Diet Coke is a common choice over regular Coke due to the fact that it has zero calories, sugar and carbohydrates. A regular can of coke has 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar. Diet coke does contains many ingredients that can be very unhealthy if consumed in large quantities.
Diet coke can cause dehydration so it can not be turned to in order to quench thirst. Because of its high value of caffeine, it can easily cause dehydration rather than help it. It also has a very empty nutritional value. Caffeine is a diuretic. Diuretic can cause people to urinate more frequently than normal. The more Diet Coke you drink, the more you will urinate, which makes the amount of water in your body decrease. Dehydration can cause dizziness, headaches, and even sometimes death. Also, calcium is necessary for growth and because Diet Coke has such high levels of phosphate it can interfere with your calcium levels. Drinking Diet Coke daily may increase your chance of bone fracture by three to four times. Low levels of calcium can also cause Osteoporosis. People who consume artificially sweetened beverages have higher body weight which is kind of sad because people choose diet in hopes of it being healthier for them. Also, they are more likely to have Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease from drinking the artificial sweetener. The reasons aren’t clear, but it’s possible that noncaloric foods and drinks which are sweetened throw off the body’s natural metabolic responses. This is quite upsetting to me because Diet Coke is my drink of choice. After coming to Penn State I was forced to stop drinking it because Penn Start is a Pepsi campus and I personally refuse to make the switch. The best option for drinking health wise is water so it would be smart to reduce the amount of soda that you consume.
Works Cited:
Morris, Ivy. “Bad Side Effects of Drinking Diet Coke.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.
I found this post extremely interesting to read! Often we know that something is bad for us, yet we aren’t truly concerned with what we are putting into our bodies until it is too late. It is also interesting that people often think they are making a positive decision by choosing a diet soda over a regular one, when actually they are still hurting themselves in the long run. After exploring this topic a little more, I found that drinking soda not only has a long-term impact, but also a short-term one. Your blood sugar spikes only 20 minutes after drinking a soda! Here is a diagram that further illustrates the effects of soda on the body: http://fitnessfashionfrank.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/effect-of-soda-on-your-body.jpg
I first found out that diet coke was bad when we brought some to my mom while she was in the hospital after heart surgery. It is in fact so bad that her doctor made us take it home with us and would not let my mom touch it. I believe there is also something in it that we cannot digest which messes with our bodies even more.
I knew that diet drinks were bad for you, but I did not know the effects of drinking them were so severe. It is also ironic how the people who drink artificially sweetened beverages are heavier because they most likely turn to this alternative to avoid unhealthy sugar. But, now it seems like real sugar is the better option.