Soda is one of the biggest health threats of our time. At this point, it is unlikely that anyone thinks soda has any actual health benefits, and yet, everyone keeps drinking it. This wasn’t such a big problem when soda first came out, as people indulged in it as an occasional treat. Now, soda is the main beverage for far too many people.
Because of the perceived dangers of soda and the calories that come with it, many people are turning to diet soda and a sugar substitute called aspartame. However, aspartame is not all it is cracked up to be. Find out why now.
What is Aspartame and Why Are People Using It?
Aspartame is a chemical sugar substitute that was developed in response to the need for a low-calorie sweetener that could be used in soda, baked goods, and other products that use sugar. Studies indicate that aspartame is roughly 100 times sweeter than sugar. This should mean that you are able to use less and get the same effect.
In real life, what it means is that people lose the taste of real sugar and are unable to tell when something is sweet enough for them. This can actually make the body’s need for sugar worse.
Aspartame in Diet Soda
Aspartame is used in many of the world’s most popular diet sodas. Some of the sodas that use aspartame include Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Mountain Dew, Sprite Zero, Tab, and Barq’s Diet Root Beer.Some of these drinks even combine aspartame with other artificial sweeteners, giving you double the health risks and making it even harder for your body to appreciate the taste of real sugar.
The Scary Health Effects of Aspartame
However, you haven’t yet heard the scariest thing about aspartame . True, it can ruin the taste of real sugar for you and make you turn to an unhealthy beverage for your main source of hydration. However, it can also lead to lifelong health conditions that worsen your quality of life.
Over the course of nine years, researchers at UI Hospital divided 60,000 women into groups based on their consumption of diet soda. The group with the lowest soda intake drank zero to three drinks per month, and the group with the highest soda intake drank two or more diet sodas per day.
When researchers looked at these groups nine years later, they found that women who drank more diet soda were more likely to suffer from congestive heart failure, heart attacks, coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, peripheral arterial disease, and even death caused by cardiovascular issues.
Diagnosis rates were highest in the two-or-more per day group and decreased as each group moved down in soda consumption.It is clear that aspartame and the acids of diet soda do not belong in your diet at all. If this information is scary enough to make you ready to kick the habit, consider switching to flavored water, tea, kombucha, or another drink that gives you the hydration your body needs.
You will be glad you made the switch as you age.
Sources:
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/06/09/the-end-of-diet-soda-huge-study-links-aspartame-to-these-major-health-problems/
http://www.healthyfoodteam.com/new-study-could-spell-the-end-for-diet-soda-and-aspartame/
Nicole Penguin