What is the real truth about Diet Soda?
Dr. Mark Hyman joins us to give us the real scoop on sugary drinks and diet soda.
A True or False Quiz on diet soda and propaganda.
These are examples of diet soda and food industry propaganda that make and keep us, fat and sick.
Lies by the food industry combined with bad government policy based on food industry lobbying are the major cause of our obesity and diabetes epidemic.
Now over 35 percent of Americans are obese, and almost 70 percent are overweight.
This is not an accident but the result of careful marketing and politics.We are told it is all about making better choices. We have been told there are no good or bad foods, that the key to weight loss is moderation. And, of course, if we all just exercised more all of us would lose weight.
These ideas hold us hostage.
Diet Drinks Can Make You Fat and Cause Type 2 Diabetes.
If losing weight were all about the calories, then consuming diet drinks would seem like a good idea.
A 14-year study of 66,118 women (supported by many other previous studies) in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition discovered some frightening facts that should make us all swear off diet drinks and products.
- Diet sodas raise the risk of diabetes more than sugar-sweetened sodas!
- Women who drink one 12-ounce diet soda have a 33 percent increased risk of type 2 diabetes and women who drink one 20-ounce soda have a 66 percent increased risk.
- Women who drink diet sodas drink twice as much as those who drink sugar-sweetened sodas because artificial sweeteners are more addictive and are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar.
- The average diet soda drinker consumes 3 diet drinks a day.
This and other research show how diet sodas can make people fat and sick.
How does that happen?
- Artificial sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar. Plus they activate our genetically programmed preference for sweet taste more than any other substance.
- They trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way. Consequently causing your body to pump out insulin, the fat storage hormone, which then lays down more belly fat.
- It also confuses and slows your metabolism down, so you burn fewer calories every day.
- It increases your cravings for sugar and starchy carbs like bread and pasta.
- In animal studies, the rats that consumed artificial sweeteners ate more, their metabolism slowed, and they put on 14 percent more body fat in just two weeks – EVEN eating fewer calories.
- In population studies, there was a 200 percent increased risk of obesity in diet soda drinkers.
Diet drinks are not good substitutes for sugar-sweetened drinks. They increase cravings, weight gain, and type 2 diabetes. And they are addictive. Click To Tweet
The diet and food industry has brainwashed us to believe that eating fats makes you fat. But the science has proven that eating fat doesn’t make you fat, or raise your cholesterol – SUGAR does.
We are programmed to like sweet, salt, and fat tastes.
These foods are biologically addictive.
We have to take back our taste buds, take back our brain chemistry, and take back our bodies. Click To Tweet
Are you ready to take back your health?
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41 thoughts on “Diet Soda and Weight Gain, What is the Real Connection?”
Hi, there, thank you for sharing such a great piece of content with us. It is really an informative and amazing post, it also helps me a lot.
That is great to hear.
Woah, that’s really nice. Keep it up
This was so so helpful! Thanks so much Elise. I have 2 boys and I’m always so conscious about I give them. Very informative and helpful post. Thanks once more
You are very welcome. I am happy that you found help here.
Elise, this is sooo true. I was very fortunate to grow up with a mother who was way ahead of her time on all things food- and health-related. When everyone was being told to use sugar substitutes (as well as margarine and vegetable oil) for better health, my mother didn’t fall for it. I’ll be passing along your list of “frightening facts” to a friend whose nephew was just diagnosed with diabetes.
Wow. You are lucky. I grew up rather differently. I think it is awesome not only that your mom was ahead of her times but was not afraid to follow what she knew was right instead of following the masses.
I’m convinced artificial sweeteners in diet sodas and other drinks increase weight gain. I’m wondering what the effect of Stevia is. Does is get lumped into the artificial sweetener category? I’m a tea drinker and do enjoy Stevia in my tea.
It gets grouped a bit differently but do note that all Stevia is definite;y not created equally.
You nailed that Elise. It looks like you are helping and encouraging a lot of people by writing this post. It is amazing how our taste buds can go back to normal. For example, I was big on carbs and loved dessert. It is just on a year that I reached my ideal weight after limiting carbs mostly to vegetables and enjoying good fats. Now if I try my (used to be) favorite, salty caramel cheesecake it now tastes quite sickly and over sweet. Yeah, the attraction is broken 🙂
Let’s feature this post on our next Pit Stop. I love you being a co-host.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stop
That is so fabulous. I love how our bodies can take care of us if they are given the chance.
Hi Dr. Elise,
Wonderful post on the evils of diet-soda. I never could drink that, way too sweet.
Terrible taste I thought. Plain coke only occasionally. Now not at all. I mostly drink water.
Thanks for writing this for others who are not aware of the dangers of diet soda and weight gain.
Thank you. I am so pleased that you enjoyed it.
I strongly agree with you,
All types of soda are bad for your health because they are high in sugar and calories as well. They can cause diabetes and obesity as well.
By the way thanks for this awesome sharing
There are so many reasons to give up soda. It is of zero health value.
Hi Elise,
I’m glad that someone else finally agrees with me! I’ve been telling people that artificial sweeteners like saccharin are worse than actually eating the equivalent in real sugar! Great write up!
We are definitely in agreement.
I gave up diet soda two years ago and don’t miss it at all. I truly thought I would drop a few lbs when I gave it up but that didn’t happen. lol
It is great that you dropped the diet soda habit. 🙂
You know this is strange but when I think of diet soda and the taste, I can still taste that distinct flavor of artificial sweetner. I quit drinking diet soda years ago because I live with fibromyalgia and it simply made me ache more. Just goes to show you how addicting diet sodas can be. Today I drink a homemade electrolyte drink I love. If I have to sweeten it I do it with either stevia or monkfruit.
I am quite interested in your homemade electrolyte drink. It would be awesome if you shared the recipe.
Hi Elise,
So glad to see this article. Diet soda will not only make you gain weight but causes so many defects in the body. I like the way you explained how it tricks our brain and we start producing insulin. I rather have a teaspoon of sugar in my coffee because it is a real substance that I can walk off quickly.
-Donna
The connection between diet soda and diabetes is alarming? I’ve been trying to cut back my intake on diet sodas, and this post only helps cement that intention. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and inspiring your readers to live healthier lives.
You are so welcome. I am happy to provide a bit of extra inspiration.
I agree. I can feel the difference after I stopped drinking diet soda and regular soda. I noticed that the sodas caused a lot of unnecessary bloating.
I love that you could feel the difference. That shows that you are tuned into what is going on with your body.
Great article. I don’t do any sodas and I avoid white sugar like the plague. We live in a society is no-fat lo-cal and do not really understand what it takes to get it this way (the product) A calorie is a calorie, and if there isn’t calories (almost impossible) then there is junk or chemicals going into the body which leads to more than just being overweight
You hit it all spot on, Kim. We need to avoid chemicals and stop avoiding healthy fats as much as we do.
WOW!! This is very interesting. As someone who is starting her fitness journey all over again and has a massive addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper – this was very eye opening to see that maybe I should cut it out. I dont drink it every day (maybe once a week) otherwise I do consume about a gallon of water each day. Thank you for sharing all this information
The water should be of great help but cutting that soda habit out will create an amazing difference in your body.
First of all, OBGYN name was Dr. Ho. I loved him so much and was sad when he went back to his home country to take care of his ailing parents. He was such a great baby doctor.
I stopped drinking my diet soda about 3 years ago and I couldn’t be happier. I also stopped drinking coffee and tea. All that caffeine, preservatives and acid was killing my body!! 40 pounds later and living on just water and my body is in much better shape and I feel great!
Awesome last name 🙂
Wonderful share. You did so much for your body, longterm health and quality of life with those 3 changes.
I weaned myself from soda about a year ago, and when I reached for one a few weeks ago, I was happy to discover it no longer tastes good. Thanks for sharing this information.
I always think that it is so neat how our tastebuds change over time.
I weaned myself from soda about a year ago, and when I reached for one a few weeks ago, I was happy to discover it no longer tastes good. Thanks for sharing this information.
You got off soda and then your taste buds confirmed that it was the right choice. I love how that changes.
A very enlightening article – thanks for sharing Elise.
You are very welcome.
Thank you for the information on diet Soda… That is one thing you can not find in my house. I don’t know about people who drink it. I said to a friend once why do you give this thing to your kids…well! i have to say the response was not that friendly. Oh well… Some thing do not belong to human body.
Christine, thank you for your feedback. I am sure that you, and your kids, are healthier for having made the choice to not drink diet soda.
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