Why Diet Soda is Bad for You

Many people who are trying to think they are living healthy by consuming diet soda need to wake up and smell the coffee.  Diet soda is bad for you, and today I’ll share with you a few reasons why this is the case.

Diet Soda is Bad for Your Body

There is no shortage of brands out there that tout a “diet” version of their bubbly soda that lacks the calories and sugar content that the regular version contains.  This comes with serious health risks, as there have been links between consuming too much diet soda and having health conditions that I listed below:

• diabetes
• fatty liver
• dementia
• heart disease
• stroke

I’ll address all of these links in today’s blog entry, as well as tackle the issue of is diet soda better for you than regular soda?

What Exactly is Diet Soda?

Marketed as a soda that mirrors the taste of a classic soda, but with less or zero sugar, diet soda uses artificial sweeteners to achieve the taste appeal of the regular version.  These artificial ingredients include aspartame and saccharin.  There are many soda makers that claim these versions are more healthy for people trying to lose weight, so they in turn switch to the diet version of soda thinking they will naturally lose some unwanted pounds.

The Medical Research Behind Why Diet Soda is Bad

This research dates back many years, yet people continue to consume diet soda.

There are many reasons these links can happen, which is an entirely different article and debate, but many people who choose to do the diet route with soda also have a higher chance of living a lifestyle that includes eating various types of food which may not always be good for you.  Therefore, there are health risks involved with that link.

It’s highly debated, and quite undecided, why diet soda raises the risk of these diseases and conditions. Some researchers feel like the diet soda can damage blood vessels or cause chronic inflammation.  (I have that in my kidney, which is called IgA Nephropothy, and I was a huge consumer of diet soda.  It’s not known if that was linked, but it’s worth mentioning.)

There’s also this study that suggests that the brain can respond differently to flavors by having an affect on dopamine, which plays a role in motivation and pleasure, and is a neurotransmitter.  Also, having more diet soda can lead to consuming more sweets, which would include more soda as well as snacks like ice cream and dessert.

A 2017 study had data that suggested diet soda was linked to a higher risk of having a stroke as well as Alzheimer’s disease.  This study included almost 3,000 people that were all over the age of 45.

In specific, having just one diet soda on a daily basis made the person’s risk of stroke and Alzheimer’s disease TRIPLE that of the average person who did not consume diet soda.  (This was the same study.)

My take, which is suggested in many studies, is that the artificial sweeteners play a major role.

I have sworn off diet soda’s, mostly because of a chronic kidney disease, but also, because there are many better options out there that won’t lead to a crash.  I’ve found seltzer water to be my new drink of choice. It hydrates me as well as tastes great.