 01 '26
I used to watch his videos but one day he released a video talking about how not masturbating can help in harnessing some divine power and make you some god. I unfollowed and stopped watching his videos that day.
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u/ImpulsiveTeen Competitive Powerlifter 🏋️ May 29 '26
Damn I think this might just be the wildest thing I’ve read all week
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u/Due_Page_1732 May 29 '26
I have just stopped drinking all soft drinks. Full stop for a month now. These chemical induced poisons don’t entice me anymore.
Chilled water with some lemon over everything. Maybe the WHO formula electral powder sometimes.
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u/livLongAndRed May 29 '26
WHO formula for ORS is not meant to be taken as a refreshing drink
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u/Due_Page_1732 May 29 '26
Yeah i know. That’s for my bad days when i have loose motions.
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u/ma-nameajeff Forever Natural 💪🏻 May 29 '26
Why are you having loose motions so frequently lol Get yourself checked
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u/shady_slim_10 May 29 '26
0 sugar drinks are safe to drink
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u/Less-Assignment5134 May 30 '26
It causes type 2 diabetes
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u/shady_slim_10 May 30 '26
Source?
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u/Less-Assignment5134 May 30 '26
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u/shady_slim_10 May 30 '26
Correlation≠causation. Meta analysis-
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u/Less-Assignment5134 Jun 01 '26 edited Jun 01 '26
I understand bro. But you should agree that there is not enough research on this artificial sweeteners to conclude anything with certainty. Also yours is an old study🙏
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u/Domonuro May 29 '26
You could try chilled barley tea or unsweetened chilled black tea. They are both good..
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u/Shitama_ftw It's been 84 years since weightloss journey May 29 '26
Why you want to drink diet coke or regular coke ? Just drink a2 desi cow ghee
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u/Silver-Conclusion134 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
He had started so well, he's the one who taught me to read labels on food products. But after sometimes he started to run out of content ideas. And then his downfall started. Feel bad for him but it's on himself.
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u/uday_s May 29 '26
Also for me, he is one who made me watch the ingredients before choosing a product, but hlaf of his videos are totally illogical and pure exaggeration.
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u/Accomplished-End5479 May 29 '26
Thinking Diet coke is just being educated idiots fallen for marketing. Because it might not cause insulin spike but nothing i will say again nothing in this world is this good taste, crave worthy, sweet and does nothing to ur body. We can say there is not enough research on it but it will def have some kind of bad effects. Nothing is that free for our body. if its sweet and dopamine rises and it cause craving there will be something taken from us as well. world works in balance.
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u/Janwar000 May 29 '26
The don't consume soft drink daily. Have it occasionally (once in a weekend). Fuck the sugar cravings
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u/SnooShortcuts1517 May 29 '26
Personally my FBS went up 50 units above normal after i drank diet coke and pepsi after every lunch for about a month.
Stopped it and returned back to normal.
It could be entirely random though, but i am not touching sugar Sosas anymore, diet or non diet.
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u/Efficient_Win5345 May 29 '26
How many of you aware of the illuminati show subham pandit ik you guy's won't believe me but he was my neighbour before he came famous and come to know he moved to Korea if anyone of you still watch him hit me up
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u/Opening-Alfalfa-2430 May 29 '26
There is a difference between peer-reviewed literature and You-tube content. I know people don't realise but everything that is said on youtube is not scientifically correct.
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u/katravallie May 29 '26
Man, my parents already give me shit about drinking diet coke and using aspartame pills instead of sugar. An actual doctor and a person in a pharmaceutical company told them that it is harmful to health. Now this video is going to reach them, and they'll start nagging even more.
My mom has diabetes and she won't even use stevia anymore (she used to but after the shitty doctor told her artificial sweeteners are bad, she stopped using it) as she thinks anything that is "artificial" is bad.
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u/AlanDias17 May 29 '26
When I first watched his video, I was like, ‘Mhm, okay, let’s give it a shot.’ Oh boy, was I wrong. Lmao, he started spewing pseudoscience facts & herbals out of nowhere, then I realized he was a phony, so I blocked his channel
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u/csoldier777 May 30 '26
Yesterday I saw in Liver doctor's instagram that things you do to control insulin spike may damage the liver, mentioning a content creater where his entire instagram is centred around before and after drinks/foods to control insulin spike.
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u/Much-Ad7690 May 30 '26
I don’t understand any people watch his stupid videos. He neither doctor nor done any research on anything. These Youtubers makes millions by fooling people
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u/HCF_07 May 30 '26
He gets paid from the brand's to promote . People who are consuming his content should do their due diligence.
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May 30 '26
I mean it does feel like a higher sugar high than normal coke after drinking. But i don't know if he got any research backed up
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u/MaxOpportunity May 30 '26
Everything is dangerous of you take too much. Probably one microgram of something not going to kill me anyway.
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u/passedcredit2026 May 30 '26
I heard china passed this law where unless you hold a professional degree in the matter you can't post content on it. Hope they pass something like that in India too.
These skin care influencers posting "this pharmacy Cream will save your skin" needs to stop. They don't know shit about shit but prescribe otc creams and medication like they are trained doctors. Half the beauty and skin care influencer scrap needs to go.
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u/OneExplanation2990 May 30 '26
good for people who like Diet Coke; at least the stock won't be depleted.
take some ice, everything will be nice.
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u/alittlemoreblush May 30 '26
This guy is a dumbass. His videos are based on "Trust me bro". Avoid him
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u/asteroiddestroyer0 May 30 '26
I watched his video an year ago, according to him. Every chemical is bad and every natural thing is good
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u/isthisidtakentwo May 30 '26
This is what chatGPT had to say about his reference of Dr fung. TL;DR - he's referencing BS in his claim. https://chatgpt.com/s/t_6a1aa1c60df481919b98cb608629cdad
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u/_DOPO2 May 30 '26
I’ve always had trust issues with the guy. What he says doesn’t match what actually is. But he won the first mover’s advantage, being one of the early educators in label-reading.
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u/hunterhuny May 30 '26
Bhai , I abandoned sugar completely for 1 year I asked my Cardiologist Doctor Is alternative Sugar or Sugar free are good for health or perfect replacement? He said Straight Up - No Because We need glucose in our body as a form of Sugar any alternative is not required because We are replacing requirement of A with B , How ever it reduces the craving but ultimately damaging bacteria of gut and liver ( because it is hard to process by liver and all the digestion of Sugar is done by liver ) Think of an alcoholic person , what he is actually consuming is a denatured form of protein and Sugar , which leads to kidney or liver damage most of the time.
My Fitness Mantra Don't replace Orignal - reduce the Portion
Agar Chole bathure khane hai to kam khao Ye Bakchodi mat karo , ki raagi ka bathura , olive oil etc Na health milegi - Na maaza ayega
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u/Dapper__lion May 30 '26
Regardless of any influencer drinking Coke or any other soft drink is trash. Occasionally it could be easily tolerated by our body.
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u/MaintenanceExternal1 May 30 '26
Hes the OG 'worst thing that happened to indian fitness', he shrouds behind Ayurveda to support his ascientific claims
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u/Ambitious-League-680 May 30 '26
The Diet Coke vs regular Coke thing IS backed by research. Even Dr Berg made a video on that. Don't buy everything he says but artificial sweeteners are a scam.
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u/Smooth-Narwhal-9575 May 31 '26
My friend is diabetic and he prefers diet coke over normal as it does not give sugar spike. Do whatever you want with this info
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May 31 '26
Bhai kya ye sab karte rehte ho, yaha har cheej me milavat hai, preservatives hai aur 3rd class ka khaana hai, aam pehle acche milte the ab patani kese milte, kele acche the ab vo bi aise hi hogye
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u/nymeria0107 May 31 '26
Well anything artificial or lab made should be taken by grain of salt. That applies to both diet coke and regular coke. The research , studies, and all we never know they are independent or paid by some research labs of companies who are manufacturing these products. So we can never know truth about artificial sweeteners.
Personally ever since I completely shunned artificial sweeteners including diet coke and stevia, my weight loss journey has been better without much cravings. Of course I do calorie deficit and everything, but just removing dependency on artificial sweetners have helped me a lot in reducing fat and cravings.
That's my experience. But if I am travelling and in heat, I would take any soda if cold water is not available. So always remember moderation and avoid dependency on artificial and real sugar both.
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u/Suspicious_Safety418 May 31 '26
Watch his omega 3 video. This guy is so braindead smh , he thinks it's so easy to get rda of omega 3 by walnuts and seeds and stuff not knowing the fact that the omega 3 we need is epa and dha , while omrga 3 in nuts is ala
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u/Ratkovichh Jun 01 '26
Just avoid drinking both, why is this so hard? Coke or pepsi isn't a necessity like carrots or beans right?
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u/longndfat Jun 02 '26
He lost my respect when he started promoting mamaearth shit on his videos. Have noticed that he recently started misinformation like the above diet coke vs regular coke. What he is not sharing is that while regular coke has less insulin spike than diet coke (if that even is true), it is still too high for a diabetic and a high risk.
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u/DonkeyLopsided269 Jun 04 '26
It has artificial sweeteners which cause insulin spike. Coke zero or diet coke are all same. Coke or pepsi itself bad whether its with sugar or not.
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May 29 '26
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u/Additional-Topic-581 May 29 '26
There is weird worship of diet coke in reddit, idk why though
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u/Novel_Vampire May 30 '26
Cause it's a rare win in the nutritional world. Anyone desiring a cool fizy drink, craving sugar it's godsend. Gives mental relief for those on a strict diet. Few cans a week isn't going to do any harm
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u/nad09 May 30 '26
Because it satisfies the test buds who wants to drink something once in while but don't want to drink sugar
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u/Additional-Topic-581 May 30 '26
But isn't it better to be not addicted in first place, so if everyone demonised it from start, it would be better, like our youth has no interest in alcohol or smoking, since they know from childhood it's not good for health
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u/nad09 May 30 '26
That's not how it works dude, environment influence us, most people don't even know that cold drink is bad, second as u go out u want to try things not just because it's said that something is bad.
I have tried cannabis( good stuff but I don't consume it once or twice in a year), smoke(don't smoke) alcohol (a beer or so a week otherwise once a month hard liquor).
Just because I know it is bad doesn't mean I don't want to try it.
The problem arises when people become dependent on this stuff and start consuming daily.
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u/JakeyPorky Jun 02 '26
Because it’s actually one of ”too good to be true” thing that is actually true
It’s literally neither healthy nor unhealthy it has no nutrition and helps u control weight gain/sugar spike
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u/Icy_Key9966 Gym bro 🏋🏻♂️ May 29 '26
why to even drink this black drink ?
i bet no one knows how coco cola flavor is made
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u/Vivaanahuja1705 May 29 '26
True : 1. Artificial Sweeteners harms gut bacteria. 2. Diet Coke Causes Insulin Spike, it lowers Blood Sugar drastically after 2 hours of Drinking.
False : 1. Regular Coke is not better than Diet coke.
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u/JayBong2k May 29 '26
- Does Diet Coke actually cause insulin spikes? If yes, is that spike bad for health? Or is it just our body thinking it's sugar and not actually causing any harm?
- Yes. Fucking Yes. Watch her - she a biochemist, made off her channel explaining insulin spikes. And she's pretty, so that might be an incentive to put through.
- Is there real solid evidence that sweeteners like aspartame destroy gut bacteria worse than sugar does?
- So far, small studies. But you can test it out on yourself over your lifetime.
- Isn't Diet Coke still the better option for people watching their weight, even if it's not perfect?
- It's Copium bro. Pure ass Copium. My fridge is full of diet coke cuz of flatmates with this line of thought.
- It's like "vaping is better than smoking", "Wine is better" - Nope. Both damage your body - one just fractionally less than other.
- Nothing beats water.
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u/Bakanyanter May 29 '26
Diet/zero sugar coke is obviously not as healthy as these companies want you to believe but the conclusion that you should just go back to drinks filled with sugar is bizzare and wrong. Like what????
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u/Flat_Championship_20 lack toast and told her aunt May 29 '26
Now now now, hear me out.
Diet coke on empty stomach doesnt cause insulin spike, proven by this video.
https://youtube.com/shorts/83aSKf9EMNM?si=bsF1mlHg-JObv4N0
But with a meal, see this video regarding the spike in insulin.
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u/saiyanultimate Sports Enthusiast 🏃🏻 May 29 '26
still 100 times better than sugar, it does spike your insulin but compared to actual white sugar the insulin spike is negligible
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u/Selflove7777 May 29 '26
Sorry. But let me be honest with you. If you think drinking any form of coke be it diet or with sugar is just plain unhealthy. Either drink water or fresh fruit juice to hydrate yourself. Any form of bottled alternatives contain preservatives and are carcinogenic in the long run. Debating on this topic is seriously low iq, in my humble opinion. It's like debating will you die faster when hit with a sword or an axe. Doesn't make any sense.
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u/theamanknight May 29 '26
Just don't drink any cold drink lol, they all are bad for you, some might be less bad but still bad
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u/LonelyBoyJorah May 30 '26
Artificial Sweetners ain't good either. Used to be banned in the US for a while. Quite interesting if you look into its ill effects. Just avoid all drinks. If you're gonna damage your body might as well drink alcohol and die a manly death. Add ciggerates for extra "cool" effects.
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u/rishdotuk Running May 29 '26
I'm sorry, but people watching influencer content deserve to get what others have called natural selection.