Health & Diet Food

Many people include diet food products as a part of their habitual eating habits, whether they are trying to lose weight or not. Despite popular belief, these foods are not always healthier options in comparison to their whole, full-fat, full-calorie or full-sugar counterparts. Research shows that some diet foods may actually promote overeating and weight gain, and can have other adverse effects on health.

Benefits

The main health benefit of consuming diet food is that it can help with weight loss. Diet foods typically contain fewer calories than comparable foods. Low calorie foods that also are low in fat have the potential to help with weight loss. Unfortunately, manufacturers often replace the fat in low-fat foods with sugar, resulting in "diet" foods that have more calories than full-fat versions of the same food.

Diet soda contains fewer calories than soda sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Also, these artificial sweeteners do not encourage hikes in insulin levels.

Reduced-Calorie Concerns

A 2007 study out of the University of Alberta suggests that reduced-calorie diet foods can encourage people to overeat, increasing their chances for weight-gain. The study, which was published in the research journal Obesity, observed young and adult rats as they consumed a reduced-calorie food. Prior to the study, the rats were accustomed to eating the same food; only it was in a high-calorie format. The study showed that the young rats tended to overeat and gain weight, which scientists attribute to taste cues. Since the young rats associated the taste of the low-calorie food with its high-calorie predecessor, their bodies became confused by the lack of caloric intake that came with the new diet. This prompted the rats to overcompensate for the lack of calories by eating more. In comparison, older rats in the study didn't overeat, which researchers attribute to a more developed taste system for detecting the calorie-contents of foods.

Reduced-Fat Fiasco

During the late 1980s, food manufacturers and consumers in the United States went through a low-fat mania. Supermarket shelves were brimming with low-fat, reduced-fat and no-fat food choices, and dieters and health-conscious individuals indulged. Many people ended up gaining weight because they ignored total calorie consumption and focused solely on counting fat grams.

Side Effects of Sugarless Foods

One of the most common artificial sweeteners that food companies put in diet foods and diet drinks is aspartame. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration considers aspartame safe for consumption. However, side effects like headaches, stomach problems, mood-changes, and dizziness have occurred.

Diet Soda and Metabolic Syndrome

As the University of Rochester Medical Center notes, drinking more than one can of diet soda each day can increase your chances for developing metabolic syndrome, a condition that can eventually develop into cardiovascular disease or diabetes. While the precise mechanism responsible for triggering the syndrome is unknown, researchers have ruled out variables such as levels of fat in the diet and total caloric intake.