THE TRUTH ABOUT DIET SODA!

According to a study done at the University of North Carolina, if you watch what you're drinking, you could cut at least 450 calories a day from your diet. This same study found out that Americans drink 192 gallons of liquid a year - about two liters a day.

How do we deal with this problem? Some individuals have chosen to drink diet soda because it contains five or fewer calories per serving as compared to sweetened beverages. Yet, even by drinking a diet soda, you're still not solving your diet problems:

A diet soda low in calories can still lead to weight gain.

With a diet soda, you are still consuming a sugary-tasting beverage - even if they're artificially sweetened. The more you drink sweetened beverages, the more you want to consume sweeter foods - cereal, bread, dessert, etc.

A diet soda becomes a substitute for all the healthy beverages you need.

Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition-free. Perhaps one can of diet soda a day won't do too much damage, but we usually don't stop at one. Some diet soda drinkers are guzzling five to six cans a day. This large amount of diet soda takes the place of healthy drinks like water or tea.

A diet soda can contain aspartame, a chemical used to give diet sodas flavor.

Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar. Some research using rodents has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetening chemical to brain tumors and lymphoma. Side effects among humans include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss and mood changes.

A diet soda can interfere with your body's intake of calories. Recent research has shown artificial sweeteners in soda may confuse your body's ability to estimate how many calories you've ingested. So you end up drinking more than you need. The University of Texas Health Science Center has concluded that a person's risk of becoming overweight from drinking diet soda can rise 37 percent.

You are much better off drinking low-calorie, high-nutrient beverages. Check out your local grocery store and try some great tasting vitamin water (50 calories a bottle). However, be sure these drinks don't contain any harmful chemical sweeteners.

Besides the fact soda contains zero nutrients, it is one beverage we can do without - diet or sweetened. Next time you get the urge for a carbonated drink, try some club soda or water with a twist of lime. For a caffeine fix, you can also try green tea.

SOURCE: email, John Tesh Blog!