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Diet Soda: Why You Need to Stop Drinking It

I gave up diet soda 2 years ago and after reading this list, I feel a lot better about it. It is NOT good for you. What's the point in cutting the calories if you're only going to cause further damage INSIDE your body. Read this list before you take a swig and share with someone you know who can't get enough of that DIET SODA! 

No one’s saying it’s going to be easy, but you’ll be better off without it and this is why.

It causes bloating - Those bubbles might taste refreshing, but they’re not helping your belly. Turns out, drinking carbonated beverages regularly can cause bloating and discomfort. So skip the fizz and sip something like iced tea instead.

It can cause weight gain - A study from the University of Texas Health Science Center found that folks who drink diet soda have a higher risk of becoming overweight. Even just a can or two a day can cause your waistline to get bigger!

It alters your body's natural hunger hormones - Researchers from Palestine found that drinking diet soda increases the production of the hormone ghrelin, which regulates hunger cues. When ghrelin is higher, you feel hungrier, even if you don’t need to eat yet, and that can lead to overeating and weight gain.

It can mess with your mood - Aspartame, a common ingredient in diet soda, can alter your mood. So if you’re a Diet Coke junkie and you feel cranky, upset, or angry for no reason at all, this could be why.

It has serious effects on your health - Here’s a scary stat: research from the University of Miami shows drinking diet soda every day can make you 44% more likely to suffer a heart attack than those who never drink it. And a daily diet soda habit can make you much more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes

If you can't fathom the though of going cold turkey, try cutting down on your daily intake. You got this. 

how these so called "diet" sodas are really effecting your weight loss efforts... And the truth is, they're moving you backwards instead of forwards when it comes to improving the shape of your body. Now these drinks are calorie free, which technically should help people lose weight and prevent sugar-related diseases…

 However, the evidence for these beverages having any use is completely nonexistent. Which brings me to my first terrible aftermath from drinking diet sodas, side effect #4: Metabolic syndrome. 

There is a lot of evidence supporting the fact that regularly drinking diet sodas can actually cause what researchers call “Metabolic syndrome”... Which is a series of risk factors that can lead to diabetes, stroke and in extreme cases, heart attacks.

 Now this condition is defined as having or experiencing at least 3 of the following symptoms - excessive belly fat or clinical obesity, high blood pressure, high fasting glucose (those with sugar-packed diets), high triglycerides and low amounts of your body’s good cholesterol.  Drinking “calorie free” beverages instead of sugary ones does not appear to be helpful against the metabolic syndrome.

In fact, looking at the research, sugar is really not the only culprit that is affecting your health like the mainstream media is making it appear… And just because diet sodas are “sugar free”, it doesn’t mean that they are healthy… 

In a study published in the journal Circulation in 2008, which followed 9,514 people for 9 years, drinking artificially sweetened beverages was associated with a 34% greater risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. 

Now onto side effect #3: There is an association between diet soda and depression. 3:30 - Nutrition and dietary experts are relating these findings to once again, the myriad of chemicals and synthetic ingredients found within diet drinks.

Side effect #2: Drinking diet soda increases your risk for diabetes.

Now, as everyone knows, the past decade of health surveys have revealed massive increases in populations develops diabetes… This disease is highly associated with obesity and sugar consumption, so most believe that replacing sugary beverages with calorie-free drinks would help…

But according to the reports - it’s quite the opposite. A study of 6,814 individuals aged 45-85 years, daily consumption of diet soda was associated with a 67% increased risk of type II diabetes. In another French study, women were studied for 14 years and it was found that women who consumed the most diet drinks had a 121% greater risk of developing type II diabetes.

I hate to be the barer of bad news - especially because the main reason people switch to diet drinks is to cut back on calories in order to lose weight… However, the numbers don’t lie people.

And now, the final side effect. Drinking diet soda can actually make you fat.

There are even many short-term trials that show that artificial sweeteners can increase appetite and food intake in the short-term compared to sugar. 

So the take away here guys is to not to choose between diet and regular soda - it’s to forego both. Instead, try drinking unsweetened beverages like coffee, tea, mineral water or 100 percent fruit juice… Or better yet, stick to plain, old water!