Is diet soda good for you, or bad for you? Even if you know the answer to that question, bad for you, do you know why? Diet soda is the wolf in sheep’s clothing when it comes to soft drinks because so many people believe it to be good for them just because it has the word diet. The following is an explanation of what makes diet soda so bad for you and why you should avoid all sugary soft drinks.
Most people drink diet soda with the hope of cutting some calories from their overall diet. However recent studies have shown diet sodas to have the opposite effect. “Study subjects who drank two or more diet sodas a day had waist size increases that were six times greater than those of people who didn’t drink diet soda, said researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.” Why does this happen? Afterall, diet soda usually has zero calories and zero sugar. So whats causing all the weight gain? The answer is two-fold; first people that drink diet soda think that they can eat more and thus overcompensate with extra calories. Second, the artificial sweetener, aspartame, wreaks havoc on the metabolic system. Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain. Drinking one diet soda a day was associated with a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in a University of Minnesota study. Metabolic syndrome describes a cluster of conditions (including high blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, raised cholesterol, and large waist circumference) that put people at high risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. In short, artificial sweeteners trick our bodies’ metabolic systems which leads to a number of adverse problems.
So what might be some better alternatives to diet soda? If you don’t like the non-flavor of water, you could try flavoring your water with fresh organic fruits. Also, Kombucha or sparkling mineral water are great substitutes when you are in the mood for something fizzy. But, as with all things try not to over do it.
To Your Continued Success,
Coach Don
