Diet soda. It’s the favourite drink of many, a way of reducing calories, a sweet, sweet miracle that doesn’t add to your hips. Or is it? I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now. But the truth is that replacing sugar with non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) may not actually result in weight loss. And, for some people it actually makes it harder to lose weight.
We know that sugar causes many problems and is not conducive to weight loss. Not all calories are equal and sugar can lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome – which wreak havoc on our health and ability to lose weight. Therefore, I recommend my clients to steer clear of added sugars.
But I also recommend they steer clear of diet soda. From aspartame to sucralose there are many studies that indicate that artificial sugars (non-nutritive sweeteners) may be counter productive in our weight loss efforts and may affect our gut microbiome and contribute to metabolic syndrome.
So basically, we choose diet thinking it is the solution to our sweet cravings, but it is in fact possibly worse for us than sugar. While the jury is still out on which may be a better option (sugar or artificial sweeteners (NNS)), my preference is to avoid both or at least to be educated on the pros and cons of each when I make choices. My conscious awareness of the risks mean I rarely indulge in sweet things or I choose fruit instead. I’m for the most part off sugar. I use a little monk fruit (with erythritol) in some meals, get a chocolate bar occassionally, but I otherwise do not need or want regular sugar. Keeping in mind I am at maintenance now, and while losing I cut sugar completely except for a once a month coffee and cake.
Sound scary? Getting off sugar or diet? That’s a natural feeling especially when you have addiction to either sugar or NNS. The good news is when you get off it, you wont feel deprived after a while, your palate adapts and food in general tastes better. And when you break the habit, you can still have sugar on occassion, but without the spiral of issues that come with regular use.
Why does diet soda lead to weight gain?
Diet soda can sometimes lead to increased appetite and food intake for a few reasons:
- Artificial Sweeteners: Diet sodas often contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, or stevia. These sweeteners can trick your brain into expecting calories, which can increase cravings for sugary or high-calorie foods12.
- Hunger Hormones: Some studies suggest that artificial sweeteners may stimulate hunger hormones, making you feel hungrier than you actually are2.
- Taste Receptors: Artificial sweeteners can alter your sweet taste receptors, making you crave more sweet foods2.
- Dopamine Response: Drinking diet soda can trigger dopamine responses in the brain, similar to sugar, which can lead to increased appetite and cravings2.
- Psychological Factors: Sometimes, people might feel they can “afford” to eat more because they’ve saved calories by drinking diet soda, leading to higher overall calorie intake1.
It’s interesting how something meant to reduce calorie intake can sometimes have the opposite effect! Do you drink diet soda often? Are you able to connect the science above to how you respond to artificial sweeteners in soda?
With the knowledge of how our bodies respond to our inputs we can be better prepared to make decisions
