Diet Soda Fizzles
You may want to put down that diet soda. New research inserts a question mark after the “diet” part of your drink.
In the study, people who drank a can or more of diet soda daily showed a 34-percent higher risk of developing the metabolic syndrome: a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference and high blood pressure, blood lipids, and fasting glucose levels.
Why would that be? Study coauthor Lyn Steffen, PhD, MPH, RD, says she is as mystified as the rest of us. But she offers some possible explanations. “It could be an ingredient in the soda itself, like the artificial sweetener, which might be causing something like insulin resistance,” speculates Steffen, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota. “Or it could be something to do with the behavior of people who consume diet soda—what other foods they’re eating and how much exercise they’re getting throughout the day.”
Her research team tracked the dietary intake and health status of 9,500 men and women, 45 to 64 years old, over nine years. They found that people who ate the most meat raised their risk of developing metabolic syndrome by about 25 percent. And those who regularly ate Western-style cuisine like refined grains and fried foods upped their risk 18 percent.
But diet soda involved the highest risk—and, Steffen notes, a recent Purdue University study suggests a possible reason. In that study, rats eating saccharin-sweetened yogurt consumed more of it, and gained more weight, than rats eating sugar-sweetened yogurt.
In Steffen’s study, most diet sodas “were likely sweetened with aspartame, not saccharin, but it could be the two work similarly,” she says. “So maybe diet soda consumers are eating more.” This isn’t the first study to link the metabolic syndrome and diet soda. However, past studies show the link with sweetened soda as well as diet versions. This study showed no such association between sweetened beverages and the syndrome.
But that’s no reason to start drinking sugary sodas, which are loaded with empty carbohydrates. Instead of reaching for soda (regular or diet), Steffen suggests trying water or green or black tea. Another good bet is skim milk. Steffen’s team found that low-fat dairy products help stave off the metabolic syndrome.
The American Heart Association published the diet soda findings online on Jan. 22, 2008, in its journal Circulation. The saccharin and weight-gain study appeared in the Feb. 2008 issue of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience.
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Comments are subject to review and will not be posted immediately. If you have an urgent medical question, please consult a health care professional. If you have a question for the staff of Diabetes Forecast, please send it to replyall@diabetes.org.have never thought about it
have never thought about it like that before. Thanks so much for the depth and understanding at which you covered the topic. it's a useful piece of information not only for me but for many others. have read a lot on the topic at different blogs and books (download mainly from http://www.picktorrent.com but this piece really gives food for thought
More people need to read this article...
Thanks so much for the great info! It's unfortunate that most people don't realize how many calories they consume...through a straw! Although it's boring, water is essential to life. While it can be spruced up, keeping yourself hydrated is so important. I prefer to spice up H20 with tea, or possibly Nano Silver to keep myself hydrated and in top physical shape Thanks again! :)
Tea... not just any one.
Tea in general is good, but whole leaf, green white, oolong or black (red in Asia) are much better than powdered, or generic "black" Tea in teabags. Whole leaf Tea consumed Asian style (multiple steeps from the same initial leaf) results in larger consumption of those positive factors, and a decreasing quantity of caffeine. High quality (premium) Tea may be more expensive gram per gram, but it can be steeped more times with good results than lesser Tea. It is said that the same Tea consumed in the morning "wakes you up," "helps you through the workday," and "puts you soundly to sleep at night." Perhaps thats because when first steeped caffeine and all the healthful substances are at their greatest. Throughout the day caffeine levels fall off, while in quality whole leaf Teas, healthful substances continue to function effectivly. At night caffeine levels are low to non-existant, while the healthful qualities abide. Also levels of a substance found in Tea leaves (Theinine) acts as an "anti-caffeine soporific" (sleep inducing agent). This is not available in common caffinated drinks such as sodas, or bean extracts such as coffee or cocoa. Tea can be more expensive then Wine, and is produced in as many or even more forms. Yet pound/kilo for pound/kilo quality Tea produces many more cups than coffee, cocoa, or even soda for less cost overall.
Not bad at all for a beverage that has been written about in excess of 5 thousand years, and consumed for millions.
As a Serial Dieter
I know all about the way diet soda can really stall the progress of any diet. I know I was a Diet Cherry Pepsi addict for quite some time. I replaced mainly with water but I had questions about the loss of caffeine in my intake because of its ability to burn fat quickly. I switched to green tea and water and have seen great results.
over a period of a couple weeks
over a period of a cuple of weeks of drinking diet coke I gained 5 pounds..I quit drinking it and in 3 days lost the 5 pounds plus another pound.
I do use other artificial sweeteners from time to time but am planning on trying to wean off of them completely
Agree.
over a period of a cuple of weeks of drinking diet coke I gained 5 pounds..I quit drinking it and in 3 days lost the 5 pounds plus another pound. " Well agree my friend " Jenny
Study from Harvard April
Study from Harvard April 2011: 20 years and 40,000 participants. To sum it up there was no evidence that diet sodas contributed to type 2 Diabetes. Look it up. Artificial sweeteners may not be good for you but they are not proven to cause anything. It's best to avoid them of course, but most of these articles don't cite sources or the methodology of testing and analysis. Use your head. Did you gain 5 pounds in a week because of Diet Coke or was it the extra food you ate because you were saving so many calories by drinking diet colas. The truth would probably surprise you. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/15/us-diet-soda-idUSTRE73E4YH2011...
the power of advertising
yes this is what we call" the power of advertising" people already the impact of kind of this drink but they keep consume it and made it as replacement of mineral water.
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