Is Diet Soft Drink Making You Gain Weight?
New research shows diet soft drink may not be good for weight loss. Learn why diet soft drink may actually cause you to gain weight, amongst other problems.
If you feel better about having a burger and chips for lunch because you ordered a diet soft drink, you shouldn’t. Studies show that diet soft drink may not be any better for you than regular soft drink. In fact, it may even be worse.
Diet Soft Drink and Weight Loss:
Drinking diet soft drink has been linked to developing metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a group of conditions that include expanding waist size, increased blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, lower levels of good cholesterol, and high fasting blood sugar levels. Having three or more of these findings increases your risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Why the Weight Gain?
Although researchers can’t say for sure why diet soft drink sets the stage for weight gain, there are several possible reasons. Whilst diet soft drinks have no calories, they are created to simulate the sweetness of a regular soft drink. This leaves the drinker’s taste buds completely overwhelmed. For an example of this, take a sip of water and then bite into your favorite fruit. Then try the same experiment with diet soft drink. Note that the real food tastes flat after drinking soft drink. The distortion of taste may cause the diet soft drinker to seek higher calorie foods.
Another possibility is that people just eat more because they think they are saving calories from drinking a diet soft drink. A direct link between artificial sweeteners and a craving for high-calorie foods may exist. There is also the possibility that the link is related to unknown factors involving diet, exercise, or other personal characteristics.
Caffeine’s Role:
Although diet soft drink has fewer calories than regular soft drink, the caffeine content may be greater. A regular can of Coke contains 35 milligrams of caffeine and a Diet Coke contains 47 mg. At low levels, caffeine can stimulate energy, make you more alert, and may be beneficial for weight loss. In higher amounts it can cause nervousness, increased heart rate, and difficulty concentrating. You may also get withdrawal symptoms such as headache, irritability, or depression if you stop taking caffeine suddenly.
For a healthier alternative to diet soft drink, try adding one-third cup of fruit juice to soft drink of plain mineral water for a low-calorie and not-too-sweet beverage.
Although the exact relationship of diet soft drink to weight gain and metabolic syndrome is not clear, it is obvious that diet soft drink should not be considered a “healthy” alternative to regular soft drink. When you choose to drink any soft drink, you are choosing to drink a beverage that is just not as healthy for you as milk, juice, or water.
