Dangers of Diet Soda

By Pilar Gerasimo, Experience Life

OK, I am not going to rant. But I need to get this out of my system: I think diet soda is awful. I think all soda is awful, actually (yes, I know there are no “bad” foods, but I hold soda in approximately the same regard as those puffy orange Circus Peanuts — these are not really “foods,” per se). Diet soda, in my view, is especially insidious.

Here are my top 10 reasons:

1. There is absolutely no proof that diet soda helps people lose weight. The calorie-reduction argument is total bunk, and zero studies have shown a positive correlation between drinking diet soda and weight loss. On the contrary, there’s significant evidence that diet sodas and other noncaloric, artificially sweetened drinks actually lead — quite powerfully — to weight gain. (See “6 ‘Healthy’ Food Choices to Rethink” for more on that.

2. Diet sodas are billed as being good for type 2 diabetics and other blood-sugar- challenged types, but they aren’t. Because of something called the “cephalic phase response,” your body tastes the sweetness, and even though there are no calories to shuttle, the brain triggers a release of insulin from the pancreas and also a “Sugar is coming! Stop-burning fat” response from the liver. The result is the usual array of insulin-related problems (increased urge to eat, increased tendency toward fat storage, pro-inflammatory biochemical cascade), plus an arrest of healthy protein-and-starch production, and a confusion of the body’s built-in caloric monitoring systems, all of which compel you to plump up and eat even more unhealthy stuff later. (For more on this dynamic, read the article, “Poor Substitutes.”)

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Read more: All recipes, Diet & Nutrition, Drinks, Food, Health, diet soda

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sharon G.

2:47PM PDT on May 14, 2013

diet sodas are the most ridiculous, pointless thing ever and so bad for you. I've never personally seen the appeal myself

May 14
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Natalie S.

8:21AM PDT on May 12, 2013

Had a vague idea that diet drinks cannot be as good as they make them out to be, but I was unprepared for all this! Thanks for sharing this information and I hope the 'bad news' spreads.

May 12
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Julie F.

3:05PM PST on Jan 2, 2013

wow...I quit.

January 2
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Sonny H.

12:53AM PDT on Mar 23, 2012

Noted. Thanks.

March 23
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Carol Ann O.

7:00AM PDT on Aug 22, 2011

Diet soda has been the cause of salivary stones (like kidney stones except in the glands that aid digestion and moisten your mouth ) and dangerously high blood presssure in my husband . He switched to diet because his mom died of diabetic complications at 39 yrs old. Can`t get him off.. but the caffeine makes him un bearable and the other chemicals make him sick.. He is in total denial....

August 22
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Sheri P.

7:12PM PDT on Jul 16, 2011

Good advice. I don't drink soda (diet or regular) very often but I still have a hard time giving it up completely. Thanks for the reminder how bad the stuff really is...

July 16
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Green Living E.

8:21AM PDT on Jul 14, 2011

I am stopping cold turkey Today!! Just did some research to help me stay focused... If you need even more of an incentive...the environmental impact is hideous. www.greenlivingeco.com/dangers-soda-pop/ I should have just read your article, would have saved me a lot of time;)

July 14
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10:22AM PDT on Jul 4, 2011

I am gong to finish my diet soda.

Then rinse my teeth.

It's a seldom but sometimes treat.

July 4
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Vetch H.

6:55AM PDT on Jun 11, 2011

Thanks a lot for this article!

June 11
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Daniel K.

9:43AM PDT on Jun 8, 2011

I think I haven't swallowed more than 10 diet sodas in my entire life. I stick to the original Cola with sugar and always avoid artificial sweeteners.