What drinking diet soda does to your body and brain (video)
(Business Insider, Jan 2021)
(transcript) “…Scientists think that repeatedly tricking our body this way could explain why study after study keeps finding the same thing: that drinking diet soda is associated with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a mix of conditions that includes: increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, and weight gain. Which can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
In fact, one study found that diet soda drinkers had a higher risk of stroke and dementia than regular soda drinkers. And for another 8-year-long study between 1979-1988, participants who started out at a normal weight and drank an average of 21 diet beverages a week faced DOUBLE the risk of becoming overweight or obese by the end of the study, compared to people who avoided diet beverages completely.And while drinking diet soda with a meal may sound like a tasty, calorie-free alternative to plain water, a growing body of research is starting to find that this may be the WORST time to drink it. Because the fake calories in the diet soda could ultimately disrupt how many of the real calories we metabolize. Potentially leaving excess calories behind that we then store as fat.
Another issue could be the fact that artificial sweeteners in diet sodas can be tens to hundreds of times sweeter than sugar. So when we taste it, our brains anticipate more calories than what we give it. It’s like when you go to a party expecting loads of food and you end up with a handful of veggies and vegan cheese. You’re left unsatisfied and hangry. In the same way, artificial sweeteners can leave our brains wanting more, which studies have shown leads to increased appetite, and potential weight gain, in fruit flies, mice, and humans…”
