Introduction
People nowadays are increasingly concerned about their health and weight management. Diet soda is an excellent food for this trend, and diet soda drinkers outnumber regular soda drinkers. But do diet beverages actually help individuals lose weight, and do they hurt their health?
What Is Diet Soda?
Diet soda is also called zero-sugar soft drinks, and most of its ingredients are the same as those that usually exist in carbonated drinks we drink. However, it is prepared using sugar substitutes (stevia, aspartame, sucralose, etc.) that have no or very low calories without using corn syrup, sugar, or other calorie sweeteners. Diet soda may have added acidic ingredients, artificial flavors, artificial pigments, and preservatives like regular soda. Some diet sodas can also contain caffeine. In addition, diet soda as well as regular soda contain no nutritional value at all.
The history of zero-calorie drinks
In 1952, the first zero-calorie drink, No-Cal, was manufactured in the United States by Russian immigrant Harman Kirsch and his son Maurice Kirsch, targeting cardiovascular and diabetic patients. Following the popularity of the no-cal sales, other soda makers began producing them. “Tab” was Coca-Cola’s original diet soda name, with the major target market initially being cardiovascular and diabetes patients, such as No-Cal. However, soda makers have discovered that offering them to women who want to lose weight makes them more money. They also produced advertising for ladies who wish to lose weight, claiming that drinking diet drinks makes them more attractive. Nonetheless, some soda firms are failing because customers believe zero-calorie drinks, such as zero-sugar soda, are designed for those with health issues like diabetes.
Until lately, soda companies also suffered in the Korean market. In Korea, zero-sugar soda was first introduced in the 2000s. But at that time, most people thought that soda was harmful to their health. In addition, many Koreans did not drink zero-calorie soda because of the different flavors of regular soda and zero-calorie soda. However, the zero-calorie beverage market has grown very much in Korea over recent years, with the trend of “healthy enjoyment” and food science so advanced that zero-calorie drinks produce the same taste as regular carbonated drinks. The “healthy pleasure” trend is a lifestyle where people take care of their health and pursue happiness as well. For example, the traditional Korean diet method was to lose weight with little food intake. But now they’ve started eating delicious, low-calorie drinks and meals. Zero-calorie soda is a perfect fit for this trend that is now in vogue.
Is Diet Soda Safe for Diabetes?
Sugar consumption should be a limited component of people’s diets. As a result, consumers may ask if artificial sweeteners are a good substitute for sugar. Artificial sweeteners contain minimal or no calories. As a result, consumers believe that using artificial sweeteners is preferable to using sugar. They are widely used in soft drinks, and soda producers promote zero-calorie soda to health-conscious consumers. This, however, is their marketing plan. Artificial sweeteners, according to studies, do not improve diabetes but rather make it worse. In addition to diabetes, it is claimed that artificial sweeteners, which are in high demand, produce a variety of negative effects.
Artificial Sweetener Side Effects
Bone and tooth problems
Zero-sugar soda may damage people’s bones and teeth. Many carbonated drinks have phosphoric acid, which keeps the carbonation in them. But it turns the drink into an acidic drink, which causes tooth enamel to be eroded and cavities to occur. In addition, undue calcium can be excreted into the urine by phosphoric acid. When a person’s body lacks calcium, calcium in the bones is released into the bloodstream to make up for it, and by this method, a person’s bones can be weakened. Before taking diet soda, people should check the ingredient list to see if phosphoric acid is contained in that drink.
Metabolic syndrome
According to a study published in the journal Diet Care in April 2009, people who drink zero-sugar soda are not only 67 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes but also 36 percent more likely to develop metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome occurs when there are more than three risk factors, including high triglycerides, high blood pressure, excessive gastric fat that increases waist circumference, low high-density lipoprotein levels, or high fasting blood sugar.
Weight gain
A lot of people prefer zero-sugar soda because it has fewer calories than regular drinks. But people can gain weight because of the artificial sweeteners it has. However, if a person consumes natural sweeteners, the food reward pathway is activated in their brain, but if they eat artificial sweeteners, these pathways are not sufficiently activated, so even if a person consumes a lot of calories, they can find more food without being satisfied. Also, the very sweet taste of artificial sweeteners makes people look for sugary foods, so they can eat a lot of calories.
Do sugar substitutes help you manage your weight?
People can theoretically lose weight by eating low-calorie foods and drinks instead of high-calorie drinks and foods. However, there is no definitive study on the subject. People who consume sweet but calorie-free foods may experience hormonal changes that make them feel hungry and boost their food cravings. This causes people to overeat and gain weight.
A study was conducted in 2021 that let people drink water, diet drinks, or a sweetness-matched regular beverage and examined their hunger and cravings for food. The experiment found that obese people and women were relatively more easily affected by the effects of sugar substances that made them crave food and increased their appetite. Since healthy-weight people and men have not found a response like this, certain people may be more easily affected by the negative effects of these materials.
Conclusion
Not every diet soda is like this, but diet beverages containing some artificial combinations not only do not aid in weight loss but may cause major ailments such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. To avoid unhealthy artificial combinations, examine the ingredient list before drinking diet soda. Furthermore, rather than focusing on making diets simple in the short term, it is preferable to exercise consistently and aim to reduce weight while keeping our bodies healthy.
References
Cassetty, S. (2022). Zero-sugar drinks are replacing diet soda. Are they any better for you? [online] TODAY.com. Available at: https://www.today.com/food/healthy/zero-sugar-drinks-are-replacing-diet-soda-are-better-rcna10758 [Accessed 14 May 2023].
Choi, G. (2022). Are Zero-calorie Drinks Part of a Healthier Diet? [online] The Yonsei Annals. Available at: https://annals.yonsei.ac.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=10829 [Accessed 14 May 2023].
Kannall, E. (2013). Negative Effects of Sugar-Free Carbonated Drinks. [online] Weekand. Available at: https://www.weekand.com/healthy-living/article/negative-effects-sugarfree-carbonated-drinks-18018136.php [Accessed 14 May 2023].
Manaker, L. (2022). This Is What Happens to Your Body When You Drink Diet Soda. [online] EatingWell. Available at: https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7964257/this-is-what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-drink-diet-soda/ [Accessed 14 May 2023].
Patel, H. (2023). Is Your Diet Soda Safe For Diabetes? Let’s Find Out – Blog – HealthifyMe. [online] Healthifyme. Available at: https://www.healthifyme.com/blog/is-diet-soda-safe-for-diabetes/ [Accessed 14 May 2023].
