TweetMany people consider drinking diet sodas one of the best ways to stay on track with their diet and nutrition. These people see diets soda as a helpful aid in losing or maintaining weight, and it all seems so plausible. It just seems to make sense that substituting a calorie-free drink for a sugar-loaded version would be a wise decision. The reality is that diet sodas are not as harmless as they you might think.

Blood Glucose Control

There is evidence that people who drink more diet soda rather than unsweetened drinks have more trouble maintaining proper blood glucose control. For instance, diabetics who were studied had a +0.7 reading on their A1C test, on average, when they drank diet soda than when they did not. Since the A1C test measures glucose control over time, this shows the effects of drinking diet soda over the long-term.

Heart and Stroke Risk

Some recent studies have shown a most definite link between heart disease or stroke and drinking diet soda. It turns out that the science for those studies was lacking and the results are questionable. However, other more scientifically sound studies of diet and nutrition do link drinking diet sodas with metabolic syndrome, which greatly increases the risks for heart disease and stroke, as well as for diabetes. The reason for the correlation may not be completely clear yet, but the fact is that people who drink diet soda are at greater cardiovascular risk.

Increased Obesity

There is also a correlation between increased diet soda consumption and increased weight and obesity. Several studies have backed up this finding. Some even break the results down into the number of diet sodas the subject drinks linked to the specific percentage of risk for obesity. No matter how you slice it, there is some kind of connection between the two.

There are several explanations offered for the link between diet soda and obesity. Some researchers say that the problem stems from the fact that when the brain receives a jolt of super-sweet taste, it expects calories to follow. When they do not come along, the body craves them and the person is more likely to eat more of other calorie-rich foods. Other scientists say that the problem is as simple as the fact that people who drink diet sodas are more prone to making other poor lifestyle, diet and nutrition choices.

Dehydration

Drinking a cold diet soda on a hot day might feel like a great way to quench your thirst, but it can actually lead to dehydration. If you want to stay healthy and hydrated, opt for clear water or unsweetened beverages to replenish you fluid supply. Diet soda can be so detrimental to you in this regard that it can even affect the kidneys over time. Soda of any kind is a poor choice for hydration.

Diet soda is one of the many things in life that can be done in moderation. It is one thing to have one or two cans per week. That level of consumption is probably not going to cause you much trouble. However, drinking several cans of diet soda a day can ruin proper diet and nutrition and may even damage your health.

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