Diet soda might have zero calories but that doesn’t mean it has zero impact on your health. Theartificially sweetened drinkshave been linked toType 2 diabetesandcancer. Drinking diet soda could also lead to weight gain. Those who drank low-calorie sweetened beverages consumed an additional 196 calories and 15 grams of sugar throughout the day compared to water drinkers, according to newresearch. “Artificial sweeteners in diet drinks are believed toincrease cravingsand alter thenatural metabolic process, causing you to store fat,” explains Amy Gorin, RD.
Here, a look at the latest science and why cutting back on diet soda andhydrating with waterinstead is still your best bet.
THE SCIENCE
New research adds to the growing number of studies about the health risks of drinking diet soda. In one study, researchers tracked 81,714 post-menopausal women for more than a decade andfoundthose who consumed more than one artificially sweetened beverage per day had an increased risk of stroke, heart attack and early death.
“We are not sure whether the adverse effects are due to theartificial sweeteners, such as aspartameor saccharin, that were used at the time the diet-drink-question was asked or [due to] other components of the diet drinks,” explains co-author Yasmin Mossavar-Rahmani,PhD, RD,associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. “For example, the caramel coloring can potentially causeinflammationthat may also be driving this association.”
Researchlinking diet soda consumption to heart issues among post-menopausal women also found the women were more apt to be overweight and havehigh blood pressureordiabetesthan non-diet soda drinkers. Gorin points toresearchsuggesting sweeteners like aspartame might lead to oxidative stress of cardiac tissue, which can impair heart function.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The latest research focused on older women, but that doesn’t give other regular diet soda drinkers a free pass.“Our study adds to the mounting evidence that artificially sweetened beverages may not be good for you … It would seem prudent to decrease consumption of diet drinks,” says Mossavar-Rahmani. While the occasional diet soda is no cause to panic,staying hydrated with wateris a better choice for overall health and weight loss.“Try to peg what it is about diet drinks that are most appealing to you — is it the carbonation that you crave? Or the sweetness? Or the fact that you’re drinking it from a can or a bottle? — and then find a replacement for most or all of the diet drinks you consume,” says Gorin. For example, “tryseltzer with a squeeze of lemonor plain water flavored with sliced fruit andkeep a water bottleyou like on hand as a reminder to keep sipping.”
