It's easy to see why people drink diet soda
- it's refreshing, . This billion dollar industry has been deemed safe by
government officials, so what could be wrong with reaching for that diet soda
every now and then ?
Here's why: Diet sodas have a number of
negative effects on your body. Aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin (a derivative of
tar), acesulfame-k, or sucralose are all chemical sweeteners found in diet
sodas that are hundreds of times sweeter than normal table sugar, and what they
do to our bodies is totally counterproductive for the reason most of us drink
diet sodas: avoiding sugar and reducing our weight. There are plenty of reasons
why diet sodas are as bad as regular soda, but here are 10 that will get you to
drink right away.
1) Your body doesn't know it's artificial.
When we ingest these artificial sweeteners, we may not be absorbing all of the
calories from real sugar, but our bodies respond the same, according to Health.
Weight gain. Studies over a ten-year period showed that participants who drank
diet sodas had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference than those who did
not, and those who drank two or more per day had. a staggering 500% higher
increase. That's a huge weight gain for a product whose name includes the term
"diet".
2) It's bad for your blood vessels.
LiveScience has asked a number of doctors for their opinions on diet sodas, and
while all agree that we need to reduce our sugar intake, a doctor from the
University of Colombia has said that diet sodas are no better. for you than
regular soft drinks. He referred to a study linking the consumption of diet
sodas to an increased risk of strokes, heart attacks and other diseases of the
blood vessels.
3) We do not know the long term effects. In
the same LiveScience article, an epidemiologist from the University of Texas
states that people's reactions to artificial sweeteners differ widely and that
the potential for cumulative irreversible effects cannot be ignored. She
equates our ignorance of diet sodas with being "in the middle of a large
scale experiment" of "pouring large amounts of artificial chemicals
into our bodies day after day.
4) Diet soda are linked to depression.
Research on just under a quarter of a million people showed that over a
ten-year period, those who drank soda were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with
depression, according to Authority Nutrition. This bond was stronger for those
who drank diet soda rather than regular soda.
5) It has been linked to diabetes. Health
cites a study in which participants who drank only one diet soda per day had a
36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome
describes a range of conditions, including high blood pressure, high blood
sugar, and a large waistline.
6) You will lose your sense of taste.
According to Prevention, aspartame is 200 times sweeter than normal table
sugar. Sucralose (AKA Splenda) is a whopping 600 times sweeter. Moral of the
story? Your taste buds are overwhelmed with sweetness and other foods lose
their flavor. Studies from Columbia University have also shown that diet sodas
alter receptors in your brain so that instead of satisfying cravings for sugar,
it prolongs them.
7) It can origin kidney problems. A 2009
study of more than 3,000 women showed a link between diet sodas and kidney
problems, Clark says. Women who drank two or more sodas each day had up to 30%
reduced kidney function.
8) Aspartame has been linked to
headaches. It may only act as a trigger
for some people, but if you regularly suffer from headaches, it might help to
put that diet soda on and see if it makes a difference. The meadow vention adds
that laboratory studies have shown that aspartame can alter chemicals in the
brain, nerve signals and the brain's reward system, leading to headaches.
9) It increases the risk of premature
labor. Four diet sodas per day increased the risk by 78%.
10) It will ruin your smile. Health cites a
study in which the teeth of a cocaine user, methamphetamine user, and diet soda
drinker were examined over time. Guess what? They all had the same level of
dental erosion. The citric acid in diet soda destroys your tooth enamel over
time.
