Is the Soda Diet Healthier Than Ordinary Sodas?

Medical Video: Diet Soda Leads to Weight Gain? Dr. Matthew Brengman Discusses Artificial Sweeteners
What is diet soda?
Is it true that diet soda can lose weight?
What are the effects of drinking diet soda?
1. Disrupting the health of bones and teeth
2. It might trigger a headache
3. Increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome
4. Danger if mixed with alcoholic beverages
5. Increases the risk of depression

Medical Video: Diet Soda Leads to Weight Gain? Dr. Matthew Brengman Discusses Artificial Sweeteners

You may have seen a number of well-known soft drink brands that have products with a "Diet" appendage on the packaging. Claimed, this type of soda is healthier than ordinary soda, and won't make it fat. 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, then what about diet soda?

What is diet soda?

Diet soda is a calorie-free carbonated drink, but has a sweetener in the form of aspartame, suclarose, acesulfame-potassium, and other non-calorie sweeteners. In general, this type of soda is not harmful to health, body balance, or body composition. However, recent research says diet soda has a connection with health problems. Indeed, there are no studies that prove that diet soda has long-term health risks, but there are various diseases associated with the effects of diet soda.

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

Is it true that diet soda can lose weight?

Diet soda that is drunk excessively can cause weight gain. Why is that? Said the diet soda was calorie free?

Calorie free does not guarantee your weight will decrease. 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 diet soda drinkers had a 70% increase in widening waist circumference, compared with those who did not drink it.

The existence of psychological influences is also one reason diet diets actually make weight gain. When you eat something low in calories, unconsciously, you also add to the intake of other foods, such as one burger or a few slices of pizza. According to Dr. John Spangler, lecturer in family and community medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, North Carolina, quoted by LiveScience, the public became very obsessed with eating diet soda, so that there is a connection with populations who experience weight gain.

What are the effects of drinking diet soda?

1. Disrupting the health of bones and teeth

Although free of calories, diet soda is not included in healthy drinks. Diet soda is a drink containing chemicals, some of which may damage the body. For example phosphoric acid content, this content can reduce bone mineral density and erode tooth enamel - this can cause cavities. Tufts University researchers found women who drank soda tended to experience lower bone density in the waist compared to women who did not drink soda at all.

2. It might trigger a headache

Even with artificial sweeteners in soda diets, such as aspartame and suclarose. Even though it is claimed to be safe for the body, the use of artificial sweeteners is indeed still debated. The research cited the Health website, said 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 impact of consuming diet soda is the occurrence of a risk increase of around 36% for metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a condition that makes a person at high risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. These conditions are high blood pressure, glucose levels, increased cholesterol, and widening of the waist circumference. Researchers from the University of Miami and Columbia University quoted by the Health website also revealed the same risk of the effects of drinking diet soda. However, researchers also say that more research is needed to draw definite conclusions about the effects of diet soda on health.

4. Danger if mixed with alcoholic beverages

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 research proves that participants who consume alcohol mixed with diet drinks have higher alcohol concentrations compared to 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 soda bottles 30% were susceptible to a higher risk of depression than those who stayed away from sweet drinks. So, if you want to consume drinks that are low in calories, the answer is water.