Diet sodas are carbonated beverages. Diet Coke was the second best selling soft drink in the US last year but sales have actually dropped since more people have become aware of it’s apparent health risks. Instead of sugar, they are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin and sucralose. A diet soda beverage is probably one drink every dieter feels good about drinking. Studies conducted around the country, at places like Harvard and Stanford, have linked diet soda to a host of health problems, including high cholesterol, kidney failure and, yes, weight gain.
What Happens When You Drinking Too Much Diet Soda
Cause Headaches
The synthetic sweetener aspartame that is present in many diet drinks has been found to cause headaches. Many diet drink lovers notice that the number of headaches they are forced to suffer through is in direct correlation to the number of diet drinks they consume.
Allergic Reactions
Chemicals in diet soda have been linked to allergic reactions and to exacerbating allergies in people already prone to them. You may break out in hives, become at higher risk for developing asthma or even feel a slight irritation around your eyes if you drink diet.
Heart Attack
A study over for two decades found that those who had about a can of soda a day had a 20% higher risk of having a heart attack or dying from a heart attack than those who rarely consumed sugary drinks.
Type 2 Diabetes
Many studies link soda consumption with type 2 diabetes, as this disease affecting about 300 million people worldwide. Drinking too much soda drink will decrease the insulin level hence insulin resistance.
Risk of Obesity
Drinking diet sodas are low in calories and part of many a dieter’s reduced calorie plans. Yet, studies have shown drinking just two diet sodas a day can increase the waistline by 500%. Why? Because diet sodas contain article sweeteners which disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate caloric intake based on the sweetness of foods.
Depression
Drinking more than four cans a day of soda is linked to a 30 percent higher risk of depression. On the flip side, drinking four cups of coffee a day seemed to offer protective effects, lowering depression risk 10 percent. The risk appeared to be greater for people who drank diet soda compared to regular soda.
Kidney Damage
Harvard researchers found long-term diet soda drinking causes a 30 percent greater reduction in kidney function. The study looked at people who regularly consumed diet soda over 20 years.
Anxiety Symptoms
Stress and anxiety are conditions that a large percentage of Americans face. The symptoms of stress and anxiety are worsened when one consumes caffeine, which is present in many diet sodas. Caffeine is a stimulant with addictive properties, and it has been shown to activate stress hormones in the body to trigger stress and anxiety.
Causing Metabolic Syndrome
According to a 2008 study at the University of Minnesota, having just one diet soda a day can cause havoc with one’s metabolism by causing metabolic syndrome. This increases cholesterol and can put one at risk for heart disease.
Homemade Healthy Soda Recipes
Ingredients:
Combine ½ cup hibiscus flowers
¾ cup coconut crystals
¼ cup ginger root
juice from ½ fresh lemon
pinch of salt
Directions:
Put one cup filtered water in small saucepan.
Bring to a boil, stir until all sugar is dissolved, strain into a glass jar, discard the flowers and root, and then mix 3 tablespoons of the resulting syrup with 8 ounces of carbonated water.
Store in the refrigerator and enjoy!
Sources:
1) https://authoritynutrition.com/why-is-diet-soda-bad-for-you/
2) https://draxe.com/is-diet-soda-bad-for-you/
3) http://www.body-in-balance.org/blog/nutrition/turmeric-ginger-ale-soda/
4) http://www.haveyourfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/fit-society-page-winter-2007.pdf
5) http://www.wisebread.com/22-reasons-to-stop-drinking-soda
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