All of us know fully well that one of the ways to lose weight is to strictly follow a diet. As a result there are countless myths and legends about which method is the most effective and which is a complete lie.
And while most diets focus only on food, we recommend paying more attention to what you're drinking.
While Americans argue over the reason for the national obesity epidemic, researchers state sharply, "We have convincing proof that sodas with sugar play a leading role in weight gain."
Nutritionists have long advised that every person drink no less than 8 cups (2 L) of liquids per day. But in the early 20th century when they first started talking about this, they actually meant water.
Today, fewer and fewer people prefer to quench their thirst with water. They would much rather drink a soda or juice. As a result of this, since the beginning of the 70s of the last century, the amount of calories people have been getting when satisfying their thirst has doubled. And these excess calories threaten with obesity, diabetes and other health problems.
Even people who prefer to consume diet drinks without added sugar are at risk of weight gain. The interesting thing is that they really do contain less calories but do not decrease the risk of gaining excess pounds. Plus, it's been known for a long time that carbonated drinks stimulate appetite, making a person eat more than they need and even aging them.
Scientists have reached this conclusion after data analysis of several important studies. One of them surveyed over 500 people and showed that those of them who drank diet sodas every day for years on end had a 70% bigger waistline in comparison to those who avoided them.
The studies included drinks containing aspartame (E951), sucralose (Е955) and saccharin (Е954). Even though these sweeteners have been on the market for 25 years, it is in the past few that the growing fear of being overweight has led to their use skyrocketing.
This is due to the fact that artificial sweeteners fool the body's ability to decide how many calories it needs.
