Diet Soda Makes You Fat

I've read this a few times in magazines and always blew it off.  The claim is that the fake sugar tricks your brain or messes with you somehow that you end up eating more.  I've also read the claim that it causes cravings for sweets.

I've always blown it off for a couple reasons.  A) I don't want to give it up, and B) I know people who drink gallons of diet soda and are neither overweight, nor t=do they crave sweets.  Let's use my momin this example.  She keeps bowls of candy out in the kitchen.  She does, after all, have four grandchildren so let's giver her a break.  She can keep those bowls out and not eat any.  I cannot do that!  If I had a bowl out, it be just that:  A bowl.  There would be candy to speak of in it.

My mom is 5'4" and around 120 pounds, I'm guessing.  She's small.  AND to top it all off, she keeps a bag of candy she really loves int he fridge and eats only one bite now and then.  She has, what we call in the scientific community, "Self-Control".  I write that in quotes because many of us have never heard this term.  I think I used to know what it meant.

Upon turning on my computer this morning, there's a big article on diet soda.  In it, I rea dthat researchers in San Antonio have studied this fact for a decade.

....tracked 474 people, all 65 to 74 years old, for nearly a decade, measuring the subjects' height, weight, waist circumference, and diet soft drink intake every 3.6 years. The waists of those who drank diet soft drinks grew 70 percent more than those who avoided the artificially sweetened stuff; people who drank two or more servings a day had waist-circumference increases that were five times larger than non-diet-soda consumers.

I actually do not agree with this because it does not compare the findings to the fact that EVERYONE in America has a growing waist line.  Where's the control group?  The problem with this country is that even if you are poor, you will most likely be overweight.  The lower priced foods are very unhealthy and fatty, often laden with fat, salt and sugar.  Other countries make fun of us for it.

The article also claimed that the taste buds cannot tell the difference between genuine sugar and artificial sweeteners. I don't know about you, but I sure can tell the difference between Sweet & Low, Splenda, and sugar cane.  There is a HUGE difference in taste.  The other claim regarding this was that our brains perceive these sugars differently.  I can tell you about my own personal taste buds, but I don't have an MRI machine in the closet so I can only give my opinion on how our brains react.

The idea is that your brain knows it's not real sugar, that you're trying to play a trick on it so you crave something that will fell like a full reward.  It also suggests that, "the sweet taste could also trigger your body to produce insulin, which blocks your ability to burn fat."

I'm not a medical doctor but I don't understand how fake sugar forces the body to produce more insulin.  I suppose it kind of makes sense, but if it's not actual sugar, why does the blood react?  When I eat Greek Yogurt, it tastes like sour cream, but my body doesn't pack on fat thinking that I've eaten a tub of fatty sour cream.

One study involving 2500 people concluded that people "who drank diet soda daily had a 61 percent increased risk of cardiovascular events compared to those who drank no soda, even when accounting for smoking...."

I would hardly compare diet soda to smoking!  Again, we're leaving out the fact that most of these people are overweight because they are Americans.  I decided I would not even bring up the issue of Aspertame.  During certain times of the year, I try to limit my intake of diet soda because it's costly.  Granted, I buy store brand, generic soda, but tap water and tea are practically free by comparison.

So, does all this change my mind about diet soda?  I am conflicted.  April, a diet soda fan does not crave sweets, ever.  My mom is small.  Whether the fake sweeteners cause aches and pains, sugar cravings, I really do not know and I'm convinced that anyone who thinks he does, doesn't really know either.

To be fair, one doctor was quoted in the article as saying that one or two diet sodas per day probably wouldn't hurt you.  This is how the article is concluded and it severely contradicts itself.

So, to sum up what I believe but do not yet practice.....
Everything in moderation.  Period.