The many publications in recent years about diet drinks, heart diseases and the connection between them have made many people think about whether there is actually any plus side to substituting regular drinks with diet ones.
The studies
One of the studies on this subject had to do with observing 6000 healthy people and comparing their health in the beginning and after 4 years. The study was published in the American scientific journal Circulation by the American Health Association.
It has been found that people who consume one or more soda drink per day, whether diet or regular, have more than a 50% chance of getting metabolic syndrome, when compared to those who consumed less than one soda per day.
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of symptoms such as high blood pressure, a large waistline, high cholesterol levels and others. Whenever a person possesses 3 or more of these risk factors, it can usually be stated that they have metabolic syndrome. The danger to health is huge, since metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
The truth about the connection between diet soda and heart disease
Nowadays, many people are against the claims made about diet soda. Considering that it contains sweeteners and no sugar, how would its consumption cause metabolic syndrome and the consequences from it?
The theory is that the people who consume diet soda, Coke and other such drinks, already have metabolic syndrome.
Studies show that the consumption of diet drinks does not always lead to heart diseases, but the artificial sweeteners in them lead to an increased desire for more calorie-rich foods, which in turn leads to weight gain and eventually to metabolic syndrome.
Do I need to stop drinking soda?
Drinking regular soda or diet drinks is not life threatening in and of itself - what's important is to decrease the consumption of soda drinks as a whole.
Drinking a few sodas each day is a hard-hitting dose of calories for the body, which cannot be compensated.
Just because diet drinks contain no calories does not mean that they are the ideal choice. The caffeine found in such drinks can be quite harmful to a lot of people. Carbonated drinks in general are also harmful to people who have stomach high acid.
If you completely stop drinking sodas (diet or not), you will surely feel much better and lose pounds.
Giving up soda
Many individuals, in their attempt to give up soda, feel an even greater desire for them. So, whenever you decide to say no to the carbonated temptations, simply substitute them with something else - tea or just plain water.
The studies pertaining to diet drinks and heart diseases are not a solution to the problem but make us think about the choices we make every day when choosing our food and drinks, and how they affect our health.
