If you regularly drink diet soda in place of regular soda – for health or weight loss reasons – you may have been shocked by the news coverage of a recent opinion piece in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Does diet soda change how the body responds to real sugar?
The article suggests that while we tend to think of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as a healthy alternative to regular sodas and real sugar, these artificially sweetened diet products may actually contribute to an increased risk for excess weight gain, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The authors explain that the body may respond differently to diet drinks (artificially sweetened beverages) than it would to sugar sweetened drinks. So when the body is once again exposed to real sugar, it doesn’t respond as strongly as it should and this may affect metabolism.
Does diet soda change how the body responds to real sugar?
The article suggests that while we tend to think of diet sodas and artificial sweeteners as a healthy alternative to regular sodas and real sugar, these artificially sweetened diet products may actually contribute to an increased risk for excess weight gain, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The authors explain that the body may respond differently to diet drinks (artificially sweetened beverages) than it would to sugar sweetened drinks. So when the body is once again exposed to real sugar, it doesn’t respond as strongly as it should and this may affect metabolism.
