Which drinks have dhmo?

The majority.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_parody

Jokes aside, soda is typically loaded with sugar, but diet sodas don't seem as bad.

Aspartame though.

Aspartame is profoundly safe and there is no mechanism through which it could be unsafe in the human body.

Well, there's phenylketonuria. (That's not relevant to the vast majority of people, but it's an extremely important exception.)

Phenylketonuria is an inherited genetic disorder. Aspartame doesn't make a food unsafe to those who do not suffer from this genetic disorder any more than peanuts do for people who do not have nut allergies.

stevia is the safest

Where has that been demonstrated?

Aspartame is one of the most ridiculously well-studied food additives known to humankind.

I think there’s more and more research coming out disproving this. Aspartame’s flavor can cause insulin release from the pancreas which lowers your body’s insulin sensitivity.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7014832/

Can't believe people do anything enjoyable, or let their kids do anything enjoyable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPz9Fcvb1II

The ratio of Harm to Enjoyment varies, some activities seem not worth it. Like taking cocaime or drinking soda have surprisingly similar ratio - soda has so little fun but considerable harm, so the ratio is very poor

Cocaine taken as a tea from coca leaf is actually pretty great. It's like coffee tier 2. Harm to Enjoyment ratio might even dip below unity since, based on some research papers I've read, I think cocaine might not be as bad as caffeine (in sane quantities).

Snorting coke is pretty worthless, but so is snorting caffeine.

Snorting caffeine in similar quantities to cocaine would be lethal wouldn't it?

I haven't been able to confirm nor refute this. However, being sloppy, it looks like pure cocaine has an LD50 of about 95 mg/kg [1] while caffeine appears to have an LD50 of about 367mg/kg [2]. These are numbers from rat and mouse studies, with different routes of administration. The cocaine LD50, for instance, was obtained by IP (intraperitoneal) injection, while the caffeine administration was oral. I have not been able to find any studies that give an LD50 for both substances in a single animal model with the same route of administration. Let's play with these numbers as they are.

The IC50 (inhibitory constant, a measure of sufficiency of plasma concentration to inhibit 50% of affected biological processes [how I'll estimate potency]) of caffeine in the human model is estimated at a concentration of about 67microMolar. Cocaine's IC50 appears to be about 4.4mM.[4]

The major difference in routes of administration will be how much of the substance ends up in plasma vs metabolites. Making the genuinely wild assumption that they have similar plasma effects from the same RoA, it would appear the IC50 of cocaine is about an order magnitude lower than that of caffeine (meaning you need less), while its LD50 is about a third that of caffeine (meaning less will kill you [but also keeping in mind that the LD50 was found via injections]) but still within the same order of magnitude approximation.

This to me indicates that cocaine is the preferable compound, even though I still think neither of them is great intransally. I will say, however, I absolutely prefer my cocaine as a drink and caffeine as a snifter. I have an intranasal cocktail of oxytocin, kanna, and caffeine that I'll bump once or twice a week. I quite like it, but people who rail lines of caffeine simply befuddle me.

[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7178201/

[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27461039/

[3] https://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/jnumed/early/2012/09/07/...

[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11561083/

I drink some Coke every once in a while when I'm partway through a long day and need something to give me a kick.

Between the burst of sugar and caffeine, that's one mighty kick.

I avoided soft drinks for a long time but slipped into it during the pandemic. 2-3 cans of Coke Zero per day.

1. I had perfect dental health all my life and needed multiple fillings after 18 months of soda.

2. That shit is addictive! I swear quitting cigarettes was waaay easier than quitting soda.

Counter-anecdote: I have drunk 1-2 Coke Zeros every day for years, enjoy it a lot, and have had excellent dental health.

Do you also frequently rinse your mouth? Oral hygiene will also determine dental health, not just soda consumed.

> I had perfect dental health all my life and needed multiple fillings after 18 months of soda.

Not an expert, but I'm not sure if that makes sense? As I understand it, soda causes dental problems because bacteria in your mouth eat sugar, creating an acidic environment that erodes the enamel on your teeth, making it possible for cavities to form. Since Coke Zero doesn't contain sugar, I don't see why it would be a problem.

I wonder if you normally had regular 6 month or 12 month dental checkups, where they would clean built-up tartar off your teeth, and these were put on hold during the pandemic?

Is that true for HFCS as well? Whenever I’m overseas and get real sugar sodas my teeth always feel much “fuzzier” by the end of the day. I never get that feeling with US corn-sweetened sodas.

Sodas also have acid in them directly, the first 3 ingredients in Coke Zero are: > CARBONATED WATER, CARAMEL COLOR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, …

https://us.coca-cola.com/products/coca-cola-zero-sugar/coca-...

phosphoric acid is particularly bad because it yanks all the free calcium in any solution it comes in contact with (e.g. saliva). Calcium phosphate is then insoluble in water, so it then larglely flows right through you.

It can upset the balance in your mouth. Carbonic acid from the carbonation attacks the enamel and may have other impacts.

Coke Zero contains phosphoric acid. It destroys tooth enamel. Might be connected or some other change of lifestyle during the pandemic.

I recommend sparkling water as an alternative to soda.