Dangers of Diet Soda

 Regular soda is bad for you - period. Loaded with ten spoons of sugar and with no caloric benefits, it should be avoided by all health-conscious individuals. But more and more research I read indicate that diet soda is just as bad!
  Drs. Oz and Roizen had an interesting column syndicated in the June 4th edition of the Star-Ledger. To capsulize, they claim that even one diet soda a day can significantly increase chances for both heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Probably enough to switch off of it, right there, but there are other points made, as well.
    Besides the fact someone is more likely to eat more of something else because of the calories they are saving with the diet soda, Drs. Oz (yes, that Dr. Oz) and Moizen feel that the artificial sweeteners in the soda (and many other foods and drinks)  may increase one's appetite by giving the brain a taste of something sweet without the corresponding calories that would suppress further hunger and cravings.
    They also cite a University of Texas study that showed that the waistlines of daily diet soda drinkers expanded by three inches over nine years, compare to "non-drinkers" only added an inch. Occasional drinkers gained as well, 1.8 inches over that same period. That mid-section fat is considered the worst health-wise, surrounding the organs and increasing the chances for the diseases mentioned above.
     The article also notes two separate studies (One by the American Cancer Society) that concluded that diet soda drinkers also had higher total weight gain totals than abstainers. I didn't find this final anecdote surprising:  people who drank at least three diet sodas a day (logically, no one should be doing that!) were twice as likely to be obese or overweight as people who don't drink it at all.
     Another thing that I find personally is that diet soda is a stimulant for my system. I can have a coffee or tea after dinner and fall asleep without a problem. Diet soda, I'm tossing and turning! Although the caffeine number is less, there is something in the chemical make-up of it that stimulates my nervous system.
     Food and rink choices are one's own, and I'm against any type of government regulation on soda, sweetened or diet. But from a health standpoint, go with unsweetened iced tea or just water!