So, it's no secret that I'm trying to cut calories in any way I can, but I still want to enjoy the 'bad' foods I love occasionally. Thus, I thought it was a great idea to drink diet soda. This led to a debate between my friend and I. He said that diet soda, even though it has no calories, is bad for me. Later, while on twitter, I came across an article claiming that consuming diet soda can actually lead to a gain in abdominal fat. So I began to research. It turns out that this is a highly controversial topic, but here's what I found:
There is eight to ten teaspoons of sugar in regular soda, depending on what brand you buy. In diet soda, the sugar is replaced usually by aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. These artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than regular sugar and activate our genetically programmed desire for that sweet taste, tricking your metabolism into thinking that sugar is on the way. When our bodies think that sugar is on the way, insulin, our fat storage hormone, is released adding to our abdominal fat. Our bodies are confused by artificial sweeteners and our metabolism begins to slow down. This leads to less calories burned. My metabolism is already slow enough from the medication I take, I don't need it to get any slower! Also, the artificial sweeteners in diet soda can make you crave even more sugary, starchy things such as bread and pasta.
I found a fourteen year study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving 66,118 women. It found that women who drank diet soda regularly had a 33% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. It also found that women who drank diet soda compared to regular soda, drank twice as much. The study attributes this to the addictive qualities of artificial sweeteners. Lastly, on average, diet soda drinkers consumed three drinks per day.
I had no idea that diet soda could slow your metabolism and trigger an insulin surge. I wasn't drinking the 'average' three diet sodas per day. It was just an occasional thing when I went to the grocery store. I'd pick up something for dinner and grab a nice cold diet Pepsi. This research definitely has me thinking twice about whether to consume soda, diet or otherwise, at all. I suppose water is always the best policy. This makes me think that even adding those Mio or Crystal Light things to your water is equally bad. They also contain artificial sweeteners. I'd best be sticking to regular old lemon to flavour my water!
There is eight to ten teaspoons of sugar in regular soda, depending on what brand you buy. In diet soda, the sugar is replaced usually by aspartame or other artificial sweeteners. These artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than regular sugar and activate our genetically programmed desire for that sweet taste, tricking your metabolism into thinking that sugar is on the way. When our bodies think that sugar is on the way, insulin, our fat storage hormone, is released adding to our abdominal fat. Our bodies are confused by artificial sweeteners and our metabolism begins to slow down. This leads to less calories burned. My metabolism is already slow enough from the medication I take, I don't need it to get any slower! Also, the artificial sweeteners in diet soda can make you crave even more sugary, starchy things such as bread and pasta.
I found a fourteen year study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition involving 66,118 women. It found that women who drank diet soda regularly had a 33% greater chance of developing type 2 diabetes. It also found that women who drank diet soda compared to regular soda, drank twice as much. The study attributes this to the addictive qualities of artificial sweeteners. Lastly, on average, diet soda drinkers consumed three drinks per day.
I had no idea that diet soda could slow your metabolism and trigger an insulin surge. I wasn't drinking the 'average' three diet sodas per day. It was just an occasional thing when I went to the grocery store. I'd pick up something for dinner and grab a nice cold diet Pepsi. This research definitely has me thinking twice about whether to consume soda, diet or otherwise, at all. I suppose water is always the best policy. This makes me think that even adding those Mio or Crystal Light things to your water is equally bad. They also contain artificial sweeteners. I'd best be sticking to regular old lemon to flavour my water!