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Everyone has their vice, and from eating sweets to drinking soda, they largely have the same negative effect on your body. While some people have swapped out full sugar soda for a diet option in hopes of saving on calories and turning an unhealthy habit into something “healthier,” diet soda can actually have just as large of an impact on your body as regular soda can. If you think you’re sparing yourself the unhealthy side effects of a soda habit by drinking the diet option, a doctor explains what happens when you drink diet soda, and why you should quit.
Diet soda is an alternative option to regular soda which claims to be lower in calories and sugar, and therefore a healthier way to consume soda while maintaining a well-balanced diet. However, the reality of diet soda is that it’s loaded with artificial sweeteners to supplement pure sugar, which can have some major consequences on your health. Healthline writes, “Research has found that just one serving of an artificially sweetened drink per day is associated with 8-13% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. A study in 64,850 women noted artificially sweetened drinks were associated with a 21% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, this was still half the risk associated with regular sugary drinks.”
If you’re aiming for weight loss, your diet soda habit should be one of the first things to go. Dr. Mari Lipartia, MD ABOM explains, “Quitting diet soda leads to weight loss. This is for several reasons including that people tend to eat more when they drink diet soda but also because diet soda actually causes a response like sugar in your body. This means that your insulin increases which makes your blood sugar drop and makes you more hungry!” While the diet soda itself may not be directly linked to weight gain, it can increase your appetite, which in turn could cause you to overeat.
The ‘everything in moderation’ rule still applies to diet soda and you can enjoy an occasional can if you’re craving the sweet carbonation, but your body will be better off minimizing the habit to only everyone once in a while. Diet soda is lower in calories, but alternative sweeteners such as aspartame can put your health at risk, particularly if you’re overweight. As you’re trying to ease out of the habit, try switching to flavored seltzer water for the same carbonation without the sugar.
At the end of the day, the occasional can of diet soda won’t actually ruin your health journey, it’s the developed patterns over time that will put you at risk. It is important to set in place good habits that work towards your fitness goals, and with artificial sweeteners packed into each can of soda, you run the risk of developing diabetes or overeating when you indulge in this seemingly harmless habit. The sooner you ditch the soda, diet or not, the sooner your body will respond to other healthy habits you’ve set in place, maximizing your overall health.
