Soda is terrible for us, and some people think they can avoid weight gain and health complications by drinking diet sodas, but this is horrifically untrue. They even make you fatter.
In many instances, it has been found that diet drinks are worse for you than regular sodas because of the chemicals used to replace the calories. Diet drinks contain an artificial sweetener that can cause cancer and increase your chances of Alzheimer’s disease – and this is just a fraction of the risks. Aside from the many health issues they can provoke, they also make you fatter, according to a new study.
Many people have resorted to drinking diet drinks in pursuit of losing a few pounds, but this is not only pointless but contradictory. The study performed by Yale University found that diet drinks are not helping you lose weight; they’re making you fatter. They found that the sweetness of the diet drink and the lack of calories confused your brain, triggering a chemical reaction that makes you eat more. It makes your metabolism go into a fritz, resulting in everything but weight loss.
Dana Small, the co-author of the paper, explains, “The assumption that more calories trigger greater metabolic and brain response is wrong. Calories are only half of the equation – sweet taste perception is the other half.” Diet drinks trigger a much larger metabolic response than a beverage packed full of calories. The study also found that diet drinks can increase your risk of developing diabetes.
In response to the study, Tam Fry, who works at the National Obesity Forum, said:
“This research should be enough to convince you that artificial ingredients, whether they be in food or drink, can screw up your system even though they may sound healthy.”
The researchers discovered these results after giving 15 people drinks of a varying calorie content, followed by measuring their brain responses in an MRI machine. Professor Small suggests that our brains might learn to react to the sweeteners in a different way, but as of right now, it’s a better decision to stick with water and tea.