Does diet soda make you fat? Are sugar-free soft drinks just as bad for your health and your weight loss as the full-sugar alternative? Find out here…
First off, I’m going to ask you if you can do me a little favor. Can you raise your hand if you believe diet soda is a “healthy” alternative to full-sugar soft drinks?
Just as I thought; that is quite a few of you.
Now, hands up if you’ve ever been standing at a vending machine, out for a meal or in a store and heard somebody else comment on their choice of diet soda.
“Oh I’d better buy sugar free cola, I’m on a diet after all!”
Or my personal favorite:
“You can drink as much diet soda as you like you know. It’s completely calorie free!”
That’s a lot of hands! Man, that’s almost all of you, apart from the dude that has fallen asleep at the back of the room…
Quick put them down before people start staring at you!
Well it might shock you to learn that there is absolutely nothing even remotely healthy about diet soda!
Artificial Sweeteners Can Make You Fat
It might sound crazy, but even though the artificial sweeteners in sugar free drinks have no calorific value (zero calories) there is evidence to show that they cause you to gain weight.
But that’s not all. There is good evidence to support the theory that “diet” drinks are even more fattening than those loaded with sugar!
Wait a minute, what the deuce!?
Your Body’s Digestion Of Artificial Sweeteners
You’re probably already aware of this fact, but it’s not necessarily the number of calories that you eat in a day that can cause you to get fat. It has more to do with the type of calories you eat and your body’s hormonal response to them.
Even though diet soda contains virtually no calories at all, the artificial sweeteners inside trick your body. This results in a hormonal response similar to eating a ton of sugar!
Let’s take Aspartame for example (found in a market leading diet cola). This chemical actually blocks your brain’s production of serotonin (controls mood and appetite amongst other things).
A lack of serotonin levels has a negative effect on your body. It causes you to crave the type of foods that will kick-start the production on serotonin once more.
Unfortunately the craving signals your body is sending you aren’t for the fruit and veg isle. Your body is sending you straight to the processed, sugar-loaded junk food section. Darn those waistline expanding foods!
So there you have it; sugar free soda is encouraging your cravings for junk food. Bad news.
Insulin Response
As strange as this may sound, scientist have gathered evidence that zero-calorie artificial sweeteners stimulate the release of insulin. Insulin causes your cells to absorb blood sugar. Your cells then use this blood sugar for energy.
However, artificial sweeteners contain no sugar (of course). So your body is left feeling tricked with no food to feed your cells. Not to be outdone, if there is no food for your body to process, it had better go out and get some! And of course, this triggers your appetite!
And again you’ll be craving sugary foods that produce a quick “spike” in blood sugar levels, quickly followed by a “crash”. This is how we get into a hunger-craving-snacking cycle that adds on the pounds.
How often do you experience sugar cravings like this? And every time you do I bet you reach for a candy bar or some milk chocolate, don’t you? It feels good for a moment but once the reality sets in you know it was bad. Wouldn’t you like to get rid of these cravings forever?
Drinking Diet Soda Causes Obesity?
Nobody has yet actually taken the time to prove scientifically that diet soda causes obesity. But there is one study from the University of Texas that proven a very strong link between the two.
Sharon Fowler and colleagues conducted an 8-year study on the links between soft drink use and weight gain.
“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.”
In fact, the researchers found that nearly all of the obesity risk came from diet sodas.
“There was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.”
So there you have it. Diet soda is not as healthy as the advertising campaigns would have us believe. If you are serious about getting in shape then you really need to say goodbye to all types of soda. Believe me, you’ll feel much better for it and your physique will thank you for it!
Does diet soda cause obesity? Discover how to beat your cravings with fat burning foods now.