Diabetes can be a difficult disease for many Americans to manage because it requires a careful monitoring of your calorie and carbohydrate intake. Harvard University states that soda drinking is an integral part of American culture, with annual consumption being high enough for every American to drink one 12-ounce can of soda every day throughout the year. Diet soda is safer for a diabetic to drink than sugary soft drinks, but avoiding soft drinks altogether may be the safest route to maintain or lessen your diabetic condition.
Calories and Carbohydrates
A standard 12-ounce can of soda made with sugar contains around 150 calories and 40 grams of carbohydrates. This single serving of sweetness can be as much as an entire meal of carbohydrates and lead to a dramatic spike in your blood glucose level, according to the American Diabetes Association. Comparatively, diet soda drinks use artificial sweeteners like aspartame and stevia to replace sugar. These sweeteners are so sweet that only a tiny amount is needed in the drink. This small amount typically provides 0 calories and 0 carbohydrates, causing the drink to have less impact on diabetics than regular soda.
Promoting Weight Loss
The low-calorie, low-carbohydrate composition of diet sodas may make them useful for weight loss, which can in turn lessen the symptoms of your diabetes. The American Dietetic Association states that substituting an artificial sweetener for sugar can save you 16 calories per teaspoon. This may be around 380 calories per day for a regular soda drinker or 1 pound of weight loss every nine to 10 days. However, any weight loss you experience on diet soda may only be temporary due to the drink's potential effects on hunger.
Hunger Effects
Though replacing sugary sodas with diet sodas may result in temporary weight loss, Harvard University states that it may have a negative effect on your long-term hunger. Sucrose and artificial sweeteners may stimulate the reward center of your brain differently. This could mean that artificial sweeteners fail to satisfy your desire for calories in the same way a regular soda might, thus resulting in persistent hunger and potential weight gain over the long-term with diet sodas. Eliminating soda drinks altogether from your diet may be the only way you can effectively lose weight and control diabetes.
Diet Drink Research
Research into the consumption of diet soda while having diabetes has returned mixed results. In 2009, the University of Texas collected nutrition and health data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis to examine the impact of diet soda on diabetes. The researchers concluded that drinking one or more servings of diet soda per week raises your diabetes risk by 25 percent, while drinking one or more sodas per day raises it by 38 percent.
However, a 2011 study by Harvard University researchers questioned these findings after following the nutritional habits of more than 40,000 men for 20 years. Dr. Frank Hu and his team stated at the conclusion of the study that diet soft drinks are not the healthiest drink choice you can make, but moderate consumption is unlikely to worsen your diabetes.
References
- American Diabetes Association: Ask the Registered Dietitian Archives;
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Position of the American Dietetic Association - Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners; Valerie B. Duffy, Ph.D., R.D., et al.; 2004
- New York University; Diet Soda Intake Linked to Increase Risk of Type 2 Diabetes; Pamela Jones
- Reuters.com; Diet Soda Doesn't Raise Diabetes Risk - Study; Genevra Pittman; April 2011
- Harvard School of Public Health: Sugary Drinks or Diet Drinks - What's the Best Choice?
