Coke Zero (Photo credit: Kevin Trotman)
Diet drinks are carbonated beverages that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like sucralose, aspartame, or saccharin. These low calorie and low carb drinks are available so soda lovers feel that they are making a healthy choice when they choose a diet soda over a regular soda.
Recent research and studies show that diet drinks are not good for you, and should be avoided because of the artificial sweeteners that are used in the product’s creation. The main reason that diet soda is bad for you is because of the aspartame. There are an abundance of negative side effects associated with aspartame consumption.
Aspartame causes problems in the eyes and ears, including possible blindness in one or both eyes, decreased vision (blurring, bright flashes, tunnel vision), pain in the eyes, tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears), and reduced tolerance of loud noises. In general, your eyes and ears will become more sensitive.
There have been a number of reports about drinkers of diet soda having neurological issues and episodes because of aspartame. Seizures, migraines, dizziness, confusion, and hyperactivity are just a few of the common reported side effects associated with the ingestion of this ingredient of diet soda.
Why is Diet Soda Bad for You?
Diet coke - the best selling diet soda in the world (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Aside from the side effects and long term risks of artificial sweeteners, there is a more important reason why diet drinks are bad for you. Oftentimes, soda and diet soda will be the main choice at every meal for those who drink them. Sodium and lack of hydrating effects can make you feel unsatisfied and bloated when you are finished with your meal.
Choosing water is a much better route if you are trying to make the right choices about what you are putting into your body.
By choosing diet soda over water, you will age quicker and notice more blemishes in your skin. Water helps maintain a young, healthy skin tone by keeping it hydrated and naturally plumping it up. Another benefit of choosing water over soda is that it makes your immune system work better.
Diet soda will cause you to feel dehydrated and lethargic if you drink too much of it, because that means you are not getting enough water. Those who are concerned with diet soda being unhealthy should definitely consider switching to water if they really want to make the right decision.
Water plays a big role in weight loss and improving your overall health. Mild dehydration (very common) is linked to feelings of sudden anger, depression, anxiety, and confusion. If you are having trouble focusing throughout the day, you are probably mildly dehydrated.
Major Negative Side Effects of Diet Soda
Americans consume 50 billion liters of soda-pop each year. While diet soda may be lower in calories, it’s not a healthy alternative, here are 5 reasons why:
1. Kidney Issues – Harvard did a research study on women for 11 years and found that kidney health declined as they consumed diet soda. This is true especially for those who drank more than two cans of diet soda each day. The research group figured that the high sodium content and artificial sweetener were the two ingredients associated with the increased rate of decline in proper kidney functioning.
2. Metabolism – Just one can of diet soda each day increases your risk of developing metabolic syndrome by up to 34 percent. The University of Minnesota group studied 10,000 adults and noticed unhealthy amounts of body fat in those who drank diet soda. Body fat plays a significant role in increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
3. Obesity – Researchers at Purdue University say that the body and mind get confused when the tongue tastes sweetness yet the body receives no calories and no sugar. This immediate reduction in calories may not make up for your increased thirst and hunger between meals. Diet soda doesn’t help you hydrate, so it is important to drink water to help suppress your thirst and hunger.
Soon after drinking a carbonated beverage like diet soda, you may feel bloated and uncomfortable especially if you drank it while eating food. Try drinking water with your next meal and notice the difference in how your body feels when it is full. Those who drink water with their meals tend to be more satisfied than soda drinkers, because they are full and hydrated as well.
4. Cell Damage – Diet sodas contain sodium benzoate and / or potassium benzoate which are mold inhibitors that aren’t found in sugary sodas. These chemicals can cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria over time, to the point where they completely disable it. Some ingredients in diet soda also have a significant negative impact on the cells of your immune system, making you more susceptible to hives, asthma, and other allergic reactions as well.
5. Depression – Diet drinks are linked to feelings of sadness. Doctors and psychologists both agree that you should replace any soda or diet soda drinking habit with the habit of drinking water. In the long run, your body will benefit greatly from you making the switch over to water. Just this simple trade off could result in you shedding pounds and slimming down a couple waist sizes.
Diet Soda History
Diet Rite was the first cola that consumers got the chance to taste in 1958. It was largely unpopular due to the bitter after taste.
Nowadays, it is still a battle to perfect the diet soda taste but there are loyal diet soda drinkers everywhere. Coca Cola brought Coke Zero to the market and announced that they had finally achieved the taste of a regular soda in a diet beverage. Coca Cola made it a point to not include the word ‘diet’ in the name of their new drink.
With the introduction of new types of sweeteners, and the opportunity to create different blends of artificial sweeteners, the diet soda industry has changed drastically over the past couple decades. However, one thing remains the same
- cutting out both regular and diet soda is still important for long term health.