As I have grown older my mom at restaurants has always urged me to order a diet soda. Whenever I was in the mood for a coke and ordered one she would then correct me by saying make it diet. For years I have been ordering the diet soda but have always heard rumors about diet soda actually not being good for you. So i decided to look into this and get to the root of the question of why if there is a reason that diet sodas are bad for you.
I first researched what exactly diet soda is. According to The Authority Nutrition website diet sodas are carbonated beverages. Instead of being sweetened with sugar the diet soda is sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame-k or sucralose.
While many people think that by drinking diet soda it is helping them lose weight it actually doesn’t. Drinking calorie free drinks like diet soda does not appear to be helpful against your metabolic system. Your metabolic system is a group of risk factors for disease that often occur together and raise your risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
Diet Soda does not just prohibit one from losing more weight then a normal sugary drink would it also adds to other risk factors, some being depressions and preterm delivery. According to a statistic on the Authority nutrition website “in a study of 263,925 adults aged 51-70, individuals who drank soda were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with depression over a period of 10 years.” the website also shared a study on preterm delivery, ” In a study of 59,334 pregnant women in Denmark, 1 serving per day of diet drinks was associated with a 38% increased risk of preterm delivery. 4 servings per day increased the risk by 78%.” As one can see there are various risks with the consumption of drinking diet soda over regular caffeinated soda.
Diet soda is not a healthier option then ordering a regular soda. For those of you who always go for the diet drink because you think it is “healthier” you don’t have to! Observational studies show a strong link between diet soda and obesity. So next time instead of putting various chemicals in your body, maybe try the healthiest option of all a glass of fresh clean water.
Citation:
http://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-diet-soda-bad-for-you/
I think that the reason so many people assume diet soda is better for them is because it is often zero calories. The reason this is true is they use artificial sweeteners similar to Splenda to sweeten the carbonated drink. While it is true that it is less fattening then regular sugar, artificial sweeteners can be harmful to your body if you use them to often (in moderation not really). But if you’re the type of person who has a soda a day and switches to a diet one then you may be putting your health at risk. They can potentially enlarge your liver and kidneys and have been shown to actually increase a persons appetite. this article has more information if you are interested http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/artificial-sweetners-unhealthy-eco.htm