How Diet Soda Makes You Fat
You may think you’re doing the right thing by cutting out regular soda and opting for the diet ones instead. But, you’d be wrong. By the time you finish reading this post, I want you to be very clear how diet soda makes you fat and how ALL soda is bad news.
The Scientific Facts
The soda companies want us to believe that simply by cutting calories, they’ve fixed the problem. But, that is a lie.
A study by the University of Texas Health Science Center linked the number of diet sodas a person drank to their risk of gaining weight. Drinking just two or more cans a day resulted in 500% larger waistlines than those who do not drink diet soda.
Another 14 year study concluded the following:
- The average diet soda drinker consumes three diet drinks a day.
- Artificial sweeteners are sweeter and more addictive than regular sugar, causing diet soda drinkers to consume twice as much as regular soda drinkers.
- Those who drank a 12 ounce diet soda increased their risk of Type 2 diabetes by about 33 percent.
How Does Diet Soda Make You Gain Weight?
How is it that diet soda makes you gain weight?
- Artificial sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar, which makes us crave it even more.
- Your body can’t tell the difference between natural and artificial sweeteners, so it increases production of insulin and you get more belly fat.
- Artificial sweeteners are so confusing to your body that they slow your metabolism down and you burn less calories.
- Artificial sweeteners also makes you hungrier, but you won’t crave veggies…you’ll crave more sugar and starchy carbs.
The bottom line—BOTH real and artificial sweeteners are bigger causes of obesity than fat! There is no such thing as “good” sugar…but, not all fats are bad.
More Reasons Diet Soda is Bad for You
Here is a video that YOU MUST WATCH if you’re a diet soda drinker! It explains how the modern American diet, including the highly consumed diet soda, is very acidic. The video also explains what these acidic foods are doing to our bodies and how they are causing us to deplete our calcium resources and slow our metabolisms.
If you’ve been a big soda drinker and you are ready to kick the habit, I highly recommend you do the Ultimate Reset Cleanse. This 21 day program will not only reset your body’s optimal alkalinity, it will help create healthy new eating habits that will last a lifetime if you choose to keep up with them. Click on the button below for more info.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, diet sodas contain preservatives to prevent mold that have been linked to mild skin irritations and serious allergic conditions.
Regular Soda is Bad for You Too!
The soda companies also want you to believe that it’s okay to drink regular soda every day, as long as you burn off the calories. NOT TRUE. Drinking soda has MANY health risks that most people are not aware of.
Besides being high in sugar and calories (a 20 ounce can has 17 teaspoons of sugar and 240 calories!), here is the short list of more harmful effects of regular soda:
- Soda has been linked to a reduction in kidney function in women. Here’s the study by Harvard Medical School.
- Soda increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 25%.
- Soda is a diuretic and can cause dehydration if you don’t drink enough water.
- The caramel coloring in soda has been linked to cancer and vascular issues.
- The caffeine in soda impedes your body’s natural detox process by blocking the absorption of magnesium.
- Soda increases heart disease in men by 20%.
- Soda depletes bone density in women.
- Drinking soda changes your metabolism making it more difficult to burn fat and lose weight.
- Daily sodas are linked to Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
- The acid in soda wears away our dental enamel.
If you want to know more about the perils of soda, check this article out—22 Deadly Reasons to Never Put a Bottle of Coke Near Your Mouth Again
Three Healthy Alternatives to Soda
If I’ve gotten through to you that diet soda makes you fat and you are looking for alternatives, here are three:
With an almost exact pH range as our blood and zero calories, water is the most obvious choice. Iced herbal teas or infused waters are another fabulous alternative, many offering healthy benefits on the side. Here are some herbal teas specifically geared toward fitness—10 Best Herbal Teas for Fitness
And, check out Beachbody’s all natural Performance Hydrate Formula.
