How Do Diet Sodas Fare Against Water?

The First Drink Discovered Remains the Best One Forever-Water

‘One chicken burger with medium fries and diet soda please’ comes the order from the person standing in front of me in the queue. We start our order with the highest-calorie item and finish it off with the lowest-calorie one to satisfy ourselves that the order is not calorie-laden! What we forget here is the rush of things that happen in between these orders. A large-scale study shows that increased consumption of diet soda increases the consumption of junk foods. On one side you are minimizing calorie intake through sugar-rich sodas but on the other side you are greatly accelerating calorie consumption with junk foods.

Our early ancestors depended only on water to quench their thirst, replenish fluid losses and feel refreshed. Later came the milk era due to agriculture and rearing of animals. Still later was the entry of coffee and tea as a source of fluid, refreshment and energy due to their caffeine content. Recent entrants are soft drinks, energy drinks and sports drinks that are filled with sugar and calories which makes it difficult for the body to process it and keep weight increase at bay. A couple of years back people were crazy about diet and energy drinks due to their fresh launch, yummy taste and because people considered it as a style statement. But now, individuals are drinking fewer diet drinks these days which is a sign of increased awareness on health and a step that’s been applauded by health experts worldwide.

Diet Drinks

A group of researchers at the American Heart Association surfed through various studies linked with sweetened beverages for a period of two years and found that there were various associations between low-calorie sweetened drinks and weight gain, dementia, stroke and a list of various other health problems. Dementia can be disastrous for the person affected and those surrounding him/her too as it invades day-to-day activities and causes a host of other chain reactions too as mentioned in the website www.firsteatright.com.

Shifting swiftly from one drink to another in a jiffy is an impossible chore for anyone and so is it for those who are accustomed to drinking sugar-laden beverages. Such people prefer shifting over to diet drinks instead of completely relying on water for their nutrition. There is a lot of hype and hoopla surrounding the adverse effects of low-calorie sweeteners but all of them lack strong evidence. Despite this, nutritionists, dietitians and physicians advise people, especially children, against the consumption of such beverages due to lack of evidence on their long-term effects.

Even if we replace sugary drinks with diet soda, it might be advantageous for a while but can never be a long-term replacement when we have much, much better options such as water, low-fat and fat-free milk. The only exception here are children with diabetes who regularly eat a well-balanced meal and frequently monitor their blood sugar levels. These children can substitute a low-calorie drink for a sugary one, if required to balance low sugar levels.

Drink plenty of water, get your share of required calcium via skimmed milk/low-fat milk and stay focused on fulfilling fluid requirements every day.