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Does
diet soda make you fat?
To
increase the sales of their products, many soft drink manufacturers
use the concept of diet soda, which does not have sugar. Many
people feel that it is a better alternative to normal soft drinks
and feel that they will not gain weight by drinking the same.
It has been derived in a study that people who drink such sodas
are 41% more prone to being overweight.
Here are some facts about diet soda which prove that it can cause
weight gain:
· There are a number of artificial and processed sweeteners
in such drinks. Unlike the other soft drinks, these produce a
very bad effect on the health and can lead to obesity.
· The calories which you take in do not determine the weight
gain. It is actually the way your hormones react to the same that
does all the harm. Though there are no calories in a diet soda,
the chemicals in it cheat the body and make it believe that you
are eating sweetened food. Some of these chemicals affect that
part of your brain which deals with control of mood and hunger.
This is controlled by a substance called serotonin, and the diet
sodas reduce the production of the same.
When this happens, your brain will send messages to your body
to have high calorie food (junk food), which will increase the
levels of serotonin.
· Another affect is that the no-calorie sweeteners enhance
the release of insulin in the body. Insulin is naturally released
by the pancreas, which helps the cells in the body to absorb the
blood sugar and give energy. Since diet soda contains artificial
sweeteners which trick the body to think that you are eating something
sweet, insulin is produced. However, there is no sugar in the
blood. In such a condition, you body will be inclined once again
to eat foods made of sugar. This triggers weight gain.
· Last, but not the least, people who drink such sodas,
feel that since they are diet ones, they can indulge in more food.
This results in excess calories in the body.
If you do not wish to become fat, sodas of any kind, be it normal
or sugar free, should be avoided as they have a lot of affect
on body weight. Some of the healthy alternatives include lemon
water, iced teas without sweet, green tea, black tea, etc.
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