Avoiding sugary, high-caloric sodas is a good health strategy. But replacing them, as many people do, with artificially-sweetened beverages – so-called “diet sodas” − may not be such a good strategy. Accumulating evidence says that frequent consumption of these popular sugar substitutes also increase the risk of weight gain, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
A scientific analysis by a Purdue researcher specializing in “ingestive behavior” puts forward the hypothesis that frequent consumption of sweet-tasting, non-caloric or low-caloric beverages may create brain responses that have the “counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements.” As a result, drinkers of these high-intensity sweeteners may be exposing themselves to excess energy intake, increased body weight, and other unhealthy consequences.
The take-away message in the analysis recommends “caution about the overall sweetening of the diet,” no matter what the source of the added sweetness.
Learn more about the analysis here.
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