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Instead of sugar, they are sweetened with artificial sweeteners like aspartame, cyclamate, saccharin, acesulfame-k or sucralose.
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| These drinks are calorie free, which technically should help people lose weight and prevent sugar-related diseases like metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
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| However, the evidence for these beverages having any use is completely nonexistent.
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| Diet Soda and The Metabolic Syndrome |
| The metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors for disease that often occur together and raise your risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
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| It is defined as having at least three of the following:
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- Abdominal obesity (belly fat)
- High fasting glucose
- High triglycerides
- Low HDL cholesterol
- Elevated blood pressure
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| Drinking “calorie free” beverages instead of sugary ones does not appear to be helpful against the metabolic syndrome.
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| In a study published in the journal Circulation in 2008, which followed 9,514 people for 9 years, drinking artificially sweetened beverages was associated with a 34% greater risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. |
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Another study found a 36% increased risk of metabolic syndrome and a drastically increased risk of diabetes in diet soda drinkers.
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