After discussing sugary drinks in class, I wanted to focus a post on diet versus regular. Most people are under the impression that diet soda is better than regular. They simply read the label rather than consider what differences are in each can. I have a friend who drinks diet soda nearly every single day, and she believes that it is OK because it is diet. They believe that the zero calories and zero sugars labels make them healthier. I became interested in whether or not diet soda really is “better” for you. I for one do not drink soda at all. My mother was quick to inform me of all of the negative health benefits of soda. It is one of the worst beverages to consume due to its high levels of fructose corn syrup and sugars. We also discussed in class that sugary drinks are more likely to lead to weight gain so it is better to avoid them altogether.
Many people seek a diet soda rather than a regular one because they want to maintain a healthier diet. However, diet soda still has many negative consequences and has not yet proven to be better. It is considered to be diet because of the altered ingredients. Rather than added sugars, diet contains artificial sweeteners. Weight gain has been associated with diet soda because the body starts to crave the real sugars that are in regular soda. People eat and drink more fattening foods to fulfill these cravings. A study published online by Nature showed that artificial sweeteners tend to cause glucose intolerance, as well. They cause an exaggerated elevation in blood glucose levels which people try to prevent by consuming these sweeteners.
Furthermore, researchers at the University of Miami found that there was a positive correlation between a person’s consumption of diet soda and possibility of having a heart attack or stroke. 2,465 people were followed for nine years and asked to document what beverages they were consuming. Those that drank diet soda were 48% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than those who drank regular soda. There are many other confounding variables that need to be taken into consideration when looking into this study. The medical history for example of each individual. Some may have strokes or heart attacks run in their families which would make them more susceptible to having one. Gender may also affect the study; one may already have a higher chance. The study cannot conclude that diet is worse, but it supports the claim that it is not a better alternative like we may have thought.
To conclude, we cannot state with full certainty whether or not diet soda is better or worse than regular. Studies have shown that the artificial flavoring results in an increased desire to consume fattening foods which leads to weight gain. Severe health problems such as stroke and heart attack have also been associated with these beverages. There are pros and cons to consuming one over the other. However, it can be stated that they do not have much health benefit, and therefore it would be best not to consume soda at all or in slim moderation.
I would love to show this blog post to my Mom. She swears that diet soda is the healthier alternative rather than consuming regular soda. I guess she is a sucker to the marketing and advertising executives that toy with the minds of humans by simply printing the word “diet” on their products. I thought it was cool how you decided to write about this topic since it was the topic of discussion in one of our previous classes with Andrew. I always knew drinking soda can lead to weight gain but the fact that diet soda can lead to weight gain because you are craving the lack of sugars diet soda provides you is mind-blowing. I never knew that drinking diet sodas can lead to your body craving real sugars. And in order to satisfy that craving your body turns to more fattening foods to satisfy that craving. I guess that “craving” can be described as a hidden Z variable. Great post is was very enlightening and touched on a topic I would like to share with my family.
I recently wrote a blog post on this same topic! Its definitely a question that warrants some attention. Not enough research has been done on the issue and with so many people consuming diet drinks every day it could be a serious health issue!
I never would’ve thought that diet soda could make you more likely to have a heart attack or stroke than a normal soda! However, I wonder if that study could have been affected by the Texas sharp-shooter problem? It could be a possible that an observational study like that could have been measuring for a lot of different things and that statistic could have been due to chance.
If you liked researching this article I think you would find a study I used in my blog interesting. It was published in Nature and details how artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas affect our gut microbia and as a result our tolerance to glucose!
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v514/n7521/full/nature13793.html
I always wondered this because of something that happened to one of my high school teachers. He was older, and had been an avid Coca Cola drinker for years. When he left school for a very long period of time, people were curious to find out what happened. Finally the student body was informed that he was in a coma, apparently caused by drinking excessive amounts of diet coke. Being a 9th grader, I was terrified by this and decided to never drink a diet coke again! But I never found out if there is really any difference between diet and regular. People seem to go for diet because of the meaning associated with the word. But my mom always told me to stay away from “fake sugars.” I tried to Google the question of whether or not excessive amounts of soda can put a person in a coma, and I didn’t find anything, but I did find this fascinating article that discusses what a can of Coca-Cola does to your body in 60 minutes. I had no idea that it did all of this. The article discusses all of the other health problems that drinking soda can be linked to. I think for me, I’ll just choose water instead.
I believe that many people commonly mistake diet drinks for being healthy. Just because they have zero calories in them does that mean they are as beneficial for you compared to a choice like water. I enjoyed watching this YouTube video in one of my previous classes. In this video, Matt Lieberman talks about how diet soda is extremely popular, but extremely unhealthy. Artificial sweeteners in these types of drinks can lead to many health issues, including depression. They make it harder to digest the soda, which can lead to diabetes, obesity, and related issues. People need to be more aware of what they are actually putting into their bodies, rather than simply reading a number of calories.
I think it is so important to poke holes in the misunderstanding that by drinking diet soda people are immune to the health risks of regular soda. My own family growing up did not drink soda unless there was a special circumstance like a holiday so I have never cared much for it. In fact I found a whole article on reasons that people should not drink diet soda at all. By adding diet to the name it tricks many less educated people into believe they are being healthier when they drink diet soda.