Recently there has been a lot of talk about a study that found that people who drank at least 1 diet soda a day were more likely to gain weight and suffer Metabolic Syndrome.

I know that there is a lot of conflicting information about weight loss. But if you want to lose weight and decrease stomach fat, keep reading this article.

There are 2 major points I want to make about obesity in the American society. In my opinion…

#1 The overconsumption of sugar is wreaking havoc on our metabolisms.

#2 The overconsumption of chemicals is wreaking havoc on our metabolisms.

For some people switching to diet sodas from regular sodas helps them to lose weight because of the decrease in sugar and calorie consumption. But, for others the chemicals and artificial sweeteners in diet sodas negatively impact the body’s metabolism.

There is evidence that suggests that artificial sweeteners are toxic to the body, and this can negatively affect your metabolism. Artificial sweeteners have received the lion’s share of attention, but artificial sweeteners may be the lesser of two evils in the assault on our metabolisms and our waistlines.

Sodas have another drawback besides sugar or artificial sweeteners.

And that drawback is… Phosphoric Acid.

Phosphoric acid is a sneaky ingredient in sodas that slows down our metabolisms, but no one is talking about it. Phosphoric acid is a chemical used to acidify foods and beverages, and it also provides a tangy taste.

Here’s the problem… when you consume acid you irritate your digestive tract, and your body may become more acidic. When your body becomes more acidic all of your cells function less efficiently and your metabolism slows down.

Your body has a certain pH level. pH refers to potential hydrogen and ranges from 0-14. 0 is the most acidic and 14 is the most basic (or alkaline). 7 is neutral and around 7.4 is optimal for the blood.

Many weight loss plans (like the book The Ultimate pH Solution by Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM) focus on correcting pH balance by making your body less acidic, and my take is that the consumption of acid is potentially another reason consuming diet sodas is linked with the development of Metabolic Syndrome and weight gain.

Phosphoric acid is an irritant to your digestive system and it will slow down your metabolism and negatively affect cell function.

The artificial sweeteners may not be the ring leader in the assault on our metabolisms. Our digestive system is always being bombarded with irritants, such as sugar, chemicals, and preservatives, and constantly adding acid to your digestive system will likely decrease your body’s ability to burn fat and keep you healthy.

In a perfect world we would not consume any food or drinks with chemicals or preservatives, but we don’t live in a perfect world.

So if you are trying to lose stomach fat or lose weight, I recommend that you do your best to avoid chemicals when you can, and try to drink clean filtered or distilled water as often as possible.

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It still astonishes me that even with all the information we have regarding the use of artificial sweeteners and soda in general, that I still see many individuals continuing to drink Diet Soda Beverages. I know that the fact that these beverages contains zero calories is a big draw for many to drink the products….truly believing that they will have no impact on weight gain., but the truth of the matter is that diet soda beverages have never been shown scientifically to aid in weight loss and the negative impact of these beverages is indeed proven.

Diet Sodas may still cause WEIGHT GAIN

Emerging research is showing that the consumption of sweet foods and drinks (even if artificially sweetened and non-caloric) increase our desire for sweets in general.
In 2005, Sharon Fowler and her colleagues from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio presented eight years of research data that explored the link between obesity risk and soft drinks. According to the WebMD summary of the study:
Fowler’s team looked at seven to eight years of data on 1,550 Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white Americans aged 25 to 64.

 

Of the 622 study participants who were of normal weight at the beginning of the study, about a third became overweight or obese.

 

For each can of diet soft drink consumed each day, a person’s risk of obesity went up 41%.

 

In 2008, researchers have found a correlation between consuming diet soda and METABOLIC SYNDROME. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes that include abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and blood glucose levels, and elevated blood pressure.

 

The scientists gathered dietary information on more than 9,500 men and women ages 45 to 64 and tracked their health for nine years.

 

The risk for metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none.

 

I haven’t even touched on the negative impact of artificial sweeteners (yes, splenda is included here as well!) (headaches, seizures, digestive problems, immune and nervous system disorders, ect.) or the fact that the phosphates in soda leech calcium from your bone and can lead to bone weakness and osteoporosis.

 

It’s time….drop the artificial sweeteners and the diet products.

 

Lakeshore Wellness Center: Naturopathic Medicine and Acupuncture in Chicago.

Susan J. Wojcik is a Naturopathic physician and board certified acupuncturist in private practice at Lakeshore Wellness Center in Chicago, Illinois.

She has been practicing Naturopathic and Integrative medicine at Foothills Neurology in Phoenix, Arizona since 2002 and has only recently settled down in Chicago to begin her own private practice. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin?Madison, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture. She is also affiliated with such organizations as the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP), the Illinois Association of Naturopathic Physicians (ILANP), the Naturopathic Academy of Therapeutic Injections (NATI), the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and the Hom

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If your goal is to lose belly fat, you may want to give up diet sodas!

Recently there has been a lot of talk about a study that found that people who drank at least 1 diet soda a day were more likely to gain weight and suffer Metabolic Syndrome.

I know that there is a lot of conflicting information about weight loss and losing belly fat. But if you want to lose weight and decrease stomach fat, keep reading this article.

There are 2 major points I want to make about obesity in the American society. In my opinion…

#1 The overconsumption of sugar is wreaking havoc on our metabolisms.

#2 The overconsumption of chemicals is wreaking havoc on our metabolisms.

For some people switching to diet sodas from regular sodas helps them to lose weight because of the decrease in sugar and calorie consumption.

But, for others the chemicals and artificial sweeteners in diet sodas negatively impact the body’s metabolism.

There is evidence that suggests that artificial sweeteners are toxic to the body, and this can negatively affect your metabolism. Artificial sweeteners have received the lion’s share of attention, but artificial sweeteners may be the lesser of two evils in the assault on our metabolisms and our waistlines.

Sodas have another drawback besides sugar or artificial sweeteners.

And that drawback is… Phosphoric Acid.

Phosphoric acid is a sneaky ingredient in sodas that slows down our metabolisms and may cause belly fat, but no one is talking about it. Phosphoric acid is a chemical used to acidify foods and beverages, and it also provides a tangy taste.

Here’s the problem… when you consume acid, your body becomes more acidic. When your body becomes more acidic all of your cells function less efficiently and your metabolism slows down.

Your body has a certain pH level. pH refers to potential hydrogen and ranges from 0-14. 0 is the most acidic and 14 is the most basic (or alkaline). 7 is neutral and around 7.4 is optimal for the blood.

Many weight loss plans (like the book The Ultimate pH Solution by Michelle Schoffro Cook, DNM) focus on correcting pH balance by making your body less acidic, and my take is that the consumption of acid is potentially another reason consuming diet sodas is linked with the development of Metabolic Syndrome and weight gain around your belly.

Phosphoric acid is an irritant to your digestive system and it will slow down your metabolism and negatively affect cell function.

The artificial sweeteners may not be the ring leader in the assault on our metabolisms. Our digestive system is always being bombarded with irritants, such as sugar, chemicals, and preservatives, and constantly adding acid to your digestive system will likely decrease your body’s ability to burn fat and keep you healthy.

In a perfect world we would not consume any food or drinks with chemicals or preservatives, but we don’t live in a perfect world.

So if you are trying to lose belly fat or lose weight, I recommend that you do your best to avoid chemicals when you can, and try to drink clean filtered or distilled water as often as possible.

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When you think of nutrition and eating healthy, most likely you are more concerned about the food you eat than the beverages you drink. You may think having a diet drink could not do any harm at lunch or dinner, but if you indulge too much it could add up to trouble in the long run.

But it’s a diet drink…

Perhaps you have seen on television or film a sketch where a person orders a fattening, fast food meal with a diet soda to even everything out. A diet soda has zero calories compared to as many as 300 per serving of regular soda, so you are actually doing yourself a good service, right?

Not exactly. Regular sodas are highly caloric because they contain sugar, whereas diet sodas are manufactured with artificial sweeteners – one of the most popular being aspartame. The validity of aspartame as a health risk has been debated for many years – some claim the sweetener may contribute to increasing toxicity levels and risk of various illnesses, while other dismiss such charges.

What we do know for certain is that aspartame contains phenylalanine, an essential amino acid that does occur naturally in certain dairy foods and green vegetables. On the other hand, one byproduct of aspertame is formaldehyde!

When you shop for “diet” foods it is always a good idea to check for this ingredient on the labels so you know exactly what you are eating and how much.

Too much caffeine?

Just because a diet soda is free of calories, doesn’t mean it is devoid of other questionable ingredients. For example, not all calorie-free, sugar-free sodas are caffeine free, check the labels! Did you know, for example, that there is more caffeine in one can of Diet Coke than in regular Coca-Cola? There are almost 46 milligrams of caffeine in this diet soda, and while it’s not as much as coffee (which can top 200 milligrams), the tendancy to want to drink more diet soda can contribute to a caffeine overload. You will have energy yes, but will be driven on empty calories and sweeteners instead of something nutritious. You may lose sleep, and suffer incredible headaches through caffeine withdrawal. Caffeine is highly addictive as well, and could lead you on a cycle that is difficult to break without some good will power.

Water, the best “diet” drink

A good percentage of our bodies are water, so it would make sense to constantly replenish your body with the very same substance. Imagine, if you replaced a glass a water for every soda you drink, think of all the calories you save, the less toxins in your body, and the greater improvement to your health. It’s the best diet drink there is.

Eight glasses a day…no doubt you’ve heard it from everybody – your parents, your doctor, talk show professionals. The road to wellness is actually a river of pure, clean water, and while to drink sixty-four ounces daily seems like an impossible task, it is actually one of the simplest steps you can take to starting a sound weight loss program. After all, our bodies are approximately sixty percent water, so it is only natural that we constantly replenish ourselves in order to feel good.

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