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It’s a no-brainer that sodas are unhealthy. They contain stacks of sugar and they basically do not do anything that is actually good for you. But what about diet sodas? Are they any better? Some would argue that it is a healthy alternative to the sugary sodas as the name suggests – ‘diet soda’. Unfortunately, any soda, diet or not, is bad for your health and can make you fat.
Regular sodas contain lots of sugar to give them that sweet taste. The sugar in those sodas are replaced with an artificial sweetener such as aspartame to make a soda ‘diet’. Since diet sodas don’t have sugar, that makes them alright, right? Wrong!
Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners does not make your Diet Coke (or other diet sold) any better for you. Consuming too much sugar in your daily diet is a major cause of diabetes and obesity. Artificial sweeteners work a little differently to sugar, however they can still cause diabetes. Research conducted in Diabetes Journals have stated that drinking diet sodas on a regular basis could increase your risk of type II diabetes by 67%. It can also increase the risk of depression and increase your blood pressure. Very serious!
Artificial sweeteners are around 8000 times sweeter than sugar. And when our body ingests something that sweet, it produces a stack of insulin that can lead to your body storing fat instead of burning fat. Our body things that we are about to consume a large amount of calories. When nothing comes, hunger hits. And we are not talking hunger for a salad or something healthy. These cravings are usually in the form of something sweet. This is part of the reason why you will see a lot of diet soda drinkers with more belly fat or obesity.
They trick the body into gaining the unwanted weight because the body is unable to suppress the ‘hunger’ hormone, causing you to eat more than you normally would. And this cycle continues because once you start eating or drinking something sweet, you crave more sweets. It doesn’t matter if your Diet Coke has zero calories. It’s the amount of calories that you consume after drinking diet sodas also affects your body and your health.
Consuming too much sugar and artificial sweeteners could take a toll on your health. They can damage your liver, increase your uric acid, and negatively effect your metabolism rate causing it to malfunction at some point. And before you know it, you may be putting yourself at risk of chronic diseases.
If what prompted you to choose diet soda over regular soda is the need to live a healthier lifestyle, then you should know that there is so much more than you can do. Start small. You can start by making the right choices in the food you eat. Instead of reaching out for a bag of potato chips for a snack, why not grab an apple or banana? Or instead of staying on the couch channel surfing, get up and take a walk at the park with a friend or your dog. Get yourself moving so you burn more calories and you stay healthy. Lastly, arm yourself with information so you know that a diet soda is not the only drink there is. So what are some good alternatives to diet soda?
The Real Healthy Alternative
The next time you need something to quench your thirst, you may want to consider these drinks rather than picking a diet soda like a Diet Coke.
Water – Nothing screams healthy like water. Spruce it up by adding slices of fruit or vegetables to give your water a cool twist. I love adding cucumber or lemon to my water.
Green tea – A drink that is packed with antioxidants. It is known to improve your overall health.
Vegetable juices and/or smoothies – You can use a juicer to extract the juice from your favorite vegetable or blend them as a smoothie (including pulp, fiber and skin) to get the nutrients into your body.
Sparkling mineral water – This can be a super refreshing option to sodas. Try adding in some fruit for extra flavor. I tend to add mint, cucumber, or lemon to my sparkling water.
So as you can see there are much better options out there for a refreshing drink rather than a diet soda. And none of these drinks will make you put on weight like a diet soda will.
