Lots of people do it—and believe it. They suck down multiple diet sodas every day, thinking they are not getting extra calories and therefore not getting fat, and that they’re eating more healthfully. Think again.
While you may be avoiding the dreaded high-fructose corn syrup, you’re actually pouring chemicals down your gullet that are detrimental to your health and well-being. The November ’13 Prevention laid out five good reasons to ditch diet soda:
1) It’s linked to a twofold increased risk of kidney decline, as concluded by a Harvard Medical School study.
2) It can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome—symptoms of which include heart-disease risk factors like excess belly fat and high cholesterol—by a whopping 34 percent.
3) It is acidic and can exacerbate dental erosion—maybe faster than sugar.
4) If you drink four or more cans of it a day, you’re 30 percent more likely to suffer from depression, according to the American Academy of Neurology.
5) Drinking more than a can a day may increase your risk of stroke and heart attack—by 43 percent.
That’s yikes times five!
If you’re addicted to diet soda, it’s time to wean yourself off. Try tea instead—unless you’d rather be dead.
—Steve Holman
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