Is diet soda healthier than regular soda? & bull; hello healthy

You may have seen some well-known brands of soft drinks that have products with the label "Diet" on the packaging. Claimed, this type of soda is healthier than regular soda, and will not make you fat. Is it really like that? According to, Keri Gans, speaker for the American Dietetic Association and author The Small Change Diet , quoted by the site LiveScience, regular soda does not have any nutritional benefits for the body, so what about diet soda?

What is diet soda?

Diet soda is a calorie-free carbonated drink, but has sweeteners in the form of aspartame, suclarose, acesulfame-potassium, and other sweeteners that are not calorie. In general, this type of soda is not harmful to health, body balance, or body composition. However, recent research suggests diet soda has links to health problems. Indeed, there is no research that proves that diet soda has long-term health risks, but there are various diseases that have been linked to the effects of diet soda.

Ingredients such as artificial sweeteners, which are found in diet soda, have a stronger sweet taste than sugar. Brooke Alpert, RD, author The Sugar Detox , quoted by the Health website, states that this sweetener can cause our taste buds to wane to foods that contain natural sweeteners, such as fruit.

Is it true that diet soda can lose weight?

Drinking excess diet soda can lead to weight gain. Why is that? You said diet soda was calorie free?

Calorie-free does not guarantee that you will lose weight. This is because diet soda can trigger insulin which can affect fat storage in your body, causing an increase in body weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that diet soda drinkers had a 70% increase in waist circumference, when compared to those who drank no.

The psychological impact is also one of the reasons diet soda actually makes you gain weight. When you eat something low in calories, you unconsciously increase your intake of other foods, such as a burger or a few slices of pizza. According to dr. John Spangler, a lecturer in family and community medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center North Carolina, was quoted as saying by LiveScience that people have become very obsessed with consuming diet soda, so that it has something to do with the population experiencing weight gain.

What is the impact of drinking diet soda?

1. Interferes with the health of bones and teeth

Although calorie free, diet soda is not included in healthy drinks. Diet soda is a drink that contains chemicals, some of which may damage the body. For example, phosphoric acid, which can reduce bone mineral density and erode tooth enamel - this can lead to cavities. Tufts University researchers found women who drank soda tended to experience lower bone density at the waist compared to women who drank no soda at all.

2. May trigger headaches

Even with artificial sweeteners in diet soda, such as aspartame and suclarose. Even though it is claimed to be safe for the body, the use of artificial sweeteners is still being debated. Research quoted by the Health website states that aspartame can cause headaches such as migraines, but as explained above, the evidence is anecdotal, aka unclear.

3. Increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome

Another effect of consuming diet soda is an increased risk of about 36% for metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a condition that puts a person at high risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. These conditions are high blood pressure, glucose levels, increased cholesterol, and a widening of the waist circumference. Researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University quoted by the Health website also revealed a similar risk of the effects of drinking diet soda. However, researchers also say that more research is needed to draw definite conclusions about the health impact of diet soda.

4. Danger when mixed with alcoholic drinks

Artificial sweeteners can be absorbed more quickly by the bloodstream than sugar, so when diet soda is consumed as a mixture of alcohol, it can cause harmful effects. This opinion is based on researchers from Northern Kentucky University quoted by the Health website. This study proves that participants who consumed alcohol mixed with diet drinks had a higher alcohol concentration than alcohol mixed with drinks containing sugar.

5. Increases the risk of depression

Another study presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology found that people who drank more than four sodas were 30% prone to a higher risk of depression than those who avoided sugary drinks. So, if you want to consume low-calorie drinks, the answer is plain water.