Diet Soda Linked to Chronic Disease

When you see the word "diet," you probably assume the respective product is a healthier choice than the non-diet version. Millions of Americans, for instance, prefer drinking soda diet for this very reason. Unlike its counterpart, diet soda typically contains zero calories and zero added sugar. Because of this, many people assume diet soda is a healthier choice than regular, sugar-sweetened soda. However, a new study has found this may not be entirely true.

For the study, researchers from the University of Manitoba analyzed data from thousands of existing studies involving obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and artificial sweeteners. Generally speaking, they discovered that the benefits of consuming artificial sweeteners instead of processed sugar -- such as those found in diet soda -- was modest to none at all for individuals already suffering from the aforementioned health ailments. For others, however, consuming artificial sweetener increased the risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and stroke.

"We were really interested in the everyday person who is consuming these products not to lose weight, but because they think it's the healthier choice, for many years on end," explained Meghan Azad, the study's lead author. She added that "there is no clear benefit for weight loss, and there's a potential association with increased weight gain, diabetes and other negative cardiovascular outcomes."

So, how does artificial sugar have such a profound impact on our health? Some experts believe it's effects are attributed to the way in which our bodies identify the substance when consume. You see, our bodies treat artificial sugar just like regular sugar. When we consume diet soda, for instance, our bodies "think" we are consuming regular sugar-sweetened soda, in which case the excess sugar is stored as fat. Furthermore, artificial sweeteners contain chemicals that may interfere with metabolic processes and blood sugar levels.

There are ways to minimize your intake of artificial sugars, one of which is to avoid diet soda. Even if it's labeled as having zero calories and zero added sugar, you shouldn't assume it's a healthier choice than regular sugar-sweetened soda. As revealed in this study, even diet sodas can harm your health, especially when consumed on a daily or otherwise regular basis.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't assume diet beverages are any healthier than traditional sugar-sweetened beverages. As revealed in this study, even diet beverages can negatively impact your health by increasing the risk of many chronic diseases and illnesses.