Diet Coke Makes You FAT – So, Don’t Drink It!

Yeah, I said it. But there is a lot of data to support this fact, and we’re going to run it down for you. Because everyone I know who considers themselves overweight also drinks diet drinks – as if they think this helps.

Well, it doesn’t. It hurts! So stop drinking that crap! Here’s why…

According to an article on WebMD:

People who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.

The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at the annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.

“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.”

In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.

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

And before we get back to quoting more reports, here is a very informative video that explains how Diet Cokes (and other similar beverages) actually change the pH balance of the body – ultimately resulting in weight gain.

Now, back to the research…

ABCNews quoted a Purdue University study released in the journal Behavioral Neuroscience:

…rats on diets containing the artificial sweetener saccharin gained more weight than rats given sugary food, casting doubt on the benefits of low-calorie sweeteners. “There’s something about diet foods that changes your metabolic limit, your brain chemistry,” said ABC News’ medical contributor Dr. Marie Savard. Though Savard said more research needs to be done to uncover more information, the study does hint at the idea that the sweeteners alter a person’s metabolism.

Savard said another recent study, which included more than 18,000 people, found healthy adults who consumed at least one diet drink a day could increase their chance for weight gain.

In the Purdue study, the rats whose diets contained artificial sweeteners appeared to experience a physiological connection between sweet tastes and calories, which drove them to overeat.

“The taste buds taste sweet, but there’s no calorie load that comes with it. There’s a mismatch here. It seems it changes your brain chemistry in some way,” Savard said. “Anything you put in your mouth, your body has a strong reaction to it. It’s much more than counting calories. It seems normally with sweet foods that we rev up our metabolism.”

And here’s a little something from Wikipedia to chew on:

Changing the food energy intake from one food will not necessarily change a person’s overall food energy intake, or cause a person to lose weight. One study,[2] at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, reported by Sharon Fowler at the ADA annual meeting, actually suggested the opposite, where consumption of diet soda was correlated with weight gain. While Fowler did suggest that the undelivered expected calories from diet soda may stimulate the appetite, the correlation does not prove that consumption of diet soda caused the weight gain. The ADA has yet to issue an updated policy concerning diet soda.

An independent study by researchers with the Framingham Heart Study in Massachusetts, has turned up results which indicate that the consumption of diet soda correlates with increased metabolic syndrome. Of the 9,000 males and females studied, findings stated that 48% of the subjects were at higher risk for weight gain and elevated blood sugar. The researchers also acknowledged that diet soda drinkers were less likely to consume healthy foods, and that drinking diet soda flavored with artificial sweeteners more than likely increases cravings for sugar flavored sweets.

Individuals who drink excessive amounts of regular soda may experience weight loss if they switch to diet soda.

Animal studies suggest that artificial sweeteners cause body weight gain, theoretically because of a faulty insulin response, at least in cows and rats. Rats given sweeteners have steadily increased caloric intake, increased body weight, and increased adiposity (fatness). Adding saccharin to the food of calves increases their body weight as well.

Some artificial sweeteners are also linked to even worse health risks, however. Aspartame is linked to some very bad health problems. It is proven to add formaldehyde to the consumer’s body. Too much formaldehyde leads to methanol poisoning, which can lead to death. In addition, it is actually worse for diabetics than sugar. It can cause them to go into convulsions and can also damage their optic nerve. Sucralose has also caused many bad side effects in many people.

So there you have it. One of the worst things you can do for your health is drink diet sodas. So just knock it off. If you want a coke, look for one like a Mexican coke which has real sugar – but stay away from the artificial sweeteners or the High Fructose Corn Syrup. And if you find any more related info please do share it!