So, you have finally decided to stay away from diet soda? That’s a great decision. Maybe you were not satisfied with the results of your dieting or your digestive system started to experience some problems. Or maybe you have decided to follow the advice of many nutritionists who warn people about the negative effects of diet soda.
It doesn’t really matter what was the reason for this decision, but you should really stop drinking diet soda. Removing diet soda from your daily diet will certainly bring positive health effects. Although studies related to diet soda are still being conducted, there is enough data to highlight the most important benefits of staying away from this type of drink and replacing it with water or unsweetened iced tea.
Why You Should Stop Drinking Diet Soda
1. Migraines are gone and focus improves
Many people believe that they will experience headaches once they quit diet soda, but the truth is different. You will actually feel and think much better. The reason is simple – these drinks contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener that changes brain chemicals and nerve signals which result in anxiety, headaches, and insomnia.
A scientific study that took place two years ago, conducted on rats, has shown that rats who regularly had diet soda had damaged nerve endings and cells in the brain.
2. You will sharpen your taste buds
If you stop drinking diet soda you will realize that food actually has much more flavor. You will enjoy your meals even more. Once again, the artificial sweeteners are responsible for the numbness of taste buds. The aforementioned aspartame is more than 200 times sweeter than regular sugar.
Some sweeteners used in many diet soda products are 600 times sweeter. What is even worse is that brain scans have confirmed that diet soda changes sweet receptors and extends the duration of sugar cravings instead of satisfying these cravings.
According to Heather Bainbridge, RD at Columbia University Medical Weight Control Center, people tend to change their snack habits once they quit drinking diet soda. They have more natural snacks.
3. The weight loss plan will finally provide results
There are many people who drink diet soda because they want to support their own weight loss efforts, but the fact is that quitting this drink will provide more results. A study that was focused on adult people who regularly had diet soda has shown that their belly fat is increasing even when they start following some diet. This study confirms the results of another study published in the reputable Diabetes Care magazine that diet soft drinks consumption on a daily basis increases the chances of high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and obesity.
4. Bones become stronger
Staying away from diet soda, may be the simplest and easiest way to improve the health of your bones. A study from 2014, has shown that having one soda a day increases the risk of hip fracture by about 14% for women in postmenopausal age. Another study confirmed that older women who regularly had cola had significantly lower bone density especially in the area of the hips. It is still unclear what leads to this occurrence, but the fact is that soda is not doing a favor to your bones.
5. You will make better food choices
It is interesting that people are encouraged to consume unhealthy foods when they drink diet soda because these drinks don’t contain calories. According to Bainbridge, people who drink soda usually practice poor diets – they love to eat cakes, potato chips, burgers, and other food that bring additional calories. Once you stop consuming diet soda you will also stop eating these unhealthy foods.
6. You will handle alcohol better
In case you didn’t know – diet soda will get you drunk much faster. Once you mix diet soda with alcohol, your stomach will become empty faster. This means that the level of alcohol in the blood will increase significantly. This was confirmed by a team of Australian scientists who published their work in the American Journal of Medicine. The effects were even worse in case people use drinks that contain caffeine too.
In addition, another study published in the reputable Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research journal found that people who used a combination of alcoholic drinks and diet sodas were getting drunk more frequently and more easily. If you want to avoid a situation like this, drink club soda because it doesn’t contain calories or sugar.
7. Reduced diabetes risk and fat storage
The interesting and odd fact that people increase their weight when they start drinking diet soda might be explained by our hormones. A recent study published in Diabetes Care suggests that having 75% diet soda prior to eating encouraged the pancreas to release much more insulin – a hormone that supports the storing of fat.
In case the pancreas is busy all the time because it must create insulin to stabilize blood sugar levels, it is very likely that people will experience the first diabetes symptoms.
8. Improved kidney functions
When your body doesn’t have to deal with the confusing amounts of certain ingredients found in diet sodas, your kidneys will start to perform their basic duty – getting rid of toxins, normalizing blood pressure, and getting the most from the minerals. A scientific study that analyzed data that were gathered for more than 10 years, found that women who had two or more diet sodas per day had a 100% higher chance of bad kidney function.
9. You will start drinking more water
Diet soda has no nutritional value. So, when you have a glass of diet soda, you are not taking calories and as a matter of fact, you are not taking anything good for your body. On the other hand, once you stop drinking this type of drink you will probably start drinking more water. This practice can do wonders for your health.
10. Your tooth health will improve
Most diet soda products contain citric acid. This acid is very bad for the tooth enamel and frequent consumption can lead to tooth erosion. If you stop drinking diet soda, you will give the tooth enamel a chance to recover.