Why soda is so addictive -- and some good alternative beverages
Photos: 10 reasons to give up diet soda
10 reasons to give up diet soda – When taken at face value, diet soda seems like a health-conscious choice. It saves you the 140-plus calories you'd find in a sugary soft drink while still satisfying your urge for something sweet with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, saccharin, and sucralose. But there's more to this chemical cocktail than meets the eye.
Health.com: The 25 best diet tricks of all time
Health.com: The 25 best diet tricks of all time
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Photos: 10 reasons to give up diet soda
It confuses your body – Artificial sweeteners have more intense flavor than real sugar, so over time products like diet soda dull our senses to naturally sweet foods like fruit, says Brooke Alpert, author of "The Sugar Detox." Even more troubling, these sugar stand-ins have been shown to have the same effect on your body as sugar. "Artificial sweeteners trigger insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and leads to weight gain," Alpert says.
Health.com: 5 steps to quitting artificial sweeteners
Health.com: 5 steps to quitting artificial sweeteners
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Photos: 10 reasons to give up diet soda
It could lead to weight gain, not weight loss – Diet soda is calorie-free, but it won't necessarily help you lose weight. Researchers from the University of Texas found that over the course of about a decade, diet soda drinkers had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference compared with non-drinkers.
And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500% greater increase.
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And get this: participants who slurped down two or more sodas a day experienced a 500% greater increase.
Health.com: 27 Mistakes Healthy People Make <