I gave up carbonated beverages about a year ago and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. With it, my body also took in less sugars since I was drinking mostly BooKoo and Monster Java energy drinks. My diet became blander and my cravings for sweets went down. Now, I order water with lime, but if I need something more an unsweetened iced tea or if I am running too low on sugar a simple Arnold Palmer (Hey, still free refills!) works, too. I’ve never liked diet sodas, but a lot of people see them as an alternative; my mother-in-law especially. Understand, also, that she does have an advanced case of MS and does not have the ability to exercise daily as she fatigues very easily. That leaves the main issue of her diet. She quit smoking some time ago, but to replace the cravings she took up snacking, and not on apples and carrots. She calls my wife often complaining that she can’t lose weight. We keep trying to get her to first cut out the carbonation and drink more water. A number of long term studies have also correlated increased consumption of diet sodas with increased weight gain risks. I found a good article that I thought I’d share in case anyone has a friend or family member that needs some persuasion to nix the sodas. (I particularly am fond of "The Mad Hatter Theory")
"Diet Soda Drinkers Gain Weight"
People who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight. In fact, they gain weight, a new study shows.
The findings come from eight years of data collected by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. Fowler reported the data at this week’s annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego.
"What didn’t surprise us was that total soft drink use was linked to overweight and obesity," Fowler tells WebMD. "What was surprising was when we looked at people only drinking diet soft drinks, their risk of obesity was even higher."
In fact, when the researchers took a closer look at their data, they found that nearly all the obesity risk from soft drinks came from diet sodas.
"There was a 41 percent increase in risk of being overweight for every can or bottle of diet soft drink a person consumes each day," Fowler says.
More Diet Drinks, More Weight Gain
Fowler’s team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64. Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.
For regular soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:
* 26 percent for up to 1/2 can each day
* 30.4 percent for 1/2 to one can each day
* 32.8 percent for 1 to 2 cans each day
* 47.2 percent for more than 2 cans each day.
For diet soft-drink drinkers, the risk of becoming overweight or obese was:
* 36.5 percent for up to 1/2 can each day
* 37.5 percent for 1/2 to one can each day
* 54.5 percent for 1 to 2 cans each day
* 57.1 percent for more than 2 cans each day.
For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41 percent.
Diet Soda No Smoking Gun
Fowler is quick to note that a study of this kind does not prove that diet soda causes obesity. More likely, she says, it shows that something linked to diet soda drinking is also linked to obesity.
"One possible part of the explanation is that people who see they are beginning to gain weight may be more likely to switch from regular to diet soda," Fowler suggests. "But despite their switching, their weight may continue to grow for other reasons. So diet soft-drink use is a marker for overweight and obesity."
Why? Nutrition expert Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, puts it in a nutshell.
"You have to look at what’s on your plate, not just what’s in your glass," Bonci tells WebMD.
People often mistake diet drinks for diets, says Bonci, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and nutrition consultant to college and professional sports teams and to the Pittsburgh Ballet.
"A lot of people say, ‘I am drinking a diet soft drink because that is better for me. But soft drinks by themselves are not the root of America’s obesity problem," she says. "You can’t go into a fast-food restaurant and say, ‘Oh, it’s OK because I had diet soda.’ If you don’t do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight."
The Mad Hatter Theory
"Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
"I’ve had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can’t take more."
"You mean you can’t take less," said the Hatter: "It’s very easy to take more than nothing."
Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
There is actually a way that diet drinks could contribute to weight gain, Fowler suggests. She remembers being struck by the scene in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in which Alice is offended because she is offered tea but is given none — even though she hadn’t asked for tea in the first place. So she helps herself to tea and bread and butter.
That may be just what happens when we offer our bodies the sweet taste of diet drinks, but give them no calories. Fowler points to a recent study in which feeding artificial sweeteners to rat pups made them crave more calories than animals fed real sugar.
"If you offer your body something that tastes like a lot of calories, but it isn’t there, your body is alerted to the possibility that there is something there and it will search for the calories promised but not delivered," Fowler says.
Perhaps, Bonci says, our bodies are smarter than we think.
"People think they can just fool the body. But maybe the body isn’t fooled," she says. "If you are not giving your body those calories you promised it, maybe your body will retaliate by wanting more calories. Some soft drink studies do suggest that diet drinks stimulate appetite."
Sources: Fowler, S.P. 65th Annual Scientific Sessions, American Diabetes Association, San Diego, June 10-14, 2005; Abstract 1058-P. Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine, San Antonio. Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, director, sports nutrition, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. WebMD News: "Artificial Sweeteners May Damage Diet Efforts." Davidson, T.L. International Journal of Obesity, July 2004; vol 28: pp 933-955.
Taken from: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/13/health/webmd/main701408.shtml
). Anyhow, here it be (…and in some sets you can really hear why I bring an iPod!)
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