It's impressive - there are some people who never drink water, just soda - diet or regular. I can say I love water, but I used to drink a lot of diet soda, too. So maybe you don't drink too much diet soda or soda in general, or maybe you've decided to give up diet soda and it seems it's a great idea, through things I've been reading!
The problems that soda or diet soda cause are a lot. The list includes:
Well, after you quit drinking soda, they tend to disappear and your focus sharpens. That's because "the chemicals that make the artificial sweetener may have altered brain chemicals, nerve signals and the brain's reward system, which leads to headaches, anxiety and insomnia", according to a review in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And it can also damage cells and nerve endings in the cerebellum, the part of the brain responsible for motor skills. Source .
They will be more sensitive when you quit diet soda. Diet soda alters taste buds, turning all more enjoyable. Diet soda alters sweet receptors in the brain and prolongs sugar cravings, that seem to be never satisfied. "We often see patients change snack choices when they give up diet soda," says Heather Bainbridge, rom Columbia University Medical Center Weight Control Center.
Avoiding drinking diet soda will improve your bone strength and reduce your risk of fractures. Studies found that older women who drank diet soda regularly had lower bone mineral density in their hips.
Your attitude towards food changes.
diet soda-drinkers make poor food choices and sometimes they are built up habits. Dr. Bainbridge says that "you're conditioned to have soda with chips, fries, or something sweet. When you eliminate the soft drink, you also break the junk food habit."
Faster drunk with diet soda!
"When you mix it with alcohol, your stomach empties out faster than if you used regular soda, causing a drastic increase in blood alcohol concentrations", according to an Australian study in the American Journal of Medicine.
Fat storage and diabetes risk increases
And decreases when you no longer drink diet soda. A study in Diabetes Care found that "drinking two-thirds of a diet soda before eating primed the pancreas to release a lot of the fat-storing hormone insulin. When the pancreas is overworked from creating insulin to control blood-sugar levels, diabetes rears its ugly head". And a recent study in Japan found that middle-aged men who drank 1 or more diet sodas daily were much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a 7-year period. Source .
But gets better when you don't regularly drink diet soda. Your body no longer has to make sense of the ingredients in diet soda, so your kidneys can concentrate on clearing toxins, stabilizing blood pressure and absorbing minerals.
It's not that you can NEVER again drink a glass of diet soda, but controlling the ingestion of it to improve health seems to be really great!
Denise S. is the blogger behind DenisesPlanet, a blog about her adventures, studies, readings and fashion, as well. She loves shoes, travelling, roses, learning languages and sweets, among other things. Learning from people and respecting each other's opinions are always very important for her!