In our younger days we used to drink a lot of soda. Noticing the effect on our waistlines, we switched to sugarless brands though we did not enjoy the taste. In recent years, however, evidence has been mounting that
diet sodas are harmful, often in ways that sugared sodas are not.
A
study was conducted on people over 65, and the effects were pronounced [bold added]:
People who reported not drinking diet soda gained an average of 0.8 inches in waist circumference over the nine-year period compared to 1.83 inches for occasional diet soda drinkers and more than three inches for people who drank diet soda every day, according to the results online March 17 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
The authors had taken other factors like physical activity, diabetes and smoking into account.
"It cannot be explained by the calories," said Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who was not involved in the study.
Another possibility is that there is a real causal relationship at the molecular level....Diet sodas are very acidic, moreso even than acid rain, and the acidity or the artificial sweeteners may have a direct impact on things like gut microbes, which influence how we absorb nutrients.
Conclusion: science is confirming what our gut is saying---if you must drink soda, drink the sugared, better-tasting versions. You'll enjoy it more
and cause less harm to your health.
No comments:
Post a Comment