Popularity Contest. JUST SAY NO

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Diet sodas are sooo popular because everyone thinks they are sooo cool because they save you calories.  Just like that cool kid in school, however when you get down to the nitty gritty, the end up being not so nice, not so great and when you look at them 20 years outta high school, they are not cool anymore! 

 

"Drink me!  I'm calorie free, I'm awesome"...years down the line, you will pay for it.  PROMISE 

 

There is NOTHING even remotely healthy about drinking diet soda. In fact, I've even seen several studies that showed dedicated diet soda drinkers got even FATTER than their regular soda drinking counterparts.

Here are some findings from an 8-year University of Texas study that was on WebMD...

An excerpt from the study author:

"What didn't surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher." 

"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.

 

 One reason is that the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas create a negative hormonal response in the body that increases fat storing hormone production and increases cravings for more sweets and refined carbohydrates in the time period after consuming the diet drink.
Another reason is that people may subconsciously think that because they are drinking a diet soda, that gives them more leeway to eat more of everything else, hence consuming more calories overall. 

 

YOu know the picture of the BIG MAC, LARGE FRIES, DIET COKE SCENARIO.  Doesn't work!!!

 

 Why can’t just enjoy a nice soda on a hot afternoon?  Well it’s the artificial sweeteners my friend

 

WAIT? WHAT? WHAT IS CONSIDERED AN ARTIFICIAL SWEETENER?

Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:

• Splenda (sucralose)
• Aspartame
• Saccharine
• Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)

Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be "healthy" as they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking. Just say’n!



Other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:

• some have been linked to potential cancer risks
• negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
• stimulating cravings
• gastrointestinal problems
• developmental problems in children and fetuses
• headaches

Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Also, if you do some research, you'll find mannnny  people that attribute the use of artificial sweeteners over the years with all sorts of illnesses in themselves or in family members.

 

 The companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe. Don't believe them!  The bottom line is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners.