Weight Loss Tip: no.3970
Sugar-free soda may be counteractive to weight loss.
Care to guess why?
Yup, while regular soda has lots of sugar and should be limited or avoided to help reduce daily calorie intake, sodas like Diet Coke and Coke Zero may not be good alternatives because the artificial sweeteners may make weight loss difficult or even lead to the gaining of it in a few ways. One is by causing the pancreas to produce insulin in anticipation of sugar that never comes, which can confuse the metabolic process. With that repeated enough over time, it can eventually lead to insulin resistance and the storage of calories as fat. Second, because sugar substitutes are sometimes 100-700 times sweeter than real sugar and contain few to no calories, they can cause you to crave more sweet foods and beverages, which can drive you to consume more calories. What may also contribute to cravings and hunger is the fact that artificial sweeteners don’t activate regions of the brain involved in food reward like table sugar does. That in turn can result in overeating in an attempt to achieve a positive feeling of satisfaction.
All those things and more that are associated with the current findings on artificial sweeteners are why sugar-free sodas may not be a better alternative than regular soda. For some people, the better choice may be to continue consuming regular soda if they don’t want to give up soda entirely. However, instead of drinking from 12-ounce and larger can and bottle sizes, the switch should be made to cans and bottles that are typically 7.5 or 8 oz. That way, the potential isn’t there for the adverse effects of fake sugar and real soda can be enjoyed with less sugar and fewer calories by virtue of the smaller can or bottle holding less volume than a standard or larger size vessel.
Weight Loss Tip
no.3970
Glossary: calories, fat, food, metabolism
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