Diet Coke is was one of my favorite non-alcoholic beverages. I always knew it wasn’t the best for me (even though it does call itself “diet”), but I loved having it with lunch or a mid-day pick me up at work. I knew I had to kick my diet soda habit and I finally did after reading an article my husband forwarded me on Yahoo Health. You might just be surprised how bad it really is for you.
1. Diet soda might be bad for your kidneys. “In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline. Kidney function started declining when women drank more than two sodas a day.”
2. “According to a 2008 University of Minnesota study of almost 10,000 adults, even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome, the group of symptoms including belly fat and high cholesterol that puts you at risk for heart disease.”
3. Diet soda doesn’t help you lose weight after all. “A University of Texas Health Science Center study found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight. Downing just two or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%. Why? Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate calorie intake based on the sweetness of foods, suggested an animal study from Purdue University. That means people who consume diet foods might be more likely to overeat, because your body is being tricked into thinking it’s eating sugar, and you crave more.”
4. Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster, “according to a study out of the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia. That’s because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, leaving you with a bigger buzz.” – I can’t totally say I gave it up for this reason 🙂
5. Diet sodas contain preservatives that regular sodas don’t. The preservatives sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate are in nearly all diet sodas. These preservatives have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it. They also can cause hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions as well as mild irritation to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.
6. “With a pH of 3.2, diet soda is very acidic. (As a point of reference, the pH of battery acid is 1. Water is 7.) The acid is what readily dissolves enamel, and just because a soda is diet doesn’t make it acid-light. Adults who drink three or more sodas a day have worse dental health.”
7. “Diet or not, soft drink cans are coated with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol. A (BPA), which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. That’s a lot of risktaking for one can of soda.
Now that you have the SkinnKnee on Diet Soda try mixing it up with a few of my favorite new beverages!
– Water or Sparkling water infused with: fresh lemon, lime squeezed, fresh cut cucumber (Spa water :)), grapefruit slices, chunked pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, mint and much more!
– Water infused with frozen fresh fruit (Dole Mixed Frozen Fruit is perfect for this!) I like to add mint too!
– Unsweetened Iced Tea or Green Tea
Happy sipping loves!
the bee's knees buzz 