Are you addicted to diet soda?

I feel you! I'm all about diet soda. In fact I recently went on a diet and tried to lose thirty pounds by dieting exercising and drinking only water. Well by day two I was getting headaches and feeling sick. I wasn't eating too little or exercising too hard. My doctor said I was going through withdraws of the caffeine! I always get on to my husband about his smoking addiction but i seriously think I have one too.

When my mom comes to visit, she brings her own sodas because she knows I don't buy any. I rarely ever had any in the house when my kids were growing up, either. I did however, sometimes have tonic water, club soda or ginger ale to add to fruit juice to make punch for parties.

I think the reason why I never craved soda is because it doesn't taste good to me. Diet soda seems to have an odd aftertaste that I find unappealing, as well.

Yet, there are so many people I know and work with who can't get through a morning without their soda. I think it's either the sugar or caffeine they crave, but don't want something hot like a cup of coffee or tea. Admittedly, there are times when I feel as though it takes a cup of coffee to wake me up, especially after lunch when I'm feeling a drop in my sugar level.

There are studies showing benefits of caffeine, however, making people take notice.

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There still is no conclusive evidence that artificisal sweeteners found in diet soda is harmful. THE FDA's "acceptable daily intake" (ADI) for the most popular types of sweenetners is, "100 times less than the smallest amount that might cause health concerns." (source: Mayo Clinic).

For instance, you can consume up to 50 mg per kg of aspartame, which is the sweetener most likely in your soda; the equivalent to 18 to 19 cans of diet cola.

There has been some growing evidence regarding drinking sodas (diet or regular) and weight gain.

Caffeine in moderation has also not shown any harmful health effects, either.

This is all to say that there have not been any conclusive studies (to date) demonstrating harm in drinking a soda or two, or a cup of coffee or two, on a daily basis. However, all of these studies agree that there is no health benefit in drinking sodas, either!