Are Diet Drinks Harmful

We all consider that diet drinks to be better for us than regular drinks, however, that is not the case. Instead of sugar, diet drinks are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin or sucralose. Diet drinks are calorie free, which technically should help people lose weight and prevent sugar-related diseases like metabolic syndrome and diabetes. However, studies show that diet drinks slow down the metabolism and can cause type 2 diabetes. The metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors for disease that often occur together and raise your risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

It is defined as having at least three of the following:

• Abdominal obesity (belly fat)
• High fasting glucose
• High triglycerides
• Low HDL cholesterol
• Elevated blood pressure

Drinking “calorie free” beverages instead of sugary ones does not appear to be helpful against the metabolic syndrome. In a study published in the journal Circulation in 2008, which followed 9,514 people for 9 years, drinking artificially sweetened beverages was associated with a 34% greater risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Another study found a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and a drastically increased risk of diabetes in diet soda drinker Observational studies show a correlation between diet soda and the metabolic syndrome, which can lead to serious diseases.

There is an association between diet soda and depression In a study of 263,925 adults aged 51-70, individuals who drank soda were 30% more likely to be diagnosed with depression over a period of 10 years. The link was stronger for diet soda than regular soda.

Diet soda is also associated with preterm delivery. In a study of 59,334 pregnant women in Denmark, one serving per day of diet drinks was associated with a 38% increased risk of preterm delivery. 4 servings per day increased the risk by 78%. Diet soda consumption is strongly associated with both depression and preterm delivery.

Type II diabetes has increased at an alarming rate in the past few decades and now afflicts about 300 million people worldwide. This disease is highly associated with obesity and sugar consumption, so some would argue that replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with calorie-free drinks would help. A study of 6,814 individuals aged 45-85 years of age, daily consumption of diet soda was associated with a 67% increased risk of type II diabetes.

Data analysis from two large Harvard studies revealed that diet drinks raised diabetes risk in women, but not men. Each daily serving increased the risk of a diabetes diagnosis by 6%. The association between diet soda and diabetes is very strong, especially in women. One study showed more than a doubling in risk.

Without doubt diet drinks can be more harmful than what people perceive. The health problems cannot be overlooked with one of the big killers Type II diabetes lurking behind what you intake like diet drinks.