Please read if you drink Diet Sodas!

I wanted to blog about artificial sweetners because I know so many people who drink diet soda and it scares me. I have joked with friends about it being poison, but it really is. It's probably one of the worst things you could be consuming regularly. And I know people arent just consuming it through diet sodas. You see more and more products now that are sweetened with aspartame or splenda. Especially those flavored powders people put in their bottled water, and even gum! Almost every single pack of gum you pull off the shelf has aspartame in it!! I know you have heard over and over about how bad aspartame is for you, but I am going to post a few things about it. First of all, in 2010, 927 million cases of Diet Coke were sold and 892 million cases of Diet Pepsi were sold. HOLY MOLY! that's way too much soda consumption!! The University of Texas presented some research to the American Diabetic Association. they followed 474 diet soda drinkers for 10 years, and guess what they discovered? their waists grew 70% more than regular soda drinkers!! and that was despite regular exercise and healthy eating. Another study done by the same research team suggested this:

"These results are consistent with data from community-based epidemiologic studies in which the consumption of diet sodas was shown to be associated with increased incidence of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. They suggest that aspartame exposure may in fact directly contribute to increased blood glucose levels, and thus may contribute to the associations observed between diet soda consumption and the risk of diabetes in humans."

 The above study was conducted on lab rats.
Artificial sweetners do NOT trick your brain into thinking its getting sugar or satisfying that sweet craving. Your brain knows the difference in real sugar and artificial sugar. So, if you're brain doesn't get satisfied, what do you think is going to happen? well if you didnt conclude it yourself..if your brain doesn't satisfy that sweet craving with real sugar, it's going to continue to crave, thus causing you to eat more sweets even after having that diet soda.
OK, so do you think you are doing better because you choose Splenda instead? NOPE!! One thing I found out when I was studying this topic, is that Splenda was never proven safe for human consumption!!! What?! If you would like more info on that, send me a message or post a comment and i would be happy to share. I wanted to post a few facts about Splenda: It reduces the amount of good bacteria in your intestines by 50% and this good bacteria is essential to our overall health. It also increases the pH level in our intestines.
Here's some common side effects of Splenda that have been reported: Gastrointestinal problems, migraines, seizures, dizziness, blurred vision, allergic reactions, blood sugar increase, weight gain. You can learn more about Splenda at http://www.thetruthaboutsplenda.com/
So, basically, when you drink diet drinks, your brain doesn't get satisfied, thus creating a craving for more sweets. My next blog will take you through how to deal with your cravings. And let me just say, if you drink diet soda on a regular basis....QUIT!! you are most likely addicted so it may take you a while to come off of them. Let me know if you would like my help through that process.