I openly admit that I it was easier for me to quit smoking than it was for me to quit diet sodas. In the health-conscious area of the United States where I live, drinking a Diet Coke gets me almost as many nasty looks as smoking a cigarette once did. I wrote HERE about my own Diet Coke addiction and the dangers of artificial sweeteners and just read TODAY that drinking Diet Coke or anything containing artificial sweeteners can add pounds to your waistline.
Just what I need, right?
Like most people who drink diet sodas, I drink it to avoid drinking drinks with extra sugar—also a health risk—and to keep off the pounds.
A recent study followed the weight gain and took measurements of senior citizens—aged 65 to 74 years old—for ten years. Sadly, “the waists of those who drank diet soft drinks grew 70 percent more than those who avoided the artificially sweetened stuff.”
A 2005 study also had results which were unfavorable to artificial sweeteners; the results of the that study demonstrated that anyone who drank soda—artificial or otherwise—tended to gain more weight than those who didn’t.
While the results of the studies might sound unbelievable, there is a possible scientific basis that would account for the results of the study. Apparently, artificial sweeteners like aspartame trick the brain into thinking it is still hungry by spiking blood levels. In addition, another study found that drinking Diet Coke can change your metabolism and can “block your ability to burn fat.”
However, there might not be quite as much of a risk to drinking Diet Coke as other studies have indicated. According to the this article from the Mayo Clinic, drinking one or two Diet Cokes a day probably won’t adversely your health all that much. Also, drinking Diet Coke in small quantities isn’t thought to be a cancer risk at this particular point in time.
That said, another study has linked overconsumption of artificial sweeteners with an increased risk of strokes.
So, after weighing all the factors in, am I going to quit drinking Diet Coke?
Unfortunately, it’s not likely that I’m going to quit Diet Coke entirely. I’m just as subject to marketing as the next person—when I see the Diet Coke displays at the checkout counter, I’m likely to buy one, whether it’s a good idea for my long-term health or not. Only time will tell if the incentive of possibly keeping pounds off my waistline will convince me to stop drinking Diet Coke or not.