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Ditch the Diet Pop if Dieting

By HERWriter
 
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Americans consume an average of 27 ounces or two cans of diet pop daily. According to research, we also ingest additional artificial sweeteners in cookies, yogurt and other products and obesity rates have soared.

According to the American Dietetic Association, we are swapping sugary, high calorie beverages for low- or no-calorie artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda which can potentially help you cut calories and lose weight.

A recent review of hundreds of studies on non-calorie sweeteners, appetite and food intake published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that substituting a soda with artificial sweeteners for a sugary beverage can help lower calorie intake but there’s no evidence it helps you keep off the pounds in the long-term.

According to researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, drinking diet soda could actually put you at a greater risk of weight gain. Normal weight people who drank 3 servings or more of diet soda a day, at least 21 weekly servings, were at double the risk for becoming overweight or obese after seven to eight years compared to people who skipped diet drinks.

And people who consumed at least one daily serving of diet soda (versus none) were more likely to develop a high waist circumference, a condition linked with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study.

The American Dietetic Association says there's no conclusive evidence that diet sodas directly cause weight gain, but one expert believes an artificial sweetener habit may over stimulate our taste receptors for sweetness.

Director of the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital in Boston, cites animal studies that suggest consuming diet drinks alone (not with food) can confuse or disrupt the body’s ability to determine calorie content based on sweetness. As a result, the hyped-up sugar receptors could increase hunger and food intake, and contribute to weight gain. People would crave more high-calorie sweet foods and fewer healthful, less sweet foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

Even if diet drinks prove to aid long-term weight loss when used to replace sugary beverages, they may promote weight gain when consumed instead of unsweetened beverages.

So, if you're used to drinking lots of sugary beverages, replacing them with a calorie-free soda might help kick start weight loss. And if you eat a basically healthful diet with minimal amounts of sugary foods or artificial sweeteners, enjoying an occasional or even daily diet soda won't likely tip the scale.

As a substitute for diet soda, drink plain or mineral water, or coffee or tea made with up to one gram of sugar per ounce (or two teaspoons per eight ounce cup).

For those who have health or other concerns and want to curb their diet soda habit, try plain sparkling water (add fresh ginger or mint to make ginger ale); sparkling flavored waters made with no additives; and plain water spruced up with cucumber, orange, lemon or lime slices.

But the most important thing when dieting is to pay attention to total calorie intake and incorporate physical activity.

Sources: MSNBC, the Journal of the American Medical Association,
The American Dietetic Association, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I read an article in "O" Magazine years ago that stayed with me. A woman who normally drank diet sodas and ate mostly fat-free versions of food (low-cal ice cream, etc.) stopped all of that for 30 days. She consumed regular ice cream, milk, sodas and everything else.

She was amazed at how she had forgotten how good so many "real" foods tasted. At the end of the month, she was weighed and had gained only 1.5 pounds in the month. With a little bit of adjustment, she was able to find a way to continue to eat more "real" food without gaining weight (1.5 lbs/mo. adds up over a year's time). It was eye-opening to read that.

October 22, 2010 - 2:47am
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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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