Scientific Reasoning Behind Drinking Diet Soda

Well, there is none!

Ask people who drink diet soda and they will probably answer one or all of the reasons below for why they drink them. We asked someone who happened to tweet about going out for a Diet Coke:

1. They like soda but do not want the added sugar.


2. They are recommended in all diets (for losing weight).

It is possible that there is a third reason, which did not come from this specific twitter user but from knowing quite a few diabetics. Diet soda, because it lacks sugar, is better for diabetics and therefore recommended by many nutritionists and doctors.

These reasons sound valid but consider the following:
Sugar is a substance that you body knows and can get rid of. Whatever is used to sweeten sugar-free drinks is chemical-based and may do more harm than sugar because it is foreign to your body.

Here are responses to the three reasons listed above:

1. Do you really "like" soda or are you addicted to it? Recent research has indicated that many unhealthy foods trigger similar effects in your brain as does cocaine and heroine.¹ What you may interpret as necessary and something you like can in fact be the same exact way a drug addict justifies using more drugs (please note that cocaine and heroin are considered hard drugs).


2. A lot of nutritionists, dietitians, and doctors recommend diet sodas to their patients. The idea is that a lower intake of sugar will lower the patients' weight gain. There is no evidence that this is so. In fact, research indicates that diet soda INCREASES your appetite.² Seems to completely contradict the purpose of getting on a diet (we won't even get into how awful these short term weight-loss diets are for you).


3. Lastly, diet soda for diabetics. Makes sense, right? Less sugar, better management of blood glucose levels, right? This morning when we read a retweet by @AnnChildersMD that said diet soda is now linked to metabolic syndrome and type two diabetes. The article, which is on the National Health Institute's news health website³ says "A new study has implicated meat, fried food and, surprisingly, diet soda in the development of metabolic syndrome." We looked for the actual study and found one that dates back to April of 2009. They concluded that "consumption of diet soda at least daily was associated with significantly greater risks of select incident metabolic syndrome components and type 2 diabetes."

Our Thoughts
If you like drinking soda, analyze the reason why you like it. Stop drinking it for a month and see if you crave it. This is the only way you will know if you are in complete control. If you at any point in time miss it, be careful because you may only THINK you like it. The body is amazing that way.

Why do health professionals suggest drinking diet soda for weight loss? Simple. They are misinformed. This is a fairly new study and most practicing professionals graduated before 2009 and probably have never sat down to catch up on new discoveries in the health field. Stop drinking soda for a month and see if your appetite decreases.

Diabetics... It is time you stop drinking (and eating) what you like, and you start drinking (and eating) what you have to. There is no simple way to sugar coat that message. That's it. You need to stop and take control. Here's an analogy that might help. Would you put diet soda (or regular soda) in your car's gas tank? I think you answered "no". Why? Your car doesn't run on soda! It's almost ridiculous to have to explain that one, right? Guess what... Your body doesn't run on soda either. Do you care more about your car than you do your body?

Our message
Stop drinking sodas altogether. There are plenty of alternatives. What ever happened to homemade lemon aide (real, you squeeze lemons add the water and brown sugar)? What about this quick and easy (2 minute) delicious strawberry and blueberry drink: http://twitpic.com/1exyle?

Start taking care of you as much as you take care of your car.

If you are interested in your health and nutrition, follow us on twitter (@glycotrainer) and subscribe to the RSS Feed that belong to this blog and our site, GlycoTrainer.com.

Sources:
[1] Junk Food 'Addiction' May Be Real
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100328/hl_hsn/junkfoodaddictionmaybereal

[2] People who drink diet soft drinks don't lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159579,00.html

[3] NIH News in Health
http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2008/April/docs/02capsules.htm

[4] PubMed :: Diet soda intake and risk of incident metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19151203

How Often do You Eat Canned Tuna?

Heavy metals have deposited into our oceans where all marine life end up eating them. The bigger the fish, the more metal it contains because it accumulates metals from the organisms it eats.

Animals are, for the most part, unable to get rid of heavy metals like mercury and lead. These circulate through the blood until they deposit in the brain. When an organism eats another smaller organism (like a tuna fish eating a smaller fish) the larger retains the heavy metals. When you eat the larger fish, you in turn store the heavy metals in the fish.

So, what's the big deal?
Metal conducts electricity. Our brain communicates via the central nervous system largely by electrical signals. With these heavy metal deposit, your brain literally short circuits and signals do not reach target cells.

Recently, "tests on more than 300 samples of canned tuna from the top three brands in the United States revealed that more than half contained mercury levels above what's considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency." Yes, 55% of the samples were highly contaminated with mercury above accepted levels.

"The health effects of mercury poisoning include central nervous system damage, hearing loss and vision problems."

The FDA currently suggest that NO MORE than 6 ounces of fish be consumed per week because of this problem.

And according to the researchers, "White typically has greater levels of the toxin than light."

Article [MedlinePlus]: Tests Show Top Tuna Brands Have High Mercury Levels

This same problem exists in omega 3 supplements because they are taken from fish. Contact us to find out about an omega 3 supplement that undergoes a patented, double molecular distillation process to ensure it is the cleanest in existence.