Will Diet Pop Help You Lose Weight?

Many believe the word "diet" on a food or beverage indicates the product will aid in weight loss. However, you should always be wary of this type of marketing and educate yourself about ingredients before purchasing with the hopes of losing weight. While diet sodas contain no calories or sugar, some researchers have actually linked them to weight gain. Get a quick rundown of the nutritional quality of diet sodas and the studies that have linked these beverages to weight and health.

Diet Soda Ingredients

Diet soda replaces the sugar of regular soda with chemical sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose. The first diet sodas were sweetened with chemical salts known as cyclamates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned these sweeteners in 1970, and soda companies replaced them with saccharin. In 1977, a Canadian study found a link between saccharin and cancer, and the FDA placed a ban on saccharin. Though the ban was lifted in 1991, soda companies had already switched to using aspartame in their products and found it to be cost-effective. Sucralose, marketed as "Splenda," also became common in 2005 when Coca-Cola introduced Coke sweetened with sucralose. Components of diet drinks such as sodium and caffeine are red flags to health researchers. According to the book "The Encyclopedia of Junk and Fast Food" by Andrew Smith, high levels of phosphoric acid in diet sodas are linked to bone density loss. In sum, the components of diet sodas cannot be considered "beneficial" to health, and their long-term effects remain to be seen.

Diet Soda and Weight Loss

If you only consume it occasionally, diet soda can be a healthy alternative to sugary sodas. Diet soda contains zero calories and zero carbohydrates, while the average 12-oz. can of soda contains roughly 150 calories and nearly 40 g of sugar. As an occasional replacement, diet soda can help you avoid unwanted calories and carbohydrates while still giving you the sweet fix you desire. However, continued consumption over long periods can change the body's cravings and preferences, leading to the overconsumption of sweets and carbohydrates.

Diet Soda and Weight Gain

In 2005, a study by Sharon P. Fowler and other researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio demonstrated that people who drink diet soda actually experience weight gain rather than loss. These researchers found that consumption of diet sodas and other products containing sweeteners actually changed the body's preferences and caused dieters to crave sweets at a much higher frequency. This, in turn, caused dieters to turn to candy, cookies and sweets far more often than they otherwise would. Additionally, Fowler and her team reported that dieters were more likely to "let themselves off the hook" and allow themselves to indulge in higher-fat, higher-calorie foods because of the cutbacks in calories they perceived from drinking diet sodas. The team quantified this study by reporting a 45 percent increase in risk for weight gain for every diet soda consumed each day.

Consulting a Physician

Anytime you decide to change your diet or follow a new nutritional plan, consult your physician for proper safety precautions. Diet sodas are not an adequate substitute for water or healthful juices. While there will always be new products on the market touting weight loss, you can always trust that consuming plenty of water on a daily basis will help your body stay in proper condition.