Let’s face it, losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be difficult. However, those tantalizingly sweet – and oddly addicting – “diet” soft drinks are always there to save the day when that candy bar is luring you to the sweet side. But are these artificially sweetened “diet” drinks the hero or villain in your weight-loss efforts?
Unfortunately, researchers with the University of Illinois have found that diet sodas are not only causing weight gain but also contributing to a variety of harmful side effects.
Bel Marra Health highlights just a few (of many) ways your body reacts negatively to diet soda:
- Dulling your senses to sweetness. The harshness of artificial sweeteners is much more potent compared to regular sugar, affecting your sense of taste.
- Increasing your risk for type-2 diabetes. Artificial sweeteners affect your body similarly to sugar. According to the University of Minnesota, those who drink diet soda are 36 percent more likely to develop type-2 diabetes.
- Damaging your smile. Those who drink diet sodas have tooth erosion similar to those who use cocaine and methamphetamine.
- Putting your mental health at risk. According to the American Academy of Neurology, those who drink four or more diet sodas daily have a 30 percent higher risk for developing depression.
So, if you find yourself reaching for a can of diet soda in hopes of leading a healthier lifestyle, do your body a favor and choose water or natural fruit juices instead. Your body will thank you!
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