Will Diet Soda and Artificial Sweeteners Make You Fat?

I think it's pretty safe to say you know how bad regular, or "heavy" soda (pop, Coke, or whatever it's called in your area) is to your waist line.

It's loaded with sugar and does nothing but make you addicted to caffeine and sugar and make you fat. It's just that plain and simple.

But did you know that diet soda may be as bad or even worse when it comes to fat loss? Not only that, but did you know that the artificial sweeteners included in many of today's foods, including diet soda, may also make you gain fat or even harmful to your health?

It's true. There is mounting evidence that shows artificial sweeteners (including those found in diet soda) are actually bad for you. They're touted as a healthy alternative to sugar, when in fact, natural sugar is healthier. At least it's found in nature and not manufactured in a lab by people in white coats and masks.

One study I found on WebMD stated they found that people who drank only diet soda were actually at a higher risk of obesity. They even found that there was a 41% increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soda a person drinks per day.

That's crazy! Something that has been touted as being a healthy alternative to the sugar-loaded regular sodas may actually be more of a risk?

Why do you think this is?

One reason may be that you subconsciously think that because you're drinking diet soda, you're saving calories, so it's OK to eat a little extra. That's all well and good if you don't over eat already, but when you haven't gotten a control over your eating, this makes for a disastrous combination.

Another reason is that the artificial sweeteners found in diet sodas may actually make you crave for sweets or processed carbohydrates.

Kind of weird, isn't it?

Not only that, but those same artificial sweeteners may actually make the hormones that make you store fat, get cranked up a little bit, which makes you store even more fat than you would if you didn't drink the diet soda.

There are also a bunch of health risks that may be associated with artificial sweeteners as well.

Small things like cancer, gastrointestinal problems (gas, diarrhea, constipation), headaches, etc.

You're OK with those things aren't you? I thought not.

So what's your alternative? It seems like there's nothing safe out there anymore. You can't consume too much sugar because it'll make you fat, now I'm telling you not to drink diet soda because it might be worse than regular.

Well first off, you can drink diet soda and consume artificial sweeteners in moderation. Many of the studies about cancer risk are blown out of proportion because they used a lot more artificial sweeteners in the tests than you could consume in a lifetime.

However many people, like me, feel bloated when they drink diet soda. I retain water when I drink diet soda so I tend to stay away as much as possible.

The best thing to do is to change your habits and get rid of diet soda entirely and switch to natural teas, naturally flavored waters, etc. Just make sure you're not swapping diet soda for another drink that's loaded with artificial sweeteners or sugar.

Or, if you want to add something sweet to your regular brewed tea, you can use Stevia.

Stevia is not a man-made sweetener. It's actually an herb that's dried into a powder and it's a lot sweeter than sugar.

You learn something new every day, don't you.

Have a good day!

Ed