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Why Diet Soda Makes You Fat ? While it’s true that diet soda has fewer calories than regular soda, the truth is that drinking too much of it can cause you to gain weight. Several studies have linked diet soda to weight gain. These findings could be due to one or more of four factors, says obesity researcher Barry Popkin.
It raises your sugary expectations
Diet sodas are a popular choice among many Americans, as they’re often advertised as an alternative to sugary drinks. While diet sodas have some benefits, they can also make you fat if you drink too much of them.
A recent study suggests that a habit of drinking diet soda might actually lead to weight gain. Researchers found that the more diet soda people drank, the more junk food they ate. In fact, they discovered that a greater percentage of the diets of people who drank diet sodas were filled with junk food than the diets of people who didn’t drink them.
The researchers suggest that the reason diet soda makes you fat is because it raises your sugary expectations. This is because the artificial sweeteners that are used to make these drinks taste zero calories are 200 times sweeter than table sugar, which means that you’re likely to feel like you need more of them to satisfy your sweet tooth. This leads to an increased risk of obesity and other health problems because the body has to work harder to digest them and metabolize them. This can result in insulin spikes and increased fat storage around the belly.
Moreover, drinking too much of these beverages may lead to the development of insulin resistance and prediabetes. This condition can increase your risk of developing heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Another concern is that the artificial sweeteners in these drinks can cause you to overeat, even when you’re not really hungry. For example, the University of Southern California found that when you have a diet soda, you’re more likely to eat more food than if you drank a sugary soda.
In addition, the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas can increase your risk of consuming too much salt. This is because the sodium in these drinks can trigger your kidneys to excrete more water, which can lead to bloating and other unhealthy outcomes.
This can also lead to the development of kidney stones, which can be a serious health problem. So, instead of relying on diet soda to keep you slim, stick with water and other liquids that are high in minerals.
It makes you hungry
Whether it’s a cup of tea or an orange juice, every food and drink you consume has an effect on your health. Fortunately, you can make healthier choices by choosing natural sweeteners over artificial ones, or avoiding certain foods and drinks altogether.
Many people who have a soda habit are able to kick it by cutting back on the calories, but there is another problem with diet soda that can lead to weight gain. The calorie-free sodas often contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame, acesulfame potassium and sucralose, which can have serious consequences for your health and weight.
The most significant risk is that these drinks can cause frequent spikes in insulin, which signals your cells to be ready to take up sugar from the bloodstream. These insulin spikes are linked to insulin resistance and increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
If you’re looking for a solution to this problem, experts recommend drinking water or unsweetened tea instead of sodas. This will also help you keep hydrated, which is important because your body needs to be hydrated for optimal function and to rid itself of toxins that can cause illness.
In addition, drinking more water will prevent you from reaching for the soda again. Plus, water has zero calories, so it’s the healthiest option if you’re trying to lose weight and keep your body functioning properly.
A study from the University of California, Los Angeles found that people who drank diet soda experienced an increase in their appetite and cravings for carbohydrates. This was especially true among women who were overweight.
Moreover, the study found that those who drank a lot of diet soda were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome, a condition that increases your risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other health problems.
If you aren’t a fan of the taste of water, try using frozen raspberries or mint as an alternative. You can even spritz a glass of water with lemon or lime to add some flavor and help it go down a little easier.
It makes you bloated
If you drink diet soda often, you may be experiencing bloating from the artificial sweeteners. In fact, bloating is one of the most common side effects from artificial sweeteners.
Diet sodas are sweetened with sugar alcohols like sorbitol, xylitol and mannitol that cause gas, bloating and diarrhea in some people. The amount of sugar alcohols needed to cause gastrointestinal upset varies from person to person, so it’s important to read the ingredients list on your diet soda to find out what’s in it.
The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas also cause your brain to trigger appetite hormones that make you hungry, explains registered dietitian Su-Nui Escobar, DCN, RDN, FAND. This means you’ll be more likely to eat foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients.
So, if you’re drinking diet soda regularly, it’s important to consider cutting it out altogether to help reduce your risk of weight gain. You can replace it with water, flavored seltzer or sparkling water that doesn’t contain artificial sweeteners.
In addition, you’ll want to avoid pairing your diet soda with heavy, fatty foods because these foods can irritate your digestive system and cause bloating. The combination of a diet soda with a big meal can also lead to stomach cramps, says Andrea Ovard, RD, nutritionist for IdealFit.
Some other possible causes of bloating are: * Carbonated beverages: The carbonation in sodas, seltzer and sparkling water causes air pockets to develop in your gut, causing gas to form, Brigitte Zeitlin, M.P.H., R.D., C.D.N. and founder of BZ Nutrition, told Self.
Another potential cause of bloating is the caffeine in sodas and coffee, which can make you feel bloated if you have irritable bowel syndrome. If you have irritable bowel syndrome, you should look for caffeine-free versions of these drinks.
Lastly, you’ll want to replace your diet soda with water or other non-carbonated beverages for better digestion and a healthier GI tract. This will help you to maintain a healthy weight and avoid the bloating that comes from excessive sugar and sodium intake.
It increases your risk of heart problems
Many people drink diet soda to cut down on sugar, but new studies suggest it’s not the healthiest choice. Rather, it could increase your risk of stroke, heart disease and even premature death.
A study of 103,000 adults in France found that daily diet soda drinkers were more likely to have a stroke, heart attack or die from vascular disease than non-diet-soda consumers. That’s even after taking into account factors that can affect your health, like smoking, exercise, weight and sodium intake, Reuters reports.
The study was part of a larger research project called NutriNet-Sante, which tracked participants’ diet, health and lifestyle data from 2009 to 2021. It’s the latest in a series of studies that find diet soda is linked to serious cardiovascular health problems.
Researchers said that consuming diet sweeteners — including aspartame and acesulfame potassium — raised your risk of heart disease and a stroke by nine percent, compared to those who didn’t consume them. These sweeteners can also trigger an inflammatory response, which is associated with many health problems.
In addition, some studies have linked the drinks to diabetes, stroke, dementia, and obesity — all of which can lead to heart disease. A recent study from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, for example, showed that people who drank diet soda every day were more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes than those who drank no sweetened beverages at all.
Another study, cited by CNN, found that women who drank two or more artificially sweetened beverages per day had twice the risk of clot-based strokes and heart attacks than women who rarely consumed these products. The risk was especially high for African-American women.
The findings are based on a decade-long study of nearly 60,000 middle-aged women. They were asked about their diet, activity levels and heart disease risks, including whether they drank diet sodas or fruit drinks. Why Diet Soda Makes You Fat
