So what’s the skinny on diet soda versus regular soda? The truth: it’s really a matter of the lesser evil, not what is healthier. While diet sodas pack fewer calories, the artificial sweetener can still fatten you up and contribute to health risks.
Two new studies were presented this week at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.The first study revealed that, over 10 years, 474 diet soda drinkers grew 70% more than people who just drank water. Two or more diet soda a day can contribute to a 5x increase in your waist size. Along with that bigger size comes risks of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and a lot of other things that we have better chances of avoiding though proper nutrition.
But if there are fewer calories, why were diet soda drinkers still getting fat? A rat study (sorry, rats) showed that aspartame increases blood sugar levels. This suggests that diet soda drinkers are still toying with their health unnecessarily. Where does the fat come in? The aspartame can “inhibit brain cells that make you feel full.” It also triggers your appetite. At the end of the day, you may drink a diet soda to keep from gulping down calories but you’re slowly increasing your blood sugar levels and fueling the flame of your appetite.
Sodas taste good but they simply are not good for us. A healthy dose of water, on the other hand, does a body good. Just saying.
Source: CBS News
Image by Michelle Meiklejohn
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