SAN ANTONIO — Many of us drink diet soda as a way to get that sugar fix but without the sugar. But just how healthy is it for you?
"I don't drink diet soda. Artificial flavors and the artificial things they put in it. I don't believe it's healthy," said Damian Valadez. So what does he drink? He told us, "I actually do a lot of workouts and things like that so water all day."
"A lot of people assume diet soda is a health food and can actually help them in their health journey's but it's not," said Dr. Vidhya Illuri, an endocrinologist at the Texas Diabetes Institute within the University Health System.
She says many of the artificial sweeteners activate sweet in the mouth, taste buds and even the stomach. Dr. Illuri added, "When this happens it says a chemical signal to our brains that something sweet is coming. And there is something, but obviously, these sweeteners don't have any calories."
How does the body react? By creating more insulin. And that's a problem. Dr. Illuri told us, "It's not clear exactly what diet soda does and what the insulin response will lead to, but the question is, does this increase of insulin without any calories lead us to eat more later, or just the fact that there is an increase in insulin that might lead to weight gain by increasing insulin resistance as well?"
That means drinking a lot of diet soda could make some people diabetic. Dr. Illuri said, "We do know that insulin spikes. If they are happening too often and they are too great, that can lead to insulin resistance which can lead to type two diabetes."
She says the same goes for any artificial sweetener, including drink powders. So what should you do if you must have that flavor? Go natural. Dr. Illuri told us, "Get some water and put some frozen blueberries in it or put some lemons in it just to give it that flavor, versus having something that says natural flavor."
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For further information on the effects of drinking diet soda, watch the video below:
