Common knowledge know tells us that soda (or “pop” as it is called in some areas) is one of the most harmful things we can put in our body.  This carbonated cocktail of  gut fattening high fructose corn syrup, combined with toxic chemicals, causes a myriad of health problems including weight gain, regardless of how well it is praised.

Thankfully, if you are reading this then I know you really are careful about what you put in your body – or at least on the right track gathering that knowledge.  You body will look and feel better once you start applying simple health principles.

But, I sure hope you are not one of those that falsely believe “diet” soda is one trick for losing body fat. I hear too many people sadly say they take care of their body and only drink diet soda.

Let me tell you what is really healthy…

It is NOT drinking diet soda! In fact, I know of several studies that directly correlate drinking diet pop to weight gain.  This is worse than drinking regular soda!

Here is one statistic from the University of Texas and their 8-year study:

“What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity,” study author Fowler tells WebMD. “What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher.

“There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day.”

The results are in!  Regular soda is bad, but drinking diet soda is worse! Either way, drinking this carbonated elixir increases your risk of being overweight. The more carbonated beverages you drink per day, the higher your risk for becoming overweight that relate directly to the amount you are consuming.

The Forces Behind Soda and Weight Gain

The toxic artificial sweeteners are in part responsible for diet soda making you fat. These chemical compounds known as artificial (your first clue) sweetener releases a hormone response to increase fat storage.  This is a problem! It also works against your body by causing cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates, especially after drinking the diet pop.

Basically, you are “fooling” your body into drinking something sweet (diet soda with artificial sweeteners) that doesn’t actually supply your body with the sugar calories it comes to expect from tasting so sweet.  This “trick” leaves your body confused about how to respond.

With artificial sweeteners, your taste buds “sense” that you ingested something very sweet, and even though you might not have ingested sugar, your body follows with an insulin response.  As you know, higher insulin levels can increase cravings as well as triggering your body to deposit body fat.  This is not to say it’s any better to drink a sugar-sweetened soda which has it’s own host of problems.

Another article I did about artificial sweeteners explains more of the problems with them and good substitutes

A second reason, yet no less dangerous, is how you “fool” yourself into thinking that after “saving” calories on a diet soda that you can indulge with more calories – often something sweet shortly after drinking a diet pop. Subconscious or not, rewarding yourself with a sweet treat is promise for weight gain.

You’ve heard this before and it is worth repeating: if you are serious about your health, avoid drinking any kind of soda (diet, artificial sweeteners or other) at all costs.

fat burning foods?

So, what can you enjoy for a refreshing drink that is an alternative to diet sodas? Stick with the basics:

  • Water with lemon
  • Unsweetened ice teas
  • Green tea
  • White tea
  • Black or oolong tea
  • Red tea

You have plenty of options to quench your thirst, but teas offer a diverse array of antioxidants that benefit your health and body.

And if you need a little sweetness to add to your tea, stevia is a safe and natural non-caloria sweetener. I use it daily with my jasmine green tea!

Please share this page with your friends and family to help them stop drinking diet soda.

 

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer
Author of best-selling program:  The Truth about 6-Pack Abs

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