If you’re aiming to maintain your health this year, reaching for a can of diet soda over the sugary alternative might seem sensible – but is it truly the healthier option?
As the new year kicks off, many people are looking to make healthier lifestyle choices. Popular resolutions include participating in Dry January, abstaining from alcohol for the month, or trying Veganuary by adopting a vegan diet until February.
Some individuals might opt for smaller adjustments, such as replacing regular sodas with diet versions to reduce sugar consumption.
This choice is understandable, considering that regular sodas often contain between 10 and 15 grams of sugar per 100 millilitres, equating to about 13 to 19 sugar cubes.
But is the transition from regular to diet really as advantageous as we assume?
While diet sodas lack the high sugar levels of regular ones, that doesn’t inherently make them healthy.
Research has shown that if you’re targeting weight loss, switching to diet soda might actually be counterproductive.
The study indicated a relationship between frequent diet soda consumption and an increase in ‘waist circumference’.
However, weight loss mechanisms in the body are complex, and some studies propose that diet soda might still offer some benefits.
Diet sodas avoid sugar, but they achieve sweetness through artificial sweeteners that mimic the taste.
These sweeteners, such as sorbitol, mannitol, and xylitol, can exacerbate certain gastrointestinal symptoms in some individuals.
A 2015 study raised another potential concern, suggesting that diet soda could be linked to increased blood pressure.
It’s important to remember that both diet and regular sodas often contain caffeine, despite the absence of sugar.
Though caffeine might not be deemed as potent as substances like alcohol, excessive consumption can have significant effects.
Coupling caffeine with the sweeteners can potentially disturb sleep patterns if soda is consumed too frequently or too late in the day.
So, what is the conclusion?
The situation is somewhat ambiguous, leading to the possibility that if you’re aiming to reduce sugar intake, a healthier strategy may be to simply limit your overall soda consumption.