Is diet soda really healthier than regular soda?
Diet sodas promise to be a healthier alternative to regular soda, but how true is this? Let's look at what the experts have to say.
Regular consumption of fizzy drinks can contribute to weight gain due to their high sugar content.
Diet plans typically don't include sodas or fizzy drinks, or they make exceptions for low-calorie ones.
Diet soda started in the 1950s and to this day, there are so many fizzy drinks that are said to have no added sugar.
These are labeled light, zero, or diet.
However, how true is it that these 'diet' sodas are really healthier and help with weight loss?
READ: Two-ingredient fizzy drink to try this spring
According to Science Insider, artificial sweeteners are one of diet soda’s main ingredients. To replace the sugar, they usually contain aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame-k or sucralose. However, the publication warns that "studies have shown that the artificial sweeteners within diet sodas can cause a series of health problems".
It also warns that "artificial sweeteners in diet sodas can be tens to hundreds of times sweeter than sugar."
When it comes to weight loss, several studies show that diet sodas do not really guarantee weight loss.
"Several observational studies have found that using artificial sweeteners and drinking high amounts of diet soda is associated with an increased risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome," reports Drink Stuff.
Science Insider also reports that "artificial sweeteners can leave our brains wanting more, which studies have shown leads to increased appetite, and potential weight gain, in fruit flies, mice, and humans."
The video below contains more information as to why diet sodas should be consumed with caution.
Image courtesy of iStock/ @Nutthaseth Vanchaichana