Okay, so I’ve read a lot of articles regarding diet coke increasing waist circumference, but some claim it’s all bullshit, and I’m not sure what to believe anymore. For reference, I consume one bottle (500ml) of Coke Zero five times each week. Will it impact my waistline?
It does not.
Diet soda consumption is associated with being overweight. Well, duh! People who are aware that they are overweight drink diet drinks. This explains the correlation.
There are a number of test tube and animal model studies that show mechanisms by which diet sodas and artificial sweeteners can cause weight gain, but when you read the studies, they all state that there is no proof that these mechanisms occur in humans to the point where they cause measurable weight gain.
It has to do with chemical breakdown as the artificial sweetener Aspartame metabolises in your body.
This sweetener breaks down into phenylalanine, formic acid, and formaldehyde. Most adults will not experience toxicity right away, but young children, the elderly, and people with PKU may experience major health consequences.
These issues are serious enough that conspicuous warnings have been included on the packaging of items containing these ingredients.
While some diet sodas are sugar-free, many contain artificial sweeteners to mimic the flavour of regular soda. Saccharin and aspartame are among these sweeteners.
While it has not been definitely established to be harmful to you, evidence linking regular consumption of diet soda to an increased risk of a number of medical problems is emerging. Heart attacks and high blood pressure are two of them, as are metabolic difficulties like diabetes and obesity, strokes, and liver diseases like nonalcoholic fatty liver.
It is unclear why diet drinks may increase these risks; however, some believe they can cause long-term inflammation and damage to blood vessels.
Drinking Diet Coke will not compensate for the huge pizza and pint of ice cream I just had. Sorry! Everything else I put in my mouth is still important.
I’ve spent my entire life dieting and drinking diet sodas. I can tell you for certain that I lose weight faster when I don’t drink it. If I simply drink tea, coffee, and water, I will lose weight more frequently. Why? I do not know. I wish I had! And this is when I stick to my diet completely. No cheating.
I still drink diet soda. I’ve already given up most of the foods I enjoy, and I’m not going to give up anything else. If I give up further, I won’t be able to stay on the diet at all. So, it stays. Even though I know I do a bit better without it.
One possibility is the danger of hypoglycemia, which can result in obesity. When you drink a standard Coke with sugar, your body prepares for an influx of sugar by releasing insulin to deal with it. When you drink diet Coke, your taste receptors register sweetness but there is no actual sugar, so what happens to the extra insulin?
Aspartame is carcinogenic in big quantities. You should be concerned if you are closing one gallon each day, every day. (Yes, the quantities are a little goofy, but not impossible).
Because it is not absorbed by your intestines and attracts water by osmosis, aspartame produces significantly more diarrhoea than sugar.
All soda is terrible for your health and teeth. If you want to add flavour to your drink, sip lemonade or juice. There are also ‘flavour water’ drinks with no calories and no added aspartame.
The term weight is the difficult aspect. Have you ever encountered someone who diets specifically to lose lean muscle? Neither have I.
Weight is simply the net of lean + fat plus bone, and so on. Calories are a book-balancing mechanism, not the primary engine.
Diet drinks’ sweetness can cause insulin reactions in certain persons. Insulin pushes fat into storage. This is why many people do not lose weight when they drink diet soda. Because the insulin reaction prevents them from losing fat, they will only lose lean mass.