The other day, I was reading "Stop with the Pop," an excellent article by Rookgrl and Icyfairy, and I had an idea. If all the sugar and calories in regular soda are so harmful, why not drink diet soda?

So I did a bit of research, and I came up with something that amazed me. There is new evidence that artificial sweeteners may not only be ineffective in preventing weight gain; they may actually promote it. In a recent study, Sharon Fowler proved that about 57 percent of diet soft drink drinkers will become overweight or obese by drinking three or more cans of diet soda each day, as opposed to only 47 percent of regular soft drink drinkers.

But why? Diet drinks are supposed to help you lose weight, not gain weight. Leslie Bonci explains, "People often mistake diet drinks for diets. A lot of people say, 'I am drinking a diet soft drink because that is better for me. But soft drinks by themselves are not the root of America's obesity problem. You can't go into a fast-food restaurant and say, 'Oh, it's okay because I had diet soda.' If you don't do anything else but switch to a diet soft drink, you are not going to lose weight."

Another possibility may be that artificial sweeteners actually make the body crave carbohydrates, which can be fattening if eaten too often in large amounts. In a recent study by Terry Davidson and Susan Swithers, some rats were divided into two groups. While one group was fed a high-calorie liquid, the other received an artificially sweetened liquid. Later, both groups received a high-calorie solid food. he rats that had been fed the artificially sweetened liquid ate more of the fattening food, and thus gained more weight than the other group of rats.

To put this study in a human perspective, diet soft drinks taste sweet, but contain no calories. People try to fool their bodies into thinking they are full, but the body thinks it should be receiving energy, so it stimulates the appetite, which promotes weight gain.

The best solution? Cut down on the soda. Research on diet drinks is still very controversial at this point. Diet drinks could be harmless -- or they may prove to cause weight gain even more quickly than sugar-sweetened soda. Moderation is the key, and definitely do not replace milk, water, and juice with soda.

Stay healthy!
QTSharp