Diabetes is a condition that affects your body's ability to use blood sugar from your foods. When you have diabetes, a hormone called insulin, which acts as the key to help glucose gain entry to your cells, is either not present in sufficient amounts or your body does not properly use it. In either case, your physician will advise you to limit the amounts of sugar in your daily diet, which can be a problem if you have a love of sugary sodas.
Significance
Diet sodas are those made with artificial sweeteners, which replace additives like sugar and high-fructose corn syrup in your soda. The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved five artificial sweeteners for use in drinks like diet sodas: aspartame, acesulfame, saccharin, sucralose and neotame. These taste sweet, yet do not impact your blood sugar the same way sugar does. For this reason, diabetics can drink diet sodas without worrying about checking blood sugar levels. Because diet sodas also are low- or no-calorie beverages, they also may help diabetics lose weight, which can reduce diabetes symptoms.
"Free" Foods
Many diabetics use the method of carbohydrate counting to control their blood sugar. This involves working with a dietitian to determine the appropriate levels for your daily carbohydrate intake. Diet sodas are considered "free" foods, according to Endocrine Web. This means that diet sodas have less than 20 calories and 5 g of carbohydrates per serving and do not therefore have to count toward your daily carbohydrate intake. For this reason, you can drink them as a diabetic, particularly when you are choosing between drinking a sugar-containing soda or one sweetened with artificial sweetener.
Concerns
Although artificial sweeteners are considered a "generally recognized as safe" food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, this does not mean they are without side effects for diabetics. Those who drink at least one diet soda per day have a 67 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who do not, according to Rodale News. This does not mean that diet sodas cause diabetes, but it does mean that people may have a tendency to use drinking a diet soda as a compensatory mechanism. "I suspect that persons drinking diet sodas are likely eating other foods that elevate risk of metabolic disorders," said Jennifer Nettleton, Ph.D., an assistant professor of epidemiology at The University of Texas School of Public Health, who was interviewed on Rodale Health.
Considerations
While as a diabetic, you can drink diet drinks with less concern for your blood sugar levels, there may be some other factors to consider. Water is the best choice for you because it contains neither sugar not artificial sweeteners, according to Rodale Health. If you are having trouble kicking your soda habit, start by switching to diet sodas, then slowly drink less and less per day, replacing sodas with water and decaffeinated herbal teas.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Artificial Sweeteners: Understanding These and Other Sugar Substitutes; October 2010
- "Rodale"; Diet Soda = Diabetes Soda; Leah Zerbe; 2011
- Harvard University; Sugary Drinks or Diet Drinks: What's the Best Choice?; 2011
- Endocrine Web; Treatment of Diabetes: The Diabetic Diet; James Norman, MD, FACS, FACE; June 2011
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