Whether diet sodas are good on a low-carb diet depends on your definition of "good." Low-carb diets work by tricking your body into assuming a physiological state that naturally burns fat at an increased speed. This state can be fragile, and easy to fall out of if you eat too many carbs. Although diet sodas can be friendly to a typical low-carb diet plan, they aren't necessarily your best choice for good health.
Low-Carb Diet Basics
Low-carbohydrate diets work on the concept of ketosis. In ketosis, your body shifts from burning carbohydrates as its prime source of energy to burning the energy stored in your body fat. This can produce dramatic weight loss in a relatively short time. One disadvantage of these diets is that it's easy to kick the body out of ketosis by taking in even small amounts of carbohydrates -- especially in the early stages of the diet.
Diet Soda Basics
Coke was the first major soda brand to offer a diet version, in 1959, and Coke's competitors soon followed suit. In response to a growing American awareness of health and weight loss, these drinks capitalized on the trend by offering a zero-calorie way to continue drinking soda. Most diet sodas are sweetened with zero-calorie, zero-carbohydrate substances like stevia and NutraSweet. Because they contain no carbohydrates, they are generally fine from the standpoint of not interfering with the physiology behind low-carb diets.
Caffeine
Caffeinated diet sodas have an additional weight loss benefit, in that they can chemically stimulate losing weight. The caffeine is a mild stimulant, which can cause you to burn more calories throughout the day -- an ingredient behind the benefits of some weight-loss teas and diet pills. Although calorie count is not as important a factor in low-carb diets, this can still make a noticeable difference on your bathroom scale.
Expert Insight
Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health writes about diet sodas in his landmark nutrition book "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy." He says that sodas have no calories and no carbohydrates, and that the health risks associated with them are largely overstated. On the other hand, Willett notes that these drinks have no nutritional value -- ultimately making diet sodas "an expensive way to get water."
References
- "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy"; Walter Willett, et. al; 2004
- MayoClinic.com; Low-Carb Diet; May 2010
- Fire Museum of Missouri: History of Soda Pop
- "Body for Life"; Bill Phillips; 1998
Member Comments