5 WAYS DIET SODA WORKS AGAINST YOU

But what about the diet version of soda? It has a lot fewer calories (and in some cases zero calories) because there is no sugar. Surely diet soda is a godsend to people trying to lose weight everywhere, right? Wrong!

Don’t be fooled by the word diet It’s a common marketing ploy to make you believe you can have as much of the sweetened stuff as you want and not pay the consequences. But since diet soda first became popular in the 1970s, a lot of research has uncovered just how badly it can backfire for anyone trying to lose weight and lead a healthier life. Here are just a few ways diet soda disappoints…

1) It can actually INCREASE weight and fat

Talk about false advertising! Contrary to what diet soda is intended to do, several studies have shown that it can actually lead to weight and fat increases. In one study out of the University of Texas, researchers found that the waist circumference of people who drank two or more diet sodas a day over the course of a decade was 500% (!) times greater than that of non-drinkers. They believe the reason for this difference lies in the effect of artificial sweeteners, which diet sodas use as a sugar substitute. Artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking it’s real sugar, so the natural metabolic processes report for duty, spiking insulin levels and shifting resources into a fat-storing state.

2) It has ZERO nutritional value

The contents of diet soda are carbonated water and chemicals. There are no vitamins and minerals, and the carbonation in sodas has been shown to deteriorate bone density. The bottom line is that not only is diet soda devoid of any nutritional value but actively robs your cells of the nutrition they need.

3) It puts your health at RISK

The physical health risks associated with regularly drinking diet soda are very serious. The clinical research findings may be related to the increased risk of obesity referenced above, but direct links have been shown for the following:

• A follow-up study found that people who drank diet soda daily were almost three times as likely to develop stroke and dementia when compared to those who did not.

• A study published in the Journal of Diabetes found a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome, and a drastically increased risk of type 2 diabetes, in diet soda drinkers.

• In a study in the journal Epidemiology, drinking two or more colas a day diet or regularly was associated with a twofold risk of developing kidney disease.

4) It RUINS your mood and mental health

Who would ever think gulping some diet soda might increase your risk of anxiety, depression, and even bipolar disorder? Scientists have linked the risk to aspartame, an artificial sweetener commonly used in diet beverages. The EPA also cites aspartame as a potentially harmful chemical that can negatively impact your brain in particular.

5) It RUINS your teeth

Dentists have warned us forever about avoiding sugary foods and beverages in order to protect tooth enamel. You would think sugar-free soda would be the perfect fix for that problem, but no dice.

It has been found that the phosphoric acid in sugar-free soda actively causes dental erosion. The acid gradually strips away tooth enamel, leaving the sensitive interior of the tooth exposed. Have you ever felt the effects of an exposed nerve in your tooth? It’s enough to jolt you right out of your shoes!

Beverage manufacturers have been pushing the benefits and safety of various products for decades, but our advice to you is, don’t buy it. Good old-fashioned H2O is your best bet for effective weight loss and good health.