According to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, 66 percent of adults in the U.S. are overweight or obese.
The diet industry is a multi-billion-dollar industry, and beverage companies, eager to grab a piece of the action, offer sugar-free varieties.
Nutritionist Mike Geary warns against the risks of artificially sweetened diet sodas in his e-book, "The Fat Burning Kitchen."
It is the responsibility of each individual to take charge of his own health. It is incumbent on you to take an objective look at the available information and decide if diet sodas have a role to play in your attempt to control your weight.
History
In 1952, Hyman Kirsch of Kirsch Beverages came up with the idea of a sugar-free soda suitable for diabetic patients at the Jewish Sanitarium for Chronic Diseases in Brooklyn. He created a beverage called No Cal, sweetened with cyclamate calcium, as early versions of saccharin and other sweeteners at the time left a bitter after-taste. No-Cal was eventually marketed to the public, particularly to women seeking a "trimmer figure." The historical website Americanheritage.com notes that other beverage companies would not be left behind. Diet Rite Cola soon appeared on shelves, followed by Coca-Cola's low-calorie Tab and Pepsi's Patio Diet Cola.
Types
The ingredients listed on the can of one popular diet soda include; carbonated water, caramel E150D, aspartame, acesulfame K, flavorings, caffeine, phosphoric acid and citric acid. There is no nutrient value given for any of these ingredients. Aspartame is the clinical name for NutraSweet, and acesulfame K is the clinical name for sweetener Sunnet. Other sweeteners used in diet sodas include sucralose, also known as Splenda; saccharin, also known as Sweet 'N Low; and neotane. The U.K. Food Standards Agency believes aspartame to be 200 times stronger than sugar. Educational website Faqs.org lists neotame as 8,000 times sweeter than sugar.
Effects
Geary argues that sweeteners in diet sodas, despite having no caloric value, cause weight gain. Phenylalanine, an ingredient in aspartame, blocks the production of serotonin, which controls food cravings. The shortage of serotonin causes the body to crave refined carbohydrates and high-fat foods that increase serotonin secretion in the brain. A study conducted at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center found a 41 percent increased risk of gaining excess weight for every can of diet soda a person drinks daily.
In an interview by Reuters News Agency, Dr. Ramachandran Vassan of Boston University School of Medicine says soda drinkers tend to eat more calories and saturated and trans fats, and less fiber, and they exercise less.
Warning
According to a study released in the "European Journal of Oncology," the chemical formaldehyde, a breakdown product of aspartame, causes cumulative damage to cellular DNA, which increases the risks of various cancers.
Dr. Timothy Barth, a psychology professor at Texas Christian University, conducted a study that suggested regular consumption of diet sodas may cause long-term memory lapses.
In July 2007, 12 U.S. environmental health experts asked the Food and Drug Administration to review the health risks of aspartame.
Considerations
Nutritionists such as Geary suggest that people who drink diet soda may feel less need to monitor their overall calorie intake as they are already reducing calories.
Real and lasting weight loss comes from regular exercise and eating a nutritious diet that does not exceed your caloric needs.
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