confused

i agree with Karen. The chemicals (aspartame) in Crystal light are not as healthy as they could be. Plain water would be the healthiest thing to drink, but if it helps get the fluids into you, then use the crystal light.

I have been seeing a dietician to help get me on the right track for surgery. One thing she did say was to stay away from crstal light, splenda etc... The main reason as it is artificail and she feels that they screw with the bodies chemical and balance. When choice is limited and if it the difference of drinking crystal light or diet soft drinks I will take crystal light or cook with Splenda.

Water with lemon just doesn't do the job.

Reports are always coming out with things that are bad that once were good.

Drinking crystal light instead of soft drinks is more than a good trade off.

Just goes to show that nutrition is not an exact science. Like everything else in life there are always 2 sides to the story. I think this is another situation of doing your research and making the decision based on what you decide is best for you. Personally I don't like drinks sweetened with anything but sugar so I drink more water than anything else.

 Some nice alternatives to crystal lite...herbal iced teas (I love steeping spearmint tea bags overnight in a pitcher of water, sometimes I add some stevia if I want it sweet).  I also steep slices of strawberries or lemons or limes in a pitcher of water...very refreshing in summer.  I also have tried cucumber slices steeped in a pitcher of water...it was okay, some people love it.

There are an amazing number of delicious herbal teas, fruity, mint and exotic flavoured.  They are really good hot or cold and there is always stevia if you like a sweet taste.

Eveyone has to give you their opinion, whether you ask for it or not.  (And by "everyone" I mean those who haven't been thru WLS.)  I say just do what the NUT at your clinic says.

Just don't have lemon juice in your water.  You can't do anything acidic post-surgery for awhile (lemon, lime, pineapple, orange), so don't start now and get use to it, just to have to give it up later.

You're such an "expert" for someone who hasn't had surgery yet!

 *snort*

I buy the ones made with splenda and have been drinking them for 20 years I'm still living

There is no credible evidence whatsoever that there are serious health effects from artificial sweeteners in humans. No human studies have found any correlation, never mind causation, for cancer (this is the most often cited reason not to consume aspartame and there isn't a bit of truth to it - it's from a discredited study with rats from many years ago that has never been replicated). Whether there is a mechanism that artificial sweeteners mess with your blood sugar by tricking your brain is an interesting theory, but there still isn't any good evidence to support it. The only known health issue from artificial sweeteners is gas and diarrhea if you're sensitive to it or have too much. I for one find that I am sensitive (I have IBS so this isn't really a surprise), so I double the amount of water that the Crystal Light calls for, and when I do that, I have no problems (I also prefer the taste that way as I find it sickeningly sweet!). The most important thing is for you to get adequate liquids from no calorie sources, so if Crystal Light gets you there, I think it's fine. I think the excess weight is a much bigger and real risk IMHO!