ORLANDO, Fla. – Are you a Coke-a-Cola person or Coke Zero? Would you choose Pepsi or Diet Pepsi? Is the lesser calorie choice the better choice? The science is in, and researchers reveal which is better for your body and brain.
Nothing beats the crisp taste of a can of soda. But what if that bubbly drink had zero calories and zero sugars? Do you know which is better for you?
Dr. Amy Crawford Faucher explains that “you go from 200 calories to no calories. However, there has been some information that shows making that switch doesn’t help as much as you think it should.”
A study by the American Geriatrics Society found that diet soda intake was related to increasing abdominal obesity. Also, artificial sweeteners, which are found in diet soda, were linked to an increase of high-calorie food.
“Something about your brain chemistry recognizes that there’s something sweet because of the artificial sweeteners in the soda and that might dial-up you’re craving for more sweets,” Faucher explains.
Researchers from Columbia University and the University of Miami found those who consumed diet soda had a 43 percent higher chance of developing cardiovascular disease than those who drank regular soda. And those who drank as little as one diet beverage a day were three times more likely to develop dementia and had an increased risk for stroke over a ten-year period. Just something to think about before you pop open your next drink.
Another surprising stat on diet soda: a study published in the clinical and experimental ophthalmology journal, found that diabetics who consumed more than four cans of diet soda a week were twice as likely to have vision problems, including blindness.