5 Reasons to Ditch the Diet Soda

When I was in high school and early on in college, I had a serious diet coke addiction. Its zero calories, so how bad could it be, right? Fortunately, light has been slowly but surely shed on this myth and many of us have done away with diet soda (or, pop, as we say in Oregon!), but for those of us who still drink it or have friends/family who do, lets take a look at why we should run, fast, in the other direction...

5 REASONS TO DITCH THE DIET SODA:

1.  It may actually HINDER your ability to lose weight! While the makers of diet soda obviously want us to think otherwise, it can actually hinder instead of help our weight loss efforts. The onslaught of chemicals and additives in diet drinks has been shown in several studies to promote obesity, likely due to disrupting our bodies hormonal balance. It also may initiate sugar cravings and overeating.
2. Diet soda has been repeatedly connected to increased risk of heart attack and stroke: The irony is that Diet Coke is a big supporter of campaigns to promote heart health, when in reality studies have shown that drinking diet coke vastly (a recent study showed up to 42%) increases risk of heart attack and stroke (http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/2208-diet-soda-heart-attack-risk.html).
3. Heavily linked to cancer: This may be the most widely known risk, but some studies have shown that drinking 30 ounces or more daily of diet soda increases your risk of cancer more than smoking a pack of cigarettes! Yikes. (naturalsociety.com).
4. Increased risk of metabolic syndrome: Drinking diet soda puts you at a much higher risk for diabetes and metabolic syndrome. This means high cholesterol and excess belly fat which can also lead to the above mentioned risk of heart attack. This was proven by a 2008 study at the University of Minnesota with over 10,000 participants.
5. Kidney problems: Diet soda has been linked to dramatically decline kidney function. Our kidneys are the organs that reprocess and detoxify our blood, so.....pretty important.

Sadly, these are only a few of the dangerous effects of drinking diet soda, really this list could go on and on! And hey, if your main concern is looking good, diet soda really stains your teeth.

Sometimes detoxing from diet soda and finding alternatives can be hard, if you have questions or are interested in working with a nutrition professional to create an individualized dietary program, contact me at madronawellness.rachel@gmail.com!