Diet Soda Health Risks: Study Says Artificial Sweeteners May Cause Weight Gain, Deadly Diseases

by | Mar 5, 2014 | Artificial Sweeteners, Nutrition |

Soda Diet soda may seem like a far healthier alternative to regular pop, but a new study warns that this may not be the case at all.

In fact, according to a group of researchers at Purdue University, drinking diet soda may not only be as bad for your health as the regular stuff, but it may be causing you to pack on the pounds.

“It is not uncommon for people to be given messages that artificially-sweetened products are healthy, will help them lose weight or will help prevent weight gain,” report author Susan Swithers said, according to a media release. “The data to support those claims are not very strong, and although it seems like common sense that diet sodas would not be as problematic as regular sodas, common sense is not always right.”

Swithers and her team reviewed a dozen studies on diet soda and its impacts on health published in the past five years to prepare for their report. They say they were shocked by what they found.

“Honestly, I thought that diet soda would be marginally better compared to regular soda in terms of health,” Swithers, a behavioral neuroscientist and professor of psychological sciences, told CNN. “But in reality it has a counterintuitive effect.”

The researchers found that just like with regular soda, the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda is also associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Drinking just one can of diet soda per day is “enough to significantly increase the risk for health problems,” according to the media release.

The report explains that diet soda and artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking that it is consuming real food and sugar even though it isn’t, which could lead to metabolic confusion and overconsumption.

“You’ve messed up the whole system, so when you consume real sugar, your body doesn’t know if it should try to process it because it’s been tricked by the fake sugar so many times,” Swithers told CNN.

The health risks of consuming diet soda have made headlines before. In 2011, a study conducted by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine found that daily diet soda consumption was linked to a higher risk for stroke and heart attack.

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How to Avoid Aspartame

by | Feb 26, 2014 | Artificial Sweeteners | 0 comments

Aspartame is an artificially made sweetener, obtained from the fecal matter of genetically engineered E-coli bacteria. Unfortunately, this makes aspartame not only a GMO sweetener, but it may be linked to major diseases, especially for people allergic to phenylalanine.

It poisons the body by breaking down into formaldehyde, which is toxic and is found in cigarettes. Even if you are not allergic to phenylalanine, then it is still a good idea to avoid aspartame, so this guide will teach you how to cut back.

Steps

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Read the food labels.

  1. First of all, ignore the Nutrition Facts: aspartame is not shown on the nutrition facts.
  2. Try to find the word “Contains Phenylalanine” on the label. If it says that, then aspartame is hiding in the ingredients.
  3. Take a close look at the ingredients label. Read every ingredient; if you see Aspartame, then you found a food you should avoid.
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Avoid sodas at all costs. While both types of soda are bad, diet soda almost always contains aspartame, so be sure to check the label for Aspartame or Contains Phenylalanine.

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Cut back on other aspartame-laden foods. This includes, but is not limited to: diet sodas, sugar-free gum, iced tea, yogurt, cereal and medicine.

  1. As said before, avoid sodas, instead flavor water with lemon and buy natural coconut water.
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  2. Consider stop chewing gum completely.
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  3. Brew your own tea beverages. Do not add sweeteners: it may not taste the best but at least it’s healthier. Do not buy bottled or canned tea, they often contain aspartame and other sweeteners.
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Most People Know That Soda Leads To Weight Gain — But Not How Many Calories Are In Soda: Study

by | Jan 7, 2014 | Artificial Sweeteners, Sugars | 0 comments

Soda Even though it’s widely known that soda can contribute to weight gain, the majority of adults don’t actually know how many calories are in a bottle of soda, a new study reveals.

The research, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and based on data from 3,926 adults, shows that eight in 10 adults — 84.4 percent — know that sugar-sweetened beverages can promote weight gain. However, nearly the same percentage of adults — 81 percent — did not know (or inaccurately stated) the number of calories in 24 ounces of soda. (There are 251 to 350 calories in a 24-ounce soda).

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found that knowledge about sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain, as well as the calorie information of sugar-sweetened beverages, differed by sex, household income, education level and race.

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Sugary Drink Consumption Linked With Endometrial Cancer Risk

by | Nov 25, 2013 | Artificial Sweeteners, Sugars | 0 comments

Soda Consuming lots of sugary drinks is associated with a higher risk for the more common type of endometrial cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found an association between drinking sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of type 1 endometrial cancer.

Endometrial cancer is often divided up into two types, with most falling into the first type; type 1 endometrial cancer is often slow-growing and is fueled by excess estrogen, while type 2 endometrial cancer is typically more aggressive and is not caused by excess estrogen, according to the American Cancer Society.

The study did not show that sugary drink consumption was linked with risk for type 2 endometrial cancer. However, researchers said it was not surprising drink consumption was only linked with type 1 of the cancer.

“Other studies have shown increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has paralleled the increase in obesity. Obese women tend to have higher levels of estrogens and insulin than women of normal weight,” study researcher Maki Inoue-Choi, Ph.D., M.S., R.D., a research associate in the university’s Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, explained in a statement. “Increased levels of estrogens and insulin are established risk factors for endometrial cancer.”

Published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, the study included food frequency, medical and demographic data from 23,039 postmenopausal women with an average age of 61 who were part of the Iowa Women’s Health Study. They were followed between 1986 and 2010.

The study participants reported the frequency with which they ate 127 different foods over the last year, including four categories of sugary drinks: Hawaiian punch, lemonade or another non-carbonated fruit drink; a carbonated, non-cola sugary drink (like 7-Up); Coke, Pepsi or another sugary cola; and caffeine-free Coke, Pepsi, or another sugary cola. Researchers divided the women into quintiles based on their sugary drink consumption; the quintile for the lowest amount was 0 servings per week, while the quintile for the highest amount was 1.7 to 60.5 servings per week.

The women were also asked about sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink consumption (like Pepsi-Free or diet ginger ale), as well as sweets and baked goods consumption.

During the 24-year time period of the study, 506 women developed type 1 endometrial cancer and 89 developed type 2 endometrial cancer. Researchers found that the women who consumed the most sugary drinks over the study period had a 78 percent higher risk of developing endometrial cancer, compared with women who did not report drinking any sugary drinks.

The findings held true even after taking into account other potential cancer risk factors including physical activity, diabetes history, alcohol intake, cigarette smoking and body mass index.

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The dangers of diet soda

by | Nov 20, 2013 | Artificial Sweeteners, Preservatives, Sugars | 0 comments

SodaIt’s not always easy to make healthy choices, especially with fancy marketing and sexy food and drink products everywhere you turn.

But one so-called “healthy” choice you may make is drinking diet soda instead of the regular calorie alternative.

After all, if the label on the bottle says “diet”, it has to be better for you than the real stuff. Right? Wrong! Loads of research shows that drinking diet soda won’t help you fight fat. And even worse than that, the chemicals in diet soda can lead to all sorts of serious health problems, from diabetes, to high blood pressure, to kidney problems, and more. It turns out that the dangers of diet soda are many.

Diet soda is packed with artificial sweeteners that can confuse your body’s natural ability to manage calories. But worse than that, drinking diet soda has been linked to serious health problems. Health dangers of diet soda include: continue reading

Healthy Halloween: Treats, Tricks and Tips

by | Oct 30, 2013 | Artificial Sweeteners, Sugars | 0 comments

Candies Halloween treats are big business — $2.25 billion big. That’s the amount Americans are projected to spend on Halloween candy in 2013 according to research firm IBISWorld. For mental comparison, that’s almost as much as the federal government will send to fund child nutrition programs in California. If that number isn’t enough to make you sick, the loads of candy that your kids bring home might.

After months of trying to establish healthy habits, I cringe when all of that sugar comes flooding into our house. It’s not good for my kids, and it’s not good for me (I’m arguably the worst offender when it comes to over indulging in Halloween treats).

I’m not advocating eliminating candy all together. A treat or two every so often is fine. What I am arguing is that we should find ways to make it more balanced — to bring a few fun and healthy Halloween treats and tricks to the party. So this year we’re trying something new: a few easy changes to make Halloween a little healthier.

Step 1: Tricks or Treats

Instead of eliminating candy all together, we decided to reallocate. Half of the Halloween treats we will give out this year will be candy (albeit, healthier choices like organic snacks), the other half will be toys like glow sticks, bouncy balls and wiki stix. Each trick-or-treater will get to pick two items. I’ll report back on which items run out first.

Step 2: Trade Treats for Treasures

A lively discussion on my Facebook page this week led to a discussion of swapping treats for presents. Some parents invite their kids to leave a donation to the Switch Witch, who collects up Halloween candy and leaves a present in exchange… continue reading