We have known for some time that drinking sodas can lead to an almost infinite amount of health complications, but what about diet soda? Actually, diet soda is not at all a healthful alternative to soda, as the artificial sweeteners added to the beverages can also cause all sorts of problems. What’s more, these artificial sweeteners mess with your brain in numerous ways – often even causing you to consume more than you normally would.
Numerous studies have drawn a link between various illnesses and diet sodas – or at least with the artificial sweeteners. Research has found that drinking these beverages can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, and even obesity – a primary issue many are trying to avoid by choosing the drink. So is diet soda bad for you? You bet.
One of those studies,ย from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science further, investigated the correlation between artificial sweeteners,ย andย weight gain and diabetes. The study, published in the scientific journal Nature, had some compelling findings that may explain the previous contradicting results:
- People consuming artificial sweeteners had overall higher blood sugars than those who rarely or never did. Some saw an increase in their blood sugars with just one week of consuming the fake sugars.
- Mice given the artificial sweeteners gained just as much weight and had higher blood sugars than the ones given regular sugar despite consuming less calories!
Drinking diet sodas even affects us on a cellular level. We can attribute this to diet sodas containing bizarre ingredients like mold inhibitors (not found in sugary sodas) often listed as sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate. Peter Piper of the University of Sheffield says these chemicals โhave the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it.โ Be wary of these ingredients if you want to steer clear of hives, asthma, and other allergic reactions, too.
Unfortunately, the negative effects don’t stop at the physical. In addition to the physical effects of diet soda, it can also mess with your brain. Check out the video below from CNN to find out just how artificial sweeteners like aspartame trick our brains, often leading to the exact opposite outcome many people seek from diet soda.
Numerous studies and decades of science on this topic disprove the claim that diet soda and the low- and no-calorie sweeteners it contains cause weight gain. Rather, these ingredients have proven to be an effective tool to manage calories. Consider this research, for instance: a randomized clinical trial published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that those who consumed diet beverages in place of caloric ones took in fewer calories than other control groups, including those who consumed only water: http://bit.ly/Ik4zjC.
And what about blaming low-calorie sweeteners for complex health conditions, including diabetes and obesity? These assertions are an irresponsible leap. The nationโs leading experts on diabetes, including the American Diabetes Association, do not list sugar-sweetened beverage consumption as a unique risk factor driving this condition. Numerous variables such as age, genetics and obesity play a role. Along similar lines, extensive research shows that obesity results from a complex interplay of environmental, social, economic and behavioral factors acting on a background of genetic susceptibility.
We would also add that there is simply no evidence that drinking diet soda accelerates aging, and this alarmist claim is debunked in detail here: http://slate.me/10yvm5I. Moreover, the European Food Safety Authorityโs in-depth risk assessment of aspartame recently concluded, once again, that this ingredient does not cause cancer, harm the brain or nervous system or affect behavior or cognitive function in children or adults. In other words, consumers can enjoy diet beverages with complete confidence in their safety and efficacy as a diet tool. – American Beverage Association
Diet soda in moderation? Really?
So does drinking diet anything make you fat? Does the diet drink itself make you fat? Answer is no.
Avoid Obama’s diet sodas…they will kill you!