Diet Soda Just As Bad As The Real Stuff?
Taylor Ryan
You know drinking soda is bad for you but you love the fizzy caffeinated drinks. So what do you do, make the switch over to diet. It's zero calories so you're doing a great service to your body and weight, right? Well, unfortunately not likely. Yes, the calories are significantly less, and the sugar is gone but in their place there are sugar substitutes and additives.
Stroke Risks
Research published just recently is showing a possible link between diet soda and an increased risk of stroke. Here is something interesting: people who drink a daily diet coke are 48% more likely to suffer a stroke or other vascular issue over a nine year period commarped to those that don't drink soda at all. Weight Gain
On another note about diet sodas, it's been a big research headline suggesting that drinking diet cokes leads to weight gain. And this is true. There are several hyposthesis as to why: some including that the body recognizes artificial sweeteners the same as it would real sugar and there fore causes blood sugar to rise, insuline to rise and fat storange too... well.. rise. Another idea is that drinking diet makes people think they can eat more of other foods and so they are going beyond portion sizes and eating too much.And the last idea is that by drinking sweet drinks your body will crave more sweet foods, and coke drinkers (even diet) make poor nutrition choices to help fulfill their sweet spots. I personally agree with this. If I taste one bite of chocolate, I want another, and another and another, until the bag is empty (which is why I don't allow chocolate in the house). Weak Bones
And the list continues on when it comes to drinking diet: According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the high phosphorate levels in diet soda sucks the calcium out of your bones. Women already have to worry about osteoporosis as they get older and this just increases your risks. The study actually believes it can make you 4 times more likely to have to deal with the disease.Dehydration
Caffeine is a diuretic which means it promotes the kidneys to increase urine, which means you lose water faster. The best way to get the water back... drink water!
The full story with diet isn't clear quite yet but something that is clear is that American's rely too much on carbonated drinks and not enough of good old fashioned water. Water helps hydrate your skin, increase metabolism, increase weight loss and makes you feel fuller longer and keeps you energized and on the ball. Drink 64 oz a day, if you're really active then drink more. If you're following the clean eating diet and workout plans here at the Art of Weight Lifting then you already know I am a fan of drinking 2-3 liters a day. Resources:
Time.com
Livestrong.com
Webmd.com
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