The “Skinny” on Diet Soda

Tons of people drink diet soda thinking that they are doing their waste line a favor.  Well, I have some bad news for those people…ITS MAKING YOU FAT!!!

This is the data coming from two new studies, presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

“Data from this and other prospective studies suggest that the promotion of diet sodas as healthy alternatives may be ill-advised” Dr. Helen Hazuda, professor of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, said in a written statement. “They may be free of calories, but not of consequences.”

For many, these drinks have been a way for the “health conscience” person to enjoy the soda that they love without feeling guilty about drinking something full of that nasty sugar stuff.  Turns out that the artificial sweeteners used in diet sodas are not as friendly as people thought.  So lets get to the findings of the study and let the data speak for itself!

For the first study, researchers followed 474 diet soda drinkers, 65 to 74 years of age, for almost 10 years. They found that diet soda drinkers’ waists grew 70 percent more than those who did not drink diet soda. Specifically, drinking two or more diet sodas a day increased waste lines five times more than people who avoided the stuff completely.

It is very well known that as the waste size grows, so does the risk for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and many other chronic conditions.  Doesnt seem worth it to me…

So how exactly does diet soda make you fat? The next case study will show us how.  Researchers divided mice into two groups, one of which groups food was laced with the artificial sweetener aspartame.  After three months, researchers noted that the mice with  aspartame included in their diet had higher blood sugar levels than the mice who were eating normal food.  The researchers noted their findings could “contribute to the associations observed between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans.”  But How?

Artificial sweeteners can have the effect of triggering appetite, but unlike normal sugar, they do not deliver anything that can squelch the appetite.  It goes like this: Your body tells you that it needs some energy (sugar), so you down a diet soda.  aaaahhh craving satisfied…wrong!  When those artificial sweeteners dont deliver what your brain is telling your body it is receiving, you end up coming back with another sugar craving which usually leads to binge eating or more soda. Also noted in the study was that artificial sweeteners could inhibit the brain cells that tell you that you are full. Its a vicious cycle.

So what is the solution???  “Drink your water people!” – Tony Horton (Thanks Tony)

Hope this sheds a little light on a very common myth concerning the “health” benefits of diet soda.